Hi everyone! I hope you are all well. I'm writing from a very hot and sunny England, where we are all rejoicing Andy Murray's win at Wimbledon! Yay!

Thanks again for the reviews and favourites/follows! This is the last of the flashback chapters in the story, and it's setting up for the remaining chapters. The Halloween party will be Chapter 29, and as some of you are expecting, it's going to be ... eventful ...

Huge thank yous and virtual hugs to SunflowerFran, my lovely beta!

I do not own Twilight or any of the wonderful characters that Stephenie Meyer created to bewitch us all. I also do not own Jane Austen's Persuasion. I am merely her humble admirer, and in borrowing plot points from her final published work, I mean only to honour her memory. This story is rated M for language and lemons. Please do not read if you're offended by either of these.

Thank you muchly!

-cc-


Chapter Twenty-Eight

January 2008

To: Edward Cullen; Alice Brandon Whitlock; Jasper Whitlock (AJE RECORDS)

From: Demetri Volturi

Subject: Read me!

Hey guys! How's London?

I actually got some news. The first part, I'm sure you know. You guys are done with your loan from Marcus and Aro from February 1st. They are beyond happy about the return you made for them. If you want another investment, I'm sure they'd agree.

The second is going to be more of a surprise; it's to do with Maria and Vlad. They're history, my friends. Felix and me, we didn't want to say anything to you until we were sure they were locked up.

Vlad received two life sentences, so he ain't ever getting out. One for the drug dealing and one for murder; he killed one of his runners. Maria's been given one twenty year sentence for dealing and another for manslaughter after one of her crack whores died from a bad rock. I attach a link to the news article.

You're safe. Come back soon

Demetri

Alice read the email several times before squealing loudly.

"Woo hoo! We can go home!"

Jasper, who was asleep in their new bed in their new house, in Primrose Hill, one of London's most exclusive areas, woke up with a start.

"Wha' darlin'?"

"Look!" She thrust her laptop at him.

It took a minute for him to focus.

"Holy shit!"

"I know, right? God, Jazzy, can you believe it's been five years since we left? I can go see my mom and dad and Cyndy ... Oh, we need to call Edward!"

As she said it, their landline rang. Without needing to check the caller ID, she answered.

"Edward, did you see? We can go back to New York!"

"I did indeed!"

"Looking at our schedule, we can go out in three weeks if you're happy that Tia and Benjamin can handle the studio."

"Sounds good, and it'll be great to see Demetri and co again."

-cc-

It was a bitterly cold Thursday afternoon, and Bella was holding the fort at The Stag while Harry drove Seth back to university in Leicester. There were only a couple of drinkers, and Bella was using the quiet time to write a couple of poems.

"Bells!" She looked up to see Angela walking in with a grin on her face.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I just finished this." Angela positioned herself on one of the barstools and held up a plastic document wallet. "I just had to come tell you that it's amazing!"

"Really?" Bella squeaked. "You like my story?"

"Like it? Bella, when I turned the last page to find it blank, I nearly cried! You have to make The Nadir and the Zenith into a whole novel. It's better than anything I've read in the past year, at least."

"But you and I like the same kinds of books. I don't know if anyone else would want to read it."

"Bells, how will you know unless you try? You want to be a writer; then write. You want to know what readers will think; then show them your stuff." Angela pulled out her laptop from her large tote bag and attached her mobile internet dongle. "God, I hope you don't kill me for this."

"What?" replied Bella warily.

"I set you up with a blog for your creative work." Angela pulled up a webpage. "It's pretty basic so far. I've called it Bella Writes, but if you hate it, we can change it."

"A blog? I don't know, Ang. You know I'm not particularly technical ..."

"It's really easy to update once you get going. It's the way of the future, Bells." Bella still looked sceptical. "Look, just think about it. It's a way of keeping your writing together, rather than in scrapbooks, and bits of paper at the bottom of your handbag. It can be as simple or as stylish as you like, and I can help you with any artwork or design."

Bella thought about her main inspiration involuntarily, and her heart panged.

"Could we call it Pour Mon Ange: Bella Writes, and perhaps have angels as a theme?"

"Sure. What kind of angel?" She picked up a pen and a piece of paper.

"Um, I don't want a frilly or floaty one. Could you draw a boy angel, handsome and strong."

Angela immediately realised Bella's train of thought. Edward, of course.

"Got it. Pull me a half of Kingmaker and I'll get to work."

Ten minutes later, Angela had drawn a picture of a handsome, bare-chested male angel with large wings, who emulated Edward's classically handsome, masculine features.

"What do you think?" She showed the picture to Bella.

Bella felt herself tear up immediately. It was perfect … too perfect to share, in fact.

"Wow Ang ... uh, um ... it's great, but maybe we should keep things simple after all." Bella took the picture from her friend. "Can I keep this?"

"Sure," she replied, confused at Bella's sudden change of tone. "Promise me you'll at least have a play with the blog tonight?"

"Of course."

Angela drained the last of her beer before leaning over the bar to kiss her best friend on the cheek.

"I'd better get back to work."

As Angela left, Zafrina, one of Bella's regulars at The Stag, and owner of the tattoo parlour three doors down, walked in for a lunchtime pint. Bella, who was still staring at the beautiful picture Angela had drawn, and thinking of Edward, hadn't noticed her come in.

"Woo-hoo! Earth to Bella!"

"What? Oh, sorry Zaf!" The paper fluttered out of Bella's hand and onto the bar.

"The usual?"

"Yes please." Bella began pulling her a pint of Duck Soup. Zaf picked up the piece of paper. "Holy shit, did you draw this? It's epic."

"No, my friend Angela did. She owns the photography and design gallery on Henley Street."

"Yeah, I know the one." Zafrina took a sip of her beer. "You know, it would look fantastic as a tattoo. I'd give you a discount."

It wasn't the first time Zafrina had offered to decorate her. Bella had thought about it a few times, but didn't want to get one just for the sake of it, without a design she adored. The angel design in her hand was perfect, but the thought of the needles and the pain put her off. She was fascinated by tattoos but couldn't imagine how people got them done time and again, like Zafrina, whose arms were decorated in a wild, intricate rainforest theme with jungle vines, exotic flowers and brightly coloured birds.

"I'll think about it."

"You always say that!"

Bella shrugged.

"Maybe I mean it this time." She poured some peanuts into a dish and gave them to Zafrina. "Anyway, what are you up to this afternoon?"

"I'm heading to Leamington. I have to check the accounts in my other shop there."

A group of shivering Spanish tourists came in just then, so Bella couldn't continue her conversation with Zafrina, and her friend left quietly after finishing her pint while Bella was still trying to help her customers decide what they wanted to drink. As Bella watched her go, she couldn't help but picture what the angel drawing would look like etched into her skin the way Edward was still etched into her heart.

-cc-

Billy Black was drowning in a sea of paperwork, and his sector seemed to be coming apart at the seams. They were only making progress on the biggest, most high profile cases, or the open-and-shut ones. Any others seemed to fall by the wayside. In his monthly reports to the Chief Prosecutor's office, he fudged the figures to cover up the incompetency. He didn't want to admit, to anybody that he was struggling, both with the work and with constant back pain, for which he was awaiting an operation. For years, the Warwickshire Sector had the best record for case processing and convictions, and he desperately wanted to maintain it, even if it meant lying.

His mobile phone rang then, offering a welcome distraction.

"Hello?"

"Dad, hey!"

"Hi son, what's happening?"

"Oh, well, I'm actually calling from the Cayman Islands."

"Holiday?"

"Err, kind of. The thing is I made this investment here last year, and it's actually done very well, far better than I expected."

"That's great, my boy."

"I'd like you to have the profit, Dad. It's £100 grand."

"Jacob, I couldn't possibly ..."

"Of course you can, Dad! I want to do this. You can put it in your retirement fund or something."

"No, I really can't, and I won't."

"Why not? It's easy money, Dad, and I want you to have it."

"No. Jacob, where did you get the money for the investment, in the first place?"

"Um, just from money I made working, and from old investments."

"Here's the thing, son. I know where your seed fund came from. Royce."

"What, no ...?

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Billy snapped. He had kept his knowledge of Jacob's involvement in the fraud from him for years, but found he could do it no longer.

Jacob gasped at his father's loud outburst as Billy rarely raised his voice.

"Dad, uh, what makes you think Royce gave me any money?"

"I don't think, I KNOW! I've spent the last two and half bloody years making damn sure that he doesn't get prosecuted because you were stupid enough to get tangled up in his fraud. It's all over your account history, you idiot!"

"Shit ..."

"Do you know how difficult it was to tell my best friend of forty years that his family was going to remain destitute, when I knew that on an island not too far away, my son was living the life of Riley with his money?"

"Royce just got me started, Dad. I haven't accepted any money off him for two years."

"You didn't stop him. You let him use your account to steal Charlie's money. I couldn't see my son in jail, Jacob, but don't think for a second that I was happy to do the things I had to do to bury the case. So no, I won't be taking that money. It's tainted. Do something else with it. Give it to charity. Spend it on something frivolous. But don't let it come anywhere near me."

Jacob pondered his options. He had the mind of a hardened investor, and couldn't contemplate the idea of giving money away without getting a return. Giving it to his father would have meant that he could absolve himself of concern about his old man in the future.

"Well, my friend James is looking for investors for his band ..."

"Fine, do that."

"How are the Swans?"

"Surviving."

"Bella? I thought about contacting her ..." because that innocent thing she had going on was fuck hot. And she was an awesome lay, once I got her to comply; she had such a tight little pussy.

"Don't you even think about it! Not yet. People still gossip about what happened, even though Royce's family moved away. When the time is right, you can come back and have Bella if you haven't met another girl in the meantime. She's practically a recluse, so I doubt she's going to get snapped up anytime soon."

Billy liked the idea of Bella as his future daughter-in-law, seeing it as one way for making up for the loss of her family fortune. He had been very much against Jacob's plan to give up architecture and move to Jersey to work in finance; he blamed it for Jacob getting involved with Royce's criminal activities, and lamented the break-up of his son's fledgling relationship with Bella.

"Fine." Plenty of girls to fuck in the meantime, thanks to my special weapons.

"If you know what's best, you won't get involved with any more of Royce's schemes. I know you boys are thick as thieves but seriously, son ..."

"We don't do business together anymore, Dad. We don't need to. We're both very well off."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"All right, Dad."

After the end of his conversation with Jacob, Billy was left feeling unsettled and anxious, so he decided to look up the Regina vs. Royce King case on the database. It took him an age because of his minimal IT skills but when he got there, the case was still listed as 'active'. He tried to change it to 'closed', but the computer wouldn't let him do it. Panicking, he managed to look up the file location; it said it was in the central Crown Prosecution Service Records Office in the basement.

Without hesitating, he phoned the only other person he could talk to about the case. Sue Clearwater. She no longer worked for the Crown Prosecution Service. Instead, she had a steady job as an administrator for the family court. She had begged for the transfer so that she wouldn't have to work in the office where she had committed a crime, and there was no chance of running into Charlie in family court. He had been terribly upset when she ended their affair, and she didn't want to be reminded of her indiscretion.

"Sue, please could you come round. I really need to talk to you."

"I don't know ..."

"Please?!"

"Fine. I'll be there at lunchtime."

Sue duly came round, although it was with reluctance.

"What is it, Billy?" she asked, not bothering with a greeting as she slumped in a chair.

"The file. It's definitely destroyed, right?"

"Essentially. Why?"

"It's still active on the database, and the computer won't let me change it. It says the file is here in the building!"

"Jesus, calm down!" Sue told him. "Of course the case is still listed as 'active.' Charlie logged it onto the database before handing it to you, so he's the only one who can change it. And you can't exactly go tell him to do that, can you?"

"No. Shit. Billy pulled at his silver hair. "But the file's gone? It's not in Central Records?"

"In Central Records, all that remains is a blank file with a few scraps of paper. You can go down and check yourself if you don't believe me."

Billy sighed in relief.

"No, I believe you."

"Good. Are we done?"

"Yes. Sorry."

"Bye, Billy."

Sue returned to the sanctity of her office, and after making herself a very strong cup of sweet tea, she opened the locked, bottom drawer of her desk. Inside was a file containing the rest of the evidence she had managed to salvage from the case file, encased inside another file to disguise it. She was biding her time until an opportunity arose for her to get the case looked at again. It would not happen while Billy was Sector Crown Prosecutor. She could have taken it to Charlie, but she knew that seeing him again might awaken the attraction she felt for him, and she wasn't ready for her affair to be exposed. It had taken a very long time, but her relationship with Harry was finally improving, although still a little shaky.

However, Billy's anxiety had caused hers to grow. She no longer felt comfortable with it in her possession. I need to move it somewhere safe. But where?

Suddenly she remembered the Crown Prosecution Service had an off-site storage unit, across the county border in Worcestershire. It was secure, far away, and most importantly, Billy and Charlie did not know about it.

-cc-

Alice Jasper and Edward had a blast in New York City. They visited their old haunts and caught up with old friends and in Alice's case, family. Alice visited her childhood home on Long Island for the last time as her parents were about to retire to Boca Raton and had sold it. Jasper went to see Peter and Charlotte, who now ran several drug addiction clinics for homeless and low-income people across the city, upstate New York and in New Jersey. They were delighted that he was doing so well, and had remained drug free for six years. Edward hung out with Demetri and his family, even doing a few shifts behind the bar at Eclissi for old times' sake and spinning some records at The Sullivan Room.

It was at dinner at Per Se on their final night in New York that Demetri asked the question that Edward, Jasper, and Alice in particular had been thinking over.

"So when are you coming back to New York permanently?"

Edward and Jasper immediately turned to Alice.

"Oh, ah ... not sure. We need to sit down with the team when we get back to London and discuss plans ..."

Her answer seemed to satisfy Demetri, who went back to eating his dessert and talking about his new yacht. However, Alice was left feeling conflicted.

She had always thought that once the threat from Vlad and Maria dissipated, they would return to New York City and re-establish AJE in Manhattan. But their London-based business was thriving, far beyond their expectations, and she and Jasper had just bought a house, which she had painstakingly decorated. They had established a network of friends and contacts in London. Edward's brother Emmett lived there, and they had a much closer relationship than she had to her sister, who lived in San Francisco. She had gotten used to life in Europe, and by the end of their three week trip, she found that she missed England.

"Darlin', you all right?" Jasper asked as he walked into their room that night as she was taking off her make-up.

"What?" She looked up at him in her dressing table mirror with her large, violet-blue eyes.

"OK, baby, what's wrong?" He walked over to her and placed his large hands on her smooth shoulders before spinning her around. When she hesitated, he pulled her into his arms. "Tell me. We're supposed to be happy, Alice."

"I am happy, Jazzy. I love you. Our business. Our home. Demetri's question about us returning to New York threw me."

"Do you wanna move back?"

She curled around him. He picked her up and took her over to their bed.

"We've had an amazing time here these past few weeks, and I always thought we'd return, but now, I'm not sure."

"Baby, you never steered us wrong before, and Edward and me, we trust you 100%. What does your gut instinct tell ya?"

Alice closed her eyes and cuddled into his chest.

"That we're Londoners now," she whispered. "New York's always gonna be special to me, but it's not home anymore. Cyndy lives in 'Frisco and loves it there. Momma and Daddy can't wait to retire to Boca. None of my family is here anymore. You don't have any ties here, and either does Edward, really."

"My feelings exactly."

Jasper proceeded to soothe his wife for the rest of the night until they had to leave for their flight back home.

Edward, meanwhile, was propping up the bar in Eclissi with Demetri, intending to sleep on the flight back to London.

"So, y'all didn't seem too sure when I asked about you returning here. You gonna stay put in London?"

"In my mind, it makes sense. We're doing exceptionally well, Dem. Our business is tailored for the European market, and it would take a lot of adjustment for me to return to New York life. My brother's in London and I've just bought an apartment. But we let Alice have the final say on the big decisions."

"I see. I ain't surprised. When I came to see you in London last year, you seemed to have quite the sweet set up."

"Yeah, and we're growing every year."

"Any girls back in London Town? Surely there's a pretty blonde thing or two seeing to you?"

"I'm in between blondes at the moment," Edward replied, just as the bar door opened, and a gaggle of tall, very thin girls tumbled in. They were dressed in short, tight black dresses under thick fur coats, with ostentatious gold jewellery and designer leather boots with high, metal, stiletto heels.

"Dyadya Demitri!" One yelled, in Russian, waving at him before gliding across the room. She was stunningly beautiful, with a riot of strawberry, blonde curls, ice-blue eyes, high, aristocratic cheekbones and a lean body; in heels, she was almost as tall as Edward. She looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place her.

"Moya dorogaya Tanya!" Demetri replied in perfect Russian. "Kak dela?"

"Very good, zhank you!" she replied in clear, but heavily accented, English, eyeing up Edward blatantly. "Introduce me!" she demanded.

"Tanya, this is my friend and former employee, Edward Cullen. He's visiting from London. Edward, this is Tanya Denali. She's my cousin's daughter, but she calls me 'uncle.' From the Russian side of the family, obviously." Demetri looked between them knowingly and smiled to himself. You two will have fun together for a while.

"Nice to meet you, Tanya," Edward replied, holding out his hand politely. Tanya took it, and then pulled herself into him and kissed him on both cheeks, lingering for a moment before stepping back and looking him up and down wantonly. Hmm ... she wants me. Good stuff.

"What brings you to New York, Tanya? Are you staying long?"

"Flying visit. Donna Karan shoot for the spring-summer season. I fly back in morning."

"Where are you based?" asked Edward, suddenly realising why she was seemed familiar. She's a fucking supermodel. Well-scored, Cullen.

"I split my time between Lahndon and Pahr-ees."

"Interesting," he murmured. "May I get you a drink?"

"Stolichnaya. Neat. Triple."

"Coming right up."

-cc-

July 2008

The Stag was heaving as was typical of a summer Saturday. It was hot, sticky, and the wait at the bar was at least fifteen minutes. Zafrina had walked in for her usual pint, but almost walked out when she saw the crowd, with Bella, Seth and Harry all serving as fast as they could. The pub had a courtyard with a river view and was two minutes' walk from the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre, right on the tourist trail.

"Zaf! Don't go!" called Bella when she spotted her leaving. Zafrina spun around fast so that her braids hit her chin. Bella beckoned her over to the bar's service hatch. "There's a matinee at the RSC this afternoon, which starts in around forty minutes. This lot will be gone soon." She gave her a pint of Duck Soup and a packet of crisps. "You can stay there until the crowd die down if you want."

"Cheers Chick."

Zafrina took a long drink of her beer and pulled out a rolled-up copy of Hello! Magazine from the back pocket of her jeans; it was her guilty pleasure. She became absorbed in the pictures and barely noticed the crowd die down until Bella tapped her on the wrist.

"Sorry about that. How are you?"

"Good, thanks. Actually, I have news! I'm expanding my Stratford parlour. I bought the empty store next door."

"Fantastic. I'm glad business is booming."

"Well, I wouldn't call it 'booming,' but it is growing, and I want to capitalise on the growing fashion for tattoos," Zafrina replied. "I need to do some advertising, really. Word of mouth isn't enough anymore."

"Have you thought of putting something into Warwickshire Life magazine? They have an excellent local circulation."

"Yeah, that would be perfect, but they won't write the advertisement for you, and I can't write for shit ..."

"Bella!" Harry called. "Can you take over service? Seth and I need to change up the Foster's and the Duck Soup." There were a small group of tourists waiting to be served.

"Sure." Bella shrugged apologetically at Zafrina who grinned at her. She had quite the soft spot for the pretty barmaid. Shame she doesn't swing my way.

Bella never did get back to her conversation with Zafrina, as the bar was busy. Zafrina finished her pint and packet of crisps, and returned to her parlour, leaving her magazine on the bar as she was done with it.

At eight o'clock, Bella finished her shift for the day. Her feet were aching; chatting to Zafrina for five minutes was pretty much the only break she had all day, so Harry let her go half an hour early. As she was leaving, Seth gave her the copy of Hello!

"Go on. You know that you want to gawp at the trashy celebs!"

"Thanks Seth." Bella rarely looked at celebrity magazines, usually preferring a book, but she couldn't think of a way to decline.

That evening she curled up in bed with a mug of cocoa and Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, but she was too tired to concentrate on the text. Eventually, she gave up and picked up the magazine.

Exclusive! All the pictures you want to see from Elton John's Fabulous White Tie and Tiara Ball!

Bella flicked through the pictures, from Elton John and his partner David Furnish, to Liz Hurley, to numerous models and socialites, most of whom Bella had never heard. They were all glamorous and fabulous in their eveningwear. It was the kind of event that Bella would avoid like the plague if ever presented with the opportunity to go, but she was intrigued by their beauty and the whole cult of celebrity.

She was almost at the end of the feature when her tired eyes were drawn to a picture at the bottom of the page.

Russian supermodel and the face of Donna Karan's smash hit S/S 2008 campaign, Tanya Denali, with boyfriend of six months, music producer and DJ Edward Cullen. Turn to page 202 for all the goss!

The picture was of the stunning Tanya in a long black and white evening gown, with white gloves, holding hands with Edward, dressed in a simple white tux, who was smiling down at her. Bella stared at the picture for an age, looking over and over again at the way Edward's thumb rested against Tanya's knuckles. They looked like a perfect match, and happy. So very happy.

Eventually, she turned to page 202. She waded through gossip about other celebrities until she reached a small snippet about Edward and Tanya.

Tanya Denali looked resplendent in vintage Donna Karan on the night, but it was agreed by all that her glow was probably due to the delicious man on her arm. She and Edward Cullen met in New York through a mutual acquaintance, but despite being one of Europe's top urban music producers and a DJ who can command six-figure sums for club appearances, it appears that Edward is rather camera-shy and is not often seen out on the celeb circuit.

TD: Da, it's taken me a long time to persuade Edward to go to an event with me. But even he couldn't turn down Elton."

Hello!: So are you two serious?

TD: Things are looking good, although it's still early. We've talked about the future and both agree that we see us being together for a long time.

Bella skimmed the rest of the article, which mainly talked about Tanya's appearances on TV before the tears fell and the magazine slipped from her fingers and onto the floor. She cried herself to sleep.

-cc-

"What the fuck were you thinking, Tanya?! You tell fucking Hello! magazine that we're talking long-term, but yet, you're fucking both Santiago and Gianna?!" Edward yelled, referring to Tanya's male agent and her female publicist.

"It's just sex, dahling! Why can't you see that?" She yelled back. "Why do you get so sentimental about fucking, when you don't even want me in your apartment? You go mad when I try to leave toothbrush here!"

"I believe in fidelity. I believe in loyalty. I believe in taking the time to get to know somebody before allowing them into every aspect of your life!"

"And I believe that sex and love are separate!" she cried, before softening her expression. "Dahling, I have thought this way for a long time, but if it means so much to you, I will try this 'monogamy' thing. You are special, Edward. I don't want to lose you."

Edward was tired of serial dating and one-night stands. Tanya, despite her narcissistic tendencies, was intelligent and funny. He got on well with her outside of the bedroom, where she was one of the better inamoratas he'd had in recent years.

"I guess if you can try that for me, I can try to be a bit more reasonable about letting you leave a couple of things here."

Edward and Tanya spent the rest of the evening making up, but deep down, Edward knew that it would be only be a matter of time before both of them would fail to reach a compromise and that one or both of them would want out.

-cc-

On Monday morning, at 10am, Zafrina opened her Stratford tattoo parlour and was shocked to see Bella on her doorstep, clutching a laptop bag in one hand, and the drawing of the angel in the other.

Bella hadn't slept all weekend. Seeing Edward with Tanya Denali in the magazine had killed any hope she'd had for finding her way back to him, and there could be no other man who'd take his place. He would always be her ange, the man who owned her heart, and now she wanted to see it in ink.

"Bella! Come in, Chick! Are you all right?"

Bella followed Zafrina into the shop, and to a cherry-red, leather sofa in an enclosed area covered with framed pictures of people's tattoos, all the handiwork of Zafrina and her tattoo artists. Bella's eye was drawn to a faded photo of a swirling black-ink tattoo of a swan. Wow, it's beautiful. Zaf's very talented.

"Yes, no, I don't know."

"What can I do for you?"

"You said that you could tattoo this for me?" She handed over the picture.

"Of course, but are you sure? Why now? I've been offering for months ..."

"I'm sure. I've thought about it a lot recently, and I want you to do it. But ..."

"But what?"

"I can't afford to pay very much for it, even with the discount you offered before. So I thought we could do a trade."

"What, beer for your tatt?" Zafrina laughed.

"Actually, when I'm not working at The Stag, I'm a freelance features writer."

"Really? Kept that quiet didn't you?"

"Yeah." Bella smiled sheepishly. "I thought that if I offered to write an article and advertisements for this place and you liked them, perhaps we could come to an arrangement on the price."

"Chick, if you can write a piece on my tattoo parlours that are as pretty, eloquent and sharp as your fine self, I'll do you it for you for free. Deal?"

"Deal."

-cc-


AN: As always, thank you for reading. Chapter 29 will be posted next Sunday.

The beers mentioned in the text, Kingmaker and Duck Soup, aren't made-up names. They're actual beers made by the Warwickshire Beer Company, and are both absolutely delicious, rich brews, if you're into beer.