Chapter 25
"And this is the kitchen area." Rebekah's heels clicked against the marble floor as the door flung open. "The coffee machine is okay, but if you want something decent then I'd recommend going to the café across the street. Think that's about everything that we needed to cover, any questions?"
"Only a million." Elena quipped with a nervous smile. "Not necessarily about the kitchen though."
"Let's grab a drink and we can have a chat."
The tour of the office was just the start to the day, and it was already mind boggling. Elena had kept the focus on the absolutely necessities: her desk, the restrooms, and the kitchen.
Everything else could be figured out at a later stage.
Rebekah had turned out to be easy to make conversation with, whilst intimidating at times, for the most part she came across as genuine and funny. Given how some of the other women passing by gave Elena the side eye, she was in a desperate need of an ally.
"The gossip will die down eventually; I wouldn't worry about it." The blonde remarked with sympathy, as they made their way down the hall.
"What gossip?" She urged, panicked.
Women were rarely friendly towards other women; it was something that Elena had experienced since high school. They were jealous, petty, and quick to judge, but she had no idea that some gossip was what caused the dirty looks.
"Oh, word spreads quickly around here. If one person knows about you and Damon, then it's a guarantee that the rest of the office knows too."
Rebekah knew.
"Not me, I was instructed to keep my lips sealed." Rebekah chuckled, sensing that Elena would jump to the conclusion that she was the gossipmonger.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now." Elena sighed, disappointed by the original plans crumbling so quickly. "It's not that I don't want people to know, I just don't want them to judge me because of it."
"I get that, but as a word of advice, people are always going to judge you. You just need to keep doing your thing."
"Looks like I've got a lot to learn." She conceded with realisation.
This would take some time getting used to and learning to ignore the prying eyes wouldn't be easy, but Elena knew how to stand her ground. She just needed to believe in herself and allow the work to speak for itself.
"Well then, you're in the right hands." Rebekah mused enthusiastically, holding the door for Elena as they entered the cafe nearby. "I've seen your portfolio, it's great. And with me as your mentor, you'll be flying high in no time."
"I'd like that." She laughed. "What project will l be working on to start with?"
"Oh, it will be a fun one. One of our new clients in the publishing industry has a new app coming out soon, so we'll need to prepare a marketing copy for promotion purposes. I've got my laptop with me. I'll introduce you to their concept."
They sat down by the window, and Rebekah unpacked the briefcase, pulling out a laptop and a notebook with notes riddled all over it. Once the waitress came over to take their drink order, they were left to their own devices; talking through the brand's concept and what they were hoping to incorporate into the marketing blurb.
It gave Elena a rush of energy and excitement, for the first time in her adult life she felt like she could have a fulfilling career and succeed in something. She just hoped that she wouldn't screw this chance up.
Aside from helping to get her life on tracks, the internship was also a nice distraction. It had been three days since Damon left, and the shattering realisation that Elena was truly, madly, and deeply in love with him. Still, it felt surreal, falling for a guy that she couldn't stand the thought of not that long ago. But this Damon was different. Putting one against the other, they were the complete opposite.
She must have loved both, right? The good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. How else could they have ended up here? The paradigm was something that Elena had yet to get to grips with.
Love wasn't always a clear-cut emotion, and it didn't always stem from a simple connection. Sometimes, enmity transformed into tolerance, a liking, and then just like that it continued to unravel, until you were no longer in control. And that's precisely how it was for Elena; she succumbed to the whirl of passion and infatuation with Damon.
Now every free notion was filled with doubt and questions of whether this feeling was reciprocated.
Elena was about to take a bite out of her sandwich when a petite blonde sat down at the same table in the cafeteria area. She looked familiar and was smiling for a change.
"Hey, you're Elena, right?"
"Uh yeah, that would be me." She nodded; a trace of confusion flashed across her face. "Sorry, there's been a whole lot of new faces today, have we met?"
"I'm Vicky." She smiled again, and the puzzles fell into place.
"Oh yeah, I remember, Damon's PA?"
It cleared some things up, but from what Elena could recall Vicky wasn't exactly the outgoing, polite type, so this appearance was still very much surprising.
"The one and only."
"Gosh, did he put you up to this?" Elena cringed internally.
This had Damon written all over it.
Vicky laughed, and dug into a bowl of salad. "Nope, just thought I'd come over and say hello. First days tend to be overwhelming."
"Yep, he put you up to this." Elena shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"In all honesty, I was kind of looking forward to meeting you." She confessed smugly. "You have Damon all putty in your hands, and I love to see it."
"Oh, I don't know about that." Elena negated and her cheeks glowed red. "How long have you guys worked together?"
"Long enough for him to meet my cats." A suppressed chuckle left her lips. "But don't read into that, I was sick for a couple of days, and he just came over to check up on me."
"He did? That's nice." This physically dazzled Elena, for some reason. "I'm not entirely sure why I'm so surprised by that."
Damon was nice, but generally not very openly and not to other people. Elena assumed that she was the exception.
"He has his moments. I mean, we give each other crap most of the time. But he's a solid boss, I'll give him that."
"Surprised to see you out here, socialising." Rebekah remarked with amusement, taking a seat at the table. "Vicky isn't much of a people's person." She mouthed an explanation to Elena.
"I am, actually, provided that the said people are not idiots."
"So what, we're talking like one percent of the population?"
"Well, that's not on me." Vicky blinked away the accusation with dismissiveness. "And I'll have you know; I've been perfectly nice to Elena."
"You were a tiny bit scary the first time we met." She countered with a small laugh.
"Try guarding that office yourself and then we can talk about it." The blonde frowned, exhausted at the thought. "It's like a honey pot, and all of the dumb girls around here are the bees, so desperate to get their share."
"That bad, huh?"
"He's good looking, not really the average Joe." Rebekah sighed dreamily. "Single, and even when he wasn't, there was always a chance that some lucky girl could get herself some of that. And his flirty ways didn't exactly help."
"Yeah, I can imagine." Elena mumbled, taking a sip of water.
The reminder of Damon's charm and the impact that it had on other women, had her hoping that the flirting chapter was over and done with.
"But he was never interested in any of them." Vicky picked up on the shift in Elena's mood, and sent her a reassuring smile. "Ask Rebekah over here."
"Can't a girl have a crush?" She muttered. "Besides, I'm with Tyler now. So, no hard feelings?"
"Nope, can't say that I blame you." Elena asserted with a small laugh.
"So, how about we go out for some drinks on Friday night? There's no better way to get to know the team than when they're all drunk."
"Sounds like it could be fun."
"Great! I'll let the rest of the guys know." Rebekah pulled out her phone, typing away.
"Oh, there goes Papa Salvatore." Vicky leaned in, lowering her voice. Her eyes trailed across the cafeteria, nudging Elena to look.
And there was Giuseppe, standing at the food bar, clad in a sleek, grey suit and a slim back tie. A stern expression laced his face, and his forehead creased in contemplation of what he was going to have for lunch. The sheer sight of him intimidated Elena.
"Have you met him before?"
"Ah, no. Not officially." Elena slowly glanced away. "Is he nice?"
"Well, he's not much of a talker." Vicky offered with a shrug of the shoulders. "Doesn't get along with his sons all that much, so there is a chance that he's not the nicest."
Giuseppe appeared to be a serious man, probably not one for jokes and small talk, not unless you knew him well. The confident posture and calculating gaze had the ability to rule a person speechless, which probably explained why the temperature in the room felt like it dropped by a few degrees.
Elena briefly wondered if dating Damon meant that she'd get to his family, but the weight of the occasion quickly buried that notion. It was too soon to speak of that, but curiosity sometimes got the best of her. Were his parents divorced? Damon never spoke of his mother, and Giuseppe only came up during conversations when he did something to get under his skin.
"Is he around a lot?"
"Not when Damon's here. But, now that he's gone, I imagine that we'll be seeing a lot more of Giuseppe." Rebekah added with a visible frown.
Clearly, Damon wasn't the only one that didn't like having Giuseppe around too often.
The heat was unbearable. Despite it being November, the temperature still went up to eighty Fahrenheit degrees, which in Damon's book was an outright crime. It was winter for heaven's sake, that literally called for frosty mornings and a chilling breeze.
Instead, the sun was shining bright up in the sky, people on the street wore shorts and tank tops whilst Damon was stuck inside with sweat beads forming on his forehead, drinking an iced coffee. The only good thing about Los Angeles was the air conditioning.
Yeah, he was feeling grumpy. And it had everything to do with Elena being a thousand of miles away, sleeping in a separate bed, sharing her smile with a bunch of strangers, gracing them with her presence. Their arrangement made zero sense. Being away from each other for so long, relying on FaceTime and other communication services to keep in touch, neither of which made it possible for Damon to feel Elena's skin, or breathe the same air as her.
The worst of all? It had only been five days.
"This is where we're heading on Friday." Alaric threw a brochure onto Damon's desk. "You can thank me later." He added wittily and pulled out a chair for himself.
This constant swarm of people around was starting to become overwhelming. Sadly, you couldn't just slam the door in their face.
"A strip club?" Damon arched a brow, more than unimpressed with the proposition.
"A gentleman's club." He corrected, propping his feet up on the edge of the desk, which earned him a glare from Damon.
"Same thing. And I'm not going."
"What do you mean you're not going?"
Damon sighed, and reached over to push Alaric's feet off the desk. "How high were you when I told you that I have a girlfriend?"
"Oh, come on, it's not like she'll find out. We're in California, baby." Alaric cheered on, folding his arms on the surface.
"Great, but that's not the point."
"You're actually serious about this?" His cheerfulness faded away.
This was something they had done before; a guy's night out in an elite club, having a couple of drinks, enjoying the view; it was harmless.
In the past Damon didn't give it much thought, it was just for fun and it's not like he did anything with them. This time, the suggestion almost made him shudder. There was something about it that made it feel wrong.
"I really don't care for a half-naked stripper giving me a lap dance, so yeah, I'm serious."
"Well, if that's not love then I don't know what is." Alaric shook his head with disapproval and leaned back in defeat. "We're going out to a club though, that you can do, right?"
"I can do whatever I want, I'm just not interested in the strip scene." Damon corrected with a chuckle. "And if it gets you to shut up then fine, we can go to a club after work on Friday."
"Sweet."
After a week of this hell, hitting up the club would be a welcome relief.
The weekend would be another terrible reminder of the fact that Elena was far away. Lately, all of Damon's weekends consisted of the two of them together entirely. Whether it was sleeping in, staying up late, going out to the movies, grabbing a morning coffee, and going for a walk in the park. Sure, those were just the typical mundane stuff that couples did, but Damon never assumed that he could find them enjoyable. And then Elena proved him otherwise.
Crawling back to his old ways and spending an endless amount of time on his own, Damon began to discover the shallowness of his previous lifestyle. There was nothing wrong with being single, it had its charms, but looking back, his days just seemed so empty.
He couldn't picture himself going back down that road, not anymore. He picked up the phone and dialled Elena's number. Having done it so many times in the past week, he had it memorised by now.
"Missing me already?" The sweet melody of her voice put on an instant smile on his face.
This was just what he needed.
"You don't even know." Damon murmured, walking into the rental apartment. "Did I catch you at a good time?"
With how busy their schedules were, it was almost impossible to find a time slot that worked for them both, which only left the end of the day to catch up.
"I'm on my way home, the lecture finished late. I've still got to prepare for a mock exam on Friday, so I'm yours for the next fifteen minutes." She giggled.
"How are you managing to juggle everything at once?" He shut the door behind him and put Elena on speaker as he kicked off his shoes.
"Well, I've cut down on sleep, that way I get a couple of extra hours here and there." She only half-joked.
Recently, there weren't enough hours in the day to tick off every task on the to-do list.
"I'm not letting you out of bed when you come down to visit." A low, suggestive chuckle sounded from his throat.
"Is that a threat?" There was a hint of excitement in Elena's voice.
"Judging by your reaction, I'd say it's a promise of a good time."
"You know me so well." Elena bit down a smile, imagining all the things that they'd get to do when they would finally see each other again. "What about my birthday surprise?"
"I thought you were dead set against that." He teased, knowing very well that there was no talking him out of it.
"If it involves you being naked, then I'm all up for it."
The new, daring Elena was insatiable, and she kind of loved it.
Damon grinned, wishing more than ever that he was next to her right now. "Oh baby, that was always a part of the deal."
"I think that you've turned me into a sex addict. Not a day goes by that I don't think about it."
"Mhm, and what sort of things are you picturing?" His tongue ran over his lips, as he flopped down onto the sofa.
"Your hands gripping my ass, my thighs wrapped around your waist, lots of kissing, and touching." Elena closed her eyes, imagining it all over again. "And now I'm sexually frustrated."
"I can help with that." He mused huskily, the images stirring his blood.
"I don't want a toy or my fingers, I want you." She pouted.
Damon groaned, he was always crazy about Elena, but he loved it even more when she was so straightforward about what she wanted. "You're killing me right now, you know that?"
"Do I deserve to be punished for it?"
"Fuck yeah, you do." His manhood was now fully alert.
"Check your messages."
"Huh?" Damon was struggling to keep up, his mind was in a gutter right now.
"I sent you something nice." She practically purred out.
Mind in a daze, his thumb swiped across the screen, and he clicked into their WhatsApp chat, seeing a red notification in the top right corner. Once the chat popped up, there was a new message from Elena, like she had promised.
Damon clicked on the attached photo, so that it opened in full view, and his breath stilled for a moment.
"You like it?"
His eyes were glued to the full body shot of Elena wearing a set of red lingerie, simple but enticing all the same. The bra seamlessly cupped her perfect breasts, and the barely there thongs left little to the imagination. He was so fucked.
"Can I make it my screen saver?"
"No way, this is for your eyes only." She laughed. "I'm already breaking the rule as it is."
"What rule?" He asked with intrigue, still staring at the photo.
"To never send a dirty picture to a guy. It's like a guarantee that it will come back to bite you in the ass someday."
"Your secret is safe with me; I can promise you that." Damon chuckled at the admission.
Knowing that he was the only one that Elena opened up to in this way had him bursting with happiness, and pride. There was always that irrational, primal need within him to claim Elena in a way that no one ever had before. Damon did his best to subdue it. Being possessive and jealous wasn't something that he wanted to encourage, but every now and then these feelings floated to the surface.
"I'll just frame it." He teased with a smile, and a part of him was considering it.
"I'd love to see you try."
That was how fifteen minutes turned into an hour, and even that didn't seem long enough when it was time to hang up.
Looking around the room, Damon was greeted with the mess that he'd left behind in the morning. The sink was full of dishes, mainly because he forgot to unload the dishwasher the day before. There were a bunch of takeaway boxes cluttering the counters, empty water bottles scattered around the room, and it was time to take out the trash.
Underneath all the mess, the apartment was decent, there was a lot of free space and a view of the beach from the bedroom. There was also a small terrace overlooking the sea and when the evening rolled over, you could soak in the glory of the sunset. Right now, there was no one to enjoy it with, so Damon decided to leave that activity for another day.
Standing up with a heavy sigh, Damon strolled over to the scene of the crime and rolled up his sleeves, determined to make the place at least a bit presentable. He stood over the sink, scratching his head, feeling defeated before he even got started. Yeah, he needed to hire a housekeeper.
The first week of work flew by in the blink of an eye. The initial stress and worry over making a good first impression and fitting in had effectively turned to dust. Elena wasn't sure if it was the lack of free time to dwell on the small stuff or if she just settled in so well, but either way she was grateful that the process was a pleasant one.
It was Friday, which meant that they were all going out together after work, and Elena was looking forward to it. Getting to know the co-workers on a more of a personal level would be nice but hitting the bed at the end of the day was going to be the ultimate highlight. She was exhausted, even if she refused to show it.
Once five o'clock rolled over, Rebekah and Vicky grabbed Elena, and the three of them hopped into an Uber which took them to the designated spot. It was a popular hub for a pint after work on a Friday, with people eager to blow off some steam and ready to forget about work for the weekend.
The girls made their way up the stairs, where Rebekah had reserved a VIP area for the group. The place was already beginning to feel overcrowded, and it was hard to hear people talk over the loud music. Elena slid into the booth, shuffling down to make space for the rest of the group, when someone handed her a vodka-cranberry. This was her usual go-to drink, but she had no idea how this person knew that.
"It's good to have my drinking buddy back."
Elena gaped at the random guy, before realising that he wasn't all that random.
It was Stefan. He was gawking at her with a beaming smile, like he was happy to see her.
"I suppose it has been a while." Elena responded, and did her best to reciprocate the smile.
"I hear that you've joined the marketing department." Stefan was now sitting next to Elena, nursing a scotch on the rocks. "Welcome to the company."
"Yeah, I mean it's just a part time internship for now." She reached for the cocktail, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise after all. "Are you in the same department?"
"Nope, I'm in PR, 6th Floor."
Phew, that was a relief.
"You're more than welcome to stop by sometime." Stefan proposed with a suggestive look, to which Elena raised a brow.
"You do realise that I'm dating your brother?"
"Oh, that's still a thing?" He sounded surprised. "I assumed it was over, I mean, Damon's there, you're here. Rose is also there."
"I know that." Elena's lips pressed into a thin line.
Could the entire world stop reminding her of that for a minute? She was sick of hearing that name already.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come across as a jab at you."
"We both know who it was aimed at." She conceded with a nod. "Why don't you get along with your brother?"
"It's complicated." Stefan chuckled as his gaze drifted away. "I'll let Damon introduce you to the shit show that is the Salvatore clan."
Elena tried to work out the weird dynamic between them, but it was too messy to detangle. She couldn't place herself in either of their shoes, because her and Jeremy were closer than the average siblings. Losing both parents had a way of strengthening bonds. Given the circumstances, she didn't understand how some people could hold such hatred towards their own brother.
"It's none of my business what goes on between you two, but you could cut him some slack, Stefan." Elena sighed with resignation. "He cares about you."
"Yeah, did he tell you that?"
"Not so much in words." She rolled her eyes. "But I know for a fact that he doesn't talk shit about you behind your back, and it's not like you don't give him a reason not to."
"I don't know what you all see in him, but he sure has a way of wrapping every girl around his finger." He snickered. "But if you ever get tired of him, I'm just round the corner."
"You're an ass." She blew out a small breath and left the booth.
Getting along with Damon's family was clearly not in the cards for Elena.
"Ah-uh, Damon - the next one is on you." Alaric slammed down his glass, finishing another shot of tequila.
"Yeah, and who's carrying you back to your apartment? Cause it's not gonna be me." Damon watched with amusement as Alaric stumbled over his words.
"Rose, you'll take me in, won't you?" His body swayed involuntarily, and he nearly fell off the stool.
The brunette laughed, almost spitting out her drink. "Not a chance."
"You guys suck."
"Alright, let's get you to bed buddy." Damon sighed, tapping Alaric on the shoulder. "Have you seen Kai?" He turned to Rose.
Much to his surprise, she wasn't being a total nuisance this evening, and the four of them managed to have a laugh.
"Not since he was eyeing up that blonde at the bar." Rose walked over to the other side of Alaric and linked arms with him, trying to help him maintain a balance.
"So, looks like we're a man down." He rolled his eyes, searching around the club, but to no avail. "I can take care of this myself; you should head back to yours."
"Alaric is a handful on any given day, let alone drunk out of his mind."
There was some truth to that.
Damon chuckled. "Alright, this one's on you though."
They managed to drag Alaric back to his place, with some minor mishaps along the way and a whole lot of drunken talk that was indecipherable for the most part. His apartment was on the second floor and there was no elevator in the building, so making it up two flights of stairs proved to be quite the challenge. But, at last, they made it and after some fumbling with the keys, the door cracked open.
"Should we get him to bed?" Rose leaned against the wall, sounding a little out of breath.
Damon lifted Alaric's legs up onto the couch, and then placed an empty bucket on the floor next to him. Something told him that he was going to need it.
"He'll be fine here. Pass me a blanket?"
She nodded and went into the bedroom to look for one.
"I love you mate." Alaric mumbled sleepily, stuffing his face into the pillow.
"I'll remind you of that when you sober up."
"Here you go." Rose appeared by his side, holding a blanket.
"Thanks." Damon muttered out, and threw it over Alaric, who was already falling asleep.
"See, we're not so bad at this." She said, cocking her head to the side.
"At what?" He asked, confused.
"Being a team."
Damon laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You'll really take all the crumbs that you can get."
"Is that so wrong? Having hope?" She slowly walked up to Damon, cheeks flushed, and eyes set on him.
"It's stupid." He scrutinized her, trying to foresee the next move, but Rose seemed unpredictable right now. "You're wasting your time, Rose."
"Maybe I am." She bit into her lower lip. "Maybe I'm not."
"We're not getting back together."
"And what if I said that I wasn't interested in a relationship with you?"
"Then what do you want?"
"I want one last night with you." Rose whispered seductively, trailing a finger down his chest.
Elena quietly shut the front door behind her, careful not to wake Bonnie. She was finally back home, and so desperate to climb under the duvet. Once Stefan stopped being so broody, and she got to hang out with some other people, the evening wasn't so bad.
But there was one thing that had been bugging her the whole day, it was the first time in over a week that they didn't have their phone call. Damon was out for the evening, and she was out too, so it was fine, right?
Well, not really. She missed hearing his voice, was that crazy? Probably.
Going against the voice of reason, Elena tried to give him a call before going to bed, hoping for even just a minute of his time, but to her surprise, it went straight to voicemail.
A/N: Hi guys! Apologies this one took a little bit longer, I had my covid vaccine the other day and my arm was sore for a couple of days, and I'm also interviewing for a new job, so it's been a bit hectic. But, this one is a bit longer, so I hope that makes up for it :)
Thank you for your reviews, follows, favs, I'm so happy with the support for this story! And as for this chapter, what are your thoughts? Are we worried or do we trust Damon to do the right thing? ;)
Please leave a review, they are so appreciated! Love, Kaya xx