:This A/N was going to be me complaining about my friend beating me at chess yesterday afternoon. However, mother of god I beat her after one hour of playing! Woohoo!! Lol…and YES TOW The Reunion Part 11 will be posted in a couple of days…just working out the details.
And thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!
Disclaimer: Never done one of these before…um…I don't own Matty Perry (although I wish I did) or any members of the cast. lol
Rivals At First Sight Chapter 2 – Mistaken Identity One week later…"I have spread around all the posters so everyone should be going to your restaurant on the big day!" Phoebe told Chandler excitedly.
Sipping his coffee on the worn couch at Central Perk, Chandler looked worriedly at his friend. "You really think people will come?" he asked.
"Of course!" Phoebe assured him, "Why wouldn't they?" she frowned suddenly. "You haven't been reading the tabloids about that woman again have you?"
All week Monica had been talking the press daily about the reasons why Chandler's business would not be a good thing for people who wanted fine, good quality food. She described his menus as bland and unoriginal. Hurt by the comments at first, Chandler chose to ignore the articles but then after reading one particular quote from Monica saying his business intellect was 'ego-driven' he hit back with a vengeance. Going to his old reporter co-workers, he told them to go to Monica's restaurant and taste her soups. It resulted with a rather harsh review the next morning.
"Harsher than I wanted it to be," Chandler admitted to Phoebe now as he explained his problems, "There were some pretty nasty words in there."
"Well her soups are tasteless," Phoebe pointed out, "You get more flavour from plain rice!"
"Everyone has their faults." Chandler said quietly, "I can't even cook rice!"
"You're too nice for your own good!" Phoebe told him, shaking her head.
"Too nice?!" Chandler exclaimed, "Me?! We'll just see about that!"
*******
"This is slowly getting out of control now," Ross told Monica sternly. He gestured to the latest insults, this time from Chandler to Monica. He turned to his girlfriend Rachel, who was also Monica's roommate; "tell her!"
"I've already told her that Ross and she won't listen." Rachel replied, shrugging her shoulders.
Monica sighed. She knew Ross and Rachel were right but she couldn't help what she was doing. She was born to compete and, unknown to her brother and roommate, she was getting seriously worried about her business. The profits were still low, the assistant chef's were making inadequate food and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a decent recipe for a soup.
Monica didn't mean to choose Chandler as her target but the truth of the matter was, he was her main rival and she was dreading opening day of 'Something For Everyone' more than she cared to admit. It was going to hurt her business…and bad. She had secretly visited Chandler's other restaurant a few days ago and was given a huge surprise. The food was delicious, the waiters were polite and the prices affordable. If Chandler hadn't been a food critic, she would have seriously considered arranging a meeting with him to discuss the businesses they owned. However, she didn't like the reviews he used to make about her restaurant or his constant quips about her neurotic perfectionism that he made to the press. It made Monica angry and the only way she could handle that was declaring all out war. She just didn't realise that Chandler could play that game very well too.
"I'm not giving up!" Monica told Ross and Rachel, "We'll just see who comes out on top after I'm finished."
"Well this Chandler doesn't seem to want to give up either!" Rachel commented, reading the article, "He's very to the point…kind of like you."
"Chandler is nothing like me," Monica protested, "I'm a professional chef…he's a guy who just wants to make money out of other people! He can't even cook." She snickered.
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Ok Mon, so he can't cook, but he's a very good businessman. I visited his other restaurant a couple of months ago and he's very good…"
"You ate at his restaurant?!" Monica demanded, shocked.
"Um…well, yeah." Rachel said cautiously, looking guilty.
"I can't believe you ate there," Monica said, hurt, "He's the enemy…that's going behind my back."
"I didn't go behind your back Mon…"
"Ok let's just calm down here," Ross interrupted, looking nervously between the two women.
Monica folded her arms. "Fine, I won't say another word." She muttered.
"Look Mon, I know he said some pretty bad things about your food in the past but you don't even know what Chandler looks like! There's never been a picture of him in the paper!" Rachel gestured to the article, "You don't know the guy and he doesn't know you."
Monica shrugged, "I wouldn't speak to the guy even if I did meet him." She said.
******
Chandler walked around the inside of his new restaurant. It was still only half finished but he loved how it was starting to look already. He was aiming for country house style with stonewalls, wooden floorboards and tables. It would be cosy and traditional with modern facilities.
"Oh wow…" Phoebe whispered behind him, "This is going to be great!"
"The food will be good I hope!" Joey added.
"Of course Joey!" Chandler told him, laughing. He walked back outside and stared around the location. "This is going to be perfect! We're right opposite Central Perk, just a few blocks from the park…perfect location." He nodded, satisfied. He raised his eyebrows a little as he thought of Monica's restaurant. He walked down the street and turned a corner. "You know I think it's time to visit 'Geller's Cuisine'." He said. He turned to his friends. "I'll see you guys later."
"Ok, we'll be in Central Perk," Phoebe said. She and Joey walked away.
Chandler walked up to the entrance of the restaurant and peeked in through the window. To his surprise, the furnishings matched his own tastes and ideas for his own restaurant. "Maybe she isn't such a wacko after all," Chandler muttered, walking in. He looked around him and saw the cleanliness of the area. Monica obviously was a perfectionist in that too.
He walked around the tables and went up to a waiter. "Hi," he greeted, "Can I speak to Monica Geller please?"
"Um…for any particular reason?" the waiter asked.
"I just wanted to meet the chef." Chandler replied, shrugging his shoulders.
A few minutes later, Chandler saw a beautiful young woman with shoulder length dark brown hair pulled back into a bun walking up to him. That couldn't be her, Chandler told himself in disbelief, could it?
The woman smiled and held out her hand to him. "I'm Monica Geller and I own this restaurant," she explained, "What was it you wanted to see me about?"
Chandler found he had nothing to say. He was completely bowled over by the beauty and…politeness…of Monica. He couldn't believe this was the same woman who had been trash talking about him to the press. "Um…er…I'm Joey!" he blurted out, thinking of the first name that popped into his head.
"Hi Joey," Monica greeted, shaking his hand.
"Um…just wanted to say what a nice place you've got here." Chandler told her, swallowing hard.
Monica smiled at him, "Thank you." she said.
"So…um…I'll get going now." Chandler said quickly. He started to walk towards the door, still staring at Monica. He bumped into a chair and winced. He blushed at Monica, who was looking like she wanted to laugh. He waved and walked out. He walked down the street, back around the corner and leaned against a wall breathing hard. "Stop it Chandler," he told himself sternly, "She may be beautiful on the outside but she's a devil on the inside."
****
The next morning…"Cute guy…" Rachel murmured to herself, looking at the newspaper in front of her. "Look at this Mon…" She turned to Monica, who was stirring her cereal in a daydream. She smiled and shook her head, "Are you still thinking about that guy at the restaurant?" she asked.
Monica snapped her head up and blushed. "Um…well…"
Rachel laughed, "He was obviously very cute for you to keep dreaming about him like this." She commented.
"Oh he had these gorgeous blue eyes." Monica sighed, "…and the most perfect teeth when he smiled…"
"Um…Mon…did this guy have wavy brown hair with a little quiff at the top?" Rachel asked.
"Yes…" Monica looked at her friend in surprise, "Why?"
"Because I'm looking at a picture right now that fits that description." Rachel replied, showing Monica the paper. "It looks like your 'Joey' isn't what he seems…mistaken identity perhaps?" she grinned.
"He's Chandler?!" Monica exclaimed in shock.
END OF CHAPTER TWO:What is Monica's reaction after? Lol find out soon. Becca I know you wanted that other plot, but I think you'll still like this version!: