purplenicole@msn.com & weirdo with a computer-the only magic will be the magic between James and Lily (corny I know, but I don't think magic will fit into modern day NYC) gila3-don't kill me! Soojin, Eleanor, KatherineAshley, Empress Genevieve, KV, BEE-bee, Michelle, iouaname, the keeper of secrets, and zwizwi-thanks for all the support!
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author's note: Thanks for all the delightful reviews, they made my day. Since it's getting close to the end of the year, 26 more days of school before finals start, my teachers have been cramming and I've been studying so I don't flunk. This chapter is for all my reviewers, I love you guys to death!
disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Two Weeks Notice, besides the DVD. I don't own the oompa loompas either; I think they belong to Roald Dahl. The quote is from Red Dragon, which I think is the creepiest Hannibal Lecter film.
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You poor, sad multimillionaire
Chapter 3: "I need your opinion, now"
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The noise on the floor was getting on her nerves, didn't these people understand that noise pollution was as bad as cutting down a forest of trees? Obviously not. Phones were ringing constantly. She could hear the beep of the fax machine and Dorothy the polyester clad, near-sighted, bleached blonde, seventy-something secretary was talking way too loudly to her husband about things that gave Lily some nasty mental images. Above it all, James was nowhere to be found and she really needed him to sign the papers clearing the construction for the complex he was planning on building. On cue, he appeared holding two bottles of what appeared to be hair gel.
"James! There you are, I needed to talk to you about signing these papers…" Lily began. Before she could finish he grabbed them and signed every place she had marked.
"Uh, thanks." She murmured.
"Yeah, yeah. Now Lily I need your advice. Which one? The blue guarantees 24 hour hold, and the green says it doesn't give that nasty flaky look." James held each one up.
Lily wrinkled her nose. "Well both obviously have been tested on animals and the amount of chemicals in them is just atrocious. Why don't you just leave your hair the way it is I like it."
James looked as if the light bulb in his head had just lit up. "I've asked at least thirty people the same question and you're the only one to come up with that answer. Interesting. I think you're right I have to admit I do look quite dashing."
He looked around. "You're still on this floor? I must get you a new office."
"But…" Before Lily could protest he was already out of sight.
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[3 months later]
Lily plopped onto the burgundy leather couch. James fell into the seat beside her. He sat contemplating for a while before speaking.
"I rather like this one."
"Mhmm…" Lily murmured.
James turned to look at her. "You don't approve?"
"It's too…comfy." Lily said waving her hands for effort.
"What's wrong with comfy?" He asked one eyebrow raised.
"Nothing, but what if you fall asleep in your couch?"
"A couch is a very useful for things besides sitting and sleeping, in fact it's the next best place besides a bed to have s…" James began.
Lily threw her hands over her head and stood up. "No details James. No details."
Walking out of the store Lily asked, "Why is it you need a new couch again?"
"My wife had a tryst with her lawyer on it. I can never look at it the same way."
Lily groaned. "No details James. No details."
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Lily swirled her spoon around the vanilla ice cream mixing the chocolate sauce into it creating a dizzying pattern. James and her had decided to pay a visit to the area that was soon to be inhabited by both Lily's precious community center and the newest addition to Potter Corporation. Against her better judgment, she had allowed Abby to come along. James had brought Sirius and the two were getting along quite well. Suddenly a cherry dropped into her bowl.
"Fruit does not belong in dessert. The idea is absolutely preposterous." The British voice tickled her ear.
"I don't think you can really consider it a fruit after all the preservatives and things it's been put in." Lily replied biting off the cherry and depositing the stem on her napkin.
James glanced at Sirius and Abby who were involved in their own conversation. "They seem to be hitting it off fabulously."
"It's making me sick. Want a taste?" Lily asked holding up her spoon.
James obliged and continued. "I never took you for the touchy feely type. I think if a man brought you roses and expensive chocolates you'd close the door on him, throw out the roses and gorge on the chocolates."
Lily glared, he smirked. "Ugh. I'm really going to hurl." She said staring pointedly at the couple.
"Well I don't want to see the remnants of the two burritos and salad you just had so, care to give me a tour of your quaint town?" James said offering her an arm.
"Sure." They walked around talking and feeding off each other's ice cream before Lily led James to an old rooftop.
"Abby seems nice enough. Or at least Sirius seems to think so." James said staring down below at the girls playing jump rope.
Lily sighed. "She's like a sister to me."
"So what about your parents? Was your mother as terrifying as you?" He joked.
Lily looked suddenly downcast. "They both passed away before I graduated law school. My dad was a law professor down in the city and my mom taught law to high schoolers. We didn't really get along. She was always expecting something better than I had to offer. So I guess your right about the terrifying thing."
James gave her a small smirk. "It's good to know. I think I'd be extremely scared to know that you developed that glare by yourself."
Lily gave him a terse smile; maybe James Potter wasn't so bad after all.
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[1 month later]
The phone rang with a startling beep. Lily jumped awake and fumbled around dropping her alarm clock off the bed. She stared at the caller id, James. Glancing at her the eerie red glow of the fallen clock she looked at the time, 1:57, was he absolutely insane?
"James why are you calling me at two in the morning?"
"Oh good you're up Lily." Lily groaned.
"What is it?"
"I had a dream that I was being chased around by oompa loompas and then they put me in a barber's chair and started chanting and then they cut my hair! All of it I was bald, it was quite terrible." She could almost see him sitting in his bed sipping a glass of milk and listening to the machine that simulated the sound of the ocean, it was quite unnerving.
"James. Go to sleep. Oompa loompas don't exist. You still have all your hair on your head and you'll survive. We're meeting with your wife and her lawyer in the afternoon and I really, really need to sleep. So please, just listen to your machine think about sheep and cotton candy and lots of little bunnies." Lily said very irritated.
"But I'm scared of little bunnies, didn't I tell you about…" James began.
"Good night James." Lily said turning her cell off and flinging it across the room.
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Yay! That chapter's finished finally! In the next one, Lily will meet with James' ex, they'll go shopping, he'll call her out of the wedding and then we'll have her telling him she's leaving. Review please, I'm thinking like 40 reviews for the next post. I hope I'm not being greedy, enjoy the story and please, please give me feedback!
3 hailey