Outlook on Life

Chapter 5:

Damon

Damon groaned out loud at the sound of his alarm signalling it was 3 am and time to get to work. Normally he would just crash on his couch at work but today was one of those days he came home for a few hours of sleep. He ran a hand over his sleepy face and into his raven black hair as he tried to remember the events of last night.

He had gotten back from his business trip to DC yesterday morning; where he was sent on behalf of Salvatore INC. to begin the operations for their new DC office. The meetings were long and required signing more contracts than he had the patience for. All he'd wanted to do the entire trip was get back to his New York office and work on the major merger company he was managing.

His father hadn't been surprised to see him at the office straight from the plane ready to get back to work. However, one of the only non work related conversations his father has had with him in the past 5 years was a lecture. Damon painfully recalled the rant his father went on yesterday as he warned Damon about becoming a workaholic and loosing his humanity in the corporate world. Apparently it's been years since his father had seen him actually happy; what dear ole' dad wasn't understanding though, is that work does make him happy.

'Go on a date, find love, meet a nice woman and settle down' Giuseppe had said 'you spend all your time at work and you'll lose your humanity son' his father warned despite Damon protests that love wasn't in the card for him. Agreeing for the sake of escaping his fathers long winded rants, Damon had gone out drinking scoffing at the way his father didn't understand him. The future he sees for himself involves taking over the company one day...not getting married or settling down.

The bar Damon had gone too last night wasn't very crowded and he'd been able to sit there drinking for an hour before being hit on. Two blondes started flirting with him and even though he was snappy and pissed off they didn't pay his rudeness much attention; after all he is The Damon Salvatore. The most famous and successful business man in New York, known for being a gorgeously sexy single man...that kind of reputation drew attention!

The sex was good and he sure as hell had needed a good fuck, but Damon was eager to get back to work.

After rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes Damon got dressed in his expensive light grey suit and left for work. He was always one of the first people to arrive, even his father had refused to arrive before 5am unless it was an emergency.

Getting in at this time though meant he could avoid all morning rush traffic getting into the business district of the constantly busy city. 3.30 on the dot he walked into his office bypassing his secretary. "Jules, I need you to make time for me to go see Stephen at the bar" he barked at her, essentially hurrying her through her reading out of his current schedule. He was thoroughly annoyed when he'd gotten the call from his brother who was suspiciously vague about the new bartender he'd hired.

Damon had checked out the status reports from the bar and whoever this bartender was, they were doing a hell of a job in raising the average amount of customers in the bar as well as the frequency of drinks being made per hour. His brother had to have gotten a real professional bartender for that kind of improvement. However, the vagueness whenever they discussed this bartender was slightly worrying.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore" Jules rushed her answer before making a swift exit from his office and heading back out to her desk that sat near the outside of his office door.

The day's work went well; a few fuck up's that needed to be fixed in their business contracts but nothing major. A knock at his office door had him briefly taking his eyes off of work for the first time all day. "Mr. Salvatore" Jules tiny voice sounded as she opened the door and timidly entered his office.

God, he hated it when people were shy! But it's the kind of behaviour his reputation as ruthless businessman demanded to keep employees in check.

"Yes, Jules?" he asked politely seeing her blush as soon as they made eye contact. He loved the effect that he had on women, there hasn't been a straight woman he'd met that didn't find him attractive or react whenever his crystal blue eyes met her's.

"It's 7 pm and you wanted me to let you know when you should go down to the Salvatore bar" she reminded him. Shit! time to find out who this mystery bartender is...Surely he'd have her entire life's story by the time he'd finished his first drink, Damon thought smugly.

Damon grabbed his suit jacket and headed down the stairs to the black SUV where his chauffeur was waiting, ready with the destination. When he and his brother were younger, 17 years old, they used their first investment profits to open up a bar/ restaurant. Since, Damon went into the family business Stephen handles the bar on his own mostly. But there was something his brother wasn't telling him about this bartender and he wanted to know what exactly it was.

When the driver opened the passenger door for him, he stepped out and headed straight for the bar; Pushing open the front door his eyes automatically went to the woman bartending.

He could only see her side profile but from those curves of her ass, he could already tell she was hot. He let his eyes roam across her body he made his way over to take a seat on one of the empty stools. She was wearing a leather jacket and tight denim jeans. The jeans clung to her ass, shaping her body perfectly and he finally understood what women were talking about when they said they wished they had the perfect hourglass figure.

For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He watched as she worked at mixing the drinks with ease. She reached over the bar handing one of the customers his drink, giving Damon the perfect view of her white camisole shirt, that from his angle revealed her large breasts.

"What's your poison?" she asked before turning to look at him expectantly. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and she was looking at him like he were any other customer. Everyone in New York knows who he is and usually that demands a certain level of respect and special treatment. "Look" she snapped at him obviously annoyed at his lack of response "Your not the only person here, so either you tell me what you want or you go sit somewhere else so I can serve actual customers" Her retort was rude and left no room for argument as she stood, one hand on her hip and a soft glare pointed his way.

"Bourbon lime" he replied easily and she nodded, returning to mixing with ease. Normally even someone who happened to not know who he was would get their heads bitten off for speaking to him the way she just did. He didn't know why, but he liked that she obviously didn't know who he was.

But something gave him the feeling even if she did, she wouldn't treat him any differently...she's too badass!

Damon watched her make his drink expertly, as if she'd done it a thousand times before. It was a seemingly simple drink to make, but often inexperienced or careless bartenders got it horribly wrong. This woman looked like she knew what she was doing though "Whats your name?" he couldn't help but ask as he watched a slight smirk start on her lips "Wouldn't you like to know" was her instant snark and he had to fight a smile at that.

Something about her though was familiar and it was bothering him that he couldn't place her face to a name.

Damon waited at the bar for an hour, sipping his drink and assessing the way she worked and mover around the bar, it was a mesmerising sight. What he was enjoying more though, was the brutal rejections she'd been dishing out all night. At first it had made his blood boil hearing random men hit on her every damn 5 seconds, only he wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, she was beautiful.

"Come on Baby" the douche-bag at the bar pleaded for the tenth time in the last 20 minutes "I'm not asking for a relationship...just one night" the guy insisted again and Damon had found himself enjoying the man's flat out rejection.

He watched as for the first time all night, the hot ass bartender leaned closer to the guy with a suggestive smirk and Damon felt his grip on the glass tighten at the thought of her taking him up on his offer. "Listen up, baby" she purred in the direction of the guy but it was loud enough for Damon and a few others at the bar to overhear hear.

The guy leaned closer eagerly listening to whatever she had to say as he practically drooled over her "One night with me isn't enough" she stated matter-of-factly and Damon didn't doubt that for a second "You might not do relationships now, but I'd own you before you could even get me out of my clothes" she wiggled her eyebrows at him "After just one round you'd be on your knees begging for more than a night... of course, I can't make that commitment, so...I'd refuse and leave you heartbroken" as she said heartbroken her hand went to his face and with one finger she caressed his cheekbone and the douche-bag practically melted at her touch "all that heartbreak" she continued sounding genuinely upset with a small pout "I just couldn't do that to you" With that she pulled her hand away gently "it's not you it's me. I think you should go"

Damon thought he saw a tear in the guys eye as he nodded dutifully, getting up from the bar "I'll always love you" he said before walking out the bar, throwing a sad look back at the bartender as he did so. Damon was sure his mouth was hanging open in shock as her hand flew to her mouth to muffle the laughter "Jeez" she let out a breath calming herself down and returning to mixing drinks and serving customers as if nothing had happened.

He felt the smirk on his face grow after watching her little performance... she really was something else. "I think you broke his heart anyway" Damon chuckled and she turned to face him with a smug smirk "He'll get over it" she shrugged.

It was then that Damon heard his hero hair brothers disappointed sigh from across the bar. The woman turned around raising her hands in the air in mock surrender "I promise I only made one guy cry this morning and then the other left disappointed... it was only those two... I'm doing a lot better today, I'm really trying to be nice" she jumped straight into an explanation making Damon wonder how often these things happened to the woman.

"I know your trying Elena" Stephen sighed loudly pinching the bridge of his nose obviously not realising Damon was sat at the bar yet. "maybe this wasn't a good idea-" Stephen started but she cut him off "Come on Stephen, I'll do anything, I need this job... I'll wear a great big sweater if it helps" she offered and Damon couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth.

Stephens eyes snapped to Damon's "brother" Damon greeted and Elena leaned back against the bar watching them both curiously "bartender you hired has a slight attitude problem" He laughed watching Stephen sigh with a nod.

"Uh hello" Elena's sarcastic voice drew their attention to her "bartender with the apparent attitude problem" she said pointing to herself "is standing right here!" Elena huffed.

"Yes and she also was supposed to be clocking out for the night" Stephen reminded her and Elena grabbed Damon's wrist to check his watch "shit!" She exclaimed jumping the bar and then it clicked in Damon's mind from where he remembered her - the train station: she pushed him in front of a guard to get away. "Thanks Stephen" she waved over her shoulder, practically running out of the bar with her stuff.

"We should talk in the back about this" Stephen said and Damon nodded his agreement, silently following his brother into a small office in the back of the building. He sat down in one of the chairs as his brother sat on the edge of the desk. "look, Damon" Stephen sighed "she's a great worker... the amount of men that come in here and hit on her is more than I've had with any of my other bartenders" his brother said rubbing a hand over his stressed face "I'll admit she is crude and quite inappropriate in her responses, on occasion I've had a few men cry" Stephen chuckled lightly at that and he couldn't help but do the same imagining the sight "but, she's trying not to snap at them. Today we only had two incidents which is significantly less than when she first started working here"

"You don't want to let her go?" he questioned seeing his brothers statement was more in defence of Elena than anything else. "No" Stephen agreed and he nodded accepting that. By the surprised look Stephen now wore he guessed that wasn't what his brother had expected him to say, and in all honesty he wasn't sure what was so different about this woman.

"She stays" he confirmed.

Walking into the bar right on 7 pm Damon smiled when he saw Elena giving a customer hell. Probably for asking her out, he thought. He wasn't sure what made him do it, but every night for the past few weeks at the same time, he would get off work early and come down to the bar hanging out and drinking while Elena worked.

"Hey Elena" He greeted taking a seat at the bar and she smiled up at him making him feel weak in the knees. He didn't know what it was or why but there was something about Elena that he just felt drawn to.

"Stephen's in his office working tonight" she informed him and although he didn't care, he nodded at the information offering a small thanks because that was the reason he had told her for all his visits and why he stayed until closing when her shift ended.

"Thanksgiving is coming up" he mentioned and she only gave a simple uninterested look; but it was his way of asking if she was with somebody. He thought she would be like most women and go into all her plans for the special holidays. Then again he should have remembered by now the Elena was NOT like most women.

Before he got the chance to pry any further she picked up his hand off of the counter and checked his watch. He secretly loved it when she did that, he loved the way her hand held his and the thought made him laugh at her lack of boundaries. No other person would dare touch his hand like that and it made him glad she didn't know who he or his family really were. In her eyes he was just Stephen's brother, not some rich CEO of one of the most powerful companies in New York.

"When the fuck is Liam gonna get his ass in here" She grumbled out loud slamming a glass down on the table harshly. When Elena was mad it was hot as hell, but it also filled him with a mixture of fear and amusement. Although Damon was sure if her anger was ever trained on him the amusement he felt now would be long gone.

"Who?" he questioned watching her mix him his drink with a frown on her face. Elena answered without even looking up from what she was doing "Liam was supposed to be here for his shift 20 minutes ago and i'm stuck here until he gets his skinny ass in here" she grumbled sounding royally pissed off

"Relax baby" he tried to sooth not seeing what the big deal was since he quite liked it when he got to sit and talk to her while she worked.

"Baby?" a voice cut through his thoughts and his eyes snapped up to the woman standing on the other side of the bar smirking at Elena. The woman was slightly taller then Elena and had lighter skin, but they both had long brown hair. The woman had her hair curled and wore a red V neck shirt that displayed her obviously fake boobs for all to see.

"Baby my ass" Elena smiled back at the woman he assumed she must know, since Elena didn't seem defensive around her, which he noticed she was always tense around people she didn't know. "How late am I, Kat?" Elena asked and Kat gave her a sad smile "Shit!" she cursed "When Liam gets here he better pray that I don't have an extra 5 minutes to throttle him" she hissed loudly and Damon couldn't help but feel bad for the guy who was going to be on the receiving end of her anger.

"Elena" Kat said with a hint of warning and urgency in her tone that only served to make him more interested in their conversation "You know what Seth is going to do if your late" she reminded her and Elena nodded without saying a word.

"Who's Seth?" he asked curiously and both women's heads snapped to him "Mind your own business" they hissed at him in unison and Damon wondered if they were sisters or something; But he said nothing, just watched their tense conversation from his spot at the bar. Elena's friend Kat checked her phone for the time, looking slightly terrified "Elena, We have to go.. like now!" the slight panic in her voice made him raise a brow as he listening in on their conversation "I can make it, but your already late" Kat continued.

Elena turned to him "Can you go tell Stephen that I have to go now and that I'm gonna need him to cover the rest of Liam's shift?" she asked and although Damon wanted to know what had the woman in a sense of urgency and Panic? he reluctantly got up and went to find his brother.

Stephen was sitting at his desk in the back room office when Damon entered. He instantly noticed his brother looking over pages of information for his other business ventures, Stephen looked stressed and tiered "Elena needs you to cover the rest of Liam's shift... she's late for something important and he hasn't shown up yet"

Stephen who's eyes had stayed downcast at the papers in front of him shot up and a frown graced his brothers face "No, Liam called to tell me... I just forgot to tell Elena but I need her here" Stephen told him and from the conversation the girls had, Damon didn't think that was an option "Brother I don't think she'll stay, whatever it is seems really important" He tried to tell his brother when he got up out of his chair and headed out to the bar where Elena and Kat were waiting.

Damon followed silently behind his brother but from the look on Stephen's face Damon knew he was not going to budge.

"Oh, Thank god" Elena sighed in relief but Stephen held up a dismissive hand to silence her. She stood with a frown on her face obviously not liking the fact that he did that, but she remained silent waiting for him to speak.

"You can't go" Stephen said in a tone that told everyone it was final "I need you here to finish Liam's shift, i'm busy with paperwork"

"No, I can't Stephen" Elena shook her head at him in protest "I stayed longer to wait for him but I'm beyond late and i'll get my ass handed to me for it already" she tried to change his mind but Stephen cut her off "Look, Elena" Stephen sighed "You don't stay, then you don't come back" he snapped "I suggest you stay because I don't think you could land a job this good again"

Damon stool feeling guilty, he knew his brother had purposely said something hurtful because he was stressed with his failing business ventures; but that was harsh. He wasn't entirely sure what his brother had meant by that, since Elena had made it clear to him that she didn't like people knowing more about her than she was ready to tell. So, he never looked at her records which would show all the employment history she declared and criminal record.

"Lena, you can't stay" Kat begged and Elena ran a stressed hand through her hair "I have to Kat, you go and don't worry about buying me time because it will only get you in shit too... I'll be fine, but I can't loose this job" Elena assured her friend who hesitated in leaving, before bolting right out the door.

"What was that?" He questioned but Elena ignored him and instead continued serving the customers waiting at the bar "Elena?" Damon asked again only receiving a shrug from her.

"It's nothing, everything's fine" she assured him, he didn't buy it for a second, but reluctantly he let it go; knowing she wasn't going to say anything more than that if she didn't want to.

After going home at the end of Elena's shift, Damon found himself for the first time in years genuinely worried about someone else. He didn't understand his feelings towards the woman or what they meant. He knew that although she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; his feelings were more than his usual 'I just wanna fuck you' feelings, but he couldn't place it. It was something he had never felt before.

And that slightly scared him.

.