Outlook on Life

Chapter 10:

Elena

Elena had moved into her new apartment yesterday. After sharing her story last week with everyone and answering Lexi's questions, she'd found herself with new determination to get out of that apartment. Looking at her black duffel bag sitting in the corner of the room Elena realised that maybe, moving in, wasn't really the right word. The total of her belongings fit nicely, with extra room, in that black duffel bag she'd had for over 5 years now and all that's inside is clothing.

Getting away for Tyler meant spending the rest of that week non stop working. Stephen easily allowed her to work in the kitchen during the days and then take afternoons off where she worked at the Electric Pony before going back to the bar for her night shift mixing drinks. The extra 'services' rush time at the Electric Pony had made her enough extra cash to secure this apartment for the next two months, in advance.

It was exhausting and it meant making sure she brought Tyler home a few alcohol bottles to keep him sated, but it was well worth it in the end.

Yesterday when she sent out a group message announcing that she finally had enough money to rent her own apartment and leave Tyler they had all been extremely happy for her. The apartment is smaller than Tyler's, it's all one open space. Like a hotel room. The room has kitchen appliances sitting on a bench attached to the far wall and the only closed off space is the bathroom, the rest is one big bedroom. The walls are an off white almost cream colour that needed to be washed down and the carpet was a matching cream colour. It smells weird but after a little cleaning and spray of perfume it was defiantly the best apartment she'd ever lived in.

Currently she was sleeping on the floor until she could make enough money to buy a mattress which she was almost able to afford. So far, she had managed to successfully disappear from Tyler's life just like she had planned to. The only place he would be able to find her was if he showed up to the Salvatore Bar.

And if he did, she wouldn't be taking any of his shit now that she didn't need him too put a roof over her head.

Although, that didn't mean she hadn't been keeping an eye out for him or anyone else following her, everyday coming to her apartment from the one place she knew he could find her. Elena made sure to take back routes to her apartment making it impossible for someone to follow her.

Elena grabbed her bag and headed out the door for her shift at the bar. She arrived on time and smiled to herself when she saw Damon sitting at the bar waiting for her "Hey" she smiled walking past him, taking off her jacket and storing it behind the bar with her bag.

"Hey, Elena" Damon smiled back and she instantly started mixing his drink for him, his was always the first drink she made when her shifts started each night. Pouring the drink in a glass she handed it to him and they continued their casual chats like they did every other night for the past four and a half months.

When Damon's phone rang he answered with an annoyed sigh, obviously arguing with someone on the phone and so Elena mixed him another drink knowing he would need it. After the party Damon filled her in on his families social status and what it all meant; Damon and his father were business Tycoon's for Giuseppe Inc, what she hadn't realised was that their money came with fame. Damon was in business magazines and talked about in gossip articles. Apparently he's known as the bachelor of business, this not being a good thing, is taking away from the businesses exposure.

"Whats wrong" She asked when he hung up with a grunt and rested his head on the bar. Elena placed her and on his shoulder giving it a squeeze in support and he sat back up with a sigh and sipped his drink.

"PR guys from the company want me to start showing up with a date to social events...it'll get rid of my player rep and bring positive talk to the company and it's CEO's if it looks like i'm dating someone" he admitted and Elena nodded knowing that would make sense but she didn't understand why he seemed so annoyed about it.

"Well then what's the problem?" she wondered and he just shrugged swirling his drink around before admitting what the problem was "Since I'm still single, they want to hire someone basically to stand next to me at events the whole time... and because of my job in the company sometimes a date might hear sensitive information, as you know" he paused taking a large gulp of his drink "Whoever it is will have to sign a contract"

Elena didn't miss the odd way he seemed slightly embarrassed about that; In her line of work Escorts weren't uncommon and certainly something normal to find in the business world.

With a sigh Elena leaned in closer to him "It's nothing to be embarrassed about" she added "I might know someone who can help you out" she admitted and Damon raised an eyebrow at that "Your company wants to hire you an escort and I know someone who has contacts in the industry" she said a part truth, not wanting a respectable man like him to find out about her not so respectable activities.

"Really?" Damon questioned not even attempting to hide his surprise and Elena gave him a simple nod in confirmation.

"When I was younger" Elena started a little unsure of whether or not she should tell him about this story since she keeps so much of her life a secret from him. Deciding to confide in him anyway she continued "I met this man, he wasn't a business man per se" she pursed her lips for a moment, thinking about Elijah's mafia dealings and whether or not that qualified him as a business man or not. "But he was an important guy and he was my friend and I liked getting all dressed up in the fancy dresses he bought so I let him take me out to his clubs and introduce me as his girlfriend...it was easier for him to do business if he had a girlfriend and didn't have to worry about getting hit on or the other person trying to distract him"

"You were an escort?" Damon gaped at her, mouth open and staring in shock but she quickly shook her head at him. She hadn't been paid, it was simply helping a friend. She'd never had sex with Elijah and never accepted money from him the only think Elena got from joining him was friendship and entrance to a good party when the meeting was done.

"No!" she hissed back at him, it was the one thing she hated being compared too...a whore. What she did was very different from that and even if it had been the same, there was nothing wrong with being an escort and the negative names surrounding it only served to grate her nerves. "I wasn't paid and I didn't have sex with him" she said glaring at Damon "I'm not a whore Damon I was just helping out a friend" With that clarification Damon's face softened, looking almost ashamed for his strong reaction.

That didn't make Elena's annoyance disappear, only shift as she realised he'd never be able to accept her for who she was if he was ever to find out - which she would make sure he never did. Giuseppe had raised him sheltered from the harshness or the world and it's injustices; that perspective and open-mindedness would allow him to understand.

"Well I'm not looking for an escort" Damon announced quietly "I don't want sex or some working girl to accompany me, I need a friend who's willing to do me a favour" he said a little slowly as if he were unsure about how'd she react to that, but Elena chose to ignore his odd tone and poured him another drink before returning to her other customers.

Elena was sound asleep in bed on her day off. Today she wasn't working at all and allowing herself one day of the month to lounge around. But of course the world had other ideas when the loud sound of her phone blared through the small apartment. With a groan she picked it up and held it to her ear not recognising the number "What?!" she snapped, a deadly grumble that surprised even her, hearing a familiar chuckle on the other end. With her brain half asleep it took her a minute to place the voice "Damon?"

"Hey Elena" Damon answered still laughing lightly "Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" he teased

"No someone woke up to her phone ringing and a sarcastic jackass calling her and not getting to his damn point fast enough" she replied instantly and a little bluntly but Damon was used to it by now and only seemed to find it amusing.

"It's 10am Elena, wake the fuck up" he teased before turning serious "So about what you told me at the bar last night..." he trailed off pausing for a little and she sat up with a confused frown.

"What about it?"

"Well...I was talking to my lawyers and PR people, they suggested if I had someone who I knew I could trust I should ask them first since I wasn't really interested in hiring an escort or an actor" he admitted sounding a little sheepish but Elena wasn't too sure what this had to do with her.

"So what does that have to do with me? you couldn't have waited until tomorrow to rant at me?" she teased despite her slight confusion

Damon chuckled again "Well I was wondering since your not all that bad company at these boring event's if you'd go with me instead of me hiring an actor?" he asked and she was glad he couldn't see her because it was way too early in the morning for her to hide the surprise on her face.

"Damon" she sighed "It's not that I don't want to help you out, it's that I can't...I work two jobs and today is my only day off in the past 6 months. I go from your brothers bar to my other job then back again, I get about 2 hours of not working a day and I spend it travelling between the two places" she explained "I wouldn't even be able to find time to go with you and I can't afford not to work"

The line was silent for a while when neither of them spoke, she waited patiently for his response but not without checking he hadn't hung up on her already.

"What if the company pays you?" he finally spoke but it wasn't what she had been expecting him to say "I mean, they were going to have to pay an actor who no doubt would have wanted an unreasonable amount...your not a leech like anyone they'd hire so you'd be happy with a reasonable amount, the dresses are already provided by the PR people and my driver would pick us up so you wouldn't have to pay for anything" he explained and the deal didn't sound too bad but Elena wasn't understanding why he wanted to convince her in the first place.

"I don't understand Damon" she sighed softly again "Why are you trying to convince me? surely an actor would be better at this? you don't have any friends who'd help you out? like one who already goes to fancy event's or at least has better people skills?"

Damon paused again letting them both sit in the silence before he answered "I like you" he admitted but she had already known that - they are friends after all.

"i know" she mocked him and the words he had said to her after she went to the first party with him "I'm good company at the boring events-" Damon cut her off "No Elena, I like you as in I want to get to know you...I want to take you out on a date"

"Oh" She replied lamely "I don't know Damon, there's so much you don't know about me and your not going to like what you find out... trust me you don't want to go there with me, i'm not good for you" she sighed knowing what she was saying was the truth; oddly enough she found that she wasn't to eager to reject him like she normally would have been if it were any other guy.

"You know I figured as much" he chuckled into the phone only confusing her more "I mean what woman who has nothing to hide refuses to tell you where she lives, or give you her number, or tell you about her past...But the thing is... I don't actually care about anything you have to hide, I really like you and I want to get to know you good and bad" he announced "Please, just come to these events with me and we'll see how it goes... you can always end the contract if it doesn't work out"

With a loud huff of annoyance and an eye roll she sighed letting him know how much she was annoyed with him right now "Fine" she relented "What do you need me to do?"

After a quick shower Elena curled her hair into loose curls and dressed herself in her usual style of clothing: Black ripped skinny jeans, a red camisole top with matching high heel boots and her signature leather jacket. Looking in the bathroom mirror she smiled knowing that she looked good.

Still not willing to let Damon or anyone know where she lives, Elena met him and his driver at the Salvatore bar.

"I'm happy your willing to do this" Damon smiled at her as she approached him from where he was leaning against the side of the black SUV car. Elena simply rolled her eyes at him and followed him into the back of the car as they drove him back to his work office.

The building was as huge as she remembered when she came here for his office party. The building was 30 floors and covered in slick grey glass windows. The inside was buzzing with people all looking they're on a mission as they walk around the lobby and in and out of the elevators. Unlike the other people security guards didn't stop Damon to see his ID instead they gave him a small nod as he bypassed security.

"This way" he held out a hand leading her into the elevator which stuck to the chic' slick grey, black and white modern colour scheme the building had going on. When the Elevator doors opened on the 20th floor it was even busier than the lobby, except this floor had cubical's and offices lining the outer sides of the rooms. Damon led the way to one of the offices in the back of the large building's floor. The glass walls and door revealing a man sitting at a larger table, obviously not an office, more like a small meeting setup.

The man smirked at Damon as they entered and he stood up from where he had been seated shuffling through papers. "Damon" the man offered a small nod.

Damon smiled at the man before turning back to me "This is our PR lawyer Kol Mikaelson and he's gonna go through all the paperwork the company needs you to sign...i'll come back after my meeting with the Donovan lawyer, but if your done before me and need to go" Damon said turning back to the man standing outside the glass door "That's Jerry and he'll walk you out and drop you off wherever" Elena nodded at Damon's explanation as he turned to give Kol a nod before leaving.

"Alright Elena, let's get started" Kol smiled at her speaking with a thick British accent that reminded Elena of Klaus, and gesturing for her to take a seat opposite him which she did. Sliding a few thick documents in front of her, "Do you have nay questions before we start going through all these requirements?" he asked

"Ah, yeah" she nodded "Completely irrelevant to this...but by any chance would you be related to Klaus Mikaelson?" Kol looked taken aback for a minute before his smile brightened.

"Your that Elena" he pointed a finger at her "My brother did mention you" he paused in thought for a moment "My brother found that calming technique you showed him helps when he gets overwhelmed" Kol nodded and she smiled proud and happy at the progress Klaus has made over the past few months.

"Anyway, sorry I just had to ask" she said turning her attention back to the documents in front of her as he did the same. After an hour of explaining everything expected of her and all the requirements she would need to follow Elena was ready to sign the damn things and get out of here.

"...I understand in your line of work" Kol paused with his lips pursed and a disappointing frown on his face he continued "That you might feel inclined to sleep with Mr. Salvatore but I'm here to explain to you on record that it is in no way required or a part of the job"

"My line of work?" she echoed with a deep frown of her own "I'm not a whore" Elena clarified bluntly but Kol didn't look convinced which only pissed her off more.

"What you choose to call yourself is your own business" he added curtly "We are going to have to submit you to an intense background check but this won't be something you can use as future references for similar escort work"

"You've been making comments the entire time and I sure as hell don't find it amusing" Elena snapped at him, her arms folded over her chest "I'm not a whore and I'm no escort. Damon asked me to keep him company and when I said I couldn't afford to miss work he offered this" she said gesturing to the piles of paper "I'm helping out a friend not joining an escort service" she finished bluntly shooting him a glare.

"Anyway" Kol continued, a condescending look on his face "We need you to sign this document" he said pointing to the one he had just placed in front of her "To say you won't work in any form of the same type of service you provide within the city for at least a year after your contract with Mr. Salvatore is finished" he said continuing with his assumption she was an escort despite her out right refusal.

"I'm not signing this" Elena hissed at him "Because I'm not an escort or a prostitute or a whore...I'm helping out a friend who asked me" she said uncrossing her arms in from of her chest at the same time Kol leaned forward.

"Look" he sighed loudly, looking at her as if she were a stupid child, a look she'd received too many times growing up "I get I'm a lawyer and your kind of work isn't exactly legal, but I'm not an idiot...Just cut the crap and sign the damn thing" he snapped shoving another paper in front of her face before she could respond. "Your earning 5 thousand dollars to attend each event"

Elena looked down at the sheet of paper outlining her payment and she shook her head looking back up at Kol "5 thousand dollars for one event?" she echoed her lip turning up in disgust and her frown deepening as he sighed loudly. "You can't pay me 5 thousand for one event" she refused not liking the fact there was so much money for sitting bored at a table smiling at people for a few hours... it's too much. She earned that much a week and there was no was Elena was willing to accept that much money.

Kol stood up looking smug as if he had just caught her doing something wrong "Elena" he smiled down at her condescendingly and she stood up as well not liking letting him think he could talk down on her "We had expected your reaction to be like that and the company is willing to go up to 8 thousand an event for your.." he paused and looked her up and down with disgust "Services".

Elena didn't wait another minute to be insulted like that and yanked open the glass door before turning back to a surprised looking Kol who had followed her out "You can take your money and shove it up your ass because I sure as hell won't be doing shit for you or this company tell Damon he can find someone else and for your sake Kol, I hope you realise what a self righteous ass you are" she said bluntly and a little too loud since she now had the attention of most people in near enough to hear.

The security guard who was trying to keep a straight face at the way she told Kol off, she looked at him expectantly and he led her to the elevators and down out of the building to Damon's car. "No thanks" Elena refused "I'll find my own way, I want nothing to do with this anymore" she announced before turning on her heels and walking down the street knowing a good walk in the busy city area will calm her down.

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Damon

"Alright" Damon said standing up and buttoning the button on his suit jacket again as he stood and shook the hand of the Donovan's lawyer. "It was a pleasure meeting you again, my office will have those changes made to the agreement" he confirmed spotting Kol waiting outside the office.

Obviously he was finished with Elena quickly since it had only been an hour and a half but Damon had kind of expected her to just sign it without really reading it too much. That's why he had made sure he read it first. Leading the Donovan's lawyer out of the office he smiled before inviting Kol in who was looking annoyed but sometimes Elena was blunt and someone like Kol who was not used to being spoken back to or questioned would get annoyed easily by her.

Damon took his seat behind his desk looking at Kol expectantly as he too took a seat on the opposite side of the desk. "How'd it go?" he smiled waiting to hear Kol's complaints about something Elena had said.

Kol let out a huff of annoyance "I don't know where you found that woman Damon, but she is a real bitch" Kol announced and while Damon didn't agree he knew it was how Kol would interpret her comments "She yelled at me if front of the other employees" Kol said in disbelief.

Damon tried his hardest to hide his amusement as he asked "What did she say? and what did you do to deserve it?"

Kol shot him a glare "Aside from the fact that she kept snapping at me the entire time, she refused to make the deal and sign a few of the documents... she was walking out and I tried to stop her but the bitch said 'I could take the money and shove it up my ass because she sure as hell won't be doing shit for me or the company and to tell you to find someone else'... she also called me a self righteous ass" Kol scoffed as if none of that about him was true.

Guy's oblivious, Damon shook his head amused at the situation.

"Wait" he said sitting forward just realising Kol had said she didn't sign the documents "She won't do it?" he asked frowning when Kol nodded in confirmation. "What did you do Kol? I convinced her to agree already, what could you have said to screw this up for me?" he demanded now standing up.

"I didn't do anything" Kol corrected him standing as well "She didn't like the fact that I was asking her to sign for a background check, or the document agreeing not to do any work similar to this in the city for a year and she finally lost it when she wanted more money" Kol explained

Damon stood their looking at Kol in shock for a minute. The background check he had expected as much from her but the fact she wanted more money and to work similar agreements with other companies didn't sound like her. "Where did she go? find out where the driver dropped her off" Damon instructed but Kol made no move to go "What?" he barked out annoyed realising there was something else Kol wanted to add.

"She didn't take the car, apparently she just left on her own" Kol shrugged and at the glare he shot Kol's way the guy left his office quickly and Damon slumped down in his office chair dialling Elena's number.

She hadn't answered his calls all day and so when Stephen had sent him a message saying Elena showed up for work royally pissed off, Damon thanked his brother for letting him know like he had asked Stephen too earlier. "I'm heading out" Damon called out to his team before making his way out of the office and into the car "Salvatore bar" he told the driver with a nod.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at the bar and Damon quickly spotted Elena in her usual place behind the bar, engrossed in mixing drinks and teasing the men at the bar trying to ask her out. "Elena" Damon sighed as he slipped onto one of the empty stools "What the hell happened?" he asked confused and she stopped what she was doing to turn to him.

"Did you ask your lawyer" she said placing a hand on her hip in annoyance and he was glad she had calmed down some from the way his security guard described her mood earlier "Because that guy's a tool and I don't like being called a whore for an hour and a half and then having someone try and throw a number in my face as if that's supposed to mean something to me" she announced before turning back to her mixing and handed the drinks to the customers waiting.

"Elena, Kol's an ass" he sighed knowing it must have been a misunderstanding "Can we talk about what actually happened?" he asked hopeful just as Stephen appeared on the other side of the bar. "Great" Damon announced jumping up from his stool and walking behind the bar to grab Stephen "Brother, you can man the bar while Elena and I talk" he instructed getting a grunt of annoyance from both Stephen and Elena as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him into Stephen's office.

Elena was sat on the edge of the desk as she explained to Damon what had happened in the meeting today and her thoughts and feelings on the situation. All seemed reasonable to him. "So, you want me to pay you the same amount you would earn working here and you don't want a background check" Damon reiterated her two simple demands. It turns out Kol was wrong, she didn't want more money she wanted less.

She was probably the only woman on the planet who'd get offered 8 thousand dollars for attending an event and be offended at the suggestion she would take so much.

"Yeah" Elena confirmed with a sigh and Damon slowly inched forward to be closer to her without realising what he was doing until he was stood in between her knees that were hanging off the edge of the desk she was sitting on. "Elena, that's like a hundred dollars an event...the food your going to eat there costs more than that" Damon sighed a little annoyed she wanted so little money, but glad that she was only proving to be someone who wasn't friends with him because of the money he made. In fact she didn't seem to be impressed by it, rather offended whenever anyone flashed it her way. "How about we compromise?" he suggested standing even closer to her now.

Elena looked him in the eyes, apparently not even fazed by his closeness and he lifted his hand to rest on top of her thigh as he waited for her answer. "You said you get media attention right?" she asked and he raised a brow but nodded nonetheless "Is that what the background check was for? to make sure there isn't anything I've done or am doing that could embarrass you and the company?"

Slowly Damon nodded in confirmation wondering what that would have anything to do with her decision. He watched confused as Elena took his hand in her own, lifting it from where he was subconsciously massaging her thigh. "Then I think you need to find someone else Damon" she said softly meeting his eyes again as she got off of the table to stand, putting distance between them that made him miss the closeness instantly.

"What do you mean? if you don't want a background check that's fine" he started to protest but she cut him off. "Damon, if what I do can embarrass you and your company then there's a lot of reasons you shouldn't want me to do this... my past isn't clean and there's things going on now that you don't want associated with your company" she told him.

"Like what?" he questioned when she said nothing more to explain "If you just tell me Elena I can make sure it never comes out, I want to be with you" he said softly getting closer to her again

"No you don't" she countered "You think you do because you see a piece of ass and maybe the banter we have is something you like but I'm no good Damon. I have serious issues that you wouldn't be able to understand, our worlds" she gestured between them "our perspectives on life aren't the same...it could never work and I won't let you get it in your head that it could. I'm not one of the girls your used to and I don't think you'd be able to accept the way I live... I won't change for anyone and you can't change enough for me" Elena said before turning and leaving him staring after her in shock.

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