Thanks so much for the review guys. This is my first story so I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Keep the reviews coming because they'll help keep me motivated. More motivation means quicker updates =]
__________________________________________________________________________
As Vanessa's form disappeared around the corner Blair finally turned her glare to settle on Chuck who didn't seemed to be phased by the encounter. Instead he simply stared at her as if she were anyone else. His eyebrows raised waiting for her to speak but the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.
"What are you doing here Blair?" His tone was anything but inviting and he pushed his hands into his pockets impatiently waiting for her response. His eyebrows narrowed over his dark orbs and Blair felt her stomach tighten. She suddenly couldn't remember why she was here. Hadn't it been just the other week where she was throwing flowers at him through her elevator? Had she really expected a warm welcome from him?
"I uh… thought maybe we could grab lunch." She gave him her brightest Waldorf smile and stepped a few steps closer to him. He was still watching her through wary eyes and she could tell that he wasn't buying it. "Unless of course you're busy..." She bit her lip nervously and watched as Chuck's eyes softened. His cool exterior seemed to fade but he didn't return her smile. Clearly he was still upset about their last conversation.
"I'm really busy today Blair and I've got meetings for the rest of the afternoon." He glanced at his watch and gave her a tight smile before turning to his secretary who was watching them with curious eyes. As his gaze settled on her she gave him an expectant look waiting for him to address her. "Make an appointment with Jamie…next week should work just fine." He turned back to Blair who was trying to control the anger boiling in her stomach. Appointment? Blair Waldorf had to schedule and appointment to eat lunch with Chuck Bass?
"You're kidding?" She crossed her arms across her chest. She was finished being bright and cheery. She was downright pissed off now. First that little troll Vanessa was making visits to his office and now he was blowing her off? What the hell was going on?
"I thought you said you were done Blair." His done was completely neutral his eyes were narrowed in confusion. He stepped closer to her, his body coming to stand only inches from hers. Blair's stomach fluttered nervously at his proximity and she couldn't help but inhale the musky scent of him. "What are you doing here?" He asked her again but there was something different in his tone. He was frustrated. No…he was mad.
His smoldering eyes were now glaring at her once more and Blair stumbled over her words in an attempt to keep the hurt from betraying how effected she was by his angry glare. "I j-just…. never mind." She gave him her signature smile once more and stepped back. Clearing her throat she pulled her new Marc Jacobs bag further up her shoulder and glanced once more at his secretary who seemed to be amused by Chuck's clear dismissal of her. "Have a good day."
Without another word Blair was walking back down the corridor to the elevators. The whole way she had to keep herself from looking back to see if he was watching her walk away. If she had of course her dark orbs would've been met by his. He couldn't help but continue to stare even after she had disappeared around the corner.
-o-o-o-
Letting out a groan Vanessa tugged the dark green dress off her small frame and threw it across her bedroom. It landed softly by her dresser on top of the other dresses she had been tossing over there since leaving Chuck's office that morning. She frowned realizing that she was out of options. There was nothing else in her closet that would be suitable for tonight. She wasn't even sure where they were going but she knew that Chuck Bass never did casual. That boy had been born and stuffed into an Armani suit the moment he emerged. Anything she wore would look plain next to him. Usually Vanessa didn't care but for some reason this was different.
With another grumble she sunk down into her soft mattress and fell back until her head hit her pillow. Her eyes closed and her hands searched for her phone that was lying next to her. Flipping it open she sighed again when she saw that Jenny hadn't answered her text yet. The moment she had left Chuck's office she had immediately messaged her saying that she had a fashion emergency and had yet to hear from her. She wasn't entirely surprised, the girl did have a lot going on.
Getting up from her bed she began to sort through the discarded dresses hoping that she would see something she had failed to see earlier. Maybe the right shoes or accessories could salvage it. After ten minutes of that she realized that between the three dresses she actually owned, none of them were suitable.
Almost as if on cue the doors of her apartment flung open and a very flustered Jenny emerged holding a garment bag and several dresses were draped over her arms. "I'm here…sorry I'm so late." She made her way into Vanessa's room and dropped the dresses on her bed. She surveyed the pile of the discarded dresses with raised eyebrows and let out a short laugh.
"Ah thank you." Vanessa gave her a smile as Jenny began to pull a few dresses out of the garment bag and held them up for Vanessa to look at.
"So what's the occasion?" Her tone was soft as she surveyed Vanessa. It wasn't a secret that Nate and her had ended just recently and Jenny knew that whatever event she needed the dress for wasn't because of him.
Grabbing a blue dress from the pile Vanessa quickly pulled it on. Standing in front of the mirror she surveyed her appearance. The dress was beautiful, it fit her perfectly. It was strapless and it came to just above her knee. The top hugged her chest tightly and it flowed out at the waist to softly cover her thighs. The deep shade brought out the blue in her eyes and her skin seemed to glow against the fabric. "I have a… business dinner."
Jenny frowned just slightly and crossed her arms across her chest. "A business dinner?" As she said the words Vanessa realized how stupid she sounded. Vanessa had never had business dinners; why would she? She was finishing high school at home and worked full-time at the gallery. Who could she possibly be meeting regarding business?
Turning and giving Jenny a sheepish look Vanessa tugged off the blue dress and grabbed a black one from the pile. "You mean a date?" Jenny's voice was full of amusement as Vanessa turned to her, her eyes filled with horror. Pulling the dress over her shoulders she shook her head quickly denying the accusation.
"Absolutely not, trust me. Just business." She rolled her eyes as Jenny nodded. Her eyes sparkled over at Vanessa showing that she still wasn't completely convinced of this but she choose not to push it.
Staring at her reflection Vanessa cocked her head to the side to take in her appearance. It hung loosely off her body but it was slightly shorter than the first and it showed off her lean legs. The fabric gently fell over her shoulders leaving most of her neck and collarbone exposed. Jenny came up behind her and gently pulled against the neckline, pulling it a bit farther down. "I'd go with the blue. He won't know what hit him." She gave her another grin and reached to grab her bag before bidding Vanessa goodbye. "Report back with details." Jenny's voice flowed through the door and Vanessa couldn't help the crimson color that filled her cheeks at the comment.
Tugging the black one down again she went to work trying on the rest of the garments that Jenny had brought her. She felt herself begin to smile knowing that whatever bad blood had been between them was gone. After the snowflake ball things had been awkward for a while but after weeks of uncomfortable encounters at the loft the two had decided to bury the hatchet. Vanessa had after all walked away with the guy, how could she hold a grudge against Jenny after that? She had after all done things she wasn't' exactly proud of in order to claim Nate's affection. Now she was beginning to wonder why she had bothered at all.
Finally Vanessa pulled the last dress off and replaced it with the blue dress she had first tried on. It really was beautiful and as she looked in the mirror she almost didn't recognize the girl looking back. There was happiness glowing behind her eyes that hadn't been there for a while; instead her dark orbs had looked almost dull with sadness. Her hair hung against her shoulders with a few soft curls framing her face. She had added a bit more eyeliner to her eyes and added a bit of dark eye shadow for a smoky look. Finally she felt satisfied with her appearance and she quickly grabbed her silver clutch and slipped on a pair of silver pumps to match. Glancing at the clock she realized that it was seven and with one final glance at her reflection she was out her door and heading out to meet the car awaiting her. "Here goes nothing."
