Hey! We couldn't leave you hanging so we decided to give you guys a double post today!!! So here is Chapter 13 A&B!!! Enjoy!
Chapter 13 A
She couldn't help but be slightly amused as they continued to stand outside the doorway of her grandparents' Manhattan, three story, penthouse apartment. Elizabeth really liked her gransdparents' style of penthouse. It had an elevator that led to a small hallway that had a door, knocker and doorbell. If you didn't look around, you'd think it was a house.
Elizabeth was standing next to the door and leaning up against the wall as she watched her…boyfriend?, she wondered…as he stood there in a kind of daze, just staring at the door. This was a side of him that she had never seen before and she had to say it was rather nice to see the ever confident Chuck Bass not as arrogantly confident as he liked everyone to think he was.
He glared at her slightly when he saw her amused smile on her face, "This is not funny, Elizabeth."
She couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her throat and she nodded, "Yeah, Bass, it kind of is."
He brought his hand up to his tie and wiggled it around a bit as if to loosen it slightly, "I've never done the whole meet the family thing before," he muttered to her. Then after a moment he looked at her out of the corner of his eye in confusion, "I thought we were past calling me by my last name?"
She gave him a wide smile and moved up to him to straighten his tie and flatten out the lapels of his suit jacket, "Everything will be fine, Chuck. Just show them the same guy you've been showing me lately. Be yourself, honesty has always been admired by my grandfather more than anything else."
He sent her another slight glare as she stood in front of him looking beautiful in her royal blue halter dress that hugged her tightly but also flowed around her legs loosely, "That's easy for you to say, he's your grandfather. He loves you."
She rolled her eyes slightly and stood on her toes and pulled him down to her and kissed him. After a few moments of enjoying his kisses she pulled back and smiled, "You'll be fine and I'll be right there to keep grandfather on his best behavior…" she paused for a moment, "or as well behaved as I can get him to be."
Chuck really glared at her this time and gave her a sarcastic smile, "Really helpful, Elizabeth."
She just smiled at him and then rang the doorbell.
His eyes widened and then narrowed at her when he heard the doorbell resonate on the other side of the door, "Was there any part of me that even resembled 'ready for this' to you?"
She brought her hand up to his hair and smoothed it down a little bit. He had messed it up even more than usual on their way here, "It's like a band aid. The faster you get it over with, the faster the pain goes away."
He was going to say something when the door was opened revealing…
"Hello, Grandmother," Elizabeth smiled widely and reached over to hug the woman who opened the door.
Chuck felt glued to the floor. He was not ready for this. Parents didn't want to get to know him the way Elizabeth wanted her grandparents to get to know him. He'd had mothers hit on him, but never once did he have to worry about whether or not the family of the girl he was 'dating' approved of him or not.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Elizabeth punch an elbow into his stomach. He ignored the pain for a moment and held out the flowers he had brought with him out to her grandmother and gave her what he hoped was a smile that didn't show just how nervous he was, "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Van Leih," he said smoothly.
Her grandmother just nodded and gave him a slight smile before standing back and motioned for them both to enter.
He stood back slightly and let Elizabeth pass by and enter first. He followed not far behind her and pressed his hand to the small of her back before helping her remove her light night jacket. He gave the maid a smile and a nod as he handed over Elizabeth's coat.
Elizabeth took his hand in hers and smiled at him encouragingly as they followed her grandmother into the living room. He tensed a little when he saw Jacob Van Leih sitting in one of the arm chairs with a frown and some papers in his lap that he seemed to be going over.
"Jacob! What have I told you about bringing your work home!" Mrs. Van Leih scolded her husband as she sat down in another arm chair.
Jacob sighed slightly and proceeded to collect the papers and set them aside. When he looked up he smiled when he saw that his granddaughter had arrived, "Elizabeth, you look lovely this evening."
Elizabeth smiled as she walked up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you, Grandfather. How was business today?" she asked as she made her way back to the couch where she joined Chuck once again at his side.
Miriam gave a polite sigh and looked at her granddaughter with a small glare, "Elizabeth, must you ask your grandfather about the business? I try so hard to have him leave his work at the law firm."
Elizabeth smiled knowingly at her grandmother and tried her hardest to keep her amusement at bay. This was a revolving conversation that never seemed to be resolved among the three of them, "My apologies, grandmother, but I am afraid that with the law firm being placed in my hands once grandfather decides to retire, that I need to be aware of what is taking place at the moment. Don't worry, I won't be told anything he doesn't see fit to tell me until I begin interning for him during college. I may want to become a doctor, but I will still need to know what's going on."
Miriam got a very depressed look on her face, "It was so much easier to keep the work discussions at bay with your mother."
Elizabeth's smile fell. She could feel the tension rise in the room. While, she was aware that her mother and her grandmother did not have the best of relationships, she also knew that there were parts of her mother that her grandmother wished she would take after more than she did…and her need to be involved within the family business was one of them. She also knew that Miriam Van Leih had prayed for another child after her mother had been born; a son to take over the family business…and then Miriam had gotten a granddaughter rather than a grandson. Granted she knew she was deeply loved by her grandmother, but she also knew that her grandmother was hoping for a great grandson when she finally did have children.
Elizabeth looked over at her grandfather with a pleading look in her eyes as the maid took their requests for drinks. He seemed to get the message as he set his face in a slight frown…never a good way to start a conversation…maybe she just should have let the stiff and tense silence continue.
"So, Charles, how is your father's real estate business going?" Jacob asked both curiously and a little gruffly.
Chuck's lips twitched up slightly at the maid as he took his drink from her; something that, in Chuck Bass world, constituted as a smile. It was only soda though he wished it was something a bit stiffer to help him through the night, "It's going well, sir. He is looking into a new project in the Hamptons."
Jacob nodded, "Clean slate or an existing building?"
Chuck swallowed the gulp of his drink, "It is an already existing building. He hasn't gone into any plans as of yet, but I believe that he would like to turn the building into a few upscale condominiums that can be rented out to the masses for a profit or into townhouses to be leased."
Jacob nodded and took a sip of his whiskey, "The townhouses would profit better. They would restrict the area from becoming a tourist area and it would raise the price of leasing and allow the beginning of an upscale neighborhood seeing as how it is located in the wealthier parts of the Hamptons."
Chuck nodded, "I will be sure to pass on the information, sir."
Miriam, in another desperate attempt to get the discussion off of business, turned to Charles and gave him a smile, "Charles, where do you go to school?"
Chuck smiled at Mrs. Van Leih, "I attend St. Jude's, ma'am."
"And where do you plan to go to college?" Jacob asked gruffly.
Chuck looked at Mr. Van Leih and felt his nerves jump again. Mrs. Van Leih didn't quite scare him as much as Mr. Van Leih did, "My father would like me to attend his Alumna Marta, which is Princeton, but I would like to attend a school that is a bit closer to home."
"And do you plan on taking over your father's business?" Jacob asked but before Chuck could form a response the maid came in.
"Dinner is ready, sir."
Miriam smiled widely, happy to once again escape any kind of talk of business. She wasn't one to avoid business discussion, however, she believed that there was a time and place for all conversation and a dinner where they were meeting their granddaughter's love interest was not the time to discuss business as far as she was concerned, "Thank you, Eliza. What do you say we adjourn to the dining room for dinner?"
No one said anything to agree or disagree otherwise; they all merely stood up and followed Miriam into the dining room. The dinner began in uncomfortable silence and continued that way for a few minutes.
TBC...