AN: As a reader, I don't actually read AN's that are in the beginning of a chapter. However, I feel I must put this one here (just for this chapter). This is my very first FanFic and (sorry if this sounds rude) but I could care less if you like it or not. =) I'm really just writing this for me, but your opinions would be loved—especially for the title.
Because I lack the creative ability to think of a title for this, I'd love it if you guys would suggest some for me. I'll, of course, put them all up in a poll to let the vast users of FF choose an appropriate title.
Sit back and enjoy the show!
-Skweek
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Oh my God. What the fuck? Why?
And so my morning began.
Guh… Mornings, who needs them? Is that it? No… Where is that fucking clock!? Is that it? CRASH! Shit, there goes my glass of water. BEEP BEEP BEEP! Jesus, woman! Come on! Wake up! Turn it off! I aimlessly slapped around, trying to find the snooze button to that damned alarm clock. Needless to say, I'm not a morning person. CLICK! Guh, finally... Peace and quiet…
I opened my eyes to the pitch black that is 5:30 in the morning. Wonderful. Yawning, I sat up and pulled the sheets off and got out of bed. CRUNCH! AH! FUCK! "Dammit!" I moaned as I pulled my foot up to examine the cut. Wonderful… Can this morning get any more perfect? I pulled the small sliver of glass out of the bottom of my foot, squeezing a little to help the clotting while holding my breath. Yay, blood. I sighed and felt around for the lamp on the nightstand, careful not to put my foot back in the broken glass. Not two seconds after I turned the lamp on, did I hear the frantic footsteps of my roommate. I sighed and waited, knowing she was heading this way. Another two seconds later, the door to my room flung open and against the wall with a loud bang.
"Jesus, Alice, calm down before you tear my wall up, will you?" I sighed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Sorry, I heard some noise and came to check it out. Are you ok?" she asked, slightly ecstatic. 5:30 in the morning and this girl was hyper. What a life she must have.
"Yeah, I'm fine; I just stepped on my glass trying to get out of bed. So what are the plans for today?" Having Alice as an assistant was always fun. Not only was she energetic enough to keep me moving, but she'd always make sure I was dressed in only the best—no matter what the occasion. I slouched out of bed and started picking up the shards of glass while she mapped out the day.
"Well, first of all, you have to shower and get dressed. After that, we'll head to the office and go through the daily routine, you know. You have a lunch interview with the owner of that new club down town at noon. Oh, watch out that you don't cut yourself, Bella. Angela's piece on that orca whale or whatever it was is due on your desk at two this afternoon. Jessica's gossip piece should be ready and waiting when we get to the office. Oh, and I'll be submitting my latest find in fashion before your lunch interview, if you don't mind?" She quickly ran through everything, all the while ticking them off on her tiny hands and staring into space.
"Yeah sure, I'll check it out for you, although I'm sure it's more than exceptional. After all, we both know you know more about fashion than Bill Gates knows about how to get rich off crap computers." I laughed, ignoring her comment about me cutting myself while making my way to the trash can in the bathroom with the shards. What's one more cut for the morning? I let out a barely audible empty laugh at the thought. Always a klutz, she may as well get used to it.
"Oh thank you, Bella! You don't know how much this means to me!!" she exclaimed, wrapping her tiny arms around my waist in a hug, my back held firmly against her chest. I had to laugh at her insanity. Silly Alice, how could I not help her out? After all, she's the best friend anyone could ever ask for! I sighed and returned the hug.
"Ok, I'm going to take my shower. We should hurry and get ready and start this day already. What am I wearing today?" I'd been Alice's friend since we were five. I learned early on not to fight the pixie with clothes—there was just no point in delaying the inevitable.
"Hmm… Let's see… It's kind of chilly out, what with winter just around the corner. Hmm… Eh, I'll throw something out for you while you shower. See you in a few!" With that, she pushed the bathroom door closed and rummaged through the wardrobe she'd stocked for me. Again, I sighed—this time, it was content. Alice was a dream-come true, plain and simple.
I let the steamy water relax me as I thought through and planned the day. An interview with the new club owner? That should be interesting. Wonder if he'll be a total dick like the rest. Fucking pervs. I swear, they see a pair of boobs and go nuts. Men… Yeah… men… What I wouldn't give for a man… For the umpteenth time today, I let out another sigh then stepped out, wrapping myself in the warm, fuzzy towel. I drowned myself in the smell of Gain while I dried off and made my way to my bed.
Today, Alice chose a nice pair of grey dress pants that fit just right in all the right places, a white little undershirt that had a few buttons on the top, and a nice little black shirt that was shorter in length than the white shirt. Alice also set aside a nice little matching baby blue lace thong and bra set. I had to laugh at her; she definitely would shoot me if I wore any other kind of underwear with these pants. The black shirt hugged my waist and boobs, the V-cut accentuating my boobs and exposing my cleavage. I decided to play it sexy today and unbuttoned the buttons on the white shirt, folding the flaps on the outside of the black shirt. Shoes for today? A pair of deadly black and white stilettos. With a heavy sigh, I donned the heels, promising to watch my step. As I looked in the mirror, I had to give it to Alice. While I may dread heels, they definitely had their plus sides. Heels were designed by men to make a woman's boobs and ass poke out more. How lovely of them to think of us in our time of need. I snorted at the thought.
I made my way to Alice's room where she stood, ready and waiting to do me up. As always, she looked glamorous. Today she wore a white spaghetti strap dress (black straps) with black polka dots. The dress was about mid-thigh length and form-fitting. It also had a black sash that went all the way around her chest and sat just below her boobs, pushing them front and center. And just to throw everyone off, she wore a nice set of 4 inch glossy red stilettos. I had to laugh, she was nothing but trouble.
Already dolled up, she held a brush and curling iron in each hand, waiting for my arrival. I sat on the stool in front of her, not saying a word, while she did my hair and makeup. Today, it seemed she wanted flirty curls at the ends and a nice, light, and very natural "face" with very light blue eye shadow to match my underwear and enhance my chocolate eyes. When she was done, I bounced my auburn curls playfully. Ok, yeah, I'm a sucker for curls, I admit it. They're fun. I smiled at all 4"10 inches of her.
"Ready?" I asked, standing carefully so as not to trip.
"Silly girl, of course! Let's go! We have people to knock dead!" she exclaimed, grabbing out purses. With that declaration, we headed out, each grabbing a power bar for breakfast.
We headed to the office, choosing to walk instead of drive. It was always so beautiful and cool this time of year. The leaves were falling, littering the ground with gold and brown, squirrels going nuts while trying to find enough food for the coming winter, the wind blowing sporadically, ruffling the leaves and making little tornados. All in all, it was beautiful. This was our favorite time of year to walk to work. We both sighed contently, following the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. What's a morning walk to work without caffeine? One iced mocha latte and caramel frappucino later, we were out on the streets, heading to our final destination. We laughed the whole way there, especially at all the cat calls. It never failed to amaze us at how many lustful men there were out there.
Once we arrived, I held the door open for Alice then followed her in, only to stop dead in our tracks. It was a MESS! The secretary at the front desk was in tears; paper was flying everywhere and littered the ground, workers were trying desperately to calm her down and help pick up. We both gaped at the scene in front of us for a second longer than necessary before returning to ourselves.
"Alice, why don't you head up to the office and make sure everything is in order for today. I'll figure out what's going on here." I commanded, narrowing my eyes at the secretary. Is it that hard to organize files and answer phones? Really? I took a deep breath as Alice scurried off.
"Lauren…" I called to the crying girl before making my way to her.
No response.
"Lauren…" I tried again, a little more soothing.
Still no response. She just stood there, arms flailing, while she tried to gather herself and the papers. The other workers that were trying to help had returned to their stations the first time I called her name. I sighed once more, how many times will I sigh today? before forcing her to notice me.
"Lauren!" I commanded, earning a sudden tensed jerk from the poor girl.
"Yes?" she questioned, mascara running down the poor thing's face.
"Care to explain what happened here?" I kept my tone firm but sincere. Hell, maybe she was having just as bad a morning as I was.
"I'm so sorry Ms. Higginbotham! I had everything nice and neat, just the way it always is, when the mail clerk came and threw a fit. He was yelling something about Jessica, I'm not even sure, I don't remember. All I remember was he picked up the files and just….threw them everywhere!!!" she explained, a few broken sobs here and there.
Mail clerk, eh? I scowled—not at the girl, just in general.
"I see… Well, please hurry and straighten this mess. I'll deal with the clerk." I all but growled.
Today seemed to be one of those days.
Lauren nodded her apologies and went straight to work, answering the phone lines while gathering the papers. I had just started making my way to the elevator when Lauren called my name again.
"Ms. Higginbotham! I'm so sorry but you have a call on line six…" she stammered. I smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Lauren. Please tell them I'll be with them shortly." I smiled once more and turned back to the elevator. No doubt, by now Alice had already made her way to the office and was getting everything situated. I sighed, again, and pulled out my Vu and sent her a text:
Alice, when you get a chance, pick up line six and see what it's about—Thanks!
It didn't take long to get her response. I was just stepping in the elevator and hitting the "B" for basement when I received it.
It's just the club owner calling to confirm the interview. It's still on right?
I stepped out when the doors open, texting a my reply
Yeah, still at noon. Get any information you can from him now. I have to deal with something then I'll be right up.
And with that, I walked to the mail room.
"NEWTON! Where are you!?" I demanded, heels clicking furiously with every step as I approached said room.
No response. What was with people and not responding to my calls today?
"Newton! Where the hell are you!?"
"Whasshu want?" he slurred. I growled. I was not, on any terms, one to tolerate drinking—definitely not in the work place.
"Newton, what the fuck was all that about up front?" At this point, I'd reached the man in question. I almost had to hold my nose at the smell. He absolutely reeked of alcohol. What on earth could have this man drinking this much!?
"S'Jessica. Sssshe's werkin' late 'n thasstupid gossiP Piece…" he slurred. "I di'nt get any las' night… " I snorted at his remark. He got this drunk over sex? Wow… He stumbled towards me, almost falling on me. "Hey girl.. You lookin' good…." Again, I snorted.
"Don't even think about it. Clock your ass out and go home. Don't come back until you learn to control your drinking." I ordered, backing away and heading to the elevator.
By the time I made it to my office, Alice had everything neatly laid out on the desk, waiting my approval and remarks. I started with Alice's fashion piece—mainly to check out the new trends, myself. I knew I'd never find anything wrong with her article so I slapped a nice "seal of approval" and put in the "Print" bin.
Jessica's piece was something else entirely. Being a gossip article, the information she put into it wasn't required to be true—hell, she could start her own rumors for all I cared. The one thing that did matter, however, was the grammar. Girl couldn't write to save her life. After carefully going over the material and putting enough red ink on it to make it look like the paper bled to death, I slapped it in the "Rewrite" bin.
Not to my surprise at all, Angela's piece on the whale was already here and waiting. I knew I could trust Angela. We went to school together—actually most of my employees went to school with me; funny how life works out isn't it? Angela was one of the brightest students I ever knew. I knew she would never put anything false in her article so I simply read over it, checking for grammar mistakes. Like always, I never found any. Hell, if I ever died, she could easily replace me! I laughed at the joke and slapped a nice big "seal of approval" before putting it in the "Print" bin.
I'd been checking my emails for about ten minutes or so when I got a page on the intercom.
"Hey girl, you busy?" the voice asked.
I laughed, "No, what's up?"
"Just making sure you were free. It's almost time for that lunch interview. Gotta make sure you're still looking hot, you know. Be there in a sec." the voice finished. Lunch already? Hell… today is flying by!
From the top of my office windows, I could see a bobbing black spiky head dancing my way. A few seconds later, Alice barged in, not bothering to knock—not that it mattered—purse in hand. She fluffed my hair and reapplied some eye shadow quickly before settling down in one of the huge comfy chairs in front of my desk.
"So… what was all that about this morning?" she asked, eager for information. I explained the whole Mike-Jessica thing, commenting on his drunken state. She scowled at me—well, not at me, but at his state—before standing. "Wow… Ok, well, you better be off. I'll take these papers to the appropriate departments. Good luck and don't forget to be a little flirty!" I laughed at the perky pixie. She was forever trying to get me a man!
I took a cab this time, refusing to walk the twenty miles to the Bistro I was meeting the club owner at. I must say, I was quite surprised when he requested this place to meet. It was my experience with previous owners that lead me to believe they were all cheap and had bad taste. This Bistro, however, was anything but cheap. It was the most delicious, most respectable five-star eatery around. I sent Alice a text, letting her know I'd arrived, before stepping inside.
"Name please?" the hostess asked.
"I'm meeting a friend, it's under Cullen. Has he arrived yet?" I requested, stuffing my phone in my purse, not making eye contact with the hostess.
"Yes ma'am. Please follow me." she complied, grabbing a menu as she weaved around the restaurant.
I gazed around while being towed. The place was beautiful. No, it was more than beautiful. There were no words to describe how beautiful this place was. It was dimly lit with crystal chandeliers hanging over every corner and middle of the room. Each table had a small lantern-like candle in the center as well as freshly picked roses on the ends of the booths against the wall. I actually had to hold back a small giggle at the roses. What if someone was allergic? Had they not thought that through? Oh well, I'm not a restaurant critic, someone else will have to inform them of this small mistake. She lead me to a booth away from the other patrons.
"Here you are ma'am. What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll have a—" I began before getting cut off.
"She'll have a glass of your finest wine," the club owner interrupted. With a smile, he turned to me. I held out my hand for him to shake, however, instead of shaking, he chose to kiss the back of my hand. "Red or white?" he questioned.
"Erm…" I began before pulling my hand from his grasp, "I'll have white, I guess." I turned and smiled at the hostess who nodded and retreated.
"So, Mr. Cullen, how are you today?" I asked out of formality, still a bit in shock that he kissed my hand.
"I'm absolutely marvelous today, Ms. Higginbotham, especially in the presence of such a beauty. I hope you are well too?" Boy, he sure could be charming if he wanted. This man would be quite the catch! Fancy restaurant, best wine in the house, and a killer smile? I laughed internally, wondering how many women he "charmed" before. I looked him over, taking in his huge, dimpled smile, his warm brown eyes, and curly black hair before making my way to his upper body. This man could very well be the next "It" guy for steroids. He was freaking HUGE! Even in his loose-fitting button-up shirt, you could see every muscle in his arms and chest!
Just then, the waitress appeared with my wine and requested our meals. Not having looked at the menu yet, I quickly glanced over and ordered the tastiest grilled fish I could find. Mr. Cullen ordered pretty much everything meat. I had to laugh, it definitely made sense. His eyebrow quirked in my direction.
"Something funny, Ms. Higginbotham?"
"Oh, sorry, no, just remembering a joke from earlier in the day. Anyway, where were we? Oh! Right, ok." I explained, fishing in my purse for the tiny tape recorder I brought to every interview. "I hope you don't mind me using this?" He shook his head and smiled. With that, I began my questions.
I asked him everything from his education, his parents, childhood friends, where he grew up, how he got started, what made him want to open a club, you name it, I asked it. Up until now, I was feigning interest, not really caring about the past. I wanted the now. And, of course, the now was when the food arrived. I paused the recorder for a bit while we got settled and ate. After a few minutes silence, I started back up again, only to be interrupted once more by his phone. Oh the nerve. I hit pause as he answered it. From the sound of it, we were to be joined by another guest—hence all the meat. NOW it all made sense! He ordered for two! He hung up and smiled sheepishly at me before we continued the line of questioning.
This went on for five more minutes before I had to hit pause once more. The hostess was heading out way with another man in tow. I couldn't quite make out who it was just yet, with the dim lighting of the place. In fact, it was until Mr. Cullen was making room for the other man that I was able to see him. He had the most disarray head of bronze hair I'd ever seen. It was EVERYWHERE! It was sexy… I was tempted to run my fingers through it right then and there but was saved by the sound of a throat clearing. I broke my gaze and looked into the eyes of the owner of the clearing. Emerald green… Emerald green and deep and soul piercing… I'd only ever known one other pair of eyes like this man's. How truly beautiful his eyes were. I didn't catch the conversation between the two men in front of me. I heard Mr. Cullen address the man and faintly heard him introduce us, but I was too lost in this man's eyes to fully hear a word Mr. Cullen was saying. With another throat clearing from man, I reluctantly broke my gaze from his eyes and took in the rest of him. High cheek bones, chiseled jaw line, bronze hair, emerald eyes, beautiful full lips smiling a…half…smile? What?… Wait a minute… I forced myself to focus better then felt my jaw slack.
"Edward?"
AN: Ok so there it is! Sorry if it's too short for some of you =( If you're wondering about Bella's last name, don't worry about it too much—it'll be explained in a chapter or two.
Also, as for the name of this piece, I'm not too satisfied. If any of you have a better suggestion, hit me up and I'll make a poll! YAY!