"The One" – Part 9

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I'm so glad this story is being so well received! There's some awkward funny ahead, at the end of this chapter! (isn't that the best kind?)

To the folks I can't directly PM:

Wolf101 - Thanks for reviewing this story and "Coda". I appreciate the kind words. In regards to "Coda", I have more future fics in my other Fadam series. I will post them in due course. It won't be the last we'll see of Rory!

Colleen - That's awesome to hear! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and I definitely agree with your sentiments about Fadam! :D

Anonymous - Hehe. True! We'll see more of her humor throughout the story. Thanks for the review!

Raidon - Thanks for reviewing all the chapters! Each one was lovely to read! I agree with you. Adam's a good guy but I think people are mostly reacting to the suddenness of it. Or do they have other reservations? I guess we'll see ;-)

Author's Note #2: This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's Profile for details!)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

Fiona was glowing as she walked off the elevator into the foyer. It was 9:00PM and she had just gotten home. Between moving in the morning and spending time with Adam, she had been out the whole day. When she passed by the kitchen she spotted her mom.

"I wasn't sure if I had missed you or not," her mother said. She got home an hour ago and hadn't been sure if Fiona was already in her suite.

"Just got in," Fiona confirmed.

"Ah," Mrs. Coyne nodded. "So, how did it go with moving?"

Fiona took a deep breath. It had been the furthest thing from her mind. "I got most of my stuff."

Mrs. Coyne gave her a look. "How was it seeing your roommates and Beth?"

Fiona shrugged. "As awkward and soul-sucking as one might imagine," she quipped.

Mrs. Coyne sighed. "You're making jokes?"

"Of course not. It was hard. Really, hard. I'm just glad it's over and done with," Fiona insisted.

"Did you talk to Beth?" her mother pressed. She wanted to know if there was any hope of salvaging things between them.

"Not directly. Before I left I gave back my keys and I gave them a check to cover the next five months. That's when the lease is up," Fiona informed her. "Beth was there along with Tami and Gretchen."

"And?" Mrs. Coyne asked.

Fiona gave her an exasperated look. "We didn't get back together. We're done, mom," she reminded her. "Besides, I'm seeing Adam now."

"What?" Mrs. Coyne screeched surprised. After what Fiona told her yesterday, she thought it was highly likely that her declarations of 'love' and being 'the one' would scare him off. "Did you tell him everything?"

Fiona nodded. "I did. I didn't want to minimize my feelings or hide what happened with Beth."

"So you guys are together now?" Mrs. Coyne asked, still stunned.

"We are. I love him and he loves me," Fiona affirmed.

Her mother scoffed. "You just spent time together yesterday! This is moving awfully fast, Fiona."

"I know. Adam knows that too. He's the one who insisted we slow down to 'build a proper foundation'," she revealed.

Mrs. Coyne raised an eyebrow. "That's rather insightful."

Fiona smirked. "Well, he's a smart guy. He was the valedictorian of his class." Clare was upset that he had beaten her for the honor by one percentage point.

-oOo-

When she entered the store, Fiona took off her sunglasses. She had a bright smile and a great feeling about today. It was Monday, the start of a new week. She was eager to get back to work. Coyne Roberts was an upscale boutique that she co-owned with her business partner, Hanna Roberts-Sailing. The two had met as students while studying at FIT and collaborated on fashion designs every since. Their personalities were very different, but they balanced each other out.

Fiona was the idea person. She dreamed big and came up with most of their collection themes. Hanna was far more detailed orientated. She focused on implementation and meeting deadlines. She made sure their ideas became a finished product. She also procured funding for their venture, as she was a natural when it came to smoozing. Fiona provided the initial investments, due to her family wealth, but she loathed social events. She was still quite shy when it came to making small talk, and sometimes had a glass of wine to make it through.

Fiona sighed happily as she walked into the upstairs office. Their company leased two floors in the building. The ground floor was their boutique. On the second level, they had a small operations team. The store brought in a lot of money, but they made many times more selling their clothing online. Their crew was about ten people, which included assistants, salespersons, designers, and a couple of IT guys.

"Morning Fiona!" Kai greeted her as he walked to the copier. With his bright green streaked, flat ironed dark hair it was obvious he was a designer.

"Morning!" she responded brightly.

Her assistant, Jessica, came up to her. "Good morning! There's coffee on your desk and Laura has been looking for you."

Fiona furrowed her brows, wondering what the saleswoman could want. Before she could ask, Laura shrieked when she saw her.

"Fiona! What happened?" she said alarmed. "Your relationship status is missing on FaceRange!"

Fiona bit her lip. She and Hanna were rather open with their employees. They were a close-knit group, in some ways like a second family.

Several people looked up, awaiting her answer.

"Right… I ended things with Beth," she announced.

"Whoa! When did this happen?" Jessica asked concerned.

"Saturday," she admitted.

Kai sent her a sympathetic look. "How are you holding up?"

Fiona sent him a small smile. "I'm fine. It was for the best."

"Any chance you guys will work this out?" Lynn asked. She worked under Laura in sales.

Fiona shook her head. "We're done… Actually I'm seeing someone else," she confessed.

Laura looked at her surprised. "Wow, that was quick!"

Fiona shrugged. What could she say? She was right.

George grinned at her. He worked in technical support. "So, who's your new lesbian lover?" he asked with interest. He thought Beth was hot, and knowing Fiona, the new chick was likely as hot or even hotter.

Fiona snorted. The whole office was chiming in on this conversation. Any pretense at continuing to work had been dropped.

"I don't have one," she said amused.

He threw her a questioning look.

"I'm dating a guy," Fiona revealed.

There was a brief pause.

"Seriously?" Hanna questioned, joining the fray.

George shared a look with Tom, the other IT guy. Both struggled to hide their disappointment. Sure she was their boss, but if they knew had a shot they would have went for it!

Fiona chuckled. Why did everyone seem so surprised to hear that? "I'm pansexual," she reminded her friend.

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, but you haven't dated any guys since college," she noted.

"Well, Adam set the bar high," Fiona joked.

Everyone laughed.

"Is he on FaceRange?" Laura asked curiously. She was already at the computer, on Fiona's profile. "Adam Torres," she read aloud. "Is that him?"

They all turned to Fiona. She nodded. Laura clicked the link and a crowd formed around her desk.

"Hello!" Kai said impressed. Adam was tall drink of water.

"That explains it!" Jessica joked. He was a handsome guy. She had a huge grin as Laura clicked on a photo taken on the beach. Adam had a football in his hands and he was shirtless. His abs were incredible.

Lynn sighed. She liked Fiona and Beth as a couple and was disappointed. She and her partner had gone on double dates with them many times.

"We get it now," Laura lightly teased. It would take some getting used to, but they were all in agreement that Fiona's new guy was gorgeous.

Fiona rolled her eyes. "I'm not with him because of how he looks," she insisted. She wasn't that shallow.

Kai snorted. "If you say so…" he said in a sing-song voice.

"It's who he is inside that I'm drawn to," Fiona explained. "We dated back in high school and he definitely didn't look like that! He was more androgynous looking because he's transgendered."

Everyone looked up at her, and then looked back at Laura's computer screen. That tidbit of information was unexpected.

George firmly shook his head. "I'm not buying it. There's no way that dude was born a girl!" he stated. Tom and a few others nodded in agreement.

Fiona smiled wickedly. "I can attest that he most certainly was."

George scrunched up his face as he slowly came around to what she was implying. "TMI!" he called out.

They all laughed his expression.

Lynn smiled at her. "Alright, you can have your queer card back," she teased.

"Who I date doesn't change how I identify," Fiona coolly stated.

Seeing that she had unwittingly struck a nerve, Lynn raised her hands in defeat. "Duly noted!" she chuckled.

Suddenly Laura called to Fiona. "He posted a music video dedicated to you!" she informed her.

"We've got to press play!" Kai said excitedly.

"Okay, no!" Fiona wasn't sure what he posted and all the fan fare was a little embarrassing.

Hanna gave her a small smile. "Yeah guys. Let's head back to work," she backed her up. Fiona sent her a grateful smile.

Laura pouted. "Alright. We're discussing this further at lunch though!"

.

tbc

A/N: Wow, a lot happened in this chapter! So, Mrs. Coyne is still highly skeptical of Fadam – no surprise there, right? Fiona's an entrepreneur with a successful business! You go girl! And apparently she shares a lot with her employees, lol.

In the next chapter, we'll find out what song Adam posted. We'll also find out some very interesting details about Adam's past...

Reviews rock! :D