"The One" – Part 16

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Warning. This chapter might make you say, "Aww!" :D

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

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

Adam smiled as he walked into the shop. This was the first time he had ever been inside Coyne Roberts. It was a high end boutique that sold women's fashions. He was incredibly proud of Fiona as he looked around. This was her dream. She had put in her blood, sweat, and tears to make it a reality. He was in awe. The clothes looked amazing! It was couture stuff he would expect to see on runways in Paris or Milan. He could definitely see her in every piece.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" a sales associate asked him. She was a young woman in her twenties and was dressed in a fashionable suit.

Adam shook his head. "No, I'm waiting for someone," he told her. He checked his watch. It was 6:00PM. Thursday nights she always went to happy hour with her employees. She wanted him to join them this time, so here he was.

"Who are you waiting for?" the saleswomen pressed.

He smiled. "I'm here to meet Fiona Coyne," he told her. He watched as confusion, then recognition flickered across her face.

"Sir, Miss Coyne is finished with her meetings for the day. If you'd like to schedule an appointment please contact her office in the morning," the woman told him.

Adam laughed. "No, I'm not here for a business meeting. I know her. We're meeting for drinks."

The woman paused. "Sir, we're about to close for the day, so if you would please try to contact her tomorrow by phone."

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Adam?" a familiar voice called to him.

He turned around and saw Fiona standing there with a huge smile. He quickly broke out into one of his own. They walked towards each other and hugged. When they pulled away Fiona leaned in, capturing his lips in a short, yet passionate kiss.

"Good afternoon," he stated with a grin. His hands were still placed around her waist.

She laughed. "Technically it's the evening."

"My apologies Miss Coyne," they heard. They turned to see the sales associate standing there nervously. Adam and Fiona shared a look. They had both forgotten she was there.

"Don't worry about it, Luisa," Fiona assured her. "This is Adam, my new boyfriend."

Adam raised a teasing eyebrow at her before turning back to the woman. "Nice to meet you," he said politely.

Luisa nodded. "I'm sorry about earlier."

Adam shook his head. "It's fine. For all you knew I was some random dude or something," he pointed out. He was happy he got her to smile.

Kai cleared his throat. "Are we all ready to go?" He was standing off to the side with everyone from the upstairs office.

Fiona nodded. "I think so." She could tell none of them was looking at her. All eyes were on Adam. She turned to him and grabbed his hand. "Everyone, this is Adam."

Laura and Jessica shared a look. He was one of those people who looked great in photos, but miraculously looked even better in person. He had short, straight medium brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall and had a defined jaw with slight stubble. He was dressed business casual in jeans, a button down shirt, and a brown jacket. Standing next to Fiona, the two of them made a striking couple.

"Hello everyone," he greeted them with a hint of amusement. Perhaps individual introductions would be made later.

George and Tom looked at each other. Her boyfriend had a rather deep voice. It was hard for them to imagine him ever being a girl.

Fiona softly laughed before continuing. "Adam, this is Hanna, Kai, Laura, Lynn, Jessica, George, Tom…"

-oOo-

"So you're Adam?" Hanna said with a smirk. They had all walked to a nearby bar and were settled in. She was thrilled that she had the chance to pull him aside. She had some burning questions.

He nodded. "I am. You're Hanna Roberts-Sailing, co-owner and Fiona's friend from college," he responded.

She looked at him impressed. "You really did your homework!" she grinned.

He laughed. "I just have a pretty good memory. Fiona has talked about you."

"Really?" Hanna said surprised. She figured Fiona and Adam spent most of their time together making out since they were in their new relationship phase. She had been genuinely surprised when Fiona said they were holding off on sex. She just assumed making such an impulsive jump from one relationship to another was fueled by the physical.

"Of course. The business is a big part of her life," Adam noted. "I'm really proud of her and am in awe of what you guys do."

Hanna smiled warmly. "Thanks." She felt a little bad for rushing to judgment about them. "So, Fiona says you work in IT. What exactly do you do?"

"I'm a Systems Database Coordinator." He resisted the urge to laugh when he saw her eyes glaze over.

"And what is that in laymen's terms?" she questioned.

They both laughed.

"I work for a pharmaceutical company and we have various public and internal web portals. I make sure that the databases for every site are online and functioning at peak efficiency. If there's a problem, I troubleshoot and coordinate with relevant departments to get it fixed. A large amount of data is added to our databases each day, so there's a lot of maintenance work," he explained.

Hanna nodded. She still didn't quite understand. She was a creative person, although she also had a flair for business and was skilled at organization. However, when it came to computers anything beyond email and writing programs hit the limits of her understanding.

"Usually I just say that I work with computers," Adam joked.

Hanna laughed. "I think that explains it better!"

They clinked glasses.

"We got our drinks. I guess we should go back to the group," Hanna commented.

Adam nodded. It had been quite the wait at the bar, but they finally got what they wanted. He was carrying a drink in each hand, one for him and one for Fiona.

"But first… Don't take this the wrong way, but you guys have been together for five days. How do you really know you're in love?" she asked.

Adam raised an eyebrow. That was a rather heavy question. He recognized that she was looking out for Fiona, so he wasn't offended or anything. "Because I know. I feel it through and through. I can't really put it into words, but I feel like my adult life can divided up into two parts. My life without Fiona, and my life after she came back into it. I love her with my whole heart and yes, it's very sudden but it feels right on every level."

The conviction in his voice blew Hanna away. It struck her that he sounded just like Fiona did when talking about their relationship. Hanna was worried that her friend was falling too deeply and might be in for a rude awakening if she was more invested than he was. However, it was clear that Adam was a man who could not be moved. He was just as in love with Fiona as she was with him.

"She's the one," Adam concluded.

Hanna smiled brightly. "She says that about you, too."

Adam's eyes lit up. "She does?"

Hanna laughed and shook her head. He was adorable. "Come on, Romeo. Let's get back to the party." He grinned and followed her.

.

tbc

A/N: Wow, 16 chapters in and we finally learn more about what Adam does for a living, lol! Did any of you guys follow that? (yeah, I dialed up the techie speak!) We'll be meeting some of his friends later on in the story (and they'll get multi-chapter treatment too!)

Anyway, doesn't her office seem like the type to have regular happy hour? Lol! They're a funny bunch, and small offices are kind of awesome. In mine we're definitely not as familiar with one another (no way!) but we do have beer Fridays from time to time, which is cool.

Reviews rock! :D