While I was walking in the garden, Paul had called me as I was making my way back in the direction of the parking lot. He asked to meet tomorrow night since he was in town visiting his family for the weekend. That it was important. So, I conceded. Despite not wanting to see him.
I blinked into the present realizing that I zoned out while I stared at the stupid sleek, and shiny vehicle.
A smile grew on my face as I looked around the empty lot to make sure no one was coming before pulling out my nail file, moving towards the car in conspicuously, and running it across the side of the shiny black paint, smiling in satisfaction as a long jagged line was left in its wake.
I took a deep breath before checking again, and pulling out my tube of lipstick.
I moved closer, and bent down, before smiling as I began writing in thick, bold letters on the side of it only to freeze when I got to the window and came face to face with Edward Cullen.
"What do you think you are doing?" He asked, as he held his phone away from his ear.
I stared at him in surprise, as I watched him drop the phone on the passenger's seat, and get out of the car.
Circling the front slowly, before coming to stand in front of me, dwarfing me so much that he cast a shadow over me.
"Have you lost your goddamn mind?" He asked as he checked the damage.
I had the brief satisfaction of seeing his face go from disbelief to incredulity, before it turned to thunderous anger.
"You've destroyed it!" He remarked.
As he turned to look at me, only for me to duck my head and try to move around him.
"Who are you?" He asked as he grabbed my forearm and pulled me to a stop. "Hang on, you're not going anywhere." He told me.
"Let me go." I told him.
"What is your name?" He demanded, as he glared at me.
"Leave me alone." I told him, as I looked up at him.
"Why the hell did you lie? No one has lost their scholarship."He told me, as I tried to pull away only for him to pull me back, this time causing me to slam into his broad chest. "Now, tell me what your name is." He added. "Answer me."
"What do you care?" I snipped.
He scoffed a laugh, "I get it, Hunter sent you, didn't he?" He asked.
"Who the hell is Hunter, and why the hell would I care who he is?" I asked, as I tried to pull away again.
"Your name." He repeats.
When I remain quiet he smiles and nods.
"You don't want to talk? Fine. Let's call the police and see what they have to say about this." He said as he turned away and began to move to get his phone.
"The police?" I scoffed, "Stop being ridiculous, and please let me go, I have somewhere else I need to be." I told him.
"Why? Huh? Everything you said in that auditorium you said it to insult me, and make me look bad, huh." He replied, angrily.
"Insult you?" I repeated, angrily. "Everything that I said in there was true. I didn't lie about anything." I seethe.
He let me go, as he stared at me, jaw clenched, "Listen, I know what you're trying to do. Many people like you have tried to ruin my reputation and failed, you're not going to succeed." He states. "They've tried to insert themselves in my life and failed. What you did in there was vulgar and low. You think you can just come here and smear lipstick on my car and act all innocent. You are only humiliating yourself." He snapped.
My eyes began to burn as I stared at him, anger triggering my stupid tears. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be humiliated?" I asked, causing him to sigh.
Using the stupid angry tears to move away from him and towards his car.
As I pretended to dry my tears, I noticed that his window was opened and inside were a pair of handcuffs.
I could feel an idea coming to me and I didn't hesitate to act on it.
I bent down while he still had his back turned towards me, and smiled innocently when he turned to talk to me again.
"Look, all I'm saying is that--" He began to say before I cut him off, "You're about to find out what humiliation is," I told him as I snapped the handcuffs into place.
It locked around his left wrist and I immediately the other on my right wrist, smiling angelically at him.
He blanched at me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He called out.
"Let's go to the police station now. I'll tell them how you ruined my life. I'm not scared to go. What did you think that I was scared of you? No. People like you are the ones that are scared to go because it'll ruin their image." I retorted as I pulled him in the direction of the station located close to campus. "Did you think that I was going to bow down and end up begging you to let me go?" I asked, getting in his face.
Despite the fact that I'm almost two heads shorter than his lumberjack ass.
"Okay, now I know that you are crazy. Seriously. You're fucking crazy." He said as he tried to pull his hand out of the cuff locked around his wrist.
A moment later his phone began to ring and he turned to answer it in defeat. "Jess, what do you need?" He asked, exasperated.
I smirked at his back as we stood next to his car, amused. But as whoever he was talking to continued to speak the expression on his face fell, and his brow furrowed. "Jess." He trailed off for a second before his expression became thunderous. "Alright, Jess. We will talk about this later." He told them, before hanging up.
After he hung up, he took a deep breath, before exhaling and turning to look at me, with a blank expression. "Will you walk with me to the car please?" He asked patiently.
"For what?" I asked, cautiously.
"Right now, I can not do anything, if you'll come with me, I can unlock the handcuffs and we can go our merry ways." He told me, through clenched teeth.
"Don't you want to go to the police station?" I asked, sarcastically.
"I've changed my mind." He replied, tonelessly.
I snorted, "You're exactly what I imagined you to be. And why the hell did you have a pair of handcuffs in your car?" I asked.
He scoffs and turns away before beginning to walk towards his car, forcing me to walk with him.
"Be careful." I snapped, as he yanked a bit too harshly, causing me to stumble into him.
He ignored me and continued walking before bending down, and picking up the bag and empty red envelope. "Hold on." He told me patiently.
"Were they supposed to come with that invitation?" I asked.
He sighed and threw the things down onto the passenger's seat. "This is exactly what I needed. There's no fucking key." He sighed, as he grew impatient.
"Honestly, what were they fucking thinking when they sent you that. What kind of friends do you have?" I asked him in morbid curiosity.
"That's none of your damn concern. What the hell are we going to do? I have a fucking meeting in half an hour, and we're stuck like this thanks to you." He growled.
I smiled at him as I bent down to grab the invitation, "Well, obviously not, once their on its for a life time." I deadpanned as I held up the invitation for him to see.
On the thick paper in bold, thick, red, fancy lettering was the save the date, along with the names of the lucky couple, and right under all the info crap was a pair of thick red handcuffs.
"Forever and ever, babe." I quoted to him with a dry smile as I thought of one of my favorite movies.
He snatched the invitation from my grasp and pulled it away, "That is not funny." He said , before throwing it back down and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I've got a lot of things to do today, so it looks like you just volunteered to come with me." He said as he turned to look at the damage on the side of his car and sighed.
"What? Absolutely not. Don't even dream about it." I said. "You already ruined my life, are you trying to ruin my day as well?" I asked.
He looked at me annoyed now, and stared me down, "Hang on a minute. We're like this because of you. But if you have a plan on how to get out of this situation, I am all ears, otherwise, shut the hell up and get in the damn car." He snapped.
We stared each other down for a moment before I sighed in defeat, "Fine," I grumbled, as he turned and walked around the front of the car, yanking me along once more.
"Be careful." I squeaked in surprise.
He opened the driver's side before realizing something, and exhaling once more, as he opened the door. He took a deep breath before looking over at me, trying to hide his annoyance. "Do you know how to drive a car?" He asked me, flatly.
I nodded. "I'm sorry. What? Is this some sort of joke? Because it's not funny. How do you think I got here?" I retorted.
"If I wasn't such a gentleman, I would have said you'd flown, but that isn't possible, so…" He trailed off as I glared at him. He sighed, "Alright, sorry. Do you know how to drive or not?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied in a clipped tone.
He nodded before slowly bending down and proceeding to struggle to climb over the middle console, hitting serval things as he did, before he slid onto the passenger's seat, as I held back my amusement.
Once I was sure he wasn't going to move, I slid into the driver's side, throwing my purse into the back, and closed the door, before adjusting the seat and mirrors. I smile at him as I push the button to lower the roof of the car as he shakes his head at me.
"That's much better, don't you think?" I asked.
He gives me a dry smile in response, before adjusting in the seat. "Let's get one thing clear. This is not a fucking joy ride, and we need to drive in sync so people don't notice." He tells me.
I nod in response, waiting patiently to see if he is going to say anything.
"Good. At least now we know you do know how to fucking listen to instructions." He pipes, before reaching into his pocket with his other hand and offering my the keys.
I nod as I reach with my left hand to grab the seatbelt, causing him to gasp as his arm moves along with mine. His face was mere inches from mine.
"In sync." He reminded me, softly.
"S-Sorry, I only wanted to get the seatbelt," I whispered apologetically as I buckled in.
He grunted in response as he reached for his seat belt with his other hand and buckled in. "Let's see. Since I know you've probably never driven a car like this. I want you to know that you need to be very careful with a lot of things. First--" He began as I quickly shifted the gear and pressed down on the accelerator.
The car took off and he gasped, clutching onto the top of the door frame as I drove through the few curves of the parking lot, and stopped at one of the shoulders, smirking at him. "That's how this car is driven," I told him.
"Who the hell are you?" He breathed, staring at me wide-eyed.
I looked away, not bothering to answer him, before continuing to drive.
A small smile spread on my face as I felt the wind in my hair as I drove.
It was a freeing experience, made me forget about everything, if just for a moment.
"Hey, uh, lower the velocity, we're going to get a speeding ticket." He told me.
I smiled, "Not me, you. This is your car after all." I pointed out as I heard my phone begin to ring. "Can you pass me my purse? I can't reach it." I told him as I lifted my hand, and his came up too.
He grabbed it wordlessly and pulled out my phone, raising a brow at me when I Need A Big Boy by SZA began playing.
"Can you put it on speaker, please?" I asked as my face flushed in embarrassment.
He nodded, as he slid his finger across the screen and pressed the speaker button.
"Hey, Alice." I answered.
"Sweets, where are you?" She asked.
"I'm around." I replied, evasively.
"Can you be a bit more clear? Tell us your location and we'll go over there." She told me.
"I'm not at an exact location, I'm actually moving." I told her, honestly.
"What do you mean you're moving? I'm standing in front of your car right now. Wait, hang on, talk to me, what's going on? Where are you, and who are you with because it's clear that you're not here anymore." She said.
"I'm driving around with Edward Cullen." I informed her, flatly.
She laughed, loudly, "Right, and I am drinking tea with Prince Harry. Don't be mean, I just want to know if you're alright. Tell us where you are and what you are doing." She told me.
"I'm with Edward Cullen, I'm sitting in his car, I'm being honest." I told her as I looked at the road.
"Wait, why? Where are you going?" She asked, concerned.
I looked at Edward as he sighed, "Where are we going?" I asked him.
"To a hotel." He states flatly.
"To a hotel," I informed Alice.
My eyes widened as I realized how this sounds and blinked, "To a hotel?" I questioned.
"Look at the road." He chastises, "Keep your hand on the gear shift before you break my arm." He adds, quietly.
"Pix, what is this about the hotel, and Edward Cullen? What are you talking about?" She asks me.
"Alice, I will call you in a little while, because I am driving right now..
I-- I will call you when I am done," I tell her before motioning for him to cut the call. "Hang up." I urged.
As soon as he hangs up, he looks at me, and sighs, "I have a meeting in a hotel, the person in question is from Italy, he's coming to finalize and sign a contract to renovate a chance of hotels in Venice. It's really important so I can't miss it." He informs me.
I frown, "Shouldn't we go to a locksmith or something? You know to take these off?" I asked him. "It would be better if we did," I pointed out.
He shook his head, "Listen, whatever your name is, I am asking, no begging you, please. First, we have to go to the hotel to do this. Then we can figure out how to get this shit off." He tells me.
I scoffed, "It's not like I have an option here. Look at how we are." I plainly told him.
He sighed, "Yeah, my day isn't exactly going how I expected." He grumbled as I shrugged and reached over to the radio and began tuning it until I found a song I liked.
He reached over and turned it down as I had begun to bop my head to the beat, "I have to make a phone call." He told me.
"What happened?" The masculine voice asked.
"Emmett, I need you to call a locksmith, go pick them up, and get to the hotel immediately." Edward said.
"Locksmith, what for?" He asked, amused.
"Yes, call a locksmith, and get to the hotel." Edward said.
"Wait, dude, what did you do? Did you lock yourself inside a room or what?" He asked amused.
"No, not exactly, I am handcuffed, call the locksmith please. I'll explain everything to you when you get here. Do it, hurry up, please." Edward said before hanging up.
He then turned to me, "You see? It's all fixed." He told me.
I snorted, "Right, and you think that was a good idea?" I retorted.
My phone began to ring, and he immediately hung up. "Hey, why'd you hang up?" I asked.
"So, you don't get distracted." He replied, flatly.
A moment later we arrived at the hotel, and he had me park in front.
"Well, what do we do now?" I asked.
"Wait." He told me as we watched a few people walking around. "Wait. Wait… Wait." He mumbled, as he craned his neck and watched the people disappear before he moved. "Get down, quick." He ordered, as I squeaked and scrambled to move.
He looked around before moving towards the doors of the hotel, only stopping to throw the keys at the valet.
The valet immediately took the car as he stood close to me, pretending to hug me.
"Ouch," I mumbled.
"Cool it." He mumbled, as he looked down at his wristwatch. "Where is he?" He mumbled as he held the folder for his meeting in the cuffed hand.
His phone rang, and he held his arm behind him, making it look like we were hugging.
"Emmett, where the hell are you?" He asked.
He listened for a second before sighing, "Emmett, I have a fucking meeting with Vancanti, what am I supposed to do? If I don't get a locksmith. If we don't get him to sign our contracts, all our efforts will have been in vain, I can't allow that to happen. I can't present myself handcuffed, do you know how bad that would be?" He asked.
"Fine, whatever, just hurry up." He said before hanging up.
"What? Is the locksmith coming soon?" I asked. "I'm really hungry." I added
He didn't look at me as he stared ahead.
"Let's just go up like this, I can pretend to be your secretary or something, that way it's plausible. You get your meeting, and I get to eat." I told him.
"How do you want me to attend a business meeting in handcuffs? What explanation am I going to give?" He asked me, angrily.
I sighed, "Seriously, its not that noticeable. Don't worry, I'll handle it." I promised. "Come on." I pleaded.
"What are you planning on doing?" He asked me suspiciously.
"If I'm telling you I'll handle it, that's what I'll do. You're about to get there late, are you not? So, decide, do you want to lose this client, or do you want us to go up like this?" I told him.
He sighed, "I'm going to regret this." He mumbled before gesturing for me to walk.
"Good, let's go." I told him as we turned and began walking in.
He set down the folder on the table as we passed through security, glaring at the floor as the machine began to beep.
"Act natural." He mumbled to himself as he pushed us past the reception desk, and towards the elevators.
As he pressed the button, I gasped and panicked, immediately moving back, and trying to yank my hand away.
"No, wait. I can't get on those elevators. Let's take the stairs. Please." I begged.
"Why can't you ride the elevator?" He asked me, calmly.
"Let's just not. We can take the stairs." I told him, looking frantically for the stairs. "Where are they?"
"Well, as it turns out, the floor we're going to is the fifteenth floor. Would you like to reconsider your decision?" He asked rhetorically.
I shook my head, "Absolutely not. I can't Let's go up the stairs. I can't breathe when I am on the elevator. Please, let's take the stairs" I told him, as I tried to contain my panic.
"I am not going up fifteen floors of stairs. Let's go." He ordered.
I pulled back. "I am not getting on that elevator, you can't for me to." I told him, firmly.
"Okay, I've put up with enough nonsense, so you're going to climb the sensor like a good girl and the discussion is over. " He replied in the same tone.
We stared each other down. The tension between us was clear, as we stood there.
Then I blinked as I remembered a trick Angela had shown me a while back.
I felt my eyes water, and my lower lip began to tremble slightly. "Please, I-- I'm really scared." I whispered.
The anger on his face was suddenly replaced by concern, as he sighed, "I hate you much right now." He sighed as he led me to the stairwell.
"Feeling is mutual." I mumbled, causing him to throw a halfhearted glare my way.
"Don't provoke me, you won't like what'll happen." He said as we began climbing.
As we were going up the fifth flight of stairs I tripped and gasped as he pulled me back, accidentally pulling me into his chest.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
I nodded, flushing in embarrassment as we continued.
As we passed the sixth floor he let out a breath, and shook his head.
"What?" I asked, breathlessly.
"I just can't believe you're so damn pushy. You're going to get me into another mess today because my patience is running out." He told me.
"What? You see how I can go up the stairs?" I retorted.
"Yes, all fifteen floors, and handcuffed to a lunatic. I don't understand what type of person handcuffs themselves to someone who they don't know. What were you thinking, hm? Do you not realize the situation you have put me in?" He asked.
"Do you think I don't regret it? Do I look happy?" I retorted. "I am handcuffed too. And we can't separate, I have to use the fucking bathroom, I am hungry, and all you've done is bitch at me. I get it." I snapped.
"Listen, nothing has come out right since the moment we've met." He told me.
I scoffed, "Nothing has been going well a long before we met, and it's your fault. I wasn't able to become a landscaping architect because of you." I told him.
He let out a disbelieving laugh, and shook his head, "Oh, and you think that is my fault, right?" He asked.
"You heard me, look, I don't care if you spend your life handcuffed to someone. I don't care if you don't manage to buy the lands of Italy, and I don't care if you ruin your life, so you understand." I snapped.
"Are you done?" He asked me.
"Yes, I am." I snapped again.
"Good." He said as tilted his head to check how much we need to go. "Let's keep going." He sighed.
"Yeah." I mumbled. "What agreement do you need to reach with that man?" I asked.
"Well, to put it short, I want to buy a part of his land, and he doesn't want to sell it." He told me.
"He doesn't want to sell,yet you're still pestering? Why?" I asked amused.
He sighed, "I usually have a gift for persuasion, I am a very smart man, but thanks to you I wear handcuffs with a heart and that will make that man not take me seriously and my business will go to waste. Thanks to you." He reply, curtly.
"I already told you that he isn't going to notice the handcuffs and that I would handle the handcuffs, remember?" I reminded him.
"How do you suppose you're going to do that?" He asked.
I gave him an innocent smile. "You'll see." I told him as we continued to slowly move up the flights of stairs.
He shook his head, and scoffed, "Let's just continue moving." He mumbled.
By the time we got to the fifteenth floor, we were both covered in sweat, and breathing harder than when I ran that marathon with Kate and Angela.
We barely managed to pass the door when Edward bent over, "One moment, I can't breathe." He wheezed, as he placed his hands on his knees.
I nodded, wheezing next to him as I leaned heavily onto him. "It wasn't that bad." I gasped, giving him a breathless smile.
He gave me a look, as he continued to wheeze.
"Alright, maybe a little, yes, but we made it." I told him, brightly.
"If Emmett doesn't come by the time this meeting is over, I am going to either chew my arm off, or strangle you." He breathed as we began to slowly make our way into the restaurant.
"This looks amazing." I whispered in awe.
He shook his head, "Mr. Vancanti is sitting over there. Now what is your plan?" He wheezed.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"Alec Vancanti, his father owns a chain of hotels in Italy, by the sea shore, I am currently working on getting a large piece of land in the same place, I want his to make a resort. Hopefully, it all works out." He breathed.
I looked at him, "Maybe. It will one day." I told him as we made our way to the table.
I made a mistake. I know I did. But wasn't about ti admit it to Edward's arrogant ass.
I introduced myself as his girlfriend, and ended up having to sit there listening to them as they began to speak about the land, development, and future plans on the land were.
I don't know what possessed my to help Edward out, but I somehow managed to get him the contract.
I wasn't trying to, I was only trying to piss Edward off, and I seemed to be succeeding, when I heard Mr. Vancanti speak, a large smile on his face.
Watching Edward negotiate with Mr. Vancanti, was amazing. Somehow it did go to hell which is why I intervened.
Edward was angry, but he took the loss and celebrated the victory.
He did, however, make it known to me that he was angry at me, and annoyed with me after we left.
As we were making our way back down the stairs, we began to argue.
"I don't see why you're so annoyed, he didn't find out, and you got what you wanted. You should be happy about that." I pointed out.
"You have him a fucking franchise." He told me.
"You only have to put his name on a boat or something on the land and he'll be happy." I told him, offhandedly.
"Didn't I tell you not to open your mouth?" He asked.
"I'm sorry?" I asked, frowning. "I think you're confusing who you are talking to, you can't talk to me like that, or order me around." I stated.
"When a deal has to be closed I don't give my opponents the opportunity to speak. What I want to happen happens, if you understand?" He says.
"You are a very arrogant man." I tell him flatly, as we made our way down.
He sighed before he turned to me.
A moment passed before I found myself pinned against the wall, his hands clasping my own.
"Listen to me, because I am only going to say this once. I don't like to be contradicted, disobeyed, or challenged. You survived today thanks to the meeting going well. Don't mistake careful planning for control, and don't think that you're going to get away with talking to me like that." He told me, stunning me for a few seconds.
I wanted to be angry, but I found that as his breath fanning my face, and felt his body press into me. I didn't think I simply reacted.
Before either of us could comprehend what was happening, my lips pressed into his, and he groaned as his hips pinned mine to the wall.
A minute passed, and the kiss grew from tense to heated, into fervent. I got lost in the feeling, suddenly wanting more, but before I could do anything, he groaned again and stepped away.
"Not a word of this gets out. This never happened." He said before turning away.