A/N: Thanks to all those who left reviews on Chapter 1 - much appreciated :) To those who were wondering if this is deliberately similar to You've Got Mail, yes, it most definitely is! :) Also, it is a completely alternate universe where the characters have never met before. This includes Rory & Jess, Jess & anybody in Stars Hollow, Francie & Rory, etc. To those wondering about other things - like info about Jess' girlfriend and who Tommy is - all questions will be duly answered if you continue reading the story ;)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 2
"Hey, Little Miss I'm Opening A Book Store! I thought you were gonna call me on your lunch break."
Rory smiled at her mom's greeting, but was soon sighing at her next remark. "This is my lunch break," she admitted, slumping into the booth with her grande coffee and sandwiches, finally removing her cell from under her chin. "And yes, I know, it's two in the afternoon, but it has just been one of those mornings!"
"Aww, sweets. I wish there was something mommy could do to help."
"Yeah, I wish there was too." Rory sighed one more time, staring down at her lunch which was not entirely appealing. "It just has to be this way right now, with the store opening and everything. You know, this is the first big project the company has given me to run by myself, so I cannot screw up."
Lorelai made all the right noises in response to that remark, assuring her daughter that she could never screw up, that she was awesome, that her job was totally safe because of that. Unfortunately, Rory knew better. Not that she thought she was bad at what she did or that she would get fired. The fact of the matter was Huntzberger Inc. employed her because she was the girlfriend of the heir to the throne, as it were. Logan's father, Mitchum, ran the show these days, even though his own father, Elias, still liked to pretend he had a firm hold on the reins yet. For as long as Rory was with Logan, she knew she never really had to concern herself with possible redundancy or firing. It just wasn't going to happen.
Taking a big bite out of her sandwich, she nodded along, continuing to 'hmm' and 'uh-huh' in the right places as her mom got onto other topics. How Tommy was doing in school, the fight Luke had got into with Taylor, and all the usual news from Stars Hollow. It was nice to hear about what was happening back home, the tales of the sleepy little town always bringing some comfort, albeit with a good side-helping of longing.
It wasn't as if she hated living in the city. In a lot of ways, Rory loved it. The hustle and bustle, the people, the sights and sounds. Most of the time, she loved her job too, even if it wasn't what she had ever expected to be doing. After Yale, she was supposed to get a job in journalism. A reporter for the New York Times was the dream, but it didn't happen. Before she knew it, Logan was saying he could get her a job at the family firm to tide her over, and too many years later, she was still there. Still at Huntzberger Inc. Still with Logan. Still dreaming of the future she wanted as it slipped further and further away from her.
"Rory? You still there, babe?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm still here," she told her mom, shaking her head free of daydreams and heavy thoughts both. "Sorry, what was that last part again?"
"I just asked how things are going with the whole store opening thing," Lorelai repeated. "I'm assuming there's little to no competition that you need to kill, crush, destroy?"
"Kill, crush, destroy?" Rory echoed, a little amused by the phrasing, but also not loving the imagery. "You know I would never want to do that to any independent stores. However, the competition is pretty minor in the area. One speciality place a couple of streets away, and this other place around the corner from ours that publishes a bunch of its own material, as well as selling second-hand rarities and stuff. I figure there's enough business for everybody, since we're all about the mainstream books anyway."
"Meh, probably true," her mom agreed easily. "So, that's cool then, right? Everybody's going to do well."
"Let's hope so," said Rory, around her last bite of sandwich. "Listen, Mom, I'd love to talk some more, but I have another meeting at three, so..."
"So, go be Super Business Woman and call me again soon, okay?" she suggested. "Mommy misses you."
"I promise I will call again soon. I miss you too, all of you. Oh, but I don't know when I'll have time for another call. I'd say this weekend, but when I talked to Dad, he was telling me about this business trip he has to make and I offered to take GG off his hands. You know, it's forever since I saw her last."
"Aww, sweet. Sister bonding time!" Lorelai enthused. "Ha, it's almost a shame you can't take your brother too. Sookie heard about this seminar thingy that could really help us out with the whole inn running thing, and Michel is totally up for covering, but Luke has the diner and Jackson is already swamped with their three kids. I just have nowhere for Tommy to go."
"Oh, well, I could take him too," said Rory, giving it a moment's thought. "I know it's not quite as long since I saw him, but kids grow up so fast, I'm sure I'm missing way too much. Yeah, I mean, if you can get him here?"
"The seminar is in this hotel in Newark. I could absolutely drop him off on the way, pick him up when we're done, if you're totally sure it wouldn't be a problem."
"No problem at all." Rory smiled genuinely. "I'd love to have Tommy and GG here for a visit. It'll be great. Besides, Logan won't be around, so it's not going to bother him. I can't actually think of a better way to spend my first weekend off in forever."
With that arranged, they said their goodbyes and Rory grabbed at her coffee, drinking down at least half in one hit. The warmth of it went right down to her toes and the caffeine snapped, crackled, and popped through her veins. Coffee always felt good, but honestly, the idea of seeing her sister and her brother this weekend did her heart good too.
Of course, in the meantime, there was work to do! She hadn't even had a chance to add anything to her email for NYC360 and she really did want to make time for that. Checking her watch again, she mentally calculated that maybe she had ten minutes to spare before she had to rush off again.
Opening up her laptop, she willed her emails to open faster than usual, calling up the last message she had from her online friend and skimming through the part she had yet to write an answer to.
'... and I'm not saying this as an insult to you, I'm sure you usually have better taste, in fact, I know you do from what you've told me already, but I just cannot handle The Fountainhead. This woman writes 40-page monologues. Who does that? I tried, I swear I did, but the migraine just wasn't quite worth it. Instead, I have committed myself to Jane Austen's novels. You did recommend them to me, after all, and even though I read them before, I admit it has been a while. So far, I'm not hating Pride and Prejudice, though I already have a feeling I'm going to suffer when I get to Mansfield Park. Fanny Price has to be the most boring, spineless woman ever written...'
Rory smiled, scrolling back to her half-written reply and adding just a little more. She couldn't exactly defend the heroine of Mansfield Park, since Fanny was definitely no Elizabeth Bennet, but she would always, always defend Austen in general. After that, she threw in a paragraph about how cold the weather was getting, the heat and buzz of her latest cup of coffee already starting to wane. Then, she knew she really did have to get back to work. Closing down her laptop and gathering up her things, she ordered one more coffee to go and then rushed out the door, almost knocking over a guy coming in and apologising absently but loudly as she went.
It was a strangely quiet day in the store. Jess had got all those little tasks done that they usually kept for slow periods and still had time to spare, so he was sat behind the counter, just in case of customers, trying to concentrate on editing a manuscript.
It certainly wasn't going to be the definitely great American novel, but it wasn't bad. Still, Jess couldn't seem to keep his focus on the screen. Actually, that was untrue, because he was fixated by the computer screen, it was just that he was more interested in his email inbox than the document he was supposed to be reading.
Not that he had a new message to read. Not that he was even expecting one, really. Sure, when they closed up the shop and he got home to the apartment, settling down to read the latest email from CoffeeGirl84, he often noted the time-stamp when she sent it was much earlier in the afternoon, sometimes even in the morning. However, today was different. Today, it was almost three in the afternoon and still he had nothing from her.
"Guys!" Chris yelled before the bell over the door had hardly stopped ringing from his entrance. "Guys, come on, you have to see this!"
Usually, the most calm and collected person that Jess knew, Chris was all kinds of agitated as he burst into the shop, waving his arms around as much as he dare with coffee and pastries held in each of them. Those items were soon being dumped unceremoniously on the counter as he tried to get Jess moving and yelled again for Matthew to get his butt in gear already.
"What the hell is going on, man?" asked Jess, getting up and pulling on his jacket, sure it must be something major for Chris to be in such a state.
"I can't say it. You have to come and see it. It's just... Just come on!" he insisted, back outside in a second, the door clanging shut in his wake.
"He went out for coffee," said Matthew as he passed by Jess. "You think he drank half-a-dozen espressos while he was waiting on our orders? I've never seen him like this."
"Me either." Jess shook his head, dutifully following his friends out into the street.
He put the sign to 'Closed' and made sure to lock the door behind him, even in the rush to go wherever Chris wanted to take them - this was New York after all. Jess then found himself already too far behind the others, having to hurry to catch up before they disappeared around the corner.
Not that they had gone far. In fact, he collided with Matthew's back two paces into the next street, his mouth already open to ask what the hell was going on all over again, when suddenly, he looked up and realised he didn't need anyone to say a word. "Huh."
There in front of them, all of a stone's throw from their own tiny, independent book store, was a huge sign, outside of a truly gigantic store that was clearly under renovation. The sign declared 'Coming Soon - Huntzberger Books Superstore.'
Matthew sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, that's not good."
To Be Continued...