"Are you okay?" Mr. Salvatore bent down next to her. How did he get to her so quickly? He was just sitting behind his desk all cozy eyeing her and without even hearing him jump up he was there next to her.
"I'm fine." She responded and touched the sore spot on her head. Slowly, he helped her up and handed her the recorder.
"Are you sure? I could get you some ice or…" He offered looking genuinely concerned she had hurt herself.
Elena rubbed out the pain. "It's just a little bump. I can take the pain."
A flame flickered melting the ice from his blue eyes and she swore she saw the edges of his lips curl into a smirk. It was as if he found pleasure at her response. Maybe she had hit her head harder than she thought as she was seeing things.
"I don't feel comfortable with you leaving just yet. Let's make sure you're okay." He pushed her down to sit. His touch sent that electrifying spark again through her and she knew she had to leave. She couldn't take another minute with this man that had some weird…control over her.
Control. She didn't like it. Throwing the notebook and recorder into her bag she raised up from the chair and fixed her skirt. "I really should go. I have to be somewhere soon and we already have gone over the allotted time with this interview. Thank you for your time Mr. Salvatore."
"Okay." He sounded defeated to know she was leaving. Motioning her toward the door, he walked out with her and to the elevator. The receptionist watched them as they walked next to one another. Elena felt as if jealously was beaming from the young woman, who glared at her. Touching the bump gently, she thought maybe resting for a bit was a good thing. Her mind was playing tricks on her. No! She had to leave. Things were too weird between her and Mr. Salvatore.
"You're sure you don't want to wait a minute to make sure you're okay Miss Gilbert?" He insisted and held his hand by the call button for the elevator.
"I'm positive, Mr. Salvatore." She made sure to pronounce each syllable of his name. His grin was barely there and the ice covered his eyes again. Staring into them they were the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen before and she felt her mouth slowly falling open.
Hitting the call button, the elevator promptly opened and she stepped inside.
"Thank you again, Mr. Salvatore for your time." She said whirling around letting her hair twirled with her.
He leaned against the outside of the elevator frame with one hand. "You're welcome Miss Gilbert. I do hope to see you around Mystic Falls."
A hard knot twisted inside of her. His polite gesture was dripping with an alternative wish. There was no way this man really hoped to see her again. Judging by the beautiful women in his office he got around and met a lot of people to not even remember her or this moment. With the number of years she had lived in Mystic Falls she had never run into Mr. Salvatore or his brother, the chances of it happening now were slim. Yet, she hoped she would see him again. She just loved looking at him. He was a sight to see.
Knowing she would probably never get the chance to talk to him again or see him, she took a daring chance and said her farewells as the doors closed. "Goodbye, Damon."
Chapter 3: Sweet Salvatore Dreams
"You did great Elena." Caroline Forbes chirped as she sat Indian style on the couch with her ear buds in and scribbling her pen frantically transcribing the interview.
Elena sat opposite her eating a bowl of pasta she heated up from the night before and flipped through a Cosmopolitan magazine. She tried to drown herself in beauty tips and senseless articles knowing Caroline was hearing everything discussed hours earlier. It made her cringe thinking about it and she peered up at her ever so often waiting for a reaction.
"I should have made you bring a camera to get some photos. There aren't any decent ones on the Internet that we could use for the article." She sighed and tentatively wrote something else down.
Photos? Camera? She was relieved she did not have to attempt getting shots of him. The interview was already torture and awkward she couldn't imagine a photo shoot going over any better. Just the thought made her want to rip her hair out. Erasing the memory from her mind was impossible because those gorgeous icy blue eyes were still staring at her.
"Done!" Caroline squeaked and took out her ear buds. "So judging from his voice he seems…sexy. Appearance wise at least, he also seems like a complete ass judging by his tone."
Pretending she did not hear her, she flipped the page of the magazine with the article reading, Secret Admirer. Elena closed the magazine abruptly and tossed it to the side. Were the heavens sending her a sign or was she really good at coincidences lately?
"Elena, earth to Elena!" Her hands waved in the air and she could not avoid the bubbly and persistent Caroline Forbes. "Did you hear me?"
"Yes," she murmured.
"And?"
"And he is good looking, but I don't know Caroline who you think is attractive I think looks like an elf." She shrugged her shoulders.
"You like him." Her voice fluctuated. "You totally are in to him."
"What? No!" Elena shouted and hugged the pillow sitting next to her.
"Elena Gilbert, you find a guy attractive. I never thought I see the day." She shook her head and smiled.
She pushed back the strains of hair hanging in her face. "How do you even know I like him?"
"I can see it on your face every time I mention him you tense, like right now." Caroline expressed and crossed her arms.
Becoming more cautious of her facial expressions and body language Elena tried to be calm and collected. There was no use though; Caroline could fish anything out of her.
"Okay, he's attractive. Like real attractive, but it doesn't matter. He's just eye candy Caroline." The conversation was annoying her and she wanted to change the topic, but when Caroline was set on something it would only be her who would end it. Watching her smile like a schoolgirl on the couch, Elena rolled her eyes at her. "Seriously, you can be so nosy sometimes."
"Sorry," She said apologetically. "But I know this may come as a shock to you since you lack in the romance department or in the guy department, no offense, but he seemed pretty into you too."
Okay Caroline was officially crazy. "And what makes you think that?" Elena asked curiously wanting to know where her assumptions were coming from.
"Well, the way he kept addressing your name and the fact that he asked you for a tour of the office. He wanted to spend more time with you and you shot him down. Burn." Caroline emphasized the last word. "I've met guys like him before, they don't give just anyone their time or day unless they are smitten by them. And Elena Gilbert, Damon Salvatore is smitten by you."
"I'm sure he is." Her tone was sarcastic and she hugged the pillow closer to her body. She had to admit, she was hanging on to every word Caroline said about the possibility of Damon Salvatore being in awe of her. Deeply, she wished it were true, but in reality it wasn't.
"Whatever don't believe me." She threw her hands up in defense. "Question though, he didn't say anything once the recorder was off? Like anything I could possibly use?"
"Um," Elena thought about it. Her head began to throb. "Well, I managed to be total klutz and hit my head on his desk since I dropped the recorder. I don't recall anything of use. He was too busy making sure I was okay."
"And you don't think he's not into you?" Caroline said flatly.
"If you bumped your head right now I be concerned too, but I'm not going to suddenly find you attractive, so your point isn't a good one."
Caroline frowned. "Humor me please."
As Elena rolled her eyes again at her, she realized there was a part of the story she was leaving out. The moment at the elevator and immediately as she glanced Caroline's way she knew she was going to pry it out her. Without a doubt, Caroline was not going to let her keep this bundled up inside.
"He did say something, right before I left." The pillow grew closer to her body as she prepared to share the juicy details with Caroline, who was sitting on the edge of her seat. "He said,
he hoped to see me around Mystic Falls."
"Hello!" She was on her feet now. "The guy likes you! Done. Period. Elena, Damon Salvatore wants to see you again. Is that not enough clarification for you?"
"I guess," Elena replied. "I don't know. I mean sure the guy is interested. He thinks I'm…cute. I've never seen him a day in my life before this around Mystic Falls, what makes you think I'm going to see him now?"
"Maybe you will and maybe you won't. Just let things happen Elena. I'm serious." Caroline said giving her a stern look. "I wish you could see the bigger picture sometimes."
Their conversation has thoroughly worn her out and Elena yawned. Caroline still staring at her knew that either her point had gotten across to her or she did not care to hear anymore of it. Apologizing for being obnoxious, she gave her a hug and retired to her room. She to was feeling tired and slowly made her way upstairs. Changing into her yoga pants and a bagging t-shirt, she crawled into bed. As she closed her eyes, his eyes were still staring back at her.
Drifting into a dream, Elena only dreamt of darkness and a pair of icy blue eyes that kept luring her into the depths of the darkness. The sound of "Miss Gilbert" filled her ears and she felt pleasure. She never saw his face, but only his eyes. Why were they so fixated on her?
As she awoke the next morning, she felt confused.
Chapter 4: Chance
Miss Gilbert, his chilling voice haunted her as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Damon Salvatore was on the tip of her tongue. He was crawling around inside her head digging deeper embedding himself so she could not forget him. This man had some pull over her and she had no idea where it was coming from. No guy, not as established and handsome as he ever was had this effect on her and Elena pondered why. Over the years she had found many boys charming and cute, but not one of them ever met her expectations of what she wanted; what she desired. She was a relationship failure. Friendship was her best suit and most of her guy friends or acquaintances lusted to be more while she only cared to pursue a normal friendship with them. In other words, she was a tease.
"Elena, I'm going for a run!" Caroline called from the bottom of the staircase.
"I've got work in thirty," Elena yelled and stuck her head out of her room. "I'll see you later tonight."
"Geez, Elena. You're going to overwork yourself with all these double shifts." She shook her head in disapproval and placed her hands on her hips. The hot pink sports bra and tight jogging shorts weren't just for exercise. Caroline loved to draw attention to herself and she was good at it. She rolled her eyes at her appearance.
"I'll be fine." She assured her. "I need the money."
Caroline straightened her body and turned on her heel. She hollered as she left, "Okay, see you later."
Bold and beautiful she sure was and Elena knew the nagging would never end with her. She was her best friend and even when she wanted to strangle her, she still knew she was only looking out for her best interest.
Once at work, Elena waved to Matt, her friend who just happened to have the biggest crush on her. Matt was a blue eyed, blonde hair beauty and all the girls swooned over him. However to Elena he was just a friend, a good friend. About two years ago, she had bumped into him at a party one thrown by the lovely Caroline. He was a friend of a guy Caroline was seeing and they hit it off instantly. His calm and easygoing personality was exactly what she needed in her life compared to the upbeat, high-strung Caroline.
"Hey, Elena." Matt greeted her as she tied her apron around her waist and stuffed the front pocket with a notepad and a pen.
"Hey, Matt." Elena flashed him a quick smile.
She was waitress at Mystic Grill, the most popular bar and grill in town. She had been working since she was sixteen and was a hit with the local drunks, who came in for their daily dose of lowlife drinking. Her dull appearance she thought would have not attracted them, but she had guessed wrong. It didn't help she was the only girl that worked there either.
"Boss isn't in a good mood today," he forewarned her and frowned.
"Thanks for the heads up." She sighed.
Matt moved around her carrying a large plastic tin. He was the main busboy and he had her to thank for the job. As he walked pass a group of young girls they all whispered and giggled staring at him. Elena chuckled to herself and threw her hair up in a ponytail. The place was fairly busy and she knew she would make good tips as long as she turned on her charm. Fixing a smile upon her face, she made her way to her first group of customers.
As mentioned earlier, Matt was right. Her boss was grouchy and demanding more of her than she was capable of, but agreed to do what was asked of her anyways. Only six hours in to her twelve-hour shift she felt like she was going to collapse. Her break was coming up and the thought of getting off her feet was enough to push her through the next ten minutes.
"Elena!" The sound of her boss's voice echoed from the back room. "Wait on table five please."
"I'm about to go on break." She said aggravated. Caroline was right about her being overworked.
"Please." Her boss begged and she unwillingly agreed to it.
Walking over to table five that sat in a dark corner of the room she drew out her pad of paper and pen. "Hi, I'm Elena. I'll be your waitress. What can I get you to drink?" She asked not once looking up and hoping they wouldn't be complicated.
"A glass of your finest whiskey would be all, Miss Gilbert." His voice answered her.
Frozen with surprise, she rose her eyes to find a dressed down, but still sexy Damon Salvatore sitting at the table. The candle that lit the table made his face glow leaving his icy blue eyes warm. He sat back with his hands folded in his lap and an expression of deep pleasure washed over him.
"Mr. Salvatore," Elena gasped.
"It's good to see you, Miss Gilbert." He said smirking up at her.
"Elena." She stated. "Please, call me Elena."
"Alright, Elena." The sound of her name rolling off his tongue brought back the initially sensation of excitement and she held her breath. Even in his black button down shirt and dark jeans he looked good. His hair was not slicked back like it was in his office, it was messy, but still perfect. And those eyes, his eyes were as dangerous as ever. "I didn't know you worked here."
"And I didn't know you went here." She remarked knowing her comment was sassy. "I've worked here for years and I've never seen you here once."
"Well," He leaned forward still with his hands folded. "I guess you weren't looking hard enough. Anyways, I don't come here often. I don't actually get out of the office much."
His words from earlier still lingered in her mind, I do hope to see you around Mystic Falls, and here she was with him in Mystic Grill taking his order. This was all too…coincidental. For a man who claimed to not get out of the office much just happened to show up at her work a day later after meeting her, she was wary of him. And yet even with his what seemed like tendencies of a stalker, she still was drawn to him.
"How is the article going?" Damon asked still leading the conversation.
Elena realized she was lost in the moment of gawking at him and snapped out of her trance. She replied, "I wouldn't know. Caroline is working on it. She liked the interview though."
"Good." He smiled and then it disappeared behind his facade. Clearing his throat, he spoke firmly, "You're finest whiskey please?"
"Coming right up Mr. Salvatore." Elena said turning on her charm all the way and twirled around.
When she was around him he made her feel nervous and yet there was a boost of confidence in her that she never knew she had. She walked fast over to the bar and ordered up his drink. Matt set down his bin and peered over his shoulder. His eyes were wandering on mister tall, dark, and handsome in the corner. Awaiting his comment, the bartender slid her the short glass of whiskey and she picked it up.
"Is that Damon Salvatore? The CEO of Salvatore Corporation." His voice was dull and unimpressed.
"Sure is." Elena pretended to not care even though she
cared a lot.
"He looks…rich." He said and laughed. "Maybe you'll get a good tip out of him."
She wanted much more than a tip from him. Woah! Elena thought and she gulped loudly. Why was her mind trailing off into a world that she never entered before? Images of a shirtless Damon Salvatore popped into her mind and she blinked her eyes to erase it.
"Maybe," she shrugged and turned around. Damon's stare was upon her and she felt naked as he undressed her with his eyes.
Leaving Matt still curiously watching him, she made her way over slowly hoping to not drop or spill is the drink. Once she reached his table, she set down his glass and he took it quickly and sipped it. "Delightful!" He took another sip and let it rest on the table.
Fifty Shades Of Dark - Damon Salvatore Page 2