Fic: Five Times Emmett Didn't Meet Elle (Legally Blonde, 3/5)
TITLE: Five Times Emmett Didn’t Meet Elle
AUTHOR: empressearwig
PAIRING: Emmett/Elle, with mentions of Elle/Warner and Warner/Vivienne
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: What if Elle hadn’t ended up at Harvard Law…
DISCLAIMER: The characters of the Legally Blonde: The Musical belong to their owner. No copyright infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to normative_jean for reading this first.
Part 3: Might I venture your vacation plans can wait?
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
Emmett looked back over his shoulder and stared. Standing behind him was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Trying to seem as disinterested as possible, he answered, “No, help yourself.”
The woman slid onto the barstool next to his. She set her briefcase on the ground and her purse onto the bar in front of her before turning to Emmett. She extended her hand. “I’m Elle Woods, by the way.”
Emmett returned the handshake. “Emmett Forrest.”
Elle looked up and down the bar, searching for the bartender. Emmett did his best to not stare too obviously.
He’d long ago lost his fear of speaking to beautiful women; years of representing them in their divorces had cured him of any illusions he might have once harbored where they were concerned. He’d also dated more than a few of them, because money and manners generally meant more to women of 30 than they did to women at 22.
But beautiful women generally didn’t approach him in bars. He slid a discreet look down at her left hand checking for rings. Seeing none, he glanced back towards his scotch, smiling slightly.
He raised his head, and she smiled over at him. “I’m never going to get the bartender’s attention, am I?” She asked ruefully.
Emmett smiled back. “It might take awhile. An airport-closing snowstorm tends to send everyone running for the bars.”
Elle laughed, a high and bright sound. “You’re probably right,” she agreed. “At least I found a seat. I figured it would be standing room only.” She leaned an elbow on the bar and propped her chin up on her hand. Reaching into the bowl of peanuts in front of Emmett, she asked, “So what brings you to Chicago?”
“I’m headed to California for a conference.” He popped a peanut into his mouth. “You?”
“I’m heading to New York,” she answered. Spying the bartender nearing, she waved him over.
The bartender laid a napkin in front of her. “What’ll it be?”
“A vodka martini, three olives, please,” Elle requested. “And another of whatever my new friend Emmett is drinking.”
Emmett started, “You don’t have…”
She waved him off. “It’s no big deal, I’m going to use my corporate credit card anyway.”
The bartender looked annoyed. “Sir? What can I get you?”
“Scotch, please,” Emmett requested.
The bartender nodded and moved away to fill their order.
Emmett looked at Elle. “Thank you. I’ll get the next round, alright?”
“Seriously, it’s nothing. But assuming we’re here that long, absolutely.”
Silently the bartender placed their drinks down in front of them. “Did you want to open a tab?”
Elle withdrew her wallet from her purse and pulled out a credit card. “Pay as we go, please,” she said, handing the card to him.
They watched him process the card, and then Elle quickly signed the slip, and the bartender moved on.
Emmett turned to Elle. “So are you on a business trip?”
She took a quick sip of her martini and nodded.
He asked, “What kind of work do you do?”
Elle set her drink down. “I’m a buyer for Neiman Marcus. I’m headed to New York for Fashion Week.” She picked her drink back up. “What do you do, Emmett?”
“I’m a lawyer.” Seeing her face, he held up a hand to ward her off. “I know, I know. Scum of the earth and all that.”
“Actually,” Elle said, “I was going to say I almost married one once.” She popped a peanut into her mouth. “What type of law do you practice?”
“Divorce and family law.”
She arched an eyebrow, a hint of interest creeping into her voice. “Really? Are you any good?”
“I’m very good,” Emmett said. He took a sip of his scotch. “Why, are you in the market?” He asked, gesturing towards her ringless hand.
Elle laughed. “Oh, no, not me. The lawyer I almost married?” She asked. “Well, I ended up friends with the woman he did marry, and they’re on the verge of splitting up. Where do you live?”
“Boston.”
“Now isn’t that interesting,” Elle murmured.
Curiously, Emmett asked, “What’s that?”
“My friend lives in Boston.” She took a quick sip of the martini. “So did I for awhile, actually.” She laughed slightly. “Small world and all that.”
“Really?”
Elle nodded.
“How long ago did you live there? And what were you doing in Boston?”
She twirled the sword in her drink idly. “My fiancé was a student at Harvard Law. I was working on my master’s at Boston University in marketing.” She lifted the sword to her lips and pulled off an olive. “I finished a year before he did, moved to New York to work for Michael Kors, and we broke up.” She shrugged. “It’s not a particularly interesting story.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Emmett mussed. He shot her a sidelong glance. “Harvard Law, huh? I was a teaching assistant there years ago. I wonder if he wasn’t a student of mine.”
Elle looked curious. “I wonder. His name is Warner Huntington. That ring any bells?”
Emmett thought for a moment. “You know, it does.” Teasingly he added, “I wonder if we haven’t met before. Wouldn’t that be something?”
“It would,” Elle agreed. She drained her glass. “I’m about ready for another drink, how about you?”
He quickly downed the rest of his drink. “I am now.” Spying the bartender, he waved him over. “I’ll have another, and what about you, Elle?” He asked, turning towards her slightly. “Another martini?”
She nodded.
“Thanks, that’ll be all,” Emmett said, and the bartender walked off to get their drinks.
Elle reached for her purse, but Emmett laid a hand on her wrist, stopping her. “This rounds on me, remember?” He reached into his jacket for his wallet.
Extracting a credit card, he waited for the bartender to place the drinks in front of them, then handed him the card.
Elle tilted her head. “Thank you for the drink.” She looked around the bar. “It’s starting to thin out some. Do you think flights are resuming or do you think people are giving up and checking themselves into hotels for the night?”
“Probably the latter.” He checked his watch. “It is getting pretty late. Most airports are going to start closing soon.”
“You know, we’ve been so busy talking about my life a million years ago that I never asked where you’re headed.”
“San Francisco, actually,” Emmett answered. “There’s a conference on the dissolution of same-sex marriages and civil unions.”
“So this is a working trip for you?”
“For the first part anyway. Afterwards, my assistant has more or less ordered me to take a vacation. So I’m thinking about renting a car and driving around wine country.”
“Your assistant has the ability to order you to take a vacation?” Elle asked dryly. “You must be close.”
“She’s been working with me since I set up my practice,” Emmett explained. “I’d pretend that she doesn’t actually run my life, but the reality is that she does.” He shrugged. “Besides, she was right. I can’t remember the last time I was out of the office for two weeks. I need to take a break, recharge.”
“So you’re in California for two weeks?” Elle asked.
He nodded. “I figure it’s long enough for me to recharge, and short enough for me to not start going crazy from having nothing to do.” He sipped his scotch. “How about you? How long are you in New York?”
“Just for the week. I’d like to stay longer, but I have to get back to LA.” She paused. “It’s strange, don’t you think, that you’re headed to my coast and I’m headed to yours, and we meet in the middle of the country?”
“It is,” Emmett agreed. He shot a discreet sidelong glance her way. “What do you have to get back to LA for?”
“My friend Margot is getting married for the third time.” Elle smiled. “I love her to death, but she lacks the ability to choose the right men. I have a bet going with my other sorority sisters. Personally, I give this one fourteen months.”
“Betting on the shelf life of your friend’s marriage?” Emmett asked lightly. “That doesn’t seem very sporting.”
“Oh, she knows about it,” Elle assured him. “She knows how hopeless she is. She’s just a hopeless romantic.”
“What about you?”
“What about me, what?” She smiled broadly, and asked flirtatiously, “Emmett, are you trying to flirt with me?”
He laughed. “If you have to ask, I must not be doing a very good job,” he said wryly. “But yes, are you a romantic?”
Elle considered. “I think I want to be a romantic,” she explained. “I want to believe in happily ever afters, and a Mr. Right, and white picket fences. But back when I was much younger and far more foolish , I thought I’d found it.” She shrugged. “I was wrong. And now I’m more jaded.” She smiled. “What about you, Mr. Divorce Lawyer? Are you a romantic?”
“It would be hard to do my job and stay one,” he said slowly. “But somewhere deep down, I think part of me still is. I still want to find that someone.” He laughed again. “Of course, being a work-a-holic isn’t really something that makes finding that something an easy task.”
“I understand completely.” Elle agreed. “I never thought I’d end up this married to my work, but love my job and wouldn’t really want it any other way.”
“Ah, a kindred spirit,” Emmett said.
From overhead, the PA system crackled to life. “Attention passengers. We are pleased to announce that the weather has cleared enough for us to resume some of our normal flight schedule. Please proceed to the gate from which your flight was originally intended to depart from for status information. Thank you.”
They looked at each other.
“I suppose that’s our cue to get going,” Emmett said regretfully.
“I suppose it is,” Elle agreed, wistfully. She stood gathering her purse and briefcase together.
Emmett picked up his own briefcase.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then Emmett shook his head and withdrew his wallet from his jacket once more. “This isn’t something I’d normally do,” he explained as he pulled out a business card. “But I think I have to give you this.” He presented the card to her with a flourish. “Keep it, don’t keep it, give it to your friend, it’s entirely up to you.”
She accepted the card, laughing softly. She reached into her purse, and withdrew a business card of her own, handing it to him. “You beat me to the punch. I was just trying to come up with a way to give you one of mine.”
They both smiled foolishly at each other for a moment.
Finally, Emmett said, “Well I suppose we should go see if we’re stranded or not.”
“You’re right,” Elle agreed. “So what do we do now, shake hands?”
“I think so,” Emmett said, extending his right hand. Elle accepted, and they shook hands, neither wanting to let go first.
As they headed out of the bar, side by side, Elle said, “If I had to be snowed in, I’m very glad you were snowed in too.”
“Likewise.”
Outside the bar they paused once more.
“My gate’s that way,” Emmett said, pointing to the left.
“And mine’s that way,” Elle returned, pointing to the right.
They both laughed ruefully.
Elle smiled. “Well, I’ll say it first then. Good-bye Emmett.” She leaned forward and pressed a hasty kiss to his cheek before turning to walk away. She called back over her shoulder, “I’ll be in California in a week. Be sure you call me, or I’ll call you!”
With that, she disappeared into the throng of passengers.
Emmett stared after her for a moment, only being jolted into alertness by someone bumping into him from behind.
He sighed and shook his head, and joined the mass of people moving in the direction of his gate.
He fingered the card in his pocket and smiled as he too was swallowed into the faceless crowd.
AUTHOR: empressearwig
PAIRING: Emmett/Elle, with mentions of Elle/Warner and Warner/Vivienne
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: What if Elle hadn’t ended up at Harvard Law…
DISCLAIMER: The characters of the Legally Blonde: The Musical belong to their owner. No copyright infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to normative_jean for reading this first.
Part 3: Might I venture your vacation plans can wait?
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
Emmett looked back over his shoulder and stared. Standing behind him was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Trying to seem as disinterested as possible, he answered, “No, help yourself.”
The woman slid onto the barstool next to his. She set her briefcase on the ground and her purse onto the bar in front of her before turning to Emmett. She extended her hand. “I’m Elle Woods, by the way.”
Emmett returned the handshake. “Emmett Forrest.”
Elle looked up and down the bar, searching for the bartender. Emmett did his best to not stare too obviously.
He’d long ago lost his fear of speaking to beautiful women; years of representing them in their divorces had cured him of any illusions he might have once harbored where they were concerned. He’d also dated more than a few of them, because money and manners generally meant more to women of 30 than they did to women at 22.
But beautiful women generally didn’t approach him in bars. He slid a discreet look down at her left hand checking for rings. Seeing none, he glanced back towards his scotch, smiling slightly.
He raised his head, and she smiled over at him. “I’m never going to get the bartender’s attention, am I?” She asked ruefully.
Emmett smiled back. “It might take awhile. An airport-closing snowstorm tends to send everyone running for the bars.”
Elle laughed, a high and bright sound. “You’re probably right,” she agreed. “At least I found a seat. I figured it would be standing room only.” She leaned an elbow on the bar and propped her chin up on her hand. Reaching into the bowl of peanuts in front of Emmett, she asked, “So what brings you to Chicago?”
“I’m headed to California for a conference.” He popped a peanut into his mouth. “You?”
“I’m heading to New York,” she answered. Spying the bartender nearing, she waved him over.
The bartender laid a napkin in front of her. “What’ll it be?”
“A vodka martini, three olives, please,” Elle requested. “And another of whatever my new friend Emmett is drinking.”
Emmett started, “You don’t have…”
She waved him off. “It’s no big deal, I’m going to use my corporate credit card anyway.”
The bartender looked annoyed. “Sir? What can I get you?”
“Scotch, please,” Emmett requested.
The bartender nodded and moved away to fill their order.
Emmett looked at Elle. “Thank you. I’ll get the next round, alright?”
“Seriously, it’s nothing. But assuming we’re here that long, absolutely.”
Silently the bartender placed their drinks down in front of them. “Did you want to open a tab?”
Elle withdrew her wallet from her purse and pulled out a credit card. “Pay as we go, please,” she said, handing the card to him.
They watched him process the card, and then Elle quickly signed the slip, and the bartender moved on.
Emmett turned to Elle. “So are you on a business trip?”
She took a quick sip of her martini and nodded.
He asked, “What kind of work do you do?”
Elle set her drink down. “I’m a buyer for Neiman Marcus. I’m headed to New York for Fashion Week.” She picked her drink back up. “What do you do, Emmett?”
“I’m a lawyer.” Seeing her face, he held up a hand to ward her off. “I know, I know. Scum of the earth and all that.”
“Actually,” Elle said, “I was going to say I almost married one once.” She popped a peanut into her mouth. “What type of law do you practice?”
“Divorce and family law.”
She arched an eyebrow, a hint of interest creeping into her voice. “Really? Are you any good?”
“I’m very good,” Emmett said. He took a sip of his scotch. “Why, are you in the market?” He asked, gesturing towards her ringless hand.
Elle laughed. “Oh, no, not me. The lawyer I almost married?” She asked. “Well, I ended up friends with the woman he did marry, and they’re on the verge of splitting up. Where do you live?”
“Boston.”
“Now isn’t that interesting,” Elle murmured.
Curiously, Emmett asked, “What’s that?”
“My friend lives in Boston.” She took a quick sip of the martini. “So did I for awhile, actually.” She laughed slightly. “Small world and all that.”
“Really?”
Elle nodded.
“How long ago did you live there? And what were you doing in Boston?”
She twirled the sword in her drink idly. “My fiancé was a student at Harvard Law. I was working on my master’s at Boston University in marketing.” She lifted the sword to her lips and pulled off an olive. “I finished a year before he did, moved to New York to work for Michael Kors, and we broke up.” She shrugged. “It’s not a particularly interesting story.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Emmett mussed. He shot her a sidelong glance. “Harvard Law, huh? I was a teaching assistant there years ago. I wonder if he wasn’t a student of mine.”
Elle looked curious. “I wonder. His name is Warner Huntington. That ring any bells?”
Emmett thought for a moment. “You know, it does.” Teasingly he added, “I wonder if we haven’t met before. Wouldn’t that be something?”
“It would,” Elle agreed. She drained her glass. “I’m about ready for another drink, how about you?”
He quickly downed the rest of his drink. “I am now.” Spying the bartender, he waved him over. “I’ll have another, and what about you, Elle?” He asked, turning towards her slightly. “Another martini?”
She nodded.
“Thanks, that’ll be all,” Emmett said, and the bartender walked off to get their drinks.
Elle reached for her purse, but Emmett laid a hand on her wrist, stopping her. “This rounds on me, remember?” He reached into his jacket for his wallet.
Extracting a credit card, he waited for the bartender to place the drinks in front of them, then handed him the card.
Elle tilted her head. “Thank you for the drink.” She looked around the bar. “It’s starting to thin out some. Do you think flights are resuming or do you think people are giving up and checking themselves into hotels for the night?”
“Probably the latter.” He checked his watch. “It is getting pretty late. Most airports are going to start closing soon.”
“You know, we’ve been so busy talking about my life a million years ago that I never asked where you’re headed.”
“San Francisco, actually,” Emmett answered. “There’s a conference on the dissolution of same-sex marriages and civil unions.”
“So this is a working trip for you?”
“For the first part anyway. Afterwards, my assistant has more or less ordered me to take a vacation. So I’m thinking about renting a car and driving around wine country.”
“Your assistant has the ability to order you to take a vacation?” Elle asked dryly. “You must be close.”
“She’s been working with me since I set up my practice,” Emmett explained. “I’d pretend that she doesn’t actually run my life, but the reality is that she does.” He shrugged. “Besides, she was right. I can’t remember the last time I was out of the office for two weeks. I need to take a break, recharge.”
“So you’re in California for two weeks?” Elle asked.
He nodded. “I figure it’s long enough for me to recharge, and short enough for me to not start going crazy from having nothing to do.” He sipped his scotch. “How about you? How long are you in New York?”
“Just for the week. I’d like to stay longer, but I have to get back to LA.” She paused. “It’s strange, don’t you think, that you’re headed to my coast and I’m headed to yours, and we meet in the middle of the country?”
“It is,” Emmett agreed. He shot a discreet sidelong glance her way. “What do you have to get back to LA for?”
“My friend Margot is getting married for the third time.” Elle smiled. “I love her to death, but she lacks the ability to choose the right men. I have a bet going with my other sorority sisters. Personally, I give this one fourteen months.”
“Betting on the shelf life of your friend’s marriage?” Emmett asked lightly. “That doesn’t seem very sporting.”
“Oh, she knows about it,” Elle assured him. “She knows how hopeless she is. She’s just a hopeless romantic.”
“What about you?”
“What about me, what?” She smiled broadly, and asked flirtatiously, “Emmett, are you trying to flirt with me?”
He laughed. “If you have to ask, I must not be doing a very good job,” he said wryly. “But yes, are you a romantic?”
Elle considered. “I think I want to be a romantic,” she explained. “I want to believe in happily ever afters, and a Mr. Right, and white picket fences. But back when I was much younger and far more foolish , I thought I’d found it.” She shrugged. “I was wrong. And now I’m more jaded.” She smiled. “What about you, Mr. Divorce Lawyer? Are you a romantic?”
“It would be hard to do my job and stay one,” he said slowly. “But somewhere deep down, I think part of me still is. I still want to find that someone.” He laughed again. “Of course, being a work-a-holic isn’t really something that makes finding that something an easy task.”
“I understand completely.” Elle agreed. “I never thought I’d end up this married to my work, but love my job and wouldn’t really want it any other way.”
“Ah, a kindred spirit,” Emmett said.
From overhead, the PA system crackled to life. “Attention passengers. We are pleased to announce that the weather has cleared enough for us to resume some of our normal flight schedule. Please proceed to the gate from which your flight was originally intended to depart from for status information. Thank you.”
They looked at each other.
“I suppose that’s our cue to get going,” Emmett said regretfully.
“I suppose it is,” Elle agreed, wistfully. She stood gathering her purse and briefcase together.
Emmett picked up his own briefcase.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then Emmett shook his head and withdrew his wallet from his jacket once more. “This isn’t something I’d normally do,” he explained as he pulled out a business card. “But I think I have to give you this.” He presented the card to her with a flourish. “Keep it, don’t keep it, give it to your friend, it’s entirely up to you.”
She accepted the card, laughing softly. She reached into her purse, and withdrew a business card of her own, handing it to him. “You beat me to the punch. I was just trying to come up with a way to give you one of mine.”
They both smiled foolishly at each other for a moment.
Finally, Emmett said, “Well I suppose we should go see if we’re stranded or not.”
“You’re right,” Elle agreed. “So what do we do now, shake hands?”
“I think so,” Emmett said, extending his right hand. Elle accepted, and they shook hands, neither wanting to let go first.
As they headed out of the bar, side by side, Elle said, “If I had to be snowed in, I’m very glad you were snowed in too.”
“Likewise.”
Outside the bar they paused once more.
“My gate’s that way,” Emmett said, pointing to the left.
“And mine’s that way,” Elle returned, pointing to the right.
They both laughed ruefully.
Elle smiled. “Well, I’ll say it first then. Good-bye Emmett.” She leaned forward and pressed a hasty kiss to his cheek before turning to walk away. She called back over her shoulder, “I’ll be in California in a week. Be sure you call me, or I’ll call you!”
With that, she disappeared into the throng of passengers.
Emmett stared after her for a moment, only being jolted into alertness by someone bumping into him from behind.
He sighed and shook his head, and joined the mass of people moving in the direction of his gate.
He fingered the card in his pocket and smiled as he too was swallowed into the faceless crowd.