Hey! Guess who's back, back again? Eminem style. *awkward dance move*

Yes my darlings, I'm starting a new story! Yay! Can't stay away for too long can I? You'll see, this one's going to be quite different from ABTOL but I hope you're going to like it nonetheless.

This chapter, well, this whole story goes out to the lovely But I'm Good At It who has been a persistent bitch for the couple of days, getting me to finally write the following chapter. She's the one you have to thank for the top ass-kicking job.

Without any further introduction...shall we?

I don't own Skins. Shocking, I know.

I roll on my back, covering my breasts with the silky covers.

"Fuck Emily, you really are the best." Richard states, panting heavily as he distractedly runs a finger down my forearm, a lazy smile playing on his lips.

I bring my mouth next to his ear.

"I know." I practically purr, licking his earlobe.

He moans, trying to pull me into a kiss but I quickly put my finger on his lips. "Not now. I have a meeting in thirty minutes."

I get up, making sure to give him a great view of my arse as I put my panties back on, soon followed by my bra.

"Shit..." I mutter to myself, taking in my dishevelled appearance whilst trying to fix my hair a bit in front of Richard's bedroom's huge mirror.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see him rummaging in a drawer as I put some red lipstick back on, removing the smudges created by our earlier heated kisses.

A few moments later, Richard places himself behind me, circling my waist. I hold my mascara brush still, immediately noticing the blue velvety box he's holding.

"I've got a little something for you."

Our eyes meet in the mirror and he nods, smiling, as I grab the box from his hands and open it eagerly, gasping when I find a very expensive looking diamond necklace inside.

I can't help the excited squeal that comes out as I carefully pick up the necklace, letting it glide between my fingers as it shines in the light.

"I thought you would like it." Richard says, lightly kissing my shoulder, grinning with satisfaction.

"Richard...You have got to stop giving me gifts like those... I-"

"Nonsense." He takes the necklace from my hands, pushing the hair away from my neck whilst he plants kisses on the side of it. "All done." Richard says, clasping the necklace behind my neck. We both look at it in the mirror and I smile, lightly touching it with my fingertips.

"It looks gorgeous. Thank you."

Richard only nods, smacking my arse as he kisses me on the cheek. "I need a shower now. Do you want my limo to go to your meeting?"

I shake my head, buttoning up my white shirt. "You're the company's president Richard. Everyone at work would recognize your limo." I grab my skirt off the floor. "Plus, I doubt your wife would appreciate the sight of me riding your precious car."

I raise my eyebrow, smirking.

He smiles, handing me my purse that had carelessly been thrown away. "You're right, as always."

I put on my black heels, checking my lipstick and make-up one more time before I give him a quick peck on the lips.

"I have to go now or else I'm really going to be late." I slightly play with the hem of his robe, giving him my best seductive smile. "But I'm sure we can meet again for a long lunch later this week."

I can see his pupils getting dark again but I don't give him the chance to answer, only winking before I exit his penthouse.

After a quick elevator ride, I put on my black sunglasses and step onto New York's busy streets, checking my cell phone only to find a text from my sister Katie, lovingly reminding me that we have a Fitch dinner on Saturday.

Fifteen minutes later, I enter inside the building of Monroe's Industry, slightly out of breath.

I start to walk towards the meeting room, readjusting my shirt, when a coffee magically appears at my side.

"Thanks Eff." I grab the coffee and instantly take a sip, not even bothering to look at the girl beside me. I've known her long enough to recognize her mysterious ways.

"Where have you been?" Effy asks, her voice monotone as usual.

"None of your business."

"Still fucking the big boss then?"

"Jesus Eff! Could you say it any fucking louder?" I whisper, wildly looking around us to make sure no one heard her.

Effy puts a cold hand on my shoulder. "Calm down Emily."

We arrive in front of the meeting room, and I can see Freddie and his assistant Pandora through the windows, already waiting for us, papers neatly resting on the table in front of them.

I sigh, Effy opening the door for me.

"Everyone in New York probably already knows anyway."She says behind me just as I'm about to get inside, and I can practically hear her smirking. Fucking bitch.

When I enter the room, I instantly meet Freddie's unreadable eyes, Panda giving me a quick but cheerful wave.

"Fitch."

I sit down, Effy next to me, before nodding in his direction. "McClair." Stuck-up cunt.

He checks something on his papers before looking up again.

"I arranged this meeting today because the company might be starting a new project in the next months. One of the biggest we've had in years- probably the biggest ever." Freddie adds dramatically and I can hear Effy stifling a laugh. He has always been one for showing off.

I raise my eyebrows expectantly after a few seconds of silence, waiting for him to continue.

Freddie clasps his hands in front of him. "And the company thought you'd be the best one to handle and coordinate the whole thing."

I nod. Nothing new there.

"What's this apparently incredible project then?" I ask, crossing my legs.

Panda hands Freddie a piece of paper and he slides it in front of me. There's a very rudimentary drawing on it, one of a rather big building.

I pass it to Effy before meeting Freddie's gaze once more. "What's that?"

He readjusts his glasses, taking a sip of the glass of water placed in front of him. "We want to buy a building on the other side of town. It has been abandoned for years and we would like to turn it into a very posh hotel where we'll hopefully be able to attract a bunch of the current hottest actors and Hollywood stars. It's very vague at this point but it has the potential to be big if we handle it well."

I bite my bottom lip, an awful habit I have whenever I'm concentrating. "I must admit this sounds rather interesting." I answer genuinely. It has been a while since I've worked on something even remotely exciting.

The company basically buys old buildings all across the city, usually for cheap, in order to revamp them and that's where, as an architect, I come in. We mostly do shops or hotels and, I must admit, we do pretty well.

"Perfect. I'll fill you in with all the details later- today was just to present you the general idea."

I go to get up but Freddie shakes his head. "There's one more thing you're going to have to take care of."

I nod. "Shoot."

"The building we want to buy isn't actually unoccupied", Freddie starts, air quoting the last word, "There's this small albeit apparently popular Indian restaurant named The Bengal Tiger, owned by a certain", he checks his note, "Mr. Campbell, that has been occupying the whole first floor for almost two years now. As you can imagine, we'd like to buy it as well to have the whole building to ourselves. This restaurant would obviously just get in the way. Problem is, we know from our sources that he received many offers over the years but never accepted to sell the restaurant to anyone."

Freddie stops then, looking at me expectantly as if I'm supposed to know where he's going.

Effy clears her throat beside me, sporting her familiar bored look.

"What does this have to do with me Freddie?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. "I'm usually not the one who deals with those sell things."

He nods. "I know. But you're a shark Fitch, that's the reputation you've got not only here, but in the whole industry. You're the one we need if we want to convince that Mr. Campbell that selling his shitty little restaurant is the best decision he could ever make."

I go to protest again but to be honest, I'm quite appalled by the idea. I've always been one to negotiate and fight until I get what I want but more importantly, I'm used to winning.

I give Effy a sideway glance and she just smirks, probably already knowing what my decision's going to be.

"Ok. I accept to coordinate the whole thing."

Freddie smiles triumphantly. "We knew you would be in."

"I'm in, but on my conditions."

His smile gets a little wider as he grabs some papers Panda's handing him. "I'm listening."

OOOOOO

"Fuck, this is much bigger than I thought it would be..." I run a hand through my hair before grabbing my wine glass, taking a much needed sip.

Effy puts down her pencil, nodding.

She's our marketing director here at Monroe's and therefore, we are used to work together on different projects that usually combine revamping old buildings into hotels or shops, my department, and then making sure everyone knows about it, which is more related to her expertise.

"When does Freddie want you to first meet that Mr. Campbell?"

I shrug. "Well, he thinks the effect of surprise is the best strategy here so I'm supposed to go there on Thursday and you know...impress the guy, bat my eyelashes a bit, throw all of my arguments in his face and hope he's going to sell me the restaurant. Should be easy." I add with a smug smile.

Effy laughs. "He has not the slightest chance against you."

"Obviously." I glance down at my computer, sighing. "Fuck it, I think I'm done for the night."

Effy gets up, gathering her stuff in her bag. "Yes, me too. Do you have everything you need to go meet Mr. Campbell tomorrow?"

I nod. "Yeah. I'm all good. It shouldn't take long anyway."

"You can be very persuasive."

"That's what I've heard." I wink, getting up as well to stretch my sore back.

"Tony's been asking about you by the way."

"What did he say?"

"He wants to know why you haven't called him back." Effy stares at me, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"He was just a good fuck Eff. I'm not going to lie to him and go out on a date to preserve his feelings." I answer bluntly. Sugar coating's for pussies.

Effy laughs loudly. "Fair enough. He can be such a dick anyway."

"I'm with you on that one babes."

"Ok, I'm off now. See you tomorrow Fitch." Effy grabs her bag, walking towards the entrance of my flat. "Nice necklace by the way. "Very discrete."

I laugh. "Fuck you Stonem."

OOOOOO

On Thursday morning, I get out of the cab I took from my apartment, paying the driver before I spin on my heels, taking in my surroundings.

The Bengal Tiger's in Soho, in a part of this neighbourhood that's been slowly but surely developing throughout the last couple of years and that we're currently hoping to kick into full-popularity mode.

I check the address on my phone, realizing I'll still have a few blocks to walk before getting to the restaurant.

I'm texting Richard about a possible meeting tomorrow when a strong smell makes me stop dead in my tracks. A strong yet delicious, sweet smell.

Looking up, I find myself standing right in front of The Bengal Tiger, surprised when I see how small the restaurant actually is.

"It's going to be easier than I thought." I mumble, smirking as I slightly unbutton my shirt. A bit of cleavage whilst negotiating with a man can never hurt you.

I enter the restaurant and I can't help but take in a deep breath, lungs filling with appetizing curry aromas, impressed by the colourful and welcoming atmosphere of this small place.

Wooden tables are scattered everywhere, orange and purple tablecloths on each of them.

The walls are practically covered with pictures, most of them I assume representing India, but a lot of them also represent a blonde woman in different places. Out of the one I can see, I recognize the Eiffel tower, the China's wall and Sydney's opera.

Small lights are hung on the ceiling and many plants are completing this rather eclectic yet charming place, filled with traditional Indian music.

The place is rather empty at the moment, lunch time still being in a couple of hours.

I stand there for a moment, enthralled by the multitude of little objects that have been used to decorate the place before a guy appears from behind a counter at the far end of the restaurant, starting to walk towards me.

"It's a bit too early for curry don't you think love?" The guy asks, giving me a toothy smile.

I smirk, noticing him eyeing my tits. I've got you. "Hi Mr. Campbell, I'm Emily Fitch." I reply confidently, extending my hand.

At that, the guy only laughs, a loud, annoying laugh, before shaking his head forcefully. "Oh fuck, I'm not Campbell red! I'm just the Cookie Monster! Or Cook, if you prefer. At your service." He adds, making a ridiculous bow.

"Well, where can I find Mr. Campbell please?" I ask, eager to get this over with as soon as possible.

Cook rubs the back of his neck, still smiling. "Well, actually, it's not-"

Before he gets the chance to finish his sentence, someone clears its throat behind me.

"Actually, it's miss Campbell."

...So? It was just the intro, I simply wanted to be able to start the real story as soon as possible so sorry if it all seems a bit rushed...

If you feel like it, tell me what you think? Either way, I'm glad to be back and I hope you're all doing wonderful! Mwaaa!