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IV .. for your consideration
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FLASHBACK — NEW YORK CITY, 1988

it was a quarter 'til 1am and the streets of new york were busy as always. new york had a vibrant night scene and being that it was bella's 20th birthday, jenna decided to take bella out to a nightclub, but just like jenna had planned something for bella, so had johnny. he had planned to take her to the palladium, new york's current 'it' club. jenna decided to join the couple along with her then-boyfriend, eric and met them at palladium.

after spending some time at palladium, they took a taxi to where jenna had originally planned to take bella ; new york's most notable nightclub, studio 54. as the couples walked through the blacked out doors, the bass of the music sent waves through the building and could be heard from the entrance.

"happy birthday hon!" jenna smiled as she led her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend through the foyer of the building. "i hope you're not too tired from palladium, because here's where the real party's at."

"parker, you're crazy." bella giggled as she intertwined her hand with johnny's. "i can't believe i'm in here."

"believe it, girlfriend. it's your day and this is the place to celebrate it." jenna smiled.

the two couples made their way into the club and headed to the bar. the girls ordered cocktails as the boys bought some beers. the couples stood at the bar, having drinks while the dj played holiday by madonna. as they stood at the bar, jenna and bella were spotted by a middle-aged woman, who happened to be one of their professors.

"oh hello girls!" she smiled as she took a sip of her champagne glass. "blowing off some steam before finals?"

"yes, and where better than 54 right?" jenna laughed. "my best friend bella and her boyfriend, johnny are from california, so i decided to show them around the club scene."

"you two are from california?" the woman asked.

"yes, we both grew up around la." bella smiled. "i grew up in north hollywood and my boyfriend's from encino."

"i have a friend of mine who lives in burbank and works for calvin klein." the lady smiled as she drank champagne. "since you two are almost graduating, i can put in a good word for you both and get you an internship up there. i know how hard you both work and you two can and will be very successful."

bella and jenna were in awe of what they had just heard. bella intertwined her hand with johnny's as he smiled proudly at his girlfriend. the two girls looked at each other and nodded.

"we'd love that." bella smiled. "thank you so much!"

"of course, you two are some of my best students and i know your hard work will pay off someday." the professor said. "well, enjoy your night, i will call up to burbank first thing in the morning to let her know. enjoy!"

bella and jenna smiled while embracing each other. "we really got an internship, at calvin klein." jenna smiled as she took a sip of her drink.

"best birthday ever." bella smiled as she ordered another drink. she took her drink before joining her boyfriend on the dance floor, as the dj began to play caribbean queen. "this feels so unreal."

"have i ever told you how proud i am of you?" johnny smiled as he held bella in his arms.

"hm, always." bella smiled as she gently pressed her lips against her boyfriend's. "looks like we're heading back to the valley."

"as long as we're together, i don't care where we go." johnny smiled as he spun bella around. "happy birthday princess."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

PRESENT DAY — VAN NUYS, CA, 1990

bella softly groaned as she was in the middle of a morning make out session with her boyfriend. she ran her hands through his messy blonde hair as he kissed her lips and then went down to her neck.

"you're so needy in the mornings." bella giggled as she softly ran her fingers down her boyfriend's back muscles.

"shut up, you know you love it." johnny smirked as he softly placed his lips on her stomach, leaving a mark.

"you know i do." bella sighed as she flipped the blonde over, leaving her on top. she placed her lips on his as he caressed the sides of her bare body before gripping her waist. "mhm, you look so good in the mornings, with your messy hair and groggy voice. it's fucking hot."

"fucking tease." johnny smirked as he sat up and straddled the brunette on his waist. she softly moaned as she felt him get hard through the fabric of his boxers. as bella messed with the elastic waistband of his boxers, the phone began to ring. "you've gotta be kidding me."

bella sighed as she climbed off of the blonde and reached for the phone. "hello?" bella said as she sat in the bed, leaning on the headboard.

"rise n' shine sleepyhead." jenna smiled on the other line of the phone. "it's thursday and it's past 9:30 am. get your lazy ass up."

"jenna, what the hell?" bella said. "it's my day off, i thought we went over this. today's my day off and i get to spend it in bed for as long as i want."

"yeah, yeah. chill out." jenna said. "i called to give you a heads up. i overheard someone say that they have candidates for that product manager opening. i don't know when they're gonna have that meeting, but i'm just letting you know, in case you get a phone call or memo or something."

"when did you find out?" bella said as she sunk back into her side of the bed. "who said?"

"about 30 minutes ago." jenna said. "eliza heard something and then told tina, then tina told me. honestly, if i were you, i'd get my ass down here at around 11:45 and wait while they call a meeting."

"alright. i'll head over there later." bella said as she softly yawned. "i'll be there at around 11:45, maybe noon. see you later, bye."

bella hung up and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "what's up?" johnny groaned as he laid back down. "what'd jenna want now?"

"they're calling a meeting. it's regarding the job position." bella said as she felt a tight knot in her stomach. "i need to be there at 11:45. i don't feel like going."

"isabella monroe, not wanting to go to work?" johnny laughed as he softly placed a kiss on bella's cheek. "that's new."

"shut up." bella laughed. "i don't think they're gonna consider me, so why go to work on my day off?"

"bella, you are going to get up and you're gonna go to that meeting." johnny said as he caressed bella's cheek. "you are gonna make it, princess. i know you will."

"okay, but if i don't get a shot at this job, you owe me dinner and another day off." bella softly laughed as she climbed out of bed. she headed to the closet to get her clothing. as she picked out her clothing for the day, she felt her stomach churn with nerves.

"you look so pale, babe." johnny said as he sat up and leaned his back on the headboard. "you feel okay?"

"i'm fucking nervous." bella sighed as she grabbed her clothing and placed it on the bed. "and i'm so nervous that i think i might just puke. i want this job more than anything, johnny. i, at least, wanna know if i have a shot at it."

"bella, relax." johnny said. "don't think about it so much and take a deep breath. i'll tell you what ; i'll take you out for breakfast since it's early, then i'll drop you off and once you're done, i'll pick you up and we'll go to lunch, i'm off today anyway."

"how sweet of you." bella smiled as she walked into the bathroom to put on her bathrobe. "i still have to get ready though."

"and how long is that gonna take?" johnny laughed as he got out of bed.

"very funny." bella called out from the bathroom as she prepared the water temperature for her shower. "i have to shower, get dressed, and do my hair and makeup."

"okay, look, i'll help you get ready." johnny said as he stood at the doorway.

"oh really?" bella laughed. "you're gonna do my makeup."

"nope." johnny said as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "but i'll help you with the shower part. you and i have some unfinished business that we have to take care of."

"is that so?" bella smiled, biting her lip as she wrapped her arms around johnny's neck and brought him into the shower with her. "then let's finish it."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

bella walked in the elevator with the feeling of knots in her stomach. sure, she was treated to breakfast after a steamy shower session with johnny, which had made her relax for a while, but her nerves were still present. bella had set her sights on this job since she heard about the opening and she at least wanted a shot at this.

bella looked at her watch which read 11:30. she grew impatient as the elevator slowly went up, bringing up new people on the way, until finally getting to the 27th floor. bella stepped off of the elevator and walked into the offices. she took a deep breath as she sat in her cubicle, which was next to jenna's.

"you nervous?" jenna said as she walked over to bella. "i really hope you get a spot."

"jenna, i really think i'm gonna puke." bella sighed as she took a sip from her bottle of water.
"my stomach is twisting into all sorts of knots right now and the food i ate might just come back up."

"it's gonna be okay." jenna smiled as she sat on the side of bella's desk. "i know i interrupted yours and johnny's busy morning of rolling around beneath the sheets, but i wouldn't have called you if i didn't think you had a shot."

"you really think i have a shot at this?" bella sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "you and johnny sound the same."

"because we believe in you hon!" jenna smiled. "we wouldn't be telling you this if it weren't true."

as bella and jenna were talking, everyone began to head into the conference room. bella took a sip of her water bottle and looked back at jenna, who stayed behind answering phones.

"go knock 'em dead." jenna said as she embraced bella before she walked into the conference room. "you got this."

bella took a deep breath before walking into the conference room. she sat down next to eliza who was also up for the position. she was beyond nervous as one of the supervisors began to announce the candidates.

and to her surprise, she was among those girls, the second one to be named.