Like it or Not

Work well together

Elijah waived over a waiter and handed him his empty wine glass, "Do you have anything stronger?" he asked, flashing his best smile.

"Oh yes sir, right away," The young man, with ginger hair, nodded taking the empty glass.

"Make that two," Derek piped in, no smile on his face.

The awkward silence that fell over the table then was suffocating.

"Should I call Jackson and let him know-"

"No," Derek cut Stiles off. "I'll speak with him tomorrow."

Elijah looked at Derek with an expression Stiles couldn't read. "It will be interesting to work together again."

Derek clenched his jaw and gave a forced smile, though it came out as more of a sneer.

"And I'm very much looking forward to working with you," Elijah turned his eyes to Stiles next.

Derek's fists clenched as he refrained from saying anything. He refused to let Elijah win. He was just trying to rile him up.

At that moment, the waiter returned with two dark colored drinks.

"Thank you," Elijah gave a wink before taking a sip.

Derek on the other hand, downed half of his.

"Did you two work well together?" Declan spoke up, his eyes glancing between Derek and Elijah.

"We worked very well together," Elijah gave Derek a fond smile as if he were recalling better times.

"Until we didn't," Derek's voice was sharp. He took another long swig of his drink.

"I'm sure we'll fall back into the swing of things. It's familiar after all," Elijah winked.

Derek gave his ex a glare before tossing back the last of his drink.

"We should be going," Derek pushed away from the table then.

Stiles didn't argue as he followed suit.

"Good seeing you again, Derek," Elijah spoke up, turning in his chair.

Derek paused, his jaw clenching again, "I'll be in contact," he grit out.

Elijah smiled, "It was nice meeting you, Stiles."

"You as well," Stiles gave a small smile and a polite nod to both Elijah and Declan.

Derek threw his arm around Stiles' shoulder, pulling him in, "Go a head to the car, I'll meet you there," he whispered in his ear.

Stiles could smell the alcohol on his breath and wondered what Derek's tolerance was. He'd never seen Derek drink.

"Okay," Stiles nodded.

Derek watched as Stiles made his way towards the exit before scanning the room for his boss. He spotted him talking to a red head in a long purple dress.

"Excuse me, Mr. Salvatore," Derek interrupted.

"Ah, here he is, my main man," Stefan grinned, throwing an arm around his shoulder, "Rowena, this is Derek Hale, he is the best of the best and I can assure you he will do this project justice. Derek, this is Rowena, we'll be using some of her designs for the project."

"Mr. Hale, I have heard so much about you and your partner Mr. Mikealson. I very much look forward to seeing how you two make this project come to life," Rowena extended a hand, her bright red lips pulled into a wide smile.

"It's my pleasure," Derek took her hand, "Is that a Scottish accent I hear?" he knew how to manipulate clients.

"It is," Rowena grinned wider.