Chapter One

Meet Your New Co-Worker

"Edward!" A loud booming voice reached my ears from the doorway of my office. Sighing, I opened my eyes and glared at my unwelcome intruder from my place on the couch. I knew that voice anywhere-Emmett, I sighed again.

"Well, it really must be nice to find time to lay down and sleep at work." Emmett said as he entered my office. His large build cast a shadow over my lounging figure as he gave me a good-natured grin.

I glared up at him from the brown leather couch I had sprawled myself across and rolled my eyes at him as he towered over me. "And what exactly do you want Emmett? Can't you see I'm trying to get work done?" I replied as I closed my eyes again.

Emmett tried not to snort at my response before replying, "Edward, dude, my dad is here and he wants to have a conference with a few people in the office." Emmett let out a sigh as he continued, "He never calls an emergency meeting-" Emmett trailed off in thought.

I opened my eyes and studied my friend standing in front of me. His normal carefree physique was hunch over with a sense of dread over the possibility of bad news. I could tell by his worried brown eyes that he did not know what news was to be exchanged at this meeting. I watched as Emmett tried to manage a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, "So we've gotta go man! Maybe dad wants to give us all raises!" He said as he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

I rolled my eyes as I sat up. "Relax, Emmett. Swan Industries has been doing a magnificent job this past quarter. Real Estate sales are threw the roof and clients have been calling non-stop to sell their major estates through us. Whatever your dad wants, it has nothing to do with bad news concerning the company." I stretched before standing and turning my attention out of my high-rise window view. I quickly glanced over the city of Seattle as my heart began to beat with anticipation. "Maybe your dad has another big client for us." I swept my excited gaze from the city view back to Emmett as I ran my hand through my hair.

Emmett shrugged good-naturedly, "Only you would get excited over the prospect of more work." He shook his head and motioned for me to follow him to the meeting.

I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets and followed Emmett as my mind raced with the possibility of a challenging real estate sale. As we walked into the main office, my attention was quickly drawn to the handful of workers who were shuffling across the office with boxes and paper work in hand. My suspicions elevated as we walked past them into the boardroom.

In the boardroom, as expected, were the secretaries of the office Angela and Jessica. I quietly sat across the table from Emmett as I gave a silent nod to the two girls. Angela, who was sitting to my right, quietly slid a file of paperwork in front of me. I gave her a quick smile of appreciation before thumbing through the quarterly reports.

"Why so serious everyone?" A voice said from the doorway. The voice almost left an echo from its loud nature and I gripped the papers in my hands more firmly as I realized who would be joining our board meeting. I lifted my eyes slowly to focus on Jacob, the company's financial director. Jacob happened to be a family friend who was brought into the company shortly after he finished college. His cocky mannerisms rubbed me the wrong way since the first day I met him and I have tried to avoid any type of human contact with him since. Much to my dismay, I found that I had to deal with him more than I would like.

"Jacob, we are not so much as serious-as anxious to see what dad has in store for this meeting." Emmett replied smoothly as he quickly glanced in my direction. I knew Emmett would speak up in this case because he knew of my dislike of Jacob Black.

Jacob shrugged before taking a seat next to Emmett and purposefully in my direct line of view. "Edward, still as pissy as ever I see," Jacob said with a small smile as he leaned back in his chair as if to portray to the room that he owned the company. "It must be hard to be the company's Mentalist."

My eyes narrowed automatically as I glanced up at the cocky young boy. I knew that Jacob spent his free time trying to come up with ways to get under my skin and unnerve me. He enjoyed using my nickname during these exchanges because he knew how to make the nickname sound childish. I had originally acquired the nickname The Mentalist in Marketing school while in college. It was during this time that my fellow students and professors gave me the nickname due to my ability to read and manipulate people. It was also during this time that I met Emmett and the nickname followed me from college to Swan Industries. Jacob took this nickname of mine as a challenge and has been attempting "put me in my place" ever since.

I leaned back in my chair slightly and felt my body relax as I turned my attention to Jacob. I was met with the challenging black stare of Jacob Black. Cocking one of my eyebrows up, I leaned forward and watched as Jacob's body tensed under my movements. "Jacob, no need to be so aggressive right when you enter a room. When you do, it only tells your co-workers how much sexual tension you have built up due to your inability to get laid." I smirked and once again leaned back in my chair. With an ego as big as Jacob's, taking a shot at his sex life was one of the quickest ways to get him to shut up.

Emmett snorted before he let out a heart-felt laugh. Jacob's eye, on the other hand, lit up with anger as his mouth open and closed trying to come up with a quick rebuttal. Just as Jacob began stuttering out half-sentences, Charlie walked in to the board room. "Well, it's good to see that you are all in good spirits." Charlie said dryly as he looked at his son Emmett who was still laughing in his seat. Emmett quietly tried to calm down by coughing through his laughs until they subsided. I glanced over to Jacob and watched as he quietly simmered with anger as Charlie approached the table.

The room quieted down quickly as Charlie Swan sat down at the head of the table. "I want to thank you all for being here on such short notice." Charlie said as he glanced around the table. "I also want to congratulate you all on such a profitable yearly quarter! We have had a substantial increase in sales over this past quarter. We have been increasing our real estate sales over the past four year thanks to both my son, Emmett, and Edward Cullen. However, I am astounded by the results of their work over this past quarter. Good job boys!" Charlie smiled gratefully to both of us.

Emmett motioned to me as he began speaking, "Dad, you really need to give Edward most of that credit. He really knows how to work the clients in order to make the sale. It's really amazing to watch."

I rolled my eyes at Emmett as I shook my head to Charlie, "Emmett's just being humble. He is a huge asset to this team. You should be extremely proud of your son." I argued in order to get the attention of the room to shift back to Charlie and Emmett.

Charlie beamed. "I am, thank you Edward." Charlie cleared his throat as he continued, "I also called this meeting in order to notify you all of a big change that is coming into this office." Charlie waited as if to watch the room for a reaction. Everyone in the room seemed to tense at the thought of change but I was still optimistic at the prospect of a beneficial change.

"I have hired another Real Estate agent to help us with our increase in clients." Charlie said as his eyes gleamed in delight.

The wind seemed to leave my lungs as my expression probably matched those of the other individuals in the room. The room grew silent with dread before Emmett found his voice. "Dad...I don't understand. Edward and I manage the clients along with the assistants. Everything is running smoothly-I really don't think we need someone else to help us."

Charlie raised his hand to quiet Emmett, "Emmett, both you and Edward practically live up here. The client base has grown-substantially! We need someone to help you take on all of this new business. We need someone as good as the both of you."

This time I spoke up to Charlie's reasoning. ", Emmett and I love what we do. The amount of work we have is enough to keep us busy but I believe that we have been able to maintain and control the clients up to this point."

"Edward, do not be so humble. You boys would sleep up here if I let you! That is just not healthy. We need someone to help you." Charlie reassured.

Emmett glanced at me quickly with a knowing glance. I glared back as if to say that I was just resting my eyes while I was on the couch. I glanced back at Charlie as I assessed him, looking for a doubting thought to cross his eyes or a switch in body language to let me know that he was unsure. However, no such body language betrayed him. He seemed extremely happy with his decision and set on implementing it.

I sighed and looked over to Emmett who was looking at me expectantly. I shrugged signaling to him that his father was not going to budge on the issue. Emmett hung his head in disappointment before addressing his father. "So, who are the people you are considering for this position?"

Charlie's smile broadened, "I have already hired someone."

Everyone's jaw dropped who was sitting at the table; however, I could not help but clench mine. My eyes narrowed as I looked at Charlie critically. What was his angle, what was he trying to accomplish here, what was Charlie's agenda? Charlie was the type to hire people he trusted. Normally, these people were family friends...like Jacob Black. Sometimes these choices were not always the best options or the most strategical for the company. My anxiety heightened with the thought of another Jacob Black working daily with Emmett and I.

"Now, with that said-I want both Emmett and Edward to work directly with this new member of the company in order to get them acquainted with how the business is run. You will both be taking this new employee to appointments, real estate sites, client meetings, etc. Anything that you two do now...this new person will be by your side doing and learning. At least for now." Charlie instructed with a gleam of pride in his eye. I could not help but catch the enjoyment he was receiving as he spoke without revealing who the new co-worker was.

Emmett let out a helpless breath of air as he rubbed his forehead in irritation. "Dad, you know I am not the patient one in the family. Who is he? Who is the new co-worker?"

Charlie chuckled, "Who ever said your new co-worker was a he? The person I have hired has informed me that this division of Swan Industries needs to have a woman's touch."

Emmett groaned as I caught a flash of recognition at the words that his father chose to use. "Dad, are you saying that you hired-" Emmett didn't finish as he stared at the door to the board room.

Charlie grinned as he motioned with his head to the door. "Why of course I did Emmett! This is a family company and since your sister has graduated and finished her internship, it's time to have her join us!"

I closed my eyes for a second and thought about dealing with a female version of Emmett. I clenched my jaw tightly trying to suppress the anger I felt at the possibility of having to babysit Emmett's baby sister. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and glanced over to the doorway.

My eyes narrowed as I looked over to see a beautiful brown haired woman laughing lightly at Emmett's expression as she leaned against the door frame. She seemed to be taking pleasure in watching this news unravel. I studied her briefly, my eyes flicking over her brown hair that rolled down the frame of her face, to her shoulders, and curled slightly at her breasts. I couldn't help but notice the tight business suit and skirt that clung to her body or her beautifully toned legs that her skirt revealed. I caught myself staring at her body and quickly hardened my features to look unfazed as I glanced back up at her face. Her eyes were directed at her brother as she smiled, "Oh, don't act so surprised Emmett! You know you've been looking forward to this day for a long time." I watched as her eyes sparkled with good humor as she darted her gaze to the people around the room.

"I'm sorry for being so rude. My name is Bella Swan, I am the new co-worker my dad keeps hinting at." She smiled as her eyes finally locked with mine.

I couldn't help but feel the confidence this woman exuded. I also couldn't help the bulge that was growing in my pants as I matched her gaze. I frowned at the woman standing in front of the table and shifted uncomfortably in my chair. At the moment I only had one thought running through my mind, "Fuck me."

So, that's it for chapter one! I hope you like the beginning of this story. I hope to have a lot of time on my hands the next few weeks while school is out to work on this! Please, review and let me know what you think of this story so far. I enjoy your comments good or bad-just let me know how I'm doing.

I love to read stories where Edward is a boss of a company and Bella is a co-worker of his. I decided that it would be fun to experiment with Bella being the daughter of the owner of the company while Edward is the co-worker. I am also going to try to turn Edward's mind reading gifts into something more realistic. Please, don't think this has any cross over with the show The Mentalist. Although it is an AWESOME show, I wouldn't take on the huge task of crossing Twilight and The Mentalist. However, I hope you bare with me and stick around to see where this story is headed.

On another note, if anyone is interested in proofing my story shoot me an e-mail. I would really appreciated it!

I hope to have Chapter two by the end of this week!

Thanks again!

-Kat