Chapter 1: Introducing Bella
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own twilight or any of its characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just put them to work in a call center.
A/N: Thanks to my beta, Heather Fellure, for helping me improve my story. She's put up with more from me than anyone should have to when it comes to helping a person improve. Thanks also to my pre-readers, Jenna and Tricia. You gals rock and I adore you! Any mistakes you still find are all mine because I wouldn't leave it alone. Enjoy!
Wonderful, I thought to myself as I shut off the alarm. Another day I had to spend in that god-forsaken office in which I worked. I absolutely dreaded getting up and going there sometimes. Most of the time, I liked my job. I liked making someone's day by helping them. Taking calls from people who were upset then fixing the problem to have them happy at the end of their call. That was what I lived for. If people would only read the directions that are posted on the sites or the instructions that are included with items, they wouldn't have to call. But, without the calls, I would not have had this job, so it's a win-win for me and the callers.
My name is Isabella Swan and I work in a call center assisting people with problems navigating websites. I had been there for three years. I was the top performer on my team and I trained all of the new associates that came in. The last person that I had trained caught on quickly and became one of my closest friends. Her name was Alice Hale and she had been there for six months.
I received my degree in management from the University of Washington and had been working hard trying to advance to that next level there at Seattle Exchange. I eventually wanted to get to the point where I could run a team myself, seeing as I already did most of the work that my boss did. I had heard rumors that he was getting ready to retire and that explained why I had to constantly go back and rework the numbers on the reports and spreadsheets before they were sent to the client.
It's Friday, and as expected, I hear Mr. Newton calling for me to come to his office. I gathered my notebook, pen, and gave Alice my 'save me' look before I headed for his office. We discussed which reports needed be looked over and revised. An hour later, I finally returned to my desk. I looked over the reports and time sheets to finalize them. All of a sudden, Jessica from Human Resources was standing over me with the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life. I tried to stand up to introduce myself and almost fell out of the chair in my awed haste.
He was tall and lean He had bright green eyes and bronze hair. He also had a strong, defined jaw line. My jaw dropped and I was completely dazzled by him. "Ahem," Jessica said, clearing her throat, bringing me back to attention.
"Jessica," I said, blushing. "How can I help you?"
"I just wanted to introduce you to your new trainee that will be starting on Monday," she responded.
I flushed bright red and introduced myself, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Bella Swan, and you are?" I ask.
"Edward Cullen," He responded while shaking my hand.
After the introduction, I explained what we did in the department and asked if he had any experience with the internet. He did, which meant this would be easy. I told him what time we start in the mornings before we said goodbye.
Instead of dreading Monday morning, I was looking forward to coming to work. I could not wait to find out more about him. During our brief introduction, he had this sparkle in his eyes and this crooked grin that hinted that he was playful and carefree and that would be a fresh change to things in the office. About thirty minutes later, I could see him leaving the building. I dashed down to Human Resources to locate Jessica and figured out exactly what they want me to train him on since there were multiple projects we were responsible for.
The weekend passed in a blur as I wondered what this new employee was going to bring to the office. I had never been so attracted to someone as strongly as I was to Edward. I worried that I would say something or that my clumsiness would shine through in the coming week due to my wandering mind.
I woke up on Saturday to my phone ringing. It was Alice. "Hey Bella. You busy? I need to hit up the mall," she chirped.
"Too early," I mumbled back.
"Come on, it'll be fun. Renesmee is coming with me," she exclaimed.
"I'm only going because your niece is going to be there. Give me thirty minutes," I grumbled sleepily.
"Okay," she acknowledged.
Alice knew I was not much for shopping. I did not care that much for crowds, but her niece was nice and she was fun and she could tone Alice down when she shopped so that would help and would keep her from using me as a dress up doll.
For most of the day, I let my mind wander to Edward and what would make training fun and wondered if he was single. If he was, what kind of girls did he like? Would he like me? What would it be like to be with him?
Alice paid little attention to my clumsiness as we shopped, but Renesmee, who was nine years old, noticed.
"Aunt Bella? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, Ness, I'm fine. Just crushing on a boy," I joked back.
"Eww, Aunt Bella!"
After that, Renesmee tried to keep Alice occupied and that left me to daydream about Edward freely and I didn't have to pay either of them attention. I know I made several purchases in a few shops, but I don't remember exactly what I bought.
I spent Sunday relaxing and watched my favorite television show. It was getting late and I was trying to figure out what to wear to work the next day. I needed something cute that would help me dazzle him like he dazzled me.