Enjoy! A/N at the end. (Chapters will be longer in the future!)
Now That You're Here
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Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives- Nadia Scieva
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Chapter One
First Meeting
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Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
I'll never understand the fascination with high heels. Sure they make you look taller, but so what? I'm not willing to break my ankle, hell my neck, trying to wear seven-inch stilettos just to appeal to the opposite sex. I mean come on... we already have to wear a death trap on our chest as it is.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Damn her. Damn Alice. She put me in heels. HEELS, for god sakes! "They're only three inches," she'd said. Like that mattered now, when I'm walking in this never-ending hellhole of a hallway; every step reverberating loudly for everyone to hear. How long is this freaking hallway anyways? I walked in here like three months ago…
Clack. Clack.
I stop in front of a large frosted door. The numbers ,13201, are etched neatly into the glass. I sigh loudly, pushing open the door. This is gonna be fun…
White. My eyes are assaulted with the color white. It's everywhere, even under my feet. I walk over to the large secretary desk where the blond haired, blue eyed receptionist sits, eyeing me coolly over the glossy white counter top. "Can I help you?" My god her voice is as nasal as a donkey. He-haw.
"My name is Isabella Swan. I have a meeting with Edward Cullen regarding my shop."
I don't enjoy the knowing smirk she gives me. "Just one moment." She holds up one perfectly manicured finger, while pushing a small black button with her other hand. "Mr. Cullen, your five o'clock is here." I hear static and a garbled voice from behind the desk. "Go on in." She points towards the large double doors behind her.
"Thanks…" How the hell did she understand that? I walk unsteadily to the doors; my legs wobbling slightly from the heels and push open the surprisingly heavy doors.
Unlike the lobby, the room I walk into is varying shades of grey and black. In the corner of the room is a small black sofa and straight ahead, a large black desk. My favorite part of the room: large windows cover three sides of the wall, giving a view of the city below.
"Miss. Swan?" My eyes snap over to the desk in front of me.
Wow. Wowy wow Wow. My mind is mush. The gentleman sitting behind the desk has to be a model. Tall, lean, tousled bronze hair and piercing green eyes. His face is so chiseled I wouldn't be surprised if he could cut glass with his cheek. He raises one perfect eyebrow, waiting for me to speak.
"Uhm... yes." I clear my throat. "You must be Edward Cullen." I walk over to him and shake his hand before sitting down in one of the plush dark chairs in front of him.
"Nice to meet you. Now you're here to discuss the property on 47th street?"
"Yes," I say, fiddling with my fingers. "I know the original contract is set to expire next month on my father's bookstore, but I came here hoping you could extend it for a little while longer- just until I can pay off the rent and debt my father owes your company."
"I don't see how that's possible. You do realize your father was not only behind on rent, but when he died, he still owed over two hundred thousand dollars to this company."
My eyebrows knit together. "That doesn't make any sense. I know my father was behind on rent, but he didn't owe you that much. Why would my father borrow that much money?'
"You have a Bachelor's in English, am I correct Miss. Swan?"
"What-," I start, and then my eyes go wide with realization. "He borrowed your money to send me to college?" Before I'd started college, my father had told me a trust fund had been set up in my name. There never was a trust fund…
"Of course at the time, your father still owned the bookstore, so I offered to lend him the money in exchange for thirty percent profit of his sales until I was paid back in full, with five percent interest. Then your father got sick and not only did I stop receiving the money I had lent your father, but he got very behind on rent."
I feel the blood draining from my face as he continues. "I truly am sorry for your loss, but there is no way I can give you leniency on the property. I have a business to run." He purses his lips. "I'll give you to the end of next week to pack up your belongings and then I'll have someone come by and survey the contents of the store and let you know how much you owe me then."
"Please!" I beg. "Please don't do this. I'll do anything to keep it. Anything, I swear!" It was all I had left of my father.
He shifts in his seat, something flashes in his eyes too quickly for me to see. He stares at me, pursing his lips. "Hmm…. I may be able to think of something, but you won't like it."
"I'll do it." I sit at the edge of my seat, staring intently. "I will do anything to keep the store. Anything at all."
He chuckles darkly. "I wouldn't be so quick to say that if I were you. Meet me here Wednesday morning. I need time to think." Standing, he walks out from behind his desk and stands beside me. "I'll see you out to the lobby. I need to speak with security as it is."
I walk slowly beside him in the hallway, shivering when I feel his hand on the small of my back. Numbly I press the button for the elevator, waiting calmly.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you have beautiful eyes?" My head snaps up to see Mr. Cullen giving me an award winning crooked smile. "Brown eyes are usually dull and boring, but not yours. They have these little flecks of gold and green." I blinked at him several times, my mind going blank.
I'm saved from a response when the elevator doors open. Keeping my head down, I shuffled inside, completely aware of Edward following closely behind me.
There's a moment of awkward silence when the doors shut. I only have time to take a deep breath, when suddenly I feel myself being pushed up against the corner of the elevator.
"What are you doing?" I gasp, unable to process the fact that Mr. Cullen is holding me against the wall with his body. His face is only a few inches away from mine.
"Propositioning," he murmurs against my ear. I barely have time to register his words before his lips are on mine.
I freeze, feeling his tongue trace the outline of my lower lip. He presses his lips harder against mine, willing me to respond. I put my hands on his chest, about to push him away, when he grabs my hips and pushes his against mine. I feel a tingling shock go through my body and when I gasp, I feel his tongue slid into my mouth.
My hands tighten into fists around his shirt, pulling him closer to me. He pushes his hips against mine again as our tongues fight for dominance. Grabbing my leg, he hitches it over his hip and I stiffen against him. I quickly coming back to my senses and shove his chest as hard as I can.
He stumbles away, his eyes full of lust and something else I can't quite understand. Shock? Surprise?
I look down at my shoes, breathing hard. What did I just do? I have never in my life done something so stupid and so reckless before. I willed myself to remember that this was the man I was in debt to. This was the man who was going to throw me out onto the street in a matter of days.
I straighten myself up, staring hard at the elevator doors, when I feel him next to my shoulder. "That was quite a show, Miss Swan." I feel myself tense at his words. "I must say I'm quite impressed. I wasn't expecting you to act with so much experience."
A loud crack echoes through the elevator. His right cheek is red from where I slapped him. I expect him to be angry or shocked by what I did, I know I was, but what surprised me was the fact that he looked rather calm, if not amused.
With a loud ding, the elevator doors slide open, and I rush out of there as quickly as I can. I practically run—well more like wobble—to the truck and shove myself inside the little cab. I throw my heels onto the passenger seat of my little red truck and then unceremoniously throw my head against the steering wheel, cringing when I sound the horn accidentally.
What a fucked up day.
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A/N: Believe it or not, but this story has actually been two years in the making. I didn't want to post it until I had finished the story, but being a college student, I don't know when I'll get the chance. This story isn't perfect, I know there are probably grammar errors and plot-holes mixed through this adventure you guys are about to start. Bare with me- I will get to them...eventually.
Constructive criticism is always welcome- but mean/rude ones are not. Suggestions/things you would like to see in the story are also welcome.
This is also my very first time writing a Grown-up Fan-fiction- all my others have been strictly YA. So yes it does have stuff in here that makes me blush and hope to god my mother (who also has a Fanfic account) does not read. Can you block people from reading these things? Asking for a friend...
Please keep naughty comments tame- I may have written this, but I've seriously have never shown anyone this kind of writing before, and I still blush at those kind of comments lol.
I hope you guys liked the first, unedited, chapter, and I hope to see you guys with me along this crazy adventure.