Divine Design

I'm resurrecting this story. If you've been following it, notice that I edited the point of view so it is no longer in Bella's point of view, though we still get to hear her amusing thoughts throughout. Small change, but enjoy!

"–nother rainy day here in Seattle, folks. Grab your umbrellas and galoshes because it is a wet one out there. Now let's head over to Jeanie with traffic. Not looking good there is it?"

Bella slammed her hand down on the alarm clock, effectively shutting off what she knew was going to be more bad news, and then yanked her arm back into the warmth of my covers when she registered the cold. She knew that getting up was inevitable, but here in the cozy perfection of her giant four-poster bed, she couldn't even fathom the day ahead.

After a brief internal debate over the merits of playing hooky, Bella rubbed her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh before throwing the covers off her body. She couldn't call in sick today. Angela had reminded her just yesterday that she was meeting this morning with a potential client, and a big one at that. So not only did she have to make an appearance, she had to bring her A-game.

She carried on with her morning routine, putting just a touch more effort into her appearance, hoping to make a good impression on the prospective client. As she clumsily brushed mascara over her lashes, Bella thought about the lengths women go through to impress others. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, and then cursed as she got the newly applied mascara everywhere. Where is Alice when you need her?

Finally, at quarter to nine, hair tamed and heels in hand, Bella made her way out to her car, holding her purse over her head to fend off the drizzling rain. Save a death defying near tumble down the slick front steps, she arrived safely at her office right on the hour. She was lucky. Owning her own business had allowed her to pick a location that was both on a bustling main street but also close to her home.

Bella got out of the car and hurried up the front walk, smiling as she opened the door to see her assistant and one of her best friends, Angela Weber, sketching out a design at her desk.

"Hey Ang!" Bella said as she dumped my bag at her station and slipped on her heels. Angela smiled in greeting, before looking pointedly at the pumps and raising a brow.

"Oh don't start," Bella griped. "While I figured that I should probably make a good first impression with this hotshot client Alice referred to us, it didn't mean I had to go traipsing around the city on stilts! I couldn't put innocent people at risk, you know," she joked, referring to her notoriously clumsy nature.

"Well, I thank you on behalf of the city of Seattle," Angela said with a grin. "But I was just meant that I haven't seen you in heels for a while. You sure pulled out all the stops," she joked, gesturing to Bella's outfit. "Nice, Swan!"

Bella blushed at her friend's good-natured ribbing, glancing down at herself. While she knew Angela would never lie to her, Bella gave herself a more discerning appraisal. I look pretty nice, if I do say so myself, she thought. She was wearing a cream-colored cashmere sweater–a gift from Alice, natch–and her wide-legged caramel-hued slacks. Her look was finished off with a pair of sensible yet attractive chocolate brown leather heels and her long dark hair set in loose curls down her back.

"I know, I know. But I figure, if Alice referred this guy to us, he must be some big fish, you know. I mean, I guess she's never actually met him," she said, "but the man is Jasper Hale's cousin."

Bella knew she didn't have to remind Angela of all of this; she was the one who had set it all up in the first place. Their other best friend, Alice Brandon, had called Angela just last week to let her know that Jasper, Alice's fiancé and well-respected local artist, had a cousin that was moving back to the area. Normally, Bella wouldn't be so flustered over the cousin of a friend, but she knew that Jasper came from a prominent and very wealthy family here in the northwest and Bella had it on good authority that this cousin of his was the pride of the illustrious family.

Bella tried to remember everything that Alice had told her about the guy. He was a lawyer, she had said, who had just finished a long stint as an associate at some big fancy law firm in New York City. Apparently-and Bella was impressed when Alice mentioned this-he had recently been made partner in the firm and transferred back home to head up their Seattle branch.

Jasper told the girls that his cousin had just purchased this ridiculously expensive apartment downtown and was planning on using a good chunk of his new bonus to pay an interior decorator the big bucks to trick it out.

And, Bella thought as she opened up her date book to double-check the appointment time, that is where we come in. She guessed Alice had urged Jasper to tell his cousin about Swan Interior Designs and Boom! the man had agreed to a meeting. Bella realized with a flutter of excitement that if this meeting went well, this would be the biggest account she'd ever had the chance to work on.

Bella sighed with nerves and picked up his file, wanting to remind herself of the guy's name before he arrived within the minute. Just as the horrible thought popped into her head that for all she knew this guy was a pompous douche bag with too much money and an inflated ego, the door swooshed open behind her.

Bella heard Angela chime out a greeting and she steeled her resolve, quickly reasoning that Jasper probably wouldn't curse her with a creepy cousin and that whoever was walking into the office was probably just some normal, run of the mill guy.

Well, too late now, she thought, as she glanced down and quickly read the name on the file. Bring it on Edward Cullen.

Review and let me know if I should continue!