Chapter 2
A/N:I'm completely blown away by the feedback and response to the first chapter. Thank you so much!
In a way that makes me more reluctant about this next chapter! I hope you like it just as much.....
It is only a short one because I had to split it into two chapters otherwise it would have been ridiculously long.
Finally thanks a million to Jo for all of your help with this chapter. Your suggestions were ingenious:)
Chapter 2
"Let yourself in why don't you," I called out hearing the front door slam, shortly followed by heavy footsteps stomping their way through the hallway.
"Quit the sarcasm, we haven't got time for it," Emmett snipped as he rounded the corner into the kitchen.
"Why aren't you ready yet?" he accused.
He didn't give me the chance to reply before he was off on one again.
"Hurry up otherwise we're going to be late. Have you forgotten what central London is like at this time in the morning?"
"What are you talking about? Its only 830. I think I have time for some breakfast before one quick appointment,"I justified, grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal in the other hand.
"I waste my time," Emmett grumbled, fisting his hands in his short hair, a habit he claimed I had inflicted on him.
"Were you even listening to a word I said on the way home yesterday?" he questioned, only to become even more aggravated by the blank look I sent his way.
"Like I told you before we have to fit in some extra interviews so we had to re-schedule to a more appropriate venue!" he explained, completely unaware that he had shattered my perfect illusion of how the day would pan out.
"What!You've got to be kidding me" I exclaimed.
Emmett meanwhile sent me a bemused look.
"We've been through this already. Seriously man what is going on with you? You've been acting strange since yesterday afternoon," he accused, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Jet lag I guess," I claimed and fought to keep the disappointment from showing on my face.
"Its never bothered you before," he snipped, helping himself to a bowl and attempted to grab the box of cereal out of my hands.
"Do you mind," I scowled, sending him a icy stare.
"No," he quipped amused.
"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning," he snipped, snatching the box completely and sending a few scraps flying in the process.
"Now look what you've done!" I seethed, before cleaning up his mess.
"Grouchy this morning aren't you Cullen,"he sounded amused, his grin turning evil.
"Clearly someone's not getting any." The bastard winked at my discomfort, knowing full well I wasn't 'getting any' as he so eloquently put it.
"Shut it," I scowled, pushing past him to reclaim my seat before he took that as well.
On any other occasion I wouldn't have minded his teasing, but in mind of earlier developments I couldn't explain both the annoyance and disappointment I felt at the prospect of not seeing her again.
"You know I'm only messing with you man," Emmett affirmed, taking the seat besides me.
"I respect that shit your sticking to. Fair play to you I sure as hell couldn't do it," he said shaking his head.
A comfortable silence fell between the two of us whilst we demolished our breakfast. Emmett being the bigmouth that he was, unsurprisingly finished first and went off to demolish the last of the juice from the fridge.
"You know we could always do that favour for Alice first. Its on the way,"I offered, attempting to sound normal. I don't think I pulled it off.
Emmett on the other hand seemed rather intrigued."Why would we do that?" he asked sending a peculiar look my way.
"Like I said its on the way, plus it would break up the same mundane questioning," I reasoned, trying to sound logical, but even to my own ears it sounded pretty lame.
"Don't worry about it. Everything sorted now anyway. I'll drop you off on the way," he said, effectively ending the discussion.
"You just focus on getting yourself ready," he ordered, practically shoving me out of the kitchen.
So much for a good day I thought mournfully.
But it could be worse, at least I knew where she worked and even better maybe Alice knew her and could help me out.
After I had freshened up and changed I was ready to head out. As expected the journey across town was difficult to say the least. In light of Emmett earlier questioning I tried not to let my disappointment show.
It didn't help matters that as chance would have it we passed by the same building that had been the cause of much of my dismay. I allowed myself a sly glance on the off chance that she could have been there. Yeah I was pathetic I know.
Predictably there was no sign of her, and although it was ludicrous I still felt disappointed.
What I wouldn't have given for just one look, one moment.
It was obviously not meant to be, but that realisation didn't make it any easier to deal with.
The traffic was pretty much bumper to bumper, and only got worse the nearer we headed into town. I had forgotten why I hated driving so much.
Seriously the amount of nut cases they handed licenses out to astounded me.
At the pace we were going I was half tempted to get out and catch the tube instead, but at least Emmett was good company. He was laughing and joking the entire journey,and repeatedly swearing at other drivers.
Another factor that brightened up my foul mood was the few random texts I received from Alice. I was smiling the moment her name popped up.
Hey Eddie thanks again for doing this for me.
Your the best!
Shame I cant be there:(
Ali x
I smiled to myself, Alice was the only one who got away with calling me Eddie.
No worries Ali,
But you owe me. I may need a favour in return?????
E
That sounds intriguing!
Oh I forgot to warn you, the girl interviewing you is a real BITCH!
Good Luck with that!!!!!
Ali x
Thanks for the heads up.
Shame you couldn't have warned me before hand!
E
I'm telling you know aren't I?
Ali x
Geeze thanks.
Anyway I gotta go now we're almost here.
Wish me luck......
E
Good luck big bro
Remember to beware of Lauren's advances ;)
She is a sly one!
Ali x
I smiled at her term of endearment before fitting in one last message.
I think I can mange little sis.
Hope to see you next time I'm in town.
Bye
E x
After crawling through traffic Emmett dropped me off before rushing away to negotiate several public appearances I would be making the next time I was back in town.
"Only one more to go," Leah my publicist announced after a slow morning filled with a couple of standard and repetitive interviews.
Great saving the best for last I thought wearily.
This Lauren girl had to be some piece of work for Alice not to like her. Honestly that pixie was best friends with everybody.
"Last up we have," Leah paused looking down at her list. "Isabella swan," she eventually finished, signalling for one of the reps to go fetch her.
Isabella? What happened to Lauren?
Suddenly the words from yesterday came back to haunt me. What planet are you from Bella
Isabella sounded a lot like Bella? It couldn't possibly be... could it?
My heart did a involuntary flip at the possibility before I regained a grip on reality. I cursed myself for linking everything back to her. I was bad enough already without over indulging in my fantasy anymore.
Leah was in the process of going over next months schedule when the doors abruptly swung open. Instinctively I put on my usual welcoming smile, but my heart stopped dead in my chest when in walked the person that had plagued my mind for the past 24 hours.
Our eyes locked instantly and I couldn't contain the blatant smile from breaking out across my face. She was just as beautiful, if not more so than I remembered.
She approached hesitantly but when she finally reached me I was too amazed that she was right here in front of me to form a sentence. Since when had I been so nervous?
"Hello," I said when I finally found my voice.
"Hi," she timidly replied back.
"I'm Edward Cullen and you must be Isabella?" I asked, extending my hand towards her.
"Y- yeah I prefer Bella. Nice to meet you," she stuttered, delicately placing her hand in mine.
It sounds contrived but I felt a instant spark the second our hands touched. Judging by the speed at which she dropped my hand and the adorable blush that soon followed I knew she felt it too.
It was nice to see that I seemed to be having the same affect on her that she had on me.
Remembering the manners my mother had enforced on me from a young age I pulled the chair out besides her and motioned for her to take a seat. Bella however stared at it intently with the most adorably confused expression on her face before she eventually sat down.
"I remember you from yesterday. I noticed you talking with your boyfriend after your trip." I commented having taken the seat directly opposite her so I could gauge her reaction.
I knew full well that the kid wasn't a threat but ultimately his acknowledgement served the greater purpose of finding out whether she was single or not.
Who was I kidding someone so perfect had to be taken.
Her eyes immediately grew wide, and brows furrowed.
"Boyfriend?" she asked, sending me a bemused look.
"The blond kid, slightly shabby looking?" Sleazy, pervy, try hard, complete moron, I silently added.
She laughed lightly, a cute little snort working its way out.
"Oh no, Mike is definitely not my boyfriend!" she quickly replied.
I was temporarily elated but nonetheless dissatisfied. Here goes nothing.
"But you have one right?" I asked, only to be rewarded with my favourite blush.
Did she blush at everything? I certainly hoped so, I wanted to see a lot more of that delightful colour to her cheeks.
"No," she shyly responded. I left out a breathe I didn't realise I was holding and desperately foughtto keep the delirious smile off my face.
Obviously not one to be the centre of attention, Bella was quick to divert the conversation back to the task at hand.
Surprisingly though she seemed apprehensive, and slightly unsure of herself when she outlined the way she wished to proceed with the interview.
"Ask away" I encouraged, hoping to reassure her.
Soon after her initial awkwardness disappeared and we both immediately became more confident and comfortable around one another.
In a world of so many fake, overconfident, entertainment types who were only obsessed with fame, looks, and celebrity, it was refreshing to find someone so normal and down to earth.
Whilst I always tried to be polite and courteous in interviews I always kept my guard up, never wanting to slip up and give to much away.
But with Bella it was different, she seemed almost vulnerable and naive to this business. Maybe it was because she was so genuine and reserved, but there was something about her that put me at ease and made me feel comfortable discussing anything with her.
Very rarely did I talk so freely and openly in an interview but she seemed so genuinely interested in what I had to say that I couldn't stop myself from opening up to her about my life, my family, my career. Quite honestly I would have answered any question she asked me.
It didn't help matters that she was so distracting beautiful up close and I was frequently fighting the urge to stare into those soulful eyes.
But as much as I was enjoying the playful banter that we were exchanging, I was less than impressed by the attention our friendliness was gathering.
I couldn't miss the blatant and intense glares my publicist was sending our way. I was fairly certain Bella hadn't noticed, otherwise I'm sure her cheeks would have warmed as they had on countless occasions during our initial chatter.
For a while I tried to ignore the scrutiny we were under but eventually my patience turned to frustration. All I wanted was some time for just the two of us.
I spent the next few minutes debating my next move before finally summoning up the courage to do something about it.
Taking a deep breathe I nervously looked across to Bella.
"I don't suppose you want to get out of here. I know a great café down the road from here. We can stay here if you like, but I'm starting to feel like a goldfish in a bowl," I finished, gesturing towards our unwanted audience.
Bella's cheeks turned scarlet when she registered the funny looks we were on the receiving end of.
She remained silent for what felt like an eternity before finally putting me out of my misery.
"Y-heh sure," she finally said.
That was all I needed to hear.
After informing one of the reps that we were done for the day, I was immediately by Bella's side to help her into her coat. Emmett took great pleasure in taking the piss out of me when I did such things but it was the way I had been brought up.
"Ladies first," I offered, holding the door open for her on our way out.
Most people looked at me oddly when I did that or other nothing gestures, but it was second nature to me. Bella was no exception, and she too seemed slightly taken aback.
"Good manner cost nothing. My mother taught me to always treat women properly," I replied to her obvious confusion.
"She taught you well," she responded so quietly that I was uncertain whether she meant for me to hear it or not.
Leading her out of the stuffy hotel I headed towards a more homely and comforting surroundings that I hoped would give us more privacy and a chance to get to know her better..............
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