Chapter 2
I want to first thank a few people for pimping my story all over FaceBook. Without them I don't think this story would have made it past the first chapter. I'm forever grateful to TheOnlyKyla, Eternally Edward's Girl and Cutestkidsmom. I love them all equally. Check out their stories. They are truly talented women.
I have one more shout out to my favorite girl and author, Merkle. Miss ya, BFF.
Reminder: SM owns these beautiful characters. I'm only using them for my twisted needs.
~LBC~
"Late again, Miss Swan? What lame excuse do you have this time?"
Bella sighed and resigned herself to the fact that the truth would only be another tale of bullshit in this man's eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jenks. There must have been a power outage last night."
Mr. Jenks shook his head. "Like I said 'lame excuse'. Don't you read, Miss Swan? It was in all the papers. There were scheduled outages throughout the Seattle area."
Bella decided keeping her head down was the best way to deal with this situation. Jason Jenks would never understand Bella's life or lack of it. The man didn't seem to have a heart. "It won't happen again."
"You've had multiple warnings, Miss Swan. I could very easily replace you with any new secretary fresh out of any community college. This is your last warning. I'll be making sure your pay is docked for your lateness. You will, however, be staying late to make up the time and that will be without pay." He said in his over the top voice.
Bella nodded while still looking at the floor. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jenks. Thank you for giving me another chance."
He huffed as he walked away.
Bella quickly made her way to her desk. Why couldn't she just stay off this man's radar? She had thought she was made for so much more in this world than groveling at this man's feet. She knew the only thing that had saved her ass was the fact that she was the fastest typist Mr. Jenks had on staff.
"Bella? You okay, girl?"
Bella raised her head off the desk she was currently kissing. "Angela, I don't know why I don't just tell that man to fuck off and make something of my life."
Angela sat on the edge of Bella's desk. "Unfortunately, Bella, some of us just don't get the opportunities that others get in this world. Look at me. With my grades I was going places. Then one night of drinking changed everything for me. Who knew in high school that I would be married to Eric and have a young child to care for?"
Bella looked hard at Angela. "You make it sound like you regret your life with Eric and Stephanie."
"Oh god no. Don't get me wrong, Bella. I don't regret anything. Sometimes I do wish it had happened a few years after I had gone on to university and became a doctor, biologist or something that could provide a much better life for my daughter."
Bella reached out and placed her hand over Angela's. "You and Eric are wonderful providers for Stephanie. She's such a happy child. I wish..."
Angela was on her knees looking Bella directly in the eyes. "I wish you could be happy too, Bella. You've changed over the years. Are you still having those dreams?"
Shedding an unwanted tear Bella nodded not trusting her voice.
"I'm sorry, Bella. Someday you'll find someone who'll replace him and make you forget all about him." Angela stated as she pulled Bella into a loving embrace.
Bella hugged her back. She didn't have the heart to tell her she was wrong. There would never be another person that could replace or fill that hole in her heart. She would always hold onto that small hope that he would come back. Angela meant well but couldn't understand how he had affected her.
"You better get back to work, Ang. Mr. Jenks is in a very cranky mood today."
Angela exhaled, knowing that she was beating a dead horse. "Of course, just keep your head down, Bella. It's only seven more hours."
Bella chuckled. "Please don't remind me."
~LBC~
"Miss Swan."
Bella took a quick peak at the time before looking up from her computer. She only had a few minutes left of non-paid overtime. "Yes, Mr. Jenks?"
"Go to my office and set up for VIP service. Just so you know, if you mess this up in any way I will fire you. My clients are part of a very important family I have with this firm. Do you understand me?" His voice sounded so hard and evil.
"Yes, Mr. Jenks." Bella responded in a very quiet voice. She rose from the desk and headed into the large corner office.
Bella checked and double-checked the coffee. She set up the tape recorder. It was old and obsolete. Bella never understood why Jenks continued to use it instead having her or one of the other secretaries dictate notes. She confirmed everything was in place. Walking back into the main office, Bella closed that door and sat in the chair just outside the room. She prepared herself to be invisible. Jason Jenks didn't like the idea of any of his staff being in the room during his after hours meetings. From where she sat, Bella would be able to slip quietly in the door for whatever reason without interfering with the meeting.
Bella wondered silently how long she was going to have to sit here. She wasn't happy about having to stay after hours but without overtime it was more irritating. She knew whoever the client was they would enter through the side door. Something never felt right about these meetings. Very rarely would any staff be here for them and to come into his office from a private entrance made it feel more shady.
Bella heard the other door open and then close. She tried not to listen to anything within the room except for her name since she didn't want to lose this job even if it was a shitty one. She had bills that needed to be paid. Unfortunately, Bella must've been listening too hard because the voice she heard made her eyes bulge and her jaw drop.
"I truly appreciate you seeing me on such short notice, Mr. Jenks."
Who would you like the person to be?
a. Alice
b. Jasper
c. Rosalie
Sorry, can't let "him" back too soon. I have no idea how long this story will be or where the plot will be heading. This will be a joint effort so everyone will be helping to decide the answers to this story. I do have a basic plot thought out but you never know how things work out.
I had a plan for set dates for updates. Thanks to the response on the reviews I'll be updating when I feel there is a definite winner in the decision. So the updates will be erect.
