A few questions that have come up:
1. How many chapters is the story? There are 24 chapters total, including the epilogue, and the entire story is pre-written.
2. Will we hear from Edward? No. This is Bella's story, although I won't rule out an outtake or futuretake at some point in time.
3. How bad is the angst? Honestly, it's very low. I'm an angst wuss, so I doubt I could write anything too bad even if I tried. I purposely chose angst as the secondary genre because it isn't the main focus of the story, but I didn't want anyone to be surprised when it does happen.
As an FYI, this story is rated M for more than just the sexual situations. There will be some difficult subject matter. I will not ruin the story by discussing it further, but should you have concerns, please send me a PM with any subjects you will NOT read, and I will let you know if you should proceed with the story or not.
Chapter 2
I took the outstretched hand in my own, and an unfamiliar sensation passed up my arm, warming my body. His fingers closed over mine and he held our hands still for a beat longer than necessary before shaking politely.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Swan." His deep voice washed over me unexpectedly, encompassing me in a momentary stupor.
I met his eyes again and put on my best professional demeanor. "Just Bella, please. And it's nice to meet you too."
"Edward," he reminded me with a slight nod. A half smile appeared on his face before Carlisle interrupted.
"I hope you'll put that to good use," Carlisle said, motioning toward the journal still sitting on my desk.
"Definitely," I assured him. "Thank you so much, Carlisle." I already had plans for the journal.
He waved me off. "You know that was all Esme." He turned to Edward before continuing. "It just so happens to be Bella's birthday today. One more reason to have a leisurely lunch and get to know each other." I felt my cheeks heat at his words and hated it. "Come, let me introduce you to my wife and then we'll go."
I blinked a few times after they disappeared into Esme's office, leaving me still standing and gaping next to my desk.
"Oh my," Shelly said. "I wouldn't mind trading places with you and working with that hunk on a long-term project." She wiggled her penciled-in eyebrows at me.
"Shelly!" I admonished. "What would Martin say if he heard you talk like that? You're old enough to be his grandmother! You just stick to your payroll over there, young lady."
She laughed loudly. "A girl can dream," she said with a sigh, her slightly wrinkled features taking on a dreamy expression.
I shook my head at her and smiled as I gathered my cell phone and purse for lunch. I was ready to go when everyone exited Esme's office.
"Shall we?" she asked, leading the way out of our department and to the elevator.
Carlisle continued to give Edward the rundown on the office while we walked to a nearby restaurant, but I stayed quiet, walking a few steps behind the men with Esme. I had to admit, the view wasn't bad from this angle either, but I needed to keep my head on straight with this guy. I had a feeling he could be dangerous.
When we reached the restaurant and were shown to a table, I was surprised by Edward pulling out a chair and gesturing to it for me to sit down while Carlisle did the same for Esme.
"Thank you," I mumbled as I sat.
"Any time," he said, his hand briefly resting on my shoulder and sending a shiver down my back before he moved away and sat in the chair next to mine. The square table was just big enough for the four of us, and I could feel the heat coming off Edward's leg where it rested near my own.
"So, Edward, tell us a little about yourself," Esme said to get the conversation started.
I buried my head in my menu but listened intently. Just because I would never date someone I worked with—or never date anyone at all—didn't mean I wasn't interested.
"Not much to tell, really. I grew up in a small town in Washington State, but my home office is out of Seattle. I don't spend a lot of time there though since the job has me traveling so much. But the nice part is that I've gotten to see a lot of the country over the last few years."
I was pretty sure I could listen to this guy talk for hours and never get bored of the tone of his voice.
"Do you get to see a lot of sights while you're traveling for work?" Carlisle asked.
"Some," Edward answered. "It usually depends on where I am and how long I'm there. In some places, you have to travel far in order to do any kind of sightseeing, and when I'm only there for a short time I don't always get a chance."
"Well, I'm sure that won't be a problem in Philly," Carlisle said. "Obviously you'll be here for a while, and there's plenty to do around here without even needing a car. In fact, I'm sure Bella can point you in the right direction. You're probably about the same age and likely have similar interests."
My eyes widened behind my menu before I schooled my features and lowered it. I found Edward's green eyes looking right at me. "Um, yeah … sure, whatever you need." My teeth dug into my bottom lip and dropped my eyes back to the menu.
I saw Edward's nod out of the corner of my eye, and I'm pretty sure he had a smirk on his face as well.
We ordered lunch and ate while Edward discussed some of the basics of what he would need to do to get started. I stayed relatively quiet and took mental notes while Carlisle chimed in with recommendations. A few times, I swore I could feel Edward's stare burning through the side of my face.
Eventually Esme turned the conversation back to Edward's personal life. "Where do you stay when you're on long assignments like this?"
Edward took a sip of his drink and put it down before responding. "Sometimes I stay at an extended stay hotel, but my company was able to secure me a furnished apartment a few blocks from the office this time."
"Oh? Which one?" she inquired.
"The Regency."
I nearly choked on my water, my eyes bulging out of their sockets.
"Bella will definitely be able to show you around then," she said cheerfully. "That's where she lives also."
"Is that so?"
When I turned to look at him he was smirking again. "Yes," I answered quietly.
"I'm sure that will be great," he added.
"Well," Carlisle started after handing the bill back to the waiter. "Why don't we head back to the office so you two can get started? I'm sure there's a lot you can accomplish this afternoon."
Carlisle pointed out a few places of interest on the way back, but before I knew it, Edward was standing next to my desk waiting for me to get him started. I left my personal belongings and told him to follow me. We headed back into the main lobby area and I pointed out the hallway leading to the cafeteria.
"A lot of our employees buy breakfast or lunch here," I told him. "It's especially busy on rainy and cold days. Restrooms are down that way." I pointed down the opposite hallway. "Your access card will get you through most doors except the HR department."
He nodded his understanding.
"I booked this conference room for you pretty much for your entire stay," I explained as I opened the door. The motion sensor lights flickered on as we stepped inside. "I figured you'd need some space to work, and there's a white board, phone … pretty much everything you might need."
"This is great," he said, laying his briefcase on the table and pulling out his laptop.
"Do you need some time to get settled before we start?"
"Sure. Maybe you could show me where to get some coffee around here."
"A man after my own heart," I said under my breath. "Right this way."
We walked side by side in silence until we reached the side of the cafeteria where the coffee makers and water cooler were. "Just choose your flavor and pop it in the machine," I explained. Edward got to work on one machine and I made myself a cup on the other. "When you're not in the office, Wawa and Dunkin Donuts both have good coffee, and they're both only about a block from The Regency."
"Good to know," he said as he pulled his cup out of the machine. He added some cream and sugar while I did the same, not looking up when he spoke again. "Or I could just come over to your place and borrow a cup."
I bit the inside of my cheek and stared into my cup as I stirred.
"Sorry, that was supposed to be a joke."
I shrugged. "It's fine," I lied. There was no denying that if I met this guy at a bar I'd be all over him for a one night stand, but flirting in the office wasn't going to happen. I wasn't sure I'd be able to control myself if I gave in to his banter, and that would just lead to more problems.
We made our way back to the conference room and I told Edward I'd be back in a few minutes so we could each take a quick break. I needed to use the restroom and grab my laptop. Ten minutes later we were sitting across from each other in the small room sipping our coffees.
"So, how do we get started?" I asked nervously. "I'm not exactly sure what you're going to need from me."
"Well, Carlisle gave me some information this morning, but I guess it would be best if you could start with a rundown of the structure here, maybe show me how to use the intranet …" He trailed off with a shrug.
I nodded and brought my coffee around to his side of the conference table. "The intranet is probably the best place to start. I'll show you what kind of information is there, and that'll help you learn about the company. You can ask questions as we go."
I directed him to the internal company website and showed him some of the basic features like employee lookup, department structure charts and news releases. He asked a lot of good questions, which led me to show him other things. We did an in-depth review of the structure of the office so Edward could get a feel for the different areas he needed to focus on. Before I knew it, the afternoon had flown by and it was after five o'clock.
"Do you usually leave at five?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Sometimes, but I can stay if you need me to. Technically my hours are eight thirty to five, but who ever actually gets out on time?"
"I think we've had enough for one day. I'll just match my hours to yours while we're working together." He closed the lid of his laptop and started packing it away. "Is it okay if I leave some of these printouts in here?"
"Yeah, this is your office for now, so you can leave whatever you want. It doesn't lock, so I wouldn't leave your laptop." I gathered my laptop, noticing that the battery was running low and I'd need to bring my power cord the next day. "I need to go back into my office."
"Is it okay if I wait for you? We could walk home together."
I kept my head down. "Um, sure."
It only took a minute for me to gather my belongings and then we were in the crowded elevator together, waiting for it to descend to the lobby. Edward stood right next to me, not touching me but close enough that I could once again feel the heat of his body on my arm and leg. Since we were the last to enter the express elevator, I stepped out first and sighed, happy to remove myself from his close proximity.
"So, can you recommend any good takeout places around here?" he asked as we walked side by side down the street. "I just got in yesterday so I haven't had a chance to get any groceries yet."
"Sure, what kind of food do you like?" This was something I could do.
"Pretty much anything, but I guess pizza or Chinese would be a good start."
I nodded and thought about it momentarily, deciding on the best options that would deliver. Then I got nervous again. "I have some menus in my apartment. I can bring them over to you if you tell me what apartment you're in."
"That would be great, but I can just stop at your place so you don't have to go out of your way." I started to shake my head, but he cut me off. "Really, it's no problem. I've already taken up a lot of your time today."
I let out a quiet sigh as we reached the entrance to the building. He pulled open the door and motioned for me to enter first. We entered the lobby and I made a beeline for the elevator, jabbing my finger repeatedly into the up button.
The doors finally opened and he waved for me to go in first again, so I stepped in and pressed seven, watching out of the corner of my eye as a smirk appeared on his face. "Looks like we're neighbors," he said.
He stayed on the opposite side of the car with one hand gripping the strap of his briefcase and the other shoved deep in his pocket. "Did Carlisle tell you that the office is business casual?" I asked as I looked over his well-tailored suit again.
He nodded sharply. "He did, but thank you. I'll definitely be more casual tomorrow."
"Actually," I started as the elevator doors opened on what was apparently our floor. I stepped out and waited for Edward to follow me. "Fridays are even more casual. Most people wear jeans."
"Good to know."
"This is me," I said as we reached apartment seven oh two.
"I'm on the other side of the building, seven sixteen," he noted.
I rolled my eyes as the crying began on the other side of the door. Edward's thick brows drew together as I unlocked the door. "My cat," I explained.
He smiled. The door opened and I reached down to pick Sandy up, but she darted out of my reach and over to Edward, purring loudly and shoving her head up against his ankles.
"Sorry about that," I said as I reached for her again, letting my briefcase and purse fall off my shoulder. Her long, tan fur was going to leave a mess on his dark suit pants.
He laughed and waved me off, placing his briefcase on the floor next to the door. "It's okay." He bent down and picked her up, holding her at face level. "You're a cutie, aren't you? What's your name?"
She seemed awfully content as he cuddled her to his chest, so I headed to the kitchen to find the takeout menus. "Her name's Sandy," I commented over my shoulder. It was uncomfortable to have him in my apartment—I never had guys in my apartment—so I wanted to get him what he needed as quickly as possible.
I rifled through the drawer of menus until I found the two I was looking for and went back into the living room. Edward was still holding my cat cuddled up to his chest, and she was more content than I'd ever seen her. "Slut," I muttered under my breath. "Here you go. Both places are good, so I guess it depends on what you're in the mood for."
His eyes locked on mine for a moment before he looked back to the furball in his arms. "Thanks." He placed her down on the floor, but she continued to rub up against him. "Can I treat you to some takeout tonight to thank you for all of your help?"
I tried to hold in my grimace. "No, thanks. I actually have a lot to do tonight."
He nodded and reached for his briefcase. "I'll bring these back when I'm done with them."
"That's okay. I've already got the phone numbers in my cell. You can keep them." I waved him off.
"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night, Bella."
Why did my name have to sound so good coming from him?
"You too," I said as he reached for the door knob.
"And happy birthday," he added quickly before slipping out the door.
I closed it behind him, resting my back against it as I exhaled loudly. Sandy looked up at me and cried, so I picked her up and held her to my chest. She purred and bumped my chin with her head, and that's when I smelled it. She was covered in Edward's scent, and it was heavenly.
A/N: I'm so happy so many of you enjoyed the first chapter! I love reading your reviews.
See you on Thursday!
