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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the owner. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchises. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 2 – BITCH WITH A HEART OF GOLD...OR IS THAT STONE?
BPOV
I inhaled sharply and watched as the elevator doors opened to the bustling office. I walked past the cubicles, the generic workers having never captured my attention. I knew nothing about them, or their names, and never gave a damn enough to find out. I just wasn't the social butterfly type at all. Part of it was because I'd had problems with working relationships before, and mixing business with pleasure was something I'd always tried to avoid...well except for one person here.
"Why Miss Bella! It's so fabulous to see you!" Emmett exclaimed as he grinned widely at me, looking genuinely happy to see me.
"Have a fun vacation?" I asked, waggling my brows at him suggestively, his three day growth telling me he hadn't gotten much sleep, his smile devastating. God, what a waste!
"Oh, yes! I loved it! Fire Island was gorgeoussss!" he said, over-exaggerating the last word as he waved his arms in the air animatedly. I could always tell when he'd been away to his favourite holiday spot...his gayness always stepped up a notch right after he returned.
"Hmmm...I bet! So, any man meat worth mentioning?" I asked.
"Oh, no-one special," he replied, shrugging his shoulders as he attempted to give me a casual smile, quickly followed by a blush.
"Come on, out with it!" I whispered.
"Bella, I said there was no-one. Oh, but I got some incredible shots, and this shirt!" he added, seemingly trying to distract me. I had to admit, he did look good. The crisp white shirt he was wearing set off his tanned skin perfectly. I swear he could be a model, with the way his muscular features framed he hulking build perfectly.
"Well I expect you to dish the dirt later," I said as I glanced up at the wall clock behind Emmett and checked the time.
"Nothing much to tell, but sure," he promised as I yawned and absentmindedly twirled my hair. I was dog tired, my insomnia of late taking its toll. I only ever twirled my hair when I was tired. "Bella, what are you doing with the hair? You know, I just might have my straightening tongs in here somewhere," he said as he pulled his desk drawer open and rifled through it. I loved Emmett so much, and I'd never had a gay friend before I met him. We both started at this place at the same time, and I think he was attracted to my inner bitch, his warm wit counterbalancing my harshness. He was a darling, and didn't have a bitchy bone in his body. He was the yin to my yang, and now that I didn't have Jake, he was the only man in my life.
"I don't have time, Em," I said impatiently. I put my hand over one side of my mouth to whisper. "She-bitch has summoned me so I've got to go bend over and take my medicine before she leaves for the launch," I complained, rolling my eyes as he walked around the desk and began to preen me.
"Well you could have at least made sure your hair was presentable," he said, clicking his tongue as he fussed over me.
As he straightened the collar of my cream shirt and ran his fingers through my obviously tangled tresses, I pushed his hands away and hissed, "Em, stop it! Besides, this wasn't exactly a scheduled meeting, so she'll just have to see me without a coif. Now, I only have ten minutes before she goes, so lead on McDuff."
"Fine," he said as he walked back to his desk and picked up the phone. "Miss Swan to see you," he announced before abruptly hanging up the phone.
"In you go," he added as he followed me to the door. "Let's do lunch soon, Bellacakes," he said suggestively, using his affectionate nickname for me as he smacked me on the ass.
I nodded and snorted at him in response, wordlessly shooing him away with one hand while I knocked on the door with the other. I wondered if his hand would be the only one that would touch my ass for a while? Oh God! That would make things seem a little desperate. Oh well...at least I had one friend left. Em's bright nature always cheered me up, and it was a shame he'd left to go on vacation right when I needed him most. I could have really used a friend over the previous few weeks.
"Sure, sure," I whispered, the one little habit I'd picked up from Jake, thoughts of him flashing through my mind and causing me to cringe. Emmett shot me a look of sympathy in response.
"Enter," Rosalie said arrogantly, bringing me back to reality with a thud.
I slowly opened the door and popped my head in, Rosalie beckoning me to come in with an impatient wave of her hand.
"Sit," she commanded her one word sentences and pursed lips telling me that I was in more than a bit of trouble.
I did as I was told, and my back was ramrod straight in the black leather chair as I felt a lump form in my throat. "You wanted to see me?" I asked as I swallowed nervously, trying to dislodge said lump.
Sensing my discomfort, she rolled her eyes and picked up a pile of stapled pages from her highly polished mahogany desk, tossing them at me with abandon. The pages slid off the edge of the desk and fell to the floor and in response, I leaned down to pick them up. "Leave it," she snapped, causing me to stop what I was doing and sit back in the chair once more.
"Okay," I replied warily.
Then, she gave me that look. That condescending, holier-than-thou expression that she used every time she didn't get what she wanted. I took a deep breath and waited for her to launch into her expected tirade.
"Answer me something, Bella Swan. Why do you think I hired you?" she asked, arching her brow at me as she strummed her fingers on the desk. Red alert! Danger Will Robinson!
"Um," I answered, momentarily lost for words. Rosalie was the only woman who held this kind of power over me, and God I hated it. I always wondered what her men were like. Bet they didn't have any balls after she chewed them off their bodies and spat them out, whoever the poor saps were that she managed to seduce.
"Because I really want to know," she whined before I could speak further. "Because you seem to be going soft on me. Are you going soft? Well?"
I bit my lip nervously as I considered her questions, shaking my head shamefully in response.
"Well then would you mind telling me what you were thinking when you wrote this useless piece of shit?" she snarled as she glanced briefly at the pages. Subtle, she wasn't.
"Well...I," I answered in an apologetic tone, unable to elaborate further as I looked at the pages. I really had no idea how to answer her question without revealing more about my private life than I was comfortable with.
I felt her eyes bore into me, demanding me to look up at her. She leant back in her chair and folded her arms and waited, causing me to squirm in my seat; I nervously looked up, but instead of meeting her stone cold gaze, my eyes fixed themselves on a spot over her shoulder where I looked at the wood paneled wall situated behind her. She sighed in disapproval and fell silent for longer than was comfortable, curiously studying me further before she finally spoke.
"Well, you know I can't use this," she said in a slightly less venomous tone.
"Fine," I responded, tongue tied as I rose from my seat, conversation obviously over. I was more than desperate to get away from this woman.
"I haven't finished. Sit!" she commanded as if I was a dog in dire need of learning to submit to her master. I sank my butt back into the chair, my body taut with tension as I felt myself cringe. Obviously she wasn't finished tearing me a new one.
"It's lucky for you that I'm feeling generous today and that I've found a way for you to redeem yourself," she said unexpectedly, her voice still menacing. God this woman was high and mighty.
"You-you have?" I stammered, wondering what was going on in that bitchy mind of hers, picturing a rack hidden in some secret compartment behind the timber paneled wall.
"Yes. The next issue of I Am Woman is going to focus on love," she scoffed. This woman didn't have one sentimental bone in her body, so why the hell did she want to do a love feature? "And your piece gave me an idea. I want you to do a feature on the upcoming Greater Seattle Romance Writers Conference and include an in-depth one-on-one interview of one of the authors who is organising it. Her name's Alice Brandon."
"Oh," I replied in confusion. A feature? On a goddamned romance writers conference? "That's a little left field for me don't you think?" I asked as my mind began to tick over. Why the hell would she want me to do this? She had more than enough journalists that could handle this.
"Yes, Bella I know it is," she replied with impatience and added, "Instead of the column, I want you to extend on what you wrote and investigate what makes this particular woman tick, and find out how she comes up with ideas for her heroes. You know, explore the question of the impossibly perfect man in a little more detail."
"Okay," I agreed warily. She sighed in response, and then scowled at me as if I was the dumb kid in class.
"Look. I'm giving you free reign on this Bella, so I wouldn't look a gift-horse in the mouth if I were you," she warned.
Wow. She was being generous. It caused me to become jumpy. This was not Rosalie's usual MO.
"Free reign?" I asked with suspicion as I tried but failed to search her hardened face for any signs of insincerity.
"Yes," she snapped as she raised her brow. "But if you'd rather pass..."
"No!" I responded with urgency. I could do this. I'd never backed down from a challenge and I wasn't about to start now. Besides, I realised that this was an opportunity to escape my usual persona and do something completely different. I should just stop with trying to figure out her angle, and just accept the job without question.
"Good. Their next meeting is at the Mercer Island Library on Saturday at ten thirty, so you can go and introduce yourself then. Emmett has the details."
"Alright," I said, forcing a smile, that I was certain missed the mark. I was sure I looked as though I had a bad case of gas.
"I suggest you read this before Saturday, just to give you some background insight into the author's work," she said as she opened her drawer and took out a paperback book, sliding it toward the edge of the desk.
"Now I have to go. I suggest you get to work, Miss Swan," she said as she waved her hands in the air in dismissal. "You can work from home, and then take your scheduled vacation, and let me know if you need more time to finish it off. You have three weeks." she added.
Flabbergasted by this strange and unexpected turn of events, I stood to my feet and took the book off her desk, and said, "Okay, I'll get right on it."
I glanced at the book, which was titled, 'Love at Sea', the front cover adorned with the usual chiseled handsome man with flowing dark hair and hauntingly beautiful eyes. I smirked and casually flipped the book over to read the generic blurb, but instead the picture of the author caught my eye. She was young and quite beautiful, her spiked hairstyle making her look like a woodland pixie.
"Oh before you go, I'm going to assign you a photographer as well," she said as she reached for the phone and put the receiver to her ear.
"Emmett, get in here," she demanded, undoubtedly hanging the phone up in his ear. I had no idea how he could work for this woman on an everyday basis. It was bad enough having to see her as intermittently as I did.
A soft knock came at the door. "Come," she commanded, like some sort of dominatrix as Emmett opened the door and entered. I smiled at the thought of her in that scenario as Emmett walked across the room and stood next to me. I smiled inwardly as my thoughts of a leather clad Rosalie entered my mind. What the hell was with me today?
"Emmett, I was very impressed by the photos you took on your vacation," she said, smiling thinly, her smile not touching her ice blue eyes. Ah, nothing like warm, fuzzy sincerity.
"Thank you," he replied, seemingly uncertain as to exactly why he had been called in.
"So here's what I propose. You and Bella are going to work on a feature for the the next issue, and you can try your hand at shooting it," she offered as she stared calculatingly at Em.
"Really?" he asked, his eyes widening in surprise at her sudden act of generosity.
"Yes. I'm finally giving you the chance to prove yourself, Emmett McCarty," she said in a near threatening tone. "So you'd better not let me down."
I knew what she was doing. If we failed to give her what she wanted, we'd both be looking for new jobs. Or, at least I would. I wondered if that was her tactic...to set us up for failure so she had a justifiable reason to fire me and keep Emmett in his current job? Poor Emmett. He'd just been caught in Rosalie's crosshairs, and it was entirely my fault.
Emmett swallowed heavily, his smile waning at the same time as he realised that Rosalie was putting him out on a very precarious limb, right alongside me. Emmett had been trying for two years to get Rosalie to give him this exact opportunity, but he was such a great assistant that she selfishly kept him in that job. Though Em realised this, he still kept trying to get Rosalie to change her mind, slowly building his portfolio as he went.
"Emmett, go see Miss Stanley this morning and arrange for any equipment you might need," she added. "Miss Stanley will be my assistant while you work on this, and she's already arranged for a temp to cover her downstairs from tomorrow."
We stood there, staring at Rosalie with gaping mouths, dumbfounded by her sudden wave of generosity. She never gave people what they wanted, unless there was something in it for her.
Just as I was about to speak, her cell rang and she answered after only one ring. "Darling!" she cried as she waved us away, stood to her feet and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair. A goofy smile that I had never seen before this moment formed on her lips. "I have to head out now, but I'll call you later..." she said wistfully as she deftly held the phone to her ear while putting her jacket on."I can't talk right now. Hold on a moment, would you?" she asked as she pursed her lips and glared at us both, not so pleasantly giving us our cue to leave.
"Thanks," I whispered as I turned and headed for the door, with Emmett following closely behind. As we left her cooing at the caller, everything suddenly clicked into place. I realised what had happened and couldn't believe my good fortune. The biggest bitch on the planet had fallen in love. And she said I'd gone soft!
As Emmett closed the door behind us, he grabbed my arm and whirled me around to face him, the book falling from my tenuous grasp as he took both of my hands in his. "I can't believe it!" he hissed as he began to jump up and down on the spot.
I giggled in response to his unbridled excitement, and began to jump with him, the drones in the office staring at us as I squealed, "Me either!"