Many thanks to SarcasticBimbo for editing chapters 1-3.

FAIR WARNING: Chapters 1, 2, and 3 were written for a fandom event a few years ago and I never posted it. When Hurricane Harvey hit, Fandoms for Harvey was started. After the other hurricanes quickly formed, the name was changed to Fandoms for Hope and Hurricane Relief was started. I wrote chapters 4 and 5 for this event. The compilation for the event is going out on December 20th, 2017. I can not release chapter 4 and 5 until FEBRUARY 28TH, 2018, but the first three chapters will be released before December 20th.

Disclaimer: I'm not Meyer and don't own Twilight. Would I be doing this if I did? I'd be on a vacation... on some far away island with cabana boys fanning me. I just like taking her characters for a literary ride, human-style.

Chapter 2: The New Customer

I was sitting at my desk in my office, staring at the five-dollar bill in my hand. It had been two weeks. Two damn weeks and I couldn't spend it and I couldn't let that damned thing out of my sight. I didn't even know her name but I couldn't spend a five-dollar bill that I had stolen from a stranger. What the hell was wrong with me?

It wasn't as if I needed the money. I had much more than five dollars at my disposal. I owned Cullen Auto Works, one of the top auto shops in the area…and dabbled in some other activities that weren't so legal. Why had I gone through with it and taken the last five dollars some poor, hot girl kept in an emergency?

As much as I would have liked to blame my dumbass brother, I could have walked away from the situation that night. Why did I cave to peer pressure of all things? What was I, a teenager all over again?

I'd be damned if I hadn't sniffed the bill and had found that it had even smelled like vanilla. I even kept the damned thing in the exact location—in my left back pocket. Now, if I could only find her to dig it out of my pair of jeans like I had done to her.

I had never been overly fond of vanilla, but now I was afraid that I'd get excited or think of her if I even attempted to have vanilla ice cream. I was in a strange place. Mentally, of course, because I already knew my physical location was screwed up big time.

"Boss! Boss!" I heard one of my mechanics, Jacob Black, yelling for me from the garage. "Customer!"

What the hell? Why was he calling me? Jake was more than capable of handling a customer if one walked in. And where the hell was everyone else? Wait! Jake's voice sounded higher, and I didn't mean in an octave sense. My office was in the back right hand corner of the building , past the reception area and employee break room. I rose from my desk chair, stuffed the fiver back into my pocket, and headed to the door. Earlier, I had drawn the blinds for some privacy so I opened them back up and peeked out onto the floor.

Not a soul was around.

Where the hell were all my employees? Family or not, the morons were going to get fired.

One of these days.

I tore my office door open so hard I thought it was going to come off the hinges. Again. "Jake?"

"Up here!" I followed the sound of his voice and spotted him staring down at me from the back seat of a customer's huge showy Hummer that just so happened to be up on a lift.

"Customer!" He pointed toward the front of the garage and to the open bay where I spotted a female standing.

"I'll be with you in just a minute, miss!" I went over to Jake's work area and let the lift down. As it reached me, I began to question him. "What the hell is going on?"

"I was on my lunch break and fell asleep." I shot him a look that showed I didn't approve and was half tempted to raise the lift back up to strand him. If the lift hadn't been up so high, there would be no problem jumping down from it, but the massive size of the Hummer made an unplanned exit a possible ankle breaker. "Boss, I have a towel and shit like you said so I don't 'dirty the pretty'."

Damn it, he was quoting me now. Jake jumped down from the Hummer and showed me the clean towel. He had even washed his hands and everything.

"Next thing I know, I hear the pretty lady over there calling 'hello' and I'm up in the air and left my wings at home."

"You have wings? Red Bull or fairy?"

"Neither, and not literally, Boss." He fidgeted in front of me. "I'm sorry, but I, uh, think that, uh…"

"Edward."

"I think the bastard put the lift up while I was knocked out." Jake muttered under his breath. "Sorry, Boss."

"No, I agree, my brother is a stupid bastard a lot of the time." My vision shifted to the customer standing in the doorway of the open bay. I needed to go to her before she left and went somewhere else. I needed to keep as much legitimate business as I possibly could. "I'll deal with him later. If you're done with your break, get back to work."

"I gotta piss, but I'll be right back."

"You go do that, kid." What was I doing calling him a kid? I was only a few years older than him. Maybe it was because he seemed so damn innocent still. He headed off to the restrooms and I turned and made my way toward the customer. Damn, she was pretty. The closer I got I realized she wasn't just pretty. Nah, she was downright gorgeous. She had long legs that I could clearly imagine wrapped around my waist. Her long, wavy blonde hair stopped in the middle of her back. Sizing her up, I guessed that she was about five foot nine or so, which was good. I was a tall son of a bitch, topping six foot five and I liked my women on the tall side, too.

"I'm sorry for the delay, miss," I tried to sound apologetic while attempting not to stare. "Can I help you?"

"The door at the front had a sign that said 'out to lunch' but the bay was open. Are you a mechanic?" she asked with doubt in her voice as I reached her and stopped. "Or do you just go around lowering the lifts when the mechanics play practical jokes on each other?"

"Owner, Operator, Mechanic, and Master Mopper Upper of Employee Messes at your service," I extended my hand. "Emmett Cullen."

There was a twinkle in those green eyes as her lips formed a smile. Her hand reached up and accepted mine. From my hands alone she should be able to tell that I was a mechanic—they were rough and there were spots where oil had seeped into the crevices and stained them. No matter how much or how hard I scrubbed they were never going to be pristine. "Rosalie Hale. Nice to meet you, Mr. Cullen."

"Just Emmett," I released her hand from mine. "What can I do for you, Ms. Hale?"

"Just Rose." She paused and I nodded. "A friend of mine suggested your shop. She told me that you're honest, reliable, and most importantly, don't rip off customers of the female persuasion."

I couldn't help but smile because her words were a clear giveaway that she must know Lisa. That girl was always pimpin' my shop to any fellow female she came across. "I don't like to boast, but that would all be true. What seems to be the problem?"

"My car has started to buck and I'm really hoping that it's not the transmission," she explained. "I know you must hate hearing sob stories, but I've been out of work and on unemployment. I can't afford to be taken in by someone who claims I need a new transmission when I don't."

She almost lost me when the word 'buck' exited her mouth but I somehow managed to make a quick recovery. "Most times it's not the transmission," I explained. "It could be something a lot less costly. Wanna pop the hood for me?" I took a look around but didn't catch anything wrong.

"I'll take it out for a test drive." I led Rose inside, past the reception area and employee break room, to my office.

"You can wait in here." I opened the door to my office; she stepped inside the doorway, and stopped short. Not expecting her actions, I bumped into her and didn't make an immediate move to back away.

"Um, what did you bring me back here for?" She seemed a little nervous. Since the only other person around was Jake, maybe she thought I was attempting to sexual assault. That wasn't my style. I wanted a willing partner.

"This is my office and it's more comfortable." She wasn't buying it. I needed to get going and look at her car to prove that I wasn't up to something. Of course, I was up to something, but not what she thought. I'd be much more comfortable talking to Rose in my office versus the customer waiting area. "Where are your keys?"

"Oh, yes," she mumbled. I took a step back while she dug into her jeans for the keys. I would have been happy to dig into her pockets. "Here you go."

She placed them in my hand and her fingers made contact with my open palm. I didn't feel any of that spark shit that romance novels talk about. I didn't feel anything in my gut. It didn't matter—there was something about Rose that made me want her.

And don't ask me how I knew what the hell happened in romance novels.

Okay, so one day when it was slow and Alice had skipped out I was sitting at her desk. I picked up a book she had been reading and damn it, the sucker was addictive and entertaining even though it was in no way realistic. I couldn't put the sucker down. There must have been crack embedded in the pages which traveled from my fingertips and through my system. I was quickly done with the novel and was tempted to find its sequel, but never did.

"Make yourself comfortable." I nodded in direction of the television set. "The TV works and I hear the couch is comfortable. I haven't sat on it a lot. I'll be back in a few minutes. If you need anything Jake is out on the floor."

Rose seemed to be a little bit more at ease. "Okay, thanks, Emmett."

On the way out toward her car, Jake gave me a look that meant he knew what was going on in my head. I flipped him the bird and told him to get back to work. In return I got the standard "Yeah, okay, Boss" from him. I wished he'd learn to use my name. Then again, even my siblings called me "Boss" most of the time. The thought of legally changing my name crossed my mind.

Ten minutes later I was back with Rose's car. Pulling it into the garage, I didn't fail to notice that Alice's car was back at the shop. She came over to me with a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Who's the blonde in your office?" She inquired with an almost sing songy quality to her voice. "She's real purty, as you'd say."

Closing the car door, I walked around to the front and lifted the hood again. "She's not purty, she's gorgeous." I whispered the words in hopes that Jake wouldn't hear. "Did you ask Jake who she was?"

"He just said that she was a customer." Alice was bouncing up and down on her toes in anticipation. "Who's the gorgeous blonde, damn it?"

"She's a customer." I started to hook up the machine to Rose's car for a diagnostic test.

"Just a customer?" Alice was rocking back on her heels, a funny look on her face.

"Uh huh." I replied. "Why don't you get to work?"

"I'm all caught up." She craned her neck in the direction of my office. "Maybe I should go have a talk with the new customer."

"Leave Rose alone."

"Ah hah!" Alice clapped her hands together in victory. Her exuberance over learning Rose's name didn't surprise me. "Well, maybe I should go and talk to Rose and find out more about her so I know why my brothers seem to be so hung up on her."

"Brothers?" I asked and swung around in time to see Edward chatting away with Rose inside my office. When the hell did he come back? I went back to work on Rose's car.

"Bella is a weird chick and all that, but she's with Edward." Alice stepped forward and placed one of her hands on mine. "If you think you like this one, don't let her get away and for the love of God, don't let our big mouthed brother fuck it up for you."

Alice was right and the bitch of a thing was that she knew it, too. The phone rang much to Alice's dismay. "Fuckin' customers," she said under her breath. "Damage control, Em, damage control."

She ran to the phone and I stared at the engine of Rose's car. What the hell was Edward talking to Rose about back there? I turned and hurried in the direction of my office, trying to calm myself down before I got there.

"It's about time, Boss!" Jake spoke without looking in my direction.

"Back to work!"

I heard him snicker as I neared my office and stepped inside. "Edward?"

He was sitting on the couch next to Rose. In fact, he was sitting a little too close to her. He glanced up at me with a huge smile, the sleeve of his t-shirt was rolled up and it revealed his sleeve of tattoos. Dear God, he was attempting to show off. "Yeah?"

"Don't you have a job?"

"I don't know, do I?"

Rose's confused gaze traveled back and forth between us. "Get. To. Work."

He glanced at Rose and flexed his bicep before rolling his sleeve back down. Strangely enough, it seemed as if she was unimpressed with Edward's little display. "Aw, man, my last stunt didn't do me in?" I raised my hands in mid-air and pretended to strangle his neck. "I'm assuming since we're in mixed company you're not chokin' your chicken, but you're wringing my neck."

Rose, thankfully amused by our little antics, started to laugh. "Emmett, I'm sorry, but he's got a point there with the chokin' the chicken bit."

"Gee, thanks, Rose," I said. "No, I was most definitely wringing his neck. Stop doing stupid stuff like what you did to Jake earlier."

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "What? You were here and he's fine!"

"Just stop, okay? You're going to give me a heart attack before I'm thirty."

Edward rolled his eyes at me and he turned to Rose. "It was nice to meet you, Rose. Maybe we can talk more later on when my brother the huge bully who needs to mellow out—"

Afraid he was going to say something along the lines of 'because he needs to get laid,' I cut him off. "Edward!"

"Yeah, yeah." Edward bowed before Rose and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it. "'Twas awfully nice to meet you, miss."

When he was closer, I spoke low enough so only he'd be able to hear me. "Stop hitting on the customers."

"What?" His voice was raised loud enough so Rose could hear him. "She's nice. Bella wants a threesome and I thought I'd try to find a chick since she's always asking you but you turn her down!"

He walked out and I closed the door behind him even though I wanted to chase after him and pummel him into the pavement. Or throw him out the back door. Or shove him through a bunch of tires. Or just knock him out.

"Please, excuse my brother." I said. "He's a bit….um…"

"Is he a fucktard?"

Oh, I loved her already. "You'd be totally correct." I exhaled and shook my head. "I'm sorry about him. No matter what I do, he still does stupid stuff."

"Is Edward the one who abandoned Jake up on the lift?"

"That's right."

"You can look at Edward another way," she said. "He must keep things exciting around here."

"You are right about that." I was still standing by the door, afraid to move closer to her, afraid that she'd get the wrong idea about me because of the way my brother spoke, but I didn't want a threesome with Rose, I just wanted her.

Rose shifted on the couch and spoke. "Emmett, can I ask you something?"

Thinking it was something about her car, I agreed. "Sure."

"I'm going to assume that Bella is Edward's girlfriend." I nodded in confirmation. "Why does Bella want a threesome with you and Edward?"

This conversation would most certainly go down in the books as the weirdest ever with a customer. "I don't honestly know. They're high school sweethearts. She's been wanting the three of us together in that way for I don't know how long now. She's a little weird, you know?" I made a gesture with one of my fingers to the side of my head. You know, the one you make when someone is off their rocker. Or touched in the head.

Rose leaned forward. "You're not gay though, right?"

"No." I said the word a little too firmly. "I'm just not interested in having sex with my brother's girlfriend or seeing him naked for that matter."

I could've sworn that she smiled at me. "Okay. What's up with my car?"

"It did buck when I took it out," I explained. "I'm going to hook it up to the machine and see what it says. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

I turned to leave, fumbling with the doorknob. "If Edward comes in and bothers you, just holler…or punch him, whichever you prefer."

"Thanks for the choices." She took one hand, formed it into a fist, and pretended to punch her other palm.

"Feel free to go for the groin," I said. "In this case, I'd say he would deserve it."

Thankfully, Edward left Rose alone, but the same thing couldn't be said about Alice. She went back to my office with a glass of ice water and stayed for a good five minutes. On her way back to the front, she walked past me, skipping and humming, almost singing her words. "She seems nice."

How I wanted to throw a wrench at her head.

Once I figured out what was wrong with Rose's car, I went back to my office to speak with her. "You have a little oil leak which is dripping down on a sensor and cracked it. We don't have the sensor in stock, but I can order it and probably have it tomorrow and then fix the leak, too."

"How much will this cost?" I knew she was worried about the money aspect because she was out of work.

"Don't worry about it," I walked over to my desk to use the phone. "You can make payments or something."

Before she could say anything else, I picked up the phone and dialed. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Rose sitting there, watching me and biting her lip. Absent mindedly I grabbed the Dunkin' Donuts cup on my desk and found it empty. Damn, so much for a much needed caffeine fix. I spoke with my parts supplier and they confirmed that they had the sensor in stock and would deliver it later on today.

"Okay, the part will be here later," I said. "Can you bring your car back tomorrow?"

"Yes, any specific time?"

Hell, I didn't want her to leave. She could stay here all night with me and wake up on the couch tomorrow morning at my side. "Any time after ten is good."

"Don't you have to check to see if you have other appointments or anything?"

"No, I know I don't." I didn't usually take scheduled appointments. I ran the place so helped out when needed on the floor and did the paperwork.

"Okay, I'll probably come in around eleven."

"It might take a bit. I think I know where the leak is and it might take about three or four hours to fix and the sensor is another half hour at least. Do you have someone to pick you up after you drop your car off?"

"I don't think so," she said. It appeared like she was mulling over something. "My roommate goes into work early and I think she said she's doing something afterward tomorrow."

"Feel free to stick around, but make sure to come in with a full stomach or bring something to munch on." Something to munch on? Did I just say that? I needed to get her out of here before I started sounding like a complete idiot.

As if she could read my mind, she rose from the couch and walked in my direction. I got up from my chair so I could walk her out. "Thanks so much for your help, Emmett. Maybe my friend was right about this place."

"Yeah, tell Lisa I said 'hi'." Rose appeared shocked. "What?"

"How'd you know it was my friend, Lisa?"

"She's the best word of mouth advertising that we have," I confessed. "Hell, I almost don't have to advertise because of her."

"Well, she was right."

"I'm glad I could prove your immediate thoughts wrong."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know what to think once I saw Jake up on the lift yelling, 'Boss! Boss!'" She shook her head. "Seriously, Edward does that kind of stuff all the time?"

"Ask Lisa, she could tell you some horror stories."

"I just might," she smiled. "I just might, although I never thought I'd be spending a night talking about Emmett and Edward Cullen."

As we walked past Alice, she shouted out a good-bye and waved frantically. "Come on back, now, ya hear?"

Rose giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Jake!" He turned at his name and I motioned to Rose's car and then to the outside. He cleaned off his hands, backed her car out of the garage, and made himself scarce. He knew better than to hang around when I didn't want him, so he hurried off back to work. At least one of my employees worked when I needed him to.

"Will you be working on my car tomorrow, Emmett?"

"Probably, why?" We were standing awkwardly by the side of her car. I flashed back to a time in high school by my locker when I wanted to ask a girl named Meg out, but I was so nervous I froze. I didn't say anything, and she ended up with the star quarterback of the football team.

"I was just wondering if my car will be in capable hands." I almost said something when she continued. "And wondering if I'll be seeing you again."

"Yeah, I'll be working on it tomorrow." I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"Okay." I opened the door for her and she slid inside, started the car, and rolled down the window. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I, for one, couldn't wait.