A/N - Thank you so much to all of my readers! This entire story is dedicated to NewTownGirl, without whom it would never have seen the light of day. Sweetie, thanks for all of your encouragement and dedication! xoxox

Chapter One:

Secret: I hate my new coworker

"Bella," Alice tugged on the bottom edge of my navy blazer in what she thought was an inconspicuous manner. Her tone, though was anything but. "Check out Mr. McFly over there."

Her finger was nearly quivering with excitement as she pointed at our new captain, standing alone at the edge of the tarmac. I squinted, but I couldn't really make him out from this distance. All I could see was a tall, lean figure, clean cut and professional in the standard uniforms we were required to wear. The only thing that set him apart was his captain's cap.

I rolled my eyes, amused by Alice's enthusiasm. He must really be something to get her this worked up; her own boyfriend, Jasper, was extremely easy on the eyes. As our co-worker, I had almost had the hots for him, but Alice called dibs on his first day.

We were a tight knit little crew, and when our little airline tanked in the economy, we had worried about being separated. Fortunately for us, the new mega-airline bought us out, and we were all employees of Cullen Air.

"And I thought you only had eyes for me," Alice whirled in surprise as Jasper snuck up behind her, wrapping his long arms around her tiny waist.

"Jazzy, don't do that," she scolded playfully. "Besides, I was scoping him out for Bella, not myself, obviously."

I grimaced. The eternal third wheel, I was Alice's favorite project. She was forever looking at 'prospective candidates' for me, and to keep her in check, I occasionally had to remind her that I was not, nor would ever be, a contestant on The Bachelorette.

Besides, there was no chance that I would date the newbie. I knew better than to get involved with someone at work. As far as I was concerned, Alice and Jasper were the exception, not the rule.

"I have to pee," I announced. Alice rolled her eyes at me, and it was a little disappointing to me that I'd known her long enough that my frankness rarely got a rise out of her anymore. Two years ago, Alice would have unleashed a loud "EW! T.M.I.!" and given me a lecture on what was public versus what was private, as dictated by her southern socialite mother.

"Be back before the workshop starts," was all she said.

"T.M.I." Jasper muttered as I walked away; I reached back and slapped his arm.

The locker room was a strange place to count as a favorite hang-out, but for me and my sad little life, it was a decent escape. I sat down on one of the slotted wood benches near the showers and leaned my head against the red metal lockers, closing my eyes to think.

The merger was a pretty significant transition, and I was not a big fan of change. The best part was that I got to keep Alice, Jasper, and Rose. The second best part was that I rarely had to see TBJ – That Bitch Jessica – and Mike the Motherfucker, except for the very unfortunate occasions where I happened to bump into them at airport terminals. I quickly pushed them out of my mind.

What is past is past, I reminded myself. The past doesn't affect your future, so you might as well forget about it.

I was forced to recant my statement no less than five minutes later.

Sighing, I had stumbled over to the toilet stalls, realizing that I actually did have to pee. As I did my business, I contemplated whether or not I wanted our new co-workers to be hotties – it never hurt to have some nice eye-candy, but I sort of hoped that they would be lacking in the personality department: then I wouldn't be tempted to pull an Alice.

Speak of the devil…I heard the door to the locker room swing open. Alice coming to check up on me, no doubt. Before she could harass me, I beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," I griped. "Wouldn't want to miss the riveting first five minutes of orientation."

I shut up when I realized that the patter of footfalls on tile fit feet far larger than Alice's. Oh God, what if that was my new boss? What an awful first impression. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I opened the stall door, crimson-faced, hoping to repair any damage I had done. A simple apology should –

But then I saw him. HIM.

We stared at each other in shock before I shrieked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE? This is a WOMEN'S locker room!"

Instead of bolting like I'd expected him to, he stayed rooted firmly to the spot. I clamped a hand over my mouth. I hadn't intended to be so obnoxious – it was a reflex reaction. I could have been in junior high gym class all over again. Poor guy – he probably thought I was going to file a sexual harassment suit against him, or something.

A little calmer, I took a look at him, and my jaw dropped for the second time in one whole minute. OH. MY. GOD.

It was McFly. THE McFly. The original, the one Alice and I had named all the other nameless hotties after.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

He held up his hands, palms facing outward. "I'm so sorry – it's my first day here, and I got lost, they said the men's locker room was over here, but I see I picked the wrong one. It was completely unintentional," he assured me.

Did he recognize me? If he did, he sure wasn't acknowledging it.

"Men's is two doors down," I corrected. In all fairness, I couldn't blame the guy. The doors were very poorly labeled due to budget cuts, the layout of the hallway confusing. "Wait a second – what do you mean, first day?"

"I'm the new captain," he said nervously, twirling his pilot's cap in his hands.

SHIT. "SHIT." I said.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking perplexed.

I sighed, turning back to face him. I pulled my hair back, so he could see me.

"Bella?" he said in astonishment. I was surprised, and touched, that he'd remembered my name.

No, I chided. Pull yourself together, Bella. This is very, very bad.

"Wow, it's wonderful to see you again – I didn't know how to find you …but it looks like you aren't exactly thrilled to see me," he finished grimly.

"No, no, it's not that," I assured him quickly. Part of me – the part that wasn't drowning in mortification and fear and bad memories – was thrilled to see him again. He had been truly amazing, a blip in the line of my steady dull life. Even after three minutes of reunion, I could see that I still felt the chemistry between us.

"What is it, then?" he asked, one eyebrow quirked deliciously.

"How do I say this?" I wondered aloud, while he waited with patient skepticism. I bit my lip, deciding that whatever Alice might say, candidness had always been the best course for a terrible liar such as myself.

"You almost got me fired."