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I have to credit this idea to my brother in law. He was standing in the kitchen one day talking about the TV show Wife Swap or Trading Spouses I don't know which, but I got to thinking and tuned him out. What would happen if they swapped? Does anything else happen? What if they fell in love? What if an affair started? So many questions … so, the birth of my latest story.

Thanks to my wonderful, I couldn't do the things I do without them. Beta(s): dannibags

This chapter we will find out about Edward and how he finds himself in the middle of the popular TV show Exchanging Companions. We will find out about what he was doing prior to the show.

Happy Reading

Exchanging Companions

Chapter 2

EPOV

I was at work and filling out the stupid application to join that God-awful show about exchanging wives. I couldn't believe that Kate wanted to be a part of something of its caliber. I mean, it didn't seem like her speed at all, but according to the last episode I was forced to watch I would be willing to bet she was hoping to exchange places with some celebrity.

Filling out the application had been relatively simple so far, and I had just gotten past the basic information. I chuckled when I enter the information on the mother's type of work. Nonexistent, Kate loved to have homemaker attached to her name, but she really wasn't a homemaker. Kate never worked a day in her life. She always had things handed to her by her parents.

I, on the other hand built my construction company from the ground up, and was no stranger to working my ass off to get the things I wanted out of life. I worked eighty-hour weeks, and majority of the weekends too. My brother Emmett was my lead supervisor, and he also helped to get the company off and running.

I went back to the application and wondered if Kate really wanted to do this … I mean, what if she landed in BFE and was pissed that it wasn't the celebrity I knew she was hoping for. There would be no way she would be able to survive in the woods of West Virginia on her own. I didn't know if that was where she was heading, but that would just be her luck.

The closest major airport to us in Portland, Oregon was … Portland International Airport. We had lived in Portland for five years now; Kate didn't want to leave her parent's so this is where we settled. We owned our home; there was no way we would be able to afford rent if I had allowed Kate to rent. She would have selected one of those upscale apartments that would have cost me thousands a month.

If Kate would have realized how much our home actually cost she would have a fit. I had purchased one of those modular homes and had it built back on a couple of acres of land. The house was two stories, four bedrooms, a two car parking garage, spacious living room, and dining area. A kitchen big enough for twenty people to fit in, which Kate refused to use. Our home had two bathrooms, a game room, and a nice music room for me to play my piano.

Who wears the pants and why? Kate …why? Because no matter what I thought or did, she always did what she wanted to do. Even when it comes to the girls, she won't even allow me to make decisions about them.

Kate might wear the pants in this family, but I am the one who takes care of the all the responsibilities. Kate doesn't have a responsible bone in her body, and sometimes I have to call her parents just to reel her in from time to time.

Our nanny, Carmen Denali … takes care of the children ninety percent of the time. She helps the children remain on schedule and does their homework. She makes sure they have lunch, and picks them up from school. I work so much that I don't spend as much time with them as I should, and Kate is too busy playing the social butterfly to even give a shit about the girls. I refuse to pay for the nanny, but when Kate told her parents, they chipped in and took care of it. I don't ask and don't care at this point, which is a prime example of how she undermines me. Kate doesn't clean either, and neither do I we have a maid; Samantha Collins, I don't mind paying someone to come and clean the house. Kate doesn't mind shopping, in fact, she shops too much. But, she keeps the kids and I clothed so, I won't complain about that. She doesn't cook. She cooked one time back in college and about burned down the damn apartment in the process. So, I pay for a cook too. I handle all of our financial situations, and allow Kate an allowance to spend how she chooses, but lately we have been having an issue. Kate plans our social life, and I have to go along to keep up pretenses, but I hate having to go to the country club for their boring parties. Thank God, my parents and brother go otherwise I would be bored to tears with the constant talks of religion, golf, politics, and the ever popular economic down turn of the nation. Like I said boring shit I could care less about. I have money, and I don't mind being a member to hit a couple rounds of golf, but hate the whole high and mighty attitude that a lot of the men and women carry around that place.

We don't have pets in fact; Kate is allergic to cats, so I must make sure to put that here. I would hate her to get a companion that has animals especially a cat and have Kate sick.

Dinnertime around here is nonexistent. Carmen eats with the children, and Kate is usually gone. They do get home cooked meals because of the cook. I don't eat any meals at the house if I can help it.

How would you describe your diet? I laughed if I had my way about it I would be eating steak and potatoes at every meal. However, Kate doesn't like meat at all and absolutely refuses to eat it. As long as I have known her she wouldn't eat it, and I never thought she would extend that rule to me. We were not allowed any junk food or carbonated beverages. I keep those at work locked in the last drawer in my desk.

The nanny set our families schedule and daily routine in place. I didn't come home at dinner, and most times I wasn't home until way late. Kate sometimes wouldn't be home at all. I assumed she was staying at her parent's house, but never bothered to check. She partied late with her friends at clubs, and sometimes I wondered if she was cheating on me. I often thought about going down to the clubs to see if she was with anyone, but I didn't have the time to devote to such things. I figured when I was ready to get a divorce I would hire a private investigator to track her whereabouts. Kate sometimes wouldn't be home at all. I didn't know how she was going to pull off doing this show when she wouldn't even stay here for longer than a day or two tops.

Reading the next question on the list of things they wanted to know for the show gets me to thinking about our life. How do you discipline your children? I don't, Kate won't allow me to discipline the girls, and I don't push it. Hell, their father is still relatively in the picture, but Kate doesn't even allow him to punish them. I love the girls dearly, but they are spoiled brats just like their mother, which depress me. I can't answer the questions they want to know about discipline and whether or not we restrict their interactions with TV and other forms of media. I would have to talk to Carmen before I could answer those questions. In fact, anything that has to do with the girls I would have to refer to her.

Their father, Garrett, was my best friend and the reason I am in this terrible relationship. Garrett and Kate were a couple during college. I introduced them and thought they would be perfect for each other. But, when Kate found out she was pregnant with the twins, Garrett quit school and hightailed it out of the relationship.

I couldn't stand to see Kate in the predicament she was in and she even talked about have the twins aborted. I couldn't stand it and felt guilt for even introducing them, so I asked Kate to marry me, and to keep the girls.

When the girls were three, Garrett waltzes back into the picture. He didn't want to be with Kate, in fact, he is married to Lexi; but he did want to be in the girls life. As a father, he is doing all the things I should have done. He doesn't like the fact that the girls are with the nanny all the time when they are hear, and has often times threatened to take them from Kate. I can't really say that I blame him, but Kate always pulls the I have more money than you so just go ahead and try me. It usually works and Garrett backs off for a while.

I don't know anything that makes our family unique or even standout. I guess you could say we are the typical rich family that has a nanny, a cook, and a maid. I don't make billions, but I have done very well for myself. Kate is spoiled and haughty to people she meets. I have no clue why the producers of the show would ever entertain the thoughts of having my dysfunctional family even considered for this show. Hell, I don't even want it to happen.

The only thing we could teach another family is how to be just as flawed as we are, or worse how to ignore children and leave them to be raised by wolves. I knew what our family needed to be less broken. We needed to be shown how to love and care about one another on a level that was less self-serving. Everyone in my home was so wrapped around themselves that they could never consider the feelings of others long enough to function properly. Kate or the girls neither of them think about whether they might say or do something that will hurt someone else's feelings. All they care about is how the public will perceive them. Which I find completely funny because everyone already has a preconceived notion that they are spoiled rich brats. But, they seem to enjoy that type of notoriety.

How would you describe your relationship with your partner? How many words can I list here: unfulfilling, dutiful, disrespectful, a hassle, a chore, and exhausting? Kate and I had been married for eight years. I got into this situation by feeling sorry for a friend whom had been shitted on by another friend. There are times I think I love Kate, but in truth, I don't know what love is or what it feels like from a couples stand point. Now, I was just going through the motions of being married. We don't have sex in fact; it has been a good long while since we actually slept in the same room. We tried after we first got married, and things were awkward at best. Kate is a very attractive woman, and she would appeal to a lot of men. Tall with long blonde hair, fake boobs, and petite; she has a beautiful smile if she would use it, and I have seen it on rare occasions. The majority of times she looks like she is pissed at the world, and acts it too.

She's not my type at all, and I would rather my women be field with laughter, smiles, crazy little things that drive you wild, loving, caring, kind … another list that could go on for miles. Just rest asserted it would the opposite of Kate Cullen.

Sometimes I could just kick my own ass for allowing her relationship with my friend, and the guilt of introducing them get the best of me until I married her out of pity. What if the woman I was supposed to marry is still out there single and waiting for me? Who was I kidding nothing in my life would have ever panned out that way. I was destined to be where I was … in a loveless, uncaring marriage that sometimes sucked the ever loving life out of me.

How would you and your spouse describe your relationship with your kids? Nonexistent that was the word I chose to use for the application at this point, and was quickly growing tired of answering these stupid questions just to appease Kate once again.

Are you willing to share your thoughts and feelings and enforce your rules on another family? Kate would no doubt, but I wouldn't. I wondered briefly if the woman they would send to my home would be able to open the girl's eyes to another way of living. Would I finally find the courage I was looking for to break away from my marriage to Kate? Not saying I thought the other woman would interest me, but maybe she could give me the hope I needed to finally take the plunge and leave this situation behind.

When it come to questions about money this was a simple question. Yes, we had money per se, and there were two types of spenders in my household at the moment. I like to watch and pinch pennies if possible; I splurged on things like new tools or tuning my piano. Kate on the other hand didn't have a penny pinching bone in her body. She was one of the reasons for doing the show. She had spend $50,000 in one month on clothes, spa days, manicures, pedicures, and other things that women do, or someone like Kate does. I about had a shit fit when I tallied up all the shopping trips and the amounts of money she had spent. I told her she had to do something to rectify the situation, and this was her bright idea.

There isn't anything that pushes my buttons really I am a rather laid back guy, but I wouldn't tolerate someone disrespecting the girls. I wouldn't like to hear things about Kate either, but I could tolerate a few things even if I knew if they were true.

I wasn't brought up the way Kate was she was always handed everything on a silver platter, my parents make me work for the things I was given. I came from money too, but they never babied my siblings or me. I wasn't always the easiest child to get along with either, and had always been the loner. I would often time turn to playing the piano in times of distress or just for comfort. I never talked about my problems, and I never wanted anyone in the middle of things. I was like this all the way through high school. I figure that is way I stay late at work often to avoid interactions and talking about why I am unfulfilled in my marriage and life.

The show wanted to know if there was any feuding within anyone in my family, and I laughed at the thoughts. Let's see if I could summarize our current problems. Kate was an only child, so she didn't have problems from that aspect. Her parents seem to like me okay, but don't always agree with me not spending money on their daughter or always letting her have her way. Which is ludicrous she always gets her way one way or another. She acts to them as if I don't give her money so she can have more, and she always puts me in a spot with them begging me with her eyes to go along with what she said.

My family on the other hand, absolutely despises Kate. They would love nothing more than for me to get a divorce, and leave Kate with nothing. They also think she signed a prenuptial, but she didn't. If I was to get a divorce from her I stand to lose half of my company to her, and I can't do that. I guess I could always give in and trade the house for my company, just sleep on the couch in the trailers on the job sites, but I won't, not yet anyways. Not to mention the fact that I would have to probably pay her alimony because the entire time we have been together she hasn't worked at all. So, by the time the divorce would be finalized I would probably been in deep, to deep to take the risk. I would essentially be broke, and would have to start from scratch. I just wasn't ready to take that plunge yet.

I hated having to answer the questions about my family. Carlisle and Esme Cullen had adopted me years ago, and that was something I had to list. They wanted to know if I had ever tried to contact my parents, and that was something I didn't really feel comfortable answering. I had contacted my biological mother when I first learned at the age of eighteen that I was adopted. I refused to tell them what happened, other than it didn't work out.

Finally finishing the application, I saved and closed my laptop it was already time to head back to the house, and I dreaded every minute of it.

Dear Cullen Family,

We would like to congratulate your family for being selected to participate in the show Exchanging Companions.

The episode you have been selected for will begin shooting in August 5th through August 19th, 2012.

Mrs. Katrina Cullen will be heading to Forks, Washington on August 4th, your ticket will be covered by the show, and you should receive them closer to time of shooting. You will be staying with Mr. Jacob Black and his two daughters for the duration of your stay.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Aro Volturi, producer at 1-888-785-8765 ext 456.

If for some reason you must cancel for the above dates please be advised that there is no guarantee that we will be able to use your family in another episode.

Once again congratulations, and we will be seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

Aro Volturi, Producer

A/N: How do you like the story so far? Getting everyone in their place for the cameras, and as always review.