A/N—Now, not only is ltaylor041 a beta, but so is my friend Emma (applause). So please give her a warm welcome. Hopefully no typos or errors make it past the three of us, but if they do, my apologies

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.

Mind Your Own Business

Chapter 3: Brunch?

The next morning when I was getting dressed, I got the first glimpse of the bruises. I had forgotten to put ice on them the night before—I really should have. So I decided to, again, wear my knee high boots to cover my shin bruise. Then I wore a navy skirt that came just to my knees. On top, I wore a ruffled shirt that came just below the blue and purple mark on my arm. Next, makeup. As I applied my foundation, I was relieved that Mike had left for work about five minutes before I got up. Does he remember last night? Or was he too drunk? I tried not to think about last night the rest of the day. This was particularly hard, however, because my boot kept rubbing up against my bruise as I walked down the street.

I sat down at my desk, causing my boot to hit the mark once more. A quiet "ow" escaped my lips, and I looked up in the direction of Edward's office. He was on the phone with someone; he seemed angry. He must have felt me staring at him or something, because he looked up and glanced at me through the glass walls of his office. Once he realized who he had locked eyes with, he looked back at his computer screen. I sighed and turned on mine. Editing my story was a priority, but I also wanted to rewrite it. Would Edward recognize that it was specifically about . . . him?

I logged into GoogleDocs, where I had saved my story last night while sitting on the couch away from Mike, and began editing. I was so focused that I did not notice Alice come up to my desk and sit on it. "Hey," she said, a little too perky for me in the morning. "Apparently you and Edward left together last night."

"Wait, we what?"

"Yeah, those security guys love to gossip." She examined her nails, not making eye contact with me.

"You mean you like to gossip with them." She shrugged. "And yeah, we both stayed late so we decided to walk out together. We were the last ones here."

"Mmmmkay, whatever you say." I could tell Alice's eye caught the picture frame that was still laying face down on my desk. She didn't ask me about it, though. "Anyhoo, I have an interview to get to, so see ya later chica! Be nice to my brother!" With that she hopped right off of my desk and sauntered toward her desk to grab her coat and purse.

"I need coffee," I mumbled to myself before getting up and walking to the nearest coffee maker. The second the caffeine touched my lips, I relaxed and leaned up against the counter. I gently rubbed my bruised arm, not fully realizing that my sleeve had slipped up.

That is when the moment of relaxation came to an abrupt halt. "Nice bruise, Newton," Edward greeted me by my married name. "What'd you do? Get in a street fight?" He filled his mug with coffee.

"Hey, Cullen," I put emphasis on his last name. "And yeah, you know me! Always picking fights with men in alleyways. You should see the other guy," I laughed. "He's in the hospital, the poor thing!" I sipped my coffee. Ahh, the sweet, sweet sensation of caffeine.

Edward laughed with me before asking, "No, really. What happened to you?"

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, positive that he did not notice. "Oh, I am just a terrible klutz! You know, running into walls, tables, and doors left and right. It's crazy!"

"Hmm," he mused and glanced down at my stance. I hadn't realized I was standing so awkwardly, holding my leg out so my boot would not rub up against my leg. "Problem?" he asked, gesturing towards my leg.

"Nope." I pulled my leg back next to my other, slightly wincing in pain while doing so. "Yeah, I have to go," I said, looking down and walking out of the room.

"Wait," he called after me. "I think we need to start over after last night. I have to shoot a concert tonight, but if you wanna go grab some food after work tomorrow . . .?"

I sighed. "Sure, why not?" I wanted to go out with him, I did, but I couldn't help but think of the incident when I met Mike. I was dating some guy my friend introduced to me, and it was a good relationship, don't get me wrong. His name was Eric, and we had been dating for three months when I went to a party my friend Angela was having—I didn't bring Eric along. That's when I met Mike. We talked a lot after the party, and finally I admitted to myself that I was flirting, so I broke up with Eric. Now, granted, this situation is much different considering the fact that I am now married to Mike.

Actually, you know what? Scratch that! This situation is entirely different.

When I went home that night—at a normal time, mind you—I found a note waiting for me on the kitchen table. It read: "Sorry, I won't be home in time for dinner tonight. Going out with some people from work. See you when I get home."

"Cool," I gritted through my teeth, tearing the note into a million tiny pieces before shoving them into the trashcan. That's when I noticed that Mike had left his laptop at home. He rarely does that. Since his laptop has the better games, I opened it up and sat down on the couch. While I was waiting for the game to open, an email popped up from "Rosie."

Subject: Sunday brunch.

Sunday brunch? Who the hell is Mike having brunch with? And brunch?

This must be her, I thought. I was going to click on the email, but then he would know that it was opened, that I had read it, and I did not want to enter that argument. So, I let the email be and went about playing some game on his laptop.

"You know, even if he is chea—" Edward said while we were waiting for our food the next day after work. I interrupted him, though.

"Let's not talk about that, okay?" He nodded in understanding. "I should not have done that the other night. I'm sorry."

"I understand," he replied. We were both quiet for a few moments before he said, "Nice article, by the way, this week."

"What?" I asked, confused. "What article?"

"You're column." That. "According to the spreadsheet, it needed one more staff proof, so I proofed it." Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. "It's really good, and perfect since Valentines Day is when the issue goes out." Don't ask who the kiss was with. Don't ask who the kiss was with. "Was it about Mike?" I told you not to ask.

I took a drink so I wouldn't have to answer necessarily and nodded "yes" in the process. Edward, I think, noticed that I did not want to talk about the article and moved on. "So what are you doing tomorrow?" he asked.

"Let's see, tomorrow's Friday right?" No shit, Bella. "I'm going out with Alice." I laughed. "Ha, yeah, we go dancing the second Friday of every month." I looked down at the table. "I'm surprised you haven't seen the embarrassing photos and videos on her phone."

He, too, laughed. "I haven't, but that's interesting. I just can't picture you and my sister being friends. I mean, you're all... you, and she's all... not you." I looked up at him and laughed. "Okay, that was a bad comparison, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah," I said, "I do. What about you? What's your weekend look like?"

"Ugh, well, I have to shoot some family reunion-brunch-type-thing for some high and mighty NYC family."

"Oooo, that does not sound enjoyable."

"Not at all. Just some hoity-toity jackasses with too much money."

"Intense," I laughed. "What high and mighty NYC family?" I asked.

"The Hales."

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