Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Stephanie Meyer and Linda Winstead Jones do.
Thank you to all that have read my story. Well not my story. But you know what I mean. But I would love for you guys to review.
So on with the story.
Chapter Two – The Meeting
Edward sat facing Bella Swan. They were separated by a desk, two cups of terrible, weak coffee, and several unorganized piles of paperwork. He was still astounded that Swan Oil's CEO was a woman! And an amazingly beautiful one, at that. Such a woman should have better, more appropriate pursuits to fill her time. He could think of a few, sitting here watching her as she told him all about Swan Oil and the operations of their refinery.
She did seem to be knowledgeable, he would give her that. They had been discussing the refinery for over an hour, and she had answered every one of his questions without referring to notes or calling on an assistant. The CEO of Swan Oil was not a mere figurehead – she knew what she was doing.
Surely Bella Swan was not involved with The Volturi. Not only was it unlikely that the Brothers would allow a woman into their organization, he was certain that he saw honesty and sincerity in Bella's brown eyes. She was open, direct and earnest, and she had no qualms about looking him squarely in the eye. The longer he watched and listened to her, the more convinced he was of her integrity.
He set the certainty of her innocence aside. Appearances could be deceiving, and anything… anything was possible.
But Bella Swan truly was beautiful. Her dark brown hair, sleek and straight, was cut short. The ends touched her chin and swayed when she moved quickly. Her seemingly honest eyes were a magnificent shade of brown and topped by dark, well-shaped eyebrows that arched perfectly and naturally. Her skin was flawless and golden – a combination of her father's Prieaian blood and the Washington sun, he imagined – and her lips were invitingly full.
Yes, she knew what she was doing, here, but surely someone else actually ran the refinery. "Who is in charge of operations?"
She set perfectly calm eyes on him, "I am."
He smiled. "Yes, I know you are CEO, but who actually sees to the day-to-day refinery affairs?" That was the person he needed to see, the man who was involved on a daily basis in the plant supervision.
Those brown eyes hardened, Isabella Swan's nostrils flared slightly. "Mr. Cullen," she said tightly. "Are you going to have a problem dealing with a woman?"
"Of course not. It just seems implausible to me that a woman like you could be involved in such a dirty business."
"I know this is a male-dominated business but…"
"Is that why you use I.M. Swan instead of Isabella? Isabella is such a lovely name," he said, looking her in the eye, smiling softly.
She sighed. "Yes, I use my initials on correspondence to avoid moments like this one," she said testily. "Mr. Cullen, I understand the world you come from. My father has some of the same old-fashioned ideals. If he can put aside his prejudices to allow me to run this company, surely you can forget that I'm a woman and look at me simple as a business associate."
Edward lifted his eyebrows in question. Forget that she was a woman? Unlikely. "I can... try."
"Thank you," she said in a low voice. Ah, he had annoyed her. A blush rose to her cheeks, and her eyes shone brighter than they had before.
"I would like a tour of the refinery as soon as possible," he said, pushing the weak coffee the secretary had prepared aside. In truth, it didn't matter that Isabella Swan was beautiful, that when he had first seen her something inside him had clenched and fluttered, or that for a few wonderful moments he had forgotten the purpose of his visit.
"How about tomorrow morning?" Bella pushed back a strand of hair that brushed her cheek. "I have phone calls to make this afternoon, and I'm sure you must be tired, after traveling all this way. I'll make arrangements to have the proper safety equipment here in the morning. I hope you don't mind setting aside your traditional attire for the tour. The long loose fabric can be dangerous in a working plant. Steel-toed boots and a hard hat will be required, and I'm afraid I don't allow loose clothing on the plant. It's too dangerous.
"Of course," he said. He had worn the traditional attire thinking that if I.M. Swan were a conservative Prieaian he might be suitably impressed. All his suppositions about I.M. Swan had been very, very wrong. He had done his best, but he suspected Bella was not at all impressed.
"Dress casually, and I'll have a pair of coveralls here for you to wear."
He nodded in agreement.
"Wonderful. Meet me here, and after you change I'll drive you out to the refinery." Bella stood, signaling that the meeting was over, and Edward rose slowly to his feet.
The last thing he wanted to do was return to his suite at the hotel and try to sleep. Yes, it had been a long trip, but his mind was spinning. There was so much to be done, so little time. And yet, to push fir an immediate tour of the refinery might seem strange.
Bella opened her door and gave him a smile as she tried to usher him out of her office. As he passed very close by the Swan Oil CEO, Edward sensed uneasiness in her, a nervous sparkle in her eyes and in the way her slender fingers fluttered. He suspected her unsettled response had nothing to do with the oil business.
He stepped through the doorway and into the outer office. No, he did not want to wait until tomorrow to proceed with his investigation. Time was of the essence. If his initial instincts were correct, Bella might not be involved with The Volturi at all, she might know nothing about the prince's disappearance. But she know the people at Swan Oil. If the Brothers were here, she knew something. Even if she wasn't aware of her knowledge.
Edward spun to face Isabella Swan, wanting another look, not quite ready to leave her. "I have an idea," he said, smiling at the solution that came to him. "I will buy you dinner this evening to make amends for my earlier blunder. I feel quite guilty."
Bella seemed taken aback by the offer. She had definitely not expected it. "That's…very kind of you, but I have a meeting this evening…"
"Oh," the woman seated at the outer office desk interrupted. Spinning around in her chair to face them. "I forgot to tell you, Ms. Swan. That meeting has been cancelled." Bella's secretary, an older woman with wildly misbehaving hair and mischievously twinkling blue eyes, smiled widely.
"I'd be happy to make reservations for you," she added. "La Bella's at eight?"
Bella glared at her secretary. "Thank you," she said tersely, turning a tight smile Edward's way. "I'll meet you there. You shouldn't have any problems finding it. Forks is a pretty small town, and the restaurant is less than a mile from your hotel."
"Lovely." He offered his hand, as if for a handshake. Bella hesitated before offering her own hand. He took that hand, bent down to kiss the knuckles once again. This time he let his mouth linger, just a moment longer than was proper. She shivered tellingly and he felt her response through his hands, through his lips.
This assignment might not be such a sacrifice after all.
AN: So guys what do you think? I would love it if you guys REVIEW.
Being a full time TAFE student, I don't know when I will update next, next week I have exams in two of my classes before we go on holidays and I have to study so, I will try and get as many as I can that are already done up but then I don't know when the next one will be.
But please tell me what you think so I know to actually continue it.
Mystik
