Hello my loves! As always, thanks so much for the review, follows, and favorites! Here's ch. 4!
I Do Not Own A Damn Thing
Chapter 4
The weekend passed without any other wild nights. I talked to Rose and Alice on the phone, I remotely played X-Box with Emmett, and I cleaned my apartment; a typical weekend off for me. To anyone looking in from outside, I wasn't affected in the slightest by my evening in Edward's apartment, however, that was decidedly not the case.
I was freaking the fuck out.
Our kiss and conversations replayed in my mind constantly. I must have typed at least 12 text messages an hour, only to delete them and throw my phone to the other side of whatever room I was in. I had so many questions for him. I had so many things to say. You want to look at him. Well, that too. Regardless of what I wanted, I still had no idea what the next step was, and that kept me from moving forward. If he said it was a mistake, what would I do? Can I go back to silently pining for him from afar? Can I move on? What if he said it wasn't a mistake and wanted to be with me? Would I want that? YES. Yes, you would want that. Are you crazy? But, what would a relationship with him mean for my career? I'm eighteen years younger than him. I can see the benefits of being with a man like him could have on my life but what can I offer him? Your body. Is that enough though?
So, I left his text in my phone and stared at it obsessively. Like the freak that you are.
Before I knew it, it was Monday and Alice was knocking on my front door so we could walk over to the main building. She handed me my coffee and linked our arms together. "How are you feeling, Bella? We had a wild weekend!" She asked exuberantly.
"Alice, we haven't done anything since Friday." I chuckled lightly and nursed the elixir of life she had brought for me. I sighed when the warm, rich, black liquid hit the back of my throat. Much like my favorite tequila, once I had figured out coffee was better without any additives, I never polluted it with flavoring.
"Yeah, but It was a super intense Friday!" She insisted.
"Was it?" I asked, trying to feign a casual tone. What did she mean intense? She hadn't seen anything that happened with Edward and I, had she?
"Bella, we drank the whole bottle of tequila. I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. Emmett even smoked one! We had a wild time! It wouldn't be unreasonable to feel it two days later!" Her voice got higher and higher as she defended herself.
"Three days, Alice. It's been three days," I laughed quietly at her but pulled her closer to my side to show her that I was only teasing her. "I feel fine. In fact, I felt fine Saturday, but it is not unreasonable to still be feeling a little off, you're right." She harrumphed at my response, but was all smiles when we made it to the front doors of the C.E corporate building. Before she opened the door, I could hear bustling from inside and was immediately confused. What could be going on that there was this much noise? I racked my brain for possible maintenance or construction projects that I could have forgotten. I looked at Alice and saw her wide grin.
"You forgot." She smiled even wider and my stomach dropped.
"I forgot." I nodded and did what I could to mentally prepare for the onslaught that was about to occur in the short time I had.
She looked at me until grasped the handle in front of me and opened the door. Inside the Cullen Enterprise main lobby were four years worth of interns that had come back to celebrate their achievements since completing the internship program. My mind had been preoccupied with all things Edward to the point that my anxiety about this event had been completely shoved from my mind. You should thank him for that. I actually should.
Once a year, all the interns that had participated in C.E's program were invited back to attend a professional image seminar. Most were asked back as attendants, some were put on panels to discuss various aspects of being an intern for C.E or in general. Even fewer interns were asked to present alongside the professional speakers, on a particular accomplishment they achieved while in the program or attributed to the lessons they learned in the program. This was my least favorite thing to happen during the summer. This is an event that had an alarming similarity to a high school reunion. You knew almost everyone, liked almost no one, and wanted to be better than every single person in the room. Since I was the only person to ever enter the C.E. Intern Program more than once, I knew everyone. I liked a very small amount of them. They all wanted to prove that they were better than me. The fact that I attended this program for four summers in a row over anyone else, had very much to do with the fact that I was one of a small number of people to ask if I was allowed to reapply. After my first summer, I knew that once I had completed my first year of college, I would have so much more to offer C.E and they had infinitely more to offer me. Being involved with a Fortune 500 company at 18 was amazing but it was also a tease. I had skills that could be honed and adapted, but, in one summer, I could really only scratch the surface. Others felt the same and had sent their resumes in after completing the program the first time. I can't say with any type of certainty why they were always turned away and I wouldn't, but there were many that tried that were only interested in, let's call it, the social aspect. This event was a breeding ground for jealousy and contempt as these particular people saw that I was still here and had even more responsibility than before. Today might even be the worst one yet. Today Edward was going to announce that I was going to be the newest social media team member to enter the marketing department.
Oh Fuck. Edward was announcing me.
Yeah, and he'll say all these really nice things about us and how great we are and your panties will melt and we'll probably slip off the seat on stage in front of everyone. It'll be great.
How could I have forgotten this?
You were too busy thinking about fucking Edward, the CEO of your company, the man announcing you in front of a room of people that hate you.
Ah, yes. Thanks for reminding me.
We entered the lobby and Rose appeared in front of us almost immediately. "Gird your loins, ladies. Friendly Jess is coming in hot." Rose couldn't even quiet her laughter when we heard the unmistakable, nasally tone, behind her.
"Belllllaaahhhh. Omigod! I can't believe you're still here!" So we're going with the same greeting for the third year in a row. Great.
I plastered a smile on my face, "Hi Jess. Yup, still here." Jessica Stanley was the bane of my existence. I would actually say that she was the bane of Cullen Enterprise's existence. Jess, or Friendly Jess, as Rose called her, was one of the many under qualified interns to attempt reapplication. She was here my first year and ended up being placed in every department that took interns. Not because she was needed, but because no department could stand her and they wanted her gone. She finally ended up in the design department and the team leader gave her free reign to decorate one of the first model apartments C.E. built so she'd leave them alone. Unbeknowst to Jess, the model was never shown to anyone and was on the list for demolition at the end of that summer. I think she still has, "Managed the design of a model apartment for Cullen Enterprises," on her resume.
The reason that she was labeled Friendly Jess is the same reason that the C.E. intern dorms are now separated by sex. The Cullen's foolishly thought that since most students had experienced co-ed dorm life, the responsibility of living with the opposite sex on the same hall, would not be too much to handle. They did not account for Jessica Stanley. After one too many complaints from her roommate of being locked out of their shared room while Jess had loud sex with any one (or two) person(s). As well as an interesting amount of testimonies of her introducing herself ass-naked to the men on the hall, including maintenance staff. Jess ended up being sent to live in the model home she decorated.
Made the commute easy, I guess.
When Rose and Alice started here, Emmett and Jasper took us all out to ease some new-job-tension, and the story of her introducing herself to the brothers in a similar fashion came out. Rose and Alice were livid even though their relationships were still new and non-existent. Rose took to calling the woman Friendly Jess, and it stuck.
"Could you, like, not find anything after graduation? Omigod, did you not graduate from college? Did you have to drop out? I didn't hear anything about you getting pregnant, but omigod, I'm so sorry." She rested her hand on my arm and if she hadn't of been smiling the whole time she was speaking, I would have thought she was a little concerned.
I shrugged her off and took a step back in line with Rose and Alice.
"I graduated a few weeks ago, Jess. I have found a job, you'll actually hear more about it later, but I'm back in the program helping these ladies for the summer. This is Rosalie Hale and Alice Brandon, the new social media directors in the marketing department." Alice smiled and held out her hand, Rose did nothing.
Jess looked down at her nails and shrugged, "I thought their Instagram seemed a little off. Should have known you'd have something to do with it." She turned to Rose and Alice, shaking Alice's hand and trying to look as aloof as Rose, "I'm Jessica Stanley, I'm sure you've heard of me though. I currently have a job, but here's my card if you want help with the social media department." She gave Alice and Rose both a card.
"This only has your twitter handle." Rose's voice came out flat.
"Yeah," Jess flipped her hair, "I only accept business inquiries via twitter DM's."
"Uh-," the three of us had to have resembled caricatures, same confused sigh, heads cocked to the side, eyes squinted, trying to see if there was anything in her head at all, besides hot air.
The loud speaker sounded above us, alerting the program alums to move to the all-purpose room for the first panel session. Jess grabbed my shoulders and air kissed my cheeks, and yelled that we should "do brunch" before scurrying away in her too-high-heels.
I exhaled. The most awkward of encounters had been survived.
"Bella, aren't you going in to the panel?" Rose asked as I walked with them to the elevator.
I laughed out loud, "No. We have a huge project due and I didn't do anything I told you guys I would over the weekend. They have all the same speakers they did last year, and I really have no interest in hearing about how these people I watched half-ass all their work for three months, accomplished more than some people do in their lifetime." I was met with blank stares and I shrugged, "Someone says it every year."
"We really need to get you in charge of the intern process with Edward. He's too busy to be obsessing over the details that obviously need to be obsessed over." Rose punched the button for our floor and shook her head.
I smiled widely, partially at the mention of Edward, but mostly at the mention of the secret I had been keeping for a while, "Well, it's funny you mention it…" The elevator dinged and I walked forward towards our office. I heard happy squeals and heels clacking on tile floor after me.
"Excuse you! Why is it funny, Bella?" Alice shook me excitedly.
"I may have presented a business proposal to Jasper last week that may have set up a model where I am heavily involved in the intern program as well as the social media team. This proposal may have set up a position that answered directly to Edward and was responsible for finding staff members to interview applicants, make final hiring decisions, and advertise for the program via social media. The position might also be responsible for creating training material and putting processes in place that would keep interns from not putting in their best effort without consequence and dismiss interns like Friendly Jess, that don't deserve the opportunity. And he may have officially signed off on it this morning!" My ears probably broke from Alice's victory yell. She had been encouraging me to take my ideas for the intern program to Jasper and present it in a way that the new responsibilities would complement the ones that I already had with the social media department.
When Alice was done squeezing me, Rose surged forward and embraced me, "We are so incredibly proud of you. I can't wait to see the greatness you bring to this company." Que all the tears.
"Thank you both so much. I never would have been able to put all my ideas into any type of format or had the confidence to reach out to Jasper without you both. But also, I put clauses in my contract that clearly state that if either of you feel like I am lacking in my duties that are exclusive to this office that you can immediately pull me out of the internship program, or put me on some sort of suspension, or fire me, or-"
"Bella, shut the fuck up. You're babbling." Rose's face was blank and her tone blunt but her eyes were still shining with pride.
"What Rose is saying," Alice announces as she lightly elbows Rosalie, "is that we have nothing but the utmost confidence that you can handle both positions and if you ever felt like anything was becoming too much, you'd let us know." Alice put her arm around the two of us and pulled us into a circle.
"Group hugs give me hives, Alice." Rose sassed.
"We don't need to fulfill any threesome fantasies that any of the accountants have, either." I contributed and Rose threw her head back and laughed. We both complained but no one made a move to get out of Alice's embrace.
"I hope your face swells and all the CPAs come out and have a circle jerk around us!" Alice squealed and pulled us closer while we yelled and tried to get away from her.
"That is repulsive!"
"Why would you speak that into the universe?!"
"Yeah seriously, that was super weird." A male voice chimed in.
We screamed and whirled around to face the new voice.
"What the fuck, Edward!" Rosalie yelled. "How long were standing there?"
"Long enough to hear Alice invite the accounting department to some questionable activities." He chuckled and I was instantly brought back to when that laugh was washing over my cheeks as he held me to his body.
Do not blush. Stop blushing
It isn't working.
Mother fu-
"Bella? Are you okay? Why aren't you at the alumni panel?" Edward's questions were reasonable and his tone wouldn't imply anything other than employer to employee, but my whole body was set alight in his presence.
"Well, as much as I loved being accosted by Friendly Jess in the lobby, I have work to do that actually matters." Okay, tone down the sass in the office, Ms. I Get Sarcastic When I Panic.
Fuck, he hasn't responded, that was too far.
"Huh. I guess that's good for me. Although, I was going to ask you to come down to the conference room with me so we can go over the proposal you presented to Jasper." He didn't sound mad… but…
"Yeah, that sounds fine. Let me grab my laptop and I'll head right down there." I nodded once to him, or maybe to myself, and headed to my desk to collect my things. And yourself. Any spare panties in that laptop cover?
"I'll meet you down there, then. Isabella." My head whipped up and my mouth formed a small "o." We briefly made eye contact, and he was gone.
Oh. Fuck me.
