I hope you like it and reviews make my day. All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.

Bella's PoV

He was gone by the time I unfroze, scrambling to run up the stairs gracefully, of course, and find him. I wanted to corner him, drag him away, and pulverize him for his constant mood swings. Either he was interested in me or not. I wouldn't be interested in a casual relationship, since those never made sense to me. Why bother dating if you didn't want to see how it could be, on a long term basis?

I looked and looked, but I could not find him until I saw him out the window, escaping into the night on his motorcycle. Once again, I was disappointed. However, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I would know his name once I found Esme, who was conveniently instructing the staff about something or other.

"Esme," I began, "did you happen to see a man with blonde hair running around anywhere? With green eyes and a chiseled chin?"

She gave me a wicked look and I knew there was no getting nonchalant about it. Damn it. It was like she could pull the truth out without even a serum!

"Really? Could you describe him a little better?" She snorted, quickly widening her eyes and covering her mouth with her palm. As much power as she had over me, it was hilarious and I could not stop laughing.

"Don't..you..laugh..at," she giggled, "me...ha ha haha." She finally gave in and let out a boisterous laugh, obtaining more attention than she ever desired in this moment.

"Please Esme, I'm begging here. Who was he?" I was not beneath begging. After all this time, people tell me this or that and I couldn't care less. But, when I did care, I was degraded to begging for a simple name. His name.

She calmed herself down and smiled at me, wicked still. "There were only two men like that here. One was our CEO, and the other was his brother. I'm assuming you're referring to his brother, since you must've met the CEO by now?"

Uh, this is where it got complicated. How did I explain the CEO's constant elusiveness that was so unwarranted? I was confused by it and spent too much time wondering why. Why I hadn't met him yet. Why he avoided me. Why he still didn't send me emails directly. It was as if he was pretending I didn't exist.

Huh. I just had an epiphany. I would confront him on Monday, since he was out of the office for the rest of the week.

I dragged myself into her guest bed after saying goodnight to Esme and thanking her for my invitation, evading all questions about the mystery man. It was glaringly obvious I would never know him, at this rate. At all. But I was grateful to at least have people that somewhat cared about me to want to have me around.

I left the next morning, before anyone else woke. The walk of shame without the shame. How lame.

Monday morning came around and my bravado had slowly left me. My hands were shaking and I was two seconds away from the door I had been standing in front of for what seemed like an endless length of time. It dawned on me that if I went back to my office quickly, he would never know how spineless I was.

The door opened. Damnit.

Standing in front of me was, indeed, a blonde man. He looked almost identical to the mysterious one. However, he did not have the little scar above his right eye, nor was the look on his face inviting.

"Something you need, Ms. Swan?" Ah, so he DID know my name! Evidence.

"Uh..." What was I supposed to say? Who's your look-alike? Why are you so angry with me? Do I perform my tasks incorrectly? Yes, I'd go with that one. "Excuse me, I just wanted to know if there was anything you needed that I wasn't aware of." I tried to give him my most genuine look.

His face softened for a moment. If I hadn't been concentrating, I would've missed it. He, once again, glared at me, and dismissed me by closing the door on my face. Wow.

I guessed maybe he was too busy to get to know my sweet, sensitive self. That or he was in love with the heinous monster and was upset I was doing such a better job.

Ms. Charlotte was, indeed, taken care of. Ben told me, under wraps, of course, that they paid her off to keep quiet. This was in the agreement of her severance package. Apparently, this had been the last straw among a series of ignorant actions on her part. Paperwork missing, catering ordered but not picked up...etc. It was incredible she lasted as long as she did. It was, most likely, due to top management being in love with her. What I still, to this day, do not understand is, who forced her to hire me?

Another week passed, my bravado with the blonde ass-in-charge completely gone. I had not seen him since, so he was back to ignoring my existence. It was childish and rude, but if I made millions to run a company, I wouldn't care. Ok, so maybe I would. We're all different, I guessed.

Angela had cornered me and talked me into going out with her and Ben. She decided I had been single long enough. I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd never dated, never had a boyfriend and, up until last New Year's Eve, never been kissed by a man.

I still think about that kiss.

It did me no good to keep thinking about it, though. So, I concentrated on other things that needed my obvious attention, like ordering sandwiches for the weekly meeting.

"Carnegie Deli, may I help you?" The words were sincere, the attitude behind them were not. This is one of those times I was glad to have developed tougher skin than I previously had. My classmates from boarding school would've been eaten alive had they come to NYU when I did. I was more mature, more grounded in my entire being than they were. They depended so much on their parents, it was sad.

I cleared my throat, biting back my sarcastic and, may I say, witty response. It would only end in no food. "Yes, this is Ms. Swan. I'd like to place an order. To go." I sounded like an imbecile, but who wouldn't?

"We don't do that anymore." She hung up on me. Well, that was rude. However, complaining to her manager, especially during the lunch rush, wasn't in my best interest. I just wanted the damn catering done.

I pulled on my down jacket. It made me look like a Michelin Man but I didn't care. I was sure I was much warmer than the person next to me.

I walked to the elevator, trying to figure out why she hung up on me. Had I been mean or ungrateful last time? I didn't think so.

As the random buttons flashed each floor's passing exit, I felt like I was suffocating. This was claustrophobia, I knew it. Now, I wasn't a hypochondriac or anything, but this was a pretty easy diagnosis. Although, it could've been a panic attack from my over-thinking of the lunch lady.

I calmed my breathing, exited the elevator, and made my way out of the building. It was cold out, and the down wasn't helping as much as it usually did. I remembered the weather man, who was typically wrong, saying it would be in the single digits but the windchill would make it feel like so much worse. Super awesome.

My phone and the caller ID showed some number from Connecticut. Who did I know there with that phone number? Only one way to find out.

"Hello?" No answer. I decided to try one last time. "Hello? Is anyone there or are you just going to breathe in my ear like a creepster until I hang up? Alright, have fun in your mental institution, whoever you are..." I was about to press the red End button when a voice screamed out.

"Please! Don't hang up. I didn't know what to say and you're very i-intimidating and I just w-wanted to talk to you but now I'm sounding like a total dork that you wouldn't ever want to hang around with- I guess, which I completely understand but Bella, I really like you but not like love you but like you enough to want to love you if that makes sense?" He took a deep breath and continued before I could say anything further.

Edward.

"I just really don't know how to talk to girls and you're a girl but I thought you'd be easier to talk to, I dunno why, but I did and I just...really like you. I like your butt, too. It's nice and soft...um."

Pause.

"Are you there?" he checked, with a lot of trepidation. Rightfully, so.

"Uh, yeah, I am. Wow, that's a lot of words in two breaths! Um, could I call you back? I gotta put in my order."

"Oh, are you at a restaurant? I like restaurants. They're fun to e-eat in and sometimes I like getting a kid's meal for fun..oh! Did I tell you how much I like you? I play piano, did I tell you that? Oh, well now you know. Hey! I could write you a song! Would you like that? Would you? I could totally do that!"

I shook my head. How did he even get my number? Esme, that traitor. May she succumb to the deepest parts of hell for this.

I hung up on him, not bothering to say goodbye since he probably would've drawn that out. I felt bad, but I'd never get my order in if I stayed on the line with him and New Yorkers did not have patience to wait, unlike the rest of the country to the West.

To the girl behind the counter with the inappropriate, low cut top and a mountain of make-up, I applaud you for increasing my chances more with a decent man. Unless they all turned out to be scumbags.

To the extremely tall, very skinny man ogling her while trying to look like he's actually doing work, may you have a prime opportunity. Later. I need my food!

"Hello! I'd like two ryes with ham, three roast beefs, 8 pickles on the side, mayonnaise, and a jug of cappuccino. As quickly as possible."

He rolled his eyes at me but started putting it all together. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I would survive another day. Executives weren't productive without proper nutrition, as Mr. Hunter would say. Annoying jerk. He might still be a possible vampire candidate. Not that I believed in those things. We didn't live in a world with supernatural beings. We live in a world with people like Esme, who was scarier than a bloodsucker on her best day.

I turned around, knowing I had a few minutes before my order was completed. My skin tingled and the goosebumps made me shiver. He was here. Was he always here or something? Was he following me? I made eye contact with him, after looking to my right. I raised my eyebrow in question, daring him to come over.

He smiled and stepped toward me, as I waited for his slow gait. It was easier said than done to be rooted to the same spot, waiting in desperate agony.

Just kidding. About that last part. Drama, as usual.

He held out his hand, palm up. "I'm J. You're Bella." He made a statement. Literally. Was there some specific way I should've responded to that? I put my hand in his and he kissed the back of it. Who does that in this century?

"I know you're probably confused. I'd like an opportunity to have dinner with you, if you're agreeable. Are you free tonight?" Like I'd ever tell him I never had plans. I pretended to think about my non-social calendar. Toddlers had more on theirs than I did.

Still, even though he was incredibly handsome, he was still a stranger I'd seen on occasion. I should say no.

"Uh, tonight? I think I'm available." He smirked, as if knowing the complete truth. Weirdo. Still, he was a hot weirdo.

"Good, I'll pick you up at 7." He nodded his goodbye, turned toward the corner, and left.

"Swan, your order's ready! Pick it up!" The booming voice could be heard down the street. The big guy looked like he was laughing at me. I decided to be the better person. I paid for the catering and went back to Whitlock.

I guessed I didn't need to go out with Angela and Ben to have a good time, after all.

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