Chapter 7. Construction Company
Disclaimer: No… Just no.
A/N: My apologies for the late update. But school's on break now so I can solely focus on my stories. And I should be able to update maybe... twice a week now... unless I get too lazy.
Edward:
The elevator was stuck. And I'm on the 29th floor. No way in hell was I walking down all those stairs. I groaned to myself as I contemplated any other options.
I thought back to this morning when my alarm went off at 7 a.m. sharp, I was surprised that I didn't hear any complaining from Emmett's bed. He usually would've been complaining by then. He wasn't fond of his sleep being interrupted. But he wasn't even there. I couldn't imagine any reason for him to already be out of bed except for one person. This Rosalie girl. Maybe he actually liked her. Emmett went on a lot of dates, but I don't think he's ever really liked the girls. Although it's only been a few days, maybe this was different.
I called Tanya shortly after on the hotel room phone (I didn't have any other options) and invited her to breakfast. I was afraid that I called too early and that she wouldn't answer. However, she told me she'd been waiting all night for my call.
I left Jasper a note on the door saying where I was because he was still soundly asleep in his room. I envied that he was able to have a room to himself as my eyes swept over my own room. Emmett's bed had clothes strewn all around it almost forming a ring. His side was still unkept. It was obvious that Emmett and I were close to being polar opposites.
Using the extra time before breakfast, I took all of Emmett's things from my side of the room and stuffed it in the corner into a huge pile. Now the room was a little cleaner. I didn't really have the time, but I would've liked to be here when the maid comes to personally apologize for Emmett's uncleanliness.
But here I was, still standing in front of the elevator. I must admit, the stairs were starting to look very appealing as I stood like a fool in front of the elevator.
A man with a suit and briefcase on came through, pausing when remembering the elevator wasn't working. "You realize it's stuck right?" He pointed to the elevator with a concerned look on his face.
He left without me saying anything.
I glanced at my watch and ran a distressed hand through my unruly hair. I could've found one of the other three elevators, but those were on other sides of this big hotel.
Stairs it is.
I took the stairs three to four at a time, eager to get to breakfast. I was hoping that no sweat would show through my shirt.
My shirt was a sensible, white button-down dress shirt. I wore black slacks and a black tie. This time, I attempted to fix my hair, using Jasper's gel to try to slick it down. Needless to say, my unruly hair was still unruly.
I opened the door, exiting the staircase and rounded a corner. I wasn't exactly sure where the dining room was, but it couldn't be too far away from the lobby, right?
Emmett came out of a room off the hallway, intercepting my path. "Eddie! Hey." He was munching on a pack of cookies.
Eddie? I rolled my eyes as he used my detested nickname again. "Emmett, what are you doing?"
"Eating." He offered me a cookie.
I anxiously looked around us. "Emmett, why are you eating cookies in an isolated hallway?" Despite my words, I graciously accepted the Oreo.
"It's not that isolated." A girl with wavy blonde hair flowing well past her shoulders came out of the room Emmett was in.
"Rosie, join the party!" Emmett yelled, pulling me in for an awkward hug.
"Ugh, Emmett," I groaned, pushing him off. I wasn't a very touchy person.
He then proceeded to ruffle my hair-something that he's been doing a lot of lately. "Eddie, this is Rose."
"Oh, so you're Rosalie." When I extended my hand for a handshake, she surprised me by pulling me in for a hug. She laughed at my facial expression after we broke away.
"What are you doing eating in the hallway?" I questioned. Rosalie stuck her tongue at me and snatched Emmett's pack of cookies and dashed into the room.
"I could ask you the same thing." Em gestured to the cookie in my hand before looking down. "Hey… where's my Oreos?" He was so late.
I nodded towards the door and he scampered off. "Rosie! My cookies!"
Reluctantly, I followed them into the room, leaning against the door frame. "You all are perfect for each other," I muttered.
Emmett was chasing Rosalie around the room. She hopped up on the table and shot her tongue out at him in a childish manner. He laughed and reached up to snatch it when she held it high out of his reach. Now, Emmett was jumping up and down in a frivolously.
I couldn't help but feel that I was lonely. Em and Jazz were right. I usually focus on work. That was I kept forcing myself to try to go out with Tanya. She was stunning, no reason I shouldn't like her. But my mind kept thinking of Bella.
I watched as Emmett got a little too close and Rose jumped off the other side and the process started all over again. Yep. Perfect for each other.
"Ahh!" Rose shouted, frantically wiping her cheek and dropping the Oreos in the process. "You licked me!"
Emmett snatched the pack from the floor, caressing it in an embrace. "You took my Oreos. All's fair in love and war!"
Then it's war, Emmett. War." She seethed.
I just met Rosalie, but I could already tell that it was best not to be around her when she was angry. I backed away slowly, and accidently stepped on something. "What's this?"
"A remote," Emmett said, picking it up.
"Why is there-" I looked all around me. I noticed we were in the electrical room but I didn't see any engineers on duty. There were just a couple of screens around and a few notepads on the table. Emmett's laptop was also in here, but its screen wasn't in my view. "Are you putting pictures of the building on our company website? Why do you all-"
I was violently pushed out the door by Rosalie. She then proceeded to slam it in my face. The door came to a crack after I was on the other side, only revealing her eye. "Leave us to our matchmaking," She hissed.
The door slammed again in my face leaving me confused.
Breakfast was almost over by the time I entered the room. It was a complimentary breakfast and had the basics, although there was a famous restaurant across the lobby. My eyes swept over the area. I spotted Tanya at a secluded table in the back, checking her watch.
"Hey." She hadn't seen me coming, so I'd startled her. "I'm sorry I'm late. I ran into some… complications with my brother." I took the seat beside her.
"No problem. So you have a brother?" She pushed a plate of pancakes, bacon, and eggs my way.
"Yeah. You're not hungry?" I asked.
"I already ate." She smiled sheepishly.
"Well you can't expect me to finish this all by myself." I unwrapped a napkin of silverware, and handed her a fork. "Dig in."
After a few bites of the pancake, she sighed. "I feel under-dressed." She was wearing a pink knit shirt and jeans. "You have on business attire and I chose casual."
"No need to feel that way. I'm only wearing this because of a company meeting later today. I'm an architect, and we're working on a project here in Paris." I nibbled on a piece of bacon because the eggs were no longer hot.
"So you're here on business?"
I nodded. "And you?"
"Vacation. I'm here with my sisters Irina and Carmen."
Must be nice to be on vacation. "I'm here with my brother Emmett and my cousin Jasper."
"Where are you from?" She inquired. Curiosity drew her closer to me.
"Seattle, Washington. You?"
"Chicago. But I'm originally from Alaska."
Between bites of the pancakes, in my best Chicago accent, I asked, "What brought you to the Windy City? My mom was from there."
She laughed lightly. "Fashion. My sisters, and I are models for a fashion agency." She mused. Tanya took one last bite before putting the fork back on the napkin. "I am officially full."
"Really?" I added more syrup to the pancakes, tempting her ever-so-subtly. I gave her a smile. "You know you want to…"
I twirled my fork near her mouth and she laughed. "Edward- no!-" She said between laughter. "I do have to stay a certain size to continue my modeling career."
"Suit yourself." I smiled and devoured the last piece.
People started leaving the room and janitors came in cleaning up. "Should we leave?" Tanya's eyes followed mine.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Almost nine." Tanya read her watch before pulling her sleeve back down. "Do you have to go?"
"Yeah." I stood up and straightened my tie. "I have to attend that meeting."
We parted outside of the dining hall and I pulled out Bella's phone. 8:58 a.m. No time to run upstairs to grab my briefcase. Especially since the elevator seemed to still be stuck. They can't get a decent mechanic to fix it? Don't hotels have their own engineers? I didn't see any in the electrical/ utility room where Em and Rose where.
The door to the conference room was closed, so I had to knock on the door. A few seconds later, it opened.
"Bonjour Monsieur Edward. What a pleasure of you to grace us with your presence" Caius said sarcastically, as he stepped aside to let me in. "You are late, though. I wouldn't make that a habit if I were you."
I took my seat at the right side of Caius, our boss. Jasper was already seated across from Caius at the long table, and Emmett was on his left side. Other employees filled the empty seats between us.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's just now 9, Caius."
"Excuse me?"
I pursed my lips and bit back my tongue as he began. "We invested a lot into the Eclipse project, so let's stay on top of that." He pointed to the chart that rested on a stand and began discussing our newest project.
Once finished with the beginning of this conference, he sat back down. Caius clasped his hands on the table in front of him, and frowned before he continued. "Any questions or comments?... No? Okay. Due to my advancing age, I am… retiring."
Gasps filled the room, but I only wore a smirk.
"I've been training my three successors to take over the company. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward." We stood as each of our names was recognized.
"The project that we're working on right now is going to be headed by these three. There isn't much left to do with the construction part, I'd say it'll be done within maybe three more days to a week." Caius turned to us. "So have you come up with a new name for the company yet?"
We all exchanged similar proud looks, and Emmett spoke. "Yes, actually we have. Its-"
A/N: Okay... I can't really release the company name right now so it won't ruin the surprise in the next few chapters.
Next update will be within a few days, I believe. So click that button right there and review!
