There was way too much juicy stuff happening here for it to be in just Bella's or Edward's point of view. Hopefully, this won't be too confusing….this will make it seem like it's happening in "real time" for both of them.

Edward's POV

I was in my tuxedo, looking out the hotel window at Central Park. The number of people in the city made me slightly anxious. I'd hunted last night before leaving Ireland, but I worried that if this took long, I would have to get Jasper Upstate where there was plentiful wildlife. I closed my eyes and concentrated on clearing my head. At least if I had to be in New York, Park Avenue was the place to be.

I checked my watch. The dinner had started at 7:00, but Jasper and I, for obvious reasons, were arriving after the dinner was over. Also, I didn't really care to sit around a table making small talk with pompous individuals and smiling politicians.

Jasper finished messing with his tie, and we made our way out of the hotel. It was a pleasant night and we walked the five blocks to the Waldorf rather than hailing a cab.

"You know, Jasper," I commented after a few minutes, "Your restraint has improved considerably in the last several years. I'm sorry I haven't been around to notice it."

Jasper smiled proudly. "Thank you. I've been working very hard at it. Alice has been a tremendous help. I don't know what I'd do without her." He glanced at me and added, "She really misses you."

I sighed deeply. "I knew I wouldn't be able to take all the looks and her subtle way of silently giving me updates on Bella every time my guard was down. I certainly don't need anyone reminding me of what I've done. I'm fully aware of my choice . . .and its consequences." My insides seized at the familiar pain.

Jasper grinned. "I'm aware of the tenacity bottled up in that tiny little body, but Edward, she has only your best interests in mind. And Bella's."

I swallowed the anger and frustration. I didn't want to lash out at him. I did my best to speak calmly. "Jasper, to put it mildly. . .having Bella with me, well, that ship has sailed. It's out of the harbor, somewhere lost and sunk in the deepest part of the ocean, never to be seen again. Please, let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"

Jasper began to say something. I could read what his mind was thinking and I interrupted him.

"Look, it's not your fault. That night was just a precursor to what our lives would have been. Bella was not meant to be part of my world. I saw her, I wanted her, I took her. It was all my fault. There's no one is to blame here, but me."

"Well," he said with a shrug, "Alice seemed pretty excited about something when she called today from Denali. She wouldn't tell me what it was, but I know it had something to do with you."

I exhaled sharply. "Let's hope she saw us putting an end to this ugly situation in one night."

We walked in silence for a block or two and I could see that the closer we got to the Waldorf, the more congested the crowds became. Limousines lined the sidewalks and paparazzi cameras were beginning to flash in front of us. I wanted to make things right with my brother before we moved any further. I stopped, and he turned to me expectantly. "Look," I whispered, "I know I hurt Bella. But I'm equally sure that she is long over it by now and is living the life she was meant to live. I'll bet she's probably even grateful that I let her go - and hardly ever thinks of me."

Jasper winced. I knew he could feel my terrible pain. "We're here for you, Edward," he whispered sincerely. I nodded and we began walking again.

We slowly made our way to the entrance. There was considerable security that checked our invitations and made us pass through metal detectors and wand searches. We had just entered the lobby outside the ballroom when Jasper's eyes narrowed.

"Isn't that Sterling Hathaway?" he asked.

I followed his gaze and saw a man with a drink in his hand. Jasper and I had been reading a recent article on him from Business Weekly. His picture had been on the front cover. "Yes," I nodded. "That's him."

Jasper grinned. "Well, it's time to earn my keep. I'm going to see if I can't find out more about our little mystery woman you're meeting here tonight."

I slapped him on the back. "That's a great idea. I'll meet you in the ballroom."

As I moved with the crowd, I tried to concentrate on Jasper's conversation. It wasn't easy. Besides the fact that Hathaway's mind was already muddied from alcohol, I also had the warm mixture of scents and hundreds of other thoughts competing for my attention. My senses were being assaulted at every turn.

I tried to be nonchalant as I glanced at each woman's dress for the ruby broach, knowing full well that staring at a woman's chest as she moved past you was a fairly easy way to attract the wrong kind of attention.

It was exactly 8:00 when I entered the ballroom, and as the stale air lifted, I caught Jasper's frantic voice in my head. I turned as he entered the ballroom and when I saw his wide, fearful eyes I was afraid he was thirsty. But then I heard his thoughts, loud and clear.

"Edward….there is a slight complication."

He was at my side quickly. "What do you mean?" I questioned.

His hand raked through his hair. "The mystery woman you're meeting tonight…Hathaway gave me her name. Edward," he swallowed nervously, "You already know her."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. I'd never had any friendships, or relationships for that matter, with any females . . .except . . . at the same moment I heard Jasper's thoughts, I was hit with that one terrible, wonderful scent that I thought I would never experience again. I staggered back on my heels. How could this be? Bella was the vice-president of the company? The she-devil, Harry Banks had been talking about? Bella was the mystery woman? My stomach tightened in painful spasms as my eyes instinctively followed the scent up the staircase. I saw a blue dress, and the dark hair….a sigh escaped from me and I breathed out her name.

"Bella."

(Bella's Pov)

I walked into the ballroom and saw Simmons begin to make his way through the crowd. When he caught a full view of me, his eyes traveled up, down, and back up again. He cleared his throat and moved close to my ear.

"Bella," he whispered, "You look absolutely ravishing. This "C" guy doesn't stand a chance."

I pulled back and looked at him surprisingly. He'd never said anything like that to me before. Red-faced, he smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I am a guy, you know. You hired me because I'm extremely talented at seeing the obvious."

"So, where's your date?" I teased. It wasn't like him to show up at a party alone.

He smiled wickedly. "Giselle is meeting me here. We couldn't come together. There's way too much paparazzi. I would soon be dubbed, 'Giselle's new man' on the front of STAR magazine."

I nodded my head like I knew what the heck STAR magazine was.

His phone rang and when he saw the number, he put up his finger to tell me he'd be back in a moment and moved out of the crowds to talk. He came back a few minutes later and I questioned him as to who he had been talking to. He shrugged it off and said we should find our seats.

There were tables spread all throughout the ballroom. Our particular table was at the top of the grand staircase and over to the right. It was nearly full when we arrived. I surveyed the others seated at our table and decided it all added up to boring. The Senate Minority leader and his wife, a Senator from Tennessee, and the ambassador of Greece. Nobody that I cared to know further. We heard a large commotion down on the floor when the President arrived, but I was too preoccupied with meeting "C" that it was hard muster the strength to even make it looked like I cared.

The salads were coming out when I felt a presence standing close to me. I looked up from the table and was shocked to see Vaughn standing behind my chair.

"Hello," he said with a nervous smile.

Simmons jumped to his feet. "Thomas, it's great to see you again. So, where are you sitting?"

Vaughn smiled. "I believe this is my table right here. I looked down at the place cards, and sure enough, seated right next to me in lovely cursive lettering was the name, "Thomas Vaughn".

Simmons' face was full of innocent surprise. "You don't say? Well, isn't that a coincidence….Wouldn't you say so Bella?"

If looks could kill, Simmons would have been lying on the floor with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Simmons caught the look and in a shaky voice said, "It looks as if dinner is starting, shall we sit down?"

When they were seated, Vaughn leaned over and whispered, "This was all my idea. I bribed your assistant to tell me what table you were at so that I could strategically sit beside you."

"And what was the bribe?" I asked icily.

He shrugged. "Tickets on the 50 yard line for the rest of the season."

So Simmons had a price for selling me out. Good to know.

"I actually thought I'd end up at this party alone," he confessed. "All week long, Simmons has been telling me you weren't coming."

"Yes, well . . . I received a little motivation today," I retorted flatly.

"You look amazing," he sighed.

I turned to my salad. "Thank you," I mumbled.

The talk around the table was enough to drive a person insane. It seemed to drone on and on. And Vaughn's small talk wasn't helping. I kept nervously checking my watch. It was now 7:45.

"You seem on edge about something," Vaughn noted. "I hope my plan of sitting next to you hasn't made you uncomfortable."

I shook my head. "I'm meeting a new client here in 15 minutes. I'm a little on edge."

I kept checking my watch and finally, at 7:55, I took a deep breath. I wanted to go the bathroom to freshen up before I talked with "C".

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" I announced, standing up. Vaughn stood up with me. "Of course," he replied. Then he gave me one of his game-winning smiles.

Once in the bathroom, I checked my hair and make-up and nervously assured myself there was nothing in my teeth. I got some strange looks as I stood in front of the mirror and gave myself the "killer" pep talk, but it helped clear my head. I put on my game face and exhaled slowly.

"Showtime," I muttered.

I straightened the broach and headed back out to the ballroom. I walked to the railing, and was scanning the crowd below for a sign of the mystery man, when Vaughn came and stood beside me.

"Bella," his eyes were so serious, "I know you'll be tied up for the rest of the evening, so before you go, I have something I need to say." He licked his lips nervously and went on. "I'm not used to being put in the position of the pursuer. Not that I mind, but I'm just not used to having to work so hard to get to know someone I'm interested in. And I am definitely interested in you. I'm probably handling this all wrong, but I am not giving up on the possibility of us…not just yet."

He then reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out a blue box. Another Tiffany box. Two in one day. Unbelievable. But this one looked like a ring box. I began to stutter and stammer until he put his hand on my cheek and said, "Bella, relax. It's not that bad."

He opened the box and pulled out a bracelet. It was a silver chain that was very shiny and thin. On it was a charm. I fingered the charm and saw that it was a carousel horse. It was covered in diamonds.

He began speaking as he put the bracelet on my wrist. "This is a reminder of our first date," he explained. "I couldn't find a yacht, but I haven't given up looking." He put his finger under my chin and lifted my eyes to his. "I want to fill this bracelet with charms of all our dates. Then, I will buy you another bracelet and fill that one up too. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I swallowed hard. Of course I understood. I opened my mouth to make an attempt at something intelligent when Simmons came running up to us. His eyes were wide and he was breathless.

"Bella," he gasped. "An intern just called. It's not big, but you said you wanted to know about any lead. The intern found a record of a phone call from C- CORP to a business in France made eight years ago. The phone call was traced to a small hospital in Northern Washington."

A small hospital in Northern Washington...

My bones went rigid. "What was the name of the hospital?" I whispered.

"Forks Hospital," he answered.

I reeled back. How….how could I have been so foolish? My heart hammered in my throat as I traced back on all the warning signs. The "C" was for Cullen. Of course it was. The business was started in the early 1900's, all the secrecy . . . knowing about things before they actually happened….I felt my legs go weak. How….I questioned again. How could I have fallen so far that I let greed take over my good judgment? . . . I heard a strange wheezing sound, and realized it was me.

Then a question screamed into my head.

Who was sent here to meet me?

The ballroom tilted at a strange angle. I wildly and frantically began searching for the topaz eyes that I used to know so well. My breath was coming too fast. I couldn't fill my lungs with enough air. My hands were tightly gripping the railing, and I could feel myself begin to quake. Somewhere far away I could hear Simmons calling my name.

Then, I saw him.

My eyes rested on the bronze hair and the excruciatingly lovely face and all I could think of was how my dreams had not remembered his beauty anywhere near well enough. My chest caved in. It was Edward. It was really him. I had done all I could to forget. I had told myself countless times that I never wanted to see him again. Yet, here he was, after seven long years, climbing the stairs toward me. His eyes held me. I couldn't look away. I tried to shake my head and beg him not to come any closer, but I was frozen, rigid, mesmerized.

(Edward's Pov)

All I could do was stand there and stare at Bella. She was at the railing looking out at the crowd. She was wearing the ruby broach.

I exhaled sharply. She was a vision. I remembered her as an eighteen year old girl, but she had grown into a ravishing, incredibly breathtaking woman. Jasper grabbed my arm.

"Edward, are you okay?"

I couldn't swallow. I couldn't speak. After seven years, my reason for existing was mere feet from me. But there was someone standing beside her, a large man, with dark black hair. My chest felt very heavy. Was this her husband?

I could see in his eyes that he cared for her. I tuned out everything else in the room and listened to what he was saying.

"I am not giving up on the possibility of us...not just yet."

What did that mean?

Then he handed her a box. A box from Tiffany's. He pulled out a bracelet and I almost fainted with relief that it wasn't a ring. He spoke of their first date and all the dates he wanted to have with her in the future.

For one brief second, I contemplated running away from her. But I knew there wasn't a chance I'd be able to do it. I couldn't take it another second. I had to get to her. I began walking as slowly as I could manage up the stairs.

Jasper caught up to me. "Edward, what are you going to do? What are you going to say?"

I knew what I wanted to say, "Bella I love you. I have loved you every moment we've been apart."

"I don't know," I admitted.

The dark haired gentleman wanted more from their relationship. He was waiting for Bella to reply. It seemed like hours while he and I both waited for her answer.

Suddenly, another man hastily joined them. He quickly told Bella about an intern finding a phone record of a call Carlisle made several years ago from Forks hospital to one of our companies in France. And I could tell from her face that until that very moment, she'd had absolutely no idea who "C" was.

Her head whipped around and she madly began to search the crowd. Her face . . .I expected to see anger, but instead I saw fear. Here I am, Bella. Look this way, I pleaded. And then she found me. For the first time in seven years, I was able to see those dark pools I got lost in so many times.

Without another thought I finished climbing the stairs and walked toward her. She backed up a step and again, I could see fear. Not since that first day in Biology so long ago, had she ever looked on me in fear. But this was a different kind of fear. Her heart was flying, no, it was battering in her chest; harder than I'd ever heard it before.

The closer I got, the stronger her scent became. I momentarily closed my eyes as I let it wash over me. How I longed to hold her close and let my mouth linger behind her ear. I wanted to take her somewhere, alone. Just the two of us and tell her everything that had been burning inside me for the last seven years. I was almost to her now. I swallowed hard and looked into the eyes of my love and said, "Hello Bella."

She stood there with her teeth clenched. I could see her jaw working under the tension. A calm rested over the group and I watched her glance menacingly at Jasper. When she looked back at me, she was grasping the railing so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Hello Edward." It had been so long since I'd heard her voice anywhere but in my memories.

The man beside her cleared his throat and said, "Bella, do you want to introduce these gentlemen?"

"This is my assistant, Michael Simmons," she said roughly. And this," she swallowed hard, "is Jasper Hale. . . . and Edward Cullen." She looked at Michael meaningfully and said, "This is "C."

Michael blinked in surprise. His thoughts told me he was equally shocked that not only was I a young man, but that Bella already knew me. His mind raced as he struggled to assess how big of a threat we would be, how strong an adversary he was now up against. But, he mostly seemed shocked at the way Bella was acting. Apparently, he had never seen her show this type of emotion.

The thoughts of the large, dark haired man in the group invaded my mind and I had to admit, I was not in any mood to hear how he felt about Bella.

Jasper put his hand out to him. "Hello," he greeted.

The man shook Jasper's hand, nodded his head once sharply and said, "Thomas Vaughn."

Jasper smiled. "Oh sure, I recognize you now. I'm a big fan."

I glanced sideways at Jasper. So this guy was in love with Bella and famous. Terrific.

We stood in an uncomfortable silence. I couldn't take my eyes off Bella. She was looking anywhere but at me. Finally, Michael said, "Well, Bella, I believe you and Mr. "C", uh. . . Cullen have important matters to discuss."

I nodded my head in agreement and looked at her expectantly. She cleared her throat as she motioned to the back of the room. "There's a small parlor down the hallway." Her voice was rough.

She looked at Jasper expectantly. "Will you be joining us?" She looked as if she was pleading for him to come. But if Jasper had any sense of self-preservation he knew what his answer would be.

"Oh, no." He answered quickly. "You go ahead. I'll be getting better acquainted with Michael and Thomas." He gave me a sideways glance and then began walking off with the two men.

I walked up beside Bella and put my hand on the small of her back. She bristled and moved to the side out of my reach and I quickly dropped my hand, struggling to keep my face impassive and not show how much that hurt. We walked to the parlor in silence.

Once inside, I stopped next to the only couch, hoping to persuade her to sit and talk, but she moved about five feet away and kept her back to me. For a moment, her arms went tight around her middle. I watched her take a large breath and when she did finally turn around, there was no longer fear in her eyes. She stared hard at my face. "Was this some kind of joke?" she spat. "Why even go through all the pretense of the flowers and the pin. Were you trying to dazzle me?" When she said the word dazzle she narrowed her eyes and looked disgusted.

"No, Bella." I shook my head.

This dress that she was wearing, however, was dazzling me a great deal. It was tight on her waist and hips, and the back of her dress clung to her skin in the most distracting way. It was just the color blue I'd always loved her in most. Her hair was pulled back showing me her lovely neck. I could see her blood drumming, pulsating in a hard rhythmic beat and I had to swallow down the venom and the passion at the same time. The passion was much more painful to push away. The deep red color on her lips made my mouth water for her. I wanted to take her in my arms and make us both forget the last seven years apart. Instead, I used all my restraint to calm myself and answer her question.

"I had absolutely no idea who I was meeting tonight until I saw you at the top of the stairs. Carlisle visited me only a week ago and asked me if I would deal with this." I chuckled a bit and said, "I never saw your name on one document, and the lawyers had another name for you. I'm truly just as blown away as you are." I sighed hard. "Bella, I'm so glad it was you."

Her eyes blazed. "Is it because you think I'll drop this just because we had a high school romance?

Is that all she thought it was?

"No," I stammered, "I'm just so happy to see you again. I have missed you so much. Bella, you look so beautiful."

Her hands were in fists as she bit her lip and in a hushed whisper said, "You're not going to do this to me again. This doesn't change anything."

The panic began to rise in me. This conversation was taking a turn I wasn't ready for. I just wanted to talk about us. I was blown away by the lovely creature standing in front of me.

"Bella, how have you been?" I took a tentative step towards her. "I think about you so often. I had no idea that you were living in New York City and were involved in business."

She was looking down at her hands. There was no answer.

"My family is doing fine," I babbled, afraid of her silence. "They're living in New Jersey right now. Carlisle is a doctor at Johns Hopkins. Alice is visiting Denali and Emmett and Rosalie are on their honeymoon, again. Esme will be so happy to hear that you are well."

Her voice lost a bit of its edge. "You said Carlisle visited you. Why aren't you with your family?"

Relief overwhelmed me. We finally seemed to be having a real conversation.

"I've been living in Ireland." Trying vainly to get through the days without you, Bella.

Her brow furrowed, and then she looked far into my eyes. I desperately searched for any sign of what she was thinking. I saw a momentary flicker of deep hurt and then her eyes grew hard and distant. Her heart stopped for a moment and then began beating much slower than before. She smiled wryly as she stared at me, "Having fun with one of those 'distractions'?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but she interrupted me. "Listen Edward, I will set up a meeting for 7:00 a.m. on Monday to discuss all of this. I suggest you bring your lawyers. Notice I said plural on lawyers. You will need more than one. We will primarily be discussing the financial records on your offshore markets for the last ten years. This will be the first in a series of meetings, so if you need to get back to your "distraction", see if Jasper can stay."

"Bella, please, I . . ."

She raised her hand in front of my face. "And furthermore, in the conference room I would ask that you address me as Ms. Swan. I will return the courtesy to you, Mr. Cullen."

She turned and began walking out of the room. I followed after her.

"Bella, I just want to talk. Can't we just sit and talk? It's been so long. I want to know you as you are now."

She spun around and landed a mere inch from my face. "You want to know me?" she hissed. "Well, you're looking at it. Stick around a while Mr. Cullen, and you'll see just what kind of human I turned out to be."

With that, she was gone. I watched her stalk swiftly past her table and then witnessed a surprised Simmons and Thomas jump up and follow her down the stairs. A moment later, Simmons came back alone. He stared curiously across the room at me.

I wasn't hard to find. I hadn't moved. I was stunned.

Jasper slowly stood up from the table that Simmons and Thomas had abandoned. "I'm guessing that didn't go well?"

I shook my head. No Jasper, I thought bitterly. It didn't go well, not well at all.

I looked back longingly at the last place I'd seen her on the stairs and tried to come to grips with a new thought - that perhaps the life I'd imagined for Bella wasn't quite what I had hoped.