Chapter Eight: Salami Sandwiches

"So, it looks like you are getting settled. I am sorry I couldn't meet you this morning as planned."

"No worries," I replied. "James took good care of me."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had said the wrong thing. In my excitement at seeing him again, I completely forgot about the animosity Edward seems to have towards James. Sure enough, Edward's smile fell from his face in an instant.

In my haste to fix the situation, I blurted out "but I am much happier now that you are here."

Edward had a strange look on his face so I realized I had probably said the wrong thing again. I took a deep breath, pushed my personal feelings for Edward to the far depths of my mind, and attempted to finally sound professional.

"That is, I have few questions about the technical specs you left me, so I am glad you are here as I am anxious to start programming the module as soon as possible."

"Of course, but do you mind if we wait until after lunch? The client hammered us all morning over some bugs in the system, so I am looking forward to stepping away from the office for a breather."

"No problem. Just stop by when you get back."

"But Bella, you're coming with me. I am taking you out for lunch."

"Really? You want to go to lunch with me? Just the two of us? Why?"

Did I really just ask those questions out loud? I wanted to crawl under my desk and hide for the duration of this project assignment, especially considering how high-pitched my voice sounded. Edward initially seemed amused at my reaction, but then worry lines appeared on his forehead.

"Sorry to confuse you. I definitely need to explain. It is customary for supervisors to take new team members to lunch on their first day at a project."

"Oh, yes, of course. I do remember hearing that."

For a brief moment, I had thought Edward truly wanted to spend time alone with me. I should have guessed our lunch "date" was a professional courtesy.

"How does Asian sound to you? I made tentative reservations at Wild Ginger…" Edward trailed off waiting for my assessment.

"That sounds great. I passed by the restaurant when walking from the bus stop this morning and liked the atmosphere," I responded while following Edward out of my cubicle. As we walked, his phone beeped for the third time since we had started talking but he continued to ignore whoever was trying to reach him.

Once we exited the elevator, Edward steered me towards the side door of the building. I would have thought the front exit would be a more direct route to Wild Ginger, but I figured Edward knew the area better than me. Right before we reached the revolving door, I heard both of our names being called.

"Edward, Bella, wait up!"

Mike came jogging across the lobby towards us.

"I am so glad I saw you two. I have been at the security desk for the past twenty minutes trying to convince them that I work here. I couldn't get hold of anyone."

Remembering the ignored calls, I raised an eyebrow at Edward, but he just shrugged.

"Hi Mike. How was Spokane?" I asked.

"Great, I can tell you all about it over lunch. I assume that is where you guys are headed."

Mike fell into step with Edward and me as we walked toward the restaurant. Sure enough, we had to loop around the front of the building. I tried not to read too much into the fact that Edward was obviously trying to avoid taking Mike to lunch as well – a suspicion that was further confirmed when the hostess mentioned the reservation was for two people. Edward brushed it off that he had assumed Mike wouldn't make it to the office in time.

"But you confirmed receipt of my text last night saying that my new flight was scheduled to arrive at 10:15 AM," Mike pressed.

"Sorry, I guess I thought it was later. Luckily we ran into each other in the lobby as I definitely want you to feel welcomed on the project." Edward's tone didn't match his words, but Mike wisely decided to let the subject drop.

Edward turned his attention solely to me. "So, Bella, I picked up Namesake over the weekend. Thanks for the recommendation. I am not finished yet, but I can see why you like it so much."

Edward and I had spent a good chunk of Friday night at Twilight discussing our favorite novels and we picked the conversation back up with gusto over lunch. I felt a little bad about leaving Mike out – he mentioned at one point that he preferred video games over books. I tried to change the subject a few times, but Edward would just move onto another topic that coincidentally would also exclude Mike. After awhile, I must admit that I forgot about our co-worker at the table. Edward and I were in a heated debate about how news coverage in Seattle would be affected if the Post-Intelligencer did close shop and there was only one daily paper in town when Mike interrupted.

"As much as I enjoy a good meal on the company's dime, shouldn't we get back to the office?"

I was shocked to see that ninety minutes had passed since we sat down. Edward seemed surprised as well.

"Shit, I'm late for a presentation. Bella, send me an email with all of your questions and I will try to answer the most pressing ones via text during the meeting. Mike, Bella will be able to sign you in with security. I left some documents in your cubicle for you to review. I will touch base with both of you later this afternoon."

With those parting words, Edward rushed out of the restaurant. I heard him tell the waitress as he walked passed her to put lunch on Volterra's tab.

Mike and I had barely cleared the front door ourselves when he started grilling me.

"So now that you have changed your personal policy on interoffice romance, do I have a chance?"

"What are you talking about Mike?"

"It just seems like you and Edward have gotten pretty friendly."

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Although I had only known Mike for two weeks, he had never seemed particularly intuitive to me, so if he picked up on my fascination with Edward, others were bound to as well. I couldn't have rumors getting started that something was going on between my supervisor and me, especially when nothing could be further from the truth. I decided to play it cool.

"Yeah, it turns out Edward and I have some similar interests. I must say that I am really pleased to have already meant so many wonderful people at Volterra. Between Alice, Edward, Rose, and members of our orientation group – including you of course – I am feeling so less anxious about being new in town."

"Oh, yeah, there are some pretty cool people at the company. I noticed that while I was going through the recruiting process. That is part of the reason Volterra was my top choice from all the offers I got."

Surprisingly, I managed to distract Mike and his suspicions were quelled, at least for the time being. As he went on to detail all the staggering offers he received – his adjective, not mine – I tried to make sense of my own feelings for Edward and what his might be in return. The pull I felt towards Edward was overwhelming at times and it was getting harder to convince myself that the attraction was one-sided. Despite our rocky start, there was a chemistry between the two of us that was impossible to deny. At least from my point of view. But what was Edward thinking? Ahh, the million dollar question.

The next ten weeks flew by, and for the most part, I couldn't have been happier. I was thoroughly enjoying my new job, and based on the feedback I received from my consulting co-workers and the client staff I worked with, I was damn good at it. They had even raised my security clearance so that I could tackle some of the more tricky programs that calculated interest payment on customer accounts. Of course that meant that I had to continue working solely on the desktop computer assigned by Volterra so I was pretty much chained to the office. I would wistfully say goodbye to my peers when they left by 6:00 PM each night, even though I knew they would be logging back in at home from their laptops and putting in another two or three hours of work before going to bed.

Ten to twelve hour days were the norm in consulting, especially for those of us early in our careers who were trying to "make our mark." I was usually at work until nine o'clock each evening, but I honestly didn't mind. In fact, those late hours were my favorite part of the day, at least on two nights of the week. If anyone were to ask me why, I would have replied that I enjoyed the solace of working in an empty office and that I was the most productive during that time.

In other words, I would lie. Although I did get a lot of work done on most nights, I was utterly distracted on Mondays and Wednesdays because I wasn't alone. Edward was usually with me. Our late nights together started because of my obsession over the salami sandwiches at a deli near the Volterra office. In retrospect, I have never been more pleased about my poor eating habits.

Alice introduced me to Salumi Artisan Cured Meats during my orientation days. Although primarily a wholesale meat shop, they have a small deli counter that has a line backed out the door on most days. In order to ensure we still have "girl time" as Alice liked to call it, she would pick up two sandwiches on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work and walk the ten or so blocks to meet me at Meyer. We would kick back in my cubicle or grab a conference room on the nights she had juicy gossip to share.

Although we still saw each other each weekend, I enjoyed those nights. The company was very welcomed considering most of my co-workers had left by the time Alice arrived. On the other nights, I would just pack a dinner from home and usually read while eating. Although I loved my job, there was no way I could work straight through from after lunch until nine without some much deserved downtime.

On the Tuesday of my third week at Meyer, I got a text from Alice that she wouldn't be able to make our standing date due to a "fire" she had to put out at the office. Something about a small project at REI that was signed that day and needed to be fully staffed by the following Monday. We were in a team meeting at the time so my involuntary groan gave away my disappointment. Mike of course couldn't resist teasing me.

"I refuse to feel sorry for you, Bella, considering you have been choosing to ignore my subtle hints that Alice should pick up a sandwich for me as well on the nights she visits."

"Mike, poking your head in my cube every time she is here and whining how good the sandwiches smell and how hungry you are is not very subtle," I replied while laughing. Mike pretended to be offended, but he understood that I relished that time with my best friend. Besides, I went to lunch with him and Sam and Leah, the other two analysts on our team, almost every day.

At 6:30 that night I was walking back from the central printer trying to decide if I could survive on an empty stomach until I got home or if I was going to have to break down and leave the building to grab something when I got a whiff of one of my favorite aromas. Sitting on my desk was a bag from Salumi's complete with chips and my soda of choice. I was utterly confused as I looked around for Alice with no luck. I then caught the sight of familiar bronze hair over cubicle walls as he rounded the corner. I grabbed the bag and took off after Edward, reaching him right as he got to his office.

I caught Edward's eye and held up the bag with my yummy sandwich. "Did Alice drop this by?"

With a slightly hurt look, Edward replied with a simple no to my question as he sat down.

"So do you know where it came from?"

"I ran out to get dinner for myself since I have to stay late tonight and thought I would pick up something for you as well. No big deal." It was then that I noticed a similar bag sitting on Edward's desk.

"You just walked 20 blocks for a sandwich?" This was making no sense. I didn't even know Edward liked Salumi's. Unlike the rest of the team, he hadn't even directly commented on mine and Alice's new dinner tradition although he usually stopped by for a quick hello when she was visiting.

Edward just shrugged and tried to look nonchalant, but I couldn't help notice the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile, especially after I started ogling the sandwich he had removed from his own bag.

"If you don't want the sandwich, no worries. I'll just throw it away."

"No!" I practically shouted while clinging the bag to my chest. "No one touches my sandwich."

Edward now had a full grin as he motioned to the seat in front of his desk. "You might as well sit then. I would hate for someone to mug you on the way back to your cube considering how passionate you are about your dinner."

That is when my common sense finally caught up with the rest of me. As hard as it was to believe, Edward had gone out of his way to pick up my favorite meal knowing that Alice had to cancel our evening plans. I really needed this man to stop being so perfect.

"So are you feeling settled yet in your new city?"

I was a little surprised by Edward's question. Although the two of us had obviously interacted a lot over the prior two weeks, all of our conversations had been strictly business related. We hadn't deviated from the subjects of technical specifications and process flow maps since my welcome lunch at Wild Ginger. Then again, we hadn't really been alone like this since… well, ever, unless you counted that charged "dance lesson" at Twilight right before I started at Meyer. Although I had been back to the club the last two Friday nights with an assortment of Volterra employees, Edward hadn't been there.

I shook all those random thoughts from my head and tried to piece together an appropriate response to Edward's question.

"Yes and no. It some ways the month that I have lived here has flown by and I feel like I have barely been able to explore Seattle. At the same time, I am already having trouble remembering what my life used to be like in Phoenix. It is hard to believe that I haven't always woken up to the sounds of the Fremont drawbridge rising to let a fishing boat through."

"Well, you will definitely need to make sure you make it to the Seattle Center for Bumbershoot over Labor Day weekend. You can't consider yourself a true Seattleite until you attend the annual music festival."

With that comment, we became absorbed in a conversation about our favorite bands and memories of our earliest concert experiences. The next thing I knew, I heard the cleaning crew coming down the hall which meant it was already 9:00 PM. Although neither of us had gotten any work done that evening, I couldn't be more content. After grabbing our respective satchels, we headed out into the cool summer evening towards the nearest bus stop. I was a little surprised to discover we rode the same metro, even though I knew from Alice that Edward also lived in Fremont. Edward got off first, but I couldn't help but notice that he waited on the corner and watched the bus until we turned down a side street.

On that Wednesday, I brought my dinner from home per my normal routine. After saying goodbye to most of my co-workers, I went to the break room to pull the humus, pita bread, and veggies from the fridge there. As I passed Edward's office on the way back, he called out to me.

"Bella, do you mind reviewing this database scheme with me. I have been tinkering with it all afternoon, but I still don't think the current links between tables are going to provide the optimal amount of processing time during data retrieval. I would love a second opinion."

"No problem, if you don't mind if I munch on carrot sticks while we talk. I'm starving."

"Actually, I will run and warm up the leftovers I brought in and we can make it a working dinner."

We did get some work done that evening, but we also talked about learning to ride bikes, our most embarrassing memory from high school, and the first time we got drunk, which was coincidently directly linked to my embarrassing moment.

And thus a new tradition started. Alice continued with the Salumi's deliveries on Tuesday and Thursday, but Edward and I ate dinner together in his office on Mondays and Wednesdays eight weeks in a row. He worked late those nights and we both caught the 9:14 PM Metro to Fremont, the last one of the evening. At first, he made excuses to justify the later hours – paperwork that had piled up, a presentation to prepare for, etc. – since I knew he normally finished his workday at home like most everyone else. After awhile though, we both accepted the ease and comfort of our routine. He even started bringing his laptop to my cubicle and working from there after dinner sometimes so we could continue our conversations and still be somewhat productive.

Although we never discussed the topic, it was apparent that neither of us had mentioned the late nights we spent working along side each other to any of our mutual friends. Not that what we were doing was scandalous by any means. Although I felt closer and closer to Edward each week, the truth was that our intense involvement with each other was purely platonic. We shared dreams, fears, and secrets, but never broached the subject of our past or current relationships. We seemed to have an unspoken agreement that some things were better left outside our little bubble.

We also avoided any physical contact at all, even casual. I am not sure why Edward kept space between us, but for me, the reason was simple. On the few times our hands or arms had brushed against each other, I felt an electrifying spark ignite my whole body. Although I craved his touch, those moments made it hard for me to be thankful for the part of himself that Edward was willing to give me. I wanted more, and I knew I couldn't have it.

I am not sure how long we would have kept up our routine, but I never got a chance to find out. Whether it was intentional decisions on his part or pure coincidence, Edward and I had not interacted at all outside of the office during the two and a half months I had been staffed at Meyer, despite the fact that our respective best friends were dating. That changed the night of my 25th birthday party.

The night that our lovely bubble was blown up into a million shattered pieces.