I dont own twilight, I just wish I did.
Bpov
I was having the most delicious dream. Edward was laying in my bed with me. Whispering to me about how beautiful I am when I'm sleeping and how he could watch me sleep forever. It was such a beautiful dream that when the alarm went off I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and make it all end. I rolled over on my side deciding that another moment wouldn't hurt anything...that's when I felt him. My eyes popped open to see his smiling face. His hair was all over the place and his eyes were still heavy with sleep...or lust. Every fiber of my being hoped for the latter. I sat up in bed a little, laying my head on his shoulder.
"Good morning." I whispered. He kissed my forehead and smiled.
"Good morning love. How did you sleep?" he asked me. I grinned.
"I slept very well but I think it was all thanks to my bed buddy." I snuggled into his side.
"What time do you have to be at work?"Edward wondered aloud.
"I'm off today." I sighed sadly knowing that because of the event he was planning this weekend he would have to go to work today and leave me all alone.
"I can't miss work today but I do have an idea." he mused.. I listened intently.
"I would like you to come to work with me today."he announced.
"What is this 'national take your girlfriend to work' day?" I giggled. Edward smiled brightly at me. It was hard to breath when he did that.
"I have to go to the ball room today and over see most of the preparations for the auction. I would love for you to come see what we've done." He blushed slightly. I kissed his cheek softly.
"I'd love to. What time do I need to be ready?" I started to climb out of bed, Edward snaked his arm around my waist and snuggled us down into the bed. I pulled the blankets tighter over us.
"I don't have to be there until eleven so we can stay in bed a little while longer." I wasn't normally one for laying in bed all day but when a gorgeous man asks you to stay in bed with him, you generally just comply.
After a leisurely morning in bed kissing lazily. I got up and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. I smelled fresh coffee coming up the stairs. After I was presentable I went downstairs so I wouldn't make Edward late. I was so excited to see what he did. It seemed to mean so much to him. He was on his cell phone tapping his finger impatiently on the counter while my ancient coffee maker did it's thing.
"I understand that but the roses are nicer. Esme Cullen agrees with me I can assure you." he rolled his eyes to no one when he dropped his Aunt's name. I smiled and got us both a travel mug from the cabinet.. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly.
"I understand that. Truly I do but Cullen Renovations is sponsoring this event and we want to keep this classy and elegant. Esme Cullen has a very specific vision for this event and as her Event and Donations advisor I intend to see her wishes through." his voice was firm to whomever he was arguing with. I made us each a cup of coffee. I added cream and sugar to mine but left Edward's black. He finally smiled in a small triumph and thanked the unknown caller before he hung up.
"What was that all about?" I asked him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, in turn I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Stupid hotel was arguing with me about the center pieces for the auction. We've never used them before, I just had to lay the law down with them a little." He looked deep in my eyes when he spoke.
"I hope you don't think I am total shit for dropping my aunt's name like that. If this were Chicago I wouldn't have to. I don't have any pull here and some time's it's really annoying." he held me a little tighter while he talked. I didn't mind at all.
"What kind of center pieces does 'Cullen renovations' want?" I used air quotes when I mentioned the company name. I knew that was code for Edward and his Aunt.
"We want simple small arrangements of red and pink roses. The whole thing is red and pink since it's the lead up event to the pink and white ball. I bet you can guess what the color scheme is there?" Edward laughed. The sound made my world light up.
"Hmmmm let me guess....Pink and white?" I said sarcastically. We both laughed and took our coffee to the car. Edward needed to go to his apartment and change since he'd spent the night with me and didn't have a change of clothes. Edward's apartment was much cleaner then I'd anticipated with three guys living in a three bedroom townhouse. Edward kissed me softly and sprinted up the stairs to shower and change. I sat down in a large brown leather recliner and sipped my coffee. I was waiting quietly for Edward when I felt something bounce off the top off my head. A paper wod landed at my feet.
"Yes! Perfect bounce." Emmett was standing in the hallway rather pleased with him self. I stood up and glowered at him..
"Didn't anyone ever teach you it's not nice to throw things at girls?" I asked seriously. He grinned and walked into the kitchen. I moved myself over to a barstool and perched my elbows on the counter.
"Did my cousin manage to get you breakfast this morning or is he making starve?" Emmett slid a bowl in front of me and then a box of cereal. I poured some for myself then for Emmett.
"Your cousin is a perfect gentlemen. We didn't have time for breakfast though." I dug into my lucky charms like a starving man. Emmett looked like he wanted to say something.
"Emmett spit it out." I encouraged.
"What do you know about Rose's boyfriend from high school?" he asked me softly. My back stiffened. He was asking me about Royce and I didn't know what to say.
"She hasn't told you anything?" I wondered out loud.
"She hasn't but I'd like to know what happened because I think it really messed with her." he had no idea how badly it messed with her. Rose was often referred to as an ice queen, she didn't like to be touched. Alice and I could hug her but mostly she came to us when she needed that. Rose had her reasons for not telling Emmett and I didn't want to be the one to relay that story to him.
"She said she doesn't do the relationship thing but we are trying. I want to be with her but there's something she isn't telling me that is keeping her from getting close enough for me to touch her." he said I raised my eye brow at him and ate my cereal. He groaned.
"I mean touching in an non sexual way. Jeez Louise get your mind out of the gutter." he chided me. I blushed slightly. Edward appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing a polo with his companies logo on it. He kissed me gently on the lips. I gave an inward sigh and smiled against his mouth..
"You two are gross. I'll see you at the hotel." Emmett announced and left us to our selves. Edward leaned away from me.
"I have a present for you." He presented me with a navy blue polo like the black one he wore.
"I feel so official!" I announced with a giggle.
"You are going to be my assistant for the day. I thought you should look the part." Edward helped me down and into the small bathroom downstairs to change my shirt. After I changed we headed off to the hotel.
Epov
The way Bella's little face lit up over something as simple as a shirt with the company logo on it was exactly why I was falling in love with her. I knew deep down she really truly didn't care about the money and she may not have been falling in love with me yet but I was falling fast and hard for her. Taking her with me to work was not something I had ever done before, not even with Tanya. We were together for three years and she never once saw the inner workings of what it took to put on an event this size. She was always more interested in the end result, and of course all the attention she received when she walked into the events with me. I was trying to let my bitterness towards her go but admitting she had used me to get ahead was a hard pill swallow. It honestly just made me admire Bella more. She wasn't the kind of person that ever used anyone. When we walked into the hotel we were greeted by the event staff. I introduced Bella to everyone as my assistant for the event. She bit back a laugh and looked at her shoes. When the staff dispersed to there individual jobs I turned to Bella and showed her some sketches of the arrangements we discussed earlier. She nodded in approval over the things we already had planned. Emmett came over to us and put his arm around my girl.
"Did you finish your bio yet? Mom is freaking out." he asked me. I groaned.
"No I forgot. I'll do it tonight." Emmett nodded, ruffled Bella's hair and went back to setting up the stage.
"Why do you have to have a bio?" she questioned.
"Well Aunt Esme is going to be master of ceremonies for the event and she decided we need to write a little blurb about ourselves so she can read it when we walk on the stage to be bid on." I flushed slightly at the idea of being bid on. I had never participated in something like this before and I wasn't sure what to write or what to do.
"Why don't I do it?" she offered shyly. I will admit I was more then a little curious to see what she'd write. I rifled through my papers and gave her the work sheet Aunt Esme made up for us. She smiled and sat down at the nearest table to get to work. I watched her from across the room for the next hour or so. She was concentrating on that piece of paper like she was trying to re write Shakespeare. Emmett helped me stuff gift bags with the donated items from other sponsors.
"What's Bella doing?" My cousin asked. I blushed a little.
"She's writing my bio for me." she looked up at me just then and gave a little wave and a big smile. She looked like she was truly having fun working on it for me.
"I wish I had thought of that. I wrote mine myself. I am sure it sounds shitty." Emmett pulled his from his back pocket and handed it over. I read it silently.
"Well I don't think this is going to make us any money. It's a good thing you have your looks." he punched me in the arm hard. I rubbed the sore spot.
"Emmett Cullen it's not nice to beat on your family." Rose's voice rang from the doorway of the ballroom.
"Hey baby! What are you doing here?" Em ran to her sweeping her up off the floor in a crushing hug.
"I came to see if I could take you hard working boys to lunch." She beamed up at Emmett. I looked at my cousin for a moment trying to decide whether to accept or decline, thinking they may want to be alone.
"I think that's a great idea. Why don't you go pry Bella away from her forced labor and we will meet you over in the restaurant." Em kissed her cheek and showed her the elegant restaurant across the lobby.
"Bella's here?" Rose asked. I grinned.
"Yeah I kind of made it take your girlfriend to work day." I didn't want to admit to Rose that I wasn't ready to spend a day without Bella after she had slept against my chest all night.
"That's sweet Edward, I'll go get her." she walked over to Bella. They hugged like it had been years since they'd seen each other rather then hours. I watched while Bella animatedly talked to Rose.
"Dude we gotta talk." Em put his arm around my shoulders steering me to the restaurant.
"Sure, what's up?" We made our way across the lobby and got seated at a booth in the back.
"I talked to my mom this morning and I'm a little worried." Em was entirely serious.
"Why are you worried?" anyone that had seen Bella and I together today would know I wouldn't hurt her for anything and Aunt Esme knew I was bringing her to dinner Friday night.
"Mom said the last auction she held like this got some really high bids and the whole thing sort of got out of hand." Em rubbed the back of his neck tensely. It was a family trait. We both did it in times of stress or embarrassment.
"How out of hand?" I questioned. I could see where he was going with this.
"Upwards of thirty thousand dollars. Now I don't know but I have a feeling none of those girls have an extra thirty thousand dollars lying around. I know I sure as hell don't." I gaped at him
"Who the hell spends that kind of money on a single date?" I asked, that's when it hit me, Jane Volterra would. To her money was no object and she could throw it around freely as she saw fit. Bella would never throw around that kind of change even if she did have it to spend. If Jane won I would be obligated to go on one date with her and also I'd have to take her to the ball. Not to mention it would crush what little self esteem Bella had. I knew Bella would never let me give her a credit card and just turn her loose so I would have to be sneaky about it.
"I think I may need a little help with this one. You in?" I asked my cousin. He grinned and rubbed his palms together.
"What's the plan?" he asked conspiratorially. I was about to tell him but we were joined by two lovely ladies for lunch and it would have to wait.
Bpov
I sprang up and hugged Rose, quickly telling her all about my night and my morning so far. I showed her my shirt with pride.
"How was your date last night?" I was curious to find out what happened because Edward and I didn't go to bed until after one am and Rose still wasn't home yet. Alice had called and said she would be at Jasper's so I didn't worry.
"It was nice. He's so easy to be with. We sat in his jeep with the radio on and talked for hours about his family and his work. My work and you guys...I really like him." Her face was a mixture of total happiness and sadness. I knew there was a 'but' coming.
"So what's the problem?" I sat her down at my little table and took her hand in mine.
"He's from this great supportive family, how do I explain why I don't have anyone?" Rose's circumstances weren't of her choice and even without her family she had made a nice life for herself , yet she always seemed ashamed that she didn't really have a family to call her own.
"Rose, we decided along time ago that we would be each other's family. You will always have Alice and Me." I squeezed her hand tightly in mine. I could see the tears forming in her eyes.
"How do I tell him I'm damaged goods?" she sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Hey! You are not damaged goods. You are perfectly intact goods! Don't let those asshole's that raised you let you think any different." I hugged her close and rubbed her hair the same way she always did for me. It felt good to be the one giving comfort instead of receiving it for once.
"How did you learn to be so good at all this comforting stuff?" she asked me.
"I learned from the best." I informed her. After a short trip to the ladies room it was off to lunch.
Edward and Emmett kept us laughing all through lunch. I loved to watch the way they related to one another. They were more like brothers then cousins. Emmett was telling us a story about Edward trying to talk to a girl they met at the beach one summer but we were interrupted.
"Sir, The florist is here with the arrangement." A member of the staff informed him.
"Thank you, I'll be right in." He stood up and kissed my forehead.
"I'm sorry love, I have to go take care of this." he said softly.
"I'll come with you." I offered. He smiled.
"No you finish your lunch. Meet me in there when you're done." He made his apologies and good bye's to Rose and Em then he was back to work.
"It never ends with him. Since he moved here all he does is work." Em told me. One of the things I noticed about Edward today was his drive. When he set out to do something he didn't stop the job until it was finished. It was an admirable quality especially because he used it to help others.
"He's doing this to help other people. I don't mind if he had to skip out on lunch early." I shrugged with one shoulder. Emmett smiled.
"Speaking of helping others. I was wondering if I could get a little help with my bio." his cheeks tinted pink. He slid the paper to me. I read it silently and grimaced.
"Oh you do need help." I told him. Rose snickered. For the rest of lunch I helped Emmett with his bio. When we were done I had Edward's lunch boxed up and carried it back into him while Rose and Em said goodbye. I saw Edward at the far end of the room rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the ceiling. He appeared to be losing an argument with a short blond.
"Oh great. She's here." Em said behind me. I couldn't help but pick out the disdain in his statement.
"Who is she?" Em slung his arm around me while he explained.
"Jane Volterra. She's on the board of directors at the hospital. She's been after Edward since we got involved with the event." Em's body stiffened, he knew he had said to much.
"Oh." was all I could offer to the discussion. She looked like one of those woman that belonged by his side. The kind of woman that knew something about what she was doing here. All day I felt like I belonged here with him but now I felt uncomfortable and out of place.
"He doesn't want her you know. He wants you." Em gave me a one armed hug and dragged me over to them. I tried to walk slow to avoid the situation but Em was having none of that.
"What's the problem?" Em asked his cousin.
"The problem is these arrangements are to small. They don't do anything for the atmosphere of the room." Jane answered. The florist nodded in agreement.
"The arrangements that you were arguing about this morning?" I looked up at Edward.
"Jane didn't like the ones that were designed.. She changed them and instructed the hotel staff to use the one's she picked out." he explained.
"Now it's to late to order new flowers and Mr. Masen doesn't like them." the florist interjected.
"I have an idea." I said timidly. Emmett smiled beside me.
"By all means, please share." Jane narrowed her eyes at me.
"Well flowers are expensive and since it's to late to order new ones why not just do red candles in hurricane lamps on gold plates." I was shaking in my shoes, literally. I wrung my hands in front of me while I spoke not wanting to meet anyone's eyes.
"Do you work here?" she asked indigently. I kept my eyes on my shoes. Edward reached for my hand and I let him take it.
"Jane this is my girlfriend Bella, she's helping out for the day." I think Edward expected us to shake hands but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Jane crossed her arms over her chest.
"I am sure that hurricane lamps looked great at what ever po dunk wedding you attended last but they don't work here. This a million dollar fund raiser not a back woods shot gun wedding." her voice was like ice. I wanted to turn and run away feeling utterly stupid for even opening my mouth.
"I like Bella's idea, don't you Edward?" Em said. His tone was confident and sure.
"I do like the idea. Let's move forward with Bella's suggestion." He clapped his hands and four members of the hotel staff came to his side. He presence was commanding in and of it's self but to see him take charge was a real turn on.
"Um Bella, why don't you come help me stuff gift bags." Em took my elbow walking me to the other side of the ball room.
"Sorry to drag you away but I think one pissing contest with Jane is enough for the day." he grinned.
"I think it was enough for a life time. Thank you for backing me up Em." I gave him my best smile even though she was still in the room and I was truly feeling much less then confident.
Epov
I really did like Bella's suggestion. It was just a bonus that it pissed Jane off. I smiled at my cousin and my girlfriend talking animatedly across the room. Emmett was an easy person to get along with and it was nice to see he had taken to Bella so effortlessly. It made my heart ache to see her stare at her shoes when Jane rejected her idea. She was following me around the ball room as I put place cards on the tables.
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Jane said simply like she was asking about the weather.
"We met on New Years." I said. I didn't want to give Jane any more information then what was necessary. I knew from experience that women like Jane stopped at nothing to get what they wanted and the less she knew the better.
"Edward, I know it isn't any of my business but..." she trailed off. I looked at her for the first time since Bella stepped away from us. She was sizing Bella up. I was grateful she was talking to Em and didn't seem to notice.
"Don't you think she's a little beneath you?" Jane asked me. I spun on her.
"Now you wait just a damn minute!" I demanded.
"No you wait Edward! Wake up! You are a smart talented business man and with the right woman on your arm you could go so far." Jane clearly didn't know anything about me and that was the way I wanted to keep it.
"I am very happy with Bella. If you don't have a function for being here please get the hell out of my ball room." I pointed to the door. Jane picked up her coat and bag.
"Edward don't think this is over. I will do whatever it takes to win you Saturday. One date with me and you will see what it's like to be out with someone of your class." she turned on her heel and left. I knew then and there what I had to do and I didn't care if Bella liked it or not.
A/n- Hi guys. Ok first things first, thank you for all your reviews and support. It means the world to me and I just cant say enough nice things. Seconds being second I wanted to apologize, I know I said the next chapter would be meet the Cullen's and the auction but I think this is better. I needed Bella to see what Edward does and how much of himself he puts into helping others. Also I wanted her to meet Jane. I didn't want them to just come up against each other is some random way. Bella needs to see the competition. Third things third, this chapter was not edited. I do not write to be perfect I write to tell a story and I am sorry if that bugs people.
