A/N: Here's another one! Like always, outfit's in the profile. Hope you guys like it! And before I forget, the lovely disclaimer. I own nothing!

Chapter 10: Kill Me Now

The next day found Bella driving around the city. She had made sure to make a quick stop at the office to leave a Vanilla Bean for Emmett.

While driving around, she couldn't help but remember the drive to his condo the night before.

Emmett had promised that he would drive her or Jasper back to his condo so they could retrieve her SUV, but after seeing Jasper's misery, she tossed him the keys to her car and told him to patch things up with Alice and have hot make up sex afterwards, while she went back with Emmett. The ride had been anything but awkward. For some reason, they always found something to talk about, and the subject of his Vanilla Beans was brought up.

"I had been meaning to ask you about the Vanilla Beans"

Bella had looked at him with a twinkle in her eye, "What about them?"

He had briefly looked at her before looking back to the road, "I admit I have a weakness for them, but I really want to know how you knew. I mean, you showed up at my doorstep near the middle of the night with one. I don't recall sharing that particular piece of information with you."

Bella had laughed, "You hired me as your personal assistant. It's my job to know what you like and don't like. What irritates you, how you function. More importantly what makes you function"

Emmett had nodded his head, "Makes sense. But it was your first day. The things you talk about, are things that you learn about people after spending time with them"

"I have spent time with you. I also cleaned up your office"

He had taken a quick side-way glance at her before concentrating on the traffic ahead again. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You can learn a lot about a person by the things that they keep at work. Your office especially, says a lot about you"

"Really? How come?"

Bella narrowed her eyes at him, "You keep a dressing room in your office, which suggest not only that you like to be presentable but also prepared for anything. The clothes you keep in there suggest that you have impeccable taste and great style. The cuts of your suits say you have class. Everything in your office is made of glass and stainless steel and the sitting area has very modern, very zen looking furniture. It's all clean lines and open spaces when you walk in. You like things to look organized and clean. The glass wall also suggests that you don't like to be locked in, which is probably why you always leave your office door open, even when you give interviews. The mess in your desk, at first glance was a disaster, but upon closer inspection I realized that everything was sort of organized by different categories. You know what you want and you know how to do it, you just need a bit of help putting things together. You have enough work there for 3 people, yet you don't ask for help. It's just…little things like these that helped me understand you"

Emmett was silent as he took in everything she said and smiled at her, "You still didn't tell me how you knew about the Vanilla Bean"

Bella laughed, "You had a trashcan full of them."

Emmett's booming laugh filled the car. "Oh, Bella you are one of a kind."

Bella broke out of her flashback when she arrived to the first venue. She parked across the street from the restaurant and got off the car. As she straightened her coat she noticed a woman staring at her and she looked down to make sure that her outfit looked okay.

Since it was a colder day and she had a feeling she was going to be walking around a lot, she decided to wear a light houndstooth coat over the white and black top she had paired with the black ballerina skirt she had felt like wearing that day. To add a little flavor to the outfit she had worn red Valentino leather pumps and had accessorized minimally with Chanel earrings and a pearl ring. Since she had time that morning she decided to change bags, as the one she had been carrying was decidedly bigger, and the cream Chanel bag was easier to carry. She didn't see anything wrong with her outfit, and getting unnerved by the unwavering gaze, she pulled her sunglasses on even though she was just going to cross the street.

Bella walked in to the restaurant and was immediately recognized and greeted, "Ahh Ms. Swan. Welcome to Candle 79. We've been expecting you. We trust all is well"

Bella smiled. She had been to the restaurant for lunch several times and knew that the food was delicious and that the place while beautiful, was laid back and gave a sort of relaxing feeling. She didn't know if it was the right atmosphere for a concert gala, though. After getting a tour of the entire restaurant including the kitchen, and speaking to both the owner and the executive chef, Bella thanked them and made an appointment for another tour at the end of the week.

The drive to the next restaurant was short enough that she didn't have too much time to think about Emmett. The man had been in her mind every waking, and sleeping, moment for the last 3 days.

The next restaurant, SD26 looked promising, so she made an appointment with them as well. The next place, Café Joul wasn't even enough to make her get off her car so went on her way to the next restaurant; Oceana which was too…blue.

She was driving to yet another restaurant when her phone rang. She froze after recognizing the ringtone.

"Emmett! I mean, Mr. Cullen-"

She heard his booming laugh over the phone and covered her face with her free hand before realizing that she had let go of the steering wheel and after a slight panic, she got everything under control.

"It's okay Bella. You can call me Emmett. Honestly, everyone does. I don't understand why you insist on calling me Mr. Cullen. That's my father, not me"

Bella sighed, "You're my boss. It's only correct…"

"Come on! Live dangerously, call me by my given name"

He was mocking her.

"Fine. EMMETT. What do you need sir?" She heard his laugh at the pronounced use of his name.

"I just got out of my meeting. I wanted to thank you for the upside down sticky note reminder on my cup. I noticed it when I went to drink the last of the whipped cream that doesn't go through the straw."

Bella couldn't help but laugh. "I used to leave messages like that for my Dad in his beer"

Emmett laughed at her creativity; the woman was one of a kind, "So how's the venue scouting going?"

Bella sighed, "It could be better. I'm currently in Midtown"

Emmet let out a whistle, "Wow. You are serious about this."

Bella scoffed, and cursed, eliciting a laugh from Emmett, "Is everything okay Ms. Swan. I think this is the first time I've heard you curse"

"I missed my exit, I have no idea where I am. Look, I'll call you back in a bit Mr. Cullen. I have to figure out where I am because the sign I just saw informed me that I'm not in Midtown East anymore."

Before he could say another word the line went dead and he shook his head in amusement. He looked up to see Jasper walking into his office

"What's so amusing?"

"Bella got lost"

Jasper snorted, "I'm not surprised. The woman has a terrible sense of direction. To think she got lost WITH a navigator in her SUV"

Emmett laughed as he remembered the navigation system that came integrated to her SUV. She had lovingly rubbed it telling him that she could never get lost with it.

That got him to think that he got her distracted enough to not follow the instructions of the gps, and he smiled to himself.

"What the hell are you smiling about? You know what? I don't wanna know. I gotta go back to work. I'll see you later"

He nodded at Jasper and with a smile went back to thinking about his effect on Bella.

-- --

After finding her way again, without the distraction of Emmett Cullen's deep manly voice, Bella went into the next couple of places, which looked mercifully promising. She particularly liked Blue Fin Restaurant, although the very earth friendly Pisticci had an amazingly laid back yet upscale atmosphere to it that made it almost perfect too.

She found the Aquagrill overrated and tiredly left to go to the next venue. Peep was a breath of fresh air and during the tour it quickly became one of her top choices. She happily made an appointment and left for one of the last couple of places.

She had tiredly gotten off her car and walked into the next restaurant, Arte Cafe Trattoria, without even looking at the exterior, if she had, she would have known that she was going to immediately fall in love with the place. She knew it probably wasn't the best place for the gala, but she didn't have the heart to not make an appointment. She found it beautiful. The music, the decorations, the food…Everything!

Bella decided to stop looking for venues. She knew nothing else could come close. She knew it was a different kind of place, but maybe she could convince Emmett…

She smiled at the manager and assured him she'd be back, if only to dine.

The ride back to the office felt very long. She had been driving around since 7:00 in the morning, and it was now 7, pushing to 8:00 pm when she finally pulled into the parking garage of Cullen Enterprises. She tiredly got off the car and before she could make it to the elevator, she was intercepted by a very unpleasant individual by the name of Mike Newton. He thought he was being suave when he put his arm around her while they walked to the elevator. He wasn't.

Bella just knew that he was going to give her trouble as soon as the doors of the elevator closed.

"So Isabella, is being enclosed in an elevator with me making you horny yet?" He had the audacity to wriggle his eyebrows.

Bella rolled her eyes and looked at the numbers changing at the top of the elevator doors. Her eyebrows knitted together when she felt him come close, and she frowned when he pushed her against the wall and trapped her with his arms at either side of her head.

"Come on, you know you want me. I can see it in your eyes."

Bella rolled her eyes and felt her blood boil when pressed himself against her and started to very sloppily kiss her. She looked up and pushed at him, "Don't act difficult. I know you want me."

Bella snorted and pushed at him again. This was just too much. Twelve hours of driving around all over New York City, a blister burning on her foot, and now this. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

Bella stepped on his foot with her spiky heel and took the opportunity to hit him on the nose with the heel of her palm when he let go of her in pain and surprise. It was such a movie moment when the elevator had perfect timing arriving to the 30th floor and opening for Mike to fall off holding on to his bleeding nose. A very surprised Emmett took a step back as he looked at the scene in front of him.

Mike Newton was laying in the floor holding on to his bleeding nose while the beautiful Bella Swan had her red spiky, probably designer, 4 inch heel ground up against his groin. She bent down and grabbed him by the collar, "You put your slimy hands on me again and I'll break more than your nose. You got that?"

The poor idiot just nodded his head furiously and hissed in pain as she ground her heel on his groin again. "Don't even look in my direction"

With that, she straightened up again and smiled at Emmett as she side stepped the slime ball laying on the floor, "Mr. Cullen! You're still here. I was hoping you hadn't gone home yet. I have a list of all the possible venues. Would you like me to type up the list for you?"

Emmett looked at her, wide-eyed and open mouthed, then looked at Mike Newton still on the floor, now on the fetal position, trying to hold on to both his nose and his privates at the same time. He looked back at Bella and felt her tug on his arm as she directed him back to his office. By the time they got there, he had regained the ability to speak.

"What the hell was that?!"

Bella smiled at him, "It's called self preservation. I don't like men who think that they can get away with sexually harassing women. That ball of slime had it coming"

Emmett couldn't help but laugh, "My God woman, you can cook, clean, bake, drink coffee strong enough to give a man an ulcer, drive for 12 hours straight by yourself without going insane, walk in 4 inch heels like you don't have a blister on your foot, and take on sexual predators…is there anything you can't do?"

Bella smiled at him as she sat in the couch of his sitting area, "I can't fly"

Emmett laughed and took a seat before sobering up, "In all seriousness, are you alright?"

Bella smiled at him, "Thanks for your concern, Mr. Cullen, but I'm okay. I've had to deal with worse."

"You are one tough cookie. Fearless."

Bella winked at him and rubbed at her ankles, "Don't you forget it!"

Emmett laughed again and nodded, while his gaze followed her hands to her slim ankles. He remembered the blister, and knew it was probably hurting her after all the walking she had probably done all day. He didn't know much about Bella Swan, but even though he hadn't seen her all day, he knew for a fact that she would wear 4 inch heels even though she had a blister, and she was going to be walking all day. That's why when he went for his lunch, he couldn't help himself and got her a present. After a bit of difficulty, he tore his gaze away from her beautiful legs and stood up.

"Do you want to go over the list of venues?"

Bella nodded and took out a pad of paper. "I found several places that could definitely work. I already set up appointments for you to go see them on Friday."

Bella was so focused on the papers in her lap she didn't notice Emmett walking back with two boxes in his hands. He put one in the floor next to the couch, so she wouldn't see it and placed the other one on the table. It wasn't until he sat down in the couch with her that she looked up. "Huh?"

Emmett shook his head, "Which are the top picks?"

Bella looked down at the list and started rattling off, "Well, the first place is Candle79…."

She trailed off when she felt him move closer and froze when he grabbed a hold of her left ankle.

"Emmett?!"

He looked at him with his dimpled smile and she almost melted, "You walked around all day in 4 inch heels and then proceeded to ground your foot on someone's groin. I know for a fact your blister must have popped, and I bet anything that it was a blood blister this morning and you still went ahead and put on heels. Bella flushed for a second, and was at a loss for words when he finished pulling on her leg and placed her foot on his lap. "Go on, what other restaurants are we going to see on Friday?"

"Friday? What?"

Emmett smiled as he carefully pulled off her heel and placed it on the floor. "You said you made appointments for me to see them at the end of the week. What other restaurants, besides Candle79, are we going to?"

"Oh, umm…The other restaurant that I thought could work is SD26. It has potential, but I'm not sure…The other one is called Blue Fin, and it was very nice. Lots of glass and nice lighting,"

Emmett had turned so he was facing her directly and pulled her other foot to his left thigh. He had pulled on some gloves and was rummaging through a very serious looking first aid kit, but even as he did so he was nodding and from time to time he looked up at her, to let her know he was paying attention. She went back to the papers and studied her notes for a second before continuing.

Emmett raised her foot to eye level so he could see the extent of the damage when he caught a glimpse of sheer cream colored, lacy underwear. She must have not noticed that she was exposed because she kept reading off her list. He grabbed blindly behind him trying to get a hold of the hoodie he had on earlier. When he finally grabbed it, he draped it over her lap. Bella looked up to see Emmett looking intently at her foot and prodding different places around. She looked down at her lap and smiled, he was protecting her privacy.

"Thanks."

He looked up for a second, "Huh?"

"For the jacket, and for my foot."

Emmett shook his head, "Don't thank me yet. This is going to hurt"

"What? How would you know"

Emmett smiled, "I went to EMT school before I went to college"

Bella's mouth formed a soft 'O'. "Wow, really. Actually, I'm not that surprised. You have that hero look about you"

Emmett smiled as he kept on pressing several areas. "You know you popped this right? How you managed to walk at all I will never know. Does it hurt when I press?"

Bella shook her head, "It's just a little tender"

Emmett looked up at her in disbelief and Bella laughed, "Okay, okay. So it hurts. I shouldn't have worn the heels."

Emmett nodded "I thought so. It's completely drained. So I'll just clean it up and bandage it for you."

Bella put her notes on the table next to the first aid kit, and looked at him as he treated her foot. He was very gentle and even blew softly on the skin after he put alcohol in it. Her foot looked like it was being swallowed by his hands and that made her giggle.

He looked up again briefly looking amused, "I think it's the first time I hear you giggle. What's so funny?"

Bella shook her head, "It's silly. My foot looks like it's being swallowed by your hands"

Emmett nodded, "I have to agree with you there. You have very delicate feet. Dainty"

Bella giggled again in feminine delight, but stopped when she felt the sting of alcohol again. He blew softly to soothe it and for some reason, it made her blush.

As she looked at him, she noticed that for some reason he looked very manly at the moment. He had loosened his tie and was still wearing his vest, but he had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, showing his sinewy muscled forearms. The latex gloves were very tight on his hands, enhancing their large size and his focus on what he was doing, for some reason was very sexy. She felt a heat pool in between her legs and tried to move around a bit to ease the ache. Her movements caused her right foot to slide around on is thigh. Emmett grabbed some small scissors from the kit and continued his work, getting rid of the excess skin that could serve as a house for bacteria if not removed.

"Sweetheart, you have to stop squirming around or you're going to give me another show"

Bella stopped moving and blinked, noticing for the first time that her skirt had ridden up, both because of the leg he had pulled up and because the jacket had fallen off thanks to her squirming around. She blushed 5 different shades of red and tried to reach for the jacket while keeping her skirt in place, but only succeeded in loosing her balance and half toppling off the couch.

Emmet's quick reflexes had caused him to hold on to her left calf and her right knee, but he couldn't do anything for her upper body, which ended up half on the floor. Gravity had its way and her skirt was lifted up completely baring her to Emmett. His eyebrows went up to his hairline now that he got to really look at her underwear. He had been wrong; they were flesh colored and, to his utter delight, lace boy short cut. He had been right about the sheerness though. He cold see everything and he felt his pants tighten when he noticed that she waxed completely.

Bella tried to hold the skirt over her underwear with one hand while the other covered her face, "Please, just…kill me now"

A/N: Good? Bad? Thanks for reading! Please review:)