Author's Note: This is a long chapter! It took me a while to write and to perfect it, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Thank you all so much for your reviews. I love each one of them! They give me inspiration to keep on writing.

As always, Twilight isn't mine, but the story is.

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"I hate you." Rosalie growled as she slumped into the chair next to me. It was "freaking early" the next day, as Rose had so eloquently put it, and we had both been forced to meet with Alice at The Coffee Pot. Alice smirked as she took in Rosalie's slightly rumpled appearance. I had no idea how she had done it, but Alice had managed to down three more margaritas last night and had still beat us here today. I had arrived fifteen minutes ago, my hair still wet and sticking to my scalp, only to be greeted by a perky as ever Alice. True, she had already had three empty espresso cups sitting next to her, but it didn't explain how she was perfectly coiffed and impeccably dressed. I had consumed a lot less than Alice last night, but had still only had the energy to drag my ass into sweats. It was difficult to believe that such a creature as Alice existed.

"I told you never to bet against me." Alice said cockily, her voice sounding impossibly cheerful for such a godforsaken hour.

Rose pulled off her large sunglasses from her face and squinted into the light. "Let's just get this over with," she snapped, accepting her coffee from me. She shrugged off her coat and met my inquisitive gaze as I took in her jersey. She grunted. "Emmett's dragging me to a Seahawks game today, and I won't have time to get changed because this one here insists on talking about this stupid coffee shop." Rosalie glared at Alice.

Alice frowned. "It's not stupid, Rose. It's an important issue. You'll thank me when you're not sitting on haystacks."

"I'd like to shove a haystack up your—" Rosalie grumbled.

"Oh! I'd like to see you try!" Alice interjected.

"Whoa! Down, ladies!" I held my hands out in a peace-keeping attempt. Alice huffed quietly and took a dainty sip from her espresso. Rose glared at me as I tried to discretely slide her coffee towards her. With a sniff, she snatched it up and took a few long gulps. Early morning encounters with Rosalie required coffee, otherwise things could get nasty. I exhaled and tried to clear my tired brain. "Alright, so humor us, Alice. What's this about?"

Alice leaned forward immediately, her hands clasped in a businesslike matter. Her eyes darted around the room, as if looking for eavesdroppers. Clearly, there were ninjas lurking in the shadows. "Alright, ladies. We have thirteen days before it all goes down. Thirteen days! That means, there is no more room for passive tactics here," Rosalie and I shared a glance at her mention of her passive tactics. Alice and her picket signs had only lasted a day before the manager had threatened her with calling the police. While seeing Alice up on her toes and yelling into the manager's face had been a memorable event, I didn't think we needed a repeat performance. "It's time to get serious. It's time to get revolutionary on their asses. We need to fight back!" Alice paused for dramatic effect. "Therefore, it is time for Plan B."

Rose snorted, effectively breaking the mood. "I swear, this better not involve chaining yourself to the shop!" I laughed, and was instantly met by Alice's evil eye. "Of course," Rosalie went on, unperturbed by our friend's threatening face. "I could think of a couple guys who would be willing to pay big money to see you in chains." I stifled a smile, remembering the guy with the blond hair.

"Guys, this is serious!" Alice scowled. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders, already bored by the discussion.

I sighed and decided to play along. "Okay. So what's Plan B?"

Alice perked up again. A sly smile lit up her face. "We infiltrate."

I blinked. I really had to take those spy movies off her Netflix queue.

"You're kidding, right? You're not really thinking we're going to put on black latex suits and slide in through the air vents?" My voice wavered a bit, a little worried that she might actually be considering such action. When it came to Alice and her schemes, I really couldn't put anything past her.

"Oh, please, Bella," Alice laughed, waving off my concerns. "Can you really picture me in black latex?" I laughed a little uncertainly, not wanting her to see my doubt.

Rosalie studied us over her coffee. "What's wrong with latex suits?" Alice and I both whipped our heads around to look at her. She met our eyes unabashed. Unwanted images started filling my head. Rosalie in black latex standing over Emmett with a whip in her hand. I shuddered.

"I don't even know what to say to that," Alice said in a small voice. She shook her head fast to clear it. She opened her mouth and then shut it quickly with a snap. She turned to Rose again and pleaded with her blue eyes. "Just please tell me that it's not Emmett who wears the outfits."

Rosalie smiled wickedly. "I'll never tell." Alice and I both shuddered as the images in my head changed to even more disturbing ones. Emmett in latex chaps smiling and waving a whip in the air. Emmett frolicking in a latex jumpsuit with a mask on. I groaned. There were just somethings that you didn't need to know about your friends. Rosalie got up from the table with a flourish. "And I'll leave you with that, my friends," she sang out as she picked up her jacket. "That's my gift to you for making me get up at the ass crack of dawn!" She blew kisses at us and left with a swagger in her step.

We remained quiet for a few minutes after Rosalie left, each of us obviously lost in our own thoughts and bad images. Alice cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure. "Anyway! What I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted was that I'm talking about a different form of infiltration. I'm saying we need to get in there and score a meeting with the bosses."

I looked at Alice in disbelief. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well that's why I'm calling it infiltration, Bella. We gotta figure out a plan to get in there, somehow. It's not going to be easy, but if I can just get five minutes with the president, I'm sure I can convince him to change their plans." Alice pounded her fist against the table with conviction. I studied her dubiously. I personally agreed with Rosalie, that this was a waste of time, but unlike Rose, I'd be willing to help Alice just to make her happy.

"So do you actually have a plan to get in there?" I questioned Alice, idly wondering if this could result in jail time. Her ideas had to be legal, after all. Right?

"You could say that," Alice replied cryptically. "It's going to require some careful timing."

My eyes narrowed at her wording. "Timing?"

Alice smiled. "Timing and some reconnaissance work." She looked down at her watch, missing the horrified look on my face. "Oh! Which means we have to go now. Hurry up, Bella, we can't be late!" She leapt to her feet and grabbed her jacket before running towards the door.

Oh, God, we were going to jail.

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I drove to the corporate building against my will. Alice chattered the entire way, explaining the finer details of her plan. I half listened, though I mostly wondered if they'd take away my license to practice medicine if I went to jail for something that was not medically related. Alice pointed out a parking spot to me and I mindlessly slid my car in. She bounced out as soon I parked and started dragging me towards the building while I was still locking my car.

I looked up at the tall glass building as we walked closer. It was disturbingly tall, towering over smaller buildings on either side. The company's name was spelled out in large, gleaming letters that were located strategically in the middle, so that your eyes were drawn to it immediately. I stubbed my toe on the raised entryway and scowled. Our footsteps echoed loudly in the large marble lobby. I looked around me cautiously, almost thinking a security guard was going to come and tackle us on sight. There was a large fountain in the middle of the lobby, but it was turned off because it was a Saturday morning. Cushy furniture was located in clusters around the room, obviously for people to gather in groups and chat. Alice poked me in the ribs and pointed towards the elevators.

"What?" I asked, slightly wincing from her thin elbow.

"That's where they're going to come from." She motioned for me to follow her to an area of seats. She sat in a chair facing the elevators, her face shining with excitement.

I plopped down on a couch facing her. "Who?"

Alice rolled her eyes at me. "You weren't listening," she accused. I shrugged unapologetically. Alice sighed and began her explanation again. "We are going to wait and see what time the next cleaning shift arrives. We'll pretend we're new workers here and we'll ask for the work schedule for weekdays. Then we can plan what time we'll sneak in demand a meeting!" Alice bounced in her seat, her little shoes clicking against the floor.

She had gone insane.

I adamantly shook my head no. "Lucy, this is a bad idea."

"Ethel, this is a great idea!" Alice shot back, as she waited impatiently for the doors to open.

I followed her line of sight. "Do you even have any idea when they'll get off work?"

Alice raised her eyebrow at me. "Of course, I do, Bella. Do you really think I'd have us sit here for hours on end just waiting?" I shrugged and bit back the retort on my lips. Alice continued looking past my shoulder.

I yawned and leaned back on the couch. I drowsily stared at the outside world. The free world. Look at all those people who were free to go and enjoy their Saturday without being held captive by their friend. Look at the little bird flying free. Look at that tow truck driving near where I parked…

HOLY CRAP!

I shot out of my seat and started running towards the door. I heard Alice yelling at me and I shouted back some garbled words as I tried to not trip over the entryway. I pushed the doors open and ran towards my car just in time to see a man hooking a chair around my fender.

"No! No no no no no!" I yelled out, waving my arms to stop him. He looked up, obviously used to seeing people freaking out at him, and kept winding things around my fender. With a grunt of frustration, I leaned on my car hood and panted as he continued. "What are you doing?" I gasped out.

"You're parked in a tow away zone." He said flatly, taking more chains out of his truck.

I ran up to him and tried to keep him away from my car. "No I'm not! There's no sign!" He sighed and jerked his thumb towards a sign that was half hidden by an overgrown bush. I gasped and stumbled over to the bush. I pushed some leaves aside and saw that it was a partially hidden no parking sign. I growled. Great job picking that spot, Alice.

"Do you still have to tow it away? I'm here now! Can't I just drive away?" I turned back towards the man and tried to reason with him.

"Sorry, can't do that. Gotta take it in," He finished chaining my car and headed back towards his truck. "You can pay the ticket at city hall and then you can get your car back."

Defeated, I followed him as he got into his truck. "How much is the ticket?"

"Five hundred dollars." The man scribbled something on his clipboard and then tossed it on the seat next to him.

I gaped at him. Five hundred dollars? That was more than I could even afford to spend paying back my college and med school loans each month. I gripped onto the side of his truck and pleaded. "Please, please, please let me drive it away? Do I look like I have that kind of money? If I had five hundred dollars, would I be driving that car?" I gestured wildly at my beat up Nissan.

The man shrugged and started his truck. "Not my problem."

I peeled myself away from the side of his truck and watched in despair as he drove away, taking my precious car with him. "You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled out, stamping my foot like a child. I allowed myself in my moment of insanity to give him the finger, something I never did for fear of being shot by an angry driver. It felt so good that I raised my other hand and did it again, all the while shouting unintelligible words.

When the man had driven far enough away that I couldn't see my car, I stopped shouting and stood there, shaking. I dropped my arms and my hands balled up into fists. It was early. I was exhausted. My friend was insane and wanted us to be cleaning ladies so we could save a coffee shop. My boss thought I was stupid. I was constantly thinking about a man who disliked me immensely. And now, I had no car and no way to get it back. Tears prickled the edges of my eyes and I sniffed loudly, hoping to hold them back.

I was so caught up in my self-pity that I almost didn't hear the soft sounds of someone clearing their throat. I whirled around and stared at the blond man from the coffee shop.

He looked at me inquisitively. "Are you alright, miss?" He drawled out, concern evident in his blue eyes. I opened my mouth, but the tears forming in my eyes started sliding down my cheeks before I could utter a word. Frustrated by the signs of tears, I whirled around tried to clear my eyes. That only made me cry harder. I stifled a sob and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt a hand touch my shoulder hesitantly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

I grunted, shaking my head as I realized how ridiculous I looked. Here I was, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, shouting like a madwoman and then crying, only to be comforted by a complete stranger. The man ignored my protests and gently led me to a bench by the side of the building. Tears kept flowing from my eyes and I swept them off my face quickly. The man waited patiently until my quiet sobs ended. I sniffled loudly, and he pulled out a small pack of tissues.

"Thanks," I muttered, snatching up one and blowing my nose embarrassingly loud. The man smiled, his blue eyes crinkling slightly. A light wind passed by and he shivered, drawing up his jacket closer to his neck. I stuffed the dirty tissue into my pocket and glanced up at him. "You haven't been here long, have you?"

The man grinned. "It was the accent that gave me away, wasn't it?" I chuckled lightly, despite myself. His heavy Southern accent was very noticeable in the Pacific Northwest.

"Where are you from?" I asked, studying his tan skin and the golden hair that was sticking out from underneath his heavy woolen hat.

"I'm from Houston, Texas," He said proudly. He looked around at the cloudy sky and the small puddles of rain on the ground. "I guess you could say I'm a long way from home."

I smiled in agreement. "I feel the same way sometimes. I was raised in Phoenix."

The man nodded appreciatively and grinned again. "Another lover of the sun."

"It can be hard living here sometimes. It's hard to get used to the rain and clouds," I said thoughtfully. Another wind blew by and the man shivered slightly. "And the cold." I added, smiling.

We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. I felt my hysteria dying down. The man seemed so calm and relaxed, that I couldn't help but breathe deeply and feel my heart settling down. I saw him looking at me from the corner at the eye and I turned towards him.

"How are you feeling now?" The man asked me as he stretched out his long legs.

"Better. Thanks," I looked off to the distance towards the direction the truck had taken my car. The man next to me didn't question me anymore and I was kind of glad. I wiped my eyes once more and stood up slowly. "I should get going. My friend's waiting for me in there," I gestured towards the big corporate building. "And even though I'll probably end up going to jail for her, I should check up on her." I shut my mouth quickly. I had definitely said too much.

The man looked up at me curiously. "I was actually going there myself." He pointed towards a big envelope sitting next to him on the bench that I hadn't noticed in my previous state.

"You work there?" I gasped. I really hope he wouldn't report what I'd just said.

"Sort of," He admitted, and picked up the envelope as he stood up. I panicked slightly. "I—"

"Please don't tell anyone else what I just said!" I begged. "Alice just has a way of letting her ideas run away from her, and she doesn't mean any trouble, and I would really hate to go to jail." I said in a rush.

The man's blue eyes widened at my admission, and he laughed a little. "And why would you and Alice in Chains be going to jail? Does this have anything to do with the signs?" His eyes twinkled and I blushed as I realized he remembered Rosalie's teasing.

I hesitated. Was it better to tell him or to just let them all find out? I decided to dive in. The man had been so nice to me that I doubted he'd go and tell his bosses. "Alice is trying to get your bosses to rethink the renovations. She's afraid it'll end up as a tribute to butter and roosters." I held my breath, waiting to see his reaction.

The man scratched his head through his hat and shook his head slightly. A smile played on his lips. "I can see how that'd be scary."

I suddenly had an epiphany and gasped. I clutched the man's arm. "Do you think you can get us a meeting with your bosses?" The man looked a little taken aback and I tried to explain. "This way we won't have to rent cleaning lady costumes and we can still meet with them." I could see that I had just scared him a little more by my explanation. I slowly let go of his arm and continued. "I know, I know. It sounds insane, and that's Alice for you. But, seriously, do you think there's any way that you could get us a meeting? Just five minutes with them?"

I could see the inner debate that was raging inside the man's head. Finally, he spoke, his accent drawing out the words slightly. "Well…I guess I could see what I could do...." I let out a very un-Bella-like squeal of joy and jumped up and down. The man laughed again, and held his hands out to calm me down. "I can't promise anything, miss." He stuck his hand out to me and I grasped it eagerly. "I'm Jasper, by the way."

"I'm Bella," I said, as tears came to my eyes again. Jasper frowned and passed me another tissue. I waved it away. "I'm fine. You just saved me from potentially going to jail." I sighed happily.

We exchanged information and then walked into the building together. He was a perfect Southern gentleman, as he held the door open for me and prevented me from stumbling when I stubbed my toe on the entryway again. I looked around for Alice, excited to tell her the good news, but saw that she was gone. I walked with Jasper to the elevators and said a quick goodbye before he went upstairs. I waited a few minutes and then the other elevator door opened to reveal a widely grinning Alice. She danced out and grabbed my arm, pulling me quickly to the doors. She waved a schedule in my face, practically vibrating from excitement.

"Alice, you won't believe what happened!" I pushed the paper away and tried to keep up with her. For such a little person, Alice had unusually long strides.

"What?" Alice asked, practically running towards the parking spot. She froze and I crashed into her. Alice looked at me inquisitively. "Where's your car?"

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The rest of the weekend flew by as I tried desperately to find the money to get my car back. I realized if I shuffled my accounts around, I could probably come up with enough to pay the city for my car, but that I'd probably have to live on peanut butter for two weeks in order to cover my expenses. Sadly, I probably wouldn't have any money to fill up the tank for the next month either. Nevertheless, I'd rather scrimp on things for a few weeks and walk than have the city holding my car hostage. It was just sad to think of my little red Altima parked in car jail alongside a drug vehicle.

Alice had been elated when I told her about my encounter with Jasper. She hadn't yet scrapped her cleaning maid plan, though she had put it on the backburner for now. I was crossing my fingers that Jasper would come through, because playing spies with Alice was not on my list of things to do before I went to jail.

Monday morning rolled around and I ran into the locker room at the hospital five minutes late. I changed out of my clothes in a hurry, cursing the towing man in my mind. Angela ran in after me and hurriedly changed into her scrubs.

"What's your excuse?" I asked with a wink as I tied my sneakers. Angela was never late.

She blushed and looked around the room, making sure it was empty. She leaned in towards me as she tied the front of her pants. "I was with Ben." I gasped and giggled with her as we rushed out of the room and ran towards the assignment board. Ben was one of the nurses in pediatrics. He was always cheerful and had a nice comment to say to everyone, which made him very pleasant to work with. I had noticed that he would always give Angela a lingering glance when she was around, and that she would do the same subtly. I had always thought that they would never get over their shyness and actually talk to one another, but apparently something had happened.

"I can't believe you, Dr. Webber!" I chastised her jokingly as we rounded the corner. Angela blushed but continued to smile widely. "You're going to have to tell me all about it later, you know."

"I definitely will." Angela sighed deeply and I smiled with her. She looked absolutely infatuated. We both looked up at the board and found our assignments. I waved at Angela as we parted ways, both hurrying to our patients' rooms.

My shift went by without any excitement and soon I was headed towards the break room to catch up on some paperwork before I went home. Angela flew by me as I walked slowly to the room, balancing fifteen folders in my arms. When she realized she had passed by me, she came back towards me and steadied a file that was threatening to slide off.

"Do you need any help with that?" She asked with concern.

I shook my head and shrugged. "It's alright. I've been putting off my paperwork for a while now, and it's coming back to bite me. Go home, Ang."

Angela blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm actually going out with Ben tonight…" her voice drifted off as I raised an eyebrow at her and grinned knowingly.

"The more reason for you to get home. Go on. I'm fine here. At least one of us should get to have a love life." I joked as I shifted the files around again. Angela smiled at me widely and waved goodbye, eager to get home for her date. I watched her walk away with a sad smile on my face.

First Rosalie. Now Angela.

I wasn't a hopeless romantic as most women tend to be, but there was a part of me that really wanted to have what they had. There was a definite part of me that was envious. As strong as I always tried to be, particularly after Jake left, a large part of me truly longed to have someone to come home to at night. Someone who would greet me with a smile after a long shift and ease my tension away. Someone who would invest as much into the relationship as I did. Someone who just…got me, and I wouldn't have to pretend to be stronger than I really was or girlier or happier or anything other than what I already was. I wanted someone who wanted me for me.

What a fairy tale.

With a large sigh, I rounded the corner and walked slowly and absent-mindedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dr. Cullen walking towards me, his head buried deep in a file. I shifted to my left to avoid colliding with him. At that moment, a nurse came out of a room wheeling a patient and the chief shifted to his right. He crashed against me and I dropped my files with a small yelp. Instantly, his hands went to my shoulders to steady me.

"Dr. Swan, are you alright? I'm terribly sorry about that." Dr. Cullen dropped to his knees to gather my files. I squatted quickly and helped him.

"It's alright, Dr. Cullen. I'm fine," I accepted the files he handed me and blushed when he smiled at me. Emboldened, I went on. "It was kind of refreshing to not be the cause of a collision for once." I smiled shyly.

Dr. Cullen let out a short laugh and helped me to my feet. He tucked his own file under his arm and looked at me for a moment. "I'm actually glad I ran into you, Dr. Swan. I've been meaning to talk to you." Oh? Uh-oh. What did Dr. Roberts tell the chief? "Emmett's grown quite fond of you, and has mentioned you a lot." My body relaxed and I let out a little chuckle.

"Yes, sir. He's sort of my surrogate big brother." I joked.

The chief smiled at me kindly. "Well, as you may know, his birthday is this coming weekend," Yeah, Emmett had mentioned that once…or twice…or three times. It had seemed to me that he loved his birthday as much as I hated mine. "His mother and I are planning on celebrating it tomorrow night with a little dinner for him, and we would love if it you would join us."

I stared at Dr. Cullen for a few seconds, unblinkingly. Did the chief-of-staff just invite me to his house for dinner?

"Uh, sure. I-I would like that. Thank you." I stuttered, barely able to contain my enthusiasm. I was positive Rosalie would like it if I were there with her. She had just been rambling to me on the phone the night before about how she was actually nervous to meet Emmett's parents. My presence might make her feel a little better.

Dr. Cullen smiled again at me and walked away after giving me the details. I stood there for a few minutes after he walked past. I clutched the small piece of paper with his address on it and stared at it. A smile formed on my face. Dinner at the chief-of-staff's house! I shifted the files in my arms and started walking again with a new bounce in my step. I opened the door to the break room and then looked down to steady the files that had moved. My eyes widened with a terror when I saw the name on the top file.

Edward Cullen.

I had forgotten about him. Oh crap.

Suddenly dinner didn't seem so appealing anymore.

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Tuesday night arrived before I knew it. Nervously, I walked toward the front door of the Cullen house. Or maybe estate was more appropriate, as this house sat on more private land than I had ever seen before. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. My hands nervously smoothed down the front of my blue dress. Earlier that night I had walked to Alice's apartment to borrow her car, as mine was still rotting away in the car prison. She had taken one look at my black dress pants and crisp white blouse and had dragged me kicking and screaming towards her bedroom, all the while muttering something about how friends didn't let friends dress like waiters from a three star restaurant. I had learned not to even question why she had clothes in my size at her apartment. Alice loved taking the opportunity to dress me up in her creations. She called in free advertisement; I called it cruel and unusual punishment.

I fidgeted again, wobbling a bit on the little heels Alice had forced me to wear. The massive door swung open at that moment, and I smiled shyly at the beautiful woman who was standing there. She was petite, a little bit taller than me, and had warm, caramel colored hair that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were warm brown and expressive, and from the dimples in her smile, I was able to gather that she was Emmett's mother. She was wearing a beautiful cream colored dress that flowed around her legs. In a word, she was gorgeous. I blushed as I realized I was gawking at her.

"Come in, dear," she motioned for me to step inside. She closed the door behind me and smiled at me again. "You must be Bella." Her sweet voice was like chimes.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen." I said bashfully.

She shook her head and motioned for me to take off my coat. "Call me Esme, dear. When someone says Mrs. Cullen, I think they're talking about my mother-in-law," I laughed as I shrugged off my long coat and handed it to her. Esme looked down at my dress and gasped. "What a beautiful dress! You look so lovely. Turn around for me?"

I blushed again but complied. "It's an Alice Brandon," I said automatically, as Alice had taught me to do. Esme looked admiringly at my blue raw silk dress as I spun around. Alice had stitched little silver threads in an intricate pattern around the hem and the low back. I considered it a little low cut for my taste, particularly the back that dipped a few inches near my waist, but Alice had reassured me that it was tasteful. "She's one of our best friends and she likes to dress me up."

"She is incredibly talented," Esme observed with a smile. I thanked her and promised I'd pass her compliments along to Alice. I looked around me and felt my eyes widen. While the Cullen's house had been majestic looking from the outside, the inside was even more beautiful. The rooms were large and very open, with tall windows in the back. The ceilings were high, and the walls were painted an off white color, giving the impression that the rooms were even larger. There were many comfortable looking couches in the living room, as well as dark, mahogany furniture. I spotted a large, black piano in the corner by the glass doors that led to the patio.

"You have a beautiful home." I complimented Esme, while my eyes continued to take in the little details. I knew that Emmett had said his mom was an interior designer, but there were so many touches that only a mother would include. I spotted a framed piece of paper near the stairs with two little hand prints on it, one red and the other green. On the large mantle above the fireplace were rows upon rows of picture frames.

Esme smiled again, obviously pleased. "Thank you. It's taken a while, but I'm really happy with the results," She was about to continue, but someone called her name from outside. "Please, make yourself at home. Everyone's gathered around the fire pit outside, but feel free to look around before you come out."

I walked towards the glass doors that led to the patio and peered through. Small dinner party? There must have been about thirty people here. They were all gathered around the fire pit, drinking from wine glasses and laughing. I quickly found Emmett and Rosalie near the center. Emmett was eating little skewers of something that looked delicious, even from a distance, and Rose was smiling at something he had just said. I could tell she looked a little nervous, but she was playing it off well, as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder confidently. Dr. Cullen was standing near them, talking to a couple of people I didn't recognize. My eyes wandered as I tried identifying more people. I spotted several board members from the hospital, as well as the heads of a couple departments. Towards the back I recognized a face that I hadn't wanted to see.

Dr. Roberts was here.

I gulped audibly, and turned away, walking quickly to the fireplace. I could deal with board members, and people who were high up in the hospital. However, I definitely couldn't deal with Dr. Roberts being here. I leaned on the mantle, and closed my eyes. I gathered myself and breathed in again. I wasn't going to let myself be intimidated by my boss.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a picture of a much younger Edward. He was grinning his crooked smile, and was holding a high school diploma. His cap was crooked and the tassel was hanging in his eye. Emmett was standing next to him, his arm slung over his brother's shoulder with a proud smile on his face. Edward looked so innocent in the picture, so genuinely happy. It was very unlike the last time I had seen him.

Speaking of him, where was Edward?

I hadn't spotted him in the crowd. Not that I had been looking for him in particular, of course. Still, I couldn't help the disappointed feeling in the pit of my stomach. Did he know I was coming? Was he choosing to stay away?

I snorted as I studied some more of the pictures in front of me. Way to be self absorbed, Bella. He wouldn't skip his brother's birthday just because I'm coming by. He may dislike me immensely, but that probably didn't mean much to a man like Edward. He had probably already forgotten all about the incident and was surrounded by ten women at a bar. He probably was laughing at me, knowing that his glare had been pestering me for the past few days. A man like Edward probably relished the opportunity to reduce a grown woman to a teenager worrying about a guy.

I kept looking at the photos, willing myself to forget about him. Edward and Emmett riding horses on the beach when they were about eleven or twelve. A young Emmett in a Hulk Hogan Halloween costume. Edward skiing.

Clearly, my tactic of looking at photos of Edward while trying to forget about him wasn't the most clever idea.

I turned to walk away, when my eye was caught by a black and white photo nestled in amongst the colored ones. It was of Edward dressed in a tux. He was younger, perhaps a college student or late high school, and was sitting at a piano. He was deep into the music, with his eyes closed and his head thrown back. His fingers were a blur on the keys. I gazed at the picture. He had never looked so beautiful, so passionate. That soul existed inside the body of the man who tossed sexual innuendos around like they were nothing. He was in there, despite his behavior, and he was so breathtaking.

So lost in my thoughts was I, that I jumped when a low, velvety voice whispered behind me.

"Hello."

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Author's Note #2 - I know, cliffhanger. Sorry if you hate those, but I thought it was kind of fitting for the chapter. Also, the dinner itself will be an entire chapter, so I figured this was the best way to break it up. I hope you guys liked this. Please review! Make the author happy!