Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Hello Everyone!

I want to start by thanking my fantabulous beta Emily Bowden for being wonderful and giving me advice. You guys need to head over and read her new story, The Betty Chronicles. It's AHHH! It's freaking excellent.

So, this chapter I had to break in half because it was getting too long. The second part is not so far away. Just tweaking it a bit.

Oh, before I forget. I redid chapter 6. Consequences. I added just a few details that should've been there from the beginning. :(

Thank you for everyone who reviewed, and all the story and favorite alerts. They make me squeal like a little school girl.

9. Jealousy, Surprises, and Amendment, Part 1

Bella POV

It had been a week since I'd had any type of interaction with Edward. Every time I attempted to enter his room, Jasper would materialize out of nowhere to stop me. It was as if he was psychic.

Jasper kept telling me to give Edward some time; he kept saying he would come around. I understood Jasper's logic to a certain extent. If I went in there, I was one hundred percent sure there would be a lot of screaming and crying. So, I guessed he was just looking out for Edward's physical health. They all needed him to get better.

What I didn't understand was why he reacted the way he did. I had been here three weeks. Sure, it seemed crazy that after such a short period of time I would willingly put myself front and center in this dilemma with Royce. But, if I was planning on staying - which I was - I was bound to start sometime, right? When would be a better time to start than the present? It seemed simple enough.

I thought I would be safe. I could hardly believe this Royce character would ambush a bank full of people just to get little old me. Rosalie said he knew about me. That didn't necessarily mean he knew what I looked like.

I think you're being naïve, Swan. He's a psycho. Think like one.

Even if he did have a vague characterization of me, it still wouldn't be accurate to what I looked like now. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I didn't even recognize myself. Alice had done a heck of a job in changing my appearance with her complete makeover. My interview at the bank was at one thirty. She woke me up at around seven thirty this morning, stating that we had to start getting ready. I argued adamantly because I still had six hours until my interview and I wanted to sleep some more.

She went on to say that even if I was running behind, I was punctual because I would have prepared early. That was pretty much the only part I caught from her speech; the rest just flew right over my head.

My mind kept wondering about the comfortable bed I was pulled from. How contented I would be if I was lying under those covers with Edward right next to me. But in reality, he wouldn't be, because right now he was being an asshole.

I needed to forget about him for today. I was a woman on a mission and thinking about him would've just made me paranoid.

What if he is right? What if it isn't safe?

"Bella, are you even listening to me?" Alice asked.

I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I had forgotten she was in the room.

"Sorry, Alice. I was thinking about something else. What did you say?" She gave me a sympathetic look.

"Are you thinking about Edward? He'll come around. He's just not used to things not going his way. Don't worry about it. Just do what you need to do; the rest will fall into place," she said with a shrug and a smile. This family and their cryptic messages were starting to rub me the wrong way. Why couldn't they just tell me plainly and save all the Zen lessons?

"Now, turn towards the mirror and let me know what you think," she said, rocking on the balls of her feet.

"Alice, I'm sure you did fine. I just want to get this…" I trailed off, unable to finish. To say I was speechless would've been an understatement.

When she started the makeover, I was not allowed to look. She had showed me the clothes, which I was hesitant about. I thought they were too revealing for an interview. But now, looking at myself in the mirror, I looked like a completely different person. If Royce truly had any notion of how I looked, the changes in my appearance would throw him off completely.

My once long hair was now cropped to my shoulders. Alice had placed caramel color highlights, lightening up the brown just a bit. She had pinned half my hair up leaving the rest loose. And I actually had bangs; never in my life had I thought that would look good on me, but it did.

I was wearing a pair of black slacks with a beige button down blouse. I had to admit the clothes hugged my frame perfectly. Alice left the top buttons of the blouse open, showing a little cleavage but not overtly so. It was all paired off with beige suede pumps.

My make-up was flawless. I thought she had over done it, since she had spent almost thirty minutes doing it. But it was light and airy, with different shades of browns to accent my eyes. I actually looked and felt beautiful for the first time in my life.

I turned to look at Alice and she had the biggest grin on her face. "I love it," I whispered, fighting back the tears. "I don't even look like myself."

"Now, don't start crying. Just because you have waterproof mascara doesn't mean the rest of you is waterproof. Let's go downstairs and show everyone my masterpiece." Alice jumped and sauntered over to open the door. "After you madam," she said as she bowed her head.

"Stop being so dramatic, you're making me nervous," I said as I walked past her.

Making my way down the stairs was easier than I thought it would be in these shoes. As I reached the living room, I searched for Edward, hoping he had changed his mind. To my disappointment, he wasn't there.

Jasper and Emmett were looking at a floor plan of what I assumed was the bank. They looked like they were preparing for a heist instead of a simple interview.

Alice walked in front of me and cleared her throat. "So, what do you guys think? Is she hot or what?"

Everyone's head snapped in my direction, I felt my face heat up at the attention. Emmett's eyes were as wide as saucers. "If Edward doesn't get his head out of his ass, he is going to have a lot of problems," Emmett said with a smirk.

"You have out done yourself, Alice. She looks fantastic. I love the shoes, Bella." Rosalie nodded her head.

"She looks beautiful. But we have to get this show on the road. Bella, the person doing your interview is the branch manager. His name is Jacob Black. He's twenty-nine years old. He has been working for the bank for ten years. He also has a Masters in Business. He graduated from UW. You got that so far?" Jasper asked, looking at me with a smile. I guessed it was his attempt at making me feel comfortable.

"Black, twenty-nine, UW; got it." At least I hoped I'd remember when it actually mattered.

Emmett still had the smirk in place as he walked towards me. "You look scared. You're going to be all right. We will be with you the entire time. This is your earpiece. I haven't been able to find you a kick ass nick name yet so for now, let's just call you B." I smiled up at him as he placed the earpiece in place.

"Black is known for his flirtatious ways, so I recommend you use your attributes and charm. From what I've gathered, he has a thing for brunettes, so I'm glad Alice didn't go overboard with the hair dye," he finished with a wink.

"Wait, you want me to seduce him? How am I supposed to do that?"

Were they serious?

"It's simple, Bella. Just think he's Edward and you're trying to get in his pants. Now, your name is Camilla Harrison. You're twenty-five years old. You're new in town. Here's your purse. In that purse are your passport, identification, social security, credit cards and cash, as well as a cell phone," Rosalie said in a hurry.

"Where am I from? And why can't I just be myself?" I asked overwhelmed with all the information they were throwing at me. I couldn't even think clearly.

"Seriously? You can't be yourself because if something goes down, Camilla doesn't exist; Bella Swan does. And you're from Florida. Please make sure you do not tell him or anyone anything about you. That would only get you caught and killed. Do you understand?" Rosalie had a stern look on her face as she said this.

"Yes, I understand," I smiled but it was forced. The reality of what I was about to do was weighing down on me. I looked towards the stairs to see if Edward was there, but he wasn't. I really wanted him here with me. Something about him, about having him near me made me calm. Right now I needed all the calm I could get. I needed him to tell me everything was going to be fine.

Edward POV

"Edward, man, you have to go talk to her," Jasper practically begged.

I shook my head with a chuckle. "I'm still holding onto hope that maybe if I ignore her, she will come to her damn senses. Then maybe, she wouldn't be fucking doing this."

I was pathetic. It had been a week since I'd seen her. I'd hidden in my room like the weak little boy I was acting like.

"You know, you sound like a fucking hypocrite," Emmett said as he entered the room. "You allowed Alice and Rose to go on all these dangerous jobs: burning buildings, being shot at, and so forth. But yet, Bella wants to help you gain some information, and you're going ape shit crazy."

Emmett went to go sit on the bed, eating a damn banana.

"You've finally decided to grace us with your presence, Bomb Boy?" I chided petulantly. "It's different. She's innocent, and we all know Alice loves to do crazy shit. Rose...she's another story all together. The most daring thing Bella has done was to dye someone's hair green." They just weren't getting my point.

"Um, Edward, I hate to burst the little bubble you're currently living in, but that little 'innocent' girl cussed both your sisters out and stabbed one. For shit's sake, she even tried to beat Emmett up. He's one foot and a half taller than her. So don't come and tell me that she's innocent. Unless you're referring to her 'innocence' behind closed doors," Jasper said, shaking his head exasperatingly.

"I'm going to ignore that last comment. I just…" I sighed and sat next to Bomb Boy. "I feel like this is my fault. I keep thinking that if I would've left her alone, that she wouldn't be doing this. She would be walking down the street without a care in the world. But yet, here she is entering enemy ground." I shook my head and laughed. "I'm pathetic."

"Yes. Yes, you are. Why don't you think about it this way, how much money did she have on her? Did she even know where she was going?" I looked at Emmett, I knew where he was going with this and I did not like it one bit. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe you were supposed to meet her there? That if you hadn't, she'd be homeless right about now, or maybe even worse: in a ditch somewhere because she trusted the wrong person. No offense, Eddie, but if she was naïve enough to get in the car with you, she would have done it with anyone. At least she's safe. What she's about to do is nothing compared to what we have done in the past."

"And, don't you think it would make her feel so much better if you were there helping her through it? If you were there to tell her what she's doing is easy?" Emmett looked at me. He was waiting for me to respond.

I didn't know what to say. I knew he was right. No matter which way I looked at it, he was right. I just never expected this to come out of Emmett's mouth; Jasper's, maybe, but never Emmett's. I looked at him for a moment longer until he raised his eyebrow at me. I couldn't answer him.

I glanced at Jasper and he looked disappointed. I stared down at my hands, trying to come up with something to say but nothing would come out.

Jasper sighed. "Emmett, we need to get going if we're planning on briefing Bella in thirty minutes. Ali should already be done. Edward, if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

"Just, keep her safe please," I whispered.

"She'd be safer if you were with us," Emmett said as he exited the room.

I sat there for fifteen minutes or so, contemplating if I should go downstairs. I decided I would just go and see how she was handling everything, then I would retreat back to my cave.

I made my way downstairs, careful not to make any noise. From where I was standing, I could see and hear Jasper giving her the information about the bank manager. She looked amazing. Alice really out did herself. The clothes she had on fit her so perfectly. They accentuated her figure. She kept fingering the necklace she had on as she listened to them. That little action made me focus on the swell of her breasts that were barely visible, but still there, calling my name. I shook my head to try and get the image out of my mind.

I looked at her eyes. There were so many emotions passing through those chocolate orbs. They kept darting from the stairs to Rosalie, as she explained her cover name.

She was looking for me…

I should be there. I should be the one explaining all these things to her. I willed my legs to move but they were stuck in place. I was scared. For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't reassure her if I couldn't even reassure myself.

Bella POV

The drive to the bank was tense. Emmett, Alice and Rosalie were in one car while Jasper and I were in another. I kept listening to everyone speak and tell me all these different things; from code words to things I could and couldn't say, it was all very overwhelming. But, it was too late to back out now. I needed to be strong. Emmett said this was easy so I chose to believe him.

Thirty minutes later, Jasper and I pulled up to branch where my interview was supposed to happen. It was one o' clock.

"Everything will be fine. You know that, right? We would not let anything happen to you. This part is simple. You just have to get the job and if you don't, it will be okay; we will find another way." Jasper smiled warmly at me.

"You know, that's exactly what Edward said to me the night he was shot. He said casing the building was the simple part. I don't think he considers that easy anymore."

"That might be true, but this isn't a set up. If I thought your life was in danger, I would've never agreed to let you do this. I would never forgive myself for putting Edward through that. He would kill me if I let anything happen to you. Even if he isn't here because he chose to be an idiot, he cares a lot about you and your well being. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, I get it." I smiled because I didn't know what else to do.

"Do you? I've never seen Edward act this way towards anyone. To me, it's obvious how he feels about you, whether he's letting you see it or not. In time, you'll see it too." He had a serious expression, and his eyes never left mine.

I didn't know how to respond to that. If he really did feel anything for me, he wouldn't have acted the way he did, would he?

"Now, are you ready to get this show on the road?" he asked with a big grin on his face, the serious expression from a few seconds ago gone. "You'll love this, Bella. Just wait until you do an actual heist with us. You will be hooked."

At that I laughed. "I'm as a ready as I'll ever be. And I can't wait." I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm.

Here goes nothing…

I entered the bank and I swear I radiated a confidence I didn't really possess. Everyone smiled at me, and I smiled back. I walked up to the counter in the middle where a petite brunette sat.

I smiled at her. "Hi, I have an interview at one thirty with Mr. Black."

"Oh, you must be Camilla. I'm Angela," she said with a smile. "I'll tell Jake you're here. It's a good thing you're early; Jake's been itching to leave." Angela picked up the phone and called someone.

As she was talking on the phone, I took a chance to look at my surroundings. I could hear Emmett telling me to look where each camera was and where the blind stops seemed to be.

There was one by the door, looking towards the counter. There was one in the far left corner looking towards the front door, and another on the far right also looking towards the front door. There were a total of five teller stations; a camera behind each one. On the right side were five offices in the wall. I couldn't be sure if there were cameras in them. On the left side of the last teller station was a door that seemed to lead to the vault. There was one camera angled at the door.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man in a black business suit walking towards me. I turned to look at him straight on. He had a huge smile on his face, showing me his pearly whites. He was as tall as Emmett, and maybe even as buff. He had short cropped hair and russet skin. His eyes were dark and he walked with a swagger, as if he owned the place. He was an attractive man, just not really my type. He radiated cockiness, like he deserved anything and everything.

"Mrs. Harrison, you're early. That's good, I'm Jacob but you can call me Jake." He extended his hand.

"Hi, you can call me Camilla, please, and it's Miss." I gave him a full blown smile.

"Well, that's good to know," Jake said with what I thought was his panty dropping smile.

Sorry sweetheart, that won't work on me.

His eyes roamed my body; he appeared hungry. It took everything I had in me not to roll my eyes at him.

Disgusting pig…

I could hear Emmett laughing in the background before he spoke, "Calm down there, Tiger; you are doing wonderfully. You can shoot him later."

I wanted to flip him off. I guessed Jasper had already tapped into their security cameras.

"If you would follow me please, Camilla." The way he said the name sent a shiver down my spine, and not in a good way.

He led me to the last office on the right, the one near the teller stations. The office had two windows, one that looked outside and another that looked towards the lobby. This office had a small camera in the far left corner.

"Please, have a seat." He motioned me towards one of the chairs. He closed the door behind him and reached over and closed the blinds.

Why do I feel like I'm being closed in?

He walked over and sat behind the desk, pulling out a stack of papers.

"How did you hear about this position?" he asked, his ridiculous smile never leaving his face.

"I found it on a website while I was job hunting before I came to Seattle." I heard Rosalie telling me to say it was close to where I was staying. "Plus, it's close to where I live."

"Oh good, I see that you live over on Eighth Avenue. It is quite close. How do you like those apartments?" Was that something he should be asking?

"They are quite lovely. They have the most amazing view." I heard Rosalie approve of what I had just said.

"I see you've worked at another financial institution back in Florida. How would you describe your experience there?" he asked, looking up at me. I got the strange feeling that he knew something I didn't.

I stared at him for a few seconds before answering, "It was interesting. You meet and deal with a lot of people. One thing I did learn was that you need to have patience. You need to be courteous and you also need to smile a lot," I answered with a smile.

I noticed his eyes kept lingering on my chest, maybe it was because I kept playing with the necklace Alice had given me. I didn't know what it was but he was starting to irk me the wrong way. He would occasionally lick his lips and smile. So I would bite my lip and would look up at him through my lashes every time I had to answer a question.

It seemed to be working because I thought I saw him adjust himself a couple of times.

The interview went on for twenty minutes and those were the longest twenty minutes of my life.

"Well, everything seems to be good. You're credit history is excellent. No criminal history, great recommendations from your previous employers. I say, we are in good standings. I will give you a phone call at around three o' clock to let you know if you got the job. I have to talk to the big people first," he said, once again giving me his signature smile. I fought the urge to gag.

"Thank you for your time. And I hope to hear from you." I shook his hand and turned towards the door, swaying my hips slightly from side to side.

I waved bye to Angela and made my way outside. Jasper was already waiting there for me, with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I had to ask because all this damn smiling was getting on my last nerve.

"Because you did fucking great; better than I thought you would for your first time. And I'm glad you didn't stab him with the pencil. You kept eying it, I was getting a little worried." He chuckled as he spoke.

"Jasper, I'm not stupid enough to stab someone in a place full of people. No matter how disgusting that man was. But on the plus side, I think I got the job," I said with a shrug.

"Oh, I think you got more than just the job," Jasper said as he maneuvered his way through the busy Seattle streets.

At three o' clock on the dot, Mr. Pig called me. He confirmed I got the job and asked if I could start on Wednesday. I told him yes and I would see him bright and early at eight thirty in the morning.

When I told everyone I got the job, Alice was jumping up and down stating that we had to go shopping for a lot more clothes. I had to remind her that this wasn't permanent, but she didn't listen.

The next day we went shopping for some office clothes. Six hours later, I had enough clothes to dress an entire continent. I did have to admit the clothes we got were beautiful and I couldn't wait to try them on.

Wednesday came and went very quickly. I arrived at the bank at eight fifteen to find Jake already there waiting for me. Once inside, I was given a badge and code to get inside the building, and I was introduced to all the employees. Not all of them were very welcoming. There was a teller - I believed her name was Leah - who kept giving me what I assumed was the dirtiest look she could muster, but to me she just looked constipated. I smiled brightly at her and followed behind Jake.

As I suspected, the door to the left of the teller line led to the vault and the safety deposit boxes. Emmett had told me the floor plan he had acquired didn't seem to be current. He told me to try and pay close attention to the smallest detail.

"So, that's all. I'm going to have you shadow one of the girls for today and tomorrow I'll teach you how to use the copy machine and safety deposit area. Do you have any plans for lunch?" I looked at him trying to figure out what to say. I really did not want to spend more time than I had to with this idiot.

I could hear everyone yelling at once in my ear. The guys were saying no and the girls were saying yes. Emmett started telling me to think about Edward. And I did.

"No, I don't. Why do you ask?" I practically purred the words.

Jake licked his lips and smiled at me. "Would you like to join me for lunch? There's a little café down the street-they have amazing food."

"I would love to. Maybe you could tell me a little more about yourself."

Now, I still need help coming up with an Emmett nickname for Bella. Anyone has any suggestions?

Comments? Concerns? Questions?

Make sure to head over and read "The Betty Chronicles". You won't regret it!

See ya!

Neliz ;D