A/N: I just want to thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story. It means a lot to me. Happy reading!

Song for this chapter: Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran

10. Everything Has Changed

Edward POV:

My body was screaming at me to stay in bed when my alarm went off in the morning, making me wish that I had taken a day before going back to work. The sleep that I had gotten last night hadn't been good, I found myself waking up every hour and taking a long time to get back to sleep. Today was going to be torturous to get through, filled with me forcing my eyes to stay open.

I quickly showered, rushing to make sure that I wasn't going to be late. I skipped shaving, not having any time to spare, that would have to come later. Coffee, I was in need of it severely, but didn't have the time to get any before I left the house. Rush hour getting to the office was a bitch, a complete stand still. There was no getting around it, I was going to be late. My hand came down on the steering wheel in frustration. Today was already fantastic.

"How was the vacation?" Felix appeared by my side as soon as I got off the elevator.

"It was good." my feet were carrying me quickly to my office.

"I didn't actually think that you would come in today."

I walked into me office, turning on the lights and my computer. "I had to, we have that very important meeting, remember?"

He sat down on the couch in the corner, "Like you have anything to worry about. You already have them eating out of your hand."

I sat down in my chair and signed into our system, "I don't want anything to fuck this up. This merger could do great things for both sides. It is important that everything goes as planned."

"Have faith, Eddie." God, I hated when he called me Eddie. "It will all be fine."

"I wish that I had your confidence."

"See ya at ten." he got up and buttoned his jacket, leaving the room, forgetting to close the door behind him which was a big pet peeve of mine.

I messaged Bree, my assistant, asking her if she would mind getting me some coffee from the break room. I hated asking her to do things that I could easily do myself, but this morning I had too much that I had to get done before the meeting with Denali Inc., it was imperative that it went smoothly.

"One of those mornings?" Bree walked in carrying a very large cup in her hands, the steam coming off of the contents inside.

"Thank you," I greedily took the cup from her, taking a sip that burned my tongue in the process. "And yes."

"I figured," she crossed her arms. "You were late, you're never late."

I took another sip, a smaller one this time. "Sleep was not my friend last night."

"Why didn't you take another day?"

I sighed. I should have suspected that I was going to get this question. "Meeting."

"Right." she looked at her feet, "The conference room is already set up."

"Thank you."

I have known Bree since college. We met in math class freshmen year, and when I opened my business in a small one room office, she had been the first person I hired because I knew that she was reliable, and miraculously she hasn't left.

"You're welcome. Is there anything else that you need?"

"No. Thank you, Bree."

I sat at my desk for the next hour making sure that the presentation was free of typos, that was the last thing that we needed to happen. By the time that I walked into the conference room to meet Felix, I was relaxed.

"Nervous?" I eyed him fixing his tie that looked fine to me.

He gave me a look, "I might be feeling the pressure now."

I laughed, becoming serious when Bree knocked on the door.

"They're here, should I send them in?"

I took a deep breath, "Yes, please."

Felix and I watched as a woman with blonde hair and man with dark hair entered the room, their suits perfectly pressed, no hairs out of place. Damn, I was nervous again.

"Mr. Cullen, Mr. Jones," the woman spoke, "I am Jane Volturi and this is Alec. Mrs. Denali apologizes that she is not able to make, something came up and she wasn't able to leave the office so she sent us instead if that is okay. She wishes to set up another meeting for a face to face with her for later in the week."

"That's fine," some of the pressure I had been feeling went away, helping me feel like I could breath. "Please, sit. We have things that we would like to discuss.

Felix and I gave each other a look as we sat at the table, going into the meeting that could change everything.

&7&

Bella POV:

My head was resting on my hand as I listened to the professor drone on and on, mindlessly taking notes. English was the class that usually enraptured me, but not today; I just couldn't get my head here. Everyone here today seemed to be having the same problem as me, no one really seemed to be paying attention. The excitement for graduation as high, many of their brains already checked out.

"Don't forget that your papers are due next class," Mr. Black dismissed the class at noon.

I sighed, putting my things back into my bag. Today was dragging, the last few hours in this class felt like eternity. I was supposed to go back to normal, but nothing about any of it felt normal.

"Hi, Bella," Claire, one of my classmates came to me, a smile on her face. She was always nice and I liked her, she was one of the few people that I considered a friend.

"Hi, Claire."

"I noticed you were gone the last few weeks and I just wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong." Didn't I mention that she was nice?

"Nothing is wrong," I threw my bag over my shoulder, "I just went on vacation. It was spur of the moment."

She nodded her head as we headed out of the large classroom, "Some of us are getting together tonight at Mickey's, a small bar downtown, and I don't know if you have a class tomorrow or not, but I just wanted to invite you in case you were able to come."

I bit my lip, thinking over the offer. I didn't have classes on Tuesdays and I figured what the hell.

"Okay, I would love to come." I smiled at Claire, but it faded quickly when I saw who was coming down the hall. It was none other than James, he was so sleazy and disgusting. We had had an unfortunate encounter when I was on a job and he hadn't let his intentions be a secret. He thought that what I was doing wasn't what it was.

"Bella," James greeted as he walked by, giving my body a once over, giving me a wink.

I shivered when he disappeared around a corner. "He won't be there, right?"

Claire shook her head, giving me a look of disgust, "No, I can't think of anyone that is a big fan of his. I'll meet you tonight at eight?"

"I'll be there."

We waved our goodbyes, going in separate directions in the parking lot. When I got back to the apartment, it was empty. Jessica and Angela were both gone on what I assumed were jobs, so I had the whole place to myself and I couldn't remember the last time that had happened.

I sat on the couch, my school books spread out around me. The TV was on for background noise, some talk show was on where the people were arguing over the paternity of their child. I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous it made them seem.

I drummed my fingers against my laptop trying out how to start my paper, my mind continually coming up blank. Frustrated, I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to get my brain to start thinking for me, but it wasn't working. My laptop closed with a loud slam, my frustration getting the better of me. I needed to focus or I wasn't going to get anything done. I needed to focus, not just on my schoolwork, but on living my life. My life didn't stop just because he wasn't here, I wasn't that type of person, I wouldn't let myself be that type of person. A night out was exactly what I needed tonight to clear my head.

"A gin and tonic, please." the bartender nodded to me, letting me know that he heard me.

"You're a lot braver than I am." Claire finished her drink. "I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll be here." I took the drink that had been set in front of me, memories coming back to me as I stirred it with my straw.

A cold feeling ran through me when someone ran their finger down my arm.

"Hello, Bella." James's calloused hand wrapped around my arm, making me gulp.

&7&

Edward POV:

Felix knocked on my door, walking in before I invited him. It was well after seven and I was more than ready to go home.

"Damn," he came and stood in front of where I sat at my desk, "It went great today."

I leaned back in my chair, the screen of my computer going black, "It did."

"We need to celebrate."

"It's a Monday night." I protested, it would not look good if I were to walk into work tomorrow drunk.

Felix shook his head, giving me a disapproving look. "Since when did you become a grandpa? Just one drink."

I sighed, "Fine." I didn't see me being able to get out of here if I didn't agree. "Just one drink."

"You won't regret it."

We ended up in a bar around the corner from our office and it was packed for a Monday night. College students filled the small space, their laughter was loud the excitement with the impending end of the school year fueling their escapades.

"I'll meet you at the bar." Felix yelled to me over the noise, his eyes glued to a girl tht was sitting alone at a table in the corner. I wasn't going to be seeing him again.

I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows, walking to the bar, making sure not to run into anyone. The last thing that I wanted was someone pissed that I spilled their drink, or someone thinking that I wanted to get laid. A couple at the end of the bar caught my eye, the guy leaning close the girl, his hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Come on, you know you'll like it." the guy's voice was low, sinister.

"James, get off of me." she worked her wrist free, pushing the guy away from her. "Just leave me alone."

Anger surged through my veins when I saw Bella standing there looking terrified at the guy that was standing in front of her.

"Swan, we all know that's what you do." he stepped closer to her and that's when I snapped.

My hand landed hard on his shoulder, turning him to face me.

"I think that she said no."

James sneered at me, "I think that you should mind your own business."

"And I think that you should leave her alone. In fact, I don't think that you should touch her again." I shoved him back roughly, "Go." my voice was harsh, unrecognizable to my ears. If he didn't leave, I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

I turned back to Bella who was just standing there in shock looking at me. Angry tears were coming down her face, shaking her head as she turned and walked away, and on instinct, I followed after her.

&7&

Bella POV:

I walked purposefully to my car, humiliated about what had happened with James. I just wanted to go home, I was just happy that Edward was there when he was.

"Bella," Edward caught up to me easily in the parking lot, slowing when he was at my side.

I wiped my tears away, "What are you doing here?" I looked at him confused. We were off to a great start at this whole playing cool thing. We'd already run into each other.

"I'm here with a friend."

I nodded, walking the last little bit to my car in the darkened part of the lot. My body started to shake as I cried, everything that had just occurred really hitting me. Without a word, Edward took me into his arms. I melted into him, it had been less than twenty-four hours and I'd missed this more than I should.

"Are you going to be okay ?" his voice was soft, making my arms wrap around him tighter.

"Yeah, I just want to go home." I pulled away from him, wiping my eyes.

"Okay," he stepped back from me. "Call me when you get home, okay?"

The loss of contact, while necessary, made the pain that I was feeling even worse. I wanted nothing more than for him to comfort me, but we couldn't get caught. One wrong person seeing us and it would all be over.

"I will," I agreed.

"I'll see you soon." he started to back away, his hand clenching into fists as if he were forcing himself to leave.

"I'll see you soon."

The next day, I walked into work, Lauren smiling at me with the stupid gum still in her mouth.

"Good morning, Bella."

"Good morning, Lauren," I walked up to the desk, my hands coming the rest on top of the surface. "What have I said about the gum?" I kept my voice kind to hide the frustration that I was feeling at seeing her once again chomping on the gum.

She blushed, throwing the gum away. "Sorry."

"It's a learning process." I smiled at her to hopefully make her feel better.

"Alice wants to see you in her office."

My heart started racing and my hands instantly were shaking. "What about?"

She shrugged, "She took a man into her office."

I gulped, "Thank you."

I made my way down the hall, taking a deep breath as I opened the dark wood door. What I found there was not what I was expecting. A man with blonde hair was standing with Alice in front of her desk, obviously in deep conversation and Alice was... crying. This was definitely not normal.