A/N Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 10

I was up, awake and out of the apartment by five-thirty on Monday morning, and I wasn't even going to yoga. I laughed silently to myself, thinking about the fact that I'd plenty of physical activity over the last few days. I wanted to be at the store by six in order to walk the store before Michael got there at eight. I still had a few reports to go over since I had just briefly looked at them last night. I made a quick stop at Starbucks on my way in, craving caffeine like the addict that I was.

I was taking a drink of my latte at the counter when a man approached me, attempting to make trite conversation about the stock market. Apparently, he was a broker named James. He was handsome, in his own right, I suppose. Tall, blonde, blue eyes; we all know the type. Five days ago, I might have engaged him in conversation, but not today. Somewhere, in an apartment across town, the most beautiful man in the world was sleeping and hopefully, dreaming of me. The thought of Edward dreaming of me, made me giddy, like a schoolgirl. I quickly excused myself from the man and proceeded to make my way out of the coffee shop. As I was leaving, I noticed him watching me.

When I got to the store, the support team was already there getting ready to start their day. I spoke with our Operations manager, Tyler, and he walked me through the merchandise flow for the week. Deliveries were coming fast and furious, and that pace would continue through Christmas. I was impressed with his plan and told him that when I did the walk-thru with Michael, I wanted him to take some time to go over his plans for fourth quarter as well.

Just as I expected, Angela had the store in perfect condition. She really was very good at her job, and I would have to make sure I thanked her later. I still felt slightly guilty for having been off over the weekend, but I understood that this was good for her growth and development. I made my way back down to the executive office and checked to ensure that the conference room was set up for Michael. I also checked to see if Angela had stocked the refrigerator with Diet Coke as he requested. She had, and once again, I felt fortunate to have such a dedicated and thorough partner in the store.

I went to my office to go over the reports and make sure that the packets for the visit were prepared. Michael liked things a certain way and he was nothing, if not regimented in his approach to all things business. I liked to think that, after working for him for so long, I had adopted the same discipline and attention to detail that he possessed. He truly had been a good leader and, most importantly, a great teacher. I never wanted to disappoint him.

It was almost seven-thirty and my executive team would be in early for the morning meeting at eight. Michael had emailed me over the weekend to let me know that he would be joining us for the meeting. I checked my make-up and hair in the little mirror I kept in my desk and headed to the conference room to prepare. As I was placing the packets on the table, the coffee and pastries I'd ordered for this morning were delivered. Pretty soon after, the executive team began to filter in and took their places.

I walked out into the main office to greet Michael, since I knew he would be arriving at any moment. Just as I was entered the hall, I saw him approaching. He was wearing a dark grey suit, looking polished as ever. Michael Newton embodied every all-American quality you could think of in a man. He was attractive. He had sandy-blonde hair and an athletic build. He looked young for his age, though I'd never really asked him how old he was. I'd always assumed he was in or around his early to mid-thirties. His smile was warm and comforting. I smiled brightly, happy to see him.

"Good morning, Michael," I said warmly.

"Good morning, Bella," he said, taking in my appearance. "You look well."

I was wearing a black skirt that was cut on the bias and gathered in the back right at my waist. I had paired it with a crisp white woven shirt with long sleeves and high collar. It was sharp and tailored and fit me perfectly. I thought, briefly, about the fact that I used to be the girl in jeans and a tee-shirt. It's funny how things change as you get older. As I grew up, I learned to embrace the femininity and curves of my body, and I like dressing to accentuate them. Alice had been so proud when I'd made this change.

"Thank you," I replied. "You look well too."

"Are we all set?"

"Yes sir, of course."

The meeting went exceedingly well and lasted precisely thirty minutes. I led the meeting, the same as I always did. Michael gave a brief business overview and discussed long-term strategy for the stores in his region. I watched the various reactions to his words as my team listened to what he was saying. I found that how they responded to what he said would be indicative of how they would approach helping me make the store successful. I needed the store to be successful. So many people thought that I couldn't handle this job, and I was determined to prove them all wrong.

After the meeting, Michael and I met briefly in my office. He sat down across the desk from me and I noticed that he had amused look on his face.

"I walked the bottom floor before I came to the meeting," he said with a smile. "I'll bet you were here all weekend preparing for today."

"Actually," I laughed. "I was off this weekend."

"Wow, I'm impressed."

"Me too," I said. "Angela was the senior here this weekend. She's very good Michael. I hope you spend some time with her today. As much as I'd hate to lose her, I think that by next year she'll be ready for the next step."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "I thought you would want to keep her around for a little while longer."

"Well, I would hate to lose her partnership, but a wise man once told me, 'Good leaders promote their people.'"

He smiled as I quoted the words he's told me almost four years ago and something crossed his face, pride maybe. I couldn't be sure.

"You might not have been here over the weekend, but I'll bet you were here at the crack of dawn," he said knowingly and I had to laugh. He really did know me well.

The rest of the morning went just as scheduled. We were able to complete the entire walk-thru of the first floor before lunch and I had about thirty minutes to spare. Michael was already setting himself up in the conference room and I took the opportunity to head to my office and check my email and pull today's business. My iPhone chirped on my desk and I saw that I had a text from Edward.

"Hope your day is going well…can't stop thinking about you."

I grinned and started typing my response.

"Today's been productive and good. Thank you for hoping."

I purposely didn't address his last comment. I was hoping to elicit a response from him. It worked.

"And?"

I laughed at his predictable yet completely adorable response, but I was done toying with him.

"And…I can't stop thinking about you either."

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Absolutely. Pick me up at 7."

"Pack a bag. You will be staying with me tonight."

"Bossy much?"

"You seemed to like me bossy last night."

Suddenly, memories of last night flooded my mind. Edward had been hard and commanding. I was so turned on by the way he's spoken to me. He'd gotten me to do things…say things…I never thought I was capable of. Oh God, I did like him bossy! I felt the flush creeping over my chest and up to my face. I couldn't think about this now…here. I texted back.

"Yes sir! Heading to a meeting. See you tonight."

"I'm counting the minutes."

I walked to the conference room, not even bothering to hide my smile.

The conference call was long and intense. There was a lot of information to go through, the company was getting more aggressive with promotions and was investing a lot more in advertising leading into the holidays. It felt strange to be on the call with Michael sitting directly in front of me. I was usually alone in my office for these things. I did what I would normally do, as I was taking notes and writing in my planner the whole time.

I would have to have a planning meeting with Angela and Tyler to ensure that we were prepared to handle the additional workload. I budgeted a small amount of money for holiday support staffing, but not as much as the store had spent last year. My plan was to spend the extra money we had available on sales staff, instead. My theory being that customer service and selling had to take precedence. If we were going to be profitable, we would not only have to make sales plan, but we would also have to flex spending as much as possible.

During the call, I noticed Michael looking at me with a peculiar expression. He was speaking, so I couldn't ask him what he was thinking, if anything was wrong. I focused myself and continued to take notes and plan the upcoming weeks. A few moments later, he motioned his head towards my note pad and reached his hand out as if he wanted me to hand it to him. I reached it across the table and watched as he effortlessly read my notes and lead the call simultaneously. Yes, he was the master of multi-tasking. I listened in horror as he said my name.

"As you know, I'm working in the downtown store today with Bella and her team. She has put together a solid plan for fourth quarter and, even though we haven't finished walking fourth quarter setup, I'm fairly certain that the store is one hundred percent complete. That is something that most of my other locations have yet to finish."

Great! People really are going to think he's fucking me!

I felt the blood rush to my face as emotions of mortification and pride battled inside me. He continued speaking.

"After looking over her plan, I am asking her to put together a list of her best-practices and she will be presenting it," he looked at me to confirm my response, without pausing. I nodded in agreement, stunned. "to all General Managers and VPs at the annual Holiday Meeting in two weeks."

Michael continued on, much to my realization and subsequent shock. After the call was over, he looked over at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry to have sprung that on you with no advance warning, but, Bella, your planning, from what I can tell, is flawless. If everyone approaches this season with the same determination and strategic thinking, we could end up in the black. And in this economy, that would be quite an accomplishment."

"You're right. I know you're right," I said, resigned to the fact that this was happening, and secretly, completely happy that he had chosen me to do it." I deserved this kind of recognition.

"This will be good for your career, Bella," he said matter-of-factly. "Some of the board members will be there. This will give you the kind of exposure to them that you need in order to move forward. Your professional record speaks for itself, but I know that you're well aware that politics play a huge part in being promoted once you get to a certain level."

I thought about what he said, knowing that he was right. I knew that I was more than capable of doing this and I was beginning to realize that it didn't matter what people would think. Of course, it still pissed me off to a great degree, but I knew the truth. I wasn't going to allow anyone to diminish this for me with their disgusting assumptions. I suddenly had the urge to tell Edward my good news. It surprised me that I would think of him in that moment, but I wanted to celebrate my good news with him. I couldn't wait until dinner.

**************

The rest of the afternoon went amazingly well. Michael finished walking set-up and was pleased with the outcome. He spent some time with Angela talking about career planning and offered her some advice on what she still needed to work on, as well as meeting with Tyler and giving him praise for the outstanding job that he was doing. He did a roundtable with my executive staff in the afternoon, aligning them to the priorities of the company. I watched as they listened to what he said, and asked bright and thoughtful questions. I was so proud of my team and, if I'm being honest, I was more than a little proud of myself.

As the day wore on, I found myself looking at my watch, counting the minutes until seven, just like Edward said he would be. I realized that, for the first time in a long time, I was completely happy, both personally and professionally. This was something that had eluded me for my entire adult life; happiness in one, usually meant sacrifice in the other. I had always chosen my career over everything in my personal life. I'd left friends behind for promotions and had basically given up any hope of having a romantic relationship. That had all changed now. Alice was moving here in two weeks and would finally be a part of my daily life, not just a phone call here and there or the occasional weekend trip. And then, there was Edward. Edward. Just thinking his name warmed me completely. I knew it was too early in the relationship to be thinking like this, but I couldn't help but think that I had finally found someone that I was willing to make it work with, willing to make sacrifices for.

I popped into the conference room at a little before five to check in with Michael one last time before he left. He looked up as he typed on his laptop.

"Hey," he said. "I was thinking maybe we could go get a drink and discuss the Holiday Meeting in further detail."

"Um," I started. I had my date with Edward and he was picking me up at seven. He seemed to pick up on my hesitation.

"It's just that I know I won't be able to make it back down to the store before the meeting, but if you have plans, I completely understand."

I thought about what he said. It was only five and that would give me plenty of time to have a drink with him and make it back to my apartment and pack a bag before Edward picked me up. My career was more important than changing clothes and reapplying make-up.

"Well, I do have plans," I explained. "But not until later. A drink would be great. Just let me finish a few things up in my office and I'll meet you at the door in five minutes."

"Great."

I walked back to my office and got my things. I picked up my iPhone and thought about calling Edward, but decided to text him instead, not wanting to bother him if he was still working, but still wanting him to know that I was thinking about him. I looked at the clock and did some quick math in my head.

"116 minutes to go. I'm counting too."

I placed the phone in my purse and headed out to meet Michael.

I decided to take him to a little bar close to my building, that way I could get home quickly when we finished. We sat down at the bar and he ordered a single malt scotch and I ordered a dirty martini. I always drank dirty martinis when I was hungry. I liked to eat the olives. We fell into easy conversation about the day and the upcoming meeting.

"The store is doing great, Bella."

"Thank you," I said. "It wasn't easy at first, but I feel like I've built a solid team that will deliver results."

"I think so too," he agreed. "When we were walking the store today, I was so impressed that you were already completely set."

"Well, you know me. I'm all about flawless execution," I chided.

"You joke, but it was pretty flawless. Do you remember the corporate visit we had in 2005?"

"God yes! How could I forget that?"

In 2005, about six months after I'd started working for him, we had this corporate visit; the kind of visit where everyone who's anyone comes to dissect a store to 'maximize its potential'. Michael was the VP of the store at the time and I was his Assistant Store Manager. We worked two overnights to prepare for the visit. I hadn't really slept more than a couple hours here and there for a little over two days. The morning of the visit, I realized that I didn't even have anything decent to wear since what I was wearing was pretty disgusting from working the night before. I bought a suit and a pair of shoes that morning and did my hair makeup at one of the cosmetic bays. It wasn't perfect, but I have to admit, I pulled it off quite nicely.

"I'll never forget that moment," he said, trying to stifle his laughter. "There we were, walking through Ready to Wear and you passed out, right in the middle of Donna Karan!" He was laughing in full now, and I joined in. "I thought you were going to hit your head on a shop fixture!"

"I was so exhausted, and then horrified once I came to!"

"Yeah, and you just politely excused yourself and went to get a cup of coffee. Before I knew it, you were right next to me in the Men's Store talking about gross margin and product sell-thru, like nothing had even happened."

I was laughing hysterically as I remembered the events of that disastrous day. I was so afraid that I would never be promoted again after that.

"That was when I knew. Did you know that?" he said, suddenly serious.

"When you knew what?" I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes that had formed while I was laughing.

"That was the day I knew exactly how extraordinarily successful you would be in this business."

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a drink of my martini.

"I saw your hard work and determination on that day and the days leading up to that visit. I hadn't seen anyone that driven, actually, well, since myself."

I smiled at his compliment. I knew I was a hard working, dedicated person. It was nice to be validated by someone I respected so much; someone who understood what it is I have to do every day.

"Well, I had a great teacher."

"Thank you," he said as he reached over and put his hand on top of mine. "But, Bella, everything you have achieved is to your own credit. Great leaders are able to inspire their teams to be their best, day in and day out. They also have the ability to make tough decisions that not everyone will agree with, and they can back up those decisions with logical reasoning." He squeezed my hand gently. "You possess all these qualities and numerous more. You, Bella, are truly a great leader. I may have taught you a lot over the years, but that is something you can't learn. That is something you are."

I blushed at his words and he removed his hand from mine, sensing that he'd made me uncomfortable.

"Thank you, Michael. It means a lot that you think so much of me."

Michael's phone rang and he excused himself. I looked down at my watch and saw that it was a little after six. This was perfect. I would make it home in plenty of time to meet Edward. My heart fluttered at the thought of being with him so soon. I glanced around the room, waiting for Michael to return, anxious to leave. Across the bar, I saw a dark haired man looking at me with the most unusual expression. He was striking; very handsome and huge. He continued looking at me, almost like he knew me. I knew I'd never met him before though. The way he was watching me was making me uncomfortable. I looked away from him to the left and the whole world came to a screeching halt.

My heart dropped from my chest.

***************

A/N

Sorry for the cliff…had to be done. *Crossing my fingers that you'll all forgive me.* I know this chapter was a bit shorter than the last few, but to make it up to you, I posted early and will post Chapter 11 on Thursday. See, I really do love you guys!

I got some comments about Bella from the last chapter. Some of you don't understand her deal. Yes, she has issues, but who of us doesn't? I hope this chapter gave you a little more insight into her character.

Please leave me some love and review! I love and respond to them all…and you know you'll get an advance look at the next chapter!

As always, huge thanks and love to my beta, MrsKatyCullen! She's taking time (on her vacation) to beta the next chapter for me, so that I am able to give you an extra chapter this week. Yeah, she's crazy awesome like that!