Chapter 11: Take It to the Next Level
Take it to the Next Level – 1. to elevate or increase 2. to ratchet up; may be used in reference to intensity or performance, but often is thrown out there for effect, leaving the "it" undefined.
AN: Sorry this took so long. I couldn't do this alone – huge thanks to LittleSecret84 and IsabelGrace for pre-reading and to DianaWolfskill for being an awesome beta. I am posting this on birthday as my gift to you, my readers. Thank you.
"Edward we can't do this."
"Bella, we are doing this," Edward responded in a stern voice.
"Edward, I said no. What part of "no" don't you understand?" Bella grew increasingly annoyed at her coworker. She hated how she and Edward were on equal footing at training.
"What part do you object to?" Edward asked.
"I'm not standing up in front of the entire class and doing a skit to demonstrate what we've learned." Bella hadn't gotten much out of the training. Sure, she and Edward had a deeper understanding of one another and had bonded in ways that no other team had at training, but Bella was on guard.
She stopped Edward before they went all the way during their afternoon "partner discovery" session. She wanted him, boy did she want him, but Bella didn't want to appear easy and wanted Edward to work a little. She knew she was being a cock tease, but Bella didn't want their first time together to be at Merit Ridge, either.
She had held him at bay, but with training wrapping up tomorrow, there was still a question about how the two were going to spend their weekend. Bella had always assumed that she and Edward would return to the city on Friday afternoon, when training had concluded, but now she wasn't sure. Edward had mentioned in passing spending the weekend in the country.
Edward raked his lips up Bella's neck to her ear. "Oh, come on, Bella, I'm sure we could teach some of those old fogies a thing or two. That thing you did with your tongue last night was definitely worth sharing."
"Edward!" Bella blushed, recalling how she and Edward had pleasured one another orally last night. Her mind wandered to the feeling of Edward's tongue lapping at her insides as his fingers explored her, each touch bringing her closer to climaxing. "Am I going to have to spank you, you naughty boy?"
"Maybe," he replied, slowly pulling away from Bella. They didn't have to hide their relationship – they had chosen to work on their final pitch-out in Bella's room.
He knew Bella brought up spanking because he had told her the story of how when he was a toddler he had refused to wear his glasses and had to endure a stern spanking by his parents. Bella couldn't believe that Edward's parents had been spankers, but Edward had explained that he had been a terror as a child and that the barbaric practice was the only thing that modified his behavior. Time-outs, he had explained, simply held no consequence for young Edward. She found that hard to believe, but Edward insisted he had been beyond difficult. In fact, his behavior had been the major reason for his only-child status. That was one of the many things the two of them had in common. This shocked Bella; when she had seen his parents' house she made an assumption that his upbringing had differed greatly from hers. In many ways it had, but they shared many of the same likes, dislikes and values.
"I'll negotiate with you," Edward stated.
"I'm intrigued. What are you offering?"
"No skit. Instead we will present a boring PowerPoint presentation on our key takeaways and in exchange you allow me to take you away for the weekend."
"So, you are offering that we do the presentation the way I want to do it and you want to spend the weekend with me? Yes. Yes, I fail to see the downside. I'd call this a win-win situation. I do have one question before we shake on this; where are you taking me?"
"Umm, I haven't made the arrangements yet, but it's a surprise. You have to trust me."
Trust wasn't something that came easily to Bella, but despite her better judgment, she was starting to open herself and her heart to Edward.
Reluctantly, she nodded her head. "Okay, I'll trust you." Her voice wasn't ringing with confidence.
Edward tenderly kissed her forehead. "Then that's that. Now scoot over, and let the PowerPoint Master take over."
Rolling her eyes, Bella pushed her laptop over to Edward. "It's all yours." She stood up. It wasn't like Bella to relinquish control of a project to someone else, but it wasn't as if they were going to be graded on their presentation.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I suddenly have an urge to take a hot shower. You know, lather myself up real good." She licked her lips and smirked.
"No, no, no. Get back here and help me with this. We're a …"
Edward stopped talking as he watched Bella slowly push her pants down and whisk her top over her head. Bella watched as Edward's eyes raked over her body, completely unaware that he was now walking toward her. Bella pivoted around and walked toward the bathroom, shedding her remaining articles of clothing.
"Care to join me?" she called out.
Bella didn't have to wait long. As soon as she stepped into the shower, she was quickly joined by a naked Edward. It didn't take long for his lips to find hers and for other parts of him to seek out their counterparts. When Bella turned around to wash the soap out of her hair, she felt him poking her.
"Edward, not in the shower," she scolded.
He kissed her neck and lathered her back with the soap. Although she enjoyed feeling his growing erection pushing into her back, Bella turned around, hoping that her lips could serve as a distraction from her unwillingness to fully consummate their relationship.
As she moved to her knees and placed Edward in her mouth, Bella couldn't help as her mind started wandering. What is this? Is it a relationship? What happens when we get back to the office? Do I want to be in a relationship with Edward? What would this lead to? This is wrong. Really wrong.
Disregarding her uncertainty, Bella refocused on the task at hand and moved her mouth up and down his hardened shaft. Her tongue flicked along his tip. For a penis, his was as attractive as they come (no pun intended). It wasn't a monster, but it wasn't a roll of quarters.
"Bella, I'm gonna…" Edward cried, running his fingers through her hair.
Instead of moving away and letting his cum get washed down the drain of the shower, Bella held on like a champ as the hot liquid squirted in her mouth. She swallowed it quickly and stood up.
"Amazing. You are amazing," Edward declared, kissing her on the lips,not caring about any snowball effect from residual cum.
After their shower interlude, Bella and Edward dressed and got to worked on their presentation. Bella was amazed at how in-sync they were after only a few days at training.
"Do you really think we should put in a bullet point on our learning styles?"
"Well, I do learn by doing!" Edward exclaimed, kissing Bella on the neck.
Bella looked down, feeling guilty for doubting Edward and his feelings for her. She was unsure how they should proceed, but she had never spent time with someone who made her feel as confident as Edward did. When he was around, all of her insecurities, except for those about her relationship with him, melted away.
Bella yawned as she listened to the other teams present. Most of them said the same things about how their newfound understanding would help productivity, but she knew that wasn't really applicable with her and Edward, since they worked on projects. No, this training had opened the doors to communication.
Bella was still curious about the gaping holes in Edward's past. She knew he had gone to Europe, but was still unsure why. It was very clear to her that he came from money, and while she wasn't used to being around wealth, Edward wasn't the type to overtly throw it around. This week, she suddenly realized his shirts were custom-made and that his laptop bag wasn't standard company issue, but a Tumi messenger bag. He wasn't a braggart at all, like some people she had encountered who had wealth. In fact, if anything, Edward seemed to do everything he could to avoid talking about wealth and his family background.
"Isabella and Edward," the instructor called out.
Bella's heart began to thump louder in her chest. She hated public speaking. No matter how much she practiced, she was always a bit shaky.
"Ed-Ed-Edward and I learned um… about one another this… um…this week. Most importantly we uh learned that communication is um… communication is really important," Bella stuttered, her practiced speech littered with filler words.
She looked over at Edward,who nodded encouragingly toward her. Their eyes met and he took over. Edward went over their lessons learned from each of the training modules and then threw the pitch back over to Bella to close.
When they returned to their seats, Bella was shaking. Placing his hand on her bouncing leg, Edward leaned over and whispered, "You did great. There was nothing to worry about."
Instead of replying, Bella bit her lip and looked down, hoping no one else noticed Edward's hand on her thigh.
Bella was waiting in the lobby as Edward went to retrieve his car when she heard someone call her name.
"Well, if it isn't Isabella Swan." The voice called out.
Bella turned around and found herself face to face with James Woods.
"James, what are you doing up at Merit Ridge?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Corporate training. What'd you get dragged up here for?"
"High-potential team training."
"You are anything but high potential. Who'd you come with?" James looked down at his feet. Bella could tell he was jealous that she had been chosen for this training.
"Edward Cullen, he's my rotationer."
"A rotationer, really? You know, Bella, most people sleep their way to the top, not sleep their way down."
Bella swallowed deeply. James couldn't know, could he? Technically she hadn't slept with Edward, yet. How'd James know? He couldn't, she decided.
"Edward is excelling in this rotation. Sam wanted us to come since we have such great synergy as a team. "Bella wanted to bang her had against a wall once she realized she not only used the word synergy in a sentence, but she had used it to describe her interaction with Edward.
"Bella, there you are. The car's out front and ready to go. I just need you… I mean, your suitcase," Edward said as he came jogging up beside her. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
"No, Edward. This is just James Woods. He and I were rotationers together." Bella carefully gauged James' reaction to Edward. He definitely suspected something was afoot.
"James Woods? Really? That must suck," Edward said, sizing James up as he shook his hand.
"Edward? I've heard about your great synergy with Bella," James retorted snidely.
"She's a great manager – never afraid to give me more responsibility. Isn't one of those people who is threatened by others, but you know Bella. She's a leader amongst leaders."
Bella smiled and tried to hold back her laugher. She knew she was blushing from Edward's compliments, even if he was bloviating.
"Edward, don't get bogged down doing financial valuations. You could really make a name for yourself at corporate when you finish up the rotation."
"I'll keep that in mind, James, but I do enjoy sealing a deal. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, but we've got a long drive ahead of us."
Bella was amazed at how quickly Edward upped his level of snideness to match James'.
"Heading back to the city for the weekend?" James asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Uh, yeah. Where else would we go? Have fun at training," Bella said quickly. She then grabbed her suitcase with one hand and used the other to pull Edward by the forearm toward the door. She didn't bother saying a proper goodbye to James; he wasn't deserving of one.
Edward took the suitcase from Bella and placed it in the trunk. "I take it you don't like James?" he asked, crossing his arms, waiting for an answer.
"He and I have competed for everything since we were both interviewing for the rotationer program. He always seems to rub me the wrong way. Hey, can't we talk about this while we get out of here. I always feel like we are being monitored here."
Once they were both in the car, Edward turned to Bella as he buckled his safety belt. "If James rubs you the wrong way, how do I rub you?"
Bella playfully slapped at Edward's arm. "Where are you taking me?" she asked as Edward made his way to the main highway.
"You'll see." They didn't talk much during the first half of the three-hour long drive. It was a comfortable silence, as they were both tired of talking, despite Bella still having a million questions for Edward.
"Edward, I feel ridiculous asking this, but are we there yet?" Bella shifted in her seat, glad she had gone to the bathroom before they left Merit Ridge.
"Another hour. It'll be worth it though."
Bella felt Edward lightly shaking her. "Hey, sleepyhead, we're here."
Opening her eyes, Bella's gaze set upon a grand white hotel in a picturesque landscape. "Where are we? Is this your palace?"
"Oh, yes, I am a European prince and I have brought you to my palace in upstate New York," Edward deadpanned. "No, it's the Sagamore on Lake George. Sure, we'll have a long drive back on Sunday, but we were already halfway here being at Merit Ridge."
Bella didn't say anything but mentally she was readjusting her monthly budget to accommodate the expenses she would incur this weekend. Ramen noodles for lunch and dinner and I can live under a couple of dollars a day.
Bella followed Edward as he approached the check-in counter. "I have a reservation for a king suite under Cullen."
"Yes, of course, I have the room already paid for, but I need a credit card for incidentals."
Before she could even react, Edward pulled out his wallet and handed over his Amex card to the clerk. Bella had her own Amex card. It was the one with the blue square. Edward's looked more exclusive. "Umm, I thought we were splitting expenses," Bella said, looking up at Edward.
"Don't worry about it. I've got it."
"No."
"Yes, I am. It's no big deal for me."
"And why is that? Oh, yes, your secret life!" Frustrated, Bella walked away from Edward, resolved to slip a check into his suitcase. She sulked her way into a cushiony, overstuffed, leather club chair. Edward didn't follow immediately. As she sat there, Bella's anger and frustration grew. First, she decided there would be no nookie until he told her why he was in Europe, but then she started rethinking being at a resort with Edward altogether.
Edward came up to Bella and dropped to his knees to talk to her face to face. "Bella, let me treat you this weekend. I don't like to throw my money around, but I figured with how crazy work has been, then training, and now this," he motioned to her and him. "I thought you could use a little pampering. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"This whole…." Bella searched for the right word, "relationship is unbalanced. At work, I'm your boss. Out of work you are this top secret jet-setter. Maybe this isn't going to work."
Edward didn't flinch at Bella's words. "Up. Now," he ordered. "You are tired and we are going upstairs to our room to shower and rest and then we will talk."
Bella was a bit taken back by Edward commandeering the situation, but he was in the rotational program and he was definitely demonstrating his leadership skills. Realizing that her own thoughts were annoying and work-related, Bella relented and nodded her head.
"The bellhops took both of our suitcases upstairs already; we're on the 4th floor."
Bella slowly woke up from her much-needed nap to find the room dark and Edward on the bed next to her. She felt more relaxed, but she was still unsure about Edward and their relationship.
"You're up. Want to order room service?" Edward asked. Apparently he hadn't slept as long as she had.
Bella started mentally adding the cost of dinner to her tab for the weekend in her head. If she ordered a salad, it couldn't be that expensive. Could it?
Edward ordered some food, including a salad for Bella. Instead of confronting the now-awkward silence, Edward put on the evening news. Bella went to the bathroom to freshen up. When she came out, the food had arrived.
"I put your salad on the table. We should talk," Edward said. Bella winced at those words. The phrase "we should talk" never turned out well.
They ate quietly for a few minutes before Bella couldn't hold back anymore.
"Edward, this is all happening really fast. We are being reckless here with our careers there are so many implications for us being together. Besides that, you have all of these secrets from me. How can I sleep with you if I still have an underlying fear of catching some strange sexual disease that you got from Paris Hilton or some other heiress while you were in Europe?"
Edward chuckled, "I didn't sleep with Paris Hilton or any other spoiled or unspoiled heiress while I was in Europe. It wasn't really like that for me. Getting back to us. What do we do all day at work, Bella? We measure risk. You know sometimes the riskier the investment the greater the reward. I've thought about this for weeks and the reward of being with you is worth the risk. I'm not risk-averse, are you?"
Bella thought about it. She tended to be pretty conservative in life and always played by the rules. She thought about how she felt when she was out with him a few weeks ago and how she had felt this past week. He fit. She couldn't quite describe it; happy was too simple a term, but she also felt like she had to hold back. His evasiveness about his past didn't exactly warrant trust.
"I can't lie to you and tell you that I am a risk taker. I'm not; I play life by the book. I want... No, I need to know about your past. I need to be able to trust you."
Edward took her hand and covered it with his. "I know. I'm just worried you aren't going to like what I have to say."
AN: I'm auctioning myself off in Fandom Gives back in a few days. I will really write anything you want me to write, but please someone bid on me. Huge thanks to everyone for putting this story on alerts. Teasers for the next chapter (when I have it) come with reviews.
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