Once again, thanks to the readers, my wonderful beta Lulu and all the FanFic sites that are pimpin this ride.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I do however own this storyline.

Chapter 14

BPOV

I slept pretty well last night, and the thought of seeing Jake sent a comfort all throughout my body. I really enjoyed seeing him, and since everything between us seemed okay, I could only hope that I would be seeing a lot more of him. Since he and I were going to have lunch today, I opted for something less formal. I decided on a dressy pair of dark denim jeans, a black collared button down shirt and a pair of leopard print peep toe pumps and matching belt. I thought that it was suitable since I wasn't going to be in the office too long today. I planned for lunch with Jake to run overtime. As always, time flies when I'm with him, so there's no telling when I would make it back to the office.

The look on Edward's face when he saw Jake was one of hurt and hate. I am sure he is wondering what the extent of our relationship is, but it's none of his business. Edward is no longer a part of my personal life. He wouldn't even be a part of any aspect of my life period if he hadn't plotted his way in. He's behind enemy lines with me and I am unsure of his plan. I know that he has one because Edward always has a plan and he doesn't give up easily. Then again, he did break up with me without as much as a sense of regret at the time. Don't go there, Bella. I can see that this road with Edward as owner of The Sun is going to be a tedious one; however, I will breeze right through it.

I grab my black Chanel trench and purse and head out of the door. I glance at my blackberry and see there is a message from Jake. It would seem as though Jake isn't the only one excited about lunch today. The thought of seeing his warm smile brings a similar one to my face. The meeting with Edward and the staff is for 10, so I better get a move on.

On the way to work I think about some more ideas for what I would like the interior of my car to be. I don't want to compromise the integrity of such a fine automobile but I want me to be a part of it. I liked the leather and thought about changing to a different color. A play on different textures might be something I'm willing to look into.

When I reached the parking garage and slid into my spot in front of the elevator, I glanced over and saw a silver BMW M5 sitting in the spot next to mine. Yes, I do speak Car and Driver. Only one word could come to mind, Edward. Nice, I thought to myself as I touched the side of the car with one fingertip. Not as awesome as my Aston but very nice indeed. I had a new-found respect for cars. I felt it only right to be educated in all things masculine since I was a woman inhabiting a male dominated sphere career wise.

As I ride up the elevator, it dawns on me that Edward beat me to the office. How interesting that he would already be here. He doesn't have an office, so what could he possibly be doing? I hope that he doesn't plan on dropping by the office everyday of the week. With Randolph, if I saw him once every two weeks, then things were doing fine.

I hope that he and I can move beyond our personal past and focus on running this paper. Hopefully after yesterday and how he saw that he wasn't a blip on my personal radar, he's reassessed what the boundary lines are and is willing to comply.

As I walk out into the foyer of my office, I notice what seem to be delivery men, wheeling boxes on top of boxes down the hallway. I don't think I approved a shipment or anything. Angela greets me as I make it through the glass doors. She has that oh-fuck-how-do-I-tell-her look on her face. I hate those looks. What the fuck was going on at my paper that she was scared to tell me?

"Good morning, Chief. Ummm… I know you're wondering what's going on. You see… Aah… How do I put this?" She scrambles to find the right words.

"Angela, spit it out already," I place my hands on my hips and wait on her response.

"Edward Cullen is setting up an office Chief. There have been movers here since I got in at 8 o'clock. Hell, they might have been here before then," Angela grabs my purse and my coat as we head toward my office.

Son of a bitch. Typical Edward. I sure didn't see this one coming. Well done, Cullen.

"Well, while the cat's away the mice will play," I squint my eyes and concentrate on what will definitely be a shitty fucking morning. We make it in the office and I tell Angela shut the door behind her.

"Tell me everything you know or saw Ang," She places my purse on a hook in the closet behind my door and hangs my coat up.

"There's not much to tell. When I got in, all I saw were movers bring box after box in. At first I didn't think too much of it, maybe some office supplies or new equipment, but then I saw Mr. Cullen. He passed by my desk and wanted to know if that corner office was the biggest one on this floor and I told him it was the second biggest, yours being the first of course," Angela let an impish smile play across her lips and I couldn't help but mirror it.

"That is why you are my right hand Angela," I was pleased.

She said that he just stared at her then, stalked off. Priceless. Edward Cullen rendered speechless yet again. This shit just keeps getting better and better. Maybe this wouldn't be such a shitty day after all. So, Edward plans on taking it there with the hidey-ho neighbor bit. That's fine. I sure hope he knows what he's getting himself into.

I turn around to my computer and check for any emails before the meeting is scheduled to start. I see no new emails, so it would seem as though Mr. Cullen doesn't have a problem with today's agenda. I take a sip of tea as I stand and overlook the Seattle sky view. Angela buzzes me and tells me that Jake has called to confirm lunch for today at 12. He plans on meeting me at the office since he wants to drive us there. Always has had that 'Alpha Male' thing going on. That's fine with me; I hope he's not still driving that old Rabbit for nostalgic reasons. I laugh to myself. I can remember sitting in the Rabbit drinking on warm cans of soda as I watched him work in the shed. I'm snatched out of my flashback when Angela walks in to tell me I have 10 minutes to the meeting.

I take one last sip of tea; grab my agenda and head to the moderate auditorium. As I enter, I see that Edward is there already talking with some of the guys from printing. When he looks up, a bright smile crosses his face as he watches me head to the podium. I grab everyone's attention as Edward makes his way to stand beside me and whispers a quiet "Hello" and places his hand on the small of my back for a brief second before placing it at his side. He just had to touch me didn't he, even if I didn't give him permission? I brush it off and begin.

"Good morning everyone, I trust that everyone has things they have to do, so this meeting won't be long. As you know, Mr. Hale recently retired and passed ownership over to Mr. Edward Cullen. This morning, Edward and I wanted to meet with you all so we can touch base with you as well as address any concerns or questions with what this will mean for you as well as the future of this paper. And now, I will turn it over to the new owner of The Sun, Mr. Edward Cullen," I step back from the podium to give Edward the spotlight. The old Edward has never been one who has liked attention, but as the great businessman he has become, center stage has become a job requirement.

"Thank you Ms. Swan. Good morning everyone. I am glad to be meeting with all of you this morning. I look forward to making my way to every department to greet you all personally at some point. I want to start off with what I am sure is at the forefront of your minds. That is, job cuts. There will be none at this point. Each person will be evaluated in the coming future to assess progress as well as…" As he continued on with his speech, I let my mind wander. I looked over the faces of many of the staff, some of which I started out with when first coming to the paper.

Edward looked comfortable, almost like a politician trying to rally votes for a merciless election. I see that he opted out of a double breasted suit and chose a much more relaxed attire of a pair of flat front khakis, brown leather loafers, a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a matching brown belt. He looked more like a young Harvard man than a billionaire businessman. I snapped back into reality as he asked if I had anything left to add and I assured him I didn't, which concluded the meeting.

As I walked out of the auditorium and back to my office, I was so immersed in my thoughts of all that needed to be done that day that I didn't realize that Edward was right behind me. I went to shut the door behind me and didn't hear the close. I turned to see Edward leaning against the doorframe.

"Good morning. May I come in?"

"Yes of course Edward," I say as I head to my desk and have a seat. He follows suit and has a seat at one of the leather chairs in front of my desk.

"How are you this morning Bella, I must say that you are looking good, if that's a testament to how you feel." A smile plays across his face that touches his eyes.

"I am doing well this morning. Thank you. And you?"

"I would be doing a whole lot better if I didn't have the second biggest office."Motherfucker. No he did not just bring up the fact that he's going to be a live-in lover at my paper and slap me across the face with it.

"Yes I did hear that you were moving in. I guess since you're going to, hell, you might as well be thorough." I cross my legs and lean my elbows on the arm-rests. The smile instantly is gone from his face and I can tell that he was searching for some shred of hope in my eyes, but he would find none. "After all, Randolph never set up shop here, so there was no need for another large office besides for the Chief, which is me."

He laughs to himself and fixes his eyes back on my face.

"When will we ever get over this Bella? Will we ever have a normal relationship again, because I would like to try," his eyes were reaching out to me, but I wasn't willing to reach back.

"Our relationship is normal Edward. Business is business and that's the only relationship that we will be having. Now, since you are setting up an office, I take it that I will be seeing you daily unless you are otherwise called to handle things at one of your other businesses that you head?"

"Yes that is correct. My main office is in Europe of course, since that's where I have spent most of the past years. I have yet to set up a U.S office, but that is in the works. For the meantime though, I will be operating business with the paper as well as others here, if necessary."

"I see. I trust you have everything you need. If you need help in finding an assistant, I can have Angela call the agency that we use to have some applicants sent over." I'm sure that he had already thought of that and probably had his assistant being flown in as we speak.

"Thank you but I already have that under control." See. I wonder how long he's been plotting to set up office in here. Probably since day fucking one. He is relentless, but that's Edward.

"You're welcome. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss? I have a lot to get done before noon and time is ticking." I smile and tap the dial of my watch.

"Do you have something going on at 12? I was hoping that you and I could have lunch while we discussed some ideas that I have as well as ideas you might have for the paper."

"Yes I do have something for 12, so it would be a bad time. We can set up a meeting tomorrow or Friday to discuss the paper."

"Oh." His face was wrought with disappointment and rejection. I could see that he was trying to figure out what I had to do at 12 but wasn't saying. And because I was being so vague, I can tell it was driving him crazy.

"You're having lunch with Black at 12, aren't you? " I could see a dark look come across his face. He squinted and glared at me. How the fuck did he know? Well guessing since 12 is lunchtime, and he saw Jake show up at the office the other day, I guess it wasn't hard to put two and two together.

"Really Edward, that's none of your business. What I do on my own personal time has nothing to do with this office or you." I was seething on the inside, but I didn't let it go to my face. I just stared at him looking through him as though he was glass. He fixed his face and smiled subtly.

"I apologize. That was out of line. I'll check with Angela to see what's a good time tomorrow to setup a meeting with you." He looked like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar-crushed. He stood to leave and then turned while walking to the door.

"Look Bella, I think that we got off to the wrong start. I would like for us to be able to work together without all of this tension. I really want this to work."

I could tell he was being sincere, and for the sake of the paper, my paper, I needed to make this work. Edward was the best of the best as far as it came to business. If he were a painter, he would be the Picasso of business. But how could I work well with him knowing that he was the mastermind behind some major plot to get back into my life? I looked at him and answered.

"I would like for this to work as well for the sake of the paper." With that, he smiled and walked out.

Ok fic fiends, boy is Bella being a bitch without a cause or is protecting her icy shell of a heart? As always, leave your comments, questions, concerns, and reviews. See you in two weeks!