Chapter 24 –

"Oh my god, what is that sound? Please make it stop," Edward mumbled. Bella was curled up in his arms.

"My phone. Where did it end up?" She peeked out from under the covers and did a quick look around, then got out of bed, went over to a pile of clothes on the floor and found the phone just as it stopped ringing.

"Where did that ringtone come from? Did work make you get a new phone?"

"No, it's the office. I wanted it distinctive so that I could screen if I wanted to.."

"Did you ever consider that if you wanted to ignore work, maybe you shouldn't use the most annoying ringtone ever created?"

"Not until right now, no. It's only for Jessica." She put the phone down and headed back to the bed.

"Does she call a lot?"

"Only all the time. You'd swear I was her assistant." She was curled back up in Edward's arms when it went off again. "I'm going to kill her."

She was back out of bed and grabbed the phone. "What the hell do you want?"

"I don't know what makes you think you can talk to me like that, but Angela told me to call you and get you into the office as quickly as possible."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Bella, I am not your secretary."

"I'll call Angela directly." Bella hung up without saying goodbye and began dialing Angela.

When Angela answered, Bella jumped right in. "Hey, it's me. What's going on?"

"Thank God we got a hold of you. They agreed to Mrs. Cullen's demands. You're back on the articles and weneed you in right away. They need to do the layout for next month's article, and it is only half-written. You need to give them an outline. I don't care if you have to pull it out of your ass, we need another full length piece and it needs to be written by tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be in as soon as I can, but I really don't know how my being there is going to help."

"You just need to come in and get everything sorted out and then you can leave."

"Okay. I'll see you soon." She hung up. Edward was sitting up in the bed now.

"So?" He asked nervously.

Bella grinned. "Esme's a genius. I get to come home." He was out of bed in an instant, pulling her into his arms.

"That's the best news I've heard in weeks." His hands ran up and down her back and his lips found her neck.

Bella could tell where this was leading. "No, wait." She pushed back from him. "I have to go into the office. I just got my job back, and I don't want to lose it again. I need to shower. I smell like sex."

"That's not a smell you need to wash off. Skip the shower. Better yet, how about I shower with you?" He took her by her wrist and pulled her toward him again.

She lifted his arm and slipped from his grip, hurrying to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

"You're killing me, Bella," she heard through the door.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise. Besides, it's a really long drive from Sunrise to Miami." .

When she came out, Edward was dressed. He didn't bother to shower since they had a morning skate at ten. "You could have gone back to bed. You don't need to be up this early."

"Yeah, but I'm a little too keyed up to go back to sleep. Might as well get on the ice."

"I figured you'd be exhausted. I thought you had an extra workout last night. Or were you practicing with your other girlfriend?"

"Well I guess she gives me a harder workout than you."

"Douchebag." He pulled her into another hug.

"I'm so glad you get to come home with me," he whispered into her ear.

"I know. I don't think I've felt so relieved in months. Will I see you before the game?"

"Probably not, but afterward? We could go to your apartment?"

"It's not really my apartment. I've only been there for two weeks."

"I know, but you'll never see your neighbors again, so we can be as loud as we want."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a reply. I'm late. I'll see you tonight." She gave him one last kiss and hurried out the door. As she left, she called Esme.

After Bella headed to the office Edward went down to the ice. When he got to the rink, Carlisle was already there, but that was no surprise.

" Esme told me the good news about Bella." he said when Edward walked in.

"I know. It was a good morning. She's at the office now." Edward said and sat down on the bench.

"How are you guys going to deal with everything? They'll be hounding the both of you," Carlisle said as he laced up his skates.

"I know that, but it will eventually die down. The tough part will be when her job is completed."

"It'll be worth it."

"Yeah, I know." Edward headed out to the ice and Carlisle followed. The two began skating around, passing, and shooting. It was something they'd done countless times since Edward was a kid.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, which in reality was probably closer to a half-hour, Emmett and Jasper appeared.

"You're sure energetic this morning." Emmett joked. "You didn't make her do all the work, did you? That's not very fair." He received a single finger reply.

"How is Bella?" Jasper asked.

"She's good, and she's back at work. Her bosses gave in."

"About time. So she's going to finish the road trip and then come back to Denver?"

"That's the plan. ""That's good." Jasper replied, and then took his place at the net as he and Emmett joined in the skate.

Bella made it into the office by nine o'clock and hurried to Angela's office.

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do for the remaining articles?"

"Well I'll probably write about the amazing job Esme did with the New Year's charity Gala. If it wasn't for the disaster that followed, there would have been a big article about that anyway. It'll fit nicely with the wedding article."

"I don't think the owners would want you to bring up New Year's at all. It would simply bring back all the drama of the firing and the lack of a January article."

"But if we hide, they'll be relentless. If I write about the gala, then it doesn't look like we're hiding. We put a positive spin on the story and get the focus where it should be. This event is Esme's pride and joy, and by ignoring its existence, it would be an insult to her. I can write about the event without making it all about the drama."

"I know, but you're on thin ice Bella. Just write what they want you to write. At least for the rest of these articles. When they're completed we'll get you back here and you can write whatever you want." That took Bella by surprise. She thought that once she had her job back everything would go smoothly, but Angela was her friend as well as her boss, and she hated lying to her and stringing her along just for personal gain. She needed to let her know what was going on.

Bella closed Angela's door and locked it. Her talk with Esme had gone the way she'd planned and it was time to put it in action.

"Angela, I think we need to talk, but only if you can promise me as a friend that what I'm about to tell you won't leave this room." Angela eyed her worriedly.

"I promise. What's going on?"

"There's a really good chance I won't be coming back in June. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stay in Denver."

"What?" Bella had no idea what she'd been expecting, but by the look on Angela's face, she was not even close. "Do you have a job lined up there or something?"

"No, not a job. A life," Bella replied, almost ashamed, but she couldn't lie to her friend anymore. She looked down at her feet.

"It's true isn't it?" Bella finally looked up at Angela. "The story about Cullen. You're dating him. I knew something was different when you came back and I should have known right away that it was a guy." Bella still couldn't say anything even though Angela sounded merely curious, and not angry.. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"I'm not telling you this because I'm ashamed at what I've done. We didn't plan it, and I don't think I've overstepped any boundaries. My personal life hasn't affected my writing. ."

"Bella, I'm not mad. I'm happy for you, really. I don't think you've done anything wrong, and as a friend I want you to be happy. I won't tell anyone, but you have to keep it quiet until these articles are completed."

"I know. We already agreed to that it would be for the best," Bella replied. She was glad she told Angela. It was like a huge weight was lifted off her chest..

Angela laughed. "You know I never thought I'd have to deal with any drama from you. Jessica yes, but not you. I should have clued-in when he answered your phone in Europe and you refused to come home to interview the first lady," she laughed.

"Thanks for understanding. Lying to you was killing me. I don't care about the higher ups. They can go to hell. You're the only person who has been honest and stuck by me. When I leave your office I don't feel like the first thing you're going to do is gossip about me. I think even if the whole thing wasn't true, I wouldn't want to keep working here. These last two weeks have been miserable."

"I know what you mean. If I didn't love my job so much, maybe I'd leave too. I guess I'm just comfortable here, you know?"

"Yes I do. I'm terrified about what's going to happen next, but kind of excited about it."

"Good for you Bella." Angela replied. "Listen, I'll tell the owners the plan for the next article. I think by now they realize they'd better not mess with you. Why don't you go meet up with the Cullens and sort out what needs to get done for the upcoming content and I'll give you a call later."

"I have a better idea. I talked to Esme and if you are interested, you and Ben are invited to watch the game tonight in ourbox suite. I know Ben likes hockey.."

"Are you sure? I don't want to cause any awkwardness."

"It was Esme's idea to invite you. She's aware of all you've done for me and she wanted to show her appreciation."

"Figured you could bribe me in case I threatened to tell the staff your secret?" Angela joked.

"Yeah something like that," Bella laughed as she got up from the chair. "Call me and let me know if Ben wants to go."

"I'm pretty sure he'd reschedule open-heart surgery for this."."

"Great, hope to see you there." Bella opened the door.

"Bella, I really am happy for you." Bella smiled, realizing she'd made the right decision telling her. "Thanks Angela. It means a lot to me."

"Wait, your boss is coming?" Rosalie asked at lunch.

"Don't we hate them?" Alice chimed in.

"Not Angela, she's awesome, and she knows," Bella replied.

"You told her?!" Both exclaimed at the same time.

"I take it she handled it well, and is going to keep it secret?" Esme asked.

"Mom, you knew?" Alice asked.

"Bella felt guilty and asked if I thought it was a good idea. I told her that if she felt like it would be all right. It turns out I was correct."

"Angela will keep it quiet, and she's really happy for me. We've known each other forever and are very good friends You guys will like her, I promise."

"I've spoken to her on the phone several times when Bella was still in Miami, and she praised you a lot. She seems like a lovely girl and I can't wait to meet her in a more casual setting," Esme said.

Bella arrived at the arena with Esme and Alice. Rosalie was coming later. Ben and Angela arrived soon after and Bella introduced everyone. Alice instantly decided to become fast friends with Angela, while Ben and Esme talked business. Ben was in PR and worked with mostly authors and writers, and that's how he and Angela met, so he certainly had lots in common with Esme.

Rosalie arrived fresh from shopping just before the game started. She was quickly introduced to Angela and Ben and her worries vanished quickly.

The first period was extremely exciting. If anyone had told her in August that she'd be obsessed with any organized sport, especially one on ice within the six months, she would have laughed at them.

The Avalanche played a very strong first period and were up 1-0, but in the last two minutes of the period the Panthers scored. Jasper hit his stick on the ground in frustration which was funny because he never got worked up.

"He wishes he could have that one back," Alice said with a grin.

"Looks like it," Ben replied. He was happy. He was the resident Panthers fan.

"It just means he's going to be more determined in the next two periods to make up for it," Alice countered.

"You're probably right," Ben conceded.

"Of course I am."

The horn sounded to end the period and everybody got up to stretch their legs.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and in poked the head of Amy Mercer. "Bella! I'd hoped I'd find you here."

"Amy! Hey!" Bella hurried over to her.

"Thought we'd drop in," Amy said as she stepped into the room holding a baby carrier.

"Oh my god! He's getting so big! Wow, I can't believe he's grown so much in two weeks."

"Yeah I know. He'd better slow down or Tristan will have him in skates before he's a year old."

"Probably, but I'll bet that'll be just fine for this little one." As if on cue the baby began to wail. "May I hold him?" Bella asked.

"Of course. I guess you've gotten over your fear," Amy joked.

"Look at him. He isn't so small anymore. But he is still the most adorable thing in the world." Amy handed the crying child to Bella. "Is he hungry?" Bella asked.

"Maybe. You'd b surprised at how much that little thing can eat, but I have a feeling..." She knelt forward and sniffed near his bottom. "Yep, diaper change."

"And now it's time to hand him back to mommy," Bella joked.

Amy reached for him.

"No, go ahead and grab what he needs, I'll hold him." Amy grabbed the diaper bag and laid out a changing pad on one of the couches. Bella put him down on it and began to undo the straps on the sleeper.

"You don't have to do this," Amy said.

"I know, but a diaper doesn't scare me. I used to babysit." She quickly got him all cleaned and in a fresh new diaper.

"Anyway, I should probably go. He needs to be in a quiet room to go to bed. I just wanted to stop in and say hi."

With that, she hurried had stood near the back of the room watching the whole exchange. She saw for the second time that day how different Bella had become. She needed to be back in Denver with these people. She was no longer just the sun-loving writer. Angela was really grateful that her friend had found a place and people that made her so happy. She was determined to make sure the owners did not interfere anymore with Bella.

Yay! all is back to normal! obviously there is still drama to come, but I hope you're all glad to see them reunited for good.