BPOV
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The sun was shining beautifully through the window the morning after our little dinner party. I couldn't even remember what happened last night after I came up stairs. I found myself naked in Edward's massive bed.
"Sleeping Beauty is awake!" Edward proclaimed walking into our room dressed in a sharp suit carrying a tray.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Breakfast. I didn't want you thinking that I could only bring you breakfast in bed when we are just in Aspen."
"It's late isn't it? Don't you have to be at work?" I asked looking over at the clock on my bedside table and seeing that it was well past ten.
"We can go after you've had some breakfast and gotten ready." He mumbled.
"We?" I wondered, not missing that important word.
Edward sighed and sat down on the bed. I could tell that whatever he was about to say, he had been practicing in his head for a while. Even in school when Edward had to do a speech for class, he always would sigh, nod his head only a smidge like he was approving his final draft then take a deep breath and…
"You said you want a job. You have a job already for as long as you want it. Dr. Harper told me that I need to support you being around people other than myself but I also would feel better if you were close to me…"
Yep, I was getting the speech. He had already started with his bullet points. Edward was a great debater which could be quite the pain in my ass when we were growing up.
"Edward, just…stop. I don't need the power point presentation." I quipped.
"But I spent all night on it." He retorted.
"Is there something wrong with me not wanting to work with you? I kind of like the idea of going out and actually obtaining a job based on my own merits. Even if I work at Mc Donald's, at least I would know that I got that job myself. When I mess up, I wouldn't be shown favoritism. I would be reprimanded so I could learn. I think there is something valuable in that."
"Excellent points. Well made, however you already did get this job on your own merits and you would be answering to Alice so if you ever did mess up, I'm sure Alice would have no problem telling you. God knows I can't get her to shut up when I make a mistake. Bella, please…please…just do this for me. Please. I know you can go and do whatever you wish and somehow I would try to be okay with it but I need to know that you're safe and I won't know that if you're at McDonald's or wherever. Please…"
I thought for a moment and it almost broke my heart to see Edward practically begging me for this. He knew that I had won our little debate and as one last ditch attempt he threw himself on the mercy of the court.
"What about school? Would you have a problem with me going to school?" I asked.
"School? No. If you'd like we could go to New Hampshire." He offered.
"Edward…I'm not going to go to Dartmouth. I think that ship has sailed."
"We wouldn't need to take a ship. A plane is much faster these days." He teased and I smiled at his attempt. "Bella, I want you to be happy. I want you to have everything you could ever wish for in life. I know Dartmouth was your dream…"
"Was." I interrupted him. "Yes, Dartmouth was my dream. Now my dream is to just feel okay with walking out your front door on my own. My dream is for Jacob to just forget about me and I know that's not going to happen just like Dartmouth didn't happen. My dreams have changed and…"
"It doesn't have to be this way. Bella, you can do anything in this world. Please don't give up on all of life's possibilities."
I sighed knowing we weren't going to get anywhere with this. Things were different for Edward. He had all of life's possibilities available to him, not me. I didn't want to spend my life just spending his hard earned money trying to chase after adolescent dreams.
"Let's go to work. I…I will stay at Cullen International for a little longer until I can come up with a plan for my life." I agreed.
"Thank you, honey. Thank you so much."
Edward kissed my head and took my tray away while I got ready for work. It felt so weird to even think of me returning to Cullen International. It had been so long.
"I'm so happy you're back." Alice squealed when we entered the office.
"Go easy on her, Alice." Edward warned.
I think I may have stressed him out a bit. It had been so long since I was around so many people who I had some anxiety just entering the building. Before I could even stop myself, I grabbed onto Edward's arm, squeezing with all my might. I was a little better in the elevator since it was just us and a handful of people. I exhaled and felt like I could breathe again the minute I exited the elevator.
"I have your desk all ready for you." Alice disregarded Edward and went straight on.
"She will be out in a minute." Edward pulled me along toward the office closing the door on Alice in mid sentence. I only was able to get a glance at Jessica who did not seem pleased with me being back at work.
"Are you okay?" Edward asked the minute the doors were closed.
"Uh…better now. I'm sorry." I apologized.
"Don't be sorry. This is my fault. I did this." Edward ran his hand through his hair. Something he always did when he was frustrated.
"No. It's not your fault I'm a freak." I tried to smile.
"Don't call yourself that. You're not a freak…I…Dr. Harper was right. I shouldn't have kept you all to myself in Aspen. We should have toured the village and gone out to eat. Your anxiety is my fault."
"Please…can we just not talk about my anxiety? I feel stupid enough as it is. Just give me some time; I'm sure I can get better."
"You are perfect. You don't need to be better, just more comfortable. I'm going to leave my office door open and please come in and see me whenever you need."
Edward walked me back toward his massive doors and opened them wide for me. I gave him a small wave and proceeded to go to my desk.
I sat down awkwardly feeling the daggers that Jessica was shooting at my back.
"So Alice…what can I start off with?" I looked up and over to her with a smile.
The rest of my day I spent filling and doing odd jobs. I could tell Alice was just ecstatic to have me back. Jessica still hadn't said one word to me and I thought it best to just leave her be. While Alice was out running an errand, I had an idea. Edward was in his office talking on the phone for the past twenty minutes. I stared at my desktop still completely foreign to this machine. Computers hadn't been available to me all that much the past nine years so I was weary on how to even start. I clicked on an icon for the internet and the Google webpage popped up.
I had watched enough television to know what this did. I looked around to see if anyone could see what I was doing. Jessica was out of sight and I could hear Edward still pacing in his office. My hands were practically shaking as I typed in "The Citizen."
I waited as the search engine did its job. The first thing to pop up was a site for Wikipedia. I clicked on the link and instantly I was transported to this page. There was a picture which was obviously not taken with the highest resolution. Blurry at best but you could see Edward dressed from head to toe in black. I couldn't even make out the details of his…outfit? Costume?
The Citizen; a vigilante who watched over the streets of Los Angeles for the approximate period of two years. Law enforcement was unable to catch the do-gooder who helped on cleaning up the city from gangs, drug dealers, rapist and other criminals.
He wore a black band around his face to maintain his anonymity. Seen as a hero among the masses, this crime fighter caused much grief for the police of L.A. County as other residents of Los Angeles began to try and follow in The Citizen's footsteps and become a crime fighter's as well.
The law enforcement was able to apprehend most of the wannbe vigilantes however Riley Biers who had taken up the cause was murdered during a confrontation. The person responsible was never caught and shortly after, "The Citizen" was never seen again which has many people believing that their would be hero was responsible for Riley Biers' premature death.
I could practically hear my heart pounding as I read on. I couldn't believe all I was reading. I saw a link at the bottom of the page for a video on a website called You Tube and clicked on it. The video started and my heart practically jumped out of my throat when the speakers boomed with, "He's kicking his ass. This is so awesome."
I frantically hit buttons and tried to cover the speakers up with my hands. Finally finding the knob to turn the volume off.
"Bella? Is everything all right?" Edward came out of his office and over to my computer but he couldn't see what I was watching. I prayed he stayed on that side of the desk.
"Fine. Everything's fine." I squeaked.
Edward shared a disbelieving look.
"I didn't know we were allowed to watch videos while at work." Jessica called me out as she came up behind me able to see my screen. "That video is like a million years old. My god. The Citizen hasn't been around in like ever."
I cringed as I could see Edward's eyes on me. I didn't want to look upon his disappointed face so I kept my focus down.
"Maybe you should save that for later, Bella." Edward replied. He turned and started to walk back to his office. "I think you guys should get back to work."
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
Fucking Jessica!
I completely logged off from the internet and was done with that. The rest of the day I kept my head down and free from anymore incidents. I was not looking forward to the ride home. But I didn't need to wait until the ride home as Edward called me into his office later that day. Just one hour short of freedom.
"You wanted to see me." I practically whispered.
"Can you shut the door?" Edward replied and then took off his suit coat. Slowly I shut the door, hating the need for this conversation right now.
I stood as close to the door as possible.
"Come here." Edward requested.
I took a breath and walked forward.
"The first thing I want to teach you is the very basic box step. Once you learn that you'd be surprised where you can go from there. I think you can find some benefits with learning how to dance. I know it helped me immensely in my training."
I was incredibly confused.
"You…want to talk to me about dancing?" I questioned.
"I promised that I would teach you. I figured that since today is slow, now would be a good time. I figured that when we get home you will most likely want to train until dinner."
"Oh…okay." I replied still confused as to why he didn't mention the elephant in the room. Edward took my hand and then placed me into position. Like the cliché dance pose that you would think, Edward held my hand and waist while explaining what foot I would step with first. I was still so much in my mind over my reason interest of The Citizen that I had a hard time paying attention and I spent most of my time stepping on his feet.
"Bella, I said take a step back. Not take a step forward."
I could tell he was losing patience.
"I'm sorry." I whispered ashamed.
Edward dropped my hands and took a step back. "You're not paying attention. I can tell."
I took a moment before answering him. "Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad? Bella, it's okay to be curious. I understand that you haven't been as inundated with all the media coverage as most people around here but I would appreciate it if you need to do research that you do it at home. Of course, I would probably be a better source than Wikipedia."
"How did you…"
"I know all. I see all."
I rolled my eyes. "I…just didn't know much about it. I know I should have come to you and asked but…it felt…weird."
Edward walked forward and pulled me to him.
"I don't ever want you to feel weird about me. I love you. You can talk to me about anything."
"I don't even know what questions to ask…I just don't know much about what happened. I guess I was just trying to understand."
"Well if you can give me your undivided attention for the next thirty minutes, when we get home, I will show you more."
I smiled and bit my lip excited for what was to come. I got into my dancing frame and Edward took his spot again. This time it wasn't so horrific. I didn't manage to step so much on Edward's toes and I'm sure he was thankful for that.
"Seth, take the back way." Edward said when we were in the car later on.
"Back way?" I questioned.
"You wanted to know more." Edward replied.
The car drove on and I started to not recognize my surroundings. Great tall trees all around that practically covered up the night sky. Abruptly the car went down a slight hill and straight into a dark garage or something. Edward opened his door and exited the car. Following his cue I did the same. Suddenly lights started to turn on overhead and I could see where we were.
"You have your own bat cave?" I exclaimed. "How cliché is that."
"It's not a bat cave. Do you see any bats?" Edward retorted.
"It's so much better than a bat cave. Who wants to work in some dank, cold cave all the time. We have temperature control." Seth explained.
"Oooo…temperature control. So this is like a hipster bat cave." I teased.
"Dude, why did you want to show her this again? She doesn't even appreciate it." Seth grumbled.
"Come on, Bella before you completely diminish Seth's lifework."
We walked around to this wall that held like a thousand different televisions. Well not a thousand but there were at least twenty.
"Have a television. Never realized you were into T.V. this much." I commented.
"This is what we call headquarters or quarters for short. I can turn on every single television and tap into the camera feed from all around the city. With Seth's help, we can keep watch on nearly every place in this city. Well, we used to keep watch…"
"Wow. How do you manage to look at all these different screens at once?"
"It's not all that difficult when you know where and what to look for." Edward replied.
"What, no Batmobile?" I joked looking around.
"I used a motorcycle. Much easier to maneuver and the speed is greater." Edward replied.
"Oh…so you're Robin. Which makes you, Alfred." I smiled over to Seth.
"I'll remember that when we're training." Seth narrowed his eyes and I found it best to stop.
"I'm not Batman, Bella. Not even close to all the cool gadgets he used."
"But…I bet you get the girl in the end."
Edward walked over to me. "I already have."
He pulled me into a nice sensual kiss.
"Awe hell. I'm out. Bella, be on mat in fifteen." Seth sulked off.
"So are you impressed?" Edward asked when he was done with my lips.
"I have always been impressed with you, Masen." I paused. "So…did you talk to Seth about…you know?"
Edward sighed and started to pull away but I wasn't going to let him get away so easily so I held onto him. He looked over my head obviously not wanting to tell me.
"What did he say? You clearly don't want to tell me."
"He…has something in mind. Some way of knowing when the right time is…for him but just remember Bella, even if Seth gives us a green light…you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
"God Edward, you really think I don't want to." I exclaimed flabbergasted.
"I'm just sayin…"
"How stupid are you? I…you know what…never mind, I have a lesson to get to." I was completely frustrated. I swear sometimes Edward was either incredibly dense or maybe I was the one that was dense. Maybe I wasn't reading him correctly and even though I felt his hard on every morning, maybe that wasn't for me.
"Bella." I could hear Edward call after me and suddenly I felt completely stupid for not knowing how to get out of this…cave thingy.
"Where the hell is the exit?" I snapped irritated.
"Wow, this just headed to the top of the list as my favorite room. One you can't just run away from me in." Edward caught up with me.
"I'm not messing around. Show me the exit." I crossed my arms over my chest fuming.
"Why are you so upset with me?"
"Just show me the exit." I demanded.
"Not until you talk to me."
"What do you want me to say? Every time you start that crap about being ready it makes me feel like I'm a stupid whore that's trying to lure you into my bed. I fucked up the first time…and I'm sorry. I'm sorry Edward but are you ready? Because I know I am. I'm ready for the man I love and who I believe loves me to make love to me but I feel like you're not ready which makes me the overeager whore."
Edward wiped a tear from my cheek, "I wish you would stop apologizing to me and I really wish you wouldn't have questioned my love for you. I'm ready in every single way a person can be ready. In fact if I told you how ready I was…I'd probably scare you. Do you want me to scare you?"
Scare me? I furrowed my brow not understanding.
"So ready that all I think about is you in white and me in a tux. So ready that I think about…trying…again. Do you understand what I'm saying? You talk about dreams that have passed you by but I know all my dreams are still to come. I am one thousand percent ready."
I could tremble at his confession. Did he mean what I think he meant? I mean I get the girl in white and guy in a tux part but that second part kind of left me hanging. Did he mean he wanted a baby?
"Too much right?" Edward asked.
Say something, Bella.
"It's okay if you're not ready for all that. I completely understand…I was just trying to…"
"No…it's okay. I'm sorry. I just…lots to process. I'm sorry." I apologized softly.
"It's okay. Why don't you go get ready for your session? Apparently I have a session of my own to ready for."
I furrowed my brow not understanding.
"I'm meeting with Dr. Harper. I'm sure she's here and I'm sure you're late…so…"
"You're probably right."
It was awkward and I hated how awkward it was. I didn't want him to think I didn't validate his feelings but it was a lot to take in. Could I see myself pregnant again? Could I go through that mentally? That would be something I wanted to discuss with Dr. Harper but damn if Edward didn't have dibs first.
The rest of my week went by without any more discussion on weddings or babies, thankfully because I wasn't scheduled to have an appointment with Dr. Harper until after the charity ball. I was frightfully nervous to be attending such a prestigious ball as Alice had explained to me. So many people and Edward being as important as he is made me doubly nervous to be on his arm.
Alice and Rosalie came over that day to help me with getting ready and even though I would be wearing the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen, I still wasn't so confident. However I was happy at that moment for all those months of training as they had helped me greatly with balance on the shoes Alice thrust upon me.
Training had been going well partly because I was finally getting into what I thought was the fun stuff. I wasn't able to train as long as I had in the past and that sadden me. I hoped that I could find more time tomorrow since it was Sunday.
"Oh my god." Edward exhaled. "You always look so beautiful but…my god…"
"I'll take that as a compliment." I replied nervous. Edward had finally seen all the work that Alice and Rosalie had put in. For a moment I turned and saw my reflection in the glass from the darken atrium. Just a few short months ago I couldn't help but see all the negative but tonight as I looked upon my reflection, I finally felt beautiful.
"Every single man is going to be envious of me for there is no completion, Bella. You are extraordinary."
Unable to still take compliments I blushed lowering my eyes so I hoped Edward couldn't see my face.
"Please don't. I'm trying to engrave this memory into my mind."
"I guess we should get going. I wouldn't want to make the man in charge late."
We got into the car and Seth was equally dapper in his tux.
"Doesn't this…" I started.
"What?"
"Nothing." I replied and turned to look out the window.
"Come on, Swan. You're killing me over here." He paused seeing my hesitation. "Do you really want me to tell Dr. Harper that you haven't been sharing? Normally I get the talking to for not doing so."
"I just wanted to say…Doesn't this feel like the prom we never got?"
He smiled over to me and lifted my hand and kissed it.
The moment we arrived at the hall where the Charity Ball was being held, I instantly felt the pressure. I called it charity ball because I didn't want to even think about the ridiculously long name it really was called. The minute we exited the car a thousand lights seemed to flash. I stumbled a little to grab onto Edward's arm. So many lights, all over.
"You're okay. We're not going to stop for pictures. I already gave a standard interview so we can just keep walking. You're alright." Edward soothed holding me close to his body.
I felt a tad better once we were inside the grand room and oh my did Alice do a fantastic job. The room was strummed in giant chandeliers made of flowers and crystals. A soft pink and green with crystals was her color palette.
"She always outdoes herself." Edward commented.
"No kidding. This is amazing."
Edward showed me to our table after several people came up to welcome us. I wasn't quite sure where Alice was yet but something about the peacefulness of the giant windows and balconies that over looked the garden called to me. Seeing Edward already surrounded by several apparently important people left me to wonder on my own. Toward those peaceful balconies I went happy to get away from all the frenzy.
It wasn't too cold tonight and I was finally able to see why so many people coveted this California weather.
"Such a lovely creature." A thick accent stated.
I turned to see who was behind me. My heart went into my throat for a moment as I suddenly had a vision of Jacob standing behind me but it wasn't Jacob.
"Do I know you?"
"Not yet? James Sayer. I'm sure you must have heard of me." He walked a little closer and I backed up the same distance.
"No. I haven't." I replied boldly.
"Well trust me when I tell you, I am quite affluent. Miss…"
"I don't trust anyone I don't know. If you'll excuse me, I see my date is anxious probably wondering where I am." I brushed past him exhaling a little and made my way over to Edward who I wasn't lying did look anxious.
"Why were you talking to James?" Edward practically snapped.
"I wasn't talking to him. He was talking to me. I was just trying to look at the gardens since you were…busy. " I snapped back.
"I'm sorry." Edward leaned in and kissed me on the temple. "Please just…stay near me."
"I don't want to spend my night holding you back from business."
"No more business to be had. I promise. Now if you will do me the honor of a dance."
I winced already feeling my palms begin to sweat.
"You'll do fine, Bella. I promise." Edward pulled me toward the dance floor and I tried to concentrate as much as possible on the steps we had been learning that week but I couldn't help but think of how Edward reacted to James.
"So…were you like…jealous or something? You know I would never flirt with anyone." I asked coyly.
"No…I just don't trust James. I would appreciate it if you could just stay away from him." Edward replied.
"Why?"
"For reasons I cannot go into here but I promise to tell you later. Just please stay away from him."
With all that talk and intrigue I managed to get through a dance not even realizing it.
"You guys were beautiful out there." Alice gushed.
"Good, you're finally here. Please help me keep my date enthralled." Edward responded.
"No…gee Alice, you sure did a great job. Or hey Alice, you look lovely and I can see why you needed some extra time to get ready especially since I know you've been here since five am making sure this night is perfect." Alice stressed.
"I'm going to go and get a drink. Would you like something, Bella?" I shook my head and Edward left after saying, "Alice, you topped yourself. Look's fantastic. Thank you."
"See what I have to do to get any kind of appreciation around here." She huffed.
"Well this place does look spectacular." Rosalie stated.
"So beautiful. I've never seen anything so beautiful before." I added. "Sorry if he was being a butt. He….apparently wasn't too happy about James trying to talk to me."
"James? James Sayer? God, stay away from him. He gives me the creeps. He may be worth a lot of money but he's shady. I don't understand why Edward is in business with that man." Alice enlightened us.
"I wasn't trying to talk to him. I was trying to get away. I didn't know."
The rest of the night continued on without incident. The food was amazingly delicious. I may have groaned a little loudly while eating it. I even managed to dance a little more but toward the end I was getting tired. Alice had many duties to attend to and I hadn't seen Rosalie or Emmett since I last saw them they were running out the main entrance giggling.
I found myself walking out of the main ballroom and finding a nice quite place to finish my appraising of the gardens, since I had been so rudely interrupted before. There were still people milling about but nothing like what was going on in the main room.
"I never did get your name before so I had to embarrassingly ask around. Bella…dating Edward Cullen, I hear." James like plague unable to take a hint and leave.
"Yes. So if you wouldn't mind leaving me be." I replied short.
"Dating but not married…so there is still hope for me yet. You are truly the most incredibly gorgeous creature here."
"I'm not a creature and even though I am not married I am incredibly happy with Edward. I really don't know how to make you understand that I am really not interested." I was getting tired of his games and just wanted him to leave me alone.
"You know I come from a very male dominated society and I find that a good woman loves her place. I have never settled down with a…wife before but I think that you just might be what I've been looking for. I think you and I...could be great." He tried to push the hair out of my face but I pushed his hand off me.
"You know what, I really don't think so." I huffed pushing past him once more but this time he reached out and grabbed my arm forcefully.
"I advise you to stay, Isabella."
I had no idea what happened but in that minute I snapped. I broke. I went fucking nuts. My arm came around and I slugged him as hard as I could. James let go of my arm long enough to grab onto his face where I had hit him and I took that moment to knee him straight into the stomach causing him to drop to the ground. It all happened so fast, I hadn't even allowed my brain to hardly catch up.
"Bella." I heard in the distance.
"If you really are looking for a submissive wife…you picked the wrong fucking country to come to. This is the United States of America, bitch."
Like I said, I had no idea who I had become.
Edward was practically stunned into shock. He was standing a few feet away with Seth and a couple of our friends. He looked violent. That's when it dawned on me what I had done. I had just practically beat up one of his biggest clients.
Oh shit.
AN: hope you all enjoyed! See you next week! Thank you for taking the time to read and review!