BPOV

I was so nervous. Beyond nervous, I was terrified as I walked down the street. Sam's office was ten blocks and two streets away from where my apartment was located. Edward had offered to drive me, and I almost took him up on it, but I needed the time to think, to prepare myself for what I was about to do. I still wasn't sure the job was right for me, or that I could even do it. I wasn't an office girl, I wasn't anything. Just an artist. Why did Emily and Sam have so much confidence in my ability to do this job?

Stopping outside of the large, brick building, I had to stop myself from turning and leaving a dozen times. I could trust Sam, at least that was what I was telling myself. But I didn't know him, not really. Sure, he'd shared his story with me, but did that really mean anything? Was the fact that we'd both been damaged mean we shared a bond?

I took a deep breath, before reaching for the door handle. However, I had barely wrapped my hand around it when the door was pushed open and I found myself face to face with a tall, russet skinned man with long jet-black hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail, and dark eyes. He shifted his eyes down my body before looking back at my face, a smile tugging on his lips.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Bella."

His eyes widened, and his smile grew bigger. "Hmm, okay. Are you planning on coming in? Or were you planning on pacing out front all day? People might think you're a protester."

"Jake, stop being an ass." A hand grabbed the back the man's shirt and pulled him backward, and Sam caught the door before it could close, pushing it open for me. "Sorry about him. He's a douche, but I love him."

"I am not!" Jake called.

Sam glared at him from over his shoulder. "Shut the fuck up before you scare her." He turned back to me. "You okay?"

I nodded, though I wasn't sure I really was or not.

"You need a couple more minutes outside?" he asked.

I shook my head, again unsure of I was lying or telling the truth.

Sam grinned. "Are you going to speak today?"

Biting my lip, I shrugged my shoulders, causing him to laugh.

"Come on in, Bella. I promise not to let anyone hurt you," he said, speaking softly.

"Okay," I whispered.

Sam held the door open for me, making sure to give me plenty of room to step in around him. I felt silly for being so scared and nervous. When I walked inside, I found Emily standing behind a large oak desk. On top of the desk was a huge laptop, a phone, several pictures of her, Sam, and the girls. Behind her was a bookshelf that had dozens of what looked like law books, more pictures, and a printer. On the far side of the room stood Jake and another man, who looked very similar to Sam and Jake.

"Hey, Bella," Emily said, walking around the desk and stopping a couple feet away from me.

"Hey," I whispered, shifting my eyes at each of them and feeling very overdressed. Unlike me, who was wearing a skirt and a dressy tee, they were wearing shorts and T-shirts, looking like they were lounging around on Sunday afternoon instead of working on Wednesday.

"Bella," Sam said, drawing my attention to him. "I'd like you to meet my brothers. This is Jake and Seth. Guys, this is Bella."

Seth, clearly the youngest of the three, tilted his head in my direction. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," I replied, hating the way my voice shook.

An awkward silence filled the room, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. I could feel them watching me, waiting for me to fail. Nervously, I brought my hand up to the collar on my shirt, toying with edge. My stomach was a mess, and I was thankful that I hadn't eaten breakfast.

Clearing her throat, Emily drew everyone's attention to her. "I believe the three of you have work to do."

"Oh, yeah, right," Sam muttered, shifting his eyes to his brothers. "Jake, you need to finish your notes on the Garrison Case. Seth, Mr. Kauffman has called three times. Call him back."

Groaning, Seth nodded and turned and walked down a short hallway and into one of the offices. Jake gave me one more look before he followed his younger brother, going into an office across the hall from Seth's. Sam brought his hands together, the sound of them hitting startled me and I automatically flinched backward.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay," I groused, feeling stupid and ridiculous.

"Emily will get you started on the paperwork and after lunch, I'll give you a tour. The rest of our team will be in this afternoon." He paused. "If you need anything, just yell, okay?"

I nodded. He shifted his eyes over to Emily before turning and walking down the hallway and into the office at the end. The moment his door was closed, I released a heavy breath and turned back to Emily, who was watching me closely. It was odd and awkward, and I wanted her to stop, but at the same time, I wanted her to understand why I was scared, why I felt afraid of putting myself out there.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I need coffee." With a laugh, she turned and motioned for me to follow her. She led me down the hallway and into a room on the right, which turned out to be the break room. The large room was spacious and homey, yet I felt weird and out of place. There was a state-of-the-art fridge, stove, microwave, one of those single cup coffee makers, large sink, and a dishwasher.

"Pretty nice, right?" she asked, laughing as she gestured to the coffee maker. "We have every flavor you can imagine, and then some."

"It's nice," I agreed.

Emily smiled as she turned and looked at me. "You're completely overwhelmed, aren't you?"

I nodded. "I just . . . This is all . . ." I blew out a heavy breath. "I shouldn't be here."

"Yes, you should," she insisted, but before she could say anything else, Jake strolled into the break room. He paused for a moment, looking from me to Emily before walking past both of us and to the coffee maker.

"I'm thinking hazelnut sounds good," he murmured, pulling a small round K-cup out of the cabinet and placing it inside the machine. Then, he filled a coffee cup with water and poured it into the back. Closing the top, he pressed a flashing blue button and placed the cup inside the machine. Then, he turned and faced me and Emily.

"You're hot," he said.

"Jake!" Emily seethed, reaching over and popping him in the back of the bed.

"What the fuck, Emily?" he bellowed.

In an instant, Sam and Seth were inside the room and I found myself pressed against the wall, trembling as I watched the people standing across the room from me. Sam shifted his eyes from Jake to Emily to me, a frown tugging on his lips. "What is going on?"

"Your asshole brother is being inappropriate," Emily informed him and placed her hands on her hips.

Sam groaned and rounded on Jake. "Dude, we talked about this."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Jake whined. "All I said was that Bella's hot."

Clenching his hand into a fist, Sam gritted his teeth together as he looked over at me. "I apologize for my brother's idiocy."

"It's okay," I whispered, unsure if my words were even audible.

"No, it's not okay," he said, and then looked back at Jake. "In my office."

"Dude," Jake started, but shut his mouth when Sam grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed him toward the doorway. "Fine, just let me get my coffee."

Sam didn't say anything as he released his hold on Jake's shirt. Jake reached over and grabbed his coffee and then walked out of the room, but not without looking over at me and winking. Sam took a deep breath before he looked at me. "Again, I'm sorry about him. He's harmless, I swear. Just a flirt, and doesn't think about how other people might take his flirtations. He will not do anything like that again. You have my word."

I nodded. "Okay."

Sam shifted his eyes to Emily before he turned and walked passed Seth. A moment later, I heard the sound of his office door closing, following by the sound of him yelling at Jake.

"Um, I'm just gonna . . ." Seth trailed off as he walked over to the fridge, pulled it open, and grabbed a soda. He pushed the fridge door closed with his hip, tilted his head toward me, and walked out of the break room. Tears burned at my eyes, yet I couldn't seem to move. I could feel the small amount of control I had slipping, and I wanted Edward. I wanted his arms around me.

"Bella," Emily said, slowly, and I looked at her. "Honey, are you okay?"

My head bobbed up and down, though I couldn't seem to get a word out.

"No, no, you're not," she fretted, bringing her hand up to her chest. "What can I do to help?"

I shook my head, because there wasn't anything.

Emily sighed and shifted her attention around the break room, but before she could say anything else, the sound of the front door opening trickled into the room. She spared me a look before she turned and walked out to the front room. The moment she was gone, the flood gates broke and I slid to the floor, pulling my knees up in front of me. Gripping my head between my hands, I struggled to keep from screaming.

"Sorry about that," Emily said, walking back into the room. However, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me in the floor. "SAM!" she yelled and rushed over to me, kneeling next to me and slowly reaching out for my hands.

A moment later, the sound of Sam's door opening and him running out filled the air. He slid to a stop in the doorway. "Shit," he cursed, walking over to us. He knelt down next to his wife and covered her hands with his own. "Give us a few minutes."

Emily nodded as she stood up and walked out of the room, leaving me and Sam sitting there.

"Look at me, Bella," he murmured, and I shifted my eyes to his. "It's okay. Just take a deep breath, honey."

I tried — I really did — but I started choking. Sam released me and crawled over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. In a heartbeat, he was back at my side, one hand on my shoulder while the other placed the bottle at my lips. I felt like a child, yet I couldn't seem take it from him. Instead, I allowed him to pour the liquid into my mouth and hopped that it wouldn't come right back up.

"Talk to me, Bella," he murmured.

"I can't do this," I cried. "I'm can't!"

"What can't you do?" he asked.

"This," I exclaimed, waving a hand around. "I don't belong here. Working in an office like a normal person. I'm a waitress."

"That's bullshit, and you know it," he said, shifting so that he was sitting on the floor next to me. "You're scared, I get that, but you're doing great."

"Great?" I scoffed. "I'm freaking out here!"

"True," he laughed. "But I didn't expect you to come in here and have all your shit together. Now, I'm sorry for my brother. He really is harmless; he's just young and naïve."

"It's not him," I murmured. "It's everything, Sam. This place, the job . . ." I closed my eyes. "Life. It's not me."

Emily walked back into the room, clearing her throat and causing Sam and I to look over at her. "Sorry to interrupt, but he's getting annoyed about having to wait."

Sam nodded. "Tell him I'll be right there."

She shifted her eyes to me before she walked out of the room. Sam sighed. "Look, I have to go handle something. Are you going to be okay?"

"No," I admitted. "But I'll try."

"That's all we ask, Bella." Sam stood up and offered me his hand. Though I wanted to place mine in his and allow him to help me up, I shook my head and pushed myself up the wall. I wasn't ready to touch him, or trust him. I'd learned a long time ago to always be cautious around anyone, and Sam, as nice as he was, wasn't any different. Nodding, he took a step back, giving me space. I wrapped my arms around my torso as I followed him back to the front room. Emily was sitting behind her desk, but it was the person sitting across from her that had my attention.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, causing him to look over his shoulder at me.

Garrett's eyes narrowed as he stood up. "I should be asking you the same thing."

"You know each other?" Emily asked, pushing her chair back as she stood up.

"Not really," Garrett said. "Does Marcus know she's here?"

"No," Sam stated, and I shifted my attention up to his, though he refused to look at me. "My instructions called for me not to tell him. Yet, at least."

"What the fuck is going on?" I snapped, moving away from Sam, who finally turned to me. "Sam?"

He placed his hands on his hips, making it clear that he was hiding something from me. I shifted my attention from him to Emily to Garrett, and then back to him. "Someone had better start explaining!"

"Everyone calm down," Emily said, walking around the desk with her hands up. "Sam, you need to tell her. She deserves the truth."

I watched as his eyes fluttered closed and he heaved a hefty breath. "I told you that I knew who you were, that I knew about your family, but I never told you how I knew that."

"Yeah," I whispered.

Sam opened his eyes and looked at me. "I know all of that because . . ."

"Because why?"

"Because your father hired me to find you," Sam mumbled. "Charlie Swan owns this company."

Thank you for all the reviews. Yep, I totally left it like that. Nope, I don't feel bad. Bella's fears have her all over the place.