March 5, 2011

Prompt: Conventional - conforming or adhering to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste

Pairing: Edward/Bella

Storyline: Broken Promises

Continued from Chapter 45

~*Witfit*~

Previously on Broken Promises…

I had been sitting in my office for an hour by the time Felix stuck his head in my cube.

"My office," he said shortly.

I stood up and followed him. I'd done a lot of thinking last night and in the shower, and I knew what I needed to do. I wanted to be successful; I needed to after what I'd done to Bella.

"Close the door."

I did and turned to face him. This was it; the chance for me to prove myself, and I was ready.

After shutting the door, I slowly walked over to one of the two chairs in front of his desk and sat down. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"So, what's your plan, Edward?"

I hesitated for a second. I knew he wanted to know how I was going to sneak into the Volturi & Associates lair and infiltrate their design team. I looked up at Felix and saw for an instant what I could become – a powerful ad executive with all the opportunities in the world at my fingertips. But then I thought through what I'd lose. What I'd already lost. Images flashed before me like shapes shifting at the end of a kaleidoscope. Bella. Our life. Our dreams. All the wasted time. All the hurt, sadness, and loss I felt without her in my life. This internship. The work I'd poured myself into for the last year and a half. The frustrations and failures.

In so many ways, I had nothing left and certainly nothing good to show for my time, but was I really ready to cross that invisible line of conventional business norms? Was I really ready to give up on what I'd started here? Was I really ready to risk the chance, even if it was miniscule at best, of getting Bella back by doing something so underhanded and wrong? Was I really ready to sell out for a company that really wasn't willing to take a chance on me, give me the opportunities I was due, or acknowledge what I had contributed to this team?

The path before me was suddenly so clear. It was no longer a question of business ethics. This was about what I was willing to sacrifice, and I was no longer willing to do what it would take. With resolve and confidence, I said what I should have said the yesterday.

"I don't have a plan, Felix, and I can't do what you're asking me to do."

"Excuse me?" Felix asked, his voice eerily calm and quiet.

"I can't do what you're asking me to do," I repeated, feeling the rapid staccato of my heart and the tightening in my chest at the increasing tension in the room. I wanted to look away, to tear my eyes away from his face, but I couldn't. I needed to man up and own this. I should have said no yesterday. I should have walked out that door the minute he asked me to do this, but I had been so dazed and confused that it hadn't really registered until last night.

Nothing was worth losing the little chance I might have at getting Bella to give me a second chance. If she ever found out that I had sunk to this level of low, she'd never forgive me. Yeah, my chances of getting her back were slim, but I wasn't going to let a slime ball like Banner or Felix ruin my chances from the get go… especially when there really wasn't any assurance that I'd win in the end.

"You committed to this yesterday. You can't back out. Plans have already been set in motion. You will follow through, and you will get your ass to Volturi & Associates. This isn't some joke, Edward. This is business. We need that information on the Griswold ad campaign, and if you're unwilling to get it," he said coolly, his tone threatening, "we'll find someone who is."

I stared up at him, meeting his intense gaze head on, and stood up, never breaking eye contact.

"I quit."