DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction for which we will receive no compensation, especially since all characters belong to a different Stephenie. But this story helped save the babies, which we are all for.
Hello, all!
Thank you all soooo much for all the follows, favorites, and hilarious reviews on chapter one! You all hate Edward and want Bella to woman-up, and well... that's about what we expected, LOL.
We know they're over the top because we wrote them that way, so thanks for understanding that and joining us in their foolishness anyway!
All righty... let's continue!
Chapter 2
"Sam!" Bella called out as she walked up to the bar. "Three shots of tequila. And not the cheap stuff."
From a table across the room, the other interns watched Sam grab the Patron from the top shelf, chuckling as he lined up the three glasses in front of Bella. But their laughter turned to shock when Bella downed all three shots in six seconds flat.
"Mm-hmm." Bella smiled at Joe who looked on in surprise. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about."
After leaving three 20s to cover her drinks, Bella spotted her friends and strolled on over, plopping down beside Rose.
"Evening, roomie," she said. "Bad day?"
"The worst! And you wanna know why?" Bella blew a stringy hair out of her face. "Because Cullen is an overbearing asshole!"
For the second time since Bella's arrival, the other interns were shocked. Anger and drinking? This was the most interesting Bella Swan had ever been, so they settled back to let her vent.
"What did he do?" Jake asked, knowing it was something. It was always something with Cullen.
"He had me do his prepping and pre-ops... and his post ops... and get his lunch and dry cleaning. He gave me a four-hour deadline, and yes, I was five minutes late but only because he told me he would be somewhere he wasn't. And since 'five minutes late' apparently equals 'totally incompetent,' he wouldn't let me scrub in on his surgery. He couldn't remember my name no matter how many times I told him, and on top of all that, he called me frumpy." She threw up her hands. "Asshole!"
As she finished ranting, Bella was expecting some WTFs or sympathetic nods from the group. Instead, her fellow interns glanced at each other while steadily avoiding eye contact with her.
"What?" Bella asked. "What's with all the looks?"
Alice cleared her throat. "Well, sweetie, you could spruce up your appearance a bit. Wear a little makeup, get a trim and some color or..."
Bella glared her into silence. "What?"
"You could also try wearing scrubs that fit," Jasper said.
"Get contacts," Jake chimed in.
"Get a backbone and a mirror," Rose added.
Bella frowned at her roommate. "Et tu, Brute?"
Rose patted her hand. "Honey, all I'm… all we're saying is that part of being an excellent surgeon is presenting yourself in a professional manner. I mean, sometimes you have food stuck in your hair or last night's pillow lines etched on your face. Even right now, you..."
"Looks have nothing to do with competence," Bella snapped. "And I shouldn't have to dress like freaking Dr. Barbie to be taken seriously. My mother isn't a raving beauty and never gives a second thought to her appearance."
"Your mother is one of the most professional and well-respected surgeons in the world," Rose replied. "She may not spend hours in the mirror, but she thinks enough of her appearance to make sure it never works against her. Think about it: if you were a patient with a choice between a sloppy-looking surgeon or a polished one, which would you choose?"
When Bella didn't reply, Rose said, "Look, it's obvious that Cullen needs to get laid, but that doesn't mean you couldn't stand to make some changes to help yourself. And if it's a choice between you becoming a bitch or getting a makeover, I vote for the makeover." Rose tossed her hair. "We live together, and more than one resident bitch would be confusing."
Bella laughed for the first time all day. "You're right about one thing: Edward Cullen definitely needs to get laid. I don't know anyone who would get near him with that attitude, but he's a rich surgeon—maybe he could hire a hooker." She snorted aloud, the tequila taking effect and making her oblivious to the frantic looks from her friends.
"Thank you for that suggestion, Dr. Swan," came a cold voice from over her shoulder. "I will take it under advisement."
Bella closed her eyes, praying that sound was a figment of her liquored-up imagination. With her lips clamped shut, she slowly turned around on her barstool to find a very real, very pissed-off Edward Cullen glaring at her.
"However," he continued, "As I am sure you haven't had sex in years, if ever,"—he looked her up and down disdainfully—"I doubt you have much knowledge on the topic. I'd suggest you stop worrying about my sex life and worry about your own drought."
Bella's nostrils flared. "Fuck you."
"Not interested. And may I remind you that I am your boss?"
"Not here you're not!" Bella staggered to her feet, shrugging off Rose's attempts to steady her. "Here, you are just another lowly mortal who needs to be put in his place."
"And who's going to do that? You?" Edward laughed harshly. "The only place you know anything about is the bottom of a trash can, which must be where you shop for clothes. I mean, are you trying to be this unattractive? Because if not..." He leaned in. "You might want to climb out of the bargain bin, find a good salon, and learn how to wash your face."
"And you need to learn how not to be the biggest asshole on the planet."
"Well." Edward folded his arms. "You'll become quite familiar with my asshole very soon."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you will be where I say, when I say, to do whatever I say for the next month." He stepped closer. "I'm going to teach you to respect authority if it kills me."
Bella got right in his face. "Not if I kill you first."
"Give it your best shot," he snarled.
"I will."
"Good."
"Good!"
"Great!"
"Asshole."
"Bitch."
Bella gasped. She didn't mind the word when used as a compliment or banter between friends. But coming from him, it was nothing but harsh. And it hurt more than it should have.
Edward noticed her reaction and laughed. "You can dish it but can't take it? This is going to be the highlight of my year! I'll see you tomorrow."
Bella raised her chin. "I'm off tomorrow."
"Well, you'd better enjoy it. It'll be your last day off for quite a while."
Edward strolled out of the bar, leaving Bella fuming in his wake. For all her desire to be unnoticed, she was certainly the center of attention now.
Fucking Cullen.
"What?" She barked at the lot of them. "What the hell are you staring at?"
"You, uh..." Rose pointed at Bella's face. "You've got something on your cheek. Looks like barbecue sauce or something."
"What?" She cringed, remembering Cullen's remark about washing her face. Bella's cheeks reddened even further, and she took the damp napkin Rose handed her, sighing heavily. "Hey, Alice?"
Alice set down her drink. "Yes?"
She rubbed the smudge from her face. "I think... I think I need your help."
"With what?" Alice asked cautiously.
"I want a makeover." She looked toward the door with a scowl. "That man will never get another chance to call me frumpy."
***STYB***
Bella awoke the next morning with a migraine, a bird's nest atop her head, and a swirl of terrible images in her mind. She remembered tequila, something about barbecue sauce, and Cullen's face.
His angry, accusing face.
And along with those images, she heard her voice—loud, sarcastic, and calling him an asshole.
Twice.
Oh, crap...
"Did I really do what I think I did last night?" Bella asked as she stumbled into the kitchen looking for aspirin.
Rose looked up from the medical journal she was reading. "You mean calling Cullen an asshole to his face?"
"Yes."
"You sure did. And I had front-row seats to the whole show." Rose laughed loudly, making Bella wince. "Honestly, kid, I didn't know you had it in you."
"I did know, which is why I avoid tequila at all costs." Bella propped her elbows on the kitchen table and rested her head in her hands. "I can't believe I insulted my boss."
"No, girl, fight the power." Rose raised a fist. "It's about time you let loose."
"I let loose alright." Bella declined the plate of cold pizza Rose pushed toward her. "I word-vomited all over the most hated attending in the history of Olympic Med..." Bella raised her head with a gasp, panic seeping into her voice. "And made an enemy of the person who's supposed to teach me for the next seven years. Meaning, my career is officially over."
"You're overreacting. For one, neither of you was on duty, and it happened off hospital grounds. Besides, he engaged with you too, so no one can blame you."
"I'm sure he blames me. That's why he'll put me on slave duty for the next six months if he wants. God, he's going to torture me!"
"Aw, honey. I just wanted you to grow some ovaries and speak up during rounds or something, not piss off an attending." Rose clicked her tongue in sympathy. "But hey, that works too. I guess."
Bella groaned and banged her head repeatedly against the table. Rose put a dish towel underneath it to prevent permanent brain damage and kept eating her pizza. "Poor kid," she mused.
"Hello?" someone called out as the front door opened. "Bella?"
"Kitchen," Bella replied with her face buried in the towel. Alice's heels clacked on the hardwood floors as she entered the kitchen, and she frowned when she saw her friend.
"Bella, why aren't you ready?" She checked her watch. "We need to get a move on if we're going to get everything done. You have a hair appointment in an hour, then a mani-pedi, and then waxing…"
"Waxing?" Bella sat up then. "Waxing what?"
Alice looked her up and down. "Everything."
Bella turned a little green and looked at Rose. "This is going to make me a better surgeon?"
"Yes." Rose managed with a straight face. "Because if you can survive this, working with Cullen will seem like a vacation."
Bella gulped, and Alice helped her off the stool. "Go get dressed," Alice said. "And wear your frumpiest clothes so I can burn them when we're done. You've got 23 minutes." Bella shuffled towards the stairs like a dead woman walking.
Twenty minutes later, Alice led Bella outside and ushered her toward the car. "You've got room on your credit card, right?"
Bella nodded. "And why am I doing this again?"
Alice unlocked the door. "Do you want the real reason or a fake one?"
"What's the difference?"
"Well, the fake reason is so you can feel better about yourself, get noticed, be taken seriously… yada yada yada…"
"And you think the real reason is?" Bella prompted as they got in the car.
Alice grinned. "To wipe that smug look off Edward Cullen's face."
Bella envisioned that look—the obnoxious, arrogant disdain he seemed to reserve for her alone—and she buckled her seat belt with gusto. "Let's do this."
Oooh, a Bella-Barbie makeover! It was Bella's idea, though, so that's progress.
This rec we both agree on. "Clutch" by Sunshine 1220. What an amazing ride this story is and will be. I am lucky enough that she chose me (Steph) to be a prereader.
Regarding our posting schedule: We have decided to do two chapters a week until we hit Chapter 9 then it will go back to a once-a-week posting. Some people have already read the first 8 chapters and we don't want to delay getting them to the new material. So we will post Wednesdays and Saturdays until then.
Thank you to Kat at ADF for rec'ing our story there.
Thanks so much for reading – we'll see you Wednesday! XO