(Bella's POV)

It had been two weeks since project "C" with the interns began. I had never seen so much back-biting, brown nosing, and all out war in all my life. I was very proud of them. There was no way these interns were going to let me down.

I was going to win.

If nothing else, C- CORP was now alerted that I was on to them. That meant they were probably also looking into who had bought up a near majority of the shares of their stock. We were up to 48% of the ownership of the shares. The last 3%, however, was always the hardest. It never came without drawing blood.

Soon, I would hear from some law firm that was trying to hide the desperation in their voice. Whenever a company was warned I was looking at them, a batch of lawyers were usually sent to my office within twenty-four hours to ward off the attack. This company had to be shaking in its boots. I loved the smell of fear. It was my favorite scent.

That Monday, I received an invitation to a gala being held at the Waldorf Astoria. I knew all about this party, but this invitation was not like the official one I'd already received weeks ago. This invitation was engraved on very fine paper and was not addressed to me by name, but to the Vice President of the company. And there was one curious line that stood out to me. It stated that my presence was "requested" that Friday to discuss an important matter of business.

I turned the invitation over in my hands wondering who and what it was all about. I brought in Sally and she told me that it was delivered by courier that morning.

I frowned as I continued to study the invitation. The gala on Friday was to be a large and grand affair. The President of the United States would be in attendance, as well as foreign leaders and dignitaries to honor the new Chancellor of Germany. The strange thing was, I didn't understand the additional invitation. Especially to a party that I didn't even plan on attending. I'd already told Simmons to go without me. I'd even told him to use my ticket for his supermodel of the week. The last I wanted was another party.

Two days later, I received the largest bouquet of flowers known to mankind. The letter read,

I am anxious for our meeting on Friday. I will be in the ballroom at 8:00 p.m. I assure you this business will be pleasant and extremely beneficial to you.

My jaw tightened. I didn't like playing games. And chances were the person who sent the flowers did not really have "business" on their mind. It wouldn't be the first time. I threw the letter away and gave the flowers to Sally. My mind didn't change about the party.

Two days later, on Friday, I had meetings from 7:00 to 10:00 in the morning. I knew there would a mountain of things waiting for me when I got to my office, but they were all forgotten when I walked in and saw a small blue box sitting on my desk. I recognized the blue color of the box. It was from Tiffany's.

I opened it and inside was a pin. I didn't usually wear pins, but this one was lovely. It was in the shape of a rose and was only about a half inch in diameter. It was encrusted completely in rubies. There was a card in the bottom of the box that read,

I am still counting on you being at the party tonight. 8:00 in the ballroom.

- C

I froze.

It was signed "C"…..

"Sally!" I screamed. She came running in breathlessly. I met her at my door.

"How did this box get on my desk?" I cried.

She stared at me with wide eyes. "The same courier that brought the invitation and flowers delivered it earlier this morning."

I was clutching the letter in my hands. I didn't realize I had mangled it into a ball.

"Sally, get Simmons in here, now!" I ran back to my desk. All our work had paid off. We had flushed out the mysterious "C". Everything else could wait.

I was madly pacing around my office when Simmons came bolting in.

"What's wrong?" He asked breathlessly.

I held up the mangled note and the pin as he stared at me in bewilderment.

"Remember the personal invitation and flowers I got this week?" I asked.

"Yeah . . . " He was still confused.

"Well, They're all from 'C'".

With widened eyes, he snatched the note from my hand.

"Simmons, I'm definitely going to that party," I announced forcefully. "I can't believe I don't have any dirt on him! Now, more than ever, I need something, anything, I can use to gain the upper hand when I see him tonight. By now, he probably knows what brand of lipstick I wear and I still know absolutely nothing about him."

Simmons smiled. "Don't worry, we'll find something. I knew we'd flush him out. We'll get him." Then he ran out of the room.

I clenched my teeth. Oh, this guy was good. Really good. I shook my head. Right now, he was probably thinking that he had me, that all he had to do was turn on the charm tonight and I would give up and be putty in his hands. Well, this guy had no idea what he was in for.

I reached for my purse. I was on my way to do something so painful that it proved all the more how much I wanted to win this battle. Yes….I was actually going to do it. I was going to a hair salon and shopping for a killer dress.

I made an appointment for 4:00 p.m. at the salon, and paid dearly for it. These guys were always booked out months in advance, but wisely left a few appointments open on the weekends for those desperate and rich clients that just had to get in. I was definitely desperate, and thankfully rich.

I headed to the boutique where I usually got my dresses for events such as this. Lola, the owner, always knew what looked best on me. I walked in and she could tell by the look on my face that this was important.

"Lola," I breathed. "I have asked for dresses before, but this time, I need something special. I need to be a knock-out tonight."

She stared at me with her eyebrows raised. "Tonight must be special," she said in her thick French accent. "You have never cared so much. You actually look nervous."

"Just work your magic, Lola." I begged.

I followed her as she passed through the racks of dresses. "With you it is not a matter of magic," she commented, "But putting it all together for the desired effect. So, tell me what is the desired effect, that he will fall in love with you, I hope?" She glanced back at me with a smile on her face.

"Love?" I choked. "No! Absolutely not! I'm not looking for this man to fall in love with me. I'm looking to stun him in submission. I'm going for shock and awe."

She laughed and said, "Okay then, let's get started."

We spent the next few hours trying on many different dresses; all beautiful, but none exactly right. The hour was growing later.

As I handed her another reject, I noticed that her eyes narrowed as she tapped her finger against her jaw. "We got a shipment in today and my girls are probably just finishing unpacking it. There was supposed to be a vintage Valentino in the order. Let me go check."

I was still struggling to get out of the shoes that I had tried on with the last dress, when she walked into the dressing lounge draping a dark blue dress across her arms. I could tell as soon as I saw it that it was something special. I hopefully took it into the dressing room and when I walked out, she began to clap.

The dress was made of a luxurious satin material that clung tight to my body until just below my knees where it flared out all the way down to the floor. Somehow, it made me look even slimmer and curvier than I actually was. There was a small amount of sleeve that barely hung on my shoulders and when I turned in the mirror, I saw that the back of my dress was made of a dark blue translucent material that stretched tightly over my skin, all the way down to the small of my back.

"Stay right there," Lola commanded.

She rushed back holding some jewelry and a pair of long black gloves. She walked behind me and attached the necklace around my neck. It was a black ribbon choker holding a Sapphire in the shape of a teardrop. It was perfect. She also had matching Sapphire teardrop earrings. I pulled on the gloves that stopped above my elbow and stood back to examine the final result.

"You did it again, Lola," I breathed.

"No, you did it Bella," she smiled. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "This is definitely shock and awe."

Two hours later, with my hair and make-up done, I took a taxi home. I fussed and pushed my way into the dress and stood in front of the mirror, staring at myself. I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. The salon had curled my hair and then put it in a high, loose bun with a few loose tendrils hanging down. It showed off my neck and looked great with the earrings. To the outside observer I thought that I might look beautiful. But it didn't matter. What good was it to dress up for a party if the sole purpose was just to dazzle someone into submission?

If Edward could see me tonight, would he love me then?

I imagined him, with his hypnotic butterscotch eyes, taking in the sight of me in this dress and telling me how beautiful he thought I looked. I imagined him telling me he loved me.

My throat tightened painfully.

That horrible day in the forest, everything changed for me.

I knew I would never feel it again. That I would never again know what it felt like to be in the arms of someone I truly loved. That when you were with him, you were left breathless, and it was the only place in the world you wanted to be. It was better to not even try than to be ninety-two years old and still trying to get back that feeling of true love that was forever lost.

I already knew the end of this story. True love didn't happen twice. I would always be alone. A distant second was so distasteful to me that I could scarcely even think it.

So, I looked beautiful tonight, even though Edward would never see me. This night, like so many before, and so many more that would come, it was all just a masquerade to make it through this thing called a life.

I attached the small ruby pin to my chest, turned out the light, and headed to the party.