Man, thank you for your great reviews They were the best yet! One of the best compliments I got were those of you who said that you could picture yourself there. I loved that. I also love how every time there are new reviewers. That means so much to me. You guys say the funniest things too. I just can't express how much I love to read your reviews.

This is my longest chapter yet. Clearly, I have issues...

It was late on Sunday night and I was at the office working on a proposal. A firm in Argentina wanted to pay our company to handle all the background work that was involved in transferring its investments into an offshore bank account in Switzerland. I'd found out about it yesterday and immediately called Mr. Hathaway and convinced him I was the best one to handle the details. I'd told him that it because they wanted to invest 3 billion dollars and we didn't want to risk losing their business, but truth be told, I was grasping at anything to get my mind off of Friday, and dancing with Edward.

I was deep in the bowels of the project, when my cell phone rang.

"Hey Bells."

It was Jake.

His familiar husky voice sent a wave of wistfulness through me. A thousand memories spun in my head, taking me far away from the high-rise office building and placing me on a rocky beach strewn with driftwood trees. My thoughts raced back to a garage made of plastic sheds, warm sodas in a paper bag, a tiny room with one too-small shabby couch, the feverish heat of his big hand around mine, and the flash of his white teeth against his dark skin. I could hear the smile in his voice when I answered the phone.

"Jake, it's so good to hear your voice." Aside from text messages, I hadn't talked to him since my birthday.

"Are you at the office on a Sunday night?" He chided.

"I'm thinking about moving my bed in here." I was only half joking.

"You work too much, and I have just the solution," he said authoritatively.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Come home for Thanksgiving." I could hear the longing and sincerity in his tone.

When I didn't answer right away, he sighed. "Ah, come on Bella, they can't lock you up in that office for Thanksgiving, it's against the law or something."

"I don't know, Jake." My voice was hesitant. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that this is a bit of a bad time for me to be leaving."

"Fly out Wednesday night, and fly back Friday morning. You don't even have to stay the whole weekend. Just give us one day."

He made it sound so easy. I could never refuse Jake on anything. Well, almost never. If I hadn't refused him all those years ago, we would probably be together right now. I sighed as I thought about how great it would be to spend an easy and slow weekend in LaPush. The food would be delicious, it would be laid back and peaceful, I wouldn't have paparazzi following me around, but most of all, there would be no angel face to look at and remind me of what I had lost.

"Did Charlie put you up to this?" I grumbled suspiciously.

"I was a willing accomplice," he admitted.

"How is Charlie?" I asked. We were terrible about keeping in touch. Neither one of us was very good at that sort of thing.

"He's lonely. He misses you and hopes that you'll say yes."

I chuckled. "You're shameful, Jake. I'll see what I can do and call you tomorrow, okay?"

"I miss you, Bella."

"I miss you too, Jake."

After hanging up, I stared at my cell phone. This was invitation number three. The other two invites were from Renee and Vaughn.

Renee had never cooked a turkey in her life. Well, there was that one year when I was about eleven years old, but it didn't count because the fire department had to come and save us. I still remember her explanation to the firemen.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you had to take the plastic wrapping offthe turkey before you cooked it!"

That was the year of the Thanksgiving macaroni and cheese and I had pretty much taken over in the kitchen exclusively after that. She had called yesterday after she saw me on the cover of that stupid magazine. She was hysterical. Hysterically happy. She began babbling on about a wedding in the Spring and grandchildren and after 30 minutes of trying to explain that the article was all a lie, I still wasn't sure I convinced her. I missed my mom, but I did not want to spend the whole weekend deflecting her comments about the circles under my eyes, and I definitely didn't want her trying to feed me and talking about how thin I was.

And then there was Vaughn. He was playing that day, and his family would be in town for the game. He was inviting me to sit with his parents and his sister in the player's suite and then all go back to his house where his mother would cook dinner. That sounded very serious. He was trying to get me in with his family, and I just couldn't do it.

I could always spend Thanksgiving at the office and treat it like any other day. I would get loads done without anyone here to bother me….

The big problem with going to see Jake and Charlie, was that I hadn't been home in over five years. I never planned on going back there. I had met them in Seattle a few times and spent the weekend, but that was as close as I felt I could get. This time, more than any other time, would be very difficult.

I wondered what Jake would think if he knew that Edward was here. I smirked internally as I thought of what Edward would think if he knew I was going to LaPush to spend time with werewolves for Thanksgiving.

And then….an amazing idea began to form in my mind.

Edward had been doing a masterful job in the negotiations. His mind reading and brilliance had killed so many of our strategies.

And also, Edward had left me months before Jacob changed.

Hmmmm…..I stood up and began pacing around the room and realized I may have just found the ammunition I needed to muddy the waters of that perfect vampire mind of his.

I'd had a plan in the works for weeks now, but Edward was always so aware of everything that was going on that I'd decided it was just too impossible to pull off. Now maybe, just maybe, I'd finally found a way.

But….If I succeeded in my plan, there was a good chance Edward would be gone within the week. I was afraid at how much that thought hurt me.

I sat at my desk holding my middle. Should I implement my plan and possibly have Edward gone in a few days? Or prolong the torture just to have him leave anyway. And that was the truth of it. No matter what, he was going to leave. He could dance with me, sing songs into my ear, and hold me as close to him as he ever did, but at some point, I would walk into that conference room and tell him good-bye. And I would watch him walk away.

Oh, how foolish of me to care about saying good-bye…

My middle exploded as if he had already left. I bit my lip and fought the war in my head, insisting that my heart could have no say in this battle. I must look at this like any other business decision I've ever made, I told myself. I have to look at what will keep me sane.

And that was the clincher. I had to keep my wits about me and think about my own life, as pathetic as it was. I had my future with this company to think about. I had to support myself. Rational, sensible, logical, intelligent, and steady - These were all words used to describe me before Edward had come back and I would ensure that they would still be mine when he left.

If I did this now, I would have to make some concessions with the deal. The firm would never have France, Italy, and Alaska. C-CORP had them protected too well. I didn't care. I would take whatever I could get. Just let this be done.

I leaned on my desk and put my head in my hands. Edward was going to hate me. His family would feel betrayed.

But he'd said it himself on Friday night, "Monday can be business as usual . . . You can do your worst."

I swallowed hard. My mouth tasted stale and sour. This was not the taste of the hunt that I loved so much. This was something much more sinister. I worried that desperation was clouding my judgment. But what if this was my last chance to get out of this in one piece?

My plan was risky. Everything I wanted to use against Edward would be coming from details that I remembered from when he said he loved me. But it was worth taking the risk. I called Simmons, waking him up, and told him to be me in my office at 6:00 a.m.

I had never lost, and I had no intentions of starting now.

Simmons' dark brown eyes stared at me. "You want me to do what?" He asked incredulously.

I put my hands up in defense. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but nothing else is working, and I want to see if this will."

"Are you really expecting that he's going to read my mind, or something?" Simmons mouth twisted doubtfully.

When I hesitated, he leaned back warily in his chair. "There's something you're not telling me about Edward Cullen, isn't there?"

I saw actual fear in his eyes, and realized that I was treading a thin line here. "Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed. "What he does is just sort of a clever party trick. He practiced relentlessly until he was actually deluding people into thinking he was reading their minds." I leaned in closer to Simmons for effect. "You see, I'm afraid he's been a little sneaky in our meetings and I just want to test him to see if he's using the trick, or not. The subjects I gave you were sort of a private joke between me and Edward. Chances are it won't even work, but it's worth a try. So, are you ready?"

He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, "Go over it with me one more time."

We went over it twice to make sure he was ready, and then headed to the conference room. I was foregoing my "grand entrance" today. A few of our lawyers were there, but none of the C- CORP team had arrived. That was good. I was hoping that Edward had not been in the building or close enough to hear our conversation.

Ten minutes later, Harry Banks and his team of lawyers walked in. I tensed, watching for Edward. I hadn't seen him since Friday and I wasn't sure how to act. A moment later, I watched the perfect angel enter the room and with unconscious grace, walk straight over to my chair.

"Good Morning," he said softly.

He had never done that before. When he smiled, I noticed that his eyes were much more golden than when I'd seen him on Friday. In fact, his whole face was luminous. He sighed deep, and for a moment he looked far into my eyes and then he turned away and went to take his seat. I cleared my throat, feeling the heat permeating through me.

The memories of Friday night came charging at me and I breathed deeply in an effort to clear my head. I sat down and swiveling my chair away from him, gave myself the killer pep talk one more time. I wasn't about to lose my courage now.

We were two hours into our meeting and trying to hammer out the details of acquiring the financial records of one of C- CORP'S Russian affiliates when I could see Edward whisper to Harry Banks about something I'm sure he heard in the mind of one of my lawyers. They began writing down furiously and nodding their heads. I decided that now was as good a time as any other to put my plan into action.

I looked at Dale Bennett, he was one of my firm's newer lawyers that Edward would not be familiar with, and gulped. He nodded back slightly, letting me know that all was in place. I would only get one chance at this. Edward would never fall for it again. I made the signal to Simmons by putting one finger on the top of my coffee cup. I saw him sit up slightly and I felt beads of sweat on my forehead as I thought about what Simmons was thinking.

"I have to remember to ask Bella what time she is leaving for Thanksgiving to visit LaPush and see Jake Black."

Edward's head had been turned to Harry Banks, when all of the sudden he whipped around and stared first at Simmons, then at me. From the corner of my eye, I saw that his jaw was clenched. I never looked at him, but began my line of questioning again to one of Edward's lawyers. He just kept staring at me and thankfully, at least for the moment, was preoccupied by his own thoughts, and not what was happening around him.

After about thirty seconds, he came back to the present conversation and I signaled to Simmons again.

"I hope Bella doesn't ride those motorcycles with Jake while she's there. She told me she ended up in the emergency room almost every time she rode it. Jake never should have taught her to ride that stupid motorcycle."

All of the sudden, there was a low growl in the room and every head turned to see where it came from. Edward coughed loudly to cover it.

"Excuse me," he said hoarsely.

I saw his hand run quickly across his face. Jasper looked at him with a concerned look and Edward just stared back at him with dark angry eyes. His face flashed to mine and I used every bit of my resolve to keep speaking.

"As I was saying, by December 15th, I would like to know the stock equivalents of the holdings in Moscow, Brotska, and Minsk. I need them for our end of year analysis." I droned on for another few minutes, and then saw that Edward had calmed down enough to pay attention to the proceedings. Time to signal Simmons.

"At least Bella can't go cliff diving. The water will be too cold for that. Last time she tried, she came so close to dying that Jake had to revive her."

Edward rose out of his seat and gripped the edge of the table. All eyes were on him. Harry Banks put his hand on Edward's arm. He looked concerned as he tried to pull Edward back down into his seat. Jasper looked at me. I shrugged as I stared back innocently.

Jasper leaned into Edward. "Do we need to take a break?" He seemed very concerned.

Edward was looking down at the table. His jaw was clenched down hard. I was surprised. This was working much, much better than I had anticipated. Simmons glanced once at me with wide eyes and looked quickly away.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Cullen?" I feigned boredom.

He slowly brought his head up to look at me. He was attempting to show the others in the room that he was fine, but I could read the anger and rage in his face. His mouth was a tight line and he was breathing hard though his nose. His gaze held me and I almost felt afraid.

Almost.

"Do you need to leave the room, Mr. Cullen?" I asked impatiently. Inside, I was thinking I should receive an academy award for this, or at least a daytime Emmy.

He shook his head slowly. "I'm fine." He said flatly.

He slowly sat back down, but his eyes stayed fixed on me. I was shaking as I said, "We have only a few more items to discuss." I glanced quickly up at the clock on the wall, and then announced, "We will be done in twenty minutes."

Dale Bennett, recognized the signal and immediately excused himself and left the room. I was amazed I was able to keep my voice detached and bored as I droned on through more legal documents and argued about trivial business matters. At the ten minute mark, I knew it was time for the last blow.

I signaled to Simmons.

"Bella would be very angry if she knew I overheard her conversation with Jake Black. I wondered what she meant when she said she's worried Charlie will find out that Jake is a werewolf."

There was a loud crack under the table and then a murderous growl escaped out of Edward's chest. He stared up at me and his eyes were so black I stumbled back a step away from the table. At that moment, Jasper's phone rang. He looked to see who it was, and then answered it immediately. I was guessing it was Alice. Hopefully, she would be too late.

A moment later, Dale Bennett came walking back into the room, and smiled triumphantly. I immediately turned to Jasper and watched as he slumped down into his seat, his head in his hands. Edward was still staring at me, but it was easy to decipher the exact moment he heard Jasper's thoughts. I saw the recognition on his face as he turned to look at Jasper' and then slowly turned back to me. His expression was livid.

My eyes stayed on Edward as I said, "Mr. Bennett, do you have an announcement?"

Dale Bennett stood up and proudly said, "As of two minutes ago, we have acquired three more shares of C- CORP. That elevates Whitmore-Hathaway over C- CORP with us holding 51 percent of the company."

My eyes were still on Edward. The plan had worked beautifully. And my heart was breaking.

Edward's lawyers flew out of their seats as if an explosion went off. There was yelling and accusations made from both sides of the table as Edward continued to look at me. His emotion slowly turned from fury to betrayal.

So it was over then. We now owned the majority of the company and all negotiations had changed. It was all legal business now. No need for a former owner of the company to be here. I felt a sob rise in my throat. I smashed it down just like so many times before.

I ripped my eyes away from him and announced, "Gentlemen, why don't we break for lunch. At 2:00 we'll meet back here and work out a few last details." I turned to look at Harry. "Your team will need to attend a meeting tomorrow with a plan of how you will proceed with the transfer, and then we will put this matter behind us."

Harry's face was dark red. "This is not over yet, Ms. Swan," he seethed. "You were already on shaky ground with France, Italy, and Alaska. I will use that leverage to rally the other companies behind us. They won't leave without a fight. You are in for the battle of your life!"

I didn't give a response, although I truly hoped that wasn't the case. I gathered my things and walked swiftly from the room. The door didn't shut behind me. I didn't turn around to see why.

"Bravo, to your great performance." His musical voice was heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Hello, Edward, anything wrong?" I asked virtuously.

"Enough, Bella." He was suddenly next to me and moved his head closer to mine so no one else could hear. "We need to talk," he whispered fiercely.

Even though I knew it was no use, I started walking faster. "We just sat in the same room for three hours," I replied sharply. "You could have said anything you wanted in there."

His voice showed great restraint, with anger tinged around the edges. "If you would rather, I'll wait until the conference room is full to discuss how I can't believe you would deceive me and take away my family's company after they all accepted and loved you."

I glared sideways at him. He probably would try something like that. News of a scene like that one would spread through the office like wildfire. I stopped and looked at him head on. He stopped too, keeping his face inches from mine.

"I don't have time to talk to you right now," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Clear your schedule." He said quickly.

"No." I growled, folding my arms.

Unbelievably, he lifted me up and in three large strides, carried me into my office and set me back down on the floor. Turning back out into the hall, he looked at Sally, and in his warm, honey voice said, "Please clear Ms. Swan's schedule for the next half hour." She stared at him with a shocked look on her face.

"Call security!" I shouted.

He whipped back around to look at me. "Do you really want to see what I'll do to your security, or could we just have a discussion like two adults."

Sally stared at me with the phone in her hand. "Forget it Sally." I grumbled and shut my door.

I waited a few seconds before turning around. I had to ready myself to look at him. Edward was in my office. I'm tough, I reminded myself. I just gained control of his company. I beat a vampire at his own game. I am going to win. There were still many details to be ironed out in this fight with C- CORP but I had just sped things up considerably. I can do this. Fight, Bella. Remember he doesn't love you. He doesn't love you.

I turned around and said coldly, "You're on the clock, Cullen. You have thirty minutes or less."

Through clenched teeth he said, "That was quite a trick you played on me in there."

"It's no different from all the times you've had the upper hand because of the small fact that you can read every mind in the room," I retorted.

"Almost every mind." He sounded extremely frustrated.

"Acquiring C-CORP was a foregone conclusion. I was just hastening the process," I replied heartlessly.

His voice rose. "From the very start you have been manipulative and deceitful in your tactics."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"The Bella I knew would never have done this to my family."

His muscles were tense as he pointed his finger at me, so pointing mine right back at him, I said, "The Bella you knew was a trusting girl who would have followed you anywhere."

He stopped. His face softened and when he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "Where did she go?" he asked wistfully.

I swallowed hard and didn't answer. Instead, I walked away from him, setting my briefcase down on a side table and then walking over to my bar for a glass of water.

"You do realize what that money means for me and my family, don't you?" His voice followed me across the room.

"You'll make millions off this deal," I shot back. "Start over. It's all the rage right now."

His voice was low, but I could hear the tension in his words. "Times have changed since we started this company. There is too much information that we can't risk divulging to start over."

I avoided his gaze and tried to sound flippant. "Do what everybody else does. Live off the interest."

He exhaled sharply. "We didn't live off the money that you see on the ledgers you throw around in those meetings. That is all a front. There are back channels, and loop-holes, and safety nets to make the money we do use untraceable."

He took a step towards me. "Bella, do you realize that Carlisle has been building C- CORP since 1731?"

My eyes flew up at him in shock. "I didn't see anything on the records before 1906."

"Record keeping was not very reliable before 1900," he explained tersely. "He used that to help build businesses for others like him and make it so that they were all free to live away from the public eye. They are not going to go quietly, Bella. You could be in this fight with Harry for years."

I gulped. "Others like him? . . . You mean to tell me that all of these businesses are run by vampires?" I asked breathlessly.

He blew out air angrily as he walked away from me, shaking his head as if I had no idea what I'd done today. He passed my large window and glanced at my desk. Suddenly, he stopped and gazed at the pictures I had put there. There were three of them; one of me and Renee, one of me and Charlie, and one of me and Jake. His face rested on the one of me and Jake. All traces of anger left his face.

I was still slightly unnerved. Just how many vampires did I have business dealings with on a daily basis? I put down my glass and asked nervously, "Are these vampires vegetarian or…non-vegetarian?"

He picked up the picture of me and Jake and examined it more closely. It was taken shortly before I graduated from High School.

"Some of them share our way of life," he murmured quietly.

Some of them? That wasn't very encouraging.

He continued to look at the picture. Jake and I were out at First Beach with Sam and the others. I had an easy smile on my face. It was early Spring and my cheeks were flushed from the cold. I was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans and we were sitting on a log by a fire. The sun had just started to go down casting a beautiful sunset behind us. Jake and I were holding hands. I was looking at the camera, and Jake was staring at me.

The look on Edward's face was unfathomable. He gripped the picture in both of his hands and swallowed hard. Finally, he gently laid the frame on the desk. He turned and looked out my window.

"You have a beautiful view," he said softly.

I stood there, beginning to get a little confused. I was all geared up to feel the "Wrath of Edward". After all, I was aware of what kind of temper he had. Instead, he continued looking out the window as he asked me a question.

"Bella, you are very successful, with a corner office at the top investment firm in New York City. You'll soon have your name on the building, and you have the respect of all you have worked with. But, are you happy?"

He turned and his golden eyes bore into me. He walked back to me and bringing his face inches from mine asked, "Did you get everything you ever wanted?"

I didn't have any of the things I wanted. True love, a family, happiness, forever . . .

"I'm doing fine." I replied, but even I knew I didn't sound very convincing. "What about you?" I asked, struggling to keep my breathing even.

He shook his head slowly. "I don't have any of the things I want."

My pulse thudded in my ears. Say you want me, I silently begged. Then I shut my eyes. I felt like I was walking along the edge of a cliff and wasn't sure if I should fall, or save myself. I had to gain control. I had to stop this. I drastically changed the subject.

"By the way," I said, blinking hard and taking a step backward. "I want you to know that Simmons has no idea what is going on or . . . what you are."

"Are you," He paused as if he were deliberating his question. He then continued, saying the words more quickly. "Are you going back to Forks to spend Thanksgiving with Jacob Black?"

I hadn't made my mind up until that moment. "Yes, I am."

"I didn't realize the two of you were that close." He searched my eyes, as if hoping they would provide answers that I would never willingly divulge.

"He's my best friend," I explained. "For the year and half before I left for college we were together every day."

He took a step closer to me. The muscles in his arms flexed and twitched. "Bella, is Jacob Black really a werewolf?"

I raised my chin and met his gaze. "Yes."

He struggled mightily to stay calm. His hands balled into tight fists and his eyes darkened and narrowed. Through clenched teeth he hissed, "You should not be around werewolves, Bella."

I folded my arms defiantly. "Well, it's really none of your business, is it?" My voice was tinged with acid.

His long, perfect fingers ran lightning quick over his face as he closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. "Werewolves are dangerous and unpredictable and you need to stay away from them," he hissed.

I raised an eyebrow and almost laughed out loud. It seemed a better choice than letting my anger take over. "Thanks for the advice," I muttered flatly.

"You promised," he whispered.

His mouth-watering scent swirled in my face.

"Excuse me?" I huffed.

His expression changed and I stifled my sharp intake of breath. His eyes were the exact color of topaz that had always sent me over the edge and I felt my chest cave in as he moved closer to me.

"You promised me you wouldn't do anything reckless," he whispered gently. "You said you would be careful."

I stared at him, certain that if he took me in his arms right now, how easily I could forget everything. Forget that seven years had passed, forget how I lay on the wet ground for hours when he left, forget how every night I had lied in bed and begged him to appear at my window, and forgotten how I'd become someone so closed off to any emotion that I didn't even know who I was anymore. I took a step backwards, trying to break the spell he still so obviously had on me.

"Are all those things true?" He asked, stepping forward and closing the space between us again.

"All wh….what things," I stammered.

"Do you really ride motorcycles with Jake Black, jump off cliffs, and push things to the point that you're rushed to emergency rooms?"

"I was never rushed to the emergency room," I argued. "I usually walked in on my own."

"Bella." He said it just like he used to.

"It's been seven years," I blurted out, trying to bite back the emotion. "Why are you even bothering with this? Why would you even care?"

I watched his impossibly long dark lashes hide his eyes for a moment before he looked up at me and said, "I can't live in a world where you don't exist."

I remembered him saying that to me once before. We were lying on my couch watching Romeo and Juliet and he was whispering the lines in my ear. That night, when he'd said those very words to me, I couldn't imagine us ever being apart. My fate, future, and destiny were already decided and I wanted nothing but him. I couldn't believe that I deserved such good fortune. This archangel.

Then my world fell out from under me.

I blinked away the hot tears that were forming dangerously close to the surface. "The last time you said that to me, " I hissed, "Three days later you told me you no longer loved me and left me standing there alone." I shook my head and said, "You have no say over my life or what I do."

The more I thought about his ludicrous statement, the angrier I became. I was grateful for this. Anger was an emotion I knew fully well how to handle. I stood my ground and exclaimed, "How dare you! You don't want to ever see me again, but you still want to be able to tell me what I can and can't do?"

"Bella . . . . "

I turned and began walking towards my door. "You had seven years to seek me out and you did nothing. If I hadn't searched out your company," I pointed my finger at him, "You still would have no idea where I was." I set my back against my door and hissed, "You arrogant vampire."

I leaned forward and narrowed my eyes. "I will ride motorcycles and crash, I will jump off cliffs and nearly drown, and I will also play with werewolves wherever and whenever I want and you will have nothing to say about it."

I opened my door and shouted, "Get out!"

In less time than it took me to blink, he was beside me. His hand went over mine on the doorknob and after calmly shutting the door, his perfect velvet voice said, "I'm not leaving. Not until you know the truth."

My jaw clenched down tightly. Truth was not something I'd ever had a problem with. In fact, truth had been my unwilling companion every second of the day for the last seven years.

"Look Edward, I will make this as easy as I can." My insides throbbed and I felt the pain rip in a new and much more painful way, but I had to say it.

"Edward, this is the last time you and I will talk. You want to know why I pulled this stunt today? I did it because I want you gone! I want you out of here! This has dragged on long enough."

I looked into his face. That was a mistake. It was beautiful. His eyes were full of passion and fire as he reached out and gently brushed his fingers down my cheek. It had the same outcome as the first time he did that. My eyes flickered shut for a moment as I savored his touch.

"You may claim that you want me to leave," he murmured, "But the way you danced with me on Friday night tells me otherwise."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it again. I had to think up a good rebuttal, but at the moment, I had nothing. I backed up a step and said, "What happened Friday was . . ."

"Wonderful." He whispered.

"No," I insisted. "It was pointless." I was holding on by a very thin thread. My heart was beginning to scream for his touch. It was demanding I pull him close to me and feel myself in his arms again.

I backed up another step. "Dancing with you was also reckless, irrational, foolish, careless, rash, ill-considered, and senseless."

Every time I took a step backward, he followed me. I was growing increasingly desperate.

Before I knew what was happening, his hands were on each side of my face. I felt a sigh escape through my wall. My heart was exploding. It was finally getting what it wanted.

"That dance meant as much to you as it did to me," he growled. "And you'll never love Thomas Vaughn."

That did it.

"Enough!" I gasped, breathlessly pulling away from him. "You are not to come near me again, do you understand? The past is over! It's done with! I don't need you to make sure I'm all right. I don't need you to check up on me or feel that you need to fix anything." All the air escaped out of my lungs as I set my shoulders and said, "Edward, I set you free."

His eyes masked over with hurt and anger and his jaw tightened as he grabbed me by the shoulders.

"No!" He snarled through clenched teeth. He brought his forehead down to mine. "No," he whispered.

A loud knock shook the door. "Swan, everything okay in there?" It was Mr. Hathaway.

I swallowed hard as I struggled to gain control of my senses. My legs were weak and I cringed, knowing my heart was hammering in Edward's ears. I opened my eyes and realized I was gripping his marble arms and I immediately let go. Edward didn't move at all. His cold hands still held my shoulders and our foreheads were still touching and the perfect moments ticked by before he softly sighed and pulled back just far enough to look into my eyes. His lips were only inches from mine.

"This isn't over." He said resolutely.

I gathered every shred of my strength. "Yes, Edward. It is."

"Isabella!" Mr. Hathaway bellowed. "Open this door!"

I had no idea how I was going to explain the fact that I was in my office alone with the head of C-CORP. I was breaking one of Hathaway's hard and fast rules of never communicating directly with the enemy.

Somehow, I pulled away from Edward and with trembling fingers, unlocked my door. Mr. Hathaway immediately barged in and when he saw Edward, he turned to me with suspicion and bewilderment. "Your secretary thought I should stop by and see if you needed anything," he said hesitantly.

I took two steps away from Edward and said roughly, "I'm fine Mr. Hathaway. Thank you."

Mr. Hathaway's eyes darted to Edward. When he looked back at me, his eyes narrowed. "I need to talk to you in my office, Ms. Swan." His gravel voice sounded so harsh after Edward's lilting, musical one.

"Yes, Mr. Hathaway." Without looking at Edward I lowered my chin and stormed out, leaving Edward standing in my office alone.

As we approached Mr. Hathaway's office, I realized that he wasn't yet aware that I was giving C-CORP concessions on the deal. This was not going to be pretty.

I followed him into his spacious office and after sitting down behind his massive walnut desk, he said, "How goes the acquisition of C- CORP? Is everything on schedule?"

I sat down in one of the chairs across from his desk. "Yes sir," I answered, trying to summon all of my confidence. "We acquired the 51 percent today, so we are right on track." I took a deep breath and tried to make my argument sound compelling. "C- CORP is very . . . clever and they have created a few delays. They may end up keeping their operations in France, Italy, and Alaska, but the majority will be bought and sold."

"Why aren't we able to get their holdings in France, Italy and Alaska?" He asked angrily.

I shifted a little in my seat, "Well sir, these are their strongest companies and their stockholders are holding on tight. They don't want to leave C- CORP. Frankly, it would delay things further to keep strong-arming them to sell out. There is enough money to be made by going for what we know. Still well over 26 billion dollars worth."

Mr. Hathaway stared at me as if I was in kindergarten and he was about to teach me an important lesson. "Isabella, you say there is enough money to be made, I want all the money. We could make close to 10 billion dollars more by squeezing them dry." He leaned forward in his chair and frowned. "Why am I telling you this? These are tactics you have been perfecting on clients since I hired you. This is what is putting your name on the building."

Suddenly, getting my name on the building didn't seem as important as my sanity.

I cleared my throat. "I believe that after we're through paying legal fees for six more months and paying interns to do all the grunt work, we'll get significantly less than 10 billion dollars, and we will have lost many other important opportunities at other worthwhile companies. The cost is too great."

Mr. Hathaway jumped to his feet and leaned menacingly over his desk. "How about this cost," he growled. "As soon as the business world sees us letting one company keep something instead of annihilating them, others will think that we've lost our edge, that we have gone soft. Once we lose the fear factor, we will begin to slip from number one to number two. How is that for cost?" He stared at me without flinching.

"I see your point," I said flatly.

He then spoke in a softer, and yet somehow more menacing voice. "You can never let personal feelings get in the way of success."

I knew my bottom lip was trembling. I bit down hard to stop it and then said, "I understand."

He raised his finger and pointed it right between my eyes. "Do not let me down, Swan."

"Don't worry, sir," I replied, feeling more nauseous by the second, "I will make certain that C- CORP is left with nothing."

I numbly walked back to my office. It wasn't over. We owned the company, but there was no way Edward would go quietly when France, Italy and Alaska were still on the table. This was going to drag on until next year, and Edward would most definitely stay for negotiations. I could feel the hole ripping and tearing.

Sally met me outside my office with a stack of files. She was saying something to me, but she could have been speaking some ancient form of Arabic for all the sense she was making. I put all my effort into concentrating on her voice, but I was too far gone. Finally, I shook my head and said, "Sally, I have a splitting headache. Please make sure no one comes into my office." I wasn't sure what my witless secretary was supposed to do against a vampire, but I tried to instill a dreaded fear into her anyway.

I closed my door and felt the tears almost immediately. I was so ashamed of them. I thought I was so tough. Now I realized how weak I'd been all along. I'd fooled myself into believing that I could do this. But now, I could see where my false sense of confidence had led me. I pushed my large leather chair to the side and crawled into the space it left under my desk. I had worked so hard for respect, but I didn't deserve any of it. I didn't deserve to be vice-president. And I certainly didn't deserve to have my name on the building.

What was Edward trying to do to me? I just wanted him to go back to Ireland, or wherever, and leave me alone. Didn't he understand that nothing would be left of me if he kept this up?

It seemed like all the tears that I'd forbidden myself to cry came out when I was under that desk. For a time, I held on and just let them come. Eventually, I checked my watch and sighed. The meeting with C - CORP was to resume in thirty minutes. I reached my hand up on the desk and felt for my phone and then I called Sally and told her to cancel the meeting. No one would ever again respect and fear me if they saw me like this. I couldn't explain away this level of lunacy.

I tried to talk myself down. I told myself this was no time to fall apart. C- CORP was so close to being ours, and years from now this would just be a faint memory. But all my heart cared about was getting Edward back. And that made me so angry that I wished I could just reach in and yank out my heart and replace it with one that had never heard of that stupid, unreliable vampire.

The sky began to darken. I knew I needed to get out from under my desk and get back to work. I wrapped my arms around my knees, closed my eyes, and let another hour go by.

I heard a faint knock on the door, and I stiffened. It was silent for about two minutes, and I relaxed again, thinking that whomever it was finally left. Then the door slowly opened and I tucked in my feet, hoping they would find my office empty and just go away. Footsteps began to approach my desk and I vowed I would fire Sally tomorrow for not doing her job. She'd lasted longer than any secretary I'd ever had anyway.

Someone came around the desk and I shrank back, hoping they wouldn't see me, but two feet paused, and then much to my horror, the person knelt down and looked at me. It was Simmons.

His eyes grew wide, and then when he saw the state I was in, his face softened, "Bella, what are you doing?"

I sniffed and wiped my nose on the back of my hand. He reached up on my desk and handed me a box of tissue. I pulled out a handful and very ungracefully blew my nose.

"Come here often?" He asked, a placid smile on his face.

I was still wiping my nose and eyes. A pile of used tissue was building up beside me.

He sat down and leaned his shoulder against the side of the desk. "You've been doing well," he complimented. "You should be very proud of yourself."

"What are you talking about?" I choked out.

"Well, I assume this has everything to do with Edward Cullen, does it not?"

I thought of protesting, but I knew he would never buy it. I just nodded my head.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Bella, if you took two seconds to notice, I think you would see Edward feels the same way. He may not be sitting under a desk crying right now, but I'm almost certain that he's still in love with you."

"What?" I blubbered. "You are so wrong."

"I watched the two of you dance on Friday." He shook his head appreciatively. "I can't believe he let you leave with Thomas. The two of you were in your own private universe." He lowered his voice as he said, "I've never danced with anyone the way you two were dancing."

"You're right though," I answered hoarsely, throwing another tissue on the pile. "He did leave. Just like every other time,"

He thought that over for a moment. "Perhaps," he offered. "He's getting mixed signals between the dance floor and the conference room."

"You're not helping," I barked.

He shook his head. "All I can say is that your plan worked a little too well on Edward today. In all these weeks of meetings, I've never seen anyone as in control and composed as he's been. Until today. He seems to care about you quite a bit."

I just stared at him. Anything I said about that subject would be unwise.

"You have to talk to him, Bella. Your big fortress is up and he's trying to find a way in and you keep shooting him down before he can scale the wall."

"Simmons . . ." I began, blowing my nose and tossing another tissue on the pile. "All those years ago, he told me he didn't love me anymore. He never tried to find me, and when this is all over, he will most definitely leave again. I just need your help in holding it together until he's gone."

Simmons was exasperated. "Well, by all means, keep sitting under your desk instead of telling him how you feel. It seems to be working well for you."

I cleared my throat. "I'm coming out," I announced.

He backed up and then helped me to my feet.

"Tomorrow will be business as usual," I stated, feeling a faint glimmer of "tough Bella".

He raised a doubtful eyebrow at me.

"Oh come on, every girl needs a good cry now and then," I said lightheartedly.

We began to walk out of the office and I was surprised to see that Sally, and just about everybody else in the building had left for the night.

Just as we reached the elevators, Simmons turned to me. "You know, Bella . . tomorrow's meeting is all about the infrastructure of the shares we've just acquired."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well that, as you know, is my specialty. I wrote my Master's Thesis on the importance of maintaining the strength of the stock." He looked at me proudly.

My eyebrows furrowed. "And you're telling me this because. . ."

"I'm telling you this because I can handle the meeting tomorrow. Don't you think it would be easier if you weren't there at all? Let me do it, leave for Thanksgiving a day early, and I'll call you as soon as the meeting's over and give you a play by play synopsis."

I mulled it over. The last thing I wanted to do was make another grand entrance into a room that held Edward Cullen. Perhaps a break was just what I needed. My heart was being so idiotic that I might actually be a detriment at this point.

The elevators doors opened as I said, "Do you promise to call me if there are any problems?"

He beamed, seemingly proud that I would put my trust in him. "Absolutely," he said confidently.

"Thank you," I sighed. "Just this one time and I"ll be right back in the fight."

He nodded his head knowingly. "Of course."

I entered the elevator thankful to have an assistant that I could trust.

I have a feeling that something is about to change...do you?