A/N: Well, they aren't beta'd, but I'm tired of waiting a week to post. (No shade on my awesome beta! She's, you know, living a real life and raising kids.) Plus, more people read it yesterday than the day I posted the chapter, that hasn't happened before and that made me very happy.
So here's another chapter.
"Aro, she's pissed!" I said, jerking the car into drive after filling up with gas in Port Angeles. "You're the one who told me to fix stuff by coming up here and then you called me back? What is that?" I asked.
"Edward, I didn't ask you to come back. You did that all by yourself. I was more than willing to send you the appropriate documents via email. I think you should turn around and go back and be with your wife," he replied rather tersely.
"No, not the way she treated me. When I told her I needed to go back, she flat out refused to come with me. After all I do for her." I knew I sounded like a child, but after her cursing yesterday, her defiance, what did she expect? The only highlight yesterday was when we made love.
"Edward, do you hear yourself? You're acting like a child," he said, his Italian accent thick. "Her father could die tomorrow. That's why she stood up to you. You have separated them long enough. You're unwillingness to speak to your own father because you still grieve for your mother makes you extremely unsympathetic. You are going to lose the best thing that ever happened to you if you do not take care."
"Aro, I don't know what you are talking about. You said there was an in on that land. I'm coming home to firm it up. Are you suggesting that I may lose Bella because I am trying to provide for her?" I asked, totally ignoring his comment about my father. He was a weak man who didn't know how to fight for the important things. I was not going to turn out like him.
"Bella doesn't need more money. She wants her husband there in case her father dies. If you're not there, who is she going to turn to?" Aro asked.
I thought about that question. She hadn't talked to anyone from Forks in almost five years. Sure, she had some laughs with that Jake character, but he wasn't a threat. His own father talked about how he was a ladies man, and Bella has never been into that kind of thing. Bella like sweet men, who cater to her. Not womanizing gigolos who own rundown hotels in po-dunk towns.
"I guess her secretary, Jessica. They're good friends. Besides, if anything goes wrong, I'll go back up there and comfort her. They're flying some hot shot surgeon in to work on him anyway," I replied back.
"Edward, she has an ex up there who broke her heart. You're not afraid that he'll step in?" he asked warily.
"No, the only people she has seen is her father and the Blacks. Bella isn't like that," I replied with full confidence.
"Okay, but I still think you should turn around and go back. We can really take care of everything online," he tried one more time.
"No. I'm not sure about the quality of their wifi, I'm not even sure the man has a printer. It's best if I come back and I'll rent a helicopter tomorrow if I need to. It's fine. Bella will be fine. Charlie will be fine." I said all those things like a mantra.
"Fine, Edward. I know I can't convince you of anything when you are like this. But I predict that you are going to regret this deeply." I rolled my eyes at his prediction. Having four ex-wives did not make him an expert on marriage. Far from it. "I'll see you in the morning, then." And he hung up.
As I drove back to Seattle, I thought about everything that happened over the past day. Bella was acting very strangely. I had to chalk that up to her being under the pressure of her father's heart attack. It was probably better that I left so she could work all that out. I didn't like seeing her so belligerent.
And the way she dressed today-it's like she didn't even care what she looked like. That was the other reason that I knew Aro was completely off. Bella wearing her workout clothes is not out to be comforted by anyone other than me. Let her wear her holey pants and faded t-shirts for the rustic crew. All the better. And that Mike guy hadn't shown his face. If Charlie did die, I'd surly be up there for the funeral.
After this was all over, I was really going to have to have a talk with Bella. I understood she was under duress, but some of her words and actions were just completely uncharacteristic.
By the time I got into Seattle, it was late. I went back to the apartment and unpacked, showered, and ate something that wasn't drenched in red sauce and cheese. I hoped Bella didn't get fat while she was up there eating all that food. She inhaled her dinner like she hadn't eaten in ages.
I was going to miss our traditional breakfast in the morning. Tomorrow would have been omelet day. I'd have to get up a few minutes early to make one myself. I decided I should probably call her and let her know I was safely home. I tapped my phone a few time and I heard it ring two times. In the middle of the third ring, it went to voicemail. That was odd. Bell never refused my calls.
I tried again. This time it rolled straight to voice mail. Maybe she was in bed already. I sent her a text, just to let her know I was thinking about her and I was home safely. I guess I should have called right when I got home.
I climbed into bed and it was so empty. I'd never slept in this apartment without her. I traveled for work quite frequently, but she never did. In fact, the more I thought about it, I'd never been in any of our apartments alone, without her.
That irritated me. It was all fine that she was up there to help her father, but when he came through this, she needed to back here with me. I hoped she didn't think that we'd be up there all the time, if her dad survived.
It took a quite a long time for me to finally fall asleep. When I finally did, I tossed and turned. It was not restless, and my watch told me I hadn't gotten much quality sleep at all. When I checked my phone after shutting my alarm off, I saw that Bella hadn't texted back. Surely she was awake by now.
I got up and got dressed, I didn't need to shower because I'd done it last night, and I got irritated that my hair looked flat. I shouldn't have slept with it wet. Then, I spilled raw egg on my shirt making my omelet and I had to change before I left. And, we didn't have any oranges so I couldn't have any juice with my breakfast.
The morning continued to get worse. I got a ticket from an irritating policeman who said I made a rolling stop right outside my building and he didn't care that I was the VP. I got his badge number and I'd be giving that to Jasper in order to file a complaint. The elevator was packed and by the time I made it up to my floor I didn't want to talk to anyone.
By nine o'clock I still hadn't heard from her and I was angry. I shot off a text to Bella, really irritated that she still hadn't messaged me back.
Bella, I am safe. Now I'm wondering if you are. Where are you? Why didn't you answer my call last night?
I didn't hear back from her for almost an hour which just added to my sour mood.
Edward, my father is in surgery. I was too angry to talk to you last night and I knew that would only make matters worse. I am so sorry. Please understand. I will text you as soon as I have any word about whether or not my father will live or die.
I read her message with mixed emotions. She was conciliatory, but the end of her message sounded terse. I didn't like that. I was pondering whether or not I should call her when another text came in that stopped me dead in my tracks.
And, if you're the one who called your father, thank you! Dr. Gerandy says he's the best and my dad is in good hands.
"TANYA!" I yelled from my office. She came running in, her short, pleated skirt swaying from the motion.
"Yes, Mr. Cullen. What do you need?" her eyes looked panicked. "Is your father-in-law alright?"
"What? I don't know," I answered impatiently, but I noticed the confused look on her face. "He's still in surgery. I need you to call my father's office and see if he is the one operating on him today."
"On your father-in-law?" she clarified. She bustled over to my desk looking for a pen and pad to write on. "What's his name again?"
"Charlie Swan. God know that's probably his legal name and it's not even short for Charles," I muttered. Tanya giggled as she wrote down the information. Her short skirt fell right at the tops of her thighs as she bent over and I suddenly thought of a way I could work out my anger.
"I'll find his number and call right away," she said as I walked over and closed and locked my office door. She watched my movements with a knowing smirk and stayed bent over my desk.
"Maybe not right away," she rephrased. "What else can I do?" she purred, her smoky eyes followed me as I walked behind her and stood. Laying there, bent over my desk, I could do to her what I wouldn't to my wife. This was so base, but it did help relieve the tension.
I unbuckled my belt and dropped my trousers and boxers. If I guessed right, she'd have on those panties that didn't require removal. I'd been upset with her when I left and she'd want to please me. I lifted up the back of her skirt and rested it on her lower back.
"Good, girl," I said, pleased. She moaned as I slid into her. I loved Bella too much to do this to her. But a man has needs and Tanya was ready and willing. I set a pace that I knew we both liked. I leaned in over her and she moaned again.
"God, Edward, I missed you," she panted.
"Do you want to cum like a whore?" I asked her and she moaned even louder. I reached around her front and played with clitoris, knowing that's what she wanted.
"Yes," she begged. "Make me cum, please." I circled faster and bit the shell of her ear. That pushed her over the edge and she came in a fit of groans and pants. I pulled out before I was finished and sat back in my chair.
"My turn," I said, looking down at my need. She knew what I wanted. Pulling her skirt down she knelt in front of me and took me into her mouth. After watching her head bob up and down a few times, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I concentrated on my building orgasm. Tanya was very talented and it didn't take very long. When I was finished, she wiped her mouth and smiled.
"I bet Isabella won't do that for you," she sneered.
"Nor would I let her," I replied back. I didn't like it when she disparaged my wife.
"Why not? You know she couldn't hold a candle to me, right?" she asked. I smirked at her. She was so needy for validation.
"No, blowjobs are for whores, not wives," I retorted. She looked angry at my statement. "Don't be angry, dear. You're the only one I let do that to me," I reassured her. She looked a little mollified.
"Now," I started again, feeling better and tucking myself back in, "will you call my father's office now?"
"Edward?" I heard through the door along with loud knocking.
"I'll do that right away, Mr. Cullen," Tanya said. I stood and made sure my shirt was tucked correctly before I made it to the door. I unlocked and opened it and Tanya waited for Aro to come in before she scuttled out. I closed the door behind her and when I turned around, Aro was staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Are you crazy?" he asked. His Italian accent was always thicker when he was upset.
"What are you talking about?" I walked back over to my desk and had a seat.
"Edward, I suspected you were fucking Tanya, but now I know. I told you to be careful with her."
"Aro!" I said, shocked.
"Don't act so shocked. Your wife's father is having open heart surgery and you came down here to screw your secretary? What are you thinking? You realize that if you're caught, Bella could take half of what you own? And she'd get to keep everything that we've put in her name!" he hissed. He was overreacting. His red silk tie was tucked neatly into his vibrant waistcoat. He wasn't wearing his jacket so you could see how lithe he was despite his age.
"First of all Bella is not going to leave me. And secondly, Bella is not vindictive," I clarified for him.
"But that woman you just screwed is vindictive! I saw her at lunch the other day. She was an ugly shade of green with Bella sitting right there. If you are not very careful, your wife will know about your toy in under a month. You can never let them meet ever again!" he said punctuating that last few words for emphasis. "I'd even suggest firing her, but I smell a sexual harassment suit from her. Edward, how could you be so careless?"
"You are making too much out of this," I said, logging into my email. "Tanya knows what's up. She knows that Bella is my wife and she is my—" I stopped as I read my email from Jasper. It was good news.
"That she's your what, Edward? Do you think women like knowing they're the 'side ho' as the youngters call it? You are delusional!" Aro ranted. "You need to go back to your wife."
"Aro, I will. Jasper just sent some good news. He's obtained the property through the revisiting clause that was weak at best. I'm going to put it in Bella's name and then no one can argue. They love her, Aro. It will look like a gift to them," I declared.
"And what is to keep Bella from actually gifting them the property when she finds out?" Aro asked.
"Bella never reads the fine print. She just signs where I tell her. We can insert a clause saying that no mention can be made or they forfeit the property. Jasper is brilliant with those things, you know that," I reasoned. I began typing my return email to Jasper and told him to think of any other loopholes we may have forgotten.
"Again, all of this could have been accomplished while you were still up with your wife," he said again.
"Look, old man! I'm getting a little tired of you judging me all the time. I get it. You're grooming me to take over. But that doesn't mean you get to tell what I can and can't do and how I should treat my wife!" I felt the irritation of the morning returning.
"Who are you calling old man?" he asked, his tone growing cold and his accent all but disappearing. "If you don't think you can benefit from the wisdom of my experience, then what in the hell are you doing here? You forget yourself." He paused and I looked up at him. I'd seen him talk to his sons this way, but never me.
"You are only a Vice President with no influence over the Board of Directors. You better deflate your head or you will find yourself out on the streets with nothing left. Your wife will leave you and take half of everything you own. And I'm telling you right now, if she leaves you, I'll demote you. She softens your harsh edges and I wouldn't put up with you without her."
I was stunned. Was he threatening me? It felt like a threat. But I wasn't worried about Bella leaving me and I wasn't worried about Tanya letting the cat out of the bag. What I had with Tanya was purely physical and we both understood that.
"I'm sorry, Aro. Of course you're right," I began.
"Save it. I know who you are because I was you. What do you see when you look at me, Edward. You don't have to say it out loud, but what do you see?"
I thought it was an extremely odd question. He paused, letting me gather my thoughts. What I saw was a very stressed, unhappy old man. His only joy came from making more money and usually at the expense of others. He was fun to be with, and a great mentor, but I couldn't say he was truly happy.
"Yes, Edward," he said, finally. Like he could read my thoughts. "I am you in forty years. Because I was you forty years ago. If you continue to make the same choices I made, then you will end up like me and I want better for you." His Italian accent was back. "My sister would want better for you."
"Don't bring my mother into this," I said irritably.
"Why, because it is too painful? Maybe I have been wrong in not forcing you to deal with that pain that you carry like a huge boulder on your shoulders. I will remind you that your mother was much more like your father than she was like me. There was a reason she moved away from us. That was her doing, not Carlisle's. She did not want you brought up with our values and I am beginning to see why."
"You shut up about my mother!" I said a little more sternly. "I'll do as you ask, but don't talk about her!"
There was a short knock at the door before Tanya walked in. "Mr. Cullen, your father is, indeed, performing a surgery in Forks on Mr. Swan," she reported. A spark of anger ignited in the pit of my stomach, but I had to ignore it and focus on the irritation at hand.
"Thank you, Tanya. Very good work today," I said and smiled at her. She smiled back and seemed very pleased with the complement. She turned and closed the door behind her. I caught Aro rolling his eyes.
"Good Lord, Edward," he breathed out. "That woman already has her china patterns picked out for your second marriage to her."
"How do you know that?" I said with a disbelieving chuckle.
"Because your Aunt Betty was my secretary while I was married to your Aunt Lucy. Please think about what I just told you.
"Yes, I will." My computer dinged with Jasper's message. "Jasper says he'll have the contracts ready first thing tomorrow. I'll pick them up from him and I'll go up to join Bella. I saw a helicopter on our drive up there and thought that might be an interesting way to get up there. Bella is using some old truck Jacob Black fixed up and she can come pick me up."
"Are willing to hear my advice?" he asked. Why not? I thought. He was going to give it to me anyway.
"Just drive up there in her car. Not the one you would drive, the one she would drive," he suggested.
"And why would I want to drive that little Mini Cooper? I barely followed your advice to buy it for her," I asked.
"Because you abandoned your wife the night before her father's surgery and now she's driving the truck she loved before she left for college fixed up by another man. You need to remind her that you know her, too," he said.
"How do you know that was the truck she drove," I asked.
"Because I listen to your charming wife when she talks about her life before you. I pay attention to the details. What is really holding you back from your true potential is paying attention to details you find uninteresting or below your standards. She loved that truck. It was at the insistence of her father that she leave it behind because this Jacob would not be there to fix it when it broke down. She may be broke down after this. Do you want him there to fix her instead of you?" his tone was serious and I couldn't dismiss it.
I remembered how she acted last night when I left her. She was adamant that I promised her. Could she see this as breaking my promise? I'd never considered this from her point of view before.
"Okay, Aro, I see your point. I will drive up there tomorrow, in her little yellow mini, and be the best husband on the planet."
"Good. But if you're really interested in fixing this, you'd go up tonight and let me overnight the contracts to you," he said.
"There is nothing to fix. I will call her and tell her I'll be up there by lunch tomorrow and we'll pack a late afternoon picnic down in La Push so that I can keep my promise to learn to love her home as much as she does," I said, hoping he'd just leave now that I was doing what he wanted.
"I hope, for your sake, you are right. Now, what's this about your father being up in Forks?"
"I don't know anything about that. Bella sent me a cryptic text asking me if I'd sent him last night. Apparently they've met. I'll dig into that when I go up there, too."
"Alright, Edward. I'm leaving." He gave me one last searching look and left. Finally.
I shot Jasper one last email telling him I'd pick up the contract first thing in the morning and decided to head back home to pack. If I was going to tramp through the wilderness, I was going to need some hiking clothes. Maybe I should stop at the sport outfitters on the way home.
I closed the outer door to my office, still a little irritated by Aro's visit.
"Tanya?" I asked and she looked up. "Would like to have dinner tonight before I head back up to Forks?"
She smirked and said, "I'll make a reservation."
I really, really hate my Edward. It's still going to get worse.
Thoughts?
