Still in shock at the overwhelming amount of attention and love my little story is getting.
THANK YOU all so much! I read and cherish each and every one review, even though I might not answer back.
The moment Edward stepped into Cullen Industries, it looked like his employees had forgotten about discretion. Most of them stopped working to gawk at him.
Inside the elevator, Edward frowned at the mirror.
"It's the beard, sir," Felix said, slightly amused.
Edward touched his jaw, deciding that he'd have to endure Riley sooner rather than later.
At the top floor, they exited the elevator. Felix slinked away like he usually did.
Edward headed to his office.
He stopped in front of his assistant's desk. To his amusement, she was painting her nails while humming to some pop song playing on the audio system.
"Good morning, Jane," he said jovially.
Jane startled, nearly spilling pink nail polish all over her keyboard. "Sir." She cringed. "Good morning, Mr. Cullen."
"When you're done, I'd like to speak to you." He continued down the corridor, pushing the double doors open.
As the doors closed behind him, he inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly. He loved his job, and it had always saved him from his demons.
If he got lost deep inside the stock market and new possible investments, Edward could move on and try living his life again.
He sat in his leather chair, booting up the laptop which had updates not having been used in so long.
There was a knock on the door.
"Yes?"
Jane walked inside, head down. "That was incredibly out of line of me, sir. I promise not to do it again. Please, please, don't fire me."
"Jane, you weren't expecting me. Hell, I didn't expect to find myself here yesterday." Edward tapped his fingers on the desk, waiting for his laptop to complete the updates. "Do you have your tablet? I'd like to go over what I missed and schedule some meetings."
"Yes, sir." Jane showed him the tablet.
They spent the next two hours going over the finer details of what he'd missed during his self-imposed exile at home. It seemed like Ben had done a superb job at keeping Cullen Industries alive. Edward hadn't once thought that Ben might have it worse than him, considering Angela was his sister.
Edward could vividly remember the day Ben had offered to bring his sister in for an interview when Edward couldn't find the perfect assistant.
Like in some bad movie, Angela had stepped into his office, tripping over her feet. She ended up kneeling in the middle of the room, staring up at him in horror. Ben had helped her up, chiding her softly.
Then, he had hired Jane too, because Angela had become much more than his assistant.
"I'll let you know when I can get meetings scheduled for you with the harbor director and the mayor." Jane stood up, holding the tablet to her chest.
"Thank you, Jane. Oh, and maybe you could call Riley?" Edward asked uncertainly.
"Haircut?" She checked, already typing on her tablet.
"And beard trim," Edward explained, touching his chin.
She smiled softly. "Consider it done, sir. Anything else?"
"No, thank you."
Then, he was alone once again. He spent most of the morning going over his memories of Angela because he was a masochist. He knew it was lunch-time, only because Jane brought him a take-out box of Thai.
By the time Edward decided to call it a day, he'd exchanged several emails with his faithful clients, letting them know he was back in the office.
As he walked to the elevator that evening, he found Ben already there.
"I heard you were back," Ben said in greeting.
"Why didn't you come to see for yourself?"
"I thought it'd be difficult – first day back." Ben shrugged.
They stepped into the elevator, with Felix close behind.
"You good?" Edward caught Ben's eyes.
"Yeah. You?"
"I've been better."
Ben nodded.
"I expect you in my office on Monday morning to tell me what I've missed out on. Jane tried to catch me up on things, but it's not the same."
"Eight o'clock?" Ben checked.
Edward nodded.
The elevator doors opened, and they parted ways.
"Fuck," Edward spat, hurrying to his car. Once in the backseat, with Felix behind the wheel, Edward cleared his throat. "Take me to the bar from last night."
"Is that a good idea, sir?"
"Felix, I pay you to do as I say, not give me life advice."
.
.
.
The door of Eclipse opening at four o'clock in the afternoon let inside too much sun.
Bella squinted at the figure in the doorway. When the door finally shut again, she could see Jake smiling brightly. His smile soon turned into a frown.
"Working so early in the day?"
"Doing the inventory." Bella chewed on the end of her pen. "What's up with you here?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to see how my new bike works." He shrugged, towering over her shoulder. "You need to have some fun."
Bella winced. "Bikes…" She glanced up at him. "Jake, if I never get back on a bike, it'll be too soon."
"Shit, Bells. I'm sorry." Jake touched her shoulder. "I didn't think."
"It's cool. We can hang out on the beach, though?" she suggested. "But I have to be back by six."
"No worries, Boss." He winked, closing her notebook. He grabbed her hand, pulling her up.
"Let me tell Garrett I'm abandoning him," she laughed, rushing to the office area of the pub. Garrett was where she had left him earlier – pouring over the books. "I'll be back later."
He grinned at her. "Have fun!"
Bella blushed, but she nodded. Despite their seven-year age difference, Garrett was the coolest guy. It didn't matter that Bella was the owner of the pub, on paper. Garrett was the one keeping it alive. When her older brother had left a few days after they had found their parents dead, he had left her the pub. She had been too young to know what to do with that kind of baggage, but James's best friend had offered his help.
"I'm ready." Bella skipped to Jake's side.
He took her hand, walking outside.
Bella had to stop and admire Jake's new ride. He had worked hard to get the money to buy his dream bike.
"Regretting your decision?" he teased.
"Not one bit." She shuddered. Unconsciously, she touched her head.
Jake wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the scar visible on her temple. "You're tough, Bella."
"I think that's my mantra," she mumbled.
They walked for a while, and then they sat on the sand, watching the ocean. Bella wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her head on Jake's shoulder. He understood her so deeply that there was no need for words between them. They stayed in silence until Bella decided it was time to return to the pub.
Jake was mounting his bike, looking at her in a familiar way. It made Bella's stomach squirm. He'd never give up.
"See you," she whispered, hugging him tightly. She inhaled his leather smell and then kissed his cheek.
"Later." He kissed her forehead.
Bella pulled away from him in time to see a black SUV park in one of the few allotted spaces to the side of the pub. Out stepped none other than Emmett's drunken friend from the night before.
Jake revved the engine, putting his helmet on, and then he was off. Bella coughed at the excess of dust and exhaust fumes.
Emmett's friend appeared out of the smoke, eyeing her with concern, frowning after Jake's bike.
"You okay?" he asked, keeping his eyes on hers.
Damn, he was gorgeous. His green eyes reminded her of tropical forests. He was wearing a fancy suit, which didn't go at all with his unkempt look. He also looked vaguely familiar now that she could see his face better.
"Yeah. So, back to empty another bottle of whiskey?" she teased.
His eyes widened. "Is that how much I drank?"
"Close enough."
"Shit." He closed his eyes for a brief second, and then he unleashed their dazzling power over her. "I'm here to talk to you."
For once, all her rehearsed lines at rejecting the drunks who thought they stood a chance were gone from her mind.
"Is that so?"
A smirk appeared on his face. "Let's start over. My name is Edward Cullen."
"Holy shit!" Bella cupped her mouth. "The Edward Cullen?" she whispered, feeling stupid.
He chuckled. "In the flesh."
"Whoa!" She took a step back. What could Edward Cullen, one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the area, want from her? He had built his company with his best friend and they had achieved success faster than anyone had anticipated.
"I was thinking maybe a coffee? While I explain myself."
"You want a coffee…with me?" She had to clarify it. Guys never asked her out. If they did, they had darker intentions. Maybe he did, too.
Bella knew she was hot, though she rarely cared about what others thought. She'd learned how to keep them away.
"Bella! You can chit-chat with them at the bar!" Garrett called from the door. "Paul's not coming tonight."
"Aw, man!" Bella gave Edward a tight smile. "I have to…" She pointed toward the door.
Edward nodded, following her inside.
"I hope you're not opposed to coffee at the bar, and you not having my undivided attention?" Bella asked.
"I understand."
He took the seat at the corner of the bar, and Bella worked on his coffee. Since he was the only customer for now, she placed the cup in front of him, leaning her elbows on the counter.
She had no idea why he was interested in her.
"It's Bella, right?" he asked, accepting the coffee.
"Yeah. But you already knew that. You asked me last night."
"I did?" He looked shocked.
"Granted, it was after your seventh Old Fashioned, before you decided to move on to Godfathers."
Edward closed his eyes, wincing. "I was a mess last night."
"Yeah, well…it's not my business as long as you keep my business going." She winked, mortified with her bad flirting.
A sly smile appeared on his face. "Too bad I'm not your guy to keep the business going. That was a one-time thing."
"Oh? What's this?" She gestured to his drink.
"This is a coffee, and if I order as many to match the whiskey from last night, I'd worry for my heart."
Bella noticed a couple entering the pub. She gestured to them awkwardly, abandoning Edward.
She still couldn't believe the successful businessman was inside her pub. She'd heard he'd lost his girlfriend some months ago in a bad car accident. His actions from the previous night were justified.
When she was done with the customers, she returned to his side, smiling.
"So you know Emmett?"
"I think I should be the one asking that," he said seriously.
"He used to come here most of the time, but then, I guess he decided being with his girl was more fun. I don't blame him."
"Here is fun, too," Edward smiled. "I had no idea how much fun until last night."
Bella was dying to ask about the blonde woman, who she'd thought to be Edward's girlfriend, but she had turned out to be with Emmett.
Bella twirled a stray strand of hair from her ponytail around her finger, chewing on her lip. There was something about Edward that kept her away. His intense green gaze, for starters; but then, his set jaw made her keep her distance, too, even though she'd have liked to freely flirt with him, like she did with many guys who crossed the threshold of Eclipse. There was no harm in flirting.
The big guy from the previous night came to Edward. He leaned over his shoulder, whispering into his ear.
"When," Edward barked, stiffening.
The guy checked his watch. "Ten minutes ago."
"You waited ten minutes to tell me that she's in my house?" he shouted, standing up so fast Bella jumped back. "What the hell is she doing there?"
"Mrs. Cullen heard from your sister that you were…better." The man took a step back, eyeing Edward worriedly.
"Fuck." Edward spun toward Bella, and pulled a twenty out of his wallet, placing it next to his half-drunk coffee. "Another time, Bella."
He led the way outside, complaining loudly about not getting a break.
The coffee barely cost five dollars, so Bella decided to keep the change and give it back to him the next time he came by. Fifteen dollars was too much for a tip. She also noticed a simple, white business card. His name was written in cursive handwriting under his phone number.
I'm thinking of updating twice a week? Wednesdays and Saturdays, I'm thinking...
For teasers check the FB groups: 'It All Started With Twilight' and 'The No Rules Twilight Fan Fiction Group' - the teaser will probably come one day before the update so stay tuned.
Also, check my FB group for pictures: 'addict_writer fanfiction'