Author's note: As ever, none of these characters are mine and no copyright infringement intended etc etc.

To: Cullen, Edward

From: Mallory, Lauren

Date: 1 September 2016

Subject: Annual Masen Manor Conference 4-6 November 2016

Dear Dr Cullen,

We're pleased to confirm your booking for the medical conference due to be held at Masen Manor from 4th-6th November 2016.

Please see attached the itinerary for the weekend and accommodation information.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference. Should you require any further information or have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Lauren Mallory

Volterra Medical Training Solutions Ltd

Edward swung the steering wheel of his silver Volvo around the corner and through the gates of the property with practiced speed. Pulling up to a parking spot, he slid out of the vehicle and donned his charcoal jacket and briefcase, which were laid across the back seat. Collecting his holdall from the boot he crunched across the gravel and walked into the hotel quickly to avoid the frosty air.

"Edward Cullen checking in please."

"Certainly...Dr. Cullen. Room 216. Your conference has lunch booked for 12.30 and the organisers will be available from 12.00 at the registration desk in the entrance of the conference centre if you have any questions. Your room is ready and you can find them down the hallway and via the lifts." The bright eyed receptionist Bree chirped.

Thanking her, Edward slipped the key into his pocket and cast his eye around the room.

At least it's decent digs he thought to himself. The interior looked old but not too shabby and the stone and ivy facacde was an impressive first look. As he went to leave the reception, he was cut off by a large and noisy group. A few younger women and men with what he presumed were their parents. Bags and bags piled on to a luggage trolley behind them, including a large white dress bag with gold script. The wedding party, as Edward had surmised, made their way to reception. A young girl in red dress and boots was eyeing him up and down with a grin. A little young for his tastes and besides getting involved with the bridal party would be a rookie error even if he did have the time or inclination. Edward sidestepped the eager young woman and sped on to the lift to drop off his bags before lunch.

After unpacking, Edward took the opportunity to freshen up a little. Straightening his green tie that his sister had told him 'set off his eyes' he ran his hands through his copper hair in an attempt to tidy it.

"That'll do, pig. That'll do." he muttered under his breath. This weekend was set to be a tiring task of trying to multitask his CPD with his patients. He was interested in the lectures and workshops planned for this weekend and Volterra Medical had recruited some top ranking speakers and trainers but work didn't stop just because Edward wanted to keep his knowledge fresh. He'd had two phone calls from the on-call doctors on the way here about his patient Mr Banner, who had refused to continue his treatment without Edward present. He dreaded to think what awaited him in his inbox, not to mention the report he owed the hospital administration from last month. As the most recently recruited consultant at the Royal Greenwich his colleagues were wringing him dry of any new techniques and knowledge he brought with him. At least as well as being interesting the weekend would count towards his continuing professional development hours.

Grabbing his briefcase, Edward made his way to the registration desk to collect his papers before lunch. As he departed the lift he took some more time to look around the hotel. The signs pointed to a gym and pool in an outbuilding and a small business centre in the back of the building overlooking the gardens. He walked by a bar and a coffee station before stopping in front of a vaulted doorway. The Library as indicated by the sign to the right of the door. The ceilings were high and walls lined with books. Several seating areas were set out around the room, one of those areas a large red Chesterfield sofa in front of a coffee table stocked with water and a fireplace currently being stacked with wood. The perfect spot! Edward had been hoping to find somewhere quiet to get some work done this weekend and with the cold weather closing in this nook would be a good consolation for being away from home for the weekend. Nice hotel or not, there was no replacement for the comfort of being home. Sinking deep into that sofa while catching up on paperwork would go some way to recreating it, especially if that fire was lit.

With that plan cemented in his head Edward moved on through the hotel to the conference centre.

"Doctor Cullen!" A nasal voice called across the foyer to him as he entered. "It's so wonderful to meet you in person. Hi I'm Lauren Mallory. The one who's been sending you all the emails" A slim bright blonde woman teetered across the carpet on stilettos towards him. Her black sheath dress, knee length and low cut, exposed unnaturally tanned skin. The look was well put together, professional but jarring.

"I hope you found the place okay? Let me find your pack and name badge for you. Lunch is being served in the restaurant for the next hour and there's dinner tonight from 7pm." The well rehearsed words tumbled out of her mouth quickly.

"Thank you Ms Mallory" Edward replied.

"You're welcome, Dr Cullen." Lauren smiled up at him and handed over the paperwork she had promised. "I'll be around all weekend should you need any help."

"I'll see you in a bit." Edward walked back in the direction he had come from to find some lunch.

Most of the restaurant seemed to be given over to the medical conference except for the wedding party Edward had run into earlier who were seated at the back of the room. Alarmingly the girl from reception was tracking his journey across the room to his seat. Edward suppressed a shudder thinking how she had eyed him on arrival and greeted the other doctors at the table. There were a couple of other young doctors named Benjamin and Zafrina. Both were based around London, one at Thomas and Guys and the other at St Bart's. They looked similarly worn out and the three of them began immediately swapping workload horror stories. The 24 hour shifts with barely any breaks, the patients spread across the hospitals in an attempt to house those without a bed on the proper ward, sometimes literally fatal errors caused by an unfit for use database...

After mains and dessert, they ordered some coffees to counter the soporific effect of a large lunch.

"So…" Zafrina began, fiddling with the teaspoon on her saucer. "Dr Edward Cullen, can I ask the obvious question?"

"There's no way. It's a common enough name, Zafrina." Benjamin interjected with a laugh.

"Not that common," she retorted raising an eyebrow. "Any relation to our key speaker, Dr Carlisle Cullen? I saw his profile in the programme. There could be some resemblance there."

Edward delayed by taking a sip of his coffee. He knew this could be an issue networking. Hell! He'd known it during his studies. If your father is the foremost neurosurgeon in the country then following in his footsteps even vaguely is going to come with some curious glances now and then.

"He's my dad." Edward eventually replied, setting down his coffee cup.

"No way!"

"Gah! I knew it. I mean not that close, but I knew it had to be a family name." Zafrina added. "Okay that's as close as I'll come to a 'squee' about this subject but I'm just saying if we happen to be having drinks one night here and your dad happens to join us, I'll be on best behaviour while I exploit the opportunity to grill him."

Edward chuckled and ran his hand through his hair undoing any attempts he had made to tame it for the hundredth time today.

"I'm sure that will happen. But be warned we have a codeword prepped to escape in the event of an overzealous fangirl."

Laughing together the group finished up their drinks and gathered their things to join the introductory session.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Lectures followed by a panel session and workshop on ethics. The sun set as the afternoon wore on and Edward's head began to fill heavy with new information. As the final lecture drew to a close, Edward began to imagine himself in front of a roaring fire and in a significantly more comfortable seat.

The course leader, Dr Carmen Sinclair took the stage to wrap things up.

"Thank you all for your time today. I hope you've found the course interesting so far. Please don't forget that your course fee includes dinner tonight in the Orchard restaurant only. Anyone trying to get dinner in the Conservatory will likely get some strange looks from the wedding party sharing the hotel with us this weekend! So dinner 7pm in the Orchard restaurant and breakfast there from 7am tomorrow followed by a 9am start to our programme. Thanks again, I'll leave you all to hopefully have some free time for the rest of the day. Any questions over the weekend please find myself or Volterra's Lauren Mallory. We'll be around all weekend."

The sound of a hundred chairs being slightly moved and chatter around the lecture hall filled the room. Edward slipped out of the room quickly not wanting to lose the opportunity of catching up on work to pre-dinner drinks and getting to know you talk. There would be plenty of time for that later this evening.

Marching straight out of the conference centre and on to the Library, he sighed in relief seeing that the spot he'd scoped out earlier was free. And the fire was lit! Removing his jacket and draping it over an arm of the sofa, he swung his bag on the coffee table and eased himself onto the seat while rolling his rumpled shirt sleeves up his forearms. The Chesterfield felt as good as it looked. Supportive but soft cushions and the warming glow from the fire began to have a relaxing effect on his overworked muscles. Too many long days literally running round the hospital trying to get his job done had made his natural state one of tension.

Laying his head on the back of the sofa briefly, a grunt escaped and Edward rubbed his tired eyes to try and dispel the dryness. After a few minutes of rest he reached forward to open his laptop and help himself to a bottle of water from the coffee table. The machine came to life with a ping and Edward quickly silenced it before his email notifications could load up and disturb the peace of the room. Quickly getting to work mode the crackling of the fire and Edward's fingers tapping on the keys were the only sounds in the room for some time. A patient referral, a few appointments booked and agreed to, a revision of a policy on the treatment of under 5s for a committee he had been wrangled on to and so it continued. Some of his colleagues came in for the same reason and took up other workspaces in the room to take advantage of the quiet but busy atmosphere. Working alone in a hotel room was never as productive as working in a slightly more populated environment. Edward continued on through his inbox dealing with everything he'd missed today at the hospital and noting his sister's latest update about the family calendar.

Edward, I know you're probably working but remember mum's birthday is next week! Let me know if you need some ideas for presents. I'm doing dinner at mine on the night. Come if you can! We'll save you a seat either way. Alice xx

Ideas would be great, Little Bit! You know how I am with shopping. I'll let you know about dinner when I get back to the hospital on Monday. It's Thursday right?

Edward x

An email containing a list of links followed shortly afterwards and Edward began browsing various perfumes, lotions and accessories looking for something he might have picked out himself without Alice's help. The handbags and scarves were probably the safest bets.

Behind him he heard footsteps approaching his sofa and stopping just behind him. An irritated huff escaped the person and Edward frowned and turned to address whoever had joined him. As he looked up he immediately met warm chocolate eyes framed with loose chestnut curls. Her full lips in a pout that he recognised in an instant. Standing and walking towards her without thinking twice, he took in her fuller figure wrapped in navy satin, a drastic change from her usual wardrobe when they last met and her annoyed expression which seemed all too familiar.

"Isabella Swan, well I never!" Edward murmured loudly enough to be heard. A lopsided smile spread across his face as he came face to face with his verbal sparring partner from undergrad ethics class at King's College London. "I'd say it's good to see you again but it looks like you don't agree." Edward said with a smirk.

"You stole my sofa!" Bella stropped at him, immediately recovering herself and clasping her hand over her mouth. Edward barked out a laugh and stepped away to sit on the back of "her" sofa, setting up to level his challenge with a glint in his eyes.

"Now this argument I have to hear, Miss Swan. What exactly makes this your sofa? I was under the impression this was a communal space...and I got here first."

Author note: Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter. This is my first attempt at putting any of my writing public so it was encouraging to see some people like it. A few things you should know before you get in to anything I'm posting.

I've no beta, all mistakes are mine. Please feel free to point them out.

I've no schedule, so heads up if that annoys you. This is very much a fun hobby.

I'm easily distracted and a novice but I promise I'll do my absolute best to focus on a story before moving on.

Thanks for reading, see you all soon hopefully.