AN: YAAAAAY, So lovely to hear from you all! And even got a couple new readers here!

I'm hoping and praying for everyone's safe health and mental state during these trying times. Take care everyone.

Without further ado

Stephanie Meyer owns the lot.

Bella POV

Another day has passed, and I wake up on a different note this morning. Yesterday I received the call from Irina that I had passed the interview and was now to be employed as a Junior columnist intern. We discussed the initial pay and she mentioned that the position would change depending on my performance, but once your foot is in the door it's only uphill from there as Natalie had once said.

I was to start this morning by 8 am and I couldn't be more excited. Getting to finally work at Cullen Couture and have a boss like Alice was all a dream. She's a force to be reckoned with and she's brilliant at what she does, I could really learn a lot from her. I was also a bit excited to maybe bump into Edward throughout the day, our last interaction was embarrassing but he did leave me with questions.

Did he want to hire me? Why…did he want to hire me?

I rushed to take a shower, I put on a simple blue dress that touched the top of my knees with a thin belt synched at the waist, a white cropped blazer and white heels. I wasn't the best at walking in them but I wanted to make a good first day impression. I let my hair down in soft curls and wore a bit of makeup to help give life to my pale complexion. Once I was ready, I hailed a cab and got in.

Wow I take cabs to work now, who am I?

On the way there, whilst being stuck in traffic I looked at my phone. I had texted both Natalie and Raphael telling them I had gotten the job and they called for a celebration this Friday night. I found an unread message from Natalie this morning.

How are the nerves?

N

It's always nice to have someone check up on you and even though Natalie was a lot, she was always there by my side.

I'm okay Nat, I'm actually pretty excited

B

I'm glad to hear that babe! This is finally your time! Did you tell the old man yet?

N

Haha-thankyou! And no, I'll tell dad tonight. Thanks for reminding me!

B

Always, have a good day! See you Friday

N

See you

B

I locked my phone and looked out the window. It was slightly drizzling, and the traffic was at standstill.

"Is there not another route you can cut through from?" I asked the cab driver and he shook his head no.

"Ma'am if there was another route, everyone would be huddled up there too"

I nodded in agreement. I went back to looking out the window.

Just then a huge black tinted Cadillac SUV stood next to my cab. The glass was tinted black and it was impossible to see through. I wondered which celebrity could possibly be in there, I was hoping to get a sneak at a Kardashian or something. I peered to the driver seat to check if I could see even a little glimpse.

As I tried to look, the passenger seat window rolled down and I saw a hand outstretch and feel the rain outside. It took me mere seconds of the whole thing to process who was in the car. As soon as I saw his tousled hair I ducked down in my seat.

"You alright there Ma'am?" The cab driver asked me looking into his rear-view mirror suspiciously.

I pretended to sneeze "Just fine, maybe a little cold from the weather" I lied and sat up feeling ridiculous, Edward couldn't see me. My heart was beating out of my chest. I snuck a little look to the side and the window was still open, his arm outstretched as he kept letting the rain pellets collect in his palm. I turned to completely look over and I could see his face hidden in the luxurious leather seats of the interior.

His lips were moving, he was talking to someone. I watched how his lips curved into a small smile as he snapped his fingers in the rain. He was wearing gold sunglasses today and his coat a dark maroon from what I could tell. I wondered how many designer suits he owned.

The green light shone bright and the cars started moving forward, I watched as the SUV picked up speed and was way ahead of my cab. I sighed in relief.

Soon after what felt like an hour, we had reached the office. I got out and ran towards the building entrance as the rain came down heavier. Once I entered, by hair was already wet, my mascara probably ruined, my clothes stuck to my body. I sighed, can't I catch a break?.

I walked towards Angela, she was gleaming.

"Bella!...Oh" she said after she took in my appearance. "There's a staff bathroom you can use just back there before heading upstairs. Don't worry, everyone is running a bit late today" she said handing me a key card and showing me directions to the bathroom.

"Thanks Angela, I really appreciate it" I say then make my way to the bathroom. I swipe in and get greeted into a luxurious bathroom. It's got towels, tissues, hand drier, hair dryer, little bottles of lotion and soap. I take in my reflection; the mascara is a little smudged but nothing I can't work with. I quickly dry myself with the towel and hair dryer and then wash my whole face. It's always mandatory to carry around backup makeup, something Natalie taught me.

So I pulled out my little kit of makeup and reapplied the necessities. Once I was convinced I looked presentable I walked back out of the bathroom. I was struggling to stuff the little kit back into my bag while walking and immediately banged into someone having the kit fall out of my hand.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry I wasn't looking where I was walking" I say reaching down to pick up the kit. My eyes trail to his leather shoes and my breath hitched.

I stand back up and meet with Edward's beautiful face mere inches away.

"Neither was I" he said in a husky voice laced with annoyance, his hair had drops of water hanging at the ends that threatened to fall on his forehead. I looked at his suit hoping I didn't accidentally crease it when I bumped into him.

"G-Good morning Mr. Cullen" I said taking a step back to put some space between us.

"Miss Swan" He stated with a curt nod as he brushed past me and walked towards Alex his bodyguard who waited with a set of towels on his arm.

I regained my breath and walked towards the elevators. Mr. Cullen was not in a good mood today, but I couldn't stop thinking about the way I saw him smile in his car earlier.

Maybe it was me, maybe I ruined his day.

I sighed and rode the elevators up, once I reached my floor I walked out and met with Irina. She gave me a warm smile and offered me a lemonade with a straw from the little mini fridge she had under her desk.

"Delayed days are no fun, especially for your first day here" she said typing into her computer before looking at me.

"I know tell me about it, I got all dressed up and the rain ruined it" I said, it was so easy to talk to Irina. She was welcoming and kind.

She laughed a little before getting up and walking around her desk.

"Follow me Bella, I'll show you to your workspace" she said and led me down a bright white corridor lined with large frames of all the covers of the magazine.

I looked at each one as I followed behind her. She stopped when we reached a doorway and led me into the large room.

It was an open workspace, with floor to ceiling glass windows and the city views all around. There were wooden desks lined up against each other with partition boards, each desk equipped with a large mac desktop and a set of drawers. The room was filled with people each tasked to doing something, it was bustling with energy.

"Hi Irina, looking gorgeous as always" said a guy who approached us, he kissed Irina's cheek and she hid a blush.

"Thanks Marcus, not too bad yourself this morning, this is Bella, she's the new junior columnist intern" Irina said introducing me to the guy next to her.

He was tall, muscular with dark skin and a brilliant smile. He looked Mexican but I couldn't really tell.

"Ah, Bella. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Marcus. I'm part of the photography team that edit all the photoshoots for the column here." He said extending his hand. I shook his hand and he placed a small kiss to my knuckles before dropping my hand lightly.

"Nice to meet you" I said feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

Marcus chuckled and so did Irina.

"Oh Bella, don't fall for Marcus's charm, his boyfriend is the jealous type" Irina said winking at him. Marcus smiled and nodded before returning back to his desk for some work. I cleared my throat.

Irina continued to walk through the large room with me following behind her like a puppy.

Finally, she arrived at an empty desk. It faced away from the gorgeous city view, and I got a pretty good overview of the entire workspace.

"Alright, so here's your desk. The computer access is your name and password is your date of birth, which is default and you can change it once you've customized it. However all passwords are protected and recorded in the main server and is only accessed when it's necessary, like a security breach or something. But otherwise you're fine" Irina said setting down a folder on my desk.

I took the seat and set my bag under the desk.

"So you can use this office phone to contact anyone directly. Each desk here has a number on it" she pointed to mine by the corner of the partition wall; 15.

"You just have to dial 0-15 and then you can call whoever you want in this room, or you could just walk up to them. The reception desk number is 000 and Miss Alice number is 001. That's all the numbers you need for now." She said and turned to tap on the folder.

"Here's your first assignment, once you're done with it, Miss Alice would like to review it. It's like a trial before you're let onto a bigger project that has everyone involved. So this is a small individual assignment you have to do for the day"

I reached for the folder and opened it up, it contained several papers with text on it. It was an article on the H&M collaboration with Giambattista Valli.

"You have to edit it and make it your own" Irina said and smiled "Good luck Bella" she said as she turned on her heel and left me to my own thoughts.

"Okay" I whispered to myself as I turned on the computer and signed in. I was surprised no one really introduced themselves, everyone was so busy working, that I wasn't sure anyone really noticed someone new was here. But I could make friends during lunch, I thought.

I started listing down key points of the article as I read through it. Once I had managed to jot down the important stuff, I started to write the article in my own words lacing the important information within it.

An hour had gone by and once I had finished I sent the command to print. I walked from my desk and headed to the corner of the room where the printers were. I stood awkwardly staring at the printer screen.

"It's just that button there" I heard someone say from behind me pointing at a start button near the screen.

I turned to look back and a short red headed girl stood behind me with a small smile.

I clicked the button and moved out of her way "Thanks" I said softly and she worked her way to the scanner to scan some photos.

"I'm Jessica, you're Bella right?" she said looking up at me as she laid her scans down.

"Yeah, hi" I said and Jessica smiled.

Awkward silence fell in between us. I rocked back and forth on my heel waiting for my prints. Jessica was on her phone as she waiting for her scans.

"Uhm..so how long have you worked here?" I asked trying to make conversation.

"Two years give or take" she replied eyes still on her phone.

I nodded, she didn't see it.

Once my prints were done I took them and walked out back to Irina's desk.

"Hey, I'm done with the article" I say and hand over the papers to her.

Irina smiles at me, "Well, how did you find it?" she asked.

"Informative, in depth, technical even so I sort of mellowed it down to layman" I say and Irina giggles.

She takes the papers and neatly staples them before handing them back to me.

"Down the hallway, big gold door you won't miss it" She said pointed to the left side of the hall.

I look at the papers in my hand confused. Did she want me to give it to someone?

"Good luck Bella" Irina said with a smile and picked up her phone to answer a call. As soon as she shut me off I was on my way.

I reached the immaculate gold door with elegant handles and carefully knocked twice.

The door flew open with two men storming out. I got a little startled and stepped to the side as they made their way out. They sounded frustrated, looking at sketches on a tablet.

"I can't believe she spotted the repetition, I was sure to make it different this time" said one man in white button down shirt while the other assured him that whatever they were talking about was 'different'

They completely missed me and walked down the hall.

I turned back to the door and peered in.

"Come inside Bella" I heard Alice chime.

I walked in a little nervously. Alice had seemed very sweet from the moment I met her but I wasn't too sure how she dealt with employees at work.

"Hi, Uhm..I finished the assignment" I said taking a quick glance around her office. It was almost the same size as Mr Cullen's but with more elegant touches that gave it more a feminine vibe. I took the poofy chair infront of her desk and waited till she looked at me.

Once she was done replying to an email, Alice turned her complete attention to me.

"Let me have a look?" she asked extending her hand out on the table. I placed the papers in her hand and she shuffled through them.

"What did you think of the article?" she asked as she glanced over a few lines.

"I thought it was very informative, had a lot of technical details as well so I sort of dummed it down" I said mentally slapping myself for using the word 'dummed'.

"Hmm interesting" Alice said and she continued to flip through the pages.

I sat there awkwardly looking at the degrees framed behind Alice's desk.

Suddenly her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said and there was a muffled voice in the background. Alice's eyes met mine for a brief second before she said "Yeah, I'll send her right up". She hung up the phone and looked at me.

"Can't catch a break with my brother, it's like we're kids again and you're the new toy" she smirked before continuing "Anyways, he wants to have a word with you. Head up to his office, I'll take a look at this and let you know what I think" she says and I stand up ready to head out of the office.

"Oh and Bella?"

"Yes?" I turn briefly to look back at her

"The article you just 'dummed down'" she said with air quotes

"Hmm?" I said trying to swallow a sudden nervous jolt in my body.

"I wrote it" she said gleaming before taking her eyes off mine and onto the article.

I shut the door and finally let a breath out. Oh my god, this place was really testing me. I hope I didn't offend Alice in any way and to top that off,

What would Mr. Cullen need me for right now?

DUN DUN DUN

I'm literally in the midst of finishing my exams for the semester but this chapter was on my desktop just staring at me so I thought I'd come back on here and give you guys a little more.

I saw some of the comments of people who are nurses and really read my stories to unwind during this pandemic and it moved me. I cannot express how wonderful that means to me and how appreciative I am to you for doing your job so well and helping those in need.

The world needs more people like you.

I get done by the first week of December and should be able to post more regularly after that, I've been having dreams of this story and literally know exactly I want it to go, just need to find the time to write it!.

Hope you stick around till then.