A/N
Happy New Year! Hope you enjoy the chapter. Still unbeta-ed as I'm doing this one on the fly without any kind of schedule. So, ignore any mistakes.
Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already, send me a friend request on Facebook! I'm under Elliemouses (plural).
S. Meyer owns all things, Twilight.
Chapter 2
BPOV
"Shut up," Alice whispers as we continue down the hall toward my office. The sun shines brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I have a spring in my step. It's been two weeks since the Christmas party when Mr. Volturi told us the news about the Anderson account, and I've just come from our first team meeting.
"Seriously, it's not a big deal."
But inside, I kind of feel like what happened is a big deal, and apparently, she concurs.
"Umm, I beg to differ; it's totally a big deal."
This is why she's my best friend. Your best friend gets you in ways no man ever will. That's just facts.
Reaching my office, I brush past her and sit at my desk before she follows and closes the door.
"So back up," she says before taking a seat and piling her long hair into a bun on top of her head.
"Start at the beginning. Tell me exactly what happened."
Leaning back in my chair, my finger traces my name on the paper coffee cup. The same cup Edward handed me an hour ago. The one with his neat script written across the front, spelling out my name.
"I was running late -"
"As usual," she interrupts.
"Oh, ye of little faith. I even made it with a few minutes to spare."
"Annnnnd?" she prompts, pinwheeling her hands in an apparent attempt to make me get to the point faster.
I play along, spinning around in my chair and whipping my hair on the final rotation.
"Annnnd," I say, slamming my hands on the desk dramatically.
"Edward Cullen handed me a hot chocolate. Alert the media."
Chuckling, I lean down and pull out my laptop.
Alice sits back and steeples her fingers under her chin.
"And you didn't remind him before the meeting, right?"
I shake my head.
"No. I didn't even know he was getting coffee and pastries for the team. It was a complete surprise to me when I arrived."
"This is beyond interesting," she says softly.
"Or beyond pathetic."
"Seriously, Alice, what are we, in the seventh grade? I guess he noticed that I don't drink coffee. That's it."
Opening my morning emails, I decide it's time to stop acting like a kid with a crush and get back to work.
"The Noticer," she mumbles.
"Huh?"
"He's 'The Noticer.' He notices things. But it's not just that, Bella. He specifically notices you. How long has it been since you worked with him on the Parker deal? Three months? Four?"
I nod.
"So?"
"Sooo, it's been almost four months since you've been around the man, and he still remembers that you don't drink coffee. Not only that, but he also remembers what you do drink."
Her phone chimes, and she pulls it out to read an incoming text.
"And don't even get me started with how weird that is, Bella," she says absently as she replies to the message.
"Who drinks hot chocolate all year round? Even in the summer?"
Putting her phone away, she brings her attention back to me.
"Sorry, Jasper is picking up the kids, and he forgot what time he's supposed to be there. I swear he's my third child."
She stops.
"Wait, if you tell me he remembered the marshmallows, I'm gonna -"
"Yep."
"Jesus, Bella! You didn't tell me that part!"
Closing her eyes and hanging her head like she's at a Baptist tent revival, she raises her palms to the ceiling as if in offering. Offering what, I'm not exactly sure, but I guess it has something to do with hot chocolate and Edward. Oh, and marshmallows.
"The fucking marshmallows! Can't be four; god forbid someone gives you five-"
"It has to be three." We both say simultaneously.
Even Tyler never remembered that.
"Go back to work. This is ridiculous."
Standing from her chair, she pushes it back and gives me a serious look.
"Mark my words; the hot chocolate will be important."
Giving her an "eye-eye captain," complete with a salute, I push her out of my office. She closes the door and then opens it again quickly to pop her head back in.
"Mark. My. Words."
"Leave!" I chuckle, and she twiddles her fingers in a "ta-ta" motion before leaving me in peace.
When the door closes, I lean back in my chair and smile.
Hot chocolate, indeed.
~!~
While it's true that today was the first in-person meeting with the whole team, Mr. Volturi, Edward, and I had met virtually a few times over the Holidays. We wanted to be on the same page to hit the ground running when everyone returned after the first of the year.
I'd gone home to Massachusetts to visit my parents for the week between Christmas and New Year's, and Mr. Volturi and his wife Heidi were vacationing in Europe. Edward stayed here in Chicago, but he never mentioned his Holiday plans.
"You didn't see anything in the background during your Zoom call?" Alice asked when we talked over Christmas. "A wife, perhaps? Toys scattered on the floor? Anything?"
"Nothing. All I saw was a nondescript home office."
But that wasn't entirely true. I saw Edward, who was anything but nondescript. He was usually dressed in casual clothes, which gave me a peek into what "weekend-Edward" must look like. And no surprise, he looked just as good as "work-week Edward."
We're all back in the office now, and I'm glad. I like the hum and activity that exists when we're all in the same building, and this morning was no exception. Everyone came prepared with brilliant ideas, and Edward presented a phenomenal pitch. The energy was high, and the mood was infectious. And if things keep going as well as they did this morning, I think we're going to win this.
A knock on my door pulls my attention from my excel spreadsheet.
"Come in," I say without looking up.
"Wanna go to lunch?"
Raising my head, I look into moss green eyes, and Edward's tailored grey suit only makes them stand out even more.
"Or did you already eat?"
Glancing at the clock, I realize it's well past One.
"Oh, um, no, I haven't. I've been looking over this spreadsheet you put together and lost track of time."
Edward opens the door wider and proceeds to enter my office. It's the first time he's been in here, and I feel a little nervous and exposed having him in my space. Approaching my desk, his eyes roam over the various photos I have displayed.
"Cute dog," he says, picking up one of me and my rescue, Oscar. We're at the beach and running together along the ocean's tide. Oscar is air born in the shot, midstride with a huge smile on his furry face. Jasper took it when we all vacationed in Martha's Vineyard a few years ago. Tyler had been miserable the entire trip, pissed off that we didn't go to the mountains instead.
Edward lingers near the bookshelf, peering at the photo of my parents and me at their thirtieth wedding anniversary and then at the one of Alice and me at our high school graduation.
"I was going to head over to Bruno's for their famous clam chowder. Interested? I have a few more ideas I want to run past you about Anderson."
Shutting my laptop, I open my desk drawer and retrieve my purse.
"Sure, yeah, that sounds good." Rising from the chair, I look around for my phone. "Is anyone else going? I know Carmen wanted to talk to you about the graphics."
"Um, no. I already talked to Carmen, and we're all set. So, it'll just be us if that's okay."
Grabbing my phone, I look up and almost slam right into him. He's close. Very close, and I can't help but notice how good he smells.
"Sorry," he says before taking a quick step backward and running a hand through his hair. He extends his arm toward the door. "After you."
I smile at him tentatively before we head out the door and approach the bank of elevators. Standing next to him, I admire his long fingers as they reach out to press the button for the lift, wondering briefly if someone is waiting for him at home who benefits from those fingers. My eyes get wide at my inner musings, and I look at Edward quickly, afraid he might be able to read my mind just from being in close proximity to him. But he's looking up and watching the glowing numbers as the car descends and doesn't seem to be any the wiser. When the doors open, he extends his arm again, and I brush past, smelling his soap? Cologne? (Whatever it is, it's fucking awesome), and I remind myself once again that we have a professional relationship. We're going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Not to mention the fact that he may be a married man.
~!~
"I wasn't aware of that."
Edward chuckles as the server sets down two steaming bowls of soup in front of us.
"How can you not be aware of that?" I ask in disbelief.
"You've been here over six months, Edward. How do you not know that Fridays are Hawaiian shirt day?"
"Oblivious," he states before crumbling a cracker over the top of his soup.
"It's a problem. My family always tells me I need to pay more attention to things."
I'm dying to know what family he's talking about. Wife and kids' family? Or maybe parents and grandparents' family? Second cousins twice removed family?
Just ask him!
I chicken out and dig into my soup instead.
"I'll see what I've got in the closet. Some of my stuff is still in New York, but I think I brought my grass skirt with me. Will that work?"
I laugh at his joke, but am more interested in the nugget he dropped about New York.
Ask him!
Fine! Shut up!
"So." I hope I sound as nonchalant as I think I do. "What did Mr. V offer you to pull you away from the glitz of New York City and come out here?"
See, was that so hard?
Yes.
Edward is in the middle of scraping the bowl with his spoon when he stops and looks up at me from across the table. His eyes cloud over, and he shifts in his seat.
Nice job. Now you've made him uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry. It's none of my business."
Edward shakes his head.
"No, it's fine. You don't need to apologize." He sits back against the booth and wipes his mouth with a napkin. "I know the rumor mill has been running rampant about me since I transferred here." He chuckles and leans forward. "Did you pick the short straw or something?" I blush in embarrassment because -"Alice told me I have to ask" doesn't seem like an appropriate answer.
When I don't respond, he lets me off the hook. "I'm kidding, Bella. Really, it's okay. I'm not trying to hide anything."
I take a long sip from my water and wait to see how much he's going to divulge.
"You want the long answer or the short one?"
"Really, Edward, you don't have to -"
He raises his hand to stop me. "Bella, we're going to be working together for a while, and I think it's important for us to get to know each other a little bit. Don't you?"
I nod.
"Okay then. There's not much to tell. I was born and raised in New York – Buffalo, to be exact, but I moved to the city after college." He laughs. "Bright lights, fame, fortune, you know – all the usual trappings that young, dumb college kids think awaits them when they move to Manhattan. I spent some time on the floor of The Exchange, but it just wasn't for me. A friend of mine was in advertising and talked me into coming to work for him. I did that for four years until Volturi recruited me. It was the best move I ever made."
I smile because I feel the same way. It really is an awesome company.
The question hangs in the air around us, and Edward's shoulders drop slightly before he clears his throat.
"My, uh, my brother died," he says.
That's not what I was expecting. Not at all.
"Edward, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
He lifts sorrowful eyes to mine before running a hand through his hair.
"Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Riley was only forty."
I don't know what to say, knowing anything I might offer will be inadequate. I've never lost anyone close to me. I'm lucky to have both my parents still, even if my mother and I don't see eye to eye on most things.
"Riley lived here in Chicago with his family; his wife, Rose, and my two nephews, Henry and George. And when he died, Rose and the boys had no one."
He leans his arms on the table and moves his soup bowl to the side before continuing.
"So, um, I came out here to take care of them."
I sit back against the booth and realize Edward Cullen really is the nicest human being on the planet. Much nicer than me, that's for sure. Could I have done that? Moved across the country to take care of someone? Three someones? I'm not sure.
"Edward, I'm so sorry," I say softly.
"Thanks, Bella. We're working through it. My main concern is the boys. But since I've come out here, they seem to be doing great, and that's all I want."
I nod and look down at the table, feeling some remorse, like I put Edward on the spot.
"Hey," he says, and I look up and meet his eyes.
"You don't need to feel bad about asking me questions. I told you, it's not a secret. I've just been so busy with Rose and the boys that I haven't had much time to cultivate new friendships out here yet."
Edward holds my gaze and smiles.
"I'm looking forward to changing that."
A small smile crosses my face, and I agree.
"Me too."
When the server brings our check, I'm too slow, and Edward snatches it up.
"Edward, no," I say, reaching for it. "Let's split it.
"This one's on Volturi, Bella."
I laugh. "But we didn't even talk about the account!"
"I won't tell if you don't," he smirks.
When the check is paid, we stand to put on our coats, and I touch Edward on the sleeve.
"Thank you for telling me about your brother Edward. I'm really very sorry."
He nods and then places his hand on the small of my back to lead us out of the restaurant and into the late afternoon sunshine.
When I'm safely ensconced back in my office, I look out the window and watch the people on the street below as they go about their day, realizing how lucky I am. Lucky to be alive, lucky to have healthy parents, and lucky to have supportive friends -both the human and furry kind, respectively.
Turning back to my desk, I can't hide my smile as I pull out my phone and send a two-word text to Alice.
Not Married.