Thanks to everyone who reviewed :-)

Glad everyone liked the fluff. I tried really hard to get this up quickly…currently I'm being swamped with loads and loads of homework and senior project and everything. So it may be the last installment until Friday…hopefully not...

Don't own.

Ch. 17: Manic Monday

Saturday night was amazing. I was beaming all weekend.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end.

I was passing a news stand on my way back from a coffee run on Monday when I was stopped by a headline.

"SEX AND THE CITY? Insight into the love life of New York's most eligible bachelor, Edward Cullen."

Oh my god.

Inside were photographs of Edward and I getting out of the taxi and going into the opera house through the side door, photographs of Edward and I fleeing where we'd left Jacob, us at the ice rink, kissing, and a final photograph from outside Edward's apartment of the two of us rushing to a taxi.

"Interview with taxi driver Raymond Johnson tells us that Edward Cullen, New York's most eligible bachelor, might not be so single. Recently he has been seen with a young woman believed to be his employee…" I read, my eyes widening with every printed word.

What was this? Oh no…the freaking cab driver! But which one? There were so many…

"'…an' she says to him uh…I don't wanna go in the front door, I can't be seen with you. We're late, it's gonna look bad." Well, by the way they was going at it, we can guess why they were late…' Johnson told City Press reporters, regarding their stealthy entrance to last week's Giselle. The question on our minds is, who is this mystery girl? Sources state that…"

I couldn't believe it. That freaking driver, wanting his fifteen minutes of fame…

The story continued, outlining each and every time I'd been out with Edward in public, or seen outside his apartment...someone had been following us.

I purchased it, and began walking, reading furiously.

"Sources confirm that the woman, Isabella Swan, the editor of the East Side Herald has a history of dating men with money, and a history of racking up large debts. Wealthy attorney Jacob Black is but one of the many on journalist Isabella Swan's rap sheet…explosive temper, resulting in a broken nose, and an alleged assault by Cullen…" I said loudly after I stepped into the office.

All eyes turned to me, as I continued.

"Sources say that Mr. Cullen recently paid off a series of extensive debts of Miss Swan's, totaling several hundred thousand dollars. It makes us wonder what exactly Mr. Edward Cullen is paying his young employee for!"

Edward was speaking to Robb, and both turned, incredulous, at my entrance. I didn't care that the whole office was listening now, and continued ranting.

"I told you!" I began shouting at him, throwing the magazine down on the desk. "Read it! Read the freaking article!"

"Bella, what—"

"I'm a whore, Edward! According to that tabloid, I'm a whore who sleeps around the elite social circles!" I exclaimed, then noticed the whole office staring, open mouthed. Robb had kept his promise, and hadn't told anybody, so this was quite the shock.

Alice and Robb were the only ones who didn't look shocked at my explosion, and I excused myself, going to my office and slamming the door heavily.

What the hell.

I took my coat off and began arranging papers, anything to occupy myself.

I knew this would happen.

And I wasn't even sleeping with him. We'd just had a long conversation about it on Saturday, and the tabloids were already reporting our sex lives.

I felt tears spring to my eyes. I knew this was too good to be true. I knew my beautiful design would be shaken up, too soon for me to enjoy it.

I heard my office door open, but didn't look. I didn't want to.

"Bella…" Edward's voice said, and I felt his hands on my shoulders as I sat staring at my desk.

"Get away from me!" I exclaimed, standing, trying to shrug him off, but he refused to let me go as I struggled against his strong form.

I didn't' want him to let me go, but I wasn't thinking. I wanted to be with him, I didn't want to do this, but I couldn't help but fight it.

"No." he said stiffly, and I could tell he was getting fed up with my theatrics.

"I knew this would happen! Something always has to go wrong! First Jacob…now this…why can't they just let us be!" I had stopped struggling, and resigned to sobbing into his chest.

I hated crying. I normally didn't cry, but this pissed me off. I was overwhelmed.

I wanted to be with him so badly, but every instinct I had was telling me to run, end this and start fresh somewhere new.

"It's okay." He said, though he was just as livid as I was. "We'll make it through this."

"But how! Inter-office relations aren't allowed! There's more to that article, they have everything! They've been following us around! You assaulted Jacob, and so did I, and—"

"Bella, breathe." He said, his voice a little gentler than before. "This isn't anything to worry about. We already took care of your assault charge, we made a contract, he signed it, you don't have to worry about that. Just leave it to—"

He was interrupted by Robb bursting through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you have to see this." He said, turning on the television that had been left unused in my office for some time.

He changed the channel to the New York News Network, there they were streaming a story, live.

Wait…

Black Family Lawfirm.

Oh…that bastard.

"—have received word of the Cullen sex scandal, including a complicated triangle with attorney Jacob Black and journalist Isabella Swan. Here with us now is Jacob Black. Now Jacob, what can you tell us of this alleged relationship between owner and employee?"

"What's happening." I gaped, collapsing to sitting in my chair as my eyes remained glued to the television. "Why is this happening?"

"Well, Janet, it's not much of a relationship between the two, more like a business agreement. Why else would Cullen pay off so much debt? He gets rid of the debt, she gives him whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. I used to be close with Bella, and tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen."

We remained silent, watching with awe as this sham story unfolded before us. I snuck a look at Edward, and saw his jaw tense and his fist clenched and shaking. He was ready to march down to that office and give Jacob another black eye.

If he did, I wouldn't stop him. I'd let him. The stupid bastard…

"And what happened then, Jacob? You have quite a shiner there, and I understand your nose is broken? Do you care to elaborate?"

"Bella can be very…passionate." He said with a grin, indicating his nose. "I think that's what Cullen sees in someone of her class. She's feisty, and attacked me when I was merely trying to warn her about him. I'm just worried for her…she used to be such a sweet girl…"

I switched off the television, unable to watch any more.

It was such bullshit.

…And the press was eating it up. There hadn't been a sex scandal in the city for some time, and they wanted anything they could get their claws on.

It made me sick, how people took pleasure in destroying others' lives. I hated tabloids, it was the lowest of the low in journalism.

Unfortunately, it was often the most influential.

"I'll keep watching online." Robb said quietly, looking from me, to Edward, and back to me. "Good luck."

"Robb?" I asked, as he was opening the door. "You know none of it's true, right?"

He stopped, staring at me like I was an alien or something. I knew I was being ridiculous. I knew I was beginning to lose it, but I didn't want my friends thinking I was literally a prostitute who pleasured my boss at his leisure because he forgave my debts.

"Because I'm not like that, and nobody knows the truth, and—" I was babbling, and he shook his head, smiling a little as he crossed the room to sweep me up in a bear hug.

"Bella Swan, if there's one thing I've learned from you in my time here, it's that your sexual history matches that of my twelve year old niece. Everyone who knows you knows that, including everyone in this office. The East Side Herald is behind you one hundred percent, okay?"

I nodded, forcing half a smile. I couldn't quite get the whole thing out, but he accepted it and left, exchanging a glance with Edward over my head.

"Edward?" I asked, turning to see him leaning against the desk, watching me. He'd remained silent through the whole thing, and was clearly enraged whereas I was more worried and hysterical.

Right now he didn't seem like my Edward. He was being the strong, silent type, almost brooding. I understood it, but it unnerved me a bit.

I wanted my Edward.

I wanted to be held, and told it was okay. I wanted someone to take care of me.

I know I was being ridiculous, and that the New York Press Union would probably let us go with a warning once they got the full story, but my job was still at stake.

I was being a baby, I wasn't thinking like a calm, mature adult, but I couldn't help it. I was panicking. I should relax, it's not really that big a deal, but I was finding it harder and harder to be as strong as I used to be, now that I had a crutch to lean on, in Edward.

What was happening to me?

"What are we going to do?"

We still hadn't seen Edward's lawyer about what happened Friday, and decided to discuss this first, that afternoon, as we met with him.

Or rather, I basically let Edward take control, because I knew virtually nothing about legal matters, and I was fairly certain that if it was left to me we'd probably end up in bigger trouble than we already were.

I was being submissive, and I hated it, but right now it was for the best, I suppose…

"We'd like to sue Jacob Black for sexual harassment." Edward said stiffly, settling into one of the two chairs out in front of Mr. John Hayworth's desk. I followed suit, and looked down at my hands as Edward related what happened with the dates and Friday night.

"This also sounds like a domestic violence case." Hayworth said, as he created a file for me. I still didn't look up.

I was nervous, and embarrassed about the whole thing. It was all a result of my naiveté.

"Miss Swan?" Hayworth's voice caused me to look up, and it was then I noticed that Edward had taken my good hand in his and was holding it, gently.

Hayworth was an older man, who looked like he stepped out of a southern plantation family portrait from over a hundred years ago, your typical old money family. But he was a kind man, and took off his spectacles as he looked at me.

"I promise, we'll settle this." He said soothingly. "My firm is very respected among the community, and I am friendly with the Chief of the New York Police Department. We'll get you a restraining order against him, slap him with at least a fine, and put his name on the sexual predator list, at the least."

I nodded, trying to force a smile as Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"And the tabloids?" I managed to whisper.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily.

"Freedom of the Press, my dear." He smiled though, his eyes twinkling. "But, you two do have a newspaper at your disposal. I'm sure you can think of something."

"Thank you." Edward said, standing and shaking Mr. Hayworth's wrinkled hand. I did the same, wondering how on earth we could salvage something from the tabloids and fix it in our paper.

"Always a pleasure, Mr. Masen." Hayworth said, standing as we exited. He sighed. "I see more and more of your mother in you, every time I see you. Best wishes."

"Masen?" I asked as we waited for a cab outside.

"When Carlisle adopted me, I took his last name." Edward said, and I'd known that, but I didn't know anybody knew his real name. "John was the attorney my mother used when she fought Billy Black. He was her godfather, and a close family friend. He loved her as his own daughter."

I nodded in understanding, and gave Edward's hand a little squeeze. It was awful, what had happened to him. He lost both his parents, so young…

If not for Carlisle, who knew where he'd be now?

We got back to the office, and found more bad news.

"The Chairman of the New York Press Union called." Robb said seriously, as we entered, still hearing whispers about what was happening in the office cubicles.

I groaned, and Edward sighed.

The chairman?

I couldn't believe that they'd gone right to the top, that the leader of the union himself had called.

Stupid tabloids. Stupid Jacob Black, this was all his fault…

I knew it was all him, that he'd done this as payback since he couldn't legally do anything else, since the contract. And he knew he wouldn't win a lawsuit against a Cullen, so he didn't dare sue Edward for assault.

"He said he wants to meet with you two tomorrow, in his office, at noon." Robb continued, "And I watched the rest of that segment. You wouldn't believe the load of crap Black spewed."

"Alright." I said, sighing, as I shuffled into my office to review a few articles for tomorrow's edition. It figured, it was four o'clock, people would be leaving in an hour, and I hadn't gotten any work done today.

When would this nightmare end?

I slumped down in my chair and began looking at the pile of articles that had accumulated and moaned to myself. So much work…

The first few were basic, and had little to correct, but it was the last article that caught my interest. Just the headline woke me up.

"Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen: A Cinderella Story." I said it aloud a few times, to make sure I had read it correctly.

One of my journalists had written an article, a retraction to the days events, defending us.

Cornelius M. Clemons.

Neil Clemons.

Mr. Clemons, my Mr. Clemons, had had the balls to write this, on his own?

He even had a few photographs to go with it, one of me that had to have been taken during my dark ages, because I was in my hotel work clothes, completely disheveled and exhausted.

I don't know how he got this photograph, or when it had been taken, and didn't know that I looked that awful when I was overworking myself. It had only been a few weeks, and I felt so much better now than I did then…

The photograph adjacent to it was of Edward, looking stunning in a suit at some social gathering.

Wait.

Alice had taken this.

I know she had, she had to. It was the same photograph, with him in the foreground in his and there I was, waitressing in the background.

Whatever function it had been, he had been there, and she had managed to capture a photograph of the both of us, before we even knew eachother.

…Well, Edward had said that Alice told Jasper who told Carlisle about me. Maybe this was in the planning stages of Edward's not so hostile takeover, unknown to both of us?

I couldn't believe it.

It was like Alice knew this would happen, and knew I'd end up with Edward, and knew everything, and that's why she took the photograph, such a random event…

It was crazy, it was like she could see the future. I mean, I knew some people claimed to be clairvoyant, but I'd never really seen it firsthand.

Then, below those two was a present photograph, of the two of us the night of the ballet, at the ballet.

Alice hadn't taken this one, it was taken from the Opera House website, of random people at the opening. But it was of the two of us, all dolled up, he escorting me by the arm.

The change was remarkable.

And that was what he had been trying to portray, in putting them beside eachother.

And this was just the cover page to his article.

I began reading.

"Love knows no status."

Mr. Clemons wrote this?

Maybe I'd pinned him wrong. He wasn't as pathetic as I thought, he was a closet hopeless romantic. It was kind of sweet, and kind of sad.

"In today's corporate world, the last thing one expects to find, anywhere, is love."

This was a remarkable article. It outlined both our lives before he took over, then mentions of our relationship's progression and the good that had come to the office since.

I put it down as I finished, and had tears in my eyes. I'm not an overly emotional person, but it just touched me that someone would write this about us, in defense of the awful things that were being said.

"Robb, is Clemons still here?" I asked as I left my office with the stack of articles in hand, that last one on top. There was still a half hour left of work, and my journalists didn't have a lot to fix, just a little bit here and there.

Everything would be fit for print the next morning.

"Um…no, actually. He had to take his mother to the doctor's." Robb said, looking up from some filing he was doing. "Why, did he forget to submit his article?"

"No, I have it. It's going to be our front page tomorrow."

"Really." Robb said, shocked. He took off his designer glasses and rubbed his eyes, to make sure he was awake and had heard me correctly. "You sure? Can I see?"

"No." I said with a smile, in an exponentially better mood now. "You can read about it tomorrow. Edward's in the print room?"

"Yeah…go right in."

I thanked him, redistributed the rest of the articles for fixing, and took Clemons' article to Edward, to coordinate the first page.

I tried to make it sound as newspaper-y as possible. I'm not a journalist, I'm just an obsessed twilight fan, so hope it was almost believable. Review, my lovelies :-D