A/N: Alright, alright, who am I fooling... we all know EPOV is my favourite to write. So to honour that, I've slipped in an EPOV for y'all. If you don't like it, let me know, if you do, let me know. Then I'll write upcoming chapters accordingly... either all BPOV or a mix of BPOV/EPOV.
Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight; don't claim to. Stephanie Meyer does.
EPOV
I learned two things today. First, Bella Swan was a fucking firecracker. Second, never invite an intern to lunch just because she happened to be a cheerleader through college and could bend in ways you would have never thought was humanly possible.
Jessica Stanley, our newest young intern, disappointed me greatly. She seemed promising from her decent resume; mind you I'd have never considered her had it not been for her physical attributes. Her transcript was solid and she had decent extracurricular activities -- okay, normally I wouldn't consider Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2006-2008 to be an extracurricular activity, but I was being more "inclusive" in my approach. Regardless, the fact that she had an extensive resume would normally indicate that she was the 'full package' that we at Cullen & Co. hired in order to maintain our stellar reputation.
Not so much. She was as dumb as a doorknob. Perhaps a doorknob was smarter. And when push came to shove, she wasn't all that attractive anyhow. I was starting to actually become repulsed by her appearance because it represented what every single woman in my life was. Shallow and fake.
I cracked the window of my Lamborghini and took a long, much needed drag of my cigarette. I let the toxins seep into my chest, relishing the sensation. I thought about Jasper and Carlisle's frequent recommendations that I should quit, but this was just too damn good to pass up. Nothing satisfied me like this anymore.
I looked ahead at the mass of traffic slowly inching down the freeway. The only thing about living right within the city limits of Boston was the damn rush hour traffic jams. Once I took my exit I could begin to break in my gears and enjoy my luxury sports car to its full extent.
I thought back to the day I met Bella jogging that one morning, and remembered our following encounters. I seriously wished that our first meeting was also our last, because each meeting after it seemed to get significantly worse.
No doubt she thought I was a pompous ass and thought I was guilty of another slew of issues too.
I jerked my car into second gear and then slid off at my exit, swiftly and smoothly shifting into top gear and speeding down the deserted country road to my estate.
I noticed Emmett's Range Rover parked diagonally out front, a habit of his that pissed me off royally. Nonetheless I was glad he was home because I had beef with him about this Bella Swan case he so casually dropped behind my back.
"Good evening Master Cullen," my butler Aro called out to me as I entered the foyer.
"Hey, what's up Aro. Do you know where Emmett is?"
"He's using the gym for the second time this evening," Aro said, rolling his eyes.
"Right. Thanks." I ran up to my room, grabbed my shorts and flung a towel around my shoulder and ran down the four flights of stairs to the basement. Several televisions were playing and I could hear the clanking of weights coming from the weight room. Emmett was struggling with a bench press of almost more than twice his weight, and goddamn it how many times did I warn him to use either me or Aro as a spotter when he did stupid shit like that.
Just when the bar was about to fall on his neck and kill him, I swiftly grabbed it and lowered it back on the rack.
"Whew, thanks man," Emmett said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "That's intense shit. We should probably stick to the yoga, eh?" he joked, rising up and punching my shoulder lightly.
"Yah, whatever, I saved your life so you owe me. Why the hell did you drop the Swan case?"
Emmett looked stunned at my question, but then shrugged. "When the hell did you even bother looking into any of the cases involving strictly the company? It's a division of our own. It's not a personal claim against you; she's suing you on the basis of not getting her building knocked down. We've taken care of it."
"Yah but I specifically stated that I want involvement in the case. And then you just reassign it? Who the hell is on it now? Some amateur junior lawyer who doesn't know shit about anything cept what the books tell him? Emmett, you know you're my best. And I want to win this case."
Emmett shrugged and headed out the room, so I followed behind. He got on a treadmill, and I hopped on the one right beside him.
"You think I'm your best?" he said sarcastically, grinning widely. "I know I'm your best Cullen. I get down and dirty with these cases. I make my own motherfuckin rules," he boasted, kicking the treadmill speed up to 7mph. I sighed and followed suit, because hell, why not do two workouts today like the fool.
"Yah and the fact that you're a moose doesn't hurt either," I muttered. "I mean, a fucking football player, six foot something beast, sure everyone's just gonna step back when they see you in court."
"Yep, yep. That's me bro. So when the hell did you even figure this shit out? How did you even figure it out? You usually don't give a damn about what's going on in our elite division of attorneys."
I looked forward at the television; no doubt some Sports Illustrated cover shoot video was on, and Rosalie Hale was sitting there in a bathrobe on the beach being primped for her shoot.
"Fuck man, you have it badddd," I said to Emmett, jerking my head toward the television.
"Purely coincidental," he said, and damnit, for a lawyer he was bad at bluffing. Why I had a lawyer who couldn't lie to save his life working on my most important cases I'll never know.
"Right, so I assume that's why you dropped my case? Conflict of interest?"
He nodded and took a gulp of water from his water bottle, then sprayed the rest of it over his face.
"Fuck that Emmett. She's a fucking tease. You don't want Rosalie Hale. And even if you do, which by the way I'd advise against it over and over since she's a demanding and spoiled bitch, she's definitely not interested. If Rose is interested she will tell you. She's not subtle like you." I lowered the speed to 6.5 mph to catch my breath, but he pumped his up to 7.5 mph.
"Pussy," he muttered.
"Roid-rage," I muttered back. "Why'd you drop the case," I persisted.
"Conflict of interest, and to be perfectly honest, I kinda like Bella. I mean sure she's got a sad excuse for a job, and her salary's only about a tenth of what I pay in taxes a year, but hell, she's a good girl. And your corp has bullied enough people, man. It's time you start doing some good deeds. It's bad for your public image," he said, catching his breath and bumping up the speed again.
"What the fuck man? Are you training for a marathon now?" I raised my eyebrows at him but he didn't answer so I left it alone. When Emmett was stressed about something it was best to let him be. "Anyway, Swan's accusing me of something," I added. "Came busting into my office demanding my whereabouts and all sorts of stuff like that. Could you tail her for awhile? See what's going on with that?"
Besides being my personal and corporate attorney, Emmett was the go-to guy for all my dirty work, such as following clients we suspected were dirty – such as those who made deals they couldn't follow through with. Nothing mob-like, just double checking certain circumstances before we launched into a deal. Being Senator McCarty's son, he had more than enough connections in the feds who were willing to help him out on any need-to-know basis.
"Yah I'll keep an eye on her, on the d/l."
We pounded out a couple more miles on the treadmill then bonded over beers and football for the rest of the night.
***
I was thoroughly enjoying my rich, full-bodied espresso and the New York Times at eight o'clock in my office when Bella Swan came barging through my doors, wearing some tight fitting beige skirt and a ice-blue silk blouse. Her wavy hair landed right at her breasts, showcasing considerable cleavage since it was unbuttoned enough to show a bit of a racy black bra. To top it off, she was wearing the highest and sexiest heels I'd ever seen. Needless to say, I had to strategically place the newspaper on my lap to avoid an awkward greeting.
"Ah, yes, just come right in Miss Swan," I said bemused, not bothering to take a second look at her. I didn't want her to think her outfit was actually achieving the reaction she was hoping for.
"Edward, can I ask again – where were you this morning? I find it difficult to believe that you have nothing to do with any of the annoying letters I've been receiving," she demanded, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs.
"Well I suppose my new attorney's probably been sending a few friendly reminders about the case," I speculated, not really sure what she was on about. I recall telling my new eager young attorney assigned to the case, Felix something or other, to make it 'unpleasant' for Bella to remain in the fight for her shack, but I didn't ever specify what antics to employ.
"Hah, you call those friendly?" she raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well you wanna keep playing hardball Cullen? I'm all about busting balls," she seethed.
"Hmm I bet you are," I said flatly, turning the page of my newspaper to the business section.
Before I could get to the page however, the paper was snatched from my hands by Bella, who started ripping it up in front of me.
"Jesus Christ woman, what is your problem? You bust into my office and start throwing these wild accusations at me," I stood up from my chair and walked over in front of her. "Are you sure you're even mentally fit enough to be a lawyer?" I asked condescendingly, making sure to keep my voice calm and contained.
"Tell your attorney to quit it with the games, Edward, or I'm filing harassment charges."
Surely she was overreacting. I'm almost positive that Felix, a Harvard law graduate no less, would definitely ensure that he kept his threats within the confines of the law.
"Bella, if that's all you have to say, then I'm going to have to bid you good riddance," I said, gently taking her by the arm and leading her out the door. "Thanks for stopping by, have a great day." I closed the door in her face and took a long sip of my espresso, rather unsettled about all this unnecessary drama first thing in the morning. I felt like my office was Grand Central Station, where anyone could just waltz in and out freely.
I headed to the reception area where Bella was giving Tanya a mouthful about me. I heard something along the lines of 'pompous ass' when I cleared my throat to interrupt their banter.
"Tanya, what the hell kind of security do we have going on here? Without a doubt next time Miss Swan enters my office she will have a bomb strapped to her, and we're just letting her in freely as if this is the local soup kitchen."
"I am so sorry Mr. Cullen," Tanya replied all flustered, "I've tried threatening her and security has certainly tried restraining her, but Goddamnit she's strong and they didn't want to hurt her so they just let her in. I didn't know what to do," she said, hanging her head in defeat.
"That's fine Tanya, I'm sure you've done all you could. Now Miss Swan, do I have to remind you about trespassing laws?" I looked her in the eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, because her previously perfectly smoothed together appearance was completely shot to shit, making her look completely dishevelled. Despite that, it only made her look hotter. It reminded me of what she'd look like if I ravished her in on my office desk. She was a hot mess.
I had a feeling that Alice dressed her for the occasion this morning, with her own motives. I made a mental note to call her to tell her to stop dressing the enemy and sending her over here to distract my legal intentions with her. The distracting bit was definitely working.
"Stop this Miss Swan business, Edward. You know damn well you crossed the line," she spat. "I will see you in court this afternoon, you asshole." With that, Bella spun on her heels and headed to the elevator, smiling and giving me the finger as the shiny gold doors closed in my face.
"Well, that was an interesting start to my day," I muttered to Tanya, who was in my face waiting for me to throw orders her way. "Uh, just keep up with reception for today. I'll give you more to do this afternoon." For the first time, my orders to Tanya weren't full of sexual innuendos, and her dropped face indicated she knew that.
"Yes Mr. Cullen."
***
BPOV
After my most unpleasant confrontation with the pretentious Dickward Cullen I was in a foul mood. It should have started when I received a threatening phone call followed by an equally threatening letter stating that I was on thin ice and should leave town unless I wanted to get hurt. Not knowing what the hell to think of it, I thought it was a joke or something, or maybe a letter from another angry abusive husband whose wife I was defending for rape and domestic violence charges. When I asked Angela about it, she said a man dropped it off, saying I'd know what it meant, and that it had to do with something that was happening today. Apparently Angela didn't take much of a look at him because she was distracted with the phone ringing off the hook, but she said he was medium height, normal weight, and that there was nothing striking about him.
So I marched over to Edward's assuming that he sent it, or his new attorney did. He of course acted like he knew nothing about it, but then said he instructed his attorney to send some 'friendly reminders.' Yah, friendly for a terrorist or something.
I was sick to my stomach after our encounter. Besides, he didn't even check out my hot new outfit Alice gave me.
On my way to the courthouse I picked up my cell and dialled Alice's number, hoping she'd have some words of wisdom to get me through this afternoon.
"This is Alice," she chirped, presumably not checking her caller ID or she wouldn't have answered like it was a business call.
"Hey Alice, it's me," I said, taking a bite out of my chocolate muffin.
"Bella, what's that you're eating?!" she shrieked. "It sounds like carbs. Are you eating carbs? You know carbs aren't on your marathon diet... at least not at one o'clock in the afternoon!"
"I know, I know, carbs for breakfast or dinner only; oats or rice, I remember the drill," I drawled, not really caring about my marathon or anything else at the moment. "Besides, I don't think a triple chocolate muffin with double chocolate chips in it counts as carbs," I muffled, my mouth full as I took another large bite.
"Bella!" Alice protested.
"Simmer down pixie, there's bigger issues at hand. Your brother, for one." I looked ahead at all the pedestrian traffic making its way through the downtown core and opted to take the alleyway instead.
"Oh ya, you're totes getting to him, you know," she said eagerly; from the sound of her voice I could tell she was grinning widely. "He called me this morning, being all professional and rigid like he always is and he said so awkwardly, like 'hey uh, quit dressing Swan up in the morning, she's distracting me from legal issues and it's promoting sexual harassment in the workplace,'" she said in a low voice, mocking her brother's.
I laughed out loud because she actually sounded grumpy and rigid like he always did. "Seriously? You think it worked?" I was hopeful that my ten hours of pain in these ridiculous stilettos weren't for nothing.
"Um hello? A Dolce and Gabbana pencil skirt, four inch Louboutin stilettos, and a Chloe silk charmeuse blouse does not go unnoticed by the opposite sex," she preached. "Not to mention La Perla lingerie."
"No doubt," I added dryly. "Anyway, that makes me feel better. I have a court date with him in like, three minutes so I'm hustling my butt over there as we speak. Wish me luck."
"Good luck Bella!! I know you'll rock it! Call me right after and tell me everything," she squealed. Only Alice could make a court hearing sound as juicy as a soap opera.
Just as I was nearing the end of the alley and I could see the back of the courthouse, I felt a leather-gloved hand pull me in to them and begin to attack me by wrapping their arm tightly around my neck.
"YOU'RE IN FOR IT SWAN. IF YOU DON'T GET THE FUCK OUTTA TOWN, I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO USE YOU," the muffled voice bellowed into my ear. It was a man's voice that was almost familiar but because it was so stifled by their mask, I couldn't be certain. All I could do was think about what Charlie, my police chief father taught me, so I turned around, kneed them in the groin and shoved the heel of my hand into their nose. As they were struggling to regain their composure I chopped my hand into their neck to cut off their air supply and ran as fast as my legs would take me in these four inch stilettos, leaving them choking and gasping for air.
Once I made it into the main street the courthouse was just across the street so I glanced at my watch to discover I was already late.
"Fuck my life," I muttered under my breath, and darted across the busy street of traffic. I bolted up the stairs of the courthouse, through the lobby while flashing the front desk reception my name tag, and ran into the courtroom.
Once I made it inside I was gasping for air so heavily that the entire jury and everyone in the courtroom turned around to look at me suspiciously.
"Hi, I'm... Bella Swan... the defense..." I managed in between breaths.
I hobbled over to the bar and was about to sign in before the judge, a harsh looking elderly woman, cleared her throat impatiently.
"Ahem. Excuse me? What do you think you are doing Miss Swan?"
I glanced up at the courtroom clock to see that, just my luck, it was five minutes fast. Judging by that clock I was ten minutes late for the hearing.
"You're case is closed Miss Swan," she continued, and by the look on her face I could tell a lecture was about to ensue. Fuck. I looked over at Edward who was completely amused with the scene before him.
"If I may object, your honour," he said as he stood up rearranging some papers in front of him. His lawyer leaned in – seemingly to advise him – but Edward was quick to dismiss him.
"Object Mr. Cullen? You've just won your case," the judge said, looking down at him over her eyeglasses.
"Well yes, your honour, but with all due respect, I'd like a fair trial." Um, what? "I wouldn't want to win just because Miss Swan here is unable to make her court date on time because of, well, I'm sure we can all assume why she was tardy," he reasoned.
I quickly looked down at my attire to notice that my skirt was bunched up around my knees, the top three buttons of my blouse was popped open revealing a peak of my racy black lace bra, and my makeup and hair must have only added to the conclusion that I was having a romp in the sack.
"Very well," the judge said as she raised her gavel. "The court will adjourn next Tuesday at one o'clock promptly, Miss Swan." She banged the gavel and I nearly jumped because I was so skittish from my alleyway assault.
I bowed my head graciously at the judge and sauntered over to Edward, glaring daggers at him as I stared him down.
"So, what's his name?" he joked, nudging his young lawyer who laughed in response to his inappropriate joke.
"Very funny, Edward. Keep playing your little game. Next time he won't be so prepared," I said, pointing to the attorney, who looked at me wide-eyed.
He knew exactly what I meant.
A/N: Just a little short one this time. I promise next chapter will be longer. Love, Grey-Eyed-Blonde xox