A/N: I'm so sorry for not posting this sooner guys! I've had my own huge case and work has been crazy. Longer A/N at the end, please R & R!

Chapter 7: Secrets?

BPOV

I arrived at the office Monday morning in a sort of bliss coma. Edward had spent the entire weekend with me—and we rarely left the bedroom, except to eat. But now, on dreaded Monday morning, this meant two things: one, I had gotten no work done on this huge new case, and two, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love. The good part about this, though, was that Edward was also in love with me. Me!

And, somehow, the latter made it worth it the fact that I didn't get any work done and would probably be in the office late every night this week, I thought as I sat down in my chair and powered on my computer while sipping my coffee. I allowed myself to think about the weekend once more, remembering certain moments that were now imprinted into my mind and I smiled involuntarily, my mouth upturning as a result of my state of complete happiness—I was wrong, it was so worth it.

I closed my eyes and I was still reliving some of those moments, feeling as if Edward were still beside me, before I knew I really had to get to work.

"Bella?"

My eyes snapped open and I looked toward my doorway, Jasper leaning against it with a huge smile.

"Hey Jas, how's things?"

"How's things?! Well, Bella, I think I probably should be asking you that."

He laughed, pointing his finger at me.

"I saw you blissed out there for a minute with your eyes closed. You don't need to give me details."

I sighed. "It was amazing Jas. Does it always feel like this?"

"Yes, if it's the right one, I told you it does."

"Well, enough about that for now, Jas. You already know I'm happy. Incredibly happy, actually. But, do you have a minute for the Prado case?"

"Just what I was coming to talk to you about—well and Edward. But since I already know about that, we have some serious work to do, Bella."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't come in over the weekend, I just—"

"Don't apologize, I think you deserved a weekend off, you probably deserve a few more, too. And don't forget, Bella, we're partners and you always help me out. So, I managed to get some preliminary research done."

Jasper walked over to my desk, handing me a stack of papers.

"Check out the California cases, I think those are the most helpful. I'm afraid we really need to file the complaint soon because the statute of limitations has almost run. However, once it's filed, I promise MegaCorp won't know what hit them. I know you can handle this case, Bells."

"Thanks, Jasper. I better get some work done so I can file the complaint by the end of the week. Do you know who MegaCorp's in house counsel is? I just want some idea about the competition."

"Oh it's Jessica Stanley, remember her from law school? It figures she'd be a big corporate sell-out, huh? But for a case like this, I'm sure they'll contract it out. Too bad, really, you always did know how to get under Jessica's skin."

"Very funny, Jasper. You know she hated me in law school and I never knew why. . ."

My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I reached over to pick up the phone.

"Let me know if you need any help." Jasper said, turning and walking out of my door.

"Bella Swan," I answered the phone.

"I miss you already."

"Edward! I miss you, too."

"I don't think I can go the whole day without seeing you. Have lunch with me?"

I looked down at my calendar, remembering I had to oppose a motion to dismiss at eleven.

"I have a motion at eleven, so meet me at the Garden Café across from the courthouse around noon?"

"Perfect. See you then, love."

"Can't wait."

I hung up the phone, taking another sip of my coffee and sinking into my chair, smiling.

Okay, Bella, I told myself, you really really need to get some work done now.

However, knowing I would see Edward in a few hours was truly all the motivation I needed.

EPOV

I hung up the phone and smiled for the first the time today. My morning had already been hellish.

First, I had woken up alone after leaving Bella last night. We had an amazing weekend but I hadn't gone home once and we both needed some sleep before work this morning.

Then, Mike confronted me as soon as I walked in the building, dropping a huge new case on my lap just because, once again, he didn't want to do the work.

Now, however, I actually had something to which I could look forward, having lunch with my beautiful Bella.

Maybe I should just take a look at this case Mike gave me before lunch.

On second thought, I had too much other work to do right now—Mike could wait.

I was whistling Bella's lullaby as I hurried down the street to the garden café. I could hardly wait to see Bella again and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours.

And then it hit me, I had never felt like this about someone before.

Sure, I'd told a college girlfriend that I loved her but this was completely different.

This was something all-encompassing, but not mere infatuation. I really meant it when I said that Bella is my life now. And spending just a few hours apart from her made me realize this epiphany.

Finally, I spotted the restaurant and went inside, shrugging off my coat as my eyes automatically scanned to restaurant in search of Bella.

I sighed as I realized she wasn't here yet, reminding myself that she had a motion and surely I could wait a few more minutes to see her.

The hostess seated me promptly and I ordered a cup of coffee while I waited.

As soon as I took that first sip, my mind drifted back to work and I was mentally reciting a list of things I had to do.

Suddenly, Bella entered the restaurant, her face shining and she smiled as she spotted me. My breath hitched and every thought of work left my conscious in an instant.

I stood as she walked over, straight into my arms and I embraced her, kissing her head and closing my eyes as I was once again reunited with the scent of her hair.

"Hi." She said, in tiny voice, looking up at me as I still held her in my arms.

"I know I said it earlier, too, but I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Edward." I released her then, and she chose to sit right next to me in the booth rather than across the table.

"How was the hearing?"

"Oh, good. Motion granted." She looked down at her watch. "Sorry I'm late."

"No problem, my love."

She blushed, again, even after we spent the entire weekend with our bodies, minds and words intertwined.

And that was just one more thing I loved about her.

Bella took a minute to look at the menu while I just gazed at her because I had already decided while waiting.

We ordered and I could tell that I was becoming more relaxed with each minute I spent back in Bella's company; she was good for me.

Our food arrived quickly and again I realized that I loved Bella's gusto in everything she did, from her job to eating.

We chatted a bit about work and the upcoming weekend—Bella wanted to come to my house and I couldn't wait. Since it was only Monday, I knew it was going to be a long week in anticipation of that. Should I try to cook something? After that amazing meal Bella had made for me, I decided against butchering something that was her forte.

We finished eating and I was already sad, thinking about our time together almost being over. Bella looked at her watch again and frowned.

I put my arm around her and she immediately put her head on my shoulder.

"I've really got to get back to work Edward."

"Shh . . . I know you do. Just lean on my shoulder for another minute. Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes let out a small sigh; I hoped she was forgetting about work for just a minute.

"Thank you Edward. That helped."

Bella paid, I knew I shouldn't even try to object, and we stood up to leave. I again had my arm around her as we walked out of the restaurant, wanting to touch her every second until we had to part.

Unfortunately, as soon as we excited the restaurant, we knew we were going in opposite directions.

Bella couldn't have dinner with me tonight because of work but we planned on meeting up at The Meadow late tomorrow for chocolate soufflés and I would stay at her place.

It was time to say goodbye for now, but I wasn't too sad since we had plans for the next night.

I pulled Bella in close; I wasn't even going to kiss her. I just wanted to hug her and hold her for one more minute but she surprised me by taking my face in her hands and kissing me—hard.

As I was prone to do around Bella, all rational thought left my mind and I was matching her fervor, kissing her back hard.

We both came to our senses and realized we were standing on the sidewalk, right across the street from the courthouse.

We were just looking at each other and Bella blushed and I pushed her hair behind her ear before I whispered "Thank you love, I needed that."

I gave her another quick peck before I made sure she got into a cab. I watched her speed away as I turned around to walk back to my office.

MikePOV

I was psyching myself up as I walked to the courthouse, preparing myself to mentally crush yet another lawyer in the courtroom. This time I merely had to persuade the judge to grant my motion for summary judgment—a feat I had accomplished quite a few times when smaller firms or solo practioners attempted to file suit against our corporate clients. When would they learn to just give up?

I was about to walk up the steps into the courthouse when I looked across the street and thought I noticed Cullen because of his disastrous, constantly messy hair.

I squinted to make sure it was him because he had his hands all over some chick, and from this angle I could tell she had a smokin' body.

I was waiting for them to stop kissing so I could check out her face while I silently cursed Cullen—I couldn't believe even he was getting laid when I wasn't.

I had been off my game since that stupid surgery. And that again reminded me of Cullen and how he screwed up that case for me by settling with Swan. I still had to get Cullen back for that.

Finally the chick pulled away from Cullen and I got a closer look, shock rising inside of me when I realized it was Bella Swan.

I shook my head. No, it couldn't be. Would Cullen really be that stupid? Didn't he know we were litigating against them right now?

I stepped into the street to get a closer look. It was definitely Bella Swan and from the looks of it, her and Cullen were already very cozy.

I stared in disbelief as he kissed her again and helped her into a cab. What a sap.

My shock soon turned to anger as I realized that Cullen had screwed me yet again. Not only was he nailing Swan, after I had already tried to hit that, but I realized he probably settled that case to get closer to her.

I had to give him credit for being devious to get what he wanted but that didn't help my situation.

I suddenly remembered I had to be in court. I gave Cullen one last look of disgust—not that he noticed, he was oblivious and wearing a goofy grin on his face as he walked down the street.

My mind was in overdrive as I ran up the courthouse steps. This was powerful information to have. But the question was—how could I use it to hurt Cullen the most?

The gavel sounded and I immediately rushed out of the courtroom. It had been difficult to concentrate during this hearing, but I got the job done. It really grated on me that my mind was filled with images of Cullen with his hands all over Bella Swan the entire time, though.

I may have let out a growl as I walked down the steps of the courthouse because several people turned to look at me. It couldn't be helped—Cullen infuriated me!

I paid them no attention, however, deciding to walk back to the office in an attempt to figure out what to do. My mind had been over the same question the whole time I was in court: What would hurt Cullen the most?

I was sure the managing partner at our firm would be interested in Cullen's extracurricular activities with Swan, but I wasn't positive he would fire Cullen for it. He'd probably just reprimand Cullen a little, and tell him to be careful to not talk about any of our cases. Even so, Cullen seemed to hate working here so maybe he wouldn't care if he was fired.

No, I couldn't be hasty and spill the news yet; I really had to think of the perfect way to use this information. Despite their very public groping, I was sure no one else knew about Cullen and Swan at the firm. If there was one thing we all agreed upon, it was gossip and I hadn't heard any about Cullen, although we had all decided he was weird.

But seeing Cullen and Swan—together—angered me so much: When Swan turned down all of my gracious offers for dinner and possibly something more, she told me it was because she worried abut us having cases against each other. Apparently, she didn't care about that when it came to Cullen.

Suddenly, like a vision, it came to me . . . I was going to get Cullen good.

BPOV

Lunch was wonderful, just the break I needed to refuel before what I knew would be a long afternoon and night at the office.

I kept expecting to wake up though from this dream that was Edward and I—what we had become so quickly. I just couldn't believe my luck or rather, our luck at finding each other.

While I was sure we probably would have met at some point through work because our firms opposed each other on so many cases, it was a marvel that Mike's appendix burst and that he threw that case to Edward at the last minute.

Edward and I had been over every detail of that first meeting during our long conversations over the weekend when we could tear ourselves away from each other's bodies.

How typical it was for me to run into someone but how this time, something good actually came from my clumsiness.

Finally, I gave into the compulsion to work, digging out the cases Jasper had handed me this morning and, with a highlighter poised in my hand, began reading. I used my little colored flags to mark pages I wanted to return to, for further investigation. The process was actually soothing to me, to get back into the groove of work.

I didn't stop until I heard a knock on my door. Expecting to find Jasper, I looked up with a smile.

Mike Newton?

He must have caught my smile slipping because he sneered at me.

"What, you're not happy to see me Bella?"

I hated it when he called me by first my name, honestly, as if we were friends or familiar aside from work.

"Uh, no, Mike, it's not that, I'm just surprised. What are you doing here?"

If he was going to call me by my first name, I could surely return the favor. Hopefully he noticed that I said his name with complete disdain.

"Well, Bella, I just had a few things I wanted to discuss with you."

"Is this about a case Mike? I didn't know we had another case against each other?"

"No, Bella, this isn't about a case, it's . . . personal."

I wracked my brain, trying to think of what he could possibly want. I groaned internally, desperately hoping he wasn't going to ask me out again. How many times would it take before he got the hint? At least this would be a quick meeting, if that's what he was asking.

"Personal? What could we possibly have to discuss that's personal, Mike?"

"Oh, I don't know Bella, maybe a little thing like Edward Cullen?"

I'm sure my eyes widened at Mike's evil grin and I was probably blushing, too.

"What about Edward?"

"Well, I didn't know you two were dating—"

He snarled out the last work as if he were repulsed.

"—Until I saw you and Cullen with your hands all over each other right in the middle of the street, across from the courthouse. Do you really think that's any way for a lady to behave, Bella?"

I took a deep breath without saying anything. I couldn't believe Mike had the audacity to lecture me about propriety. He, who continually made lewd references and inappropriate suggestions when we were trying to settle a case!

"I mean, Bella, if you were so hard up, you could have gone out with me. I made you several irresistible offers and you said you couldn't get involved because of our work. You do know Cullen works at my firm, right?"

"I'm fully aware of Edward's job, Mike. Now, if you're done with your lecture . . ."

I gestured to the door, not dignifying Mike's presence by standing up.

He then chose to walk inside my office, like a predator, inching closer to my desk before placing his hands on it.

I tried not to look intimated and instead, I attempted to channel the anger rising inside of me into glaring directly at Mike across my desk, refusing to blink.

"Aren't we done here, Mike? Nothing you could say would change my mind about Edward. I'm sorry that you're having trouble accepting this."

He laughed, and it sounded maniacal to me.

"But, Bella, I haven't even told you the best part yet."

"Please leave, Mike. I'm really not interesting in anything you have to say. Don't make me call security, I don't know why thought it was okay to just waltz into my office."

"It was ridiculously easy Bella, I just used my natural charm on your secretary to tell her that you and I were planning a surprise for Cullen. She let me come back here, unaccompanied, and without question."

He smiled again, and I was aware for the first time of how devious Mike truly was.

Then he held up his hands as if in a sign of surrender.

"Fine, Bella, I just have one more thing to tell you and then I'll leave and I won't talk to you again until you approach me."

"Get on with it, Mike. I don't think I can stand to be in your presence one second longer."

He laughed again. Ugh.

"First, I have a question for you. Did I correctly hear through the grapevine that you're representing Prado in his suit against Megacorp?"

"Yes, Mike. Are you finished?"

"Hardly. Do you happen to know who the opposing counsel for Megacorp is?"

"I assume they'll contract it out, Mike . . . wait, how do you even know about this? I haven't even filed the complaint yet."

"Think about that for a minute, Bella. You have sent a demand letter, haven't you? So, there's really only one answer for how I could know about this case . . ."

I gasped.

"They contracted you for this case? Get out of my office now, Mike! This is beyond deceitful, it's unethical if you're representing them and talking to me about this case when I didn't know that."

I was raising my voice at this point but I didn't care.

"Oh, Bella, don't worry. You know I'm nothing, if not ethical. I just wanted to tell you that I assigned Cullen to the case this morning. Didn't he tell you? You two looked so cozy on the street, I can't imagine he'd keep any secrets from you."

Jasper was at my doorway now, evidently hearing me shouting at Mike and coming down to check on things.

"Is everything okay Bella?" Jasper asked, staring down Newton who had now turned to look at Jasper, leaning against my doorway with his arms crossed so that Newton had no easy exit.

My mind was swirling now . . . my throat was parched and I could hardly let out a sigh or any other sound, let alone words. Mike had knocked the wind out of me with this revelation.

My hands were on my face now, covering my eyes and I hung my head.

"Please leave Mike." I hardly recognized my voice, it was barely a whisper.

"I promised I'd leave Bella, but don't forget what I said . . . Cullen is definitely opposing you on this case. I can't believe he didn't tell you. I wonder why . . ."

I heard Mike leave but I didn't have the heart to look up yet or to face Jasper and tell him what I just found out.

Maybe Mike was lying?

A/N: So, that Mike is a snake, huh? Please review! I am hoping to finish this story before Christmas, but only if you're still interested so let me know! Regardless, I promise promise promise the next chapter will not take so long. XOXO