Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. The original content including, but not limited to, the ideas, plot line, characterization and intellectual property of this story are owned by OliviaRising. June 2010.
A/N: Though I haven't had time to reply to all of your amazing reviews, I really appreciate and love them! Keep them coming!
A Beautiful Melody
Chapter Three
I enter the dimly lit restaurant and walk up to the hostess. She looks me up and down before plastering a fake smile on her face.
"Welcome to Raw. Table for one?" She says snidely.
"Um no, I am supposed to meet someone here... Mr. Cullen...?"
She openly scowls at me now.
"Right this way."
I follow her through he restaurant, past the center sushi bar, to a secluded section near the back surrounded by intimate booths. She leads me to a booth hidden away in the corner and then abruptly leaves without another word.
Edward doesn't notice me at first, he is talking purposefully on his phone and his face is set in a frown. Oh, no...
"Make sure they fix it then!" He says abruptly, before his sees me.
He immediately hangs up the phone and then stands up, no longer frowning.
"Miss Swan, I'm so glad you could make it," he says smoothly.
He then lifts my hand to his mouth and ever so gently brushes his lips across my knuckles. My panties immediately drench.
"Please, have a seat."
Good idea, my knees have practically given out anyway.
I slide as gracefully as I can into the booth, facing him, while he keeps his eyes trained on me the entire time. My face heats up instantly.
"Mr. Cullen..."
"Please call me Edward."
"Okay, Edward, I brought all of the information about the project I could carry... I wasn't sure what you wanted," I say as I begin pulling out the files.
He chuckles lightly.
"Oh no, Miss Swan, I was hoping we could just get to know one another, since we will be working so closely."
I audibly swallow as I clumsily stuff the files back in my bag.
Remember, you are the new confident Bella- don't let him intimidate you!
"Please, call me Bella. I mean, my name is actually Isabella, but most people call me Bella..."
Jeez, that was smooth.
"Isabella."
He tests out my name and it deliciously rolls off his tongue like it belongs there. I've never particularly liked being called Isabella, that was usually reserved for when my parents were mad at me, but I don't mind it so much when it's coming out of his mouth.
The waitress suddenly arrives at our table and asks for our orders... I haven't even opened my menu yet.
"We'll have two sake, the seaweed salad, the Hamachi Carpaccio, and vegetable tempura to start with," he says confidently, without even glancing at his menu.
He then looks at me.
"Is there anything else you want?"
"Um, may I have a cup of hot green tea?" I ask timidly, more to Edward than the waitress.
The waitress writes down our order and then flounces over to another table. I look back at Edward and he is staring intently at me over his steepled hands.
"So, Isabella, have you eaten here before?"
"No, this is my first time." I've never eaten sushi before either...
"Then you won't mind if I order the main courses; I want to make sure you try the best of everything."
He sounds so seductive and I have to remind myself that he is talking about fish.
"So tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up?"
He wants to talk about me? I have, quite possibly, the least exciting life, especially compared to him.
"Well, I was born in a small town in Washington called Forks, but when my parents divorced, I moved to Phoenix with my mom. I moved back to Forks to stay with my dad when I was seventeen."
"Why did you move back?"
"My mom remarried a man named Phil and I felt like I was intruding. I was becoming the unwanted third wheel."
"So your mother wanted you to leave?"
"Oh, no! If anything, she wanted me to stay. But it was for the best- they needed their privacy and I needed to spend time with my dad. Though he never let it on, he was lonely."
Edward stared inquisitively at me for a moment.
"That was very selfless of you."
I just shrugged... what was I supposed to say to that?
"How did you end up in New York?"
"I was planning on attending the University of Washington for college, but then Columbia University offered me a generous scholarship that I just couldn't pass up," I say wistfully. "So I went to business school at Columbia and interned at Black Corporations for my junior and senior years, and when I graduated, I was offered a full time position."
"Did you apply to work for Cullen Enterprises as well?" Edward asks with his brow slightly furrowed.
"Um, no... I figured that would be too much of a long shot. Applying to Black Corporations was pushing it already because so many people- most more qualified than me- were apply for the same position. It was a miracle when I got the job... I just thought that Cullen Enterprises was out of the question."
This is a little awkward...
"Isabella, you should never doubt your abilities. Look at you now- you are working alongside the very company you previously thought would reject you. You are obviously very intelligent and it's a shame that you never gave Cullen Enterprises a chance- your career, if not life, may have been very different if you had."
I shift uncomfortably in my chair as Edward's piercing green eyes continue to stare straight into my soul. Thankfully the flouncy waitress chooses this moment to interrupt us and sets our drinks on the table.
"You're appetizers will be out shortly, have you decided on your main courses?"
She says this staring directly at Edward, her back turned toward me.
Still staring at me, Edward orders- once again, with no assistance from the menu.
"We'll have an order of the phoenix roll, the Chilean sea bass, the Kobe hot rock, the fire dragon roll, the special fried rice, and two orders of salmon sashimi."
Jeez... are we feeding a small village?
"Okay, let me know if you need anything else, sir."
I almost choke on my green tea. Has she no shame? I mean, I'm right here! I know that I'm not with Edward, but she doesn't! For all she knows, I may be his wife, pregnant with our third child... by only a few weeks, obviously. Is she really willing to break up a possible happy family? Can she live with that on her conscience?
Okay, who am I kidding- she obviously knows there is no way someone like him would be with plain old me. She probably thinks I'm his cousin from out of state, forcing him to chaperone me around the big city. Life is so unfair.
The waitress, realizing that Edward wouldn't be need anything else just yet, moves on to her next table... or victim... dramatically swaying her hips as she does so. She's really pulling out the big guns.
"Do you know what sake is, Isabella?"
Edward seems to be unaware of the waitress' not-so-subtle flirting and innuendo... or maybe he has grown impervious to it. Just like one's body gradually gains tolerance to certain medications, maybe Edward has had ladies fling themselves at him so many times that he no longer has the ability to notice when it is happening. I guess he doesn't need to know when a woman is dropping hints, he can easily choose any woman he wants, and they would come willingly. Okay, I admit it, that was a bad and perverted pun.
"Isabella?"
Oh, right! He asked me a question... something about sake...?
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, sorry. Can you repeat the question?"
Repeat the question? This isn't a game show!
"I asked if you know what sake is," he says patiently.
"Oh, no... I've never tried it before."
"It is a Japanese rice wine. Records show that it has been a part of Japanese culture dating back to 712, and probably before.
Well, he sure knows his stuff.
I take a sip of the clear wine from a small, porcelain crucible, and I almost spit it out.
"It's hot!"
"Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that. Try again."
I hold the cup to my lips again, better prepared for what's to come, and... it's good! The alcohol is barely noticeable. It's pretty much like a watered-down tea, without the leaves. In fact, it's pretty bland but calming at the same time. Tea for adults.
Just then, our appetizers arrive and I don't know how I will manage to eat all of it and our main courses.
Edward takes my plate and begins to fill it with the various appetizers, naming them as he does so.
"So what about you... where did you grow up?" I ask timidly, already knowing the answer.
Please Lord, don't let him realize that I am an internet stalker! It wasn't my fault, Alice made me!
"I grew up here in New York. My dad's a surgeon and my mother is an interior designer. I went to Dartmouth for college and then created the company."
It's a textbook answer. He reveals nothing more than what every website already says about him. Nothing too personal, just the cold, hard facts. He's obviously editing a lot out, but this is just a lunch appointment so of course he's keeping everything light. I suddenly feel like I should have been more reticent with my personal information.
"I assume you live in the city?"
"In East Village, and you?"
Duh! Of course he lives in the city! Probably in a penthouse on the Upper East Side.
"Yes, a few blocks from here actually."
And now he has reverted back to staring at me intently. He is sinfully good looking...
"Um, so why did you decide to start Cullen Enterprises?"
"Isabella, do you enjoy working for Black?"
His question catches me off guard, and he completely disregards the my previous question.
"I am very fortunate to have this position so soon out of college."
"But do you enjoy it?"
Enjoy it? Well, it's not a beach party, but it pays the rent.
"I has it's ups and downs," I say vaguely; two can play at this game.
"I've been in several conferences with you, Isabella, and never once have you spoken, until Wednesday that is. Black never asks your opinion or makes an effort to incorporate you into the discussion. He's not giving you any opportunity to shine."
"What about your blonde model, she never talks!'
Oh, no! It slipped out before I could stop it! Blonde model? He's going to think I'm crazy!
"My blonde model?" He asks, thoroughly amused.
"I... well... the lady who sits next to you in all of the meetings..."
"Ah, Irina. Well, she is most certainly not my blonde model nor is she my personal assistant. Her job description consists of taking notes at my meetings and filing paperwork. She is an intern."
His intern is doing what I do on a regular basis. Why is he telling me this? Is he trying to embarrass me? If so, it's working.
"My personal assistant, Angela, runs other projects or takes my place in meetings when I am unable to attend. She is my right hand man, so to speak, and she has responsibilities that impact the company directly. She is my second pair of hands- my eyes and ears when I am unavailable. She doesn't have time to organize schedules, the interns do that, she is with me at almost every meeting, working alongside me. That's how she assists me, not by doing menial work."
If he is trying to strip me of my dignity, he has succeeded. How am I supposed to respond to that?
Thankfully I don't have to because our main courses have just arrived.
Edward ignores the dishes that are placed on the table, opting to continue gazing steadily at me.
"I am only telling you this, Isabella, because I know talent and capability when I see it, and yours is sadly going to waste."
I quickly stuff a sushi roll into my mouth, preventing any answering on my part. Is he implying that I should work for him? Is this some kind of job offer? If so, should I say yes? No, I couldn't do that to Jacob, even though he can be an ass sometimes. Black Corporations gave me a job out of hundreds of applicants when, regardless of what Edward says, Cullen Enterprises wouldn't have looked twice at me. No, I am loyal to Black Corporations, and job offers disguised as lunch appointments don't speak wonders for a company who is supposed to be setting aside corporate competition for the less fortunate in Africa.
It doesn't seem like Edward is looking for any type of answer either. He gracefully brandishes his chopsticks and tucks into the copious amount of food. Maybe he wants me to mull it over, or maybe his plan is to plant a seed of doubt in my mind. Either way, my job description is all I can think about. But Jacob did give me this project to run, even if was just because he is going out of town. Maybe if I do well on this, it will prove to him that I am capable of handling more responsibilities. That's what he said to me, right? That this is my chance to prove myself to him. Well, that's what I am going to do.
The conversation with Edward reverts back to a lighter tone, but his intense stare does not wane. He asks me all sorts of bizarre questions, from my favorite color (purple) to what sports I played in high school (none!). He is extremely curious about everything, and I can't help but wonder if he does this to everyone he meets.
We finish lunch with a shared mochi ice cream, and I feel as though I have gained ten pounds from this lunch alone. He graciously pays the bill, even after I offer, and we both stand from the table. I glance at my watch and almost panic at the time. 3:24! I've been here for over two hours! My lunch break is only an hour!
Edward notices my panicked face and chuckles lightly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Black will understand. If not, have him give me a call."
He says the last part like a dare, and I make a mental note not to tell Jacob because it will obviously provoke him.
"Well, Isabella, this has been a great lunch and I've enjoyed your company immensely. We'll have to do this again," he says smoothly, smiling at me with his sexy, crooked grin.
He reaches for my hand and once again brushes his lips delicately across my knuckles. I internally swoon once more.
We both exit the restaurant and I flinch at the sudden burst of brightness after having spent over two hours in dim light. The black Mercedes is waiting on the curb with the kind chauffeur standing by the passenger door.
"I would ride with you back to Black Corporations, but I have another meeting to attend. I'll have Irina call you to work out a schedule of when you can stop by Cullen Enterprises for the project," Edward says while holding the car door open for me.
I climb into the backseat and Edward gives me one last crooked smile before shutting the door.
Oh my, that lunch was so intense! He asked me so many questions, yet managed to smoothly avoid all of mine. After two hours of sitting with him one-on-one, I still know practically nothing about him. I definitely didn't have him eating out of the palm of my hand, but on the bright side, I didn't let him intimidate me... too much.
I check my phone for the first time since I left the office and I have... nine missed calls! Eight from Jacob and one from Alice. Shit! He's going to kill me! I decide it's best not to listen to the angry voicemails now, and just deal with his wrath when I get back to the office. I guess he's no longer ignoring me...
Edward is a complete enigma- do you love him or hate him? Let me know!
xXx Olivia