A/N: Figured that it was only fair I update this since I was SUPPOSED to mark Oblivious complete yesterday. Oye. Shorty chapter. They will get longer.

~Three Months Before~

Edward faced the entrance of the little cafe, so he saw when she entered. A smile pulled at his lips at the sight of her. Poor girl. She hadn't figured out yet that the paparazzi was rarely fooled by a hoodie and sunglasses. She had that spooked look about her, like she was sure someone had to be following her.

More often than not, it was the truth for her. Six months ago, the girl had been a nobody. She'd garnered enough attention on the indie circuit that she had a lot of work under her belt. Most recently, she'd landed the leading role in a movie no one expected to do any kind of business. It had. The movie had made her a household name. Add to that, her face-rounded enough to give the impression of innocence, sexy enough to bewitch-and she'd skyrocketed to superstardom. It was no wonder she didn't know which way was up.

She slid into the booth across from him and let out a gust of breath, as though relieved. Edward did his best not to hide his chuckle so she wouldn't think he was laughing at her. He wasn't. It was just that her plight was familiar to him. Too familiar. He spent so much of his life either being harassed or fearing harassment.

Finally, the girl gave him a sheepish smile. She pulled her hood down and took her sunglasses off. There they were. Big, brown bedroom eyes, soft brown hair that fell just right, and lips made for kissing. She had an image alright. "Hi," she said, meeting his eyes. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize." He extended his hand. "I'm Edward Cullen."

She gave him the same look everyone did when he introduced himself. There weren't many people who didn't know who he was, at least, not in the United States. "Gianna Gale."

"You don't prefer Gigi?" Edward asked, and he had to admit he was amused when she narrowed her eyes.

"The press think they're so clever," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I hate that nickname, and it's out of control now. I'll be called Gigi by the press the rest of my life, aren't I?

"I think that's a fairly safe guess."

The waiter came by and took their order. When she was gone, Gianna looked to him. "So. You wanted to talk to me?"

Edward leaned on the table and nodded. "About the project."

She grimaced. "I figured."

"You dropped out. Would you mind if I ask why?"

He was somewhat surprised when a look of genuine fright came over her. She wrung her hands, looking off. "Okay. I'm going to tell you the truth, but you have to promise not to laugh at me." She slapped a hand over her eyes. "Ugh. That's naive, isn't it? Aren't I supposed to assume everyone is a Hollywood insider?"

Edward burst out laughing. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you; I promise. It was just such an honest response. Are you actually asking me if I talk to the gossip rags. On purpose?" He chuckled again, because the idea was ludicrous. "Honey, it's definitely true what they say. You can't trust anyone in Hollywood. People are always pretending to be someone they're not, but let's think this through for a minute. I don't need the money anonymous tipsters get, and I am who I am. Even if I tried to spread around some odd bit of gossip, the bigger scoop would be that I was up to something. God only knows the way those fuckers would spin that story."

Gianna flushed and ducked her head. "You're right. I'm sorry." She ran a restless hand through her hair. "I'm paranoid right now."

"Tell me what's going on," he said, his voice gentle.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and Gianna cradled her coffee between her hands. Only when the woman walked away again did she speak. "When I got the part, I knew there would be a backlash. There always is, when it's a series as popular as this one. I went through it a bit with Midnight Games, but the focus there was mostly for Garrett. That movie wasn't supposed to get big. This one? Everyone wants a piece of this. Especially after you were cast as the big bad."

"You got threats," Edward said. It wasn't a question.

She chuffed. "Oh, yeah, but again, I expected that. Everyone warned me it would happen." She shifted the cup between her hands.

"One got under your skin," Edward said, filling in the blanks when her silence got too long.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear. "There were six letters. I think they were all from the same person. And not threatening. They were creepy." She looked out the window and nodded her head in the direction of outside. "All of them think they know something about us. They all try to get personal, but this person... This anonymous person made it feel personal." She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Did you report it?"

"No point. There were no threats. Not really." Her brows furrowed as she looked back to him. "I'm probably being too sensitive, but I really got the feeling this person would take it very badly if we worked together."

Edward jolted. "We? You mean it was about you working with me?"

"She. Him. Them… They were pretty clear on the fact I'm not good enough to work with you. And that it was possible bad things would happen if I did." Her lips tugged down as she shuddered again. "I got the feeling they were talking about worse things than a box office bomb."

Edward was quiet for a minute, processing this. There were many maddening things about being a celebrity. His fans thought they knew him, thought they understood what he felt, wanted, and needed. Being a movie star, his life wasn't his own. It frustrated him the most when some aspect of his fame affected another person. Gianna might have been a celebrity in her own right, but she didn't need to deal with the fervor of fans harassing her in his name on top of everything else.

"I have one question for you," he said finally, leaning over the table toward her. "Threats aside, is this a part you want?"

"Of course. This is a part of a lifetime. A spy movie with a female lead?" Gianna shook her head. "And to work with you?"

Edward smiled, ducking his head at the compliment. "Then take the part. That's what I'm here to convince you to do. Security on the set is going to be tight, and I'll make you a personal guarantee. I have a bodyguard for times like these. Most of us do. He's the best in the business. He and his people are very good at making you forget they're protecting you, and it's part of their job description to investigate potential threats. I'll get him on the case."

"That all seems like so much." She looked at him, her expression dubious. "Don't tell me the studio sent you to make this offer."

"No. Not the studio."

"You're here on your own?" When he nodded her eyes went wide. "I don't understand. Why would you be so invested in me taking the part?"

"Hmm." Edward sat back, taking a sip of his latte as he considered his answer. "We all do this for different reasons, right? Act, I mean. I don't try to call myself an artist, because to be honest with you, I'm not in it for the art. It's not very often I give a rat's ass about the depth of the character I play or the heart-felt message or the intriguing plot. I got into this line of business because I happen to be good at it, and I'd go crazy cooped up in an office for eight hours a day. But you don't get as old as I am, do as many films as I've done, without some kind of pattern."

He looked at her and grinned. "For me, it's the people. I get it into my head that I want to work with someone, and I make it happen. And I want to work with you."

Gianna laughed as though startled. "But… why me? I can't imagine Midnight Games was your kind of movie."

"Please," he said with a snort. "The plot was absurd, but who am I to judge? Have you seen some of the projects I've done?" He shook his head. "You were fantastic though."

She blushed and ducked her head.

"It's true. And I've seen some of your indies." He waved a hand, smiling at her. "All that aside, you're interesting, and I'm bored."

"You make me sound like a toy or something."

"I'm just being honest. Something about you struck me, and I'd like to work with you." His smile turned rueful. "Mind you, it's not to say it always works out well."

"Hah. Are you talking about Jessica Stanley?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Now that was a miserable set. Everything you heard about that whole ordeal was true, by the way. I don't deny any of it. Though you have to admit, wanting to throttle someone for two months straight isn't boring."

"I guess not."

"So, let's recap." Edward began to tick off on his fingers. "It's a secured set. I'll personally see to your safety. I'll make it very clear in the press that I'm thrilled to work with you, and I actively pursued you for the project. If you're comfortable with that, that is. It would send a message to this person that they don't speak for me. We can go through a publicist if you want. And…" He smiled winningly. "As I'm positive your agent has told you, working with me is a great career move." He winked at her again. "Plus, I can be a lot of fun on the set."

"Fun, huh?" Gianna laughed and shook her head. "That's not what I heard from Jessica Stanley."

Edward snorted. "Well, even without that, it's a compelling case for taking a part you want anyway, right?" He cocked his head. "You have a long, promising career ahead of you, Gale. Sometimes it's going to be the fans who throw you curveballs. Don't be afraid to hit this one out of the park anyway. After all, we all get a crazy one every now and then. We end up just fine."

"So you're saying I should just get used to things like this?" She shivered again.

"I'm saying they're all bark." He reached across the table and touched her hand briefly. "They can't touch you. Not really. Take a leap of faith this once, and you'll see."

"You're used to getting what you want, aren't you?"

"Of course. Do you know who I am?"

Gianna huffed, but her amused smile fell. She sighed and spun her coffee cup around in her hands, thinking hard. After a long minute, she gulped and looked up at him with a tentative smile. "Okay. I'm in."

"Excellent. In that case, I'll pick up the bill."

"Ah. See, that's something the public doesn't know about you. Edward Cullen - the height of generosity."

"That'd make a good People headline. I see it on the cover." Edward stroked his chin. "I'll get my people on it."

A/N: Many thanks to MoH, Packy 2.0, Songster, Eleanor, and Femme Malheureuse for all their input and assistance.

Have a good week, my friends. If I can get through the next five days, I'll be on a plane to Alaska. WOO!