Chapter 4

Working

EPOV

Walking in my office, I told Ms. Swan, "Just to tell you, our restaurant does not copy other restaurant's food. Jasper, our main chef here, is American but has been working for a French hotel for 10 years until he came here. Please have a seat." I gestured to the chair opposite my desk. "The pastry chef was also here, but had to leave because of certain matters. Isabella Swan, we know that you studied in Paris, but that is not enough."

"Are you finished yet?" She asked me.

"Don't think too much like I'm the boss. We have a comfortable environment here so just call me Edward." Although most of the staff still called me 'Mr. Cullen'. I don't know why, but I guess they're just intimidated by me. Now that I think about it, only Jasper and Maggie calls me with my first name…. But Maggie is already in her late 40s; it'd be weird if she called me 'Mr. Cullen'. As for Jasper, we're mates. No need for the formality.

"Are you finished now?" she pushed.

"For now, work for 30 days. We will see whether or not you can work full time then."

"So that means I can get fired?"

"If someone doesn't have the skills, isn't that necessary?" Is she serious? What if she's not even competent enough? My restaurant won't accept that. I'm just really need someone for the bakery right now and she really seemed to bake good cake. Plus, what she said in those interview – it got me thinking.

"Okay, fine. Do it like that. Can I talk now?" She answered, somewhat irritated.

"I'd like it if you can start tomorrow."

"I said under one condition." She raised her voice slightly, since I'm not giving me any chance to speak.

"What is it?" I finally humored her.

"Change Isabella Swan to Rosalie Swan please."

I looked at her like she's out of her mind. Maybe she is out of her mind.

"Make the name Isabella Swan to Rosalie Swan." She said with a serious look. I continued calculating her face and expressions. Is she kidding me? That's the condition?

"I mean… it doesn't cost any money, and it's just to the employees here. You can do that, can't you? You're the president here." She tried to justify her condition.

"Why would I have to do that?" I asked in complete wonder.

"What do you mean why?"

"Why do we need to call Isabella Swan, Rosalie Swan?

"Then would you like it if I called you Eddie?"

"My name isn't Eddie Cullen, but Edward Cullen. I'm not Eddie."

"Who doesn't know that?"

"Then why do you ask?" This woman is starting to irritate me.

We were staring down each other.

"You're messing around with me, aren't you?

"Why would I? I smirked.

"This is unbelievable." She complained.

I sighed deeply. "Then let's do this. It's not my business why you want to change your name, unless, you're a criminal, in which case you should remember that I can call the police anytime… So… You can choose any name but Rosalie." I crossed my arms.

"Why are you taking out the name Rosalie?"

"Isabella Swan. Rosalie Swan. Take out those two names. You can choose any name you want."

"Why does that have to be like that?" She insisted.

"You don't need to know that."

"No! I have to be Rosalie Swan. Also, just like you, you don't need to know my reason for it"

"I don't like it when people copy what I say."

"Same with me. Call me Rosalie or go find yourself another pastry chef."

She glared at me and I to her. It seemed like we're playing a game of staring each other down.

She broke the silence. "Fine. Forget it, I give up. Go find another party chef." She stood up quickly and started to leave.

"Rosalie." I said loudly, to stop her from walking.

She stopped.

"Rosalie Swan." I said the two words, forcing them out of my mouth, somewhat more quiet than my usual tone.

She turned to me. "What is it, boss?"

"Why does it…" I can't seem to continue my sentence. There seem to be something blocking my throat. But I need to man up now, and finish this business.

"Why does it what?" she asked.

"Why does it have to be Rosalie?" I asked my voice sounding just above a whisper.

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes, I want to know" Why would one want to change their name?

She quirked her eyebrows. "I want to know why you want to know."

"That is a private answer, so I can't tell you that." My expression hardening.

"Oh… I see. Same with me, but I'll tell you anyway. However, I'll tell you when I become a full time employee. Okay?"

Then she turned around and left.

Alice POV

Finally – I'm going back to Seattle. I miss my hometown very much. It calls for a celebration though the reason I'm here certainly doesn't call for a celebration. My mom would kill me. But who cares? I'm back. That's all that matters. Right now, this wine just seems to be perfect.

"Excuse me." I said bouncing in my seat, talking to the woman sitting right beside me, next to the window of this plane craft. "This is too much to drink by myself. Would you like a drink?"

I would think that being 34 years old would make me less energetic than I was when I was in my 20s. But it seems like that is characteristic of mine that can never be erased. Well, it sure comes in handy when you want to befriend someone.

She nodded, smiling widely. She's beautiful, gorgeous blond hair, with perfect body figure. Not that I can clearly see but from how it looks like, I would have mistaken her for a model. Her skin looks very smooth. Maybe she is. I just hope she's not one of those bitches. She's seems friendly enough or else she wouldn't have talked to me, a few years younger though, I think in her middle 20s.

I couldn't seem to shut my mouth. I just need to release these sorrows in my heart. "Do you know how they measure the reflection of rocks in a Rorschach test? You put a 30cm white disc in the water until it goes deep into the mud until you can't see it. That's how you measure it… In this country do you know how many meters the reflection of the tallest dam is? It's almost 230 meters! But… you can't measure the reflections in a person's heart. I figured that out to some degree… Up to now, it's a divorced lady speaking… Alice Swan" I ended up sullenly but I regained my composure and started with a full smile again. "So what did you do in England for 3 years?"

"Hi Alice. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Rosalie Hale." she replied, with a small smile, shaking my hands. "England has taught me many things."

"Particularly?"

"I will become the best doctor." She said with a full grin.

"You're a doctor?" I asked with a hint of surprise in my voice. A woman as pretty as her – a doctor? That's unheard of. I would have really pegged her as a model, but never have I dreamed that someone like her wants to be a doctor. But life is full of surprises, isn't it? Well, good for her. She has the looks and the brains – or else she wouldn't be a doctor, or, she could've – let's say sucked her way up the university? But I doubt it. She doesn't seem to be that kind of woman.

"I'm still a student… But, have you noticed that guy over there has been staring at us?"

I looked at the spot where she pointed, and I met the glance of the middle-aged man who looked away quickly.

"I've noticed. But, aren't you curious who he's looking at?"

She nodded and stood up to ask the guy. Wow, this girl has guts.

"Hello. How are you? I'm Rosalie Hale. It's been a while since you've been looking at us." I heard her say faintly. But it's not that clear because the man was seating a couple of rows in front of us.

"So?" he replied.

"I was wondering who were you looking at, me or my friend?"

He sneered and looked at her up and down. I was sure he'd say her. I mean, who wouldn't stare at that kind of perfection? "I was looking because you were being so loud. What kind of actions are those on a plane?" He answered pissed off.

She just smirked at him and returned to our seat. Not seeming to contain my laughter, I burst out into loud giggles together with my newfound friend. I may be a couple of years older than her, but she's cool.

"Rosalie, I didn't think you were like that. And you boldly stood up and asked him."

"I'm so glad I got to come back. When I left 3 years ago, I thought I could never come back." She sighed.

"By any chance… did you run away?"

She gasped, a little bit exaggerated. "How did you know?" she asked and we both burst into laughter again, toasting.

"Welcome back." I said.

BPOV

"I'll introduce a new member to our family who'll be working with us starting today. Our new pastry chef – Isa"

I looked at him pointedly.

He corrected himself. "Rosalie Swan."

They all applauded. We were standing on the platform, where a baby grand piano was situated in the middle of the classy restaurant. All the workers gathered in front of us. As I've learned, this is a tradition they always do to welcome new comers.

My cheek flushed a little but I ignored it. 30 years of my life I spent being shy. It's time to get over that. But it's always easier said than done. "Thank you for welcoming me. I am Rosalie Swan and it's a great pleasure to be working with all of you."

I saw Edward at the corner of my eyes, smirking at me for the name I introduced myself.

"How old are you?" the strawberry blond waitress who served the cakes in the day of my interview asked.

The room suddenly became quiet. There was a short pause. "Does age really matter?"

"Of course, so we know whether you're our senior or not." She had an evil look in her eyes.

"I'm 30" and she laughed – loudly mind you. I was glad she was the only one who did so. The others didn't find what was humorous with my age.

"Oh, 30" she continued. "The half of 60… So you're 2 years older than me. You're the oldest from us all." She stood up and said, " Let's all clap for our senior with the oldest age." She started clapping. At first, she was alone, the rest of the crew hesitating to join her, but they eventually applauded loudly.

The locker room was also awesome. It seemed like those locker rooms in a high-class gyms – made of fine wood, glossy. A locker would've been enough to share for two people, but we still get our own. I finally got to change to my all white chef dress uniform, with a yellow scarf, indicating that I was a newbie. I got my nametag, a small oval thing, stating – "Rosalie".

"You are all dead." I winked at the mirror.

Angela, a pastry chef trainee, was giving me a tour of the whole restaurant. She's young. In her early 20s. I think she just got out of a special chef school, but she doesn't have experience. I would actually need to train her.

"Here is the kitchen. Other Italian restaurants need to boil the pasta. They always need to boil so they need a lot of pots but it's different here."

"What's with the unusual noise?" Jasper asked.

Angela pulled me out of the kitchen and continued, "He was 19 when he went on a backpacking trip to Europe and decided to live there. He learned how to cook pasta there and Mr. Cullen scouted him while moving here.

Mrs. Varner takes care of regulations every month. She used to be an elementary teacher. Looks like she has a special relationship with Mr. Cullen, but we don't know the exact truth. She looks strict in the first glance, but when you actually get to know her, she's quite nice. But of course, she doesn't refuse to put you in place when she need to." Carmen looks like she's in her late 40s. She seemed like the mother figure to all of us.

We heard a whining tone from one of the corners of the restaurant. "These things haven't been cleaned yet, so why the hell did you bring these out?" The strawberry blond scolded one of the waitresses while throwing the eating utensils back to its container.

We were going around the restaurant, with Angela showing me around. "Don't socialize much with her. Her name is Tanya, but she's a real bitch. Somehow, for an unknown reason, she hates her name, and wants us to call her something else, which doesn't really stick to my mind, so I don't care, and everybody still calls her Tanya despite her whining about it. It's just that she has been working here the longest so yeah.. I think it because of her childhood experiences or something to do with her drunken father. She's a little impudent to the new comers, but it shows how truthful she is, so it's alright." By this time, we reached the entrance so we went outside. "She might act like that to you, so step on her with your age, okay?"

"Why is she like that to new employees?" I wondered out loud.

"Girls newbie. Not all newbies. She's interested in the president." Angela whispered.

"That jerk?" I said loudly. I mean he looks all good and attractive, but his attitude certainly negates all the good looks he has.

"He's a jerk?" I heard her say with a bit of protectiveness.

"No, he can be so…"

"I think he's cute." She said with a shy smile.

"No, Jasper's kind of face is cute… The president… the president is – "

Her face was leaning towards me, really curious about what I'm going to say next.

"I guess he's good looking" I said so I won't disappoint her. I'm sure if I said something bad about Edward, or the president or Mr. Cullen, as most of the crew calls him – I'll be getting in deep trouble.

"He's even tall, can do any sports. He's suave, and he can look sad. Not to mention his bronze bed-hair that's so messy all the time you want to run your fingers through it every time… and his sparkling green eyes… and he can look sad too." She said dreamily.

"You like the president?" I asked, interrupting her gush.

She seemed speechless, her mouth opening and closing without releasing any words. I'm not the only one, all the girls here do." She said blushing, then she stomped away.

It's not a restaurant but a fan club dedicated to him. Why are people making me laugh these days? This is just plain ridiculous.

Getting back to my work, I was watching this couple who got a new diamond ring from his husband. I was the one who made that cake and I feel very happy for the both of them. I stood there, hiding from the customer's sight, adoring the lady's expression. Her expression was stunning, and the diamond ring too!

"What are you looking at?" Angela asked me.

"What kind of luck do you need for a husband like that living a life of luxury, going to a restaurant that's above $100 per person and get a diamond ring that's a size of a bean?"

"Jealous?"

"Yeah. Very." I said while nodding.

Yup.. Alice is a Swan… =)

I know it may be weird that Bella wants to change her name, but it's one of the factors in the story… xD

Please keep an open mind. ^^,

So the only siblings here is Alice and Bella. Jasper and Rosalie aren't connected, and there won't be much interaction between them…

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Guesses?

Please write some feedback, even just with 2 words. I would really appreciate it. =)