Ok...I'm really sorry for being so lethargic about uploading. But I was really busy. So if anyone is still interested...I hope you like this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews...they help in motivating...

I must admit I did feel bad about being so harsh with Edward, but it had to be done. Sending me gifts secretly was just cowardice. I kept my distance from him all day. Edward had begun to play music on his laptop.

He was playing "Can't take my eyes off you" by Vikki Carr when James asked him to stop the music since it was causing him difficulty in concentrating on his work.

Edward did stop the songs later and I smirked.

That night, while in the shower, I was wondering why Edward had sent the gifts. Yeah…ok…he liked me. But he could have asked me the normal way…he could have asked me out on a date. I wasn't too sure whether I would have accepted even then…my mind was too jumbled up at this point.

I walked out of the shower wearing my bath robe. The full moon looked beautiful. I walked over to my window and looked outside. The clouds surrounding the moon had beautiful colours dancing on their edges and the blinking lights of an airplane or two just made the scene all the more endearing.

I looked down watching the cars pass by. I noticed this silver Volvo parked right outside my building. I couldn't be too sure due to the tinted windows but I thought that someone was sitting in the driver's seat of the car. Did anyone in my building own a silver Volvo? No one I knew at least.

I shrugged and slipped into my silk pyjamas. I was happy because I knew Rosalie was cooking today and that always made me happy. The fact that I had to the dished later on did nothing to dampen the spirit. I skipped out to the living room to be greeted by the delicious aroma of roast chicken and mashed potatoes.

I sat down on my usual chair on the dining table as Alice set up the dishes. We ate our dinner in relative silence. Just once, Alice asked me how it went with Edward. I briefed her on the café episode and we went back to eating. I was glad Alice wasn't offering her opinion on that matter. I always considered myself to be lucky to have roommates like the ones I did. Silences never bothered us. There was no such thing as an uncomfortable silence.

After doing the dishes, I went back into my room with Rhett Butler's people in hand. I hadn't actually gotten the chance to finish reading it over the weekend.

I dropped the book on my bed and went over to the window admiring the moon again. My thoughts again drifted back to Edward. I found myself wondering whether I would have reacted in the same way if Jacob had turned out to be my secret admirer. I decided I would have, despite having a crush on him. Because it would just go to show how cowardly he was.

I turned back towards my bed, once again noticing the silver Volvo outside. Sinking into my bed, I picked up my book and read until midnight. Just as I rolled over to switch of my bedside lamp, a small part of my brain vaguely remembered that Edward Masen too owned a silver Volvo. I shrugged that thought off and went to sleep.

That night, I dreamt of being chased in the dark…I didn't see who was chasing me…neither did I know the reason. And I didn't even remember the details of the dream when I got up…I just had that vaguely creepy feeling one gets after a creepy dream.

We realized that we were running late…so we quickly had our breakfast and rushed to the office as fast as we possibly could. Thankfully, we reached the office building more or less on time. Jacob was standing near the elevators.

"Hi Jake," I smiled as we walked into the queue for the elevator.

"Hey Bella," Jake smiled back and nodded towards Alice and Rosalie in a formal sort of a way.

"Good morning ladies," said a familiarly deep voice behind me. I turned around only to see Edward Masen standing behind me. I gave him a stiff smile and very formally wished him a good morning and turned around to get into the elevator.

I was engrossed in my work when suddenly my telephone rang.

"Hello," I said timidly, a little annoyed at being punished.

"Ah…miss Swan," said a clear, sweet voice, "Could you come to my cabin please?"

I smiled, "Sure Mr. Cullen." I put the phone down and walked to Carlisle Cullen's cabin. I knocked once before opening the door.

"Ah, Isabella! Do come in," Carlisle smiled.

I smiled back and walked in and noticed Edward Masen sitting on a chair opposite Carlisle. My smile faltered a bit but I took the chair next to Edward's.

"Isabella," Carlisle said, "How many branches do we have?"

I was surprised with the question but I answered immediately. "5, sir. Paris, Rome, Delhi, Singapore and Sydney."

"Yes. And I have a feeling that we are not able to manage them well enough from here. In fact, I think that the people in the branches are hiding some facts from us…committing some sort of a fraud.

"So I've decided to send two people from here to each branch. Now since you've done work on branch reconciliations, you will be one representative and Mr. Masen here would be accompanying you. You two will be going to Rome. I've picked other people for the other branches"

I was stunned. I could not go to Rome with Edward Masen, could I? Most certainly not…but somehow I couldn't manage to say this to Mr. Cullen. I could feel Edward giving me a satisfied grin but I didn't care about it. I was going to Rome with Edward Masen…God only could help me now.

Hmm...Hope you like this one...do keep reviewing and saying nice things [even if you don't mean it :p]

Last time, I was telling you guys about the similarities between Lupin-Tonks and Edward-Bella...but i forgot the most important one of all! Bella and Tonks are both clumsy as hell!