Chapter 4
Bella gets out of the car and looks at him climb out also. "Thank you"
"You are very welcome; I will see you bright and early tomorrow?"
"Yes" She nods not ready to run screaming for the hills just yet.
"Good"
She nods once before turning to go up to her small but cozy apartment.
Edward heads to a club.
Slowly undressing she steps into the shower and shuts her eyes under it. Her body is eased nicely from the busy day.
Dinner was utterly unprofessional; she does not appreciate his way of handling her as his employee. He is kind…somewhat but the man is simply a Neanderthal, simply arrogant, and fully annoying. Rolling her eyes she climbs into bed and falls right to sleep.
"Wha" Bella is woken suddenly and not by her alarm. Sitting up she looks at the iPhone on the night stand shaking as it rings and vibrates. Her eyes can barely focus as she grabs it. "Hello?"
"Bella"
"Yes?"
"It's Edward"
"It is, what time is it?" She mutters looking around.
"3:30 ish"
"What do you want?" She yawns.
"I need you to do something for me"
"At 3:30 in the morning?" Bella rubs her forehead and looks around her dark room.
"Yes, now"
"What, what is it?" Her voice is hoarse.
"I need you to come down to the NYC headquarters"
"What?"
"You heard me"
"Are you getting fresh?"
"Oh when I get fresh with you, you will know it"
Bella hears another voice on the other end. "You are in prison?"
"Jail, it is a little bit different" Edward explains in a carefree tone.
"How, what, how is this professional, what on earth!" She is wide awake now.
"Come down with your cheque book"
"I can't afford to bail you out!"
"I have to go, I will see you soon"
"Wait, Edward…hello?" She hears the dial tone in her ear.
Bella gets out of the yellow cab and runs up the stairs of the precinct. And goes through the doors.
"Good evening Miss"
"Edward Cullen?"
"Oh him, yeah hold on"
Nibbling on her lower lip she looks around, her mind wonders where Emmett is.
"Good evening Ms…?"
"Swan, Isabella" She greets an officer.
"Follow me" He turns and walks a head of her.
Bella holds her bag on her shoulder tightly, shifting it up a bit more on her arm. Then she thinks better of that because she is in a police station!
"Right in-" The officer leans to turn the door knob and opens the door to the holding room. "-here"
Bella looks and sees Edward sitting on a table with two other men laughing away.
"Bella" He looks and greets her.
"What is going on?"
"This is my new assistant" Edward introduces her.
"Hey" Both men say, both are cops.
Bella frowns, very confused. "What is going on, I thought you were in"
"Lock up, he is" One man stands and smiles at Bella.
"But he is a class act, you can bring the cheque out front" The other stands and says leaving just the pair of them in the room.
"What is going on?"
"Thanks for coming"
"Why aren't you in a cell, it is really" She growls at him banging her bag on the table and looking at him as she reaches in for her cheque book. "-where you belong"
"Now that's not nice" Edward pouts at her glaring eyes. "But thank you really"
"How much is this costing?"
"5,000"
"What the hell did you do to end up in here?"
"You don't want to know"
Bella actually agrees with that, she shakes her head and puts her hand up right before she starts to write the cheque out. "No, I don't"
She sits next to him in the yellow cab saying nothing. She has to be at work in a few hours to deal with him and she is sitting here in the middle of the night, having just bailed him out of prison, oh wait jail, they are two different things. She could scream.
"Thank you"
"When will you have made the official word that the community center is not going to be blocked by your building?"
"Soon" Edward says, well more mutters.
"Good" She may just go back on her word and quit once that documentation comes through.
"You want to come up?"
"No, no I don't want to come up" She widens her eyes at him. "I want to go home, to bed, so that I can be rested enough to put up with more of your shenanigans"
Edward can't help but smile at her hostile voice and words to him. "I'll see you at work in a few hours" He gets out of the cab and gives her a wink.
Sitting behind his desk and looks over documents. "Leave them on the desk Jenna"
"Yes Mr. Cullen" Jenna walks in and rests the file on his desk before turning to leave. "Miss. Swan, good morning, can I get you anything?"
"No" Bella smiles, her hair pulled back and she is dressed and ready for work. She really just wants to come in sweats because all she has been doing his grunt shit work. She watches Jenna leave the large office shutting the doors behind her.
"I have transferred $6000 into your chequing account"
"It was only $5000" Bella reminds him.
Edward finally looks up at her from his work.
"Thank you for actually looking at me when we speak"
"I'm sorry I am really busy, I put in $6000 because I owe you for having you come down last night to get me"
She knew that, but she wanted to hear him say it really. Bella really controls herself because she almost rolls her eyes at him. Licking her lips she sighs softly waiting for today's instructions.
"Check your phone" He mutters looking back to his papers.
Scowling she turns and leaves his office, slamming the double doors…HARD.
Edward's head jolts up and looks up at the slamming door.
Bella almost growls when she sits at her desk. She pulls out her phone and looks at the calendar in there for today.
Helicopter ride over the City 12pm
Her mouth almost hangs open. "What?" She whispers.
"You think I am a bad guy" Edward states sitting across from her in his helicopter.
"I don't think much about you"
"Ouch" He feigns hurt looking at her.
"It is really amazing" She mutters looking out the window. The city is spectacular from this view, not many people she images gets to experience this.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"What?" Her head snaps back to reality and who in fact she is sitting enjoying this in the middle of the work day with. Bella cuts her eyes at him. "I don't believe that is any of your business"
"I am not prying, I am just making conversation"
"That conversation is highly inappropriate"
"Look at my track record, I am not known for being appropriate"
She has to agree and smile a bit at that point. "No"
"Why not?"
"I just moved here" Bella frowns.
"Anyone back home?"
"No"
"Why not?"
"I was in school, working, studying my ass off to be your lackey I guess"
He looks at her. "You have very beautiful eyes"
They are brown, dull, plain. "When are we going to land?" She has had enough of him; his mere wasteful presence annoys her.
"I need a yoga partner"
"What?"
"A friend joined this yoga class with his wife, trying to keep fit; you need a partner for it"
"So you want me to scope out women for you, use your little black book, I know you have one"
Edward smiles.
"And find a woman who you can lift with ease, and do yoga with, OR" Bella turns her phone on. She is really getting the hang of this job, a week in.
"Or?" He questions interested, he can tell she is getting a bit hoity with him right now.
"Or, I can find a different woman for each session, make it more fun"
"But then the new woman would not know what is going on, as the class moves forward each time"
"I can't believe you were actually considering my suggestion, I was being sarcastic!"
"Bella I didn't get where I am without some sort of brains in my head"
"Well I don't know seeing as you have one brain" She points out with a tip of her head.
Edward smiles. "You"
"Me what?"
"You are going to be my partner"
"No I'm not"
"Yes you are, I am your boss, this is your job, you are my partner, I can count on you always available, any woman may not be free all the time I need her free"
"Are you crazy…you did say no last time I asked but I really think you need to get your BRAIN" She points out cutting her eyes. "Checked"
"It is Friday at 1, you will be free as I set your schedule, think of having Friday's off, you can go home after, but make sure you set a date up for me I hear this can be rather…invigorating" He makes eyes at her only to have her glare at him. "You can go home and do…" He trails off almost laughing as she turns her head to look out the window.
Bella stands stiff as a board, in her relaxed workout clothing.
"You made it" Edward smiles coming into the large almost empty room of the upscale gym he belongs to. Not really sure why…oh yeah women, he has his own gym, but still pays for a member ship here. Women.
Bella glares at him. "I don't believe I had a choice"
"No" Edward smiles thoughtfully, arching his eyebrows. "You didn't"
Bella looks away, her long dark hair is pulled back in a low ponytail, and she licks her lips as her eyes dart around the room, they land on his lower body.
"The instructor should be here" Edward mumbles. He is in some thigh length spandex shorts and a Nike top, turning his head to look at her he smiles at the stiffness to her body. "You need to relax, it could be fun"
"I doubt that" Her eyes drift to his bare strong legs. He has nice feet.
"So next week we are going to Italy" Edward watches her meet his eyes again and he smiles.
"What?"
"I have a few meetings; do you ever check your phone?"
"Yes I check it, it said nothing about Italy next week" The excitement is showing. "I have never been to Italy"
"Well, you will be going next week" Edward responds.
"Why do I need to go?" Bella looks at him. "Oh right"
"Yes" He smiles. He looks at the door.
"Edward, sorry I am late" Her voice is light and sing song. She bounces on her flat covered feet as she enters holding her bag.
"That's okay" He walks up to her and kisses her cheeks lightly.
Bella stands with her hands folded in front of her as she watches the exchange between her boss and this very short lean brunette.
"This is my partner Bella, she is my assistant"
Alice looks at Bella. "Another one" She looks back at Edward before extending her hand. "Hi Bella"
"Hello" Bella shakes the woman's hand.
"I'm Alice, and we are gonna have a good time, let me get the mats out for you guys" She smiles and head off.
"Have you slept with her?"
"No" Edward frowns.
"Just checking as it seems to be everyone I meet, they all know you biblically"
"Not everyone, you have not been working for me that long, give it sometime" He grins at her causing her to scowl.
Bella is on her back next to Edward who is on his back. Her legs are extended in the air together and her hands are at her sides keeping her steady.
"Deep breathing, the better the breathing the easier it is" Alice says walking around them. "Just relax and hold the pose"
Bella shuts her eyes and sighs softly. This is actually nice, doing this and then not having to go and deal with Edward at work the rest of the day. Oh peace.
"Now drop your legs down, lowering them very slowly, breathing in and out, slowly" Alice says softly.
Edward breathes out, he feels relaxed right now.
"I want you both to sit up facing each other"
Bella lifts her head. "Excuse me?"
Alice looks at her. "Sit and face each other" She looks back to Edward moving and then notices Bella moving back. "No, you need to sit with him"
"Must we?"
"Um" Alice looks at Edward not really sure, this is a couples class really. Contact yoga…where you do things with contact which normally includes touching the other person. "Um"
Bella sits with her legs crossed.
"Bella has, what is it, a fear of intimacy"
"What!"
"Well I don't know for sure, but is she not seeing anyone, hasn't ever seen anyone" Edward continues looking up at Alice.
"Are you insane?" Bella blurts.
"We are losing the Zen of the room, please" Alice says firmly. She has known Edward for a while now, he is a decent guy loves ladies but overall a decent guy. He is not Gandhi or anything, but decent.
"Well it seems you don't like being close to people"
"I don't like being close to you, not people you!"
"How come you think you can talk to me like that, it is not very nice"
"Stop pulling this condescending tone with me, it really isn't taking" She knows what he is doing, being all calm just to make her crazy, it is truly annoying.
"Okay, shh" Alice says throwing her hands out. "Edward, sit facing Bella and put your legs over her crossed ones, feet flat on the floor"
Edward looks at Bella's face, she looks like she is about to hurl daggers at him which only seems to please him. He pushes forward and notices she doesn't move back, she just remains very still. "What do I do with my hands?"
"Place them around her resting on her lower back, and Bella you do the same to Edward"
Bella licks her lips and looks at his chest resting her hands on his back. When his rest on hers she straightens up.
"Very good, straight backs, smooth lines" Alice runs two fingers from the base of the middle of Bella's back right up the length of her spine. "Both of you need to lean back enough so that your arms are as straight as your back" She watches them move into the correct position. "Perfect" Alice smiles.
Edward looks at Bella. "Are your arms okay?"
"Fine" She mutters lifting her eyes to his. "Thanks"
He throws her a smile causing her to look away from him. The intimacy of their pose is like salt over the shoulder for him.
"Alice your husband"
"Stay put" Alice says before running out of the room.
Edward looks at her throat moving up and down with each swallow she does. "Since we are working so closely together, we should try and be cordial"
"I am" She knows he is speaking to her. But how can she when he has been such a pain, like a child since they met.
"You are being stiff, and…"
"I don't like being forced into things" Bella looks at him as she speaks.
"If you don't want to do these classes, then you don't have to"
"Then you will think I am a quitter"
Edward looks at her. "Then keep coming"
Sighing softly he head turns to the door when Alice walks in.
"Very sorry" She smiles. "Very good you guys" She smiles at them sitting pretty much on each other.
"As promised" Edward says as they pull up outside her place. "Rest of the day is yours"
"And you have dinner at 7 with Jessica, at The Port"
"Thank you" Edward smiles.
"I will see you?"
"Fly out Monday morning, so I will have a car out front for you at 7am, okay?"
"Okay" She nods.
