Chapter 9

"Gentlemen this deal was not taken into lightly"

"It appears it was Edward, one day we have the oceanfront property and the next day we don't"

'Actually it was the same day' Edward's eyes run around the table. He feels on edge, unsettled, sick to his stomach. "I understand the frustration here" Edward usually has a knack for making rough bumps smooth. It is not working this time.

"Do you understand how much money we all, yourself included, will be losing?"

"And you all will be fully compensated in return" Edward answers his eyes going in the direction of the speaker.

"We need a vote" Another man on the board says.

"I am CEO of this company" Edward argues not wanting it to go to vote because he knows, he is a business man and he knows the millions of dollars these investors and board members will not see if the vote is in his favor. He knows the millions these men will see if the vote is not in his favor. He doesn't want to vote.

"And we as a group hold shares in this company"

Edward knows he doesn't really have much to stand on in terms of that. He is lucky enough to hold the majority of shares. Unfortunately it will not give him any added votes. He looks around the large rectangular table at the men sitting there, unhappy with him. Breathing out he nods. "We vote then"


Jenna walks into the board room once the last person left. Holding her phone she looks at Edward slumped in his seat.

"Cancel all my afternoon appointments"

"But, you, there is"

"Cancel them" He says more forcefully. Normally he doesn't mind running over a person and then going in reverse and going back over their battered body. But right now he wants someone to run over him. "Fuck!" He shouts slamming his hands down on the table.

"Should I call Bella?"

Looking quickly at Jenna he stares at her. "Why would you need to call her?"

"Well" Shifting on her feet from his intense stare she is clearly nervous, and rightfully so. "She would, I don't know Mr. Cullen" Jenna finally says. Her first instinct would be to call Bella, Bella is a calmer, a level headed woman, sharp and quick. Edward is the total opposite, it only makes sense to call her, plus that is what Edward hired Bella for.

"Make dinner plans, somewhere quiet, um" He tries to think. "Send Bella a message with all the details" He licks his lips. He needs to talk to her tonight and tell her, everything she is working for, the reason she is working for him, well it has vanished.


Bella looks at her phone and hits a few buttons, she chews her sandwich as she reads about having dinner with Edward. Rolling her eyes a bit at the nerve of that man. He is such a… She rolls her eyes and sighs.

"Bella" Kelly comes in holding a folder. "Do you need anything?"

"No, that is great thanks"

"Your mother is on line 1 and I have a letter here from Mr. A. Volutri"

"Oh" Bella smiles. Standing she takes it from Kelly's hand. "Thank you" She can't help but grin.

"I'll leave you to it" Kelly turns to go.

"Hello Mom"

"Hi honey how is everything?"

Bella laughs a bit. "The same as it was…ahhhh Friday when you called"

"So you still want to punch your boss in the face because he was being crude during yoga and you are still jet lagged?"

"Do you have other children?"

"No, and if I did you would be my favorite" Renee laughs.

"I don't want to punch him in the face so much at present, and I am no longer jet lagged I had a weekend of sleep"

"Oh good, I don't want you over doing it, are you eating right?"

"Yes, I have dinner plans I see" Bella makes a face as she scans her phone. She has gotten the hang of this down quickly.

"Oh anyone special?"

"No, just Edward" Bella looks at the sealed letter in front of her. "Must be something about work"

"You work day and night"

"That's the job, I have so many things going on, I just got a letter from the man we went to meet in Italy, and" Bella scans over it quickly before breaking into a smile. "He is happy"

"Edward is very lucky to have you on his side"

"I would think so" Bella grins to herself. She will bring the letter tonight and tell him the good news from Aro. And she has some plans about donating funds in his company's name, getting his business out there doing some plain old fashioned good.

"I am proud of you, have I told you that?"

"Just every day, I don't get tired of hearing it even at 28" Bella smiles."Don't work too hard, I love you" Renee smiles.

"I love you too" Bella responds lightly before hanging up. She pulls up her A4 page of ideas before clicking print.


Bella smiles as she is let out of the car Edward sent for her. "I am getting far to use to this" She tells him as he is waiting outside the door of the restaurant having arrived before her.

"You look nice" He greets her, his eyes scanning over. She is wearing a straight to the knee skirt, a bit fitted. A white ribbed tank top. He thinks it is a tank top because she has this light peach cardigan over it which matches her thin belt hooked onto the straight dark grey skirt. Oh her shoes match the belt and cardigan, which has some flirty ruffles around the neck and down the front. He glances over her again.

"Thanks"

"I'm sorry about Friday" He hasn't really spoken to her since Friday, he was in that meeting today, and then he cancelled everything this afternoon.

"Oh totally forgotten"

"You forget a lot of things" He looks at her.

"Well" She smiles lifting her eyes. "I remember the important things"

"I suppose that is a good trait"

"I would think so" Bella smiles. She is on cloud 9 everything is falling into place nicely. It is good.

"Why I got dinner for us, I want to talk to you" He feels his palms get damp, and suddenly his dress shirt feels ill fitted.

Bella smiles. "I want to talk to you also" She grins. "Shouldn't we go in…do we not have a reservation?" She jokes because it wasn't her who made the plans so who knows.

"No Jenna took care of it, we do"

"Well you want to go in and sit?" She is happy but he is acting so weird. "Are you okay?"

He knows how much this means to her and it doesn't mean anything to him, he doesn't care about the community center. But Bella cares, deeply so he feels sick over this.

"Edward?" Bella looks at him concerned.

"Yeah" He lifts his head and nods. "Let's go in"


"Mr. Cullen what will you be drinking tonight?"

"Glass of the best red and water for Ms. Swan"

"Actually" Bella smiles and puts her finger up. "We have to celebrate, I will have red also"

He looks at her. "What is this news?"

"I don't know if I should save it until after the meal just to torture you"

He actually laughs. "Okay"

"You tell me why you called this dinner first and then" She smiles. "If it is good I will tell you mine right away to blow it out of the water"

"You really believe you have good news"

Bella wiggles her eyebrows and leans in over the table. "Oh I know I have good news"

"We have to talk" He says in a serious tone.

Bella sits up and looks at him. "What is it Edward because so far your problems have ranged from me giving away your shoes, to jail" She says with wide eyes. "To getting a tie that matched a dates eyes which cost a ridiculous amount of money might I add, oh and I have a list, I want you to take a look at it"

"Bella"

"What, I am waiting but you aren't saying anything" She makes a face at him. "Why don't you just tell me in the office tomorrow, and let me have tonight for my good news?"

He listens to her and looks at her. Her dark hair is swept up in some sort of pull back and it looks elegant. She is the most elegant woman he has actually had the pleasure to dine with, elegant and smart. Normally it is sexy and not so smart. Yeah that's it. "I'll give you the night" He tells her, his voice is gruff but soft as he looks at her. 'Disappointment can wait' Edward forces a smile.

Bella pauses a moment because his voice is filled with something and she doesn't know, it could be concern, or heaven forbid lust. She rolls her eyes in her head and just smiles back at him.


"Tell me about your mother Edward" She says trying again. She looks up from her steak and grilled veg.

Edward reaches out and takes his wine glass, holding it he looks at her. "I want to know your good news" He changes the subject.

"Um" Bella rests her fork and knife down before picking up her wine glass and taking a smiling sip. "Well" She won't push him, but she will get it out of him eventually.

"Well?" Edward smiles resting his glass down.

"So today"

"Hmm?"

"Stop" She laughs. The wine is hitting her in all the right places right now. Letting her head fall back with an open mouth of happy she giggles before lifting up straight and looking at him. "Okay"

"Okay I am still waiting"

Grinning with teeth she thrusts the letter to him.

Eyeing her suspiciously he takes it from her hand as her face is still overly happy. "What is this?"

"It's from Italy" She says slowly letting him put it together.

"No?"

"Hmm" She nods vigorously as she watches him read it.

Edward lets it all sink it and feels most horrid yet again for what he has to tell her. "You are amazing"

"Well" Bella lifts her eyes in play. "I know" She laughs. "It's great right?"

"I-I, the man clearly is in love with you"

"Oh" She laughs. "I know it's really"

"You are just amazing, how you pulled this off, I-I" He stares at her as she is still smiling. "Wow" He says glancing back to the letter.

"And I have more, not as great as this, but"

"What is it?"

"I typed up some ideas for Aro, and want you to have a look, and then they will get sent off to him, of course"

"And he can love you more" Edward adds.

"Well of course" Bella smiles.

"And?"

"And threw out some ideas for what I want to do as a representative of your company"

"Oh"

"That's still okay right?"

"Yeah of course, we will have to run it by the board once you have a hard copy so see how much funds you need to start and how much you will have to use in a fiscal year"

"Sounds great, we can talk more about that tomorrow"

"Yeah we can do that" Edward nods.


Bella smiles. "I" She doesn't even know how to say it. "You were really on your best behaviour tonight" She laughs.

Edward smiles at her. "As were you"

"Oh god" She rolls her eyes. "Edward, I have always been on my best behaviour"

"Well you let loose tonight and had a good time, I am glad I got to see it"

Bella shrugs. "I think the wine helped"

"So it wasn't my company?"

"No" Bella tells him firmly. Emmett is standing with the car; she assumes they will be leaving in the same car. It was odd they arrived in different cars. She reaches back to rubs the back of her neck, then pushes her fallen hair back up, only to have it fall again. "Um" She smiles.

"Let's get moving, Tuesday tomorrow"

"Ugh" She groans as his hand touches her lower back to guide her towards the car. "Don't remind me"

He laughs and watches her get in.

"Mr. Cullen" Emmett greets Edward before he enters the black car.

Edward nods to Emmett before getting in. He looks at Bella sitting smiling as she sits with her legs crossed. "Do you want a night cap?"

"Where?" She makes a face at him.

"You can come back to my place"

She eyes him with caution. She doesn't think he is trying anything with her. Mainly because they are just out of each other's league. Even with the ups and downs of their short work relationship, it has been very appropriate, and it in the end is just that, a work relationship.

"Emmett will be downstairs when you want to leave"

Licking her lips slowly. "Sure, why not the night has been really good thus far"

"It has" He has to agree, he has trouble in the back of his mind, but Bella is like a different woman. She is not in work mode…well she is in work mode, but it is a more being excited work mode. Bella was excited enough to have two glasses of wine with him at dinner. It was a good night for news on her part.