A/N: To be honest I never thought TI would get this far. The plot is so cliché, rich boss, clumsy secretary. I mean it's been done before but I'm so glad that people seem to like it. I enjoy writing for myself, I mean I have like thirteen others stories I'm working on but it's always great to know that other people all over the world not just your family and friends like your stuff too. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read this, and not just those who have liked it. And special thanks to any of you that have given me some type of pointer, I have use them sometime or another. Finally, I'm dedicated this chapter to my sister whom I would call and make her read ch after ch before I'd post it. She has been the biggest "fan". Thanks Nette!

Chapter Twenty

They say that time flies when your having fun. Well that's exactly what I was having and soon the days turned into weeks and then months. It was finally time for Jasper to reveal his collection. It was the beginning of November and so much had happened since Edward and I had become friends, again. We were indeed friends now, the dreaded incident far behind us. And if I had thought that it would have gotten easier once everything was out in the open then I would have been right. It was natural.

I had finally met Rosalie as Emmett fiancé, not Edwards girlfriend and Lauren and Jessica were off my back. Angela was now dating Tyler, whom had liked her since day one. She'd liked him too but was too shy to say anything. I think it was Edward that had first noticed and arranged for them to meet outside of work coincidental, with Alice's help that is. Who would have taught she got so much pleasure helping others find their 'true love'?

"Is this okay," I asked as I twirled slowly so that the fashion police, aka Alice Cullen could get a good look at me.

She stared at me for a moment before nodding. "Comfortable yet stylish. Your mom has good taste." I was wearing the deep blue chiffon shirt my mother had sent to me from Florida and a pair of skinny jeans along with a pair of black pumps. It was amazing how easy it was to maneuver in them now.

"If you say so," I turned back to the full length mirror and smiled. Maybe she did after all.

"So are your parents coming down tonight?" I asked pushing the dangly piece of ear jewelry through the hole in my ear.

"Nah, My dad's away at a Surgical conference and my mother is in London for the rest of the week."

I frowned. I was actually hoping to meet Alice and Edwards parents instead of just hearing about them or occasionally speaking to them on the telephone.

"But don't worry you'll meet them soon." She giggled and slipped into her bathroom. I rolled my eyes and began to work on adding the other ear ring.

The gallery was crowded when we arrived. That was always a good thing for an artist even though Jasper was pretty well known already. We spotted him talking to Edward and Emmett almost immediately. They were such a good looking group of guys it was hard not to notice. And believe me every girl in the place noticed. There was the sound of smooth Indie music coming from the over head amplifiers and it matched the atmosphere perfectly.

I took a deep breath before I followed Alice toward them.

"There they are?" Emmett spotted us first as we glided our way through the thong of people. Well, Alice was gliding, I was doing more tripping and stumbling than anything. I was hoping that neither of them would notice but I saw Edward chuckle to himself and I knew that he had. He always did. He was sometimes to intuitive for me but then again that was just Edward.

"Sorry we're late," Alice chimed. She was so tiny she looked somewhat like a child surrounded by her brothers and boyfriend who were six feet and over. Emmett was definitely the over though.

"Jasper this amazing." I stated leaning in to hug him. It was awkward because neither of us were very comfortable with others in our personal space. But we both made an exception. Plus it was hard to have personal place with Alice around.

"Thanks Bella,"

"Well most of you know that all my paintings tell a story so when ever your ready, begin over there." Jasper pointed just to the left of him and we all glanced over.

"Alice I need to show you something." He whispered.

"Okay," Then she turned to me. "I'll see you late okay."

"Okay." then they slipped through the crowd and I was left alone with Edward, who hadn't spoken to me since we'd arrived and Emmett.

"Okay guys there's Rosalie," Emmett stated almost immediately after Alice and Jasper had gone. "See ya!"

I watched as he walked off. It was hard not to see him when he was so big and so tall.

"So I guess it's just you and me, huh?" I turned back to Edward. He was smiling.

"I guess." I answered.

"Shall we?" He held out an arm. He looked really good in the grey sweater and dark jeans. His hair was slightly unkempt as always but it was perfect at the same time. I took a deep breath.

"Sure." I voiced looping my arm in his.

Jasper's paintings were beautiful, every one told a different story but at the same time when you looked at them all together you could see the whole picture. It was clearly about Alice and how she changed his life. You could almost feel the despair in the first few pictures but as you moved along one was different than all the rest. It was bright, fun, just like Alice. And if you looked closely you could almost she her silhouette in the colors. It was by far my favorite as well as Edwards.

We moved on, talking and chatting about what each picture could mean. We discussed how we could see the change, the difference from the first painting to the one we stood in front of.

"I see a mixture of there personalities" I voiced staring at the canvas with a tilted head.

Edward nodded. "Jasper really did a good job capturing Alice in these."

"I'm sorry but do you know the artist."

I turned to see a dark haired girl dressed in a tight red dress turn toward Edward. She was clearly of Mexican decent from her features and skin color. She was little Rosalie. Almost too pretty with bold, pouty lips.

"Yes, Jasper's a friend of mine. Do you know him?"

"Only a little," She smiled. "I'm Maria." She held out her hand and Edward shook it.

"Edward," then he reached for me. "and this is Bella"

"Hello." She turned to me and smiled.

"Hi," I waved arkwardly.

Edward shoved his hands in his pocket, I was beginning to think he did that out of habit. "So how is it that you know Jasper?"

"Well I've known Jasper for years. We met awhile back in Texas. I'm here visiting a friend and when I heard that Jasper was showcasing his paintings I had to come. It's been so long since we've seen each other." She smiled again, this time remorseful of something.

"Maria?" Her smile grew at the sound of her name and I glanced up to see who had called her. It was Jasper, Alice linked to his side. He looked odd. Stunned and bewildered as if he were seeing a ghost. She twisted around slowly until her back was to us.

"Hello Jasper." Her voice was calm. "You haven't changed a bit." she chuckled slightly, maybe at a memory. "You're still as compelling as ever."

"What are you doing here?" the expression had been wiped from his face, now it was as if he were seeing a bad memory.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for long. I thought I'd just drop by and tell you Congratulations."

"So Congratulations," For the first time her words actually sound sincere like it was odd for her to be this nice. Jasper eyed her for a moment before he gave a slight smile.

"Thank you."

"I'm leaving tomorrow so I guess this is the last time you'll see me. Nettie and Lucy send there regards," She began to move away toward the exit.

"Good Bye Jasper." It was almost a whisper. Her goodbye sounded so finally. Then she was gone almost as fast as she had come.

As I stared after her I somehow felt that a chapter that wasn't very pleasant for either of them had been closed just then. Then I looked over at Jasper and I knew that I was right.

"So what are you saying Dad?" I pressed the phone to my ear with my left shoulder.

"I'm saying that you're more than welcome to come with us Bella." I sighed. I was discussing my plans to go home for Thanksgiving, but I guess that was a bust. Thank God I hadn't bought the ticket yet because my Dad and Sue decided with some of there friends to have Thanksgiving on a Cruise to the Caribbean. And not that I didn't want to go, I just wanted to come home and relax over the break.

"No Dad, it's fine. I'll just spend Thanksgiving with mom and come see you for Christmas instead." I wasn't going to tell him that I had no intention of going to my Mom's for thanksgiving. She'd already told me that they were heading up to South Carolina to spend the holidays with Phil's family. And as much as I loved Phil I couldn't stand the thought of another whole roasted pig over a pit fire. My stomach churned at the thought. Nope, it looked like I would be spending the four days in my lonely New York Apartment. Alone.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked again. I was surprised, he must be really worried about me.

"Of course Dad. It's not that big of a deal. I'm just glad that you're finally taking a real vacation." I laughed. My dad didn't like to miss work. Never did.

"If it was up to me I'd be here but Sue really wants to go," I switched the phone from one ear to the other. I was at work and was surprised that my Dad had even called me here. But it was important, he said.

"It's good that you're making her happy. Have fun on your cruise and I'll call you later."

"Okay bye Bells. I love you." I smiled. It was so much easier for him to say it now. For me too.

"I love you too." I put the phone down and stood. It scared me when I glanced up and Edward was standing there. My hand flew to my chest where my heart was beating rapidly beneath it.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," he grinned.

"Is there something that you need? "I asked gathering the documents I needed to fax and passing him as I rounded my desk to the copy room.

"Nope," He followed me. I turned my eyes to the ceiling. He was probaly grinning like a fool behind me.

"Then why are you following me? Don't you have something you need to be doing?" I asked dialing in the number to the machine.

"No not really," He grinned in the doorway. Edward had been doing that a lot lately. It was getting harder and harder to get him to concentrate. Oh he still got his work done but it was odd seeing him so unfocused. He was like a kid being forced to do his homework when all he wanted to do was play outside. It was kind of cute. But I threw that thought out and I rolled my eyes as I placed the papers to be scanned.

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked casually.

I glanced at him.

"Why do you want to know?" I eyed him.

"No reason. Just curious." He stated looking away. I smiled to myself.

"My Dad. He was just calling to see how I was doing." I heard his cell phone buzz in his pocket and I watched Edward as he glanced at the message.

"Alice wants to meet for lunch." he explained.

"Okay, Sure." I dropped the stack of papers on the counter to straighten them.

"Where?" I asked hugging the stack to my chest and turning to him.

"Her place. One hour." He stated as I passed him in the small door frame heading back to my desk.

I heard his iphone buzz again. "She says don't be late or there will be consequences." I chuckled.

"Aren't there always. This is Alice we're talking about."

I have to admit that this was a filler chapter. I don't have many of those but I was on my way to work and I had this vision. I just had to write it down and suddenly it was a full chapter. Well not full seeing as it is pretty short but hopefully it will make it more exciting to read the next chapter.