Chapter 11

I'm really, really really so sorry. I mean it. Please forgive me! I swear I'll try posting more frequently. And, I hope you like this chapter. Please forgive my grammar mistakes. I have been working on my tenses mixing together and I think you won't see any in this one.

Once again, come back and read!

Enjoy!

Before I could comprehend what the fuck happened, Edward walks out of my office. My mind keeps reeling as I try to sit down. I want to cry at him to leave me alone, I want to kiss him and assure him that I'll forgive him. But I also couldn't ignore my conscience, couldn't ignore the part of me that kept warning me to stay away from this deadly game.

Just then, Alice and Rosalie burst into my office, panting wildly. And when they looked at me, their eyes went imperceptibly more wide and they started yelling. I was excited to see them as they'd traveled here in another flight but now they were just panicked and wild.

I wasn't liking it. My office door was open.

"Quit it, guys!"

"Quit it? QUIT IT?!" Rosalie was more nervous than angry and I couldn't bear it.

"What is it?"

"Bella, the board meeting got pushed back to 4:00 pm this afternoon. You haven't completed any of the files and you're a mess! My company has been calling me all morning, demanding audits and files and I don't have any permission slips from you to give them!" Alice shouts.

Holy hell. 4:00 pm? That means I've only got 3 hours. Shit shit shit. Not enough to complete this heap of work on my desk.

"Okay, let me think. I've got it all under control. We'll work together and I'll call my assistant, Angela. It'll be fine. I'll sign those permission slips right away and you can mail them within the next 20 minutes, Alice. Rosalie, would you please call the Cullen's receptionist Irina and ask her to send an email to Edward to tell him to come here right away? He has some of the audits and I'll have to start the work right away."

"Got it." Rosalie and Alice disappear and I get to work straight away. I don't ignore the fact that I'll have to start working with Edward sooner than I expected but I don't let it get to me.

My self-control slips every minute I tell myself these delusional thoughts. And that's proved every time I glance at him, while working and sitting across from each other. And that's really embarrassing since I'm looking at him every two minutes and every time my eyes go up to seek his face, his are already on mine. It's like he feels my attention before even I decide I'm going to look at him and he's already there, ready to burn me out with his intense and lust-filled simmering gaze.

"Why are you lying to yourself, Bella? You do have feelings for me, admit it. You keep denying our desires for each other and it's causing a lot of discomfort for both us. Why are you doing this?"

Because I'm afraid that if I give in to these feelings of desires, you won't be just a satisfied fuck for me. You'll be more. And I've heard about your reputation and I'm afraid that if I fall for you, I'll fall back down into the hole I try so hard to keep myself from.

And that I'm afraid that you'll be another Jacob Black for me.

But I don't say these thoughts out loud. I'm afraid to be vulnerable in front of him and luckily, I don't have to. Just then, my secretary, Angela, bursts in through the door and clasping those papers in her hands, she rushes over and adjusts her glasses before setting them down on the table between Edward and I.

But along with creating a diversion for my reply to Edward, she also brings bad news.

"Bella, the board of director has called both you and Edward to the meeting. Now."

"What meeting? The meeting isn't supposed to be until 4:00 clock." Edward has a frown on his face, and I know why. We've only completed half of the work we were supposed to do, and now we have to present it.

"The directors changed the time. It seems that they keep doing that." Angela pushes back her glasses and smiles at me. I smile back, but the smile is more forced.

"What is it with them and having everything too early?" Edward growls. He stands up and looks at me, and for a second, I'm terrified that he'll want to hash it out right now in front of Angela and I'll be in sobs in 3 minutes. But he sighs and turns away, running a hand through his hair, clearly upset.

He turns to me, eyes closed, and I feel partly relieved and angry with myself. "Bella, I have to get dressed. I'll try to complete the work more but we really don't have much time. 20 minutes, at the least. I'll see you in the conference room." With that, he turns on his heel and strides out of the room.

Angela raises a brow but keeps wisely silent, sensing my nearing outburst. Thankfully, I gather myself and work a little bit more, then get dressed and head to the conference room, Angela talking to the head of finance department on the phone behind me. I hope all the heads of the departments can be present today. It's been a bad day for the company, with the codes and all the rushed meetings.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Swan. Please have a seat." Aro, ever the server of the Cullen family, can't help but add this little comment with his greeting. "Edward came here 5 minutes ago."

"Well, what can I say about early goers? I like to be on time." Aro flushes and I grin at Billy, who's grinning at me. Billy's my dad's oldest friend and they were the ones who built this corporate with their blood and sweat.

The mention of Billy sends me into another round of memories and once again, I'm lost. I can't see anything other than his face, and the moment when all my dreams and beliefs shattered into nothing but dust.

Angela gives me a light shove, and I startle, coming back to reality. Edward stares at me openly and curiously from beside me. He tilts his head and cocks an eyebrow. I shake my head and focus on my presentation, on what I have so far.

"Okay, so we already know that both of the companies involved in this merger have suffered from a blue and a green code. The total amount of non-affirmative votes on this merger from our customers is 92.48%. This is a green code and is usually dealt with broadcasting of our merger's profits and sneak peaks of this merger's products in the major cities. Now, the arrangement of the products can be done within a week. Edward and I have agreed that the products can be broadcasted with full commercials by the end of the next week. Therefore, the damage control will be complete and covered by the end of February." Several members, including Billy, nodded appreciatively and scribbled something down. Aro was talking quietly with Edward and Edward kept nodding and then looking in my direction. I continued.

"Then we have the matter of our blue code. The total amount of the employees that have resigned is 37.85%. If we divide that, each company has suffered a loss of 18.925% employees, 7.1 being female and 11.25 being male. Now, normally, a blue code would be dealt by open interviews for new candidates all across the globe. But since the merger is about to take place the following September, we don't have much time to train candidates. So Edward and I have agreed that the best way to deal with this would be to combine our offices and remaining employees for the completion of this merger."

Every brow in the room is raised and the silence is terrifying. I've made plenty of bold and successful decisions in the board room but never one this bold. I know my company will do it without a moment's hesitation. It's Aro, Eleazar and Marcus that I'm worried about, the ones on the Cullen's board. Finally, Eleazar speaks.

"And how do you suggest we combine these companies, Bella?"

I've always liked Eleazar. He always was neutral at the right times and supportive and demanding at other. Still, the answer to this question needs to be given carefully.

"Set up a main combined office in Venice. That's the main branch and will help a lot in the broadcasting and advertising. Since my father is currently unwell, I could easily manage the office while Edward can manage the office in Paris." I purposefully kept this from him because I knew he would try to follow me and this was a critical time. With all the codes and my father, if we added a secret office relationship to the mess, I'm afraid we might get a red code.

But as usual, Edward doesn't disappoint me.

His gaze is harsh and challenging but brimming with what I saw earlier in my office.

"No, how about Bella and I both manage the main office? It will be quite big and difficult to handle, since it's the main branch. Meanwhile, my dad could go to Paris. That would be more reasonable, since I already know half of the employees here and have started half the work.'

Aro and Marcus both nod thoughtfully and to my despair, so do Billy, Victoria and Maggie. Carlisle pats Edward gently on the back and Edward grins at him. Only Eleazar is silent, watching me carefully as if he knows what's going on inside.

I start to open my mouth to protest, provide some rebuttal against Edward, when he looks at me.

And he puts his hand on my thigh.

And I'm lost.

The feeling of his hand puts me in a coma, thinking back to Jacob all the while silently begging Edward to touch me more.

His gaze is hard and impenetrable but he squeezes my thigh and in that brief moment, I see the vulnerability, concern and hope in his eyes beneath all those layers. He thinks I'll refuse this collision working but he's wrong.

For once, in my life, I know I'm doing something wrong.

And twice in my lifetime, I'm about to do it.

I don't know why but I don't care.

"Agreed."

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