4

The boy eventually did return, after his boss gave him a speech that even we could hear. He continued to have a red head during the evening and it slightly worried me. It couldn't be healthy. I mean, I also blushed a lot, but he was just being ridiculous.

He would take our orders and immediately rush away. In the end, Alice and I decided to just pay no attention him.

"Well, I have to admit, that was delicious. But I propose to go somewhere else the next time," I said, not wanting to encounter this boy – Mike Newton, as his name-tag said – again.

"I agree," she said, still sounding amused. We paid and went to my apartment. As we arrived, Alice and I sat down on the couch.

"Well Bella, tell me about your work. How was Edward Cullen?" she asked excitedly. I raised one eyebrow incredulously .

"The job's fine. Only... Well, Edward isn't the person I had expected him to be. When I first saw him, he was a bit moody and standoffish, although that is understandable, I suppose. And then in the elevator, he warned me that he didn't think I would be good for the job, but no one else had seemed better, so they had decided upon me. And that if I would turn out to be unsuitable, he would fire me immediately. I mean, why did he have to put it like that? I wouldn't assume he would keep me if I was unsuitable, but there's no need for him to actually warn me about that. And the way he said it, as if he assumed I would be out there within a week! God, I can't believe that man!" I yelled, feeling angry as I thought about today. Alice looked slightly surprised.

"Did he really say that? That's unbelievable! He had no right to do that. Well, besides the fact he is your boss, but you know what I mean." I nodded, looking at the wall opposite of me, trying to calm down.

"But you shouldn't let him bother you, Bella. You've finally got a job that is quite all right and just because the boss is a jerk, that doesn't mean you should quit. But I do understand your frustration." I smiled at her, feeling slightly calmed down.

"You're right. I'll be fine, but it's just annoying to have a boss like that. But who knows, perhaps it'll get better."

It didn't, I discovered the next morning. I had arrived before Edward and as he walked in, I already saw a frown on his face.

"Good morning, Mr Cullen," I said cheery, not letting him ruin my mood. He gave me a curt nod as he dropped a few papers on my desk.

"Done by the end of the afternoon,' he said. 'Please," he added, as he realised how rude it sounded. I nodded and grabbed the first paper.

"Of course, Mr Cullen." I knew how sarcastic I sounded as I tried to sound polite. He gave me a short glare, but then quickly looked away as he entered his office. I huffed and sat back on my chair. I didn't know how I was going to survive this.

A girl who was sitting behind the desk opposite of mine, smiled sympathetically.

"He's always like that with the new people. I suppose it's his way of testing if they are suitable. He will be fine in a few days," she said.

"Thank you. Was he like this to you?" I asked her. She shook her head and smiled.

"No, when I started working here, his father, Carlisle Cullen, ran this office. So when Edward… Mr Cullen came, he 'accepted' everyone who was already working here. But with every new person, he does the same thing he's doing to you. Although, it is much worse with you. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but he's usually only like this on the first day and then it's only half as bad as he is with you. I don't really know what is going on with him," she said, smiling sympathetically again. I thanked her and sighed as I looked at the computer screen in front of me.

Why was he like that? Even she – I didn't know her name yet – admitted it was weird. Why had he taken an instant disliking towards me? I was now completely convinced it wasn't because I bumped into him, no sane person would be mad about that. But then again, perhaps he wasn't a sane person. I chuckled slightly and started working.

During the day, he only left his office during lunch. He was having a conversation with someone I didn't know. They seemed to be arguing, but they kept it silent and no one noticed. Of course, I did notice, because I was paying attention to him. I wasn't sure why. I suppose I just wanted to find out why he was acting like this. But so far, I hadn't discovered it yet. I took a sip from my coffee and began a conversation with Madison, the woman who worked behind the desk in the lobby.

"So, do you like it here?" she asked me.

"I'm enjoying the job, although it isn't exactly my dream job," I said, wanting to be honest. She nodded and seemed to understand.

"Yes, I see. It isn't mine either, but once I started here, I enjoyed it and never really searched for a new job." Somehow, this made me feel slightly scared. I didn't want to be stuck here forever. This was just a job to have an income, but this wasn't what I wanted to to for the rest of my life. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet, perhaps I could be an editor, if I tried really hard.

I realised I hadn't answered her yet and I quickly smiled.

"I see. And you have never wondered what you may have reached had you actually done the job you wanted to do?"

"I do, all the time. But I'm settled now and I'm fine where I am. Some days I do regret it, but other days I don't at all. My dream job is working with children, but I have got a child of my own, so I'm content with that." I smiled at her.

"Really? How old is he or she?"

"She is seven years old, Emily," she said proudly.

"That's fantastic. Some day I also want to have children," I told her.

"Really? Do you have a husband, or a boyfriend?" she asked. Someone coughed as if he choked on his drink and I saw Edward, still standing next to the person he had been talking to, and it seemed he was the one who coughed. As I looked at him, he quickly looked away, with a look as if he had been caught. Had he been listening? I raised one eyebrow and looked at Madison questioningly. She had the same look on her face.

"But, no, I don't have a boyfriend or husband," I told her. I stole a glance at Edward and saw he was looking at us again, with an interested look upon his face. As he saw me looking at him, the slightest blush spread across his face as he looked away. I smiled slightly; he did have feelings.

I finished lunch and everyone returned to their place and continued working.

Edward came by my desk to pick up the papers and I noticed how he avoided eye-contact. I tried to get him to speak, but he stubbornly gave short answers and left as soon as he could. I didn't see him for the rest of the day.

By the end of the day, I went downstairs with the elevator, this time without Edward. I went home and made myself a quick meal. Alice had left sometime in the afternoon, she had left a note telling me she had gone to her own apartment.

I went to bed early, feeling positively exhausted. I had only had two days at work yet, and, if I was to follow the same way as Madison, had many years to go. I sighed at that prospect, feeling slightly sad.

After I had finished college, I was convinced my life would be so exciting and amazing, but so far, it hadn't. I hadn't had a boyfriend, at least, not after my boyfriend from college, and my career wasn't going that well either. Luckily, I did have great friends. I went to bed with a slightly bad mood, but I knew that it would be better in the morning.

As I woke from the sun shining in my eyes, I looked at the clock and saw my alarm would go off in ten minutes. I turned it off and got out of bed. I felt slightly disoriented and then I remember yesterday and groaned.

The day started the same as yesterday. I saw Edward arrive, only this time, he wasn't frowning. I decided to see in what mood he was.

"Good morning, Mr Cullen," I said, smiling as he walked past. He blinked twice as he looked at me.

"Good morning," he eventually mumbled. I smiled even wider as he entered his office. I chuckled, not sure why I was in such a good mood suddenly.

Emma, the girl who had kindly informed me about Edward's behaviour yesterday, smiled as she heard me chuckle.

"It seems he is finally getting better," she said. I agreed, looking slightly exasperated.

"It's about time," I told her. She agreed and we started working.

Edward called me a few times on the phone to give me orders, but besides that, we didn't have any contact that day.

The entire week went by in the same manner. Edward was saying 'good morning' now and then, but overall, he was still quite moody. I tried to keep as cheery and polite as possible, but sometimes he would annoy me and I would get quite moody too.

On Friday, I was sitting at my desk, as Edward came out of his office.

"Ms Swan, could you arrange a flight for me. I need to go to New York this Saturday, preferably at around ten o'clock in the morning." I tried to hide my curiosity as I nodded. He walked away towards the elevator and discussed something with someone I didn't know.

I quickly booked his flight and wrote down the specifics for him, which I handed to him as he walked past me once again.

"Thank you," he mumbled incoherently. My eyes widened as I heard him say that. It was a bit unfair towards him, but I hadn't expected him to thank me for something. He seemed surprised to see me surprised, but then he seemed to realise something and he frowned and quickly walked away.

Why would he need to go to New York? Probably for his father's business. I cleaned up my desk as I saw it was time to go home.

I was glad as I realised it was weekend. Edward's behaviour had slightly improved over the week, but if continued to go at this pace, it would take three years before he would properly greet me in the morning.

I would meet Rosalie and Emmett for dinner, so I went home to get changed.

As I was getting dressed, I suddenly thought about Edward. Was he now at home packing for New York? I sighed and told myself not to think about him.

I put on a simple, black dress and curled my hair slightly. I was a disaster when it came to make-up and hair, but I still put on a little make-up.

I left my apartment and made my way towards Rosalie and Emmett.

"Hi!" I said and sat down. They greeted me and smiled broadly. I raised one eyebrow as I saw the twinkle in their eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked them. They didn't say anything and I was about to say something when Rosalie suddenly stuck out her hand in front of my face. First, I was confused and looked at it with a frown upon my face. Then I focused and saw the engagement ring on her finger. I squealed and got up to hug her.

"I can't believe it! You're engaged!" I screamed, quickly blushing as people smiled and started clapping. I let go of Rosalie and gave Emmett a quick hug.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Rosalie said, looking extremely happy, just as Emmett.

"Do Jasper and Alice know?" I asked them.

"No, we wanted to tell them tonight, but they couldn't come. So we will tell them tomorrow afternoon," Emmett told me.

"Don't tell them yet, please," Rosalie asked. I assured her I wouldn't.

"How did he ask you?" I asked.

"He put it in my pudding," she told me. I immediately burst out laughing. "You see, he offered to make pudding. That already made me suspicious. And then we had dinner and he brought the pudding, which actually looked quite good. Then I saw the ring in there and screamed and threw my arms around me. When I had let him go, he took the ring, went down on one knee and asked me. Of course, I shouted out 'Yes'." Emmett was beaming as he listened to Rosalie. I was incredibly happy for them and continued to congratulate them throughout the evening.

The next day, I woke up quite early and stayed in bed for a while. I suddenly remembered that Edward was now at the airport, about to go to New York. I wondered if he would be back on Monday and, to my annoyance, I realised that I hoped he would be. Even though he was quite rude to me, I still was starting to take a liking to him. In some weird way, I liked to see how he was trying very hard to be polite. It was still a mystery to me why was acting like that, but I was starting to accept it and make the best of it. It was always much more to fun to tease people who were grumpy and annoyed than people who were in a good mood. I chuckled as I thought that and got out of bed.

I ate breakfast and was wondering if Rosalie had already told Alice and Jasper about her engagement. Our conversation of last night came back to me and I started to smile, as I realised two of my best friends would marry. Alice would probably go crazy when she would hear.

I remembered that we once had had a conversation with the tree of us. We had reached the subject of marriage and Alice had made us promise that if we would ever get married, she would be the one that could plan the whole wedding.

I was absolutely sure that she hadn't forgot that yet and she would definitely get her way and be allowed to plan the wedding. Not that Rosalie would mind; when we had made the promise, we knew that Alice was amazing at those things and that she would do a wonderful job.

I supposed Alice didn't know yet, because if she did, she probably would have called me, just to scream into my ear for a few minutes and then tell me her plans for the wedding.

I finished my breakfast and called Alice. She answered quite normal, at least, for her, so I was now sure she hadn't heard yet. I asked her if I could come over and she told me I could come. I told her I would be there in half an hour and we hung up.

I hoped that Rosalie would call when I would be there, I would love to see her reaction. I put on my coat and left my apartment. Just as I got into the subway, Edward entered my thoughts again. I sighed, feeling slightly annoyed about it and I told myself to think about something else. I remembered the rude comments he had made and slowly I started to realise that the fact I was starting to like him as a friend, was just a foolish thing, which would be over in a few days.