Disclaimer: All publicly recognized characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 10 – The Finish Line

As I led Bella away from my family I leaned over, "First seemed to like you."

She smiled at me. "He's quite charming. I can see where you and your brother get it from."

I laughed as we approached a group of employees who were talking animatedly.

"Mr. Cullen! We were just discussing your coup over ProLog. Brilliant strategy!"

"Our success there was quite a gain for CE," I conceded.

There were nods all around. I took advantage of the lull in the conversation. "Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Bella Swan. Bella, this is Sergio Santos, William Finch, Tyler Crowley and Rishi Patel. They're all department heads here at Cullen."

"So nice to meet you," Bella said, briefly clasping hands with each man. I could see curiosity in their eyes.

"Bella's a new contractor helping out in my office," I continued. My vague description seemed to satisfy most of them, but Tyler continued to eye her.

The conversation returned to business matters. Eventually, Sergio, Bill and Rishi's wives joined us. The topics became more personal, and I knew that it was time for Bella and me to move on.

"If you'll excuse us…." Everyone offered a farewell as Bella and I walked away.

I was steering her to a group of Board members when we were cut off by Jasper.

"Hey, Edward," he said by way of hello. Smiling, he turned to Bella. "You must be Bella." She seemed surprised that he knew her name.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Jasper." She recovered quickly. I was pleased that she remembered his name from the photo in my office.

He turned back to me. "I just wanted to let you know that the card you requested is processing. I'll definitely have it on Monday."

"Thank you," I replied.

"Then the shopping spree can begin, eh Bella?" Jasper winked at her.

Bella was obviously confused when she turned to me. Of course I had never mentioned the credit card to her so she wouldn't know what he was talking about.

"It's no big deal. I just requested a corporate card for you so that you could charge business necessities. It's faster than submitting expense reports, though you'll still have to fill them out. Remind me to have Mrs. Cope sit down with you and explain the expense procedure. It's not very time consuming."

She nodded. "Okay."

"It was nice meeting you, Bella," Jasper said. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Jasper."

"Edward," he said, offering me a silent, "Niiicccee...," along with a suggestive smirk.

We resumed our walk toward the Board members and I leaned closer to Bella, removing the empty wine glass from her hands.

"Most of these people sit on the Board of Directors. I'll introduce you and we'll have a drink with them. It's expected."

Our approach was not unnoticed.

"Edward!" I was greeted loudly by several of the people in the group. One heavy man with a florid face stepped towards me.

"Terrific party, Edward! Terrific!"

"Thank you, J.J. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"And who's this lovely lady?" he asked, eyeing Bella speculatively.

I cleared my throat. "This is Bella Swan. Bella, this is Mr. Jenks, he's President of the Board of Directors for Cullen Enterprises."

"Mr. Jenks, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Call me J.J." he answered her exuberantly. Everything J.J. did was exuberant. He slid his hand around Bella's arm and tugged her towards the table. "C'mon, Bella, join us for a drink. We're celebrating!"

"J.J.—" I started before he cut me off.

"None of that, Edward. Go find that girlfriend of yours—what's her name? Tori, Toni?"

"Tanya isn't here this evening."

"Well then, I guess you're on your own, young man." J.J. laughed loudly at his own joke and continued to pull Bella towards the table.

"C'mon Bella, I'll introduce you to everyone."

She glanced back at me as J.J. dragged her off. I could see the panic in her eyes. We specifically planned not to be separated tonight and now we were. Should I follow her, though J.J. had effectively dismissed me? Would she be okay? Damn him. It was things like J.J.'s casual dismissal that made me uncertain about myself. He would never have pulled that nonsense with First.

I pondered another brief moment before deciding that Bella would be well enough for a short time. I'd keep my eye on her and return to the table in 20 minutes or so. I decided to circulate. I noticed that J.J. had ordered Bella another glass of wine. He also had a server bringing platter after platter of shrimp and bacon wrapped bay scallops to the Board's table. Bella was eating and seemed to be joining in the general conversation.

I was briefly distracted by the event coordinator who asked when I'd be giving my toast. A quick glance at my watch told me we had another hour or so before it would be expected. The head of Marketing found me shortly thereafter, and we got into a serious discussion about next year's budget. Before I knew it, a half hour had passed. Shit!

I looked up and tried to find Bella at the table where J.J. had brought her. The table was empty. I noticed a number of Board members dispersed around the room. I finally found J.J., but Bella wasn't with him. Where could she be?

BPOV

I excused myself from the Board's table as soon as socially acceptable. I think I held my own well enough when the topic was something with which I was familiar. Thankfully, the general conversation wasn't business related. I smiled and nodded when appropriate. One of the Directors asked me about my education and I impressed him when I told him I graduated from UC. When his attention was pulled away from me, I looked around the room for Edward. I first noticed him talking with a venue employee and then with a man I didn't know. They seemed involved in a serious conversation so I knew I couldn't expect him to rescue me from the table.

Two of the Directors left the table to join their spouses, another excused herself shortly thereafter. I no longer felt self conscious about leaving and turned to J.J. to thank him for introducing me to the Board.

"It was lovely to meet you, as well, Bella. I hope to see you again in the future."

I smiled brightly and offered a similar sentiment.

"We're going to dinner next week… Tuesday, I think. Edward, Emmett, Whitlock and I. You should join us."

"I'd be happy to, if Edward doesn't mind."

"Don't worry about Edward, my dear. I extended the invitation to you. It will be fine."

"Thank you, J.J." I pulled my Blackberry from my clutch. "Tuesday, you say?"

"Yes, 8 o'clock at Markethouse on North Fairbanks. What do you say?"

I pretended to check my calendar. "Yes, I'm available. Thank you for asking."

"Wonderful, Bella. I'll see you then."

I was finally able to bolt to the bathroom that I had used earlier in the evening. I found an empty stall, though I didn't need to use it, and sat so that I could take a few deep breaths and collect my thoughts before returning to the room to find Edward.

Though talking with J.J. and the other Board members had made me nervous, I was grateful for the food. That first glass of wine had gone to my head since it had been over seven hours since I'd last eaten. Now I was pleasantly satisfied and happy, because this would be one less meal I'd have to pay for. I felt better about spending some of my grocery money on the clothes I bought yesterday.

I was wondering how long Edward and I would be staying this evening when the restroom door opened and several women walked in. I could hear them talking to one another as they entered.

"…I know! Well, it doesn't surprise me in the least. They'd been in all the papers for the last few months."

"She's an idiot for walking away. I'd have held onto him for all I'm worth. Or he's worth!"

This comment was greeted with laughter.

"Really! He's the whole package--rich, good looking…what could be so bad that she'd break up with him?"

While I had assumed they were talking about Edward from the beginning, this comment seemed to confirm it. I could hear general sounds of confusion as they tried to figure out why Tanya would have broken up with Edward.

"I heard he was cheating on her."

"No! With that girl he brought tonight?"

I felt the blush spread across my face. Of course, I should have realized that people would make that assumption when they saw us together so soon after the break up.

"I don't think so," another woman answered. "My husband said he introduced her as a new contractor working in his office."

"But she's here. I heard from someone in HR that she's only been working for Cullen for, like, two days. How did she score an invite to this party if she's only been working for him for two days?"

This speculation brought on another round of curious and suggestive sounds.

"She is pretty," someone offered.

"You think? I think he could do better." I rolled my eyes.

"Ready?" It was obvious they were getting ready to leave.

"Did you see the article TMZ posted about him the other night?"

There was general assent, but the conversation faded out as the women left the restroom.

Making sure I still had my clutch, I stepped out of the stall and walked to the mirror. I checked myself closely. While I was pretty average generally, I thought that Alice's hard work had paid off tonight. Edward could probably do better, but not by much.

With that thought I reapplied my lipstick and smoothed my hair before washing my hands and returning to the party.

EPOV

"There you are," I said as I finally caught up with Bella where she was standing near the table we had shared with First and my grandmother earlier.

She smiled at me, "Here I am. I looked for you earlier but you seemed to be having a serious conversation with someone I didn't know. I didn't want to interrupt."

"You should have. It would've been fine. I can talk to any of these people at work tomorrow. Can I get you another drink?"

"No, no thank you. I've already had two and I don't drink often. Alice recommended that I not stand on a table and do the Macarena tonight."

The visual made me laugh. "How about water or seltzer or juice—I'm sure the bar has cranberry or orange?"

"Seltzer would be great."

We walked over to the bar where I ordered Bella a seltzer with lemon, and myself another neat Scotch.

"So, what did you think of the Board of Directors?"

"I get the general impression that they are a dedicated bunch. I was a little surprised when J.J. brought me over there."

"Yes, well, J.J. isn't my biggest fan. He opposed me being named CEO, but was outvoted by the rest of them. Pulling you away from me was a little dig."

Bella grimaced.

"What?"

"He asked me to join you, him, Emmett and Jasper for dinner next week."

I exhaled in exasperation, but then reconsidered. "It's fine, Bella. If he invited you then you should come. If you think about it, he's playing into our plans. It will be a chance for us to spend time together publicly, but at someone else's insistence. It wouldn't be a date, since I didn't ask you."

"That makes sense," she agreed.

"So why didn't he want you to take over for your grandfather when he retired?"

"Age, really. I've been interning or working for CE since I was 17 years old, so I had almost 10 years here when I was appointed CEO, but I'm still very young for the position."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine." Bella's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What?" I asked her. I was sure there wasn't anything she was thinking that I hadn't already heard.

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and tilted her head. "Now that you've told me, I guess I can see it. You have a very commanding presence about you. I thought you were older."

That wasn't something people ever said. She had surprised me. I looked down at my drink before taking another sip.

"How about you, Bella? How old are you?"

"Mr. Cullen, don't you know it's impolite to ask a woman her age?" she asked in a falsely offended voice.

"I'm not asking you as a woman, I'm asking you as an employee."

"That's even worse," she exclaimed with a small laugh. "Aren't you banned from asking an employee about her age?"

"Technically, but I'm sure you can see how it might be necessary for me to know, considering our unique working relationship."

"True…." She pretended to ponder. "I'm twenty-four."

I nodded. She was a little young, but nothing that society would find scandalous. She seemed wiser than her years. I wondered why that was.

"Speaking of invitations," she said, returning to our earlier conversation, "you received two today that Angela and Mrs. Cope believed I should discuss with you. The first was for a fraternity reunion."

"Do you remember when it was?"

"Early November…the 6th I think. Included with the invite was an itinerary, looks like the festivities are scheduled to run for three days. There were some 'members' only' events and some that included dates or spouses."

"Where's it being held?"

"Here, in Chicago."

"In that case, then, I'll have to participate to some extent. I'm sure my brother and Jasper will want to attend, too. Let me talk to them and then I'll get back to you about which events you'll be needed for."

"Certainly."

"What else?"

"Um, you received an invitation to a movie premiere for November 19th."

"Really? That's strange. I've attended plenty, but it was Tanya, not me, who was always invited. What movie?"

"I don't remember the name right now. Some supernatural teenaged romance…"

I cut her off.

"Oh! That invitation is for me. My friend, Seth, is a screenwriter. This is his first big studio film. I didn't know they were having an opening in Chicago. We'll definitely go to that."

Bella seemed pleased by that.

"I'll call Ali- I mean Ms. Brandon tomorrow and let her know about the extra events so she can plan the clothing."

"Great."

I felt my phone vibrate and checked it quickly. Ms. Brandon had texted me. I quickly read the message before putting the phone away.

"What's the plan for the rest of this party?" Bella asked.

I exhaled and looked down at my watch. It was just after nine o'clock.

"I'm expected to make a short speech and offer a toast. The waiters should be coming around with champagne soon. After that, we can head back to the office. You can change and go home. Unless you need to do something you won't need to come into the office until Tuesday. Mrs. Cope can show you the expense report paperwork then. Start keeping track of your mileage now, though, so that you can get an accurate idea of how much travel you're doing for your job."

"I haven't got a car, Edward. I use public transportation, mostly."

Gah! This was embarrassing. I kept making assumptions about her means and was always drawn up short. Instead of confronting the issue right now, however, I decided to deflect by focusing on a less important facet of her announcement.

"Well, that's fine for getting to the office regularly, but won't be appropriate for attending the dinner on Tuesday. A cab would be a better choice."

She grimaced. Christ! How many times could I stick my foot in my mouth during this conversation?

"However," I continued as if I hadn't just insulted her for the second time in thirty seconds, "I'd like to offer to drive, if you don't mind. You'll be in the office anyway; it won't seem suspicious if we travel together."

"That would be fine, Edward."

The waiters had begun circulating with the champagne flutes.

Thank God! Our simple conversation had me more off balance than I'd been all night, including First's surprise visit and J.J.'s attempt to embarrass me.

A waiter approached. I took two flutes and handed one to Bella. "Why don't you go stand with Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie? This won't take long and then we'll head out."

Bella nodded and smiled at me before turning and walking through the gathering. I waited until she found my brother before using a fork to tap the side of my glass. The general hubbub quieted as those present turned to face me.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I began, "I'd like to thank you all for coming this evening. On behalf of the Board and myself I would like to…"

BPOV

Edward's speech had been short but obviously sincere. After drinking his champagne, he made a quick circuit of the party bidding good night to those in attendance. We left shortly after, retrieving our coats from the coat check before approaching the valets. I shivered as we waited for Edward's car to be brought over. I wasn't looking forward to the chilly walk home from the bus stop later.

"Cold?"

"Yes, it seems this wrap is just for show," I said, touching it lightly. I was making a joke, but Edward took me seriously. Taking off his coat, he slid it over my shoulders without another word. I turned to him, about to protest, but he just shook his head at my expression.

"My suit jacket is warm enough for now. The car heats up fast. I'll be fine."

"Thank you," I said, simply. He smiled in return as his car appeared.

The valet held the passenger side door open for me and I slid in, grateful for the heat already drifting from the vents. Edward's door opened and he joined me in the car. I heard the valet thank him before both doors shut firmly.

As we were pulling into traffic, Edward asked me how I had enjoyed my evening.

"This was very nice. It was lovely meeting your family. Your coworkers, or employees, I guess, were very friendly. There was something I wanted to discuss with you, though."

"If this is about dinner with J.J., I told you, don't worry about it. It's probably a good idea, actually."

"No, that's not it. You see, earlier tonight I was in the restroom when a group of women came in. They didn't know I was there and they were talking about you."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I can imagine what they were saying."

I laughed quietly, "Yes, well, I'm sure you can. However, there was something that concerned me. Some of them seemed to assume that you had cheated on your ex. They thought that I might be the one you cheated with. While we both know that's not true, I wanted to make you aware of the fact that the thought is out there."

"Thanks. I should have realized that people would jump to that conclusion. Well, hopefully our charade will work and people will see our 'relationship' develop publicly and that will put those rumors to rest."

I nodded again before looking out the window to enjoy the city lights. The warm interior, combined with the wine I had consumed earlier was making me sleepy. I snuggled a little further down into Edward's coat. I tried to stifle a yawn and failed, inhaling deeply through my nose. Suddenly I was assaulted by the most incredible scent. I realized it was Edward's coat. It smelled wonderful, like him, but much more intense. I turned my head more towards the window and sniffed his lapel unobtrusively. Amazing!

It was only a short time later that we pulled into the garage. Once we were parked I quickly opened the door and got out. Edward was halfway around the car and stopped when he saw me standing.

"Bella," he started, "you need to let me open the door for you. I've been meaning to tell you that, but it slipped my mind tonight with the valets opening and closing the doors. Please."

"Certainly, Edward. I'm sorry, I should have realized."

"It's okay, just something to remember for the future."

I nodded as we entered the elevator. When the doors closed behind us I turned to him.

"Was there anything tonight you'd have preferred I'd done differently?" He seemed to ponder my question thoughtfully.

"Honestly, tonight was full of so many curveballs I can't help but be pleased with the way the evening went. You handled everything so well, my sister-in-law, the meeting with my grandparents, even your interaction with J.J. I'd say tonight could not have gone better."

I smiled at the praise. I had been so nervous when the evening began, but felt good about it now.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you, Bella. You are doing me a great favor."

We exited the elevator into the reception area of his office. We walked to the double doors. He grasped the handle and frowned.

"Bella, these doors are unlocked. That likely means the cleaning crew is in my office. Are you okay with that?"

My mind raced. "Victoria…" I said quietly.

"Victoria, your old boss? From the phone conversation the other night? What do you want to do, Bella?"

"Ummm…." I hesitated. There was really no reason for me to avoid Victoria, but I wasn't sure I was ready to confront her tonight.

"I have an idea. Let me go in there and tell her I need to get some work done. I'll excuse her for the evening telling her to just clean the bathroom. While she's in the bathroom you can come in and go straight to my changing room. I'll let you know when she leaves."

"Okay." This was fine for tonight, but I knew I'd have to deal with her eventually if I was going to keep showing up in Edward's office late at night.

I sat on the couch in reception while Edward walked into his office. I heard their muffled voices before Edward opened the door again.

"She's in the bathroom. C'mon."

I handed Edward his coat before moving quickly through his office. I closed the dressing room door behind me and took a deep breath, clearing my head.

I quickly undressed, storing the shoes and bracelet as Alice had instructed. I opened the clutch and removed my Blackberry and lipstick, which I slipped into the bag I had been carrying earlier in the day. I removed the fancy underwear and placed it back in the pink bag from the store. I changed into my own underwear and the clothes I had worn to the office before settling down and waiting for Edward to let me know the coast was clear. I started pulling the pins from my hair figuring I'd be warmer on my trip home with my hair down over my neck. It took surprisingly little time to let it all down considering how long Alice worked to pile it on my head. I fingered the sparkly comb before leaving it on the table where Alice could find it tomorrow.

I ran my fingers through my hair, shaking it out and massaging my scalp. I stood up and bent at the waist, flipping my hair over my head so it hung to the floor. I continued to enjoy the feeling of my hands running through my hair until I heard the door open. Standing quickly, I turned and faced Edward, who swallowed hard before winking at me.

"The coast is clear," he said conspiratorially. I grinned at him before grabbing my bag and preparing to leave.

"Ms. Brandon texted me earlier and asked me to tell you that the contents of the pink bag are yours to keep. She doesn't expect them back."

"Oh! That's very generous of her." I grabbed the pink bag off the table.

"Indeed. Bella, I wanted to talk to you a bit about the corporate card. Please, feel free to use it for anything you might need to make your job easier. I'm the one who'll sign off on your expense reports so don't worry about having to justify your purchases to someone else. Just use it, okay?"

"Okay, Edward. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I better head home." I walked past him and into his office. When I reached the door, I turned to say goodnight. Edward stood near the couch frowning slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

"Where's your coat?"

"Oh, I didn't think to bring one," I lied as glibly as I could, thinking of my bulky parka. "It was so warm out earlier." This was a complete falsehood. I thought back to my chilly ride to work this morning. I was a lousy liar, but I seemed to fool Edward. "I'll be fine," I continued.

"Wait."

He walked back into the dressing room and emerged a moment later with a brown zippered cardigan.

"Here," he said, "take this. It's too cold for you to go home without something on."

I hesitated before reaching out to accept the sweater. Instead of handing it to me he held it open to help me put it on.

I put down my bags and slipped into the sweater pushing the long sleeves up over my hands. I was immediately assailed by his warm scent once again.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Edward walked over to his desk and sat down.

"Well, goodnight," I said, gathering my bags.

"Goodnight, Bella, and remember what I said. Plan to use your card for anything you might need. I'll see you Tuesday."

I turned and left his office as he started flipping through the papers on his desk. I got on the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. As the elevator descended a smile broke out over my face.

I did it!

EPOV

I watched Bella until my office door closed, cutting her off from view. I sighed and shook my head, trying to dislodge the thought I'd been battling since I opened my dressing room door to find her bent over, running her fingers through her hair.

Nice ass!

- - - - -

A few people have put the prologue together with the events of the story and asked questions. You can figure the time span of the story if you try. There will be detailed descriptions of their first half dozen or so outings. If you've been reading closely, you'll know exactly what events these are. Some were mentioned in this chapter, some in earlier chapters.

A few readers are offended that Jasper is engaged to Charlotte. He's never even met Alice in this story, folks. Sorry!

Many thanks to pkitten, who created a banner for this story and an old one shot of mine called U + UR Hand. If you're looking for lemons, U + UR Hand is a great place to start. Link is in my profile.

Pkitten is part of a collab called KeepersOfTheNaughtySparkle. Their story "Reunion" is a great read. Go check it out! Fanfiction (dot) net /s/ 5057278 /1/ Reunion

Then hit their website, fangsdeep(dot)proboards(dot)com/.