Wow! There was some response to the last chapter. I see what I have to do to get people to review now – promise them something. Greedy h00rs. I sent out the wrong-turn ending to anyone who reviewed, whether you asked for it or not. I won't be sending it as a review reply anymore, however. It is now posted on the Twilighted thread for this story.

There were a bunch of people (Inter-nette, Canyacerne, Elizabeth and many others) who requested the wrong-turn but hadn't logged in before reviewing so I couldn't send it to you. Also, if you sent me an email address, it is likely that ffnet ate it. FF won't send email addresses in reviews. I'm sorry! Please stop by the thread and read the wrong-turn there! It's on page 52.

Twilighted(dot)net/forum/viewtopic(dot)php?f=44&t=7258&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=510

Chapter 28 -- What Jessica Did

EPOV

Dark.

Quiet.

Those were the first two thoughts I had as I struggled with consciousness. I next became aware of the foul taste in my mouth and my own stink.

Ugh.

I toyed briefly with the idea of returning to sleep, but the foul taste in my mouth and my full bladder were incentive enough to rouse myself. I could go back to sleep as soon as my baser needs were met.

I sat slowly and my head began to spin. Images from last night flickered through my mind, and I fought down the contents of my stomach valiantly. It was less the dizziness and more the memories that made me want to retch.

I had been an ass.

Again.

The thought caused me to groan. I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed. I was about to heave myself out of the bed when a quiet greeting scared the crap out of me.

"Good afternoon."

The voice was deep, slightly amused, thoroughly disgusted and had a Southern lilt.

"Jasper?" My voice was raspy. I cleared my throat.

"Edward." His voice was flat and emotionless.

I ran my hand through my hair. "What the fuck are you doing here? Where's Bella?"

Jasper clicked on the small light on Bella's nightstand. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away from the unwelcomed brightness.

Jasper snorted. "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit."

Jasper said something under his breath that sounded like, "Good," but I couldn't be bothered asking him to repeat himself.

"What time is it?" I continued.

"One o'clock, give or take."

"Shit." Checkout had been three hours ago. Why'd she let me sleep so late? "Why's it so dark?" I asked instead.

"Want me to raise the shades?"

"God, no."

I stood up but another wave of vertigo caused me to fall back to the bed.

"Are you still drunk?" The disgusted amusement was back in his voice.

"No, I'm not still drunk," I mimicked, "just a little light-headed."

"Well, just settle down. Bella made arrangements for you to have late check-out before she left."

"Bella left? When?"

"A couple hours ago. She called Alice for a ride around nine this morning."

I groaned and rubbed my face again. Jasper chuckled without a trace of compassion.

"Go take a shower," he suggested. "I'll get your shit packed up and order something for you to eat."

I nodded and stood more slowly than before. I took a few steps towards the bathroom before hesitating.

"Did she quit?" I asked, quietly, not turning around to look at him.

"You'll need to talk to her about that yourself."

I nodded dejectedly and continued on to the bathroom.

*~*~*~*

BPOV

The early morning sunshine glimmering through the windows of our room woke me around eight. I sat up quickly and looked over at Edward. He hadn't moved at all last night and, thankfully, neither had I.

I got up and grabbed the clothes I had planned on wearing to brunch today. It was the same outfit I'd worn the night Edward, Angela and I had Chinese food on the floor in his reception area.

I entered the bathroom and checked myself in the mirror quickly. I went through my morning routine, washing my face and pulling my hair into a high pony tail. After dressing, I packed up my toiletries and went back to the bedroom. Edward was still asleep. From the looks of it, he'd be asleep for awhile. I took out my phone and quickly dialed Alice.

"'Lo?" her sleepy voice answered.

"Hi Alice, it's Bella. I need a favor."

"Bella? What's wrong?" She was much more alert now.

"Nothing. Well, everything, but nothing right now. I just need a ride home. Could you come get me?"

"Where are you? Still at the hotel?"

"Yeah. I just need to pack."

I could hear Alice talking quietly.

"Jasper. Jasper. Wake up. Bella needs us to go get her."

I think he might have groaned in response.

"We'll be there in less than an hour. Is Edward with you?"

"He's still asleep. Please hurry, Alice. I- I don't want to be here when he wakes up."

Alice sighed.

"Okay, Bella, we're on our way."

"Thanks."

I disconnected the call and started packing quietly. I lowered the shades so the light wouldn't disturb Edward. Honestly, I didn't want to talk to him at all. I had woken, determined to make a change in our relationship, and it was becoming clear to me now what that change had to be.

Once I was completely packed and ready to go, I deposited my bags outside the room and walked down the hall looking for a bell cart. There were none to be found as everyone was getting ready for check out. Sliding the bags back into our room, I made my way downstairs to the lobby. A coffee and tea service was set up in the spacious area, and I helped myself to a cup of tea.

I was sitting on the couch watching guests and staff move about when a voice behind me offered greetings.

"Hi, Bella."

I froze briefly before turning around and coming face to face with Jessica.

"Good morning, Jessica," I said warily.

Jessica sighed.

"Are you going to brunch?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Um, well, I'd really like to talk to you. Would you join me? Collin is still packing, and I hate to eat alone."

I took a deep breath and nodded. I had nothing to lose and hoped that Jessica might be able to shed some light on what happened last night. We walked together silently.

Brunch was set up as a buffet of mostly breakfast items, but there was also a ham carving station and an assortment of cheeses available. We quickly filled our plates and Jessica indicated a table off to one side.

"Good morning, ladies!" A perky waitress appeared. "Can I offer you some juice or coffee?"

"Orange juice, please," I requested.

"I'll take coffee," Jessica said. The waitress smiled at us brightly and disappeared, returning a moment later with our preferred beverages.

We ate in silence for a few moments.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Edward didn't tell you about us?" Jessica started.

"He may have mentioned you, but it seems there were a lot of girls back in college."

Jessica grimaced.

"Yeah, there were."

She didn't continue, and my curiosity got the best of me.

"Did Edward cheat on you? Is that what you want to tell me? That was a long time ago, he's really…."

"Edward didn't cheat on me, Bella. I cheated on him."

"Oh."

Jessica sighed.

"Edward was very young when he came to school. Prodigy and all that. It must have been hard on him being the youngest everywhere we went. He was only 17 when we started dating, but I didn't know that. I was already 19 when I met him. He was so mature for his age that I didn't realize he was so young.

"Edward was in love with me, but I never took our relationship that seriously. And, when I found out how young he really was, I started to look at him differently. Suddenly, he wasn't enough for me and I'd hook up with different guys when Edward wasn't around. Which was pretty frequently, because Edward always took his studies seriously.

"In my defense I wasn't looking for anything serious and Edward has…had some very traditional notions about women and relationships. He started tossing around words like 'love' and 'soul mate' and I freaked out and bailed. I didn't tell him that, though, and he walked in on me and one of my hook-ups."

"Collin," I intuited.

Jessica nodded her head. "Collin. His roommate."

"We didn't speak after that. We never 'officially' broke up. There was no big scene or tears; we just stopped seeing one another.

"A few weeks later I saw him with another girl. I wasn't upset, I was actually happy for him. I hoped he'd move on. A few weeks later it was another girl and then another. When we came back to school sophomore year he was pretty random when it came to women. He cut quite a path through the girls in our class and left broken hearts everywhere he went.

"I've always felt kind of bad about what became of him. Like it was my fault. He had been such a great guy, a little naïve about women, a little over the top when it came to gestures, but sweet and caring."

I had been silent during her recitation. My small appetite had all but disappeared.

"Bella, I really hoped when I saw him here with you, that he'd finally moved on. Collin says that it's not my fault, that Edward needs to let go of the past. Maybe that's true, but it doesn't make me feel better. If it weren't for me, he'd have no past to let go of. I'm sorry about last night. I just wanted to wish him well."

I nodded, but was saved from responding by my phone.

"Hello?"

"Bella, we're here. Where are you?" Alice sounded concerned

"I'm in the restaurant having breakfast with Jessica. I'll be right out."

I hung up the phone and looked at Jessica.

I cleared my throat.

"Thanks for sharing with me, Jessica. Um, for what it's worth you seem like a nice person to me." I shrugged.

"Thanks, Bella. Thanks for hearing me out."

"Um, sure. Listen, I have to go." Jessica just nodded. I opened my purse and put five dollars on the table for the waitress who brought my juice.

"It was nice meeting you, Bella."

I couldn't honestly return the sentiment, so I just smiled at Jessica and offered her a little wave as I walked away from the table and into the lobby.

I found Alice and Jasper right away.

"Hey."

"Hey," Alice replied while Jasper just nodded.

"Edward's still upstairs. I'll go get my luggage from the room and then we can go."

"Is he awake?" Jasper wanted to know.

I just shook my head.

"He was pretty drunk last night. There was an…incident."

"Incident?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, um, he passed out in the chair in our room so I went to bed. When I woke up a little while later he was, um…kissing me."

"You guys kiss all the time," Alice commented

"Yeah, but not in private. You both know our arrangement. We're only affectionate with one another in front of an audience." Usually. I remembered our kiss in the room Friday night. Alice looked thoughtful, but Jasper looked…annoyed?

"Anyway, he said he wanted me and I had to push him off me." Now Alice looked worried and Jasper's eyes narrowed. "He passed out again, and hasn't been up since."

"Give me your room key. Where's your luggage?" Jasper asked.

"All my stuff is right inside the door. I'm all packed."

"Okay, you stay here with Alice and I'll bring your stuff down. Alice, you take Bella home and I'll stay here with Prince Charming."

Alice nodded and Jasper strode off determinedly.

"He looks pissed. Is Jasper mad at me?"

"At you? No. He's not too happy with his best friend right now, though."

"I had a talk with Jessica," I told her.

"Yeah, you said you had breakfast together? How did that go?"

"Pretty well, actually. She explained what happened between the two of them all those years ago. Edward's still pretty messed up about it, it seems."

Alice didn't comment, probably not believing it was her place to gossip about her boss. I stopped by the reservation desk and made arrangements for Edward to have a late check-out while we waited for Jasper. He came down pretty quickly.

"Okay, Bella. He's still sleeping. I'm going to head back up and wait for him to wake up. What time is checkout?"

"Oh, it's usually ten, but I already made arrangements for a later checkout. He needs to be out by four."

"Thanks." Jasper bent down and kissed Alice before turning to me.

"I hope you won't hold last night against him, Bella, but I couldn't blame you if you did. I wouldn't want anyone forcing their attentions on Alice, no matter what her feelings in the matter."

What was that supposed to mean?

"I'll have Edward call you when he gets up," he continued.

"No need. Can you tell him that I'll stop in his office tomorrow around eleven?"

"Yeah, sure, if that's what you want. Remember to stop by my office Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll have your new card."

I made a noncommittal sound. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to need my corporate card anymore.

I watched as Jasper made his way back to the elevators before turning to Alice.

"Ready?" she asked. I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Alice's expression changed to one of sympathy and I found myself trying to fight off tears.

Honestly, I didn't know why I was crying.

*~*~*

JPOV

"Go take a shower," I told him. "I'll get your shit packed up and order something for you to eat."

He nodded and stood slowly before taking a few steps towards the bathroom. He stopped.

Without turning around he asked, "Did she quit?"

Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.

"You'll need to talk to her about that yourself," I said. Edward nodded dejectedly and headed to the bathroom.

God, he was pathetic and this was ridiculous. I was known for being endlessly patient and understanding, but even I had my breaking point.

Edward had reached it.

Telling that poor girl he wanted her while groping her in bed in a drunken stupor was the biggest bone-headed move in the history of bone-headed moves. He was so obviously into her that a blind man could see it. It was obvious enough for Jessica to pick up on it, and Jessica wasn't known for understanding Edward, to say the least.

I shook my head and sighed while opening the shades and turning on the lights. I ordered room service before starting to pack. It only took me a few minutes to gather Edward's things and throw them in his suitcase. I left a set of clothes for him to change into on the bed. I double checked the drawers for anything I might have missed before sitting down and staring out the window.

Edward emerged from bathroom just a few minutes later, one towel around his hips, another around his shoulders. He hadn't bothered shaving and his hair was wet, but he looked ten times better than he had when he went in there. He stowed his dopp kit in his bag before taking the clothes I'd left out for him and returning the bathroom.

Edward rejoined me just as room service knocked on the door.

As the two of us sat down to lunch, I looked Edward over. He was studiously avoiding my gaze, but it was obvious that the food on the tray held little appeal to him.

I decided if I wanted him to talk at all, I'd have to go first.

"What were you thinking?" There, that should get him talking.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jasper."

I made a sour face. "Of course you don't. What were you thinking coming on to that girl in the middle of the night? You knew celibacy was part of this arrangement. Did you think that she would be receptive to your drunken advances after you treated her like crap at dinner last night?"

"I didn't treat her like crap."

"You're right. For me to make a judgment on the way you treated her, you would have had to have actually spent some time with her last night. Instead, you drank yourself into a stupor, pining over a girl who broke your heart more than ten years ago, and then went all caveman on her when Collin introduced himself to her."

"Did Bella tell you that?"

"No, Emmett did."

"What does Emmett know?"

"The same thing everyone else down there last night knows. Seems you put on quite a show."

"What was I supposed to do, stand there and watch as Collin stole away another of my girlfriends?"

"There's so much wrong with that statement, Edward, I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with this: she's not your girlfriend."

"The fuck she isn't."

"She's not your girlfriend, Edward. She's the woman you pay to put up with your bullshit and she does a damned good job. You seem to be the only one in this fucked-up game you're playing who has trouble remembering that."

"There's more to it than that."

"Not to her there isn't."

"Rose said…"

"Rose sees what she wants to see. She likes Bella and she loves you. She wants you both to be happy."

"We're happy!"

"Yeah, just look at you—you're the poster child for happiness. Drunk off your ass, climbing all over that sleeping girl because you haven't gotten your rocks off in a month. You're lucky she hasn't quit already."

That got him. His head snapped up and he looked at me, dejectedly.

"You think she'll quit?"

"If she's as smart as I think she is she will. You should pray she does. Then you can spend a couple of days begging her for forgiveness and then ask her out like a normal person."

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"First of all, she needs this job."

"She can find another job."

He ignored me.

"Second of all, she's starting to get involved in one of Esme's charities. If she gets another job, she won't be available to help out with the Literacy Project."

"Of course she will."

He ignored me again.

"Third, she wants to go back to school. She needs a job that's flexible enough so she can take the classes she needs to get her teaching certificate."

"Edward…."

"I just need to reestablish the professional boundaries in our interactions. When she sees that I can remain professional in our dealings, she'll forgive me and we can go back to the way it was in the beginning."

I shook my head. I may as well not even be here. Edward had his course plotted out, and no amount of reason or sanity was going to sway him.

"You're nuts, you know?"

"It'll work. You'll see. I'll just call Bella when I get home and ask her to work from the office on Monday and Tuesday. She has to put together a PowerPoint for the backers' dinner on Thursday. If she's in the office I can help her."

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I'll get someone from IT to help her then. That Cheney kid is safe. He's got a thing for Ms. Weber."

I shook my head.

"Bella said to tell you not to call her."

His reaction to my words almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost.

"She said what?" His voice was strangled.

"She said that you shouldn't call her today. She plans on being in the office at eleven tomorrow."

His obvious relief made me feel bad. I hadn't gotten a good vibe from Bella. I knew she was planning on quitting.

"Edward, you should probably plan for the worst."

"What do you mean?"

"Bella had breakfast with Jessica today. I don't know what they talked about, but I'm sure Bella knows the whole story now. The fact that you're still pining for this girl ten plus years later doesn't speak well of you. Also, you jumped her while she was sleeping."

"It wasn't like that."

"So Bella was lying when she said she woke up to you lying on top of her kissing her? Did you tell her that you wanted her?"

Edward groaned and put his face in his hands.

"That's what I thought."

*~*~*

BPOV

Sad, but determined, I entered Cullen Enterprises' lobby at 10:40 Monday morning, armed with my laptop, my Blackberry and my letter of resignation.

I had agonized over my response to the weekend before deciding that quitting was the smartest thing to do. It wasn't Rose's insinuations, what Jessica had told me, or even Edward's drunken advances that had finally helped me make up my mind.

It was my reaction to his advances.

I was not at all interested in being mauled in my sleep by a drunk. Apparently, that all changed when the drunk was Edward Cullen.

I'd be lying if I said his fumbling, sloppy advances had been wholly unwelcome.

Admitting that to myself had been harder than I cared to remember. A month ago, I was dealing with sexual harassment at a humiliating job. Now I was on the verge of enjoying sexual harassment and humiliating myself. I had no illusions about my pride. My pride went by the wayside almost two years ago when I accepted a job working for James. However, I refused to become one of the simpering, obvious women who threw themselves at Edward daily.

I nodded to Felix as I walked through the lobby and made my way to the bank of elevators. Inserting my keycard for what was likely the last time, I made my way to the fortieth floor and stepped out into the spacious reception area, with its gorgeous art and convenient coffee station.

"Good morning, Bella!" Angela practically sang, as a feeling of guilt stabbed through me. Telling Angela I couldn't be her roommate was going to be so hard. I had been looking forward to sharing her apartment and getting to know her better.

I offered Angela a tight smile before turning to Mrs. Cope, who was also looking at me with a wide smile. Gee, everyone was awfully cheerful for a Monday morning. Perhaps their weekends hadn't sucked as badly as mine. Actually, I was sure they hadn't.

"Mr. Cullen said you were to go right in," Mrs. Cope informed me.

"Thank you," I responded quietly before proceeding to the huge double doors.

"That's not acceptable." Edward's clipped voice was audible as soon as I opened the door. I met his eyes as soon as I was in the room. I watched as his eyes widened briefly before he smiled at me warmly and waved me into the room, placing a finger over his lips letting me know to be quiet.

"Mr. Cullen, the offer is quite generous," a bodiless voice insisted.

"It's insulting, and frankly I'm reconsidering our entire venture based on this nonsense."

"I'm sure we can come up with something you'd find more acceptable, Mr. Cullen," the voice wheedled suddenly.

"Do that. Unfortunately, I'm unavailable for the rest of today; however, I'd like to see a more equitable proposal by lunch tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I have pressing business."

"Of course, Mr. Cullen. I'll have that proposal on your desk tomorrow morning."

"Excellent. Good day." Edward disconnected the speakerphone without waiting for a response from whomever he was talking to.

While Edward had been on the phone I was gazing around his office bemusedly. The whole room had been rearranged to make room for a lovely mahogany desk, an antique from the look of it. It was vaguely familiar.

"Is that the desk from your library at home?" I asked before remembering I wasn't here for a social call.

"You recognize it?" Edward seemed pleased.

I nodded. Edward smiled warmly at me.

"It's a mahogany Shapland and Petter from the Late Victorian period. The leather inset and gold leaf was replaced a quarter century ago, but the restorer did a phenomenal job of matching the original. It has all its original copper hardware, including the key for the drawers. It's unique and beautiful."

"Yes, it is. I can see why you'd like to have it here where you can see it." Clearing my throat, I approached his desk, all my work related paraphernalia in tow.

"What's this?" Edward asked, as I placed my resignation letter in front of him. I shrugged minutely and looked away from him. He was silent for a moment as he scanned the letter with a small frown on his face.

He cleared his throat.

"I see. Please have a seat, Ms. Swan." He indicated one of the chairs in front of his desk.

He didn't meet my eye, and he sat quietly for a few moments with his fingers steepled in front of him before speaking.

"Your resignation is not accepted."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, your resignation from Cullen Enterprises is not accepted."

"You can't make me work for you, Edward."

"Actually I can. You signed a contract, Ms. Swan. Termination of your services, for anything other than just cause, requires agreement on both our parts. Unless you have a very good lawyer on retainer fighting the terms of that contract, I can make you work for me."

So this was how it as going to be.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Define 'just cause,' Mr. Cullen."

He matched my expression and spoke in a hard voice. "Don't go there, Ms. Swan."

"Go where?" I asked innocently.

"Disseminating details of our arrangement to the media would be in violation of the non-disclosure agreement you signed when I hired you. Believe me, you can't afford the penalty for such a breach. Not to mention that neither of us would come out of that media storm smelling like roses."

"I have a lot less to lose than you, Mr. Cullen."

"All the more reason for you to value it, Ms. Swan."

I met his gaze fiercely, but soon dropped my eyes. I knew I was fighting a losing battle. My shoulders slumped. I hadn't anticipated his refusal and was completely unprepared to defend my decision.

I looked up at him. For just a brief moment I thought I detected compassion in his gaze, but his next words negated that notion.

"I'd like to discuss your hours."

"My hours?" My voice sounded dead.

"Yes. When I hired you I was expecting that you'd be putting in at least twenty hours a week and set your compensation per force. I'm sure we can agree that you've fallen well short of the required twenty hours a week so far."

"I just spent the last 72 hours straight with you!" I objected.

"That's not true seeing as you left early on Sunday, therefore not fulfilling part of your stated responsibilities by failing to appear at Sunday brunch with me."

I snorted. Seriously?

"The only way you and I could have 'appeared at Sunday brunch' together was if they had moved the event to our room," I said sourly.

"You could have woken me."

"You pay me to be your girlfriend, not your nanny."

"Enough!" Edward smacked his hand down on his blotter. "The desk," he waved to the newly installed antique, "is at your disposal. I expect you to be in the office at least eight hours a week, starting this week, unless we have a particularly busy event schedule. From what you've sent me, we have no social commitments this week, so you should be here the full twenty, unless you have preparations to make for the premiere next week?"

I shook my head.

"Fine. You've been here since eleven. If you leave at five that will count as five hours towards your total, unless you take a short lunch, in which case you can add another thirty minutes or so. Feel free to take your lunch when you wish, though I hope you'll put yourself at Mrs. Cope's disposal and respect her authority in this office."

I nodded once before remembering something.

"We do have a social commitment this week. The backer dinner is Thursday night."

"I didn't request your presence at that dinner, Ms. Swan. If I remember correctly, you asked me."

"I asked you because your mother expected us to attend together. Otherwise I would have gone alone. That should fall within the parameters of my job here at CE."

Edward nodded thoughtfully as he considered.

"Agreed. Work the balance of today and a full day tomorrow and you can spend the rest of the week as you see fit."

"Fine."

I stood and marched over to the beautiful old desk and laid my laptop carefully on the leather surface. I dropped my Blackberry next to it before hanging my coat in Edward's closet. I was returning to the desk…my desk when a whirring noise caught my attention. I looked up just in time to see Edward shred my resignation letter.

*~*~*

EPOV

"Enjoy your lunch, Ms. Swan."

"Thank you." With a swish of her skirt, Bella was gone, off to have lunch with Angela Weber. I folded my arms on my desk and thunked my head down.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

There may have been a way for that to have gone worse, but I was hard pressed to think of anything.

Bella and I had sat in utter silence for the half hour or so before Ms. Weber had knocked to see if Bella would like to join her. She'd jumped up so fast it would have been comical if it hadn't been so frustrating.

I had spent the better part of yesterday figuring out a way to make things better between Bella and me. I had hoped that the gift of the desk and the apology I had planned would let her know that I truly enjoyed her company, and that I was committed to our relationship and her.

Then she handed me that stupid resignation letter. The letter hadn't gone into details about why she was quitting. It was carefully worded and very bland. The perfect resignation letter. I shouldn't have been surprised. She had been an English major, after all.

When I read the words that would sever our connection forever, I got worried and then angry. In my panic that I would lose her forever, I let my temper get the best of me. The attentive boyfriend and, so it seems, the decent human being went right out the window.

I treated her like an employee. Worse, like a competitor, or a defeated foe. I lorded my position over her, and forced her to accept every single one of my ridiculous conditions.

I wasn't blind; I saw her shoulders slump and watched as the fight drained out of her. I longed, then, to comfort her and to let her know that everything would be okay, if we could just get past this awkward incident.

It didn't take her long to recover her spirit, however. That nanny comment really got to me. What girl wants to date a man she feels she has to watch over like he's a small child?

My intercom buzzed.

"Yes?"

"There's a floral arrangement here, Mr. Cullen."

Shit. I had forgotten that I'd ordered flowers for Bella. That had seemed like a good idea when I'd had it, now I wasn't so sure. I glanced around my office quickly. I'd just put the flowers on the coffee table. If she made a comment I'd make something up.

"Send it in."

One of the interns entered my office, looking nervous behind a large arrangement of hyacinths in a galvanized tin bucket. I indicated the coffee table and he gently set the arrangement down before scurrying out of the room.

I looked over at the flowers. They were beautiful. I'd chosen them for their symbolic meaning. It wasn't easy to find hyacinths in the fall, but they were the only flower I could find that meant, "I'm sorry."

I sighed and went back to work. I asked Mrs. Cope to have something sent up for me to eat. My lunch arrived right before Bella returned from her lunch. I watched her enter the room. She had a smile on her face until she caught my eye.

Her expression immediately morphed into one of distaste. At least it wasn't disgust. She sat down at her desk and lifted the lid of her laptop.

"Crap."

I smiled lightly at the uncharacteristic expletive.

"Something wrong, love?"

I bit my tongue. Unprofessional much?

Bella shot me a questioning look before brushing off my faux pas.

"My battery is almost dead. I don't suppose you have an extension cord?"

"No. There's a work order in to have Maintenance install a floor outlet under your desk, but it will take a few days. Decide now if you're comfortable with the desk in that position. Once the outlet is installed there's no going back."

"Could I move it into the reception area?"

Her request made a lot of sense, so I had to squash that before she could think up a decent argument and move out of my office.

"There's less room out there. Cramming another desk into that space would be unnecessary. If you want to move it from that location, that's fine, as long as it stays in my office."

Bella huffed.

"No, this is fine. But that doesn't solve my problem. My battery is almost dead."

"Pull your chair up here," I said, indicating the space next to me. "There are plenty of outlets behind my desk."

Bella scowled and shot me a suspicious look, but slowly made her way over to my desk, dragging her chair. Once she was settled and her laptop was charging, she focused on the presentation she'd been working on earlier. I couldn't help but sneak glances at what she was doing. It looked good. She'd obviously had some experience creating PowerPoints.

"Are you comfortable speaking in front of crowd?" I knew that just because Bella was knowledgeable in her field, that didn't mean that she'd be at ease with public speaking.

"I've done it often enough at school. It's not my favorite thing to do, but when I'm confident about something I'm a decent enough speaker."

I nodded and we returned to our respective tasks. It only took me a few minutes to realize the inherent problem working in close proximity with Bella.

Her mere presence was a distraction.

She smelled wonderful, floral somehow, but still distinctly Bella. Every now and then her arm would brush mine. I took a moment to roll up my sleeves so that the next time it happened I could feel the softness of her skin. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, causing her skirt to ride up and down, giving me a clear view of her knee before hiding it again.

I was rereading an email for the third time when Bella's phone rang. She stood to retrieve her Blackberry from where she'd left it on her desk.

"Hello?"

A broad smile spread across her face.

"Hi!" she said, something akin to excitement in her voice.

Who was that?

"I'm so glad to hear from you, I'm not having the greatest day."

I frowned at her declaration. Gee, Bella, don't hold back, now. Let me know how you really feel.

I listened as she made small talk with the caller. It seemed to be pretty innocuous stuff. She sat down on the couch behind the coffee table and crossed her legs, bouncing her foot and staring out my window. As her conversation continued I tuned her out.

I tuned back in a few minutes later when it became clear she was making plans with her unknown caller. She walked over to the desk and pulled up our scheduling software.

"11:30's fine. It's not too early for you? Where do you want to eat? No, I've never been there...sounds good. Then we'll go right after? Okay. I'm really looking forward to it. No, I'll pay my own way. I insist…I insist…no, I—okay, fine. You spoil me too much."

It sounded like they were wrapping up. I concentrated on figuring out a way that I could get her to tell me who she had plans with. 11:30 was the middle of the day. Was she meeting someone for lunch? It seemed likely. Who? Was it a friend or did she have a date?

She better not have a date, a date who liked to spoil her. I looked at her desk and the flowers. I wanted to spoil her.

She ended her call and I tried to think of a way to escape the office so I could calm down.

"Would you like tea? I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee."

She shook her head. "Nothing for me," she answered in a toneless voice, very much unlike the voice she used when talking with her date.

I stood and made my way out of the office. I noticed her noticing the flowers as I was going, but didn't say anything. If she asked, I'd just say that they "brightened the room." Whatever the hell that meant. It was something my decorator or my mother would say.

When I returned with my coffee a few moments later my heart fell straight into my stomach. Bella was holding a tiny white envelope and card.

The note that I had sent with the flowers!

She was reading the card and frowning.

*~*~*

BPOV

When I hung up the phone with Riley, Edward asked if I'd like a cup of tea. I would, but I'd be damned if I'd let him get it for me. When he left the office my gaze returned to the flowers sitting on Edward's coffee table. I hadn't noticed them this morning, but I had been distracted then.

They were pretty. It was unusual to see hyacinths in the fall. I noticed a small, white note card tucked amongst the blooms and reached for it automatically. If Edward had a problem with me touching his stuff, he could let me move my desk into the reception area.

Hyacinths mean I'm sorry please forgive me Edward

The inelegant scrawl of some floral shop worker stuttered across the plain white card. It was unsigned, but I could guess who it was from. The only person I could imagine seeking Edward's forgiveness right now was Jessica. I was starting to wonder if there was more to their relationship than either Jessica or Edward was sharing.

Edward returned. I looked up, he was frozen just a few steps inside the door.

"What do you have there?" he asked, warily.

"The card that came with your flowers. They're very pretty."

"Let me explain…."

"You don't have to explain anything to me," I told him, holding out the card. He took it from me with a worried expression on his face. He glanced at it quickly before doing a double take.

"Oh! Um…?"

I shrugged. "Like I said, they're very pretty."

"Um, yeah, they are. Thanks."

I walked over to Edward's desk and unplugged the laptop. It was done charging and I could finish out the day at my own desk.

It was almost five when Angela called my Blackberry.

"Why are you calling me?" I asked, giggling at the notion of her calling me from the next room.

"I didn't want to disturb whatever's going on in there."

I dropped my voice. "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later."

"That's why I'm calling. A couple of us are going to the bar down the block for drinks after work. You wanna come?"

"That sounds like fun! Will it be a late night?"

"Not really. We usually have a few drinks and order an appetizer or two."

"Okay, I'm up for it."

"Great. I'm done for the day, so I'll just hang here and wait for you to finish. How long do you think you'll be?"

I looked at the clock. "About 15 minutes."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

I disconnected the call and looked up. Edward was looking right at me. He didn't turn away or say anything. He just stared.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Oh-kay."

I double checked that my work was saved both on my hard drive and on a thumb drive. I tried to slide open a drawer to store the drive, but the desk was locked.

"Do you have the key for this desk?" I asked Edward.

He nodded slowly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a tiny, old-fashioned, copper skeleton key. He held it out to me. I got up to get it.

"Thanks," I said.

"Where are you going tonight?" Edward asked quickly.

"Excuse me?"

"I heard you making plans. Where are you going?"

"I really don't see how that's any of your business."

"It's my business if you're going to be seen in public with some other guy."

"I'm just going out with friends," I told him.

"What about lunch?"

"Huh?"

"Lunch. You made lunch plans with someone earlier today. Who are you having lunch with?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake! I'm having lunch with Riley on Wednesday. Ri-ley! I already told you that he's more interested in you than he is in me." I cocked my eyebrow at him. "He told me to tell you that your ass looks good in jeans, by the way."

Edward looked startled.

"What…? How…?"

"Internet," I answered with a roll of my eyes. "Seems someone took pictures of us in the park on Saturday. They're posted online somewhere."

"Oh." Edward cleared his throat. "It's almost five; you should get going if you're going to meet your friends."

"I don't have to go far."

I brought my laptop back to Edward's desk to charge. I noticed the card from the flowers sitting there and felt a little twinge. Shaking my head I went back to my desk and gathered up my things before putting on my coat.

"Good night," I said politely.

"Good night, Ms. Swan. Please leave the door open when you go."

I nodded and walked into reception, leaving the door open as he had requested. The large space was crowded with people. Angela's definition of "a couple of people" and mine seemed to be different. I counted at least eight people in the room, not including Angela. I didn't recognize them all, but saw Ben, Mike and Lauren in the room as well as a man named Tyler I remembered being introduced to once. I think he was a department manager.

"Hey, Bella!" Mike said, as soon as he saw me. He approached me quickly with a big smile on his face.

"Hi, Mike, how've you been?"

"Good! So, how are you at darts?"

"Not good, I've played a few times."

"Then tonight's your lucky night," he continued. "I just happen to be the reigning company darts champ."

"Does it say that on your business cards?" I asked with a small laugh.

"No, but it should. C'mon! Let's go." He tugged on my arm lightly and we headed to the elevator along with everyone else. It was a tight fit, but we managed to squeeze everyone in. Mike and I were the last two to get on. He indicated I should enter first before he followed me. I glanced up as I turned to face the front of the elevator.

Edward was staring right at me through the doors to his office, his expression unreadable.

*~*~*

EPOV

Too many people have access to this floor.

-----

Do not complain that the chapter was too short. Do not. This was the best place to end it. And, you're getting it just a six days after the last one instead of two weeks later. Besides, this was a good one – very meaty! For some reason it's easy for me to write arguments. A fact that wouldn't surprise Mr. Twist at all.

I love reviews. Love them. I'm not promising anything this time, but I hope you'll consider reviewing anyway. I had to send the wrong turn ending to over 300 people. I love you guys, but that took a lot of time. A lot.

And, my beta, Lisa, wants me to enter this PSA:

Grammar saves lives! It saves! Grammar could've changed this whole outcome! GRAMMAR IS THE LIGHT AND THE TRUTH!

She's referring to the card tucked into the hyacinths. Had the minimum-wage florist shop worker written the card as Edward dictated, it would have read:

Hyacinths mean I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

-Edward.

Finally, the awesome pkitten21 made me a blinkie for this story. It's posted on my thread. She's (at)pkitten21 on Twitter. Tell her she rocks!