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A/N 1: This Chapter continues from Ch 11.

Previously - BPOV

Serena nodded. "I'll take Bella and Nicole back to the pensione."

"Wait!" I cried. "What about them? Carlisle, Jasper…"

"I will guide them back to San Gimignano. I will bring them to the pensione." Marco looked at me. "I think you need help to the car." And with that, he picked me up again and carried me down the street until we were out of the city walls and at Serena's car. Once inside, Serena-Leadfoot floored it.

Nicole was wide eyed. Finally she spoke. "Um, can I just ask… WHAT THE FUCK?!! What just happened?"

Serena shook her head. "That's the one thing I never could stomach about Volterra. All the God damned vampires."

Chapter 13: Old Friends
(A/K/A - How to Rile the Readers)

BPOV

So, as it turns out, Serena's Hermes scarves had been serving a purpose for the last few years. Yeah, she knew of the existence of vampires big time. During our time on Santorini, she had made the acquaintance of one when she had heat exhaustion and needed medical help. Apparently, Οία was one of those little vampire towns I was so fond of.

But she was still a little peeved at me when I made the introductions. "Nicole, Serena, this is Edward's family," I said, gesturing to each by name.

"This is Edward's family?" She put her hands on her hips. "And when were you going to tell me that he was a vampire?"

I pointed at Marco. "Um, got something to say to ME, sister?"

So she explained how she found Marco... who had originally approached her to offer her protection from the gangs who controlled different aspects of Italian life. Think the Sopranos mafia... but with sharp teeth and venom.

Nicole took this all amazingly well, once we'd given her a couple of bottles of Peroni. Looking at the collective beauty of Marco and the Cullens, I heard her mutter, "Shit, I'm finding me a vampire as soon as we get back to the States."

We left two days later to go back. I said my goodbyes to them all, one by one, and finally to Nicki when we passed through JFK on the flight home.

Then real life began a week later when I started at my new job.

~#~

My first day back with the Boston Consulting Group was a welcome relief from the emptiness I felt. Despite the last part of the trip, it had been so nice to spend time with two of my best girlfriends and an even bigger surprise to see the Cullens show up in force to help me survive yet another near death experience. However, seeing them without… him… only left me even more saddened by how much he no longer cared. Jasper could sense my anxiety and, in the end, they told me they'd wait on me to call and that they understood if it was too painful for me.

And so I hoped to bury myself in work. Once, when Angela and I were on that San Francisco project for a few months, we had some fun and went to the Berkeley Psychic Institute to get our 'auras' read and cleaned. The ones working on me said that I was all out of balance because I carried my work all in front of me. Suurre, I thought but I let them 'rebalance' me. So moving and picking at my invisible aura to reposition it back in its regular place, they rebalanced me, and damn if I wasn't sad and lonely once they moved it all around! I almost went back to ask them to put it back because it made me aware of how little I had going on in my life aside from work since the Jacob relationship wasn't happening at that time.

Well, now I welcomed it. Bring it on! Work, work and more work please! I needed to ignore the void.

"Bella Swan… I heard you were coming back to us."

"Greg!" I smiled getting up from my desk. It was my favorite manager from my analyst days. I'd worked with him on a banking project that took us to Buenos Aires years before. He was 16 years my senior, married, and just a doll… one of the decent managers who didn't hit on the young analysts. Jacob used to think that I had a crush on him because I was so happy when he came to Boston for work. In retrospect, I may have had one but it wasn't that kind of crush. I just really liked the guy as a person.

I gave him a big hug. "Just like old times, huh?" he asked. He looked into my eyes and his brows furrowed slightly. "So, how are you settling in?"

"Just fine so far. I had to go through the stupid orientation, even though I was on the cross office taskforce that created it three years ago!" I muttered, shaking my head.

He smiled. "You know how it is. It's the BCG way. So, would you like to grab some lunch later today or do you already have plans? My treat…"

"I'd love to," I said. It was so good to be with people who knew me before, so that I could hopefully reconnect with part of that person. The old Bella… the one who, despite all the heartbreak with Jacob, didn't feel like the walking disaster I felt like these days. Greg was the only other manager, aside from Serena, who knew about my feelings for Jacob back then. He really was a decent guy, giving me lots of advice on not letting Jake treat me badly.

We walked over to the Billy Goat Tavern to grab some greasy burgers. It was boiling hot in Chicago in the summer time so we both had our jackets off, strolling under the hot sun.

"I can't believe your two years of school went by so quickly," he said, "but I was traveling for most of that time so it is a blur to me. I would have thought we'd have caught up sometime before this, but you know… So how did you enjoy it?"

"I loved it… but you were right. It was fairly easy." Greg and the other BCG Vice Presidents had tried to convince me not to go to University of Chicago because they said I was quantitative enough with my analyst background. "On the other hand, it helped boost my confidence."

"I'm sure you were popular with the guys there," he said, nudging me.

I looked down; Greg had misinterpreted my meaning. "Oh, well, yes, there was that… but what I meant was that I realized I knew a hell of a lot more than I thought I did when I first entered the program."

We waited in the rather long line to get the Billy Goat's famous cheeseburgers that were made famous in the old Saturday Night Live skit with John Belushi. Greg looked at me carefully. "You look different, Bella." His eyes were searching my face.

"How so?"

"It's strange. You definitely walk with more confidence than you did before school, but…"

But. He could see it. Yes, with the exception of Jake, I surrounded myself with friends who were as perceptive as I was… or more so.

"…your eyes are sad. Almost like the old days with Jacob."

Our burgers were up and ready and we grabbed them and walked back to the office to eat there.

"Yeah... Greg, I've recently been through a really bad breakup, that's all. I can't tell you how glad I am to be at work. It will help me keep my mind off of it. In fact, I had asked to be on Chicago client projects, but there's no need anymore, so I'm game for anything. Especially if it is NOT in Chicago.

"Well, you may be in luck," he said. "I'm kicking off a new project in about a week or two. Bank strategy. I would love you to be the Project Manager."

"That would be awesome, but I'm only an Associate, Greg. Don't you think you'll need a more senior lead?"

"Hey," he said, "what about that confidence you just mentioned? Besides, I know how you work, Bella. You're my pick."

I smiled. "Do you have analysts lined up for the project yet?"

He paused. "Hmmm, yes. But maybe we'll switch that out for you."

We were at our office building now and made our way to the elevators. "Greg, that's silly, especially if he or she has already done some of the pre-work. Are you saying the analyst is hard to manage?"

"No, I pulled in one of the best…"

"Then let's just move forward. I'm in if you're game."

"Why don't we just wait and…"

The elevator door opened and its passengers spilled out into the lobby. I did a double take when I saw the last person stepping out of the elevator, as did he.

"Hello, Bella," he said.

Jacob. Jacob Freakin' Black.

~#~#~

Are you trying to punish me, God? What did I do? Is this about having sex before marriage?

I managed to keep my cool. Yep, I was a Vulcan for sure. "Hey Jake," I said, nonchalantly. I gestured to the bags Greg and I were carrying. "We're going to eat, but stop by when you're back from lunch. I'm at the north end of the office."

He smiled and nodded as we switched places in the elevator and building lobby. "Will do."

Greg was a little sheepish when I looked at him after the elevator doors had closed. "Sorry Bella. I had hoped to be able to tell you before then."

"Nah, it's okay. I don't feel that way about him anymore. It's just a little weird because the last time I saw him was about a year ago and it wasn't a good interaction."

"We can switch analysts, Bella."

"No, it will be fine from my end. I'll clear it up with him after lunch and offer him the choice."

Jacob made it to my office about an hour later as I was reviewing the project proposal. I stood up behind my desk and smiled.

"So," Jake said, "I hear you're the PM on Greg's project?"

"Yep, and you're the Senior Analyst… if you still want to be…"

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah," he said softly, "of course I'll stay on the project, Bella.

"Great," I said. "I get to work with two of my old favorite BCG men… only this time, I'm your boss, Black."

His eyes narrowed but there was humor in them. "You always did try to boss me around, Swan."

"Now I have a legitimate reason."

"Well, I can get you up to speed on the pre-work we've done if you'd like. Whenever you want." he said shrugging.

"Sounds good. Give me half an hour and we'll grab a conference room."

Working with Jacob came very naturally despite the fact that we'd never been on a project together in the past. He was a sharp guy, meticulous in his note taking with flawless handwriting, thank goodness. I could easily read his notes that he hadn't typed up yet… a welcome relief from my chicken scratch that even I had a hard time reading. It was after 6 p.m. when we finished up that first night. I had a good understanding of where we needed to go and the questions we needed to probe on our interviews.

"So how is Edward?" he asked as we were cleaning up our mess from the conference.

I inhaled sharply as the question took me by surprise. Then I continued to pile the papers up, not looking at him. "We're not together anymore." I said tersely.

I could hear the shock in his voice. "What? Since when? What happened?"

I looked up at him and met his curious gaze. "Jake, I can't talk about it now, okay? Just don't mention his name to me, please."

His face was pensive, his eyes scanning my face. "Well," he said softly, "I guess that it explains it…"

I looked down, a little shocked by the comment. I thought we had been having a good work meeting. I knew then that he had seen it the whole time. I never realized that he could be this observant. He seemed clueless only two years ago.

"Bells, you look so sad. I haven't seen you like this since me."

My head snapped up and I gave him the hairy eyeball. "Are you trying to help, Jake? Because you suck at it."

He chuckled. "Aw, sweetie, I am trying to help. I'm here to talk if you need it."

I knew that he really meant it. "Thanks… maybe I'll feel like it someday."

We walked back to our offices. I needed to change the subject. "So what's up with B'school?" I asked.

"I decided to delay for a year. Too many good projects."

"Where were they?"

He paused for a moment. "Here in Chicago," he said quietly.

I stopped in my tracks. "Wait. Do you live here now? You're not just here on assignment?"

"Yes, I live here."

"You've been here in Chicago? Since when?"

"Since last Fall."

"Wow." I shook my head and blinked, trying to clear it from the shock. "I'd ask why you didn't look me up but I guess I can understand why given our last interaction." We continued walking slowly.

"I was going to," he said, "but I wasn't sure that you'd want me to… or that I could do it."

"And now?" I asked. "Are we good?" We were in my office at this point.

Jacob looked at me and then turned to close my office door for privacy. Uh oh. Turning back to face me, he spoke. "I don't know Bella. I really don't. I hope that we are, but I can say this… it hurts less for me knowing that you're single." He grimaced slightly and shook his head. "I know it doesn't hurt less for you and I'm really sorry…"

I felt like I might come apart. I wrapped my arms around my torso tightly, trying to hold it together. I kept my head down and nodded.

"… But I have to say that I've really missed my best friend over the past year."

I looked up and met his gaze. "I've missed you too. Our friendship really was a great part of us back then." I took a deep breath. "Can we try again? Friends?" I asked, extending my hand.

"Friends," he nodded, accepting my handshake.

~#~

Thankfully, the project started a week earlier than planned now that the team was assembled. Greg and I flew around the country doing interviews with the key executives. All data were hustled off to Jake as they came to me so that he could start incorporating the information into the Excel model he was building.

The client wanted to see some preliminary analyses early so Jake and I ended up working fairly late every night once I was back in town. I was able to review Jake's model and then argue with him about some of the levers that I wanted him to test; he gave me grief about it but ultimately acquiesced and we were able to find some bugs with his preliminary template design, much to his chagrin. In general, though, we worked well together. We ordered dinner in a lot and it was very comfortable being with Jacob again; it actually reminded me of the good days before… him.

One Friday night after two full weeks of working into the night, Jake stopped by my office. "Margaritas?" he asked with a big smile on his face. "I've discovered a great bar in Lincoln Park that even serves them upside down."

I thought about it and felt a little uncomfortable. "I'm not sure alcohol would be a good thing, Jake."

"Why, you don't think we can control ourselves?" he asked, smirking.

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure," I admitted. His face registered a little surprise and something else: hope. "I'm in a weird place right now. And as your manager, I don't need you to bring up some crazy lawsuit saying I sexually harassed you, in case Big Lips Bella makes an appearance when I'm under the influence."

He laughed. "Yeah, Big Lips Bella. Wow, I remember that." He paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Tell you what: let's skip the upside down part and just go get a normal margarita and some dinner to go with it. Dinner OUTSIDE of this office. We could both use a night off. We've been working for 14 days straight, Bells."

We actually did have fun as we got to reminiscing about the old days. It was amazing the amount of peace this brought me when years before it was all heartache. Silly Bella. You didn't know real heart break until now.

Jake seemed to remember a lot of interesting events, all of them centered around the other guys he denied being jealous of last year. "What about that guy you met from the Air Force at Jessica's party?"

"Ah, yes, Sam! He had the best pick up 'line' I've ever heard," I said. "Remember?"

Jacob's eyes flashed. Oh yeah, he remembered. We were at Jessica's apartment and the party was crowded. This tall, clean cut dark haired guy was standing in front of me,Jacob and some others when one of his friends handed him a shot glass filled with a milky green something. He downed it in front of me and I was amazed, never having done shots myself at that point. My eyes were big and I asked him what it tasted like.

"You tell me," Sam said, and he bent down and kissed me.

"Minty," I said, licking my lips and smiling at him.

"You didn't even know him!" Jacob growled.

"I know," I laughed, "but I did after that. Great pick-up... and great kisser! We went out a bunch of times after that night."

"I wanted to clock him! He kissed you right in front of me."

"Ha, right! You and I weren't dating, remember? By your choice! You had no reason to clock him!"

"And what about your birthday?" he continued.

"Which one?"

"You know which one. The one where you kissed both me and Embry."

"It was MY birthday, Jacob. I had had a few beers and was feeling good. Embry followed me around at every party after that hoping for a repeat performance."

He groaned. "Bells, he was my cubicle mate."

"What can I say?" I said laughing. "Guys liked my 'big, full' lips." Suddenly I got a vision of Edward at the pond staring at my lips telling me that he wished he could kiss me. I pushed the thought away.

Jacob looked at me and his eyes quickly flashed to my lips and then back to my eyes. "Yeah, we do." I took a gulp of water. No, no, no.

"We had a lot of fun, didn't we?" he asked as he walked me back to my apartment after dinner.

"We did," I agreed. "But you upset me a lot too," I reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," he said quietly. "Embry saw you run to the restroom crying one day after you'd been in our cube talking. He gave me shit and told me to give you a break." He paused. "Bells, I can't tell you how happy I am that you're not with..."

I winced, hoping that he wouldn't say his name.

"… Assward."

That caught me by surprise. "What?" I sputtered.

"I'm tired of avoiding the name and having to refer to him as 'him,' 'he'… like he's a god to be revered. I'm not sure what happened to you guys but he clearly screwed up so in my mind he's an ass. That makes him Assward."

I laughed and it actually felt great. "Assward. That's good. Thanks."

Jacob put his arm around me. I stiffened.

"Bells…"

"Jake," I said, looking down at the sidewalk, "I'm not ready for that. I wish that I were. I'd love for this hurt to be over, but it's only been two months."

He turned me to face him and he lightly took two fingers, put them under my chin and brought my head up to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry that I screwed it up, Bella. God, I miss the way that you used to look at me when I would kiss you. I was so stupid not to realize how I felt."

I kept his stare. "Did you move here for me?"

"Probably," he admitted. "Okay, yes. I wanted to be near you but I didn't know…"

I looked down the street and took a big breath. "Let's go back to basics. Our friendship… and if it goes somewhere from there, it does." I turned back to look up at him. "If not, we're just friends."

He nodded. "We always were, Bells," he said, smiling. "We always will be."

A/N 2: Aw, what a nice reunion.

Okay, I've put my coat of armor on. I'm ready for the arrows you're gonna fling at me. Please be nice, though. I'm very sensitive underneath my Vulcan exterior.

Hey Jacob haters, no cursing me out! Jacob was in her life before Edward... at least in my stories. And our girl Bella knows herself. As I said in the beginning of the story, DO NOT jump to conclusions about where this is going. Seriously: no scathing reviews based on incorrect assumptions.

To clarify: Bella's timeline at the end of this chapter is about 2 months after break-up. Edward's perspective is 3 months post-break-up. Their timelines will converge soon.

Thanks for reading so far. Please review.

Post A/N:

1. BCG Disclaimer: Although I have been a consultant for my entire working career, I do not and have never worked at BCG. All BCG references are purely for the story. I have NO idea if their managers are/were as lecherous as when I was an analyst at my first job out of college. LOL.

2. The Berkeley Psychic Institute is cool. If you're ever in Berkeley, CA: go. They'll tell you amazing things.