Author's Note:
A/N: As always thanks to you who took the time to review. We feel your pain people and we are as eager to see Bella and Edward come face to face as you are...While that won't happen until the next update we think you'll at least be happy with what happens now...Bella's POV is really short this chapter is more about Edward....
Greenaway: Playlist for Edward's POV: Given Up by Linkin Park.
Disclaimer: S Meyer owns Twilight, Linkin Park own Given Up. Cinnamontwist101 & Greenaway own An Angel at my Table.
Bella POV
It had been two months since I'd had had coffee with Emmett and Jazz and I found that I was really missing them. We used to be so close Emmett was my best friend from the time when I first started working for him. He never saw me as merely his P.A. but I was his confidant and friend and he was mine. I used to be able to talk to him about anything and I really missed that.
I wondered if I should call Emmett and arrange to have lunch, but I quickly shot down the idea, it was probably not wise to get close to Emmett again considering I was trying to hide the fact that I had given birth to his brother's twins.
I considered what Emmett would do if I confided in him about the twins. He'd tell Edward the small voice in my head answered confidently. Of course it was right, hadn't Emmett been the one to say that Edward had longed for a family, I was sure that his loyalty to his brother would be stronger than his loyalty to me over something so important.
I brought the new copy of financial quarterly when it hit the newsstand hoping to find any information about Edward, but it had nothing about him, though it did say that Cullen Industries had grown to become the globes largest company. I hadn't heard anything about him since I talked to Emmett and Jasper that day and I assumed he surely must have gotten married by now.
The thought had me hovering on the edge, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to purge Edward from my heart or from my thoughts and I still yearned for him. Seeing him so present in his daughter didn't help. I was however determined to keep pushing forward and trying to rid his hold on me.
My days were spent hanging out in the park or on the waterfront playing with Apple and Louis. They were now talking in broken sentences and I had started teaching them how to count to five and how to sing their A B C's. Every day they filled my heart with more pride and my love for them was overwhelming. It was wonderful to view the world from their perspective, everything was new and exciting and I found so much joy with every new thing they experienced.
My evenings were spent with Jake, he studied and I marked exam papers, or we'd spend the time playing spirited games of scrabble or backgammon. We were highly competitive with each other when it came to board games and we had a running competition in which I was leading. Jake was only a whisker behind me in points and was keen to keep challenging me in the hope that he might overtake me and claim the month's victory.
It was during one of our games of scrabble that Renee called to inform me that she and Charlie would be flying down to Wellington tomorrow to spend the week with Apple and Louis.
"That'll be good Mum, what time does your plane arrive?"
"Eight thirty in the morning, Bella why don't you book yourself into a day spa? my treat, you could do with some pampering sweetheart, you're doing a phenomenal job raising my grandchildren alone."
"I'm not alone, I've got Jake."
"Yes but ultimately Bella it's all you sweetie. Now promise you'll book an appointment for tomorrow."
"I promise I will and thanks Mum that's really nice of you."
"You're welcome belly bear, I'll see you tomorrow." I laughed at her use of my childhood nickname.
"I'll see you tomorrow Mum."
"Night sweetie and say hi to Jake for me."
"I will; bye Mum." I hung up the phone with a grin; the thought of being pampered was wonderful. I had forgotten what it was like to have alone time.
Not that Alice and Rose hadn't tried to whisk my kids off shopping or on stay over's at their place whenever they saw them, I just didn't want to be without them and while I allowed the shopping trips I couldn't bear to leave them over night just yet.
I went back to the couch to finish my game of scrabble and went to bed feeling jubilant that I had annihilated Jake and kept my lead.
I got up early and got Apple and Louis breakfast, cleaned up and dressed for when Charlie and Renee arrived, I dressed Apple in a emerald green muslin dress that was the exact colour of her and Edward's eyes, that was embroidered with a bumble bee sitting on top of a bright red apple, I left her gorgeous bronzed curls wild and her feet bare, I smiled at her she looked like a miniature hippy chic. I dressed Louis in blue jeans and a black classic Van Morrison T shirt and miniature Doc Martin's that Alice had brought for him.
Renee squealed in delight when she saw the twins, "Oh Bella they get more beautiful every time I see them. Apple has the most unusual hair colour, I know I've seen it on another person but for the life of me I can't think who."
I gasped silently and decided to steer the conversation in a less dangerous direction, "So Mum, Dad what made you decide to visit?"
"We had a free week in our diary so we decided we'd come down and give you a bit of a break and catch up with Rose and Alice."
"Well thanks heaps I really appreciate it." Kissed my children then Charlie and Renee and headed into town.
I had just opened the door to the salon when I ran into a friend I'd met through Emmett, she smiled brightly when she recognised me, "Hi Bella, long time no see, how are you? Are you still working at Cullen?
"Hi Lauren, I'm really good thanks and no I don't work for the Cullen's any more, I decided I need to do something different so I'm working for Victoria University marking exams and stuff. How about you what have you been doing?"
"You know working hard, partying hard. Hey speaking of partying hard I'm having an 80's party the Saturday after next at theboat shed.I'd really love it if you Rose and Alice would come."
"That would be awesome Lauren I'll talk to my sister's."
"Make sure you're there Bells it's gonna be wild night, oh and you have to come dressed as a musician or part of a band prominent in the eighties. So cast your mind back and get your lace gloves and legwarmers out baby."
"Awesome it sounds like it' gonna be fun." I needed to have a night out and let my hair down, I'd been responsible for so long now. It would be nice to be a little reckless for a change.
"Its gonna be wild girl, so I'll see you there ok? No chickening out." She gave me a swift hug and hurried out onto the street.
I floated out the salon four hours later feeling amazing, my skin glowed and for the first time since the whole Edward drama started I actually felt relaxed and contented with the world. I raised my arm to my nose and inhaled the aroma of my cinnamon scented skin and my mood brightened further.
I thought about Laurens invitation to her party and I decided I really wanted to go. I decided to ask Jake if he'd babysit for me that night, I knew he'd say yes in an instant so I thought about which 80's music icon I would go as. There'd probably be a hundred Madonna's and Cyndi Lauper's so I cast my mind back to the woman of the 80's that I used to love listening to, there was Pat Benatar and Chrissie Hind of the pretenders.
Then it came to me, 'Joan Jett' she was pure eighties rock n roll and the perfect person to portray. I pulled into the driveway and smiled when I saw Alice's canary yellow Porsche parked in the driveway.
I rushed into the house eager to see my babies and found them in their high chairs their little faces covered in tomato pasta sauce from their favourite tomato ravioli that Jake cooked for them. I gave each of them a kiss on their foreheads before going to hug Renee, Charlie.
"Thank you for today it was pure bliss and exactly what I needed."
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I must say your skin is positively glowing sweetie and you smell more divine than usual. I let go of Charlie and hugged Alice and Rose.
"I know those cinnamon products she used are absolutely beautiful and concentrated. I ordered the range from her it should be here on Monday. Speaking of the week after next Alice, Rose we have been invited to an 80's party. I ran into Lauren at the salon and she invited us. Jake, how would you feel about babysitting for me?"
"Sorry Honeypuff I'm going to see Tui and Dad that weekend." I tried to hide my disappointment.
"Oh that's ok."
"Bella we could have the kids for the weekend. They could fly with Jake and we could pick them up from the airport and he could bring them back with him on Monday morning. Please Bella we would love to have them." Renee looked at me pleadingly and though I didn't really want to agree I didn't want to hurt her by saying no.
"Oh…um…sure Mum of course you and Dad can have them for the weekend, if Jake doesn't mind flying with them."
"Of course not you silly girl. You deserve a night out Bells you should go and have a good time."
"Thanks Jake." I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to sit at the table with Rose and Alice and told them who I was going to go to the party as.
Alice squealed in approval and told me she had the perfect outfit in mind for me. She had decided to go as Annie Lennox of the eurhythmics and Rose was going to go as Blondie.
I went to bed feeling more excited than I had in longer than I can remember. The prospect to let my hair down and have some fun while my children were safe with their grandparents was intoxicating and I was almost giddy with happiness.
The rest of the week passed in a happy blur and before I knew it Renee and Charlie were flying back to Tauranga and I had a little treat to look forward.
Rose, Alice and I spent the weekend scouring the vintage shops of Wellington in the hope of finding the perfect outfits and we weren't disappointed with our finds.
Saturday night couldn't come fast enough and I found myself counting down the hours until Jake and the Kids were on the plane and I was free to have some fun.
Maybe I would meet somebody there that could take my mind off Edward and keep moving forward.
Edward POV
I stormed into the kitchen and screamed. I wiped everything off the countertop with my arm and I punched a hole in the wall. I ripped the door off the liquor cabinet and I drank the 42Below straight from the bottle.
I was angry. No, I was furious. I felt like an idiot. I threw the bottle of 42Below across the room, hitting the huge fucking LCD television and shattering it.
How fucking dare she?
I stomped around the penthouse, breaking random things and slamming doors. I didn't give a fuck anymore.
I was done.
I was fucking going home.
I had come home from the office early, the headache I had been suffering from all afternoon finally proving too much. I had walked through the front door, throwing my jacket and briefcase down on the floor carelessly. I began tugging my tie loose as I made my way to the bedroom where I could hear voices coming from.
"Kids, Tanya? Why would Edward think you wanted kids?" I heard Kate ask.
I froze where I was and listened as Tanya's voice responded.
"Because that's what I told him." Tanya said blithely.
"But why Tanya? You hate children!" I heard Tanya groan in response to Kate.
"Edward wants a family. You know, the whole wife and babies thing. It's so disgusting." She made a little gagging noise before continuing. " Carlisle told me all about his little dreams of picket fences and nappies. He suggested I work from there and I did. I happened to mention to Edward that I wanted a family and viola! I got a ring on this finger!" She finished gleefully. I was ready to throw up. Then strangle the fucking bitch.
She had been playing me like a fool the whole time. I was a little curious though; did she think I wouldn't notice when we didn't have children? Or was she just planning on having them anyway and neglecting them?
What the hell was her plan there?
As if Kate could read my mind, she asked
"He's going to notice when you don't fall pregnant you know." I heard Tanya snort
"Edward thinks I've already gone off my birth control, and I have. I stopped taking the pill." Tanya said smugly. I was fucking confused, did she want kids or not?
"So you are going to go through with the whole pregnancy thing? You know what that will do to your body, don't you?" The vain and superficial Kate that I knew and loved, reared her perfectly manicured and preened head.
"Ew! Gross! I'm most certainly not having babies. I said Edward thinks I've gone off my birth control, but I've only stopped taking my pill. I went to the doctors and got a shot. I only have to go once every three months, so it will be easy to hide from Edward." Tanya sounded so fucking self satisfied that I wanted to dive into the room and tear her fucking throat out.
But had I really been any better? Had my own conduct been above reprisal? I knew it had not, so I stayed put and continued to eavesdrop.
"Oh my god. Tanya you can't be serious! What you're doing is so wrong! He's going to be disappointed time and time again when nothing happens! How can you do that to someone?" Kate demanded. I was truly surprised, Kate sounded like she actually cared.
"He'll get over it. We'll cry on each other's shoulders and then one day it will just hurt too much for me to keep trying and I'll tell him I want to stop. I'll tell him how each time it feels like my heart is being torn out and that I'm failing him. After my sob story, he'll give me anything. I have it all planned out Kate. Don't worry."
"Holy shit Tanya. You need help, seriously. This is some pretty bad stuff you've got going on." I heard Kate shuffling around in the room before the doors opened. She was looking back over her shoulder at Tanya
"I can't be a part of this Tanya. It's wrong."
She didn't see me standing there and walked straight into my chest, a little 'ooff' escaping her. I looked down, my face expressionless.
Kate looked terrified.
"Do you have a ride home Kate?" I asked calmly. It had just gone on dark, and there was no way I would be letting her make her own way home at night.
"Felix is picking me up downstairs. I just text him a moment ago….. I might just go wait in the lobby. Uh, see you guys." she pushed passed me, practically running out the door. I slowly looked up and faced a quivering Tanya.
All the colour had drained from her face and her mouth was hanging open uselessly. I clenched my fists and the sounds of my knuckles cracking rang throughout the room.
"Quite the little plan you have there Tanya. You're much smarter than I have given you credit for." I said quietly taking a few steps forward. She automatically took three back.
"You truly did play me for the fool, you and my father. Has he been in on this from the beginning?" I asked, my eyes daring her to lie to me.
She was not as foolish as I, it appeared.
"Yes." She whispered. I nodded, I had thought as much.
"Did he know of your little plan?" she shook her head at me.
So Carlisle had just been trying to push us together.
"Get out." I said and began turning away. I had my answers, there was nothing further I wanted from Tanya Denali.
I felt something hard strike me in the back and I turned around. Tanya had thrown a hairbrush at my back. My fury rose, she was fucking playing with fire right now.
"Get out!? You can't tell me to leave! We have our wedding in a matter of days!"
I stared at her incredulously. She couldn't seriously think the wedding was still on. Every one's warnings started to echo through my mind and I began to wonder just how unhinged Tanya Denali really was.
"There is no wedding Tanya, there is no us. I'll need an hour to pack my things, then the penthouse is yours until you find somewhere else, but I don't want you here right now."
"No! I'm not going anywhere and neither are you! We belong together Edward, you know we do! I'll never let you go, never! You asked me to marry you, you wanted me!" She screeched. Her eyes were wild and I couldn't keep my cool any longer.
"I never wanted you Tanya! I never even fucking loved you! There is only one woman I have ever loved, and I left her behind in New Zealand when I came here! You meant nothing to me Tanya, and it was wrong of me to use you like I did, but in reality you were using me too. Maybe it's better we found out now rather than later." I finished.
It was true, what Tanya had done was wrong, but I was not blameless in this situation. I had been using Tanya for my own selfish purposes, but she was still a person with feelings that I had casually ignored. I was no better than she really.
Tanya just stood there with her head in her hands, her hair tightly wrapped in her fists. She kept shaking her head and muttering, 'No! No, no, no, no.'.
"Just go Tanya." I said and her head snapped up instantly. She glared at me dangerously
"So you think you can just walk away? You lead me on and use me and you think I'll just stand by and take it? You don't know me very well at all Edward Cullen. If there's one thing I'm very good at, its revenge."
My hackles rose defensively. Was this psycho bitch really threatening me?
"Was that a threat Tanya?" I hissed at her. She just laughed darkly and shook her head as she stalked towards the front door.
"No, it's not a threat Edward. It's a fucking promise. I will always be watching and waiting and just when you think your life is fucking perfect, I'm going to take it away from you. Just like you've taken mine away from me." She slammed the door behind her.
I cleaned up the bottle of 42Below, tv and various other carnage that I had created around the penthouse and packed my things, taking a cab to Irina and Demetri's. They were surprised to see me there with my suitcases and brought me inside straight away.
"What's going on Edward?" Demetri asked confused.
I told them everything. Everything I had heard Tanya and Kate say, and they sat in silence listening to me, their faces both shocked.
When I had finished, Demetri quickly called Felix and told him to get his ass over, while Irina was on her cell phone in the corner talking to her father.
"Have you seen Tanya Dad?" She said biting her nails nervously. I couldn't hear what he said, but it obviously frustrated her.
"Because her and Edward have just busted up and Tanya's not handling it well. I'm afraid she might hurt herself or someone else." I could hear her fathers laugh.
"I'm serious Dad!" There was more laughter and eventually Irina just hung up on him. She stood there for some time, just staring at her phone and shaking her head.
Demetri came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, just as Felix came bounding through the door looking at me in worry.
"What's going on? Why the urgent summons?" He said breathlessly. Demetri explained the situation and Felix cursed when he got to Tanya's little plan.
When Demetri had finished, Felix turned to me
"So what are your plans now, fearless leader?"
"I'm going home." I said quietly. The thought of going home to Wellington made me feel so light and free and I felt a smile stretch across my face.
There was a sudden bang behind me and I turned to see Irina standing there with her hand over her mouth staring at me in horror, her phone on the ground.
"You're leaving?" She whispered, clearly upset. I cursed myself for blurting it out like that.
I loved Irina, Demetri, Felix and even Kate. They gave me life and made me feel human again, when all I wanted to do was shut myself off from the world and drown in my own misery. They had saved me and I would always owe them for that. But Wellington was my home and I had been away from her for far too long.
I didn't care if Carlisle had a problem, I would hand him my letter of resignation and walk into any other fucking job I wanted. The world was open to me, and Cullen Industries was only one of it's options. I was not going to live under Carlisle's thumb anymore. If he wanted me to stay with the company, then I was going home, end of discussion.
"Fuck it, I coming too." Felix said out of nowhere. We all just stared at him dumbfounded. He shrugged in response
"What? Hey, we're a fucking team and we stick together. Edward was there for you two idiots when you couldn't sort your shit out, and plus he's our boy." He smiled mischievously
"And if the bonus is that I'm on the other side of the fucking globe to psycho Tanya, so much the fucking better I say. And your brother is one cool dude, I like Emmett, he's a man after my own heart." Felix began picking at his nails. Demetri just looked at him flabbergasted
"So you want to uproot your life, leave your girlfriend behind…"
"Katey will come too. My honey loves her some excitement." Felix interrupted. Demetri just shook his head and carried on
"So you are going to leave your entire life behind because you want to party with Emmett?"
Felix rolled his eyes and then shot me a smirk
"Nah, I want to go 'cause Esme is one fine ass woman." I chucked a magazine at his head.
"Seriously though, professionally it would be suicide for our team to split and it just wouldn't work long distance. Personally, I meant what I said, Edward's like a brother to me, and I ain't staying around to play 'Guess that Horror Movie' with Tanya. So off to the land of the Kiwis I go!" Felix looked at Irina with a raised eyebrow
"You gonna be able to let him go off without you? Who's going to be your maid of honour at your wedding then?" Felix teased.
Irina continued to look troubled for about another minute before she finally looked at me and laughed.
"Edward's going to be my best man doofus, and you're right we are a team. So Wellington here we come!"
"Demetri?" Felix asked. Demetri looked bored all of a sudden and shrugged
"Why the hell not?" He then looked at me and grinned.
"So, you got a house big enough to fit us all in over there? You're going to have roomies until we get our shit sorted."
Irina came and lay down next to me, putting her head in my lap. I stroked her hair off her face while I smiled at Demetri
"Plenty of room, dumbass, my house is fucking awesome." Irina grinned up at me in excitement.
"Well, bring on the 'fucking awesome' house I say! To the end of the 'Slag' era. May she forever remain nothing more than an unpleasant memory." Demetri hollered
We all raised our imaginary glasses and yelled
"Cheers!"
They spent the rest of the evening cheering me up and making plans for our huge communal move. The more we talked about it the more excited Irina became and soon she got on her phone to Kate, who began squealing in excitement. Apparently Felix was spot on when it came to what Kate's reaction would be.
After midnight everyone had gone to bed and I went to the guest room. I checked the time and did the mental math, it was about seven pm in New Zealand.
I dialled my mother's number.
"Edward sweetie! This is a pleasant surprise, I was just packing for our trip to France." Her happy voice tinkled down the phone. I wasn't sure how to tell her I had fucked my life up yet again, so I just went with what came into my head first.
"I've broken up with Tanya." I blurted. There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Mum?" I asked worriedly. Still nothing.
"Mum? Are you still there?" I asked, getting more concerned. She breathed in sharply.
"Really?" She whispered, her voice overflowing with hope. I smiled, maybe if she ended up happy at the end of this, it wasn't all bad.
"Really." I answered. There was another brief period of silence then my mother's voice rang out strong and loud
"Oh, thank fucking god for that!" She exclaimed and I burst out with laughter.
I heard Emmett's voice in the background, asking if his mother just said 'fuck', along with Carlisle's disapproving murmurs.
My mother ignored them, screaming
"He broke up with Tanya!!" Silence. Then Emmett's voice came hollering out to put her phone on speaker. There was about a minute of shuffling as my mother tried to put her phone onto loudspeaker but ended up nearly cancelling the call. Jasper finally got the phone off her
"Can you still hear us Edward?" He asked
"Loud and clear." I said.
"So, what made you finally come to your sense fucktard?" Emmett yelled happily.
I told them the story again, leaving out Carlisle's little involvement. He and I would be having a discussion on that soon. Very soon.
"Fucking Slag!" Emmett spat. For once my mother didn't seem to care about his language.
"You're far better off without her honey. So what are you going to do now?" she asked. I took a deep breath.
Here we go……
"I'm coming home."
Esme, Emmett and Jasper all cheered happily, but my father's voice rang out above them all.
"We had an agreement Edward." He said coldly and I bristled
"If you want to play it like that Dad then go ahead," I answered angrily. I had expected such a reaction from him, but it still pissed me off.
"But I'm coming home. With or without a job at Cullen Industries. I'm also bringing my team with me, our new base of operations is going to be Wellington. Irina is getting onto our replacements tomorrow." I heard him growl, but I cut him off "This is how things are going to be Dad, accept it. As for our 'agreement', you should know that Tanya and I had a little talk. You owe me." I finished coldly.
He must have read my meaning, because he shut up quickly.
"Fine. But you better make sure Paris is left in capable hands. You built up that branches reputation, don't put it on the line now."
I spent the rest of the conversation talking to my mother and brothers. They were thrilled that the others would be joining me as well. We talked for about an hour and by the time I got off the phone there was a small smile playing on my lips. I had just ended my engagement today, yet I hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
I was going home. Home to Wellington.
Back to Bella.
The next few weeks, Irina and I spent literally all our time, finding our replacements and tying up loose ends for our departure. Felix and Demetri spent their time sorting their personal affairs, they were both excited about the big move and ready for a change they said.
Before we knew it, we were all boarding the plane, and once on board I ordered a strong whiskey. Irina had the seat next to me and she chatted non-stop asking me all about New Zealand. It was a big move for her, she had never even visited before.
Over twenty-five hours later, we touched down at Auckland airport and Felix went crazy. He brought thousands of little kiwi magnets from the gift shop, as well as a greenstone tiki. He brought one for Kate as well and they both put them on giggling at each other. Eventually though, Felix's stomach got the better of him and we made our way to the food court. I was thankful to my friends extreme appetite.
I needed coffee and I needed it bad.
"So where's your family Edward?" Felix asked as we sat down at a free table with our orders. I took a big sip of my coffee, ignoring the fact that it was fucking hot and burning my throat like a bitch.
"We're only in Auckland Felix, we have to catch a connecting flight to Wellington. They will be meeting us there." I answered, my voice a little hoarse from my newely scorched throat.
"Then it's onto your place isn't it?" Kate asked. She didn't appear to be overjoyed by the idea. Felix hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head.
"Not for long Katey, baby. We'll find our own place within a week, I'm telling you."
Kate just nodded and began picking at her food again, removing herself from the conversation.
"Yeah, we won't impose on you too long Edward. We should be able to find something by the end of the week." Demetri said through a mouthful of toast. I grimaced at him
"None of you are imposing. Hell, you all picked up your lives to follow my sorry ass. I still don't quite understand why by the way…" I trailed off. Irina punched me, and it really hurt.
She punched like a man, it was scary.
"You grew on us Edward. Plus, we're like Cullen Industries Dream Team at the moment, splitting us up is not only bad business for the company, but career suicide as well. So you see, we had no choice but to follow your dramatic ass all the way to New Zealand." Irina teased. I stole her bagel and took a really big bite. She punched me again and my eyes watered a little.
We boarded our connecting flight to Wellington an hour later and arrived a little after lunch. We were greeted by a grinning Emmett and a beaming Jasper.
"Edward Cullen comes home." Emmett said, coming up and taking Irina's bags for her with a suggestive smirk. She blushed and looked away while Emmett looked in anticipation at Demetri. He was hoping for a rise for flirting with his girl.
But Demetri being Demetri, he just smiled and shrugged. He was too mellow and laid back to worry about those kinds of things. Plus he had got to know Emmett really well on their last visit.
"Good to see you home man, it's where you belong." Jasper said, clapping me on the back.
"Mum's at your place. She's been there all morning cooking you guys a welcome home lunch" He added. Felix's eyes brightened and he practically moaned
"God bless you mama Cullen. You are what makes the world go around."
When we arrived back at my house I nearly cried, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I was finally, finally home. I showed Felix and Kate and Irina and Demetri, their rooms and give them a chance to put down their luggage. We then made our way to the kitchen where my mother was making the most incredible meal I have ever seen.
There was roast lamb, pork, beef and chicken, plus every salad known to man. She had made bread rolls from scratch and apple pie and pavlova for desert. Emmett and Felix looked like rabid dogs the way the attacked the food. Every one just made sure to keep their fingers clear of them.
My mother was overjoyed I was home, and kept telling me how glad she was that I called things off with that 'horrible woman'. I couldn't have agreed more.
Carlisle turned up later, just as Mum had left and everyone else had gone to bed. He wanted to discuss the 'Dynamics of my Team', but it was bullshit. He just wanted to attack the relationship between Irina and Demetri.
Unfortunately for him, I had anticipated this and I pulled a large envelope out of the top of a suitcase.
"Copies of the new contracts Irina and Demetri signed. Their relationship did not start until after they signed the new contracts. It's all above board and one hundred percent legal." I said, glaring at him. "It's also non-fucking negotiable. They're my team, and as long as they are, I'll decide the rules. Don't ever think for a second that I can't or won't walk away from Cullen Industries Dad, because I will. Don't force my hand." I warned.
He had stood there gaping at me, before composing himself and stalking off, clutching copies of the contracts. I watched him leave and then turned to go to bed myself, I had really missed my bed.
True to his word Felix found him and Kate an apartment right in the city centre within the first week. Kate was thrilled and absolutely loved the place, she craved the hustle and bustle.
Demetri and Irina followed suit a few days later, renting a little townhouse in the suburbs. We merged ourselves seamlessly into the Wellington branch and began back at work almost immediately. I was back in my old office which was nice and difficult all at the same time. It felt strange watching Irina sit at Bella's desk. It certainly felt strange (and fucking uncomfortable in my pants) when I worked at the desk Bella and I had fucked on. I could practically hear her fucking moaning in my ear every time I closed my eyes and smell her scent all around me.
I didn't know where Bella was or even if she would want to see me, but I was almost compelled to search her out.
And then do what? What is this big plan bright-spark? I think you need to go back to the drawing board.
I didn't know what I would do if I saw Bella. But I knew I wanted to. I knew I needed to.
The door banged open, and Emmett came barrelling in, just like he used to.
"P A R T Y! Spells party!. Remember that Lauren chick? Anyway, it's not important. She's having an 80's party this Saturday at the Boat Shed and she said you all could come too! You have to go as an 80's musician and I am so gonna go as Meatloaf. I would make a kick ass Meatloaf and you fucking know it too!" He finally plonked himself down into one of the chairs and smiled at me.
"Jazz is going as Billy Idol. What about you?"
I shrugged. He had only just told me about the damn party, I had no fucking clue what costume I was going to wear.
He cocked his head to the side and studied me
"I see you as an Axl Rose to be honest. True, you don't have the locks, but essentially it's the same fucking colour."
I considered what Emmett had said. Then it struck me and I smiled
"Paradise City, Axl Rose." I said. Emmett grinned at me
"Now ya talking bro."
An 80's party? Sounded like it could be fun. That was something I hadn't had in a long time.