Chapter Fifteen
EPOV
Fucking Hell
I mean, c'mon, is there no way some semblance of happiness can remain untainted? How much can one person take of drama and pain and fear? What did we do to deserve this? What did I do? What did Bella do?
Whoever said life is not fair, sure as fucking hell knew what they were talking about. Just as Bella and I laid our past ghosts to rest and were well on our way to a strong relationship, some higher power decides to fuck with us and send the Angel of Destruction AKA Jacob Black. To say that I was worried about Bella was an understatement. I wasn't lying when I told Charlie that she was my everything. Just the thought of Jacob, or anyone else for that matter, hurting her in any way made my chest hurt and panic to unfold in my veins.
It's been a week since he sent the flowers and we have not heard anything from him since. But still, I can't help but think that the flowers were only the beginning.
I can only hope that I am wrong.
Two days later
I walked into my office and started my normal routine of pulling out current files and loading up my laptop when my desk phone rang
"Edward Cullen" I answered absently
"Edward?" I heard Bella's frantic voice and immediately felt my panic rise
"Kitten? What's wrong? Are you ok?"
"Tiger, can we meet? Now?" I frowned. That was strange. Bella hardly ever called asking to meet urgently
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"I-I need to see you. I'm on my way to your office now. Have you got a few minutes?"
"Of course, just come straight up when you get here"
"Okay. I'll be there in five"
"Okay, baby. See you then" I hung up the phone still frowning. A million scenarios were running through my mind. I could feel the panic rising slowly to the surface. Her panicked voice was doing nothing to quell my fears.
Had he sent her something else?
Had he hurt her in some way?
Had he threatened her?
The thoughts were swirling in my head when Bella walked through my office door. I watched as she stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching me. I rose from my chair and walked to her
"Baby, are you ok?" I pulled her into my arms gently and I could feel how stiff and scared she was
"He sent me a letter" she whispered. I pulled back and looked down into her scared eyes swimming with tears. I could feel the anger rising in me. Anger at him for doing this to her. Anger at myself for not being able to do anything to stop it
"Let's see it" I pulled her over to the sofa in the corner of my office and sat down with her on my lap. She handed me the note and I carefully unfolded it. My eyes ran over the words in disbelief. The guy was nuts. He was crazy, plain and simple. The words in this letter proved his mental instability. I read it over again
My Beautiful Fiancé
I know that we are at an impasse right now, but I know that you love me too. I will wait for you to come to your senses so that we can finally be together as we are meant to. But I won't wait too long so be sure to come to me soon.
I know that, that Edward is the one that is keeping you from me right now and for now, that's ok, because soon he won't be able to hold you back. I will have you.
One way or another, I will have you, darling.
Until then
Jake
I folded the note back up and placed it on the seat next to me. Silently I pushed Bella off my lap, stood up and strode out of my office, making my way to the conference room at the end of the hall. Once I stepped in and closed the door I let loose the roar of fury that was building inside me and punched my fist into the wall beside the projector screen. I took deep ragged breaths in hopes of calming myself. I was still trying to calm my rage when the door opened and I turned to find Jasper and Bella standing there watching me as if I were a caged lion trying to get free. Which was amusing in a way, because that's exactly how I felt in my rage.
Bella stepped closer to me, holding out her hand to me. I looked down at her hand and saw that it trembling. I instantly felt guilty because I knew she was scared and I had done nothing to quell her fears instead choosing to deal with my rage first. I sighed and stepped the last couple of feet towards her and pulled her to my chest
"I'm sorry Kitten" I mumbled into her hair
"It's ok, Tiger. I know you are angry, I am too, but please, honey, I need you right now" she answered, her face buried in my chest, her arms tight around my waist. I sighed and pulled back to look down into her beautiful face
"I'm here, baby. Always" I brushed the lingering tears from her face just as Jasper cleared his throat. I looked up and found him staring at me anxiously
"Ed, man, what's going on?" he asked
"Jacob has been sending Bella flowers and notes" I answered as his eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. I sighed again and explained the whole thing. From the release from jail to the phone call while we were at dinner and then the flowers and now the letter. By the time I had finished Jasper looked just as angry as I felt
"How dare he!" Jasper seethed. I nodded in agreement. He looked down at Bella who had been quietly sobbing in my arms. I watched his hand warily as he placed it on her shoulder. I knew I had no reason to fear him or be jealous of him, but my protective tendency had been riled up now and I almost growled at him for touching her. At Jasper! My best friend!
I must have made some kind of noise because Jasper raised one eyebrow at me questioningly. I merely shrugged at him and motioned with my eyes to his hand. He followed my gaze and then snapped his eyes back to my face
"What the hell, Ed?" he asked in disbelief "What do you think I'm gonna do to her?"
Bella's head snapped up and whipped back and forth between Jasper and I
"I know Jas, but I can't help it. Everything is a threat to me right now. It's my protective instinct kicking in, that's all" I said slightly sheepishly
"Edward!" Bella's tiny hand slapped at my chest lightly. I looked down at her and chuckled
"I would say sorry, baby, but I'm not. You are the only one that bring that up in me so technically it is your fault" I grinned down at her and winked and of course she blushed. I couldn't help but laugh at the red appearance. I tightened my arms around her and looked back at Jasper
"So what now?" he asked
"I don't know. I don't want to do anything that will make it worse for her, but in the same coin, I can't do nothing at all either. Got any ideas?" my hand was rubbing up and down Bella's back. She had stopped crying now but was still sniffling slightly
"We could speak to Josh and get some security?" I nodded in agreement
"Who's Josh?" Bella raised her eyes to meet mine
"Joshua Readon is a friend of Jasper's and mine. We met him at Dartmouth. He went to Police Academy and graduated with top scores. He ended up opening up his own security and private investigation business and never made it into a precinct" I explained quickly before turning back to Jasper
"Call him and ask him if he can meet with us this afternoon" Jasper nodded and left the room to do as I asked. As he left I looked down at Bella who was gazing up at me with a touch of fear in her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes
"Tiger, why are you asking him to meet?" she asked in a whisper
"I want his opinion on how to go about keeping you safe. He's the best in the business and I trust him to advise me well" I explained. She nodded
"So you're not thinking of hiring me a bodyguard then?" she asked with a slight smirk and one eyebrow raised. Damn, she really did know me too well. I flushed and dropped my eyes in embarrassment, because quite frankly, that was exactly what I had been thinking
"Mmhmm, that's exactly what I thought" she said, still smirking at me. I shrugged and pulled her closer to my body
"I'm not going to apologise, baby. I just want you as safe as I can get you and if that means hiring a team of bodyguards to achieve it then that is exactly what I will do. The thought of any harm coming to you…it kills me…I…I can't-" I broke off because I could feel the panic unfurling in my heart making it pound. Bella pulled back and placed her hand on my heart, as if she knew what I was feeling in there
"Shh, honey. I'll be fine. I understand why you want to do this, but what you are forgetting is that Jacob has done nothing to make us feel the need to hire protection yet" my eyebrows flew to my hairline in disbelief
"He's done nothing so far? Bella! Have you forgotten the day you broke off your engagement? Or how about the day of my birthday at your apartment? Do you know what it did to me to see you in that monsters clutches? Or when you crumpled to the ground unconscious? Is that nothing?" My voice had risen in volume and I had stepped away from her and was now pacing the length of the conference room. My breathing was laboured and ragged. I turned away from her and stopped at the window overlooking the skyline. I felt the electric current at my back as she moved to stand behind me
"Edward?" I ignored her, still trying to calm my breathing and the thoughts and images running through my mind. Flashes of Jacob slapping her at the restaurant, then in her apartment with his hand around her throat, then of her lying on the wooden floor barely breathing. All of this played through my mind as if on repeat. I clutched at my hair in a vain attempt to get the thoughts to stop. Bella was still calling me, her hand on my back, but it was as if her voice was coming through a dark tunnel. It was muffled and faint against the roaring of blood in my ears and the flashing images in my head.
I felt her move to stand in front of me and place her hands on both sides of my face, forcing me to look at her
"Edward, breath, honey. Please, come on, breath. Look at me, sweetheart. I'm ok, you're ok. Please Honey, please, come back to me" her sobbing snapped me out of my head and allowed me to focus on her tear stained face. I let out a strangled sob and pulled her into me roughly, assuring myself that she was real and she was here, in my arms
"Bella, I can't lose you, baby. It would kill me. I need you to be safe" I buried my face into her hair and inhaled her sweet scent. It never failed to calm me and it didn't fail now either.
Bella stroked my hair softly, lovingly and held me tightly to her
"It's ok, honey. I know. You won't lose me, you won't let me go now" she continued to coo into my ear as I calmed down. I pulled back just as Jasper stepped into the room again. He eyed me warily, taking in my tear stained face and swollen red eyes
"You ok, man?" he asked softly. I nodded and took a deep breath before releasing it through my nose
"Yeah, just a small moment of weakness. I'm ok now" I replied as lightly as I could. Bella scoffed beside me but didn't say anything. I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me
"Did you get a hold of Josh?" I asked
"Yeah. He's got a free hour right now and said he would swing by. Apparently he's in the vicinity and should be here in-" Jasper was cut of by the ringing of the phone in his office. He motioned for us wait here for him. He left the door open as he left and I really wished he had closed it as most of our employees could now see into the room. I excused my self from Bella to pay a quick visit to the bathroom to splash some water on my face.
I stood for a couple of minutes and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I sighed and dragged my hand down my face, noticing how haggard I looked and the tension around my eyes from worry did nothing to ease my vain concern. I turned to leave and was knocked back by the door opening. Jim, one of the interns came rushing in
"Oh! Sorry Mr Cullen! I didn't mean to crash into you. Are you ok?" he asked, obviously panicked at nearly knocking over the boss. I chuckled
"I'm fine Jim. Are you ok?"
"Yes, yes…I…Um…Just need to use the bathroom real bad is all" I laughed at his discomfort and clapped him on the shoulder kindly and gestured behind me
"Well, here it is. Have at it" I chuckled again and breezed past him out the door. I could hear the murmur of voices coming from the conference room as I stepped up to the door. The scene that greeted me had the green eyes monster rising again. Josh was standing almost touching chest to chest with Bella, his left hand holding her right one and his right hand on her shoulder. Bella looked uncomfortable. Josh had always been a bit of a player in college and still was to this day. I knew all his moves to pick up woman and he was using his signature move on Bella right now. The beast inside me roared to life
Mine! The beast was growling from within. However on the outside I was relatively calm as I cleared my throat for their attention. Bella's eyes snapped to mine and I read the fear in them, which in turn kicked my protective instinct to a higher level. I strolled calmly to her side and wrapped my arm around her waist, hoping to calm her with my touch. It worked, as she relaxed into my side
"Josh, good to see you, man. How are you?" Josh's eyes bounced from me to Bella and back again
"Edward, I'm good, how are you?" he asked cautiously. Josh knew me well enough to read the warning in my eyes, which clearly read: Back off!
"Good, good. Thanks for coming down so quickly. Bella and I appreciate it" I replied coolly
"Of course, man. What do you need me for?" He was still eyeing Bella and that made me growl. His eyes snapped back to me as I did. I raised one eyebrow at him and he smirked back at me in a clear challenge
"Josh, has Jasper introduced you to my girlfriend?" Josh's eyebrows rose to his hairline and I read the disbelief and confusion in his eyes clearly. The Edward Cullen he knew in college did not have girlfriends, unless you count Kate, that is. It was no secret that in college I had been a player, a man-whore who never looked for commitment. Josh knew that I had slept around and refused to keep one girl around for too long, whether as a friend or as a girlfriend. When he had asked in college, my answer had always been the same "Because she will always leave in the end anyway so why put myself through that again?" He had always asked what I meant by that and as far as I knew, Jasper had explained briefly of my history and the reason behind my answer, but Josh to his credit had never asked me directly.
"Your…your…what?" he spluttered. I couldn't help but laugh at him. I had shocked him immensely. I had known Josh for nearly seven years now and I had never once said those words to him
"Josh Readon, this is my girlfriend Bella Swan. Baby, this is Josh, my friend from Dartmouth" I watched in amusement as Josh's mouth opened and closed a few times before he found his voice. I heard Bella giggle lightly and the smile on my face grew in response
"Holy shit. I never thought I would see this day" Josh finally managed to breath out. I laughed out loud at that and I could feel Bella laughing beside me. Bella stepped forward and held out her hand
"Hello Josh, it's a pleasure to meet you, though the meeting before Edward came in was…um…interesting" I looked down at her
"Interesting how?" I asked, with a hint of jealousy in my tone, which she of course caught. She rolled her eyes at me
"Relax, Tiger. Josh here was shown in by Jane and he proceeded to ask me if he could touch me as he though I was an angel sent from God" she snorted at the cheesiness, but the beast in me reared his ugly head. I snapped my head round to look at Josh so fast that I gave myself whiplash
"What?" I growled. Josh took a step back and raised his hands in surrender
"Chill Cullen, I didn't know she was your girl. I just thought she was an intern or something" I growled even louder at him as his explanation did nothing to appease me. Bella put her hand on my cheek and pulled my face down to look at her. I relaxed immediately at her touch and my eyes softened as they met hers. I read the love in her eyes and it calmed the beast inside me. I gazed at her, getting lost in those bottomless pools of chocolate. I heard a throat clear and tore my gaze away from Bella to see Josh smirking at me
"Yep, never thought I would see the day" I rolled my eyes
"And what is that supposed to mean exactly, J?" I asked, a little sarcastically
"The Edward Cullen I knew always said he would never have a girlfriend or a girls as a friend and here he is now, gotten himself a girlfriend"
"He said that?" Bella asked, Josh nodded
"Yeah. He always said and I quote 'They always leave in the end, so why put myself through that again?' I always wondered what he meant by that" I felt Bella stiffen beside me and of course, my body reacted and stiffened in response. I knew she would know exactly why I used to say that and I didn't want her to feel bad about it again, so I pulled her round to face me
"Don't go there, Kitten. It's done, it's over. We got through it, ok?" I said softly. I was acutely aware of Josh watching the exchange closely
"I know, Tiger, I know. I just can't help it though. There are always reminders" I softly stroked her cheek
"I know, baby, but those reminders are there to remind us that we got through it and came out the other side. Stronger and together" she nodded and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. I smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her softly
"Shit, she's the reason. She's the one that Jas told me about?" I sighed before looking up at him nodding. This was the first time Josh had ever mentioned that he knew anything about my past, so I decided to come clean with him, finally
"Bella and I were best friends in high school, we knew everything about each other, we did everything together, hell, we even fell in love with each other and never knew it. Long story short, circumstances tore us apart, I spiralled into depression and vowed never to allow another girl get that close to me again. So that was the birth of Edward Cullen, The Manwhore. The Edward Cullen you knew in college…it was not me. It was the broken part of me that I pretended to show as a whole person" Josh stepped closer and placed his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture
"I have never seen you like this, man. You're different. I like it" I snorted
"I wasn't looking for your approval, that's not why you're here"
"So why am I here?" I realised what I had said sounded a little harsh
"I'm sorry, J. That was uncalled for. Bella and I are just going through some stuff right now and it's been a little stressful" I explained
"It's ok, Ed, man. So, why am I here?" I looked down at Bella in askance and she nodded in acceptance. I looked back at Josh and then launched into the whole story about Jacob. Bella filled in details of her relationship with him before I came back on the scene and the more she explained about how his temper used to frighten her but she let it go due to pressure from her mother, the more I resented Renee for putting her in that position. When she explained about the pressure from her mother to accept Jacob's proposal, despite her reservations I very nearly threw a chair at the window. It was only Bella's hand in mine that kept me grounded.
Half an hour later, we had just finished the entire story and discussed some options for us to take when Jasper walked in and sat down at the table with us
"Hey man, sorry I wasn't here. I had to deal with a problem" Jasper explained
"Anything major?" I asked
"Nah, man. Just the Goodman project needed some adjustments before the meet tomorrow" I nodded. It wasn't one of my projects so I wasn't too worried. Although Jasper and I split the projects between us and tended not to get involved with each others, we still met once a week to go over and discuss everything we had going on so that in the event that one of us was out of the office or out of commission, the other could step in and take care of things. I knew that if the issue had been a huge one, he would have informed me immediately
"It's cool. We just finished explaining everything to Josh" Jasper then turned and spotted Josh
"Hey, J, long time no see! How are things?" Jasper and Josh shook hands and launched into a quick catch up session. I took the opportunity to pull Bella into my lap so that we could speak quietly
"Why didn't you tell me about Renee, Baby?" I said quietly into her ear
"What was there to say? You know how she is, how she gets when she wants something" she answered, shrugging
"She put you in an awkward position and not to mention a potentially dangerous one" my hand was stroking the small of her back under her shirt. Her soft skin felt like silk under my fingertips, making my body react in a pleasurable way
"It doesn't matter to me anymore what she thinks, Tiger. I'm done listening to her" I sighed in exasperation
"That's not my point, Kitten"
"Then what is?"
"My point is she needs to know what she's done and take responsibility for it. She has put you harms way. I will do all I can to protect you, but, baby, if anything happens to you, I will never forgive her or myself" Bella sighed and leaned further into me
"I'll be ok, Tiger. I trust you. But, you are right, Renee needs to know. I'll call her this weekend and talk to her" I nodded and leaned my forehead on her shoulder
"I love you, baby" I whispered
"I love you too" she whispered back. My heart soared as always when I heard her say those words. I silently asked her if she was ok, with my eyes and she answered with a small nod. It was then that I noticed that we had an audience. I looked up and found Josh and Jasper staring at us, grinning
"Are they always like this, Jas?" Josh asked, amused
"Yeah, usually worse. Especially when they have one of their silent convo's" Jasper replied. Bella blushed and hid her face in my neck; I pulled her tighter to me, still stroking her back
"Silent convo's?" Josh asked
"Yeah, man. It's so weird. Even in school these two could hold an entire conversation with just their eyes and facial expressions. It used to freak the fuck out of us! I mean, one minute they would be talking normally and then they would go silent and it would seem like they were communicating, the next second one of them would laugh or say something totally random that would make no sense to the rest of us"
I looked down at Bella and found her looking at me with amusement in her eyes. I lifted one eyebrow as if to ask her 'What?' she smirked in response saying clearly 'Nothing'. I rolled my eyes in reply stating silently that I didn't believe her. She shook her head at me; her eyes alight with humour, showing me that she was laughing in my expense. I raised both my eyebrows at her saying 'Yeah, right' and she shook her head at me again
"Don't believe you, but its ok, I'll get it out of you later" I said out loud, making her laugh and Jasper snicker
"Holy mother of fuck! You were right! Did they just have that entire conversation in silence?" Josh was looking back and forth between us in shock causing Jasper to snicker again
"Told you. Freaky isn't it?" Josh nodded, clearly still in shock
"Wow. I have never seen anything like it. That was amazing to watch" he breathed
"Yeah, well, trust me when I say, you have not yet had the entire experience of Bedward"
"Bedward?" Bella and I both asked at the same time, causing us to laugh. That was another thing we tended to do. We were so attuned to each other, even after eight years apart that we both knew what the other was thinking without it having to be said, which meant we sometimes either finished each other's sentences or we spoke the same thing at the same time
"See what I mean? It's like they're the same person sometimes" Jasper was smiling, but he still looked a little freaked out as he usually did around us. Josh just looked awed. Whether that was because of the change in me or the experience of 'Bedward', as Jas so eloquently put it, I didn't know
"Wow" Josh said again, slowly shaking his head. Jasper turned to us
"And yes, Bedward. That's what the gang has always called you two" he explained. I tilted my head in confusion. I had never heard us referred to in that manner
"Erm…we're confused. Why have we never heard you call us that before?" Bella asked for us. See, she knew exactly what I was thinking. I leaned forward and brushed my lips across her cheek in thanks; she in turn brushed her fingertips across my cheek, silently saying 'You're welcome'
"Let me guess, Edward was thinking the same thing?" Jasper asked knowingly. Bugger knew us well too. Bella nodded, not even having to ask me. Josh again looked stunned
"But…but…how did you know? Were you thinking the same thing, Ed?" Josh stuttered looking from me to Bella. I nodded and he started to look a little freaked out
"Whoa, this is some head trip" he muttered. Jasper, Bella and I laughed. I finally took pity on him and explained
"J, Bella and I know each other very well. We have always been attuned to each other. For example, I don't even have to look at her to know that she is at this moment blushing because of the attention being on her" Josh nodded in confirmation, I continued
"Another example is that I don't even have to see her to know when she is near me. I feel her and she me. We can hold our private conversations because of how well we know each other. We think on the same level, we feel on the same level and as such, we hardly ever need to look at the other to know what is going on in their mind. We sense it, therefore, words are not needed" Josh looked a little more freaked out and I started to feel sorry for him a little, but of course, my Kitten knew that already because she reached across the table and patted his hand comfortingly
"It's ok, Josh, we know it's a lot to take in and weird to see, but unfortunately for you, you are just going to have to get used to it, because that's just how Edward and I are around each other. We can't change it"
"Exactly" I stated, because honestly, that was exactly what I would have said too, just not in so many words. Josh looked at me
"What are you agreeing to?" he asked, again, Bella answered
"To what I just said, only he would have used less words, hence him just saying 'exactly'. He was agreeing with me" I snickered at the expression on Josh's face. He looked extremely freaked out now
"You alright there, J?" I asked in amusement. Josh cleared his throat and tried to school his expression into nonchalance. It didn't work
"Yeah…um…it's just…it's one thing to hear about from Jas, but it's quite another to actually see it, Ya know?" Bella and I both nodded
"Yeah, we know" we said at the same time, this time we all laughed
"Jesus, you guys should take this on the road! You guys would be famous" Josh said, shaking his head in amazement
"Uh…yeah, don't think so, J" Bella turned to me and silently asked 'And why not?' I shook my head at her in a silent 'No way'. She simply smiled at me in acceptance, her eyes telling me she had just been joking. I leaned forward and kissed her lightly to show her that I knew that. Again, I looked up and found our audience staring
"Seriously? Again?" Josh asked, Bella and I shrugged in response
"God, this is freaky shit! I have never seen any two people so attuned with each other! It's like…it's like you're two people, but one mind" he exclaimed
"J, no offence, but this is normal to us and you are starting to make us feel like freaks here" I said in slight frustration. Bella caught the slight in my tone and started stroking through my hair to calm me, as always, it worked. I sighed
"Sorry, J. That wasn't nice of me. I didn't mean to snap at you" again, he looked from me to Bella in awe. Jasper, the fucker, simply sat there with his arms folded across his chest, watching in high amusement
"She just calmed you with one touch? Seriously guys, I'm sorry for making you feel like freaks, but this is taking some getting used to. It's a phenomenon like I have never seen before and in my business I see a lot of freaky shit, trust me"
"Like I said before, Josh, you will simply have to get used to it, because this just how we are" Bella said firmly, still stroking gently through my hair. I let out a quiet sigh and leaned my head into her hand. It was silent for a few minutes as Josh took the time to process our relationship quirks. Jasper had not said a word for some time now
"Well, it looks like one of us are gonna get any work done this morning, so how about lunch at the restaurant, guys?" I asked finally. They all agreed and we quickly stood and made our way out.
Bella and I took my car while Jasper and Josh rode in Josh's Porsche Carrerra. We pulled into the parking lot of my restaurant and got out to wait for the last two of our party. Josh pulled in not five minutes after us and followed us into the restaurant. We were greeted by Kamera, the new hostess
"Good afternoon and welcome to Bella Italia. Party of four?" she asked. I could feel her eyes rake over my body and I felt a little disgusted. I may have to speak to Laurent about her before I left. I felt Bella stiffen next to me
"Thank you, we will seat ourselves" Bella replied stiffly and we made to walk towards our booth. Kamera shook her head, blocking our path and looked at Bella in way that was entirely hostile. I bristled at once
"Ma'am can you inform the manager that I would like to speak with him, please" I asked brusquely. I had to collect last weeks figure from him anyway and figured I could do it while I was here
"I'm sorry, sir. The manager is tied up at the moment. Is there anything I can help you with?" I didn't miss the double entendre to her question and neither did the rest of our group. I heard Jasper suck in a breath sharply behind me and Josh ask him in a whisper what was going on. I faintly heard Jasper's response
"The hostess is hitting on Edward and in front of Bella that is a big no-no, unless you want the claws to come out. As protective of Bella as Edward is, Bella is as equally protective of him" he muttered
"Listen, lady, we will seat ourselves, as I explained and you will go and get your manager, as my boyfriend has requested or I will see to it personally that you are not standing here by the time I leave here, understood?" Bella said in an oh so quiet, but deadly tone. Kamera would do well to heed her advice. I was not particularly pleased with Kamera myself. I had not been involved in her hiring as I had been on site the day of her interview, so I knew she had no idea who I was. However, I knew she knew who Emmett was as he interviewed her with Laurent. Em said she was good and had experience, so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt before I said anything incriminating to Laurent. Before I could speak, Kamera replied and sealed her fate
"Listen, I appreciate you wanting to seat yourselves and to speak with the manager. However, we do not allow patrons to seat themselves at this restaurant as we are not a diner or a café, but an upscale restaurant. The manager, as I informed your boyfriend, is a busy man and as his second, I am capable of helping you" she really should have kept quiet I thought to myself. I sighed and pulled out my cell and dialled Laurent in the office, behind me I heard Jasper mutter 'Oh Hell no, she's in for it now. Edward's mad and that ain't never good news '. It rang twice before he answered
"Good afternoon, Mr Cullen. How can I help?" he said immediately, obviously having seen my name on the caller ID
"Good afternoon, Laurent. Could you join us in the main restaurant, please, we have a situation" I said through gritted teeth. I was seething and through my haze of anger I saw Kamera's eyes widen as I spoke Laurent's name
"Of course, sir. I will be there in seconds" he hung and I turned to Kamera
"Kamera, allow me to introduce myself before Laurent gets here. I am Edward Cullen, Emmett's brother and part owner of this fine upscale restaurant" I smirked at her shell shocked expression as understanding dawned on her that she had just fucked up. Big time.
I could hear Josh and Jasper snickering behind me. I felt Bella relax into me as I pulled her closer as I continued to speak, noticing from the corner of my eye that Laurent was walking towards us quickly
"Now, I understand that this is your first week here and Em was highly impressed by your credentials, but that gives you no right to speak to my girlfriend or any other person, for that matter, in the manner which you did. I am not going to ask you to apologise because had we been any other customer, we surely would have left after that speech you gave if not before, when you decided to proposition me, in front of my girlfriend, no less, that was unprofessional and callous towards her feelings. Kindly gather your things at the end of the day and do not return. You are fired" I said all of this calmly, coolly before I turned towards Laurent
"Mr Cullen, is everything alright?" he asked, a little breathless from almost running down two flights of stairs to get here
"Laurent, I have requested this woman to finish out her shift then to not return. She is fired" I replied
"For what, may I ask? She is very good at her job, sir" Laurent said. I shook my head and explained the entire conversation to him as Kamera stood with her head hanging, looking sorry for herself
"I'm sorry Mr Cullen; I will take care of her removal at the end of her shift, sir"
"Thank you, Laurent. Oh and by the way, the reason I requested to see you was to collect last weeks figure from you" Kamera's head snapped up at this and she looked even more remorseful
"Of course Mr Cullen, I'll get them to you before you leave. I assume you are staying for lunch?" he asked, I nodded again
"Yes, we are. We will be in our booth" he nodded and stepped to the side so that we could pass.
We settled into our normal booth. Bella and I on one side, Jasper and Josh on the other, both of whom were silent until we had ordered our drinks and then Josh spoke
"Ok, what the hell just happened back there" he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the front of the restaurant. I sighed and decided to come clean.
I mean, not a lot of people knew that Em and I owned this restaurant and two others. Well, not entirely true that. Not a lot people knew that I was part owner. I was involved in the businesses, but not as heavily as Emmett. I had my own business with Jas that kept me busy. However, this restaurant was my baby, my dream, my tribute to Bella. So, of course I took a heavier involvement in the running of this place more than the other two places, one of which was more of a bar/club than a restaurant. Those were Emmett's babies and he dealt with every aspect in those. My name was simply on the deeds. But here…here, I handled a lot of the business aspects and on most occasions the hiring and firing. What Bella didn't know was that her name was also on the deeds of this place. She owned a third of it, but that was bombshell for another day when it was just her and I
"Emmett and I bought this place four years ago as an investment. We equally own it and two other businesses. I don't advertise this fact as I am not as heavily involved in the bar and the other place, but this place was my baby from the start and I am very involved in the running of this place despite the fact that I am hardly here. What you witnessed back there was me firing one of my employee's" I said all of this matter of factly as I watched the confusion turn to awe and understanding on Josh's face
"Fuck, man, when are you gonna stop surprising me with shit?" he asked as we all laughed
"Seriously man, you've done well for yourself. You've come a long way from the playboy Cullen of Dartmouth. What's this place called? What are the others called? Have I heard of them?"
"This place is called Bella Italia, the bar is called 8384 and the other restaurant is Hales" I replied as I glanced around at the table, watching their reaction carefully
"Ok, I gotta ask. Why those names? Was there any particular reasons behind choosing those names?" Josh asked curiously. I nodded
"Well, as I said, this place was my baby, my dream. Bella Italia for Bella and the fact that Italian has always been her favourite food, it made sense" Josh nodded, I continued
"8384 are the years of mine and Emmett's birth. 1983 for him, 1984 for me. We just thought it would be fun to number a bar and not actually name it anything" Josh nodded again before Jasper spoke
"So, why Hales?" I looked directly at him this time as I answered
"For Rose" I said simply. Jasper nodded knowingly in response
"What does that mean?" Josh asked
"Well, I got to name this place after one of the most important things to me. We named 8384 together, so it only seemed fair to allow Em the honour of naming the last place after something so important to him" what I didn't explain was that Em had done the same thing I had with this place. Rose owned a third of Hales too.
Lunch was…interesting. I never realised how unique Bella's and my relationship was until Josh pointed it out. Most people we spent time with already knew about our quirks and our actions and reactions to each other and had never treated it as something out of the ordinary. So for an 'outsider', such as Josh to come in and observe our relationship and comment on it was strange to us.
We were finished and heading back to our cars when Josh pulled me aside for a quick chat
"Ed, hold up, man. Can we have a quick word?" I glanced at Bella in silent question; she nodded once and motioned with her eyes towards the car and then the keys in my hand. I lifted my hand and opened the doors for her before throwing them her way. She caught them and winked at me in thanks. I turned back to Josh to find that he had witnessed the entire exchange
"You know, that really is going to take some getting used to" he mused
"It's normal for us, remember?"
"Yeah, I know. It's just…have you seen how you two are with each other?" I tilted my head to one side in confusion
"What do you mean?" Josh heaved a sigh
"It's like watching the planets revolve around each other. It's fascinating, you move, she moves. She moves, you move. There's like this force field around the two of you that I can't explain. Kind of like…"
"Electricity" I finished for him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He nodded excitedly
"Exactly! Electricity! It seems to flow between you"
"We know. How do you think I feel her?" I asked rhetorically
"Is that what you meant back at your office when you said you don't even have to see her to know she is there?" I nodded again
"Yes. Like right now, I can't see her, but I know that she is standing behind me and not in the car, waiting for me as I asked" Josh looked confused and again a little freaked as I said this and I heard Bella chuckle behind me. I turned and saw her standing mere feet away watching us. I nodded my head towards the car in a silent request to wait in the car, she answered with a simply head shake. I sighed and turned back to Josh
"The silent convo again?" he asked knowingly. I nodded
"You really don't need to see her to know she's there?" he asked in awe
"No, Josh, I don't, but I love to see her so I prefer to do so" he chuckled. As I said this I felt the electricity at my back intensify as she moved closer
"Baby, please go back and wait in the car. It's cold and all you are wearing is your suit jacket. I'll be there in a moment" I said all of this without turning away from Josh, whose eyes widened. Bella, of course ignored me and moved closer still so that she was standing right behind me. I sighed and reached behind me to grab her hand, all without turning away from Josh. Yeah, so I was showing off a little. Sue me.
It was very funny to watch the different emotions cross Josh's face as he realised that I hadn't been lying about being able to feel her without seeing her. Quite comical actually. I snickered under my breath
"Wow that is amazing. It's like you knew exactly where she was going to be!" he exclaimed. I sighed again for the thousandth time today. This was getting old. How did you explain this connection we had to someone who had not or may not ever experience it in some way?
"Yes, I knew where she was, Josh. How can I say it clearer? I. Feel. Her. When she moves the electricity moves with her so I know where she is without using my eyes. I know that it is the same for her too as she has confirmed this. However, I also need to stress this point It. Is. Normal. For. Us. We have never known it to be any other way and nor would I for one want it any other way" I was starting to get irritated and Bella knew it because she jumped in
"Josh, as I said before, we get that this is unusual to you, but we have never been treated any different by our friends because of this connection, so I will say this once and once only and I am saying it politely this once, you need to back the fuck off because you are starting to irritate Edward and when you do that, you are faced with not only a very irritated Edward, but a Bella too. We are mirror images. What he feels, I feel and vice versa. So, I will ask this just once, are you a friend or not?"
I could not help but laugh at Josh's expression. I heard Jasper laugh behind me and knew that he had heard too. Josh simply looked like you could knock him over with a feather. He turned his head slowly to me and I smirked at him as I wrapped my arms around my Kitten thinking again how there was no way I could have said it better myself and of course, because she knew me so well, Bella gave my input too
"I'll say it for him because I know that's what he's thinking right now. Exactly!" at this Jasper and I burst into loud laughter. Josh continued to stare at me, waiting. I shrugged
"It's true" this caused Jasper to laugh even harder
"Josh…your…face…man!" Jasper gasped out between laughs
"Damn, woman. You are feisty. I like it" Josh finally managed. Bella shrugged and turned to me, her eyes telling me she wanted to leave now. I nodded and turned back to Josh and stuck out my hand
"Josh, man, thanks for coming down to see us on such short notice and for your advice" Josh shook my hand and turned back to Bella
"Bella, in answer to your question: Friend, I hope. This is going to take some getting used to, but I'll get there" he held out his hand and Bella took it
"Josh, take all the time you need, but remember what we said. This is our normal" Josh nodded and released her hand. We stepped away from Josh and made our way to the car. I had the door open for Bella before Josh called out
"Hey, Edward? Is that a ticket on your car?" I looked to my windscreen and saw a white piece of paper fluttering in the breeze. I pulled it out and unfolded it. My blood ran cold as I read the note
She is MINE. How long do you think you will keep her?
By the way, she does look real good in that navy two piece suit, doesn't she?
Enjoy it while it last, because it won't be for much longer, fucker
"Ed, man, what is it?" I silently handed the note to Jasper and watched as he and Josh read it over
"Motherfucker! He was here!" Jasper swore. All I could do was nod. He had been here, which meant he was following her. Stalking her. I felt numb from that realisation. The only thought in my mind was 'protect her at all costs. Find the fucker and kill him'. I knew in that moment it would only be a matter of time before I came face to face with Jacob Black and only one of us would walk away from that confrontation. I just needed to make sure that it was me or I would die trying to protect Bella. My life meant nothing in comparison to hers.