BPOV
"This is so squishy," I squeal as I wiggle my bottom on the new sofa.
"Squishy," he chuckles as he towers over me, waiting for me to find a spot before joining me.
"Yeah, it's squishy," I tell him as I tug on his hand.
"Oh it is," he says, surprised, as he plonks himself down on it and wiggles his ass too. "What was that other one made of, cement?" he chuckles as he runs his hand over the velveteen arm of the chaise.
"Compared to this it was," I agree. "And look," I say excitedly as I stretch out my legs, "I can lay full out on this one."
"Mmm, you can," he hums as he runs his hand up and down my calf. "I wonder if we'll both fit?" he asks, grinning evilly.
"No idea," I reply coyly. I pat the spot beside me and he lies down facing me. "Look at that, we fit," I giggle.
"You might," he laughs, "my legs are hanging off the end. But it's an improvement on the old one."
"You sit up and I'll lie in your lap then," I offer, rather magnanimously I thought.
He scoots up to sitting and then drags himself so that he's reclining against the back of the sofa, his arms draped over the back edge and down one armrest. I wait til he's stopped wriggling and then I climb up until I'm in his lap, his thighs on either side of my ribs, my head under his chin.
"Mmm," he hums, "this is nice. You choose," he says as he slides the remote control down my chest.
I start pushing buttons and this time the actual television does come on. I flick through a few channels and settle on the tail end of a movie I'd seen the beginning of a few weeks before.
"Is this okay?" I ask, offering him the remote control back if it wasn't.
"Hmm mmm," he hums into my hair, ignoring the remote, "this is perfect."
"I meant the movie," I giggle.
"What movie?" he asks before blowing warm air into my ear.
"The one on the screen."
"What screen?"
"The big one up there on the wall with the crack running right down the middle of the glass," I say.
"Your hair smells so good," he whispered, totally ignoring what I'd said. His arms came down from their perches to circle my waist as he buried his nose in my hair.
"I use beetle dung as conditioner," I said as seriously as I could.
"Your skins so soft," he murmured as his fingers inched under my woolly sheep pyjama top to rub soft circles on my belly.
"I buy my soap from a dragon slayer in Madagascar," I tell him.
"I think I know that guy," he chuckled right before he began to tickle me mercilessly. "I buy unicorn horn from his brother to wash my elephant in," he laughs.
"Hey!" I shout as I try to evade his fingers uselessly.
He's out from under me in a heartbeat. I'm under him and he's got me pinned before I know how he's done it.
"You think you're the only one who can multitask?" he laughs before lowering his lips to mine briefly.
"Oh I know you can multitask," I purr, thinking back on how he'd been able to use one hand to massage one boob whilst licking my clit and let me watch him masturbate himself all at the same time.
He's quiet for a moment and I wonder if he's thinking about the same things I am. He ducks his head to kiss me softly and as he retreats I can see he's switched to serious mode.
"Tomorrow's Friday," he says quietly and I nod that I know it is. "You have classes," he says and I agree that I do. "What time do you finish?"
"Midday."
"I have some work to do in the morning but I'd like to pick you up when you're done and take you to lunch," he says too seriously for me to understand what the problem with that might be.
"Lunch would be nice," I reply.
"The press will find us. Probably follow us," he says solemnly.
"Probably," I agree.
"We could hide here," he whispers.
"We shouldn't have to," I counter quietly.
"I don't think I want to," he says firmly, still whispering.
"I don't either."
"They'll print the photos and make up a story to go with it if we're seen out together."
"They'll print photos and make shit up even if we're not."
"They will," he sighs sadly as he lowers his forehead to mine.
"So we'll go out to lunch. In public. Together. They'll print what they want and we won't care."
"It might set whatever plans Tanya has into motion if we do," he warns.
"And it might not."
"It might make it all worse."
"And it might not."
"Will you come to dinner at my parents house tomorrow night?" he asks out of the blue.
"Yes," I say easily.
"I usually go to a club after dinner most Fridays. It's casual, just a few friends I've known since college. I don't stay late. I don't drink til I'm drunk. They're nice people," he trails off.
"Ask me," I beg.
"Will you come to the club after dinner and meet my friends?" he asks in a whisper that sounds just a little bit anxious.
"I'd love to," I reply softly. "I usually go to brunch with Alice and Jasper on a Sunday morning if there aren't any catering jobs on. It's casual, just us and another couple who are in their bridal party. We don't stay long. We don't drink at all. They're nice people," I say, selling my outing as he'd sold his to me.
"Ask me," he whispers against my lips.
"Will you come to brunch on Sunday and meet my friends?" I ask before kissing him softly.
"I'd love to," he says smiling a little. "I have to fly to Melbourne on Wednesday evening. I was supposed to go Tuesday night but changed it because you have no classes on Thursdays. Come with me? I have just one meeting early Thursday morning and then we can have the whole rest of the day to explore."
"You changed your schedule because I have the day off on Thursdays?" I asked, incredulous.
"I can change it back if you don't want to go," he says hastily. "I know you have assignments and things to do so I understand if you can't take off for a whole day. Oh, and you've got the books to do for Jasper too. Shit," he hissed, sitting back on his haunches and running a hand through his hair nervously. "I didn't really think this through. I'm organising your life aren't i? I'm so sorry. Shit."
"Hey," I say softly, reaching for his arm and pulling his hand down out of his hair. "You've gotta stop doing that," I warn, nodding to where he'd been pulling at his hair. "My last class on Wednesday finishes at three. Is that enough time for us to get to the airport?" I ask.
His eyes light up at the prospect that I might say yes and then he's nodding furiously. "Kate knows to book something after business hours, yes."
"And we'd be back Thursday night?" I ask.
"She knows not to book any flight later than six in the evening, yes."
"I can do Jasper's books after class on Friday," I muse.
"Would you please do Jasper's books after class on Friday, Isabella?" he asks excitedly.
"What will we do in Melbourne all day Thursday?" I ask, enjoying his agony just a tiny little bit.
"Anything you want," he promises. "Shopping or we can have lunch somewhere flash. We can wander around the city if you want. Go to the casino. See a movie. I'm sure there are matinees if you want to go to the theatre. We'll go up the Eureka Tower or on the big ferris wheel thingy, if it's working."
He looked giddy. Like an eight year old who's begging to be taken to Disneyland and thinks his parents are about ready to cave.
I was ready to cave.
"I'll go if you take me on a tram," I tell him, grinning.
"That's it?" he asks. "You just want to go on a tram?" he laughs as I nod. "I tell you I'll take you to the casino or shopping and you just want to go on a tram?"
"I've never been on one," I shrug.
"Seth and Cameron would have to trail us if we use public transport," he warns.
"Both of them?" I ask, eyebrows raised. "Is that really necessary?"
"You won't even notice they're there," he tells me firmly. "And yes, it's necessary. For now anyway."
"Alright," I tell him. "You promise to take me on a tram and I'll go to Melbourne with you on Wednesday."
"Fucking perfect," he grins before lowering himself back to me on the sofa. "That's our calendars sorted," he snorts as he pulls me to him so that I'm half lying across his chest again. "Now I just have to convince you to stay here until then," he mumbles but I hear him.
EPOV
I was so eager to get her back into my bed that I carried her bodily from the sitting room to it. She kicked and squealed, pummeled my back and begged me to set her down the whole way but I wasn't to be deterred.
She was mine now and I told her so.
It wasn't even ten but I was ready for bed. Not sleep, but bed.
She crawled beneath the covers still in her pyjamas after we'd brushed our teeth side by side in my bathroom but they didn't stay on her body long.
To that end my sleep pants didn't stay on my body long either.
We were skin to skin quickly. I was languid as I loved her for the third time that day. I was exhausted when we were done but coherent enough to pull her to me and thank her for the most wonderful of days before I let sleep take me over.
I wake wrapped around her, my cock pressed hard up against her ass with her pushing backwards almost mindlessly.
I hum against her shoulder where she's tucked under me and whisper that the alarm will go off in exactly twenty five minutes.
"Call in sick," she mumbles adorably and I laugh before kissing her on the shoulder just once and untangling myself from her.
"I'm not going in today," I remind her as I slowly drag my aching carcass from the warmth of her body and the bed.
I do my business quickly in the bathroom and slide back under the covers quietly. I snake my arm back over her hip and cup her breast softly.
She squeaks at the coldness of my freshly washed hands but doesn't bat me away.
"Are you sore?" I ask softly against her shoulder. She shakes her head but doesn't make a sound.
I'm about to let go and let her enjoy the last bit of sleep she can find before we're forced to get moving for the day when she rolls over. Her eyes are still closed and her hair is everywhere but she's lucid enough to know what she wants.
Lucky bastard that I am it appeared to be me.
She shoved me until I was on my back and then she climbs up onto my thighs, tugging the sheets away from us as she goes. Her nipples are puckered and I wonder if its the cold or lust that's done it.
I don't get time to muse on that because as soon as she's settled above me she takes me in hand.
"Fucking hell," I manage to snarl as she fists me tightly. "Do you always wake up horny?" I chuckle as she begins to stroke me.
"Yeah," she mumbles, eyes still closed.
I reach for her breasts and run my fingertips over the nipples. She moans appreciatively and I attempt to sit up a little so I can kiss them good morning but she's not having that.
"Let me do this," she hisses and I lie back down.
Of course I let her! Who wouldn't?
She let me go just long enough to lick her palm before curling her fingers around me again. I couldn't help pushing my hips upwards at the top of each stroke. The sight of her there, perched on my thighs, her legs spread and her sex glistening with need as she worked me over nearly had me embarrassing myself for a second time in twenty four hours.
When she used her free hand to pinch her own nipple I nearly lost it but it was when she slid that hand down her belly and pinched her clit that I knew I was in trouble.
"Oh god," I hissed, the heat and tension in my body building as I watched and felt pleasure. "Slow down," I begged but she ignored me.
"Do you like that?" she panted, eyes still firmly closed.
"I fucking love it," I growl, desperate to throw her down and take her. "Let me love you," I beg through gritted teeth as she formed a tighter ring with her fingers and increased the speed of her stroke.
"When you can't take any more," she pants and it's me who has to squeeze my eyes shut then.
"You're killing me," I warn though if I died right then I'd go a happy man.
I open my eyes to see her staring down at me hotly. Her little pink tongue wet her lips and I wanted it in my mouth. "When you can't take any more," she instructed and I found myself nodding my agreement even though I hated the idea of getting that close without being inside her.
"Slow down," I warn again but I know it's futile.
Her eyes are huge now. She's staring down at me intently, that tongue on her lips teasing me as much as her hands were. I look downwards and watch her fingers disappear into her own folds and I can't help but buck wildly after that.
"When you can't take any more you can taste them," she purrs and I'm at my limit.
"Enough!" I roar as I grip her wrists roughly. "Give them to me," I demand as I pull her fingers away from her sex and bring them to my mouth. I lick and suck them ferociously until my mouth is filled with the taste of her that I still remembered from the night before. I look up and she's still there across my thighs but now she's wide eyed and grinning smugly down at me. "Where the fuck have you been?" I ask as I yank her hard so that she falls sideways.
I push on her shoulder until she's face first on the mattress but with one shoulder off it, her legs spread and one hip right there for me to grip. I dig my fingers into that hip and hold her there while I retrieve another condom from beside the bed. I roll it on quickly, tugging the tip to get rid of the air pocket. I throw the packet to the floor and then I settle myself between her legs.
"Where the fuck have you been?" I demand again as I hook her topmost leg over my hip. I plunge myself into her in one stroke, unable to temper the fiery lust that's coursing through my system. "Where the fuck have you been Isabella?" I bellow as I seat myself fully inside her.
"Waiting for you," she screams as we're joined. "I've been waiting for you," she pants as I begin to rock into and out of her.
"Yeah," I agree as I gyrate my hips and hit that sweet, sweet spot inside her I'd found the day before. "I've been waiting for you too," I tell her as I pull her leg higher and look down to where we're joined. "Christ," I snarl as I watch myself disappear between her folds.
"So good baby," she's whimpering and my chest puffs out a little at the endearment.
"I won't last," I warn when she starts to roll over a little more making me go deeper still.
"Touch me, take me with you," she demands through gritted teeth.
I feel the war that's fighting inside me. I want to come so badly but I want her to go with me when I do. I need to feel her come. I need to feel her walls clamp down and the delicious shiver that overcomes her delectable body when her orgasm ignites.
I reach beneath her and press the tip of my index finger hard onto her clit and she bucks, bucks hard and lets out a groan that rumbles the mattress beneath us.
"Come with me," I beg, rubbing that little nub a little harder.
"Right there, right there," she's whimpering and I know she's as close as I am then.
I speed up, the loud smacking of my hips against her ass echoing around the room in time with my grunts. I pinch her clit, rolling it between my fingers and feel her clamp down hard around my cock.
"Come with me," she's begging now and I'm undone.
I'm coming and coming, the heat and intense pleasure forcing its way through my body and out into hers in hot spurts as I cry out her name. She's spasming around me, milking me as she cries out my name, clutching at my forearm where I've got her pinned.
Our hips are still rolling, our breathing is ragged and our bodies are covered in a thin film of sweat as we come together.
Finally spent I collapse onto her back, rolling with her until her backs hard up against my chest with me still inside her.
"So good," I whisper into her shoulder as I kiss it. "You feel so, so good."
She's panting hard still so I don't wait for a response. If she's halfway as knackered as I am its no wonder she's speechless I think to myself smugly.
"Good morning," she finally whispers.
"Best ever morning," I correct her before rolling away to pull off the condom.
As I'm getting out of the bed the alarm starts and I hear her chuckle softly. "Better than a wakeup call from Seth?" she asks and I can't help but laugh.
"If you wake me up like that every morning I can sack him and use his wages to employ a masseuse," I chuckle as I roll my neck.
"Can I use the masseuse too?" she giggles as she gets out of her side of the bed.
"Not if it's a guy," I joke. Sort of.
"Then Seth stays," she laughs as she throws her pillow at me. "Shower or coffee first?" she asks.
"Shower," I grunt, "definitely a shower."
"Are you sore?" she asks as she slips her pyjama pants back on.
"Out of practice," I tell her with a wink.
"Good," she says but I don't think she's joking.
If she feels even a tiny little bit of the possessiveness towards me that I feel towards her already then the idea that I'd been with someone else recently would do to her what it did to me thinking about her with another guy.
"Are you sore?" I ask for the second time.
"Very out of practice," she confirms and I feel myself let out the breath I'd been holding. "Will Mrs Davis be here already?" she asks as she tugs on her woolly sheep shirt.
"Yeah. She'll have coffee ready if you want some," I tell her as I push on the wall to my bathroom.
"Shower first, coffee second," she tells me. "Together or separate?" she asks as she pushes on the wall on her side.
I look pointedly down at my crotch before grinning back at her. "Together you get no coffee or breakfast and are probably late for your first class. Separate you get coffee and breakfast, you choose," I challenge.
"You're insatiable," she giggles. "I really like that by the way. But I really love my coffee too, so separate. Meet you downstairs in twenty?" she calls as though we'd done this a thousand times.
"Done," I agree. "Isabella?" I call just as she disappears behind the wall. She pokes her head around and smiles for me. "I love having you here," I tell her sincerely.
Her smile gets noticeably wider then. "And I love being here," she tells me before blowing me a kiss and going into her bathroom again. "Are you sure you can get that pretty hair in order in twenty?" she calls.
"Guys don't have pretty hair!" I protest as I turn on the shower.
"You do!" she shouts before I hear her shower door squeak shut.
BPOV
We sat at the kitchen counter with french toast and coffee while we poured over the Herald looking for whatever new story had been printed about us overnight. To our amusement there wasn't one.
Even Mrs Davis gave a little whoop of joy once we'd read it from cover to cover and found not a single word about either of us.
Seth joined us at seven thirty and my stomach lurched at the thought of having to leave Edward behind. He must have felt the same about me leaving for the day while he stayed home because when Seth gave me the thumbs up that he was ready to leave Edward dragged me through the kitchen archway and around the corner to kiss me senseless.
"I'll be there with the car at midday," he whispered between peppering my lips with little kisses. "Be careful, I need you in one piece," he pled before kissing me again.
Seth, as cheeky as ever, coughed quite loudly before shouting at me to get a move on if I wanted to make my first class on time.
"I'll see you at midday," I promised, my hand to Edward's cheek.
Seth had to wait an extra few minutes, and I risked being late if the traffic was bad, because I just couldn't stop kissing him. He didn't seem to mind and was grinning smugly as he waved to me goodbye.
I waited for Seth to say something or give an opinion as we drove towards the university but he didn't. He wasn't silent, but he never once said a thing about me being at Edward's house or what we'd been doing while I was there.
I wanted to tell him he didn't need to invent visiting his sister for our benefit but figured that would open up the can of worms he obviously didn't want to delve into, so I left it alone.
Instead we talked about the upcoming trip to Melbourne.
He was careful to assure me that both he and Jared would be within reach the whole time we were away and that he'd personally ensure my safety. But, he also cautioned, travelling on public transport and going to places where there could be large crowds made their job harder, not impossible but harder.
I asked what the likelihood was that the press would follow us and after he'd finished laughing, the cheeky bastard, he told me straight up that not only would they follow us but they'd be super aggressive if we were out in public.
He said the instant we appeared at the airport the word would go out that we were on the move. The press wouldn't have any trouble at all finding out what flight we were on and where we were heading and that even though the flight was only an hour long there would be a press contingent waiting for us at the other end.
They'd want shots of us doing anything and everything. They'd want details about what we ate, where we stayed, what we talked about and who we talked with. If they couldn't get those details by bribing hotel and restaurant staff they'd pay other patrons to get whatever information they could.
"Edward said something as I was leaving that's bothering me," I tell him as we pull into the parking lot.
"Let me brief Jared quickly and we'll sort it out," he assures me. "Stay put, one minute," he says as he gets out of the car and meets Jared on the pavement.
They have a brief conversation during which Jared cranes his neck to check on me several times even though I doubt he can see me through the blacked out windows of the Merc. Seth points towards the other end of the parking lot and I twist around and see four or five white vans parked in a line where the lot meets the road. Jared shakes his head and points away in the opposite direction and Seth nods his head firmly. I look down that end and see nothing, no white vans and nobody with cameras. The boys exchange several more words and then Seth rejoins me in the car.
"What's bothering you little lady?" he asks once he's inside and leaning over the front seat so he can see me in the back.
"It's probably nothing," I begin, "but he made me promise to be careful. He said he needed me in one piece. Is there a chance that someone is going to try and physically hurt me?"
"We don't know," he says firmly. "Up to this point this all seems to be being played out via the media but you have to remember that even though we think its Tanya behind this we still have no idea why.
"Her showing up at your apartment was the one deviation so far. The boss wants me alert in case she has a plan b. A plan b is never a waste of time," he winks.
"That's a pretty good try," I admit. "But don't bullshit me, Seth. I'm not stupid. I don't need a full time bodyguard because of the press. They can't come on private land, they aren't allowed on campus and yet Jared's still at my shoulder.
"And Tanya won't have time to book a flight, get to the airport and get to Melbourne ahead of us next week even if she has whoever she's paying tell her the instant you turn this car into the parking lot at the airport.
"You don't strike me as an idiot," I say as calmly as I can, "so I'm guessing you're watching for her to surface so you'll know pretty quickly if she hops a plane to Melbourne. So why do we need both you and Jared no more than three feet from us the whole time we're away?"
I see a momentary flash of what looks like panic come over his face but as soon as I see it it disappears again and he's his normal composed self. "There isn't time to go any further into this," he says evenly. "Go to your classes, keep Jared close like you've been doing, have a nice time out with the boss at lunch this afternoon and put all of this out of your mind."
I'm about to protest when he holds up his hand. "Let me finish," he says sternly. "As of this minute there is no threat to you physically. None. Nothing. Not from the press or any other individual that I know about. You're safe when one of us is with you. I'll explain why you aren't safe without us this afternoon, back at the house, alright?"
"Do you promise?" I ask. "Even if the boss says not to? You'll tell me?"
"Your safety is your business, not his or anyone else's as far as I'm concerned and you have a right to know why you're being tailed so closely. Now, go to class and forget all this. I'm on it, Jared's on it, Tyler's on it when it's his turn."
"Thank you," I whisper and gather my backpack.
"Hey," Jared says as I step out of the car. "We ready, boss?" he asks me and I nod. "Press to your right and a clear path straight ahead. Chin up, boss," he reminds me and we head off.
The flash of the cameras and the shouted questions hadn't backed off at all over the past few days but I was getting better at ignoring them. Jared said so as he ushered me into the building for my first class.
He was right outside the door when I came out an hour later and as we walked to the Merewether Building it was obvious that he'd been clued up by Seth about our conversation and the upcoming trip.
"You're off on a jaunt," he says with a smile as we walk.
"Overnight in Melbourne, yeah," I admit.
"Sweet," he whistles. "The boss always picks top class hotels," he winks.
"Seth told me you're both coming," I say flatly.
"And he told me that you're worried," he says evenly. "There's no need to be, it's my job to worry, not yours. You let me worry and you just have a good time."
"How do you know what to worry about though? How do you know what to prepare for?" I ask hoping he'll tell me and I won't have to wait hours until Seth does.
"Think about us as vitamin c tablets," he tells me as we got to the building. "If you take the tablets all the time you might never get a cold. But if you start taking them once you're already sick there's not a lot they can do."
"You're the prevention rather than the cure," I say.
"Exactly," he chuckled. "We do all the donkey work before you even sit your butt down on the plane," he says as he holds the door open for me. "The boss tells us flight numbers and hotel names and we check it all out first. He tells us what restaurant but we book the right tables, in the safest positions. We hire the cars and we drive them ourselves so that nobody gets pictures or audio of you in them."
"But we're planning to go on trams and sit in cafes, there'll be crowds. How can you guard against who might be in a crowd?" I ask as we take seats outside the lecture hall to wait for the professor to call me in.
"We can't," he admits. "But we stick close to you, at your shoulder or at least very close to it if you're moving through a big crowd. When you stop we stop, when you go again we go again."
"When I pee you pee?" I chuckle.
"When you pee I stand outside the door," he says quietly as two girls pass by, hiding their gossipy giggling behind their hands.
"Seriously?" I whisper as soon as they are far enough away. "If I go to a public bathroom you'll wait outside the door for me?"
"It's my job," he shrugs.
"A shitty job," I sigh.
He nudges me with his elbow and grins. "You said you only needed to pee, not number two's," he laughs and I can't help but join him. The doors to the hall opened then and he nodded towards them. "Go get smart, I'll be right here when you're done."
I still don't understand why he has to be there at all and realise I've been hoodwinked by him pretty professionally. He'd been briefed by Seth about what I'd asked but he avoided having to answer. Seth had told me outright to put it out of my mind until later; Jared had effectively done the same by deflecting the question and turning the rest of the conversation into a joke.
He was good.
Bloody good I thought as I picked a seat midway between the front and back of the lecture hall. I knew better after three days than to sit either at the front or at the back.
At the front I felt every set of eyes focused on the back of my head. At the back I got to see those eyes first hand when they swivelled around to get a look at me. In the middle I only saw half and only heard half the whispering. It wasn't ideal but it was better than other alternatives.
"One more class," I mutter to myself as the professor comes on stage.
EPOV
By eight I was bored. By eight thirty I was bored rigid and by ten to nine I was pacing my study like a caged tiger.
It had been so long since I'd ditched going in to the office that I'd forgotten what being at home alone was like. In a word – boring.
Too quiet by half, even with the stereo on in the sitting room next door. Too still too. There was nobody rushing about like there was at the office. Nobody knocking on my door needing my attention. Nobody to yell at, nobody to ask an opinion of and nobody to roll my eyes at when they gave their opinion to me.
I'd been up and down the stairs ten times between signing and faxing the transfer documents back to the office in search of a snack. I never ate snacks. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. I never snacked.
But today I was so bored eating seemed a good idea. But because I was rarely home except for breakfast and dinner there weren't any snacks to be had. Short of raiding Seth's cupboards I was shit out of luck.
There was a bowl of various fruits on the kitchen counter but I wanted something sweet. Or salty. Or forbidden. Not fruit.
Mrs Davis would've whipped me up something sinful in minutes but she'd gone to do the days shopping as soon as she'd loaded the breakfast dishes into the machine.
I'd already talked to Kate, who was still buzzing over being all set for her day off and a weekend on a yacht, who told me my conference call with Equity was set for nine fifteen. Even that seemed far too far away as I sat on my new red sofa and watched the clock tick round.
I had all my notes laid out and the dot points I wanted to discuss already sitting by the telephone console on my desk and could already recite them by rote I'd read over them so many times.
I checked and rechecked my personal phone a dozen times – hoping for a message from Isabella – but she was already in classes and I knew the wish was futile.
I thought about calling Emmett but didn't want to answer his probing questions about my personal life. And I knew he'd ask and that the questions would be probing. That was Emmett. As subtle as a sledgehammer.
Rose wouldn't be so intrusive in her questioning but I didn't feel like listening to the details of how my niece, Amelia who was three, had smooshed her breakfast into the carpet that morning or how my nephew, Liam who was eight months old, had puked in her hair the night before.
Amelia always threw her food, Liam was always puking.
So calling my sister was out too.
Mom would probably like to know that Isabella had accepted the invitation to dinner, and to the club afterwards, but that call had no chance of ending before my conference call was due so that was out too.
Dad would be at work.
With nothing else to do I went back into my study and pulled out that day's copy of The Financial Review. I knew I should be more diligent in reading it but it bored me too, and not just that day. It always bored me.
It was page after page of the same shit, just the names changed. Either someone had fucked up and his company was now worth less than dirt or someone had hit pay dirt and his previously ailing company was the bright, new shiny light of hope for the economy. It never deviated.
Today's lead story was an 'expose' on lawyers who marked up their billing hours. Hardly headline news. Page two had a report on how overseas property investors were killing the real estate market. Again, hardly news and very wrong in my opinion.
Page three was a profile piece on the next online wunderkind who had designed a game for use on tablet pc's that was 'taking the world by storm'. "Yeah," I scoffed, "design a free game and make twenty million off it on paper. Wait till you try and buy a hamburger with your pretend money," I joke as I stare down at the geeky little prick's picture.
I flip the page while checking my watch and see that I have killed ten minutes. Thank god I think as I scan page four.
"Motherfucker!" I roar as I see the headline. I quickly scan the first few lines as I reach for my phone. I dial with one hand while using my other to scroll down my list of contacts in Outlook on my laptop. "Get back here," I bark at Seth. "We're going in to the office."
I end the call, not interested in explaining why I was going in when I'd taken the day off, and keep scrolling down my contacts. I dial again, "Is she in a class?" I ask when Jared answers.
"Yes, boss," he replies.
"You double your efforts to keep her far enough away from the press that she can't hear their questions. Are we clear?" I demand.
"Yes, boss," he says quickly.
"When her class is finished you explain that there's been a change of plans for lunch. You tell her I've had to go in to the office real quick and that we're meeting there before going on to lunch. Got it?"
"Got it."
"If you can I need her to ignore her personal phone until she gets here."
"She has it on silent in classes anyway, I'll distract her when she comes out so she doesn't turn the ringer back on," he says and I sigh, relieved.
"Good call. Stay alert," I beg of him and he promises that he will despite the fact that he has no clue what he's being alert for.
My next call is, unfortunately, to Kate.
"I'm sorry Kate," I say when she answers. "I know you're already driving to the marina but I need you to make some calls."
"Let me pull over," she says and I try and wait patiently until she's safely on the side of the road. "Get me a pen," she calls, probably to her husband, the phone obviously now on the front seat while she digs around in her bag. "Got one," she says more clearly. "Go."
"Cancel the Equity conference. Make it Monday; I'll be in the office after all. Call Caius and tell him I need a face to face today, I don't care when or where. You got that?" I ask.
"Equity cancelled to Monday. Caius consult," she confirms.
"I need Marcus to call me. I don't care when, he's in Hong Kong and the time difference is shit but tell him whenever suits him. Call Alec and have him sit on the funds transfer documents I just faxed back. That might not go through after all. And get Alistair into the office right away. Tell him I need to physically see the legislation documents for international steel transfer and procurement. Seth's collecting me and I'll be in within the hour, make sure Alistair's got his ass in a seat in my office by the time I get there."
"I'm turning around now," she says.
"No, don't. Make those calls, set that all up and you keep going towards the boat. You deserve the time off, Kate. Half of this isn't anything to do with work and you don't have to do my bidding for my own personal shit fights," I sigh.
"I'm turning around now," she says firmly and I shake my head sadly. "If you think the contracts with Malita Steel aren't going to go through that's business."
"There is a chance," I admit, "but I won't know for hours, so I really don't want you to turn around," I tell her quietly. "Really, Kate. I appreciate your loyalty but please, go and enjoy the boat while you can."
"But Mr Cullen..." she protests and I cut her off.
"I mean it. You show up in the office before eight on Monday morning consider it your last day," I say severely. "I really appreciate you wanting to come in but just make those calls and I'll handle the rest. Please."
I hear her huff and can only imagine the war going on in her head. She was a brilliant PA and a very loyal woman it seemed.
"I'll call you back in half an hour and confirm the calls and the outcomes, but if I can't reach any one of these on this list I'm turning around, employed or not," she says firmly.
"Do your best. Half an hour," I agree and end the call.
I click on the contact information on my screen and tap the number into my phone. It dials which is a good sign and when it's answered I do my best to rein in my temper.
"Edward Cullen calling for Jacob Black," I tell the woman on the other end. She tells me to please hold.
"Mr Black is in on a conference call and has asked me to take a message," she tells me when she picks the call back up.
"Please inform Mr Black that if he hasn't returned my call by one pm I will instruct my lawyer to proceed with a defamation claim forthwith," I tell her and hear her suck in a breath hastily.
"Please hold," she says, like I knew she would. I wait, jiggling my thigh to the beat of the horrible on hold music. "Mr Black will return your call the instant his meeting is concluded. Could you give me your preferred contact number please Mr Cullen?"
I recite my number and hang up. I look at my watch and see that it's now nine thirty. "You've got three and a half hours Black, you fucking piece of shit," I hiss as I begin shoving all my reports and files into my briefcase.
BPOV
I don't notice that I'm being steered the long way around back to the parking lot until we're already there. Jared talks nonstop about nothing as we go and I wonder what he's distracting me from.
I expect Edward to be in the car when I get there and it comes as a bit of a shock when he's not.
"What's happened?" I ask, panic and worry rising inside me.
"Slight change of plans," Jared says calmly as he backs carefully out of the spot. "The boss had to go in to the office for a little bit, that's all. We're meeting him there."
I let go of my held in breath in relief. "We're still going to lunch?" I ask.
"Sure, that's what the boss said," he shrugs as he pulls into the traffic.
I reply that that's good and settle back into the seat with my notes from class.
The traffic is light despite it being lunchtime and we pull up at the Cullen Enterprises building quickly. Jared accompanies me through the foyer, into the lift and then sits me down at one of the meeting areas when we get to the top floor.
I look around but don't see Kate and I'm pleased about that. It meant that whatever Edward had to come in for today hadn't meant Kate had to change her plans.
And then we hear it.
It's hard to miss it.
The roar startles me and makes Jared sit up straighter.
The next shout is louder again and I wonder what the hell is going on on the other side of the office doors.
I can't make out what's actually being said, but whoever Edward was yelling at wasn't popular. He didn't stop for breath for the first five minutes I was there.
All is quiet for a moment and Jared gets up and moves to the office door. As soon as he raises his hand to knock on it the shouting starts again. He quickly comes back to where I'm sitting and pulls up a chair for himself.
"We'll give it another minute," he says sheepishly, but he needn't have.
"It's okay," I tell him truthfully. "I knew he was a hard-ass at work."
"Yeah, a hard-ass," he mumbles. "Never heard him go off like that before though," he says with a nod towards the office.
I'm about to say that Edward's a perfectionist and someone hasn't done what he asked how he asked it to be done when the door opens and an obviously shaken dirty blonde man comes out.
He's clutching a stack of papers to his chest and as soon as the office door shuts behind him he scuttles past us, a grimace on his lips, and then ducks behind one of the doors that lead off the main room.
"Alec," Jared whispers to me. "Head of Finance."
"He looks terrified," I whisper back.
Whatever Jared was going to say next is cut off by the sound of glass breaking in the office. He's on his feet instantly and striding towards the doors. This time he doesn't knock. He goes right in and I'm left on my own, wondering what the hell was going on.
There's more shouting, a loud thump and then another man comes out the doors. He comes right to me and though he looks just as shaken as Alec had been he shifts his facial features so that by the time he's stood in front of me he looks relatively calm.
"Miss Swan," he says, offering me his hand. "I'm Alistair, Cullen Enterprises corporate lawyer. Mr Cullen's meeting is running a little longer than he expected and sends his apologies for keeping you waiting."
"Nice to meet you," I say flatly as I get to my feet and shake his hand.
"He's asked that I show you where the coffee is kept," he says with a nod down the way a little.
I follow behind him and can't help but cringe when I hear another roar from Edward's office.
"Is everything alright?" I ask as he holds a door open for me.
"Slight mishap with a deal I'm afraid," he says quietly with a slight downturn to his lips. "You'll find everything you need in here," he says, waving his arm about the small room. "We shouldn't be too much longer," he apologises.
"Its fine," I tell him as I take a mug down from the hooks under the shelving unit.
"Alistair!" comes a shout and I jump a little.
"Coming," he calls back and he disappears from the doorway.
I stick my head out and watch him run – yes run – back towards Edward's office. Seth is holding the door open and as he spots me he tips his head and raises his eyebrows at me. I get the message and slip back into the coffee room.
Whatever is going on in there isn't good I think as I pour the premade coffee into the mug.
EPOV
"Edward," I hear at my shoulder. I ignore it and keep reading through the case notes in front of me. "Edward," I hear a little louder and swat at the hand on my shoulder.
"One minute," I ask for and Seth moves away a little, giving me some room to breathe.
I read to the bottom of the page, flip to the next and read the last paragraph. I make some quick dot point notes in the margin and flip the pages back to the front.
I know that everyone in the office is waiting on me, I can hear them breathing and shuffling uncomfortably but I don't care. I pay them to wait.
I slide the folder and its pages across the desk and look up at Alistair. "What is your opinion?" I ask.
"Even if that case is cited, which I don't think it can be, not in the context we're concerned about, there is no way a case can be made to stick against you," he tells me firmly.
"You covered this? In the original brief?" I ask him as I tap on the folder.
"Of course," he says firmly and I believe him.
Alistair was the consummate professional. If there was any way I was liable, or could be made to be deemed liable for any of Jake Black's claims, Alistair would've warned me about it before I went ahead with the deal.
"Alec," I bark at my Head of Finance. He jolts upright and his face begins to flush. "You have four hours to find me a money trail," I tell him. He nods but doesn't move. "Go!" I roar at him and he jumps to his feet, scrambling to collect his papers as he does.
"And you?" I ask Caius, "Can I sue?"
"Anyone can sue anybody they like," he shrugs.
His flippancy had me on my feet, the heavy cut glass that always stood on my desk with pencils in it in my hand in a heartbeat. I threw that fucker across the room and watched it shatter against the wall satisfyingly.
Seth was at my shoulder before I could blink but I shook his hand off again with a shrug of my own. "I'm not paying your fucking fee for you to be vague," I roar at Caius, his shocked face now puce. "Can I sue the bastard?" I ask again.
I see Jared come into the office but ignore him as I concentrate on Caius' advice.
"If Alistair is sure that your contracts are air tight, and the precedent's you've just read are the only ones relevant then yes, you can sue him for libel," he said carefully.
"Are they air tight?" I ask Alistair who is already nodding before I finished asking. "Find me other precedents," I shout across the desk, wondering why he wasn't already on his feet and going to find them.
"Edward," Seth says quietly at my shoulder again and I round on him venomously.
"What?" I roar.
"Isabella is outside waiting for you," he says calmly.
"Fuck!" I roar again. "Wait," I tell Alistair before he can leave and he turns back and sits back down.
I look down at my watch and see that it's twelve-thirty already. I'd gotten exactly nowhere in the hours since she'd been in class and I didn't want her to know anything about the mess I was dealing with.
Not yet anyway.
Not until I had an answer.
Not until I was sure I hadn't broken the law.
Not until I was sure that she'd stay with me if I had.
I crane my neck and feel it pop and crack as I do. I tug on the ends of my cuffs and straighten my tie.
The men in the room watch me cautiously and they're right to be wary. I was wound tight as a drum and it wouldn't matter to me which one of them tipped me over the edge. I'd as soon take a swing at them all rather than just one of them anyway.
"Okay," I bark. "Alistair, please go and introduce yourself to Miss Swan. Show her the coffee room and apologise that this meeting has run overtime."
He's out the door fairly quickly and I'm pleased. I hated yelling. I hated shouting to make myself heard and understood. But sometimes it was the only way to get people moving at a pace that would get the job done.
"Black has another twelve minutes," I say, looking down at my watch and making the calculation, "If he hasn't made contact by then file the necessary paperwork," I tell my personal lawyer.
"As you wish," he says simply and gets to his feet. "Call my service if you hear from him," he says as he offers his hand across the breadth of my desk. "Personally I do hope he doesn't call," he snarls as we shake.
"Me too," I hiss.
When he's gone I go into the adjoining bathroom and get the cleaning girls bucket from the cupboard. I go back into my office and scoop up the shards of glass. I dump the buckets contents into the bin in the bathroom, wash my hands and splash a little water on my face in an attempt to wipe the anger and frustration from my features.
I stare at myself in the mirror for a moment, take a few deep, cleansing breaths and smooth down my shirt and its cuffs again.
"Get Alistair back in here," I bark at Seth before sitting back down at my desk. I point to the chair recently vacated by Caius and tell Jared to sit in it. "You keep her away from the press?" I ask as I shove all my assorted files into the bottom drawer.
"Yes sir," he replies formally.
"Her personal phone still on silent?" I ask as I lock the drawer.
"Yes sir," he replies quickly.
"She upset at the yelling?" I ask carefully.
"No sir," he tells me and I let my shoulders relax just a little.
"I'm taking her to the Brasserie for lunch," I tell him. "Seth's done the leg work but I'll need you to shadow us. How long until you switch out with Tyler?"
"I only came on in time for her first class this morning so I'm good to go until six," he says matter of factly.
I nod to show him that I've heard and understood but say nothing more. I'm nowhere near calm enough to be in her presence and I have one more task to set for Alistair before I can even think about leaving for lunch, so I tidy my desk while I wait for his return.
Seth shuts the doors behind him and they both come to the edge of the desk.
"I don't have to remind you why it's so important that we have all the case law we can find behind us as we tackle this," I say as calmly as I can to the frantically nodding man opposite. "But if this sticks," I say, waving my hand over the article in the paper, "if someone can make an actual case out of this we're all fucked," I say simply.
"I was careful," Alistair insists and I know that he's being truthful. "If there had been even a sniff of anything inappropriate I would've told you early on in the deal," he insists and I'm inclined to believe him. He was brilliant and that's why I'd stolen him away from his last job to work for me.
"Okay," I concede. "I trust that you know what you're doing but it's my signature on those contracts, not yours, so you had better check over your handiwork before this goes any further. And I need those precedents as soon as possible."
"Close of business," is his standard answer and as he stands to leave I know I'll have what I need by then.
"On your way down have someone vacuum up any glass I've missed," I tell Jared who gets to his feet instantly. "And thank you for today, you did well."
"Thanks, boss," he says more freely, probably because the worst of my anger had dissipated. "I'll organise that and be right behind you as you leave," he says to me and to Seth.
I thank him again and wait until the door is closed behind him before I let out the breath I'd been holding for what seemed like hours. "This is bad," I sigh.
"It looks bad," he concedes as he too gets to his feet. "But you know your team, you trust them and their individual specialities so what looks bad isn't necessarily actually bad," he says calmly.
"I trust the deal," I tell him firmly. "I know that I'm within the law on this. I know that what that asshole is selling is bullshit. I just have to be able to prove it in court."
"Alistair will argue until his last breath," he reminds me and I nod, knowing he was right. "And Caius will sort out the civil side of things," he told me to which I nod again. "Now, get your shit together and let's go to lunch, I'm starving."
BPOV
I flick over the pages of my assignments while I wait for Edward but its tough going.
A deathly pale man came out of the office. He didn't even look my way as he went towards the lift. I deduced he wasn't the source of the problem because there was still plenty of yelling going on after he left.
It's hard to concentrate when I can hear raised voices every now and then so by the time Alistair comes back out of the office – only to scurry away, ignoring me completely – I gave up and just stared at the view out the windows.
Jared came out next. He told me we'd be leaving for lunch very soon so I packed up my things so I'd be ready.
Seth was the next one out and he strode towards where I was sitting, a smile plastered to his face. "You're in for a treat," he told me jovially. "He's taking you to the Brasserie."
"Should I know what that is?" I ask as I pull my backpack onto my shoulder.
"Probably not," he laughs as we walk towards the office slowly. "It's called the Glass Brasserie actually, but everyone shortens it," he snorts as he opens the office door for me.
I tell him thank you and go in. Edward is sitting on his sofa and he's trying very hard to look relaxed and casual. He sucks at it but I don't call him on it. If he wants to share his troubles with me he will. When he's ready.
"Hey, beautiful," he grins as he gets to his feet.
"Hey yourself," I smile and go to him.
He holds me. Tightly. Burying his nose in my hair. I hear and feel him take in a deep, deep breath before he lets it out against my throat. He kisses me softly, squeezing me tight to his chest before letting me go. I look up into his eyes and his game face is firmly back in place.
"You're going to love the place I'm taking you," he tells me playfully.
"Are you ready to go then?" I ask, watching him go to his desk to collect his things.
His posture is off. He's stiff, as though he's coiled tightly, a spring just waiting for the moment in time when the pressure can no longer be contained and its set free.
"All set," he says brightly, though his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. He takes my hand and leads me out of the office and to the lift.
"Is everything alright?" I ask carefully as we three, Seth in front of the two of us like a sentinel, get into the carriage and begin the descent to the garage level.
"Problems with a deal I thought was signed, sealed and delivered," Edward tells me evenly before lifting my fingers to his lips. "I was a bit wound up over it but I'm fine now, now that you're here," he smiles and this time it does reach his eyes.
"We don't have to go out," I offer. "Stay here, finish your work. Get the deal tucked away. I don't mind."
"No," he says very calmly. "There's nothing more I can do on it right now. I may have to look over some things late this afternoon, once we're back at the house, but for now I just want to show you this amazing place to eat."
I take that at face value, after all I'd given him an out and he'd declined. Whatever it was that had gone wrong with his deal was either out of his hands personally or his employees were working on it so that it could be put to bed.
I smile at him as we get into the car and when Seth sets off I try and put all the yelling – and the sound of that glass smashing too – out of my mind and enjoy his company.
A/N: Thank you for reading.
Please review.