"Honey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Look at you – you're practically dead on your feet!"
"It's all good, Shelly," Jasper yawned. "I just haven't been sleeping very well."
"You work too hard," Shelly tutted as she wiped a grease stain off his cheek with a small towel. "You should cut down on your hours, or take a day off."
"You know I can't, Shel."
"Oh, pish. If this is about money again, you know I can –"
"No," Jasper interrupted. He had always refused when the elderly waitress would offer to lend him money before, and he wasn't about to begin. "Thanks, but I can manage."
For once since he started saying that phrase, though, he was actually telling the truth. While Jasper wasn't entirely aware of what had happened in the past couple of days, he did know that whatever he had been doing was certainly bringing in a substantial amount of money. He had woken up this morning to see the bills that were nearing their deadline paid, and he even had a little cash left-over for savings.
He was just so tired, though.
"Well, if you ever need anything, don't be too proud to ask me, okay?" Shelly smiled at her young co-worker.
"You'll be the first person I turn to." Jasper smiled. Shelly squeezed his shoulders before walking into the kitchen.
"Um, excuse me?"
Jasper turned to one of the four customers sitting in the booths. He didn't know the young woman, but she stopped by the diner on her way home enough times to be a familiar face.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Can I have a refill of my coffee, please?"
"Sure thing," Jasper replied before retrieving the coffee pot. He was doing a decent job at it, until his hands decided to shake badly, effectively missing the mug and spilling some of the beverage on the girl.
"Oh, shit! I am so sorry!" he exclaimed as she jumped from her seat with a gasp. He quickly used a towel to keep the coffee from dripping anywhere else. "Are you – were you burned? God, I'm such an idiot. I –"
"I'm alright – no burns, don't worry," the girl assured him. She glanced at her stained clothes. "And I've had worse things ruin my pants. This is nothing some good detergent can't knock out."
"Oh," he laughed nervously. "Like what?"
"Blood, feces, vomit…the usual occupational hazards of nurses," she answered with a laugh. "Sorry, I think that was a little TMI. I mean, I don't even know your name!"
"Jasper," Jasper blurted. He cleared his throat before continuing. "My name's Jasper."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Jasper," the girl replied as she held out her hand for a handshake. "I'm Alice."
…
It was obvious to everyone at Heaven that Bella was stressed. Her hair was barely held in a ratty bun, her clothes were a rumpled mess, and the dark circles under her eyes gave the impression that she probably had a total of five hours sleep in the entire week.
And all of it was because of a certain Rosalie Hale.
To be fair, it wasn't really all Rose's fault since it was Charlotte and Peter who agreed to cater the ball, but the former was just so demanding and picky.
The whole menu she dictated was ridiculously elaborate, and she refused to communicate with anyone from the café aside from Bella. That meant having to learn difficult recipes in a few days and entertaining calls as late as one in the morning for Heaven's poor baker.
Edward watched as she ran in and out of the kitchen. As one of the servers assigned to help at the ball, he was helping the others pack equipment and pre-prepped food into the van outside, but what he really wanted to do was go to Bella and calm her down.
When she almost tripped for the nth time that evening, Edward decided it was time he stepped in. He put the box filled with display stand parts down and swiftly walked towards her.
"Bella, maybe you should sit down for a second," he suggested softly as she righted herself. "Or go outside for a couple of minutes. Get some fresh air."
"I can't," Bella replied almost automatically. "There's just so much that still needs to get done! About ten dowels for the cake broke and –"
"Hey, hey. Easy," Edward placed his hands on her shoulders. "It'll get sorted out, but not with you running around and possibly getting yourself hurt. Let's just…take a second to breathe, okay?"
Bella looked like she was about to protest at first, but then her shoulders sagged in acquiesce.
"Okay, you're right," she said. "I need to get it together."
"You will," Edward nodded. "You just need a little break is all. I don't think you've had one all week."
Bella took a deep breath before looking up at him through her lashes. She saw the genuine concern he had for her in his blue eyes, and she couldn't help the warmth building in her chest. The gentle hands on her shoulders added to the feeling as well.
For a while, the two of them stood there amidst the busy café, simply looking at each other. The moment was broken only when a loud car horn blared from outside.
"I, um," Bella began awkwardly. "I guess I'll take a minute to compose myself."
"Good," Edward cleared his throat. "Do you want some company?"
The 'yes' waiting on Bella's tongue was so ready to come out that she almost said it, but she stopped herself at the last second. "Thanks, Jasper, but I'll be fine. And I should let you get back to…doing whatever you were doing before."
"Are you sure?" Edward asked. He found himself praying that she would respond with a 'no' and let him stay near her.
"Yeah. Thanks for offering, though. And for stopping me from freaking out more."
"It's no problem," Edward whispered as she stepped away from him, making his arms fall limply back to his sides. He continued to watch her until her figure disappeared through the back entrance.
"Hey Jas,"
Edward jerked a little and looked at the girl next to him.
"What's up, Jane?"
"Nothing much," Jane simpered, drawing circles on a nearby table with her finger. "Just wanted to let you know that Bossman and Eric need your help getting some stuff from the back."
"Oh," he blinked. "I'll get to it, then."
"She feels it, too, you know," she called out after Edward took a few steps. He turned back around to stare at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm just saying what you're feeling isn't one-sided," Jane grinned mischievously. "She's just probably a little confused. Give her some time." And with that she sashayed away.
Edward was about to argue, but what points did he want to make, exactly? He certainly didn't know. Yes, he had the overwhelming urge to be around Bella, but wasn't that just because he missed his once close friend? And as for the tingles he felt whenever they touched...well, he couldn't really explain that, but it was probably nothing.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He supposed he could just re-analyze everything when he gets the chance to brood alone.
As Edward went back to his job, Bella leaned against the side of Heaven's building and gulped a lungful of air. She knew that the purpose of her taking a minute to breathe was to keep her from getting even more frazzled, but the opposite seemed to be happening.
Though she already figured that she had misjudged Jasper's personality, she couldn't quite get her head around how…sweet he was. And funny. And charming. And…how much he and Edward were alike.
I mean, Edward was the only one who could ever get me to simmer down before a stress attack could really happen…until Jasper came along, anyway, Bella thought. And how he was worried enough about me to look for me at the hospital…
She shook her head and breathed in deeply again. All the Jasper-Edward correlation her brain was conjuring was most probably just the aftermath of seeing Edward at the hospital. The sleep deprivation and strain she had to go through the past days most likely contributed, too.
Well, whatever was going on in her mind didn't matter at the moment as she had an event to cater. Fixing her hair, she strode back into the café.
…
"Would you care for an hors d' oeuvre, sir?"
"Yes, thank you. Anyway, that was when I told Janice that it was absolutely unacceptable that Martin got rejected by Harvard…"
Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes and walked away from the group of businessmen. Cullen Architecture's anniversary ball was in full swing at the Four Seasons, and as a server, he had to move around with a platter of…mini bread things amongst the throngs of employees and guests.
He spotted Jacob and Rosalie sitting together at one table, and his grip tightened around his tray. He never thought he could feel so much hatred for someone (or in this case, two someone's), but apparently, he could; even just looking at them made him want to crush something.
The anger grew even worse when his parents joined the two since he was reminded of Carlisle's plan of possibly getting Jacob promoted. That was playing right into their plan, and he would be damned if he allowed it to fall through.
Happy thoughts, Edward. Just focus on happy thoughts and move on.
Edward nodded to himself and briskly walked to the main service table. He told himself that he needed to refill his tray, but really, he just wanted to see Bella again.
After all, isn't it better to actually see and hear the subject of your happy thoughts than to just think of it?
And it did make Edward ridiculously happy to see Bella, especially when she smiled at him when he approached. She was overseeing everything, but she still wore a pretty, albeit simple, dress and some black ballet flats. Her hair was also styled, and she had a light layer of make-up on.
Edward thought she looked stunning.
"Hi. Everything going okay?" Bella asked while she arranged more hors d' oeuvres on a bigger platter.
"Yeah, just came here to refill," Edward gestured to the silver tray in his hands. "Who knew the Cullens' firm was this loaded, huh?"
"I know," she sighed. "I almost threw a fit when Rosalie mentioned that they were having five hundred guests. And to have the menu be Mediterranean themed? Gosh, I don't think I've ever tried cooking anything with Mediterranean flavors. And the pastries, too…it's a good thing Google exists and we got to call in some back-up; otherwise, we would've been screwed!"
"Yeah, Rosalie can be real demanding like that," Edward muttered.
"Well, the important thing is we did our job, and everybody seems to like the food so far. I mean, they do right?"
"Of course. All the recipes you made and used are delicious."
A blush covered Bella's cheeks. "Thanks."
Unfortunately, the banter between the two had to end when Jacob approached and asked for Bella to come with him. Edward almost punched him on the nose for even thinking about stealing her away. His eyes trained on them as they walked to the table where Carlisle, Esme, and Rose were sitting.
Edward decided then to return to his server duties, and purposely milled around that particular area. Nobody seemed to have noticed his presence when he arrived, thankfully, so he was able to stay just close enough to overhear.
"…so lovely, Bella!" Esme praised. "If the hors d' oeuvres are this good, I can't wait to taste the courses!"
"Thank you, Esme," Bella smiled timidly. "I can't really take the credit for everything, though; I've had a lot of help."
"But you were in charge, right? Rosalie said you organized everything about the food."
"Well, I was the only one she was contacting, so…"
"Don't be so modest about it, Izzy, you did a great job!" Rosalie commended with a patronizing tone. "See? I told you guys getting her to cater this would be a good idea."
"You certainly put our doubts to rest," Carlisle chuckled. "And of course, it's great to be have you back, Bella. When Esme talked about seeing you again, I almost went down to your café to see you myself. We've missed you."
Bella looked down, clearly uncomfortable with all the attention she was getting.
The table continued conversing for a while, and after a few minutes, Bella excused herself to return to her duties. Edward decided to stick around, though.
For the most part, the topics of their conversations were pretty boring and generic. Edward was tempted to leave, but then Jacob's phone began to vibrate from an incoming call.
"Excuse me, I have to take this," Jacob pointed to the gadget in his hand before giving Rosalie a meaningful look. The latter nodded slightly, and the former got up from the table.
What the hell is going on?
I don't know, but it's time to use your espionage skills, Cullen.
Employing all the stealth, cunning, and ninja moves that he knew, Edward followed Jacob until they reached the balcony. Edward hid between a post and a potted bush as he strained to listen.
"What?! Dammit Garret, I told you those files are important! How could you even…you know what? I don't care. You're fired."
Jacob hung up abruptly and proceeded to compose what seemed like a lengthy text message. A few moments after it was sent, Rosalie came storming into the scene, her eyes narrowed with anger.
"What do you mean they were erased?" she demanded. "What kind of idiots do you have working for you?!"
"Believe me, that idiot isn't working for me anymore," Jacob muttered as he puttered with his phone.
"Well, what are we supposed to do now? You know those files are vital if we want to take over the damn firm."
"Will you shut up for a minute? I'm not a fucking moron, alright? I kept back-ups."
"Well, where are they, then?"
"In a flash drive I hid in Edward's hospital room."