MY ALL chap.2

This is my second chapter.. and my first fanfic story..First of all a very special thanks to Susie..my coach(xlavendermoonx)…thank you to take the time for me…to correct this chapter and reorganize my deficient structures. I so truly appreciate you. Thanks to Julianne my personal advisor( lionandlamb01)…to guide me step by step. Thanks to my great ytube and twitter friends….You know who you are…You all rock girls..So this is it….I take a deep breath and I plunge …again…

BTW…this is a fictional story..all the characters belong to SM…but Badassward is mine…all mine..

The response

Where are my keys?

Oh!

Yes! I remember now. I left them on the coffee table.

And my purse? Shit! Where is that damn purse?

Oh…here it is.

And…oh! Where is my brain? Um…still in the same place, somewhere in between my ears and the top of my skull...quite under pressure, but still functioning.

"Okay girl…move on."

"It's time I have this job. It's time they make their decision! DAMMIT!"

Great I think while laughing aloud. Now I am speaking to myself!

OUTLOUD! What an idiot.

I leave the loft and reach my treasured van.

Gosh! I love my old 1995 black Chevy van. It was a gift from my dad.

Yes, it is old and a bit rusty, but it gets the job done.

That's what matters, right?

I pop in my favourite CD and start to listen to the opening chords of Gravity.

I love John Mayer's voice. I close my eyes and for this moment my thoughts are calm.

God do I love this song. I actually love all his songs. His voice is so unique and on this morning I find it particularly soothing.

I finally back out of the garage and start the drive to my office.

The traffic is annoying heavy this morning.

It is as if all the drivers in this city decided to begin their commute to work later than usual.

Well, this is New York.

If you ever dare to hope to drive in less traffic…well, you best move your ass someplace else.

I've been living here for 6 years, and there is not a damn day I can circulate without hundreds of vehicles in front of me, beside me, behind me, hell they are everywhere! Taxi drivers blowing their horns and ambulances trying, sirens blaring to no avail, to make their way to people in need.

Then you have the just plain-stupid drivers.

Where in the hell did they get their licenses?

Some can't even seem to calculate the distance between two cars, and end up cutting off everyone whenever they have a chance.

"ASSHOLES." I yell to nobody, yet to everybody.

Oh well, fuck the traffic this morning.

I am not late. Better to just calm down and relax.

Take a breath Bella. Just breathe.

My firm is located at the corner of 5th Avenue and 19th Street.

It's a monstrosity of a building. 80 stories of glass and steel.

Welcome to modern architecture.

Finally, I'm here.

Urghhh!

Even though I live a mere 10 minutes from the office, today it took me 35 minutes to get here. This is why usually I just walk.

But today, after the meeting, I have a new designer to meet over in New Jersey.

So days like these, when I have to go outside the office, I drive.

I park my car in my assigned space and hurriedly move towards the big steel doors.

As soon as I am in the building, I see Jacob Black waiting in front of the elevator.

Always the gentleman, he holds the elevator doors for me, allowing me to enter first.

Jacob is very tall, at least 6 feet 4 inches. He is one big guy. He wears his ebony-black hair quite short, he has deep brown eyes, thick black eyebrows, the whitest teeth I think I've ever seen, broad shoulders, huge biceps that strain in his dress shirt, strong well-muscled legs (at least they certainly look huge in his tailored trousers), and tan russet-color skin.

Jacob is really quite the BEAST…a real fucking, gorgeous, sexy beast.

Oh and did I mention he happens to be my boss.

He is 31 one years old and has climbed the corporate ladder quite adeptly.

But for all his ambition, he is really a very nice guy.

Yep – that is Jacob Black. My fucking awesome-ass-looking boss.

But, I really appreciate working with him. He will be one of the people I will miss if I move on. Because even though he is my boss, he is also my friend.

"Well, hello Bella. How are you this morning?" he asks, breaking me out of my reverie.

I clear my throat.

"I am fine Jacob. I'm very nervous though. I don't know what to expect." I confide.

Even though we are alone in the elevator, he lowers his voice.

"Just between you and me, you deserve the job Bella. You've more than proven yourself here. Your efforts are always above and beyond.

So, let's keep our fingers crossed."

I can't help but smile at him. He really is the best boss ever.

Smiling back at me, he adds. "You know I've highly recommended you."

"Thank you, Jake. If it is a yes, I am going to miss you like hell." I say sincerely.

"Working with you and all the staff has been pure bliss, but at this time of my life a change would be mostly welcome." Oops….I think I tend to ramble when I'm nervous.

Thankfully it is just Jacob I'm talking with.

Jacob gives me a compassionate look.

"Yes I know Bella….between Tyler and you…I heard it's rough."

I sigh and can't help but continue. Jacob is just that easy to confide in.

"Jake, 'rough' does not even begin to cover it. We've reached the point of no return"

"I'm sorry Bella. You know I wish you only the best."

"Thank you Jake."

The comfortable silence is broken by the ding of the elevator reaching the eleventh floor. "Ready? Ladies first." Jake says with a wink. "Good luck Bella"

"Bye Jake…see you later"

"See you soon, Bella"

Before the meeting, I take time to go to my office and meet Jessica and Angela.

As soon as Jessica sees me, my ever-efficient secretary pours hot coffee and hands me the cup…God bless her…this girl is a saint. My saint.

She shows me some documents I must approve and sign. Then I go get Angela for our ten minutes of 'beforetherealworkbegin' daily meeting. I find her in the hallway on her way to my office.

"Hello Bella!" Angela says with a huge warm smile. "So today is the big day?"

"Yes Ang. Though I am a bundle of nerves. So what's the after-meeting schedule look like"?

"Well, you know you have to meet Aro Volturi in New Jersey this afternoon. This young Italian-American designer is going to rock the place with his new creations. He's going to be a hit for sure." I sense more than just enthusiasm in her assessment of Mr. Volturi. But I keep quiet as I see Jessica approaching us.

"Sure Angela. Will he rock the place? Or will he rock you? We know your appreciation for young Italian 'stallions'." Jessica says as she steps closer to join our little meeting. Too late, Jessica obviously overheard our exchange.

"Hey Jess…don't mock me. He is young, talented, and yes…very sexy…besides a girl can look, right?" I know someone who is blushing everytime she sees a certain Jacob Black…isn't that right?" Angela shoots right back at her.

"Yeah,well I admit the guy is so-fucking damn gorgeous. on two legs. I would like to have him on top or under me now and then….Arghhh….a girl can always dream…" Jessica retorts.

God I will miss these two as well. Their good-natured teasing is another perk of my current job.

At this point I jump into their playful exchange. "Yes Angie, we all know that Aro's talents will be displayed in front of you sooner or later…all his talents that is" I wink at Angela as I speak.

"And as for you Jess. You're a strong, independent woman, for Christ's sake, invite him for an after-work drink..or invite him for dinner…I don't know…Get a move on girl….DO SOMETHING!!!

But now it's time to get back to business. And, back to my serious voice.

"I already know is talented. I saw some photos of his creations…very up-to-date and highly original…It is… 'la nouvelle tendance'.

So Angie anything else on my agenda after my meeting with this promising new man?"

"Yes Bella. You have a cocktail dinner at 8:00 at La Santa Fé. Casual Dress. You are going to meet all the fashion designers that will attend the big fashion 'New Tendencies Gala' scheduled next week."

Wow. My schedule today is busier than I even remembered.

"Okay then, I guess I have a pretty busy day ahead.

See you girls…and wish me luck." I start to head back to my office.

"'Merde'…You better practice your 'français' my love, if you get that job" Jess says then adds.

" Good luck Bella. We believe in you!" as Angela nods in agreement.

"'Merci' See you after the meeting" I call back to my girls.

10:55…Time to go to the conference room.

As soon as I enter, I see all of them at the large conference table..

Mr. Mike Newton, the president of the company, Billy Black( Jake's father) and the vice-president, and the head director Sam Uley.

They are already sitting behind the huge oak table. All of them seem to be concentrating seriously as they flip through pages of documents.

I stand at the doorway with the other five candidates, all of us probably looking like

deer-in–the-headlights.

The president Mr. Newton, a tall blond hair man with youthful-looking blue eyes, suddenly invites all six candidates to take a seat.

And we all do…I feel like I am in a class…or worse yet, in a criminal court…Hell is under my feet…Heaven is over my head…

All the other candidates seem as nervous as I am. Two of them are shaking their legs. One is playing with his wristband and sweating like a pig…urgh, disgusting.

Another is rearranging his tie incessantly…I feel like screaming: "My God man, leave your fucking tie alone before you strangle yourself."

But of course I say nothing.

The other one…a woman, the only other female besides me, is biting her bottom lip so hard that I feel sure if she doesn't stop, she'll chew it right off. Disgusting.

And then there is me, looking at all the others from the corner of my eye. Because what is there to do when you are waiting for a response…there is nothing to do….you steal glances, critical glances since they are my competitors. I size them up with my lowered eyes, through my long lashes. And I am sure my assessments are not far-off. Because this is what makes me good at what I do: Assessing people and assessing talent.

Suddenly, I hear a throat clear. It is Mr. Newton. I swallow a lump. Damn nerves. At least I don't sweat or fidget. "Never let them see you sweat" my father used to say. Good advice Dad. Just then Newton begins to speak….loudly and with authority.

"Ladies and gentlemen… Good morning to all of you. We are meeting today for a very special occasion. Before we give our response, I want to thank all of you. You are among the best-qualified people working within the walls of our company.

We studied your resumes' with much consideration. You have proven yourselves to be very efficient and very responsible in your respective jobs. Unfortunately, we had to choose just one of you and this choice has proven to be a very difficult one."

With this Mr. Newton cleared his throat again. "I don't see any need to draw things out more." He shuffled some papers and looked squarely at me. And smiled. Holy Christ, Newton never smiled. I knew it just as he said it.

"So, the job goes to Miss Bella Swan. She has worked for the company since 2004. She is a very competent director. She has impressed us beyond our expectations, and continues to impress us even now with the increasing number of fabulously-talented new fashion designers she consistently recruits".

"All of you know this new job involves working with French-Canadian people. 70% of the newly-employed staff speak French".

"Miss Swan already speaks English and Spanish. She is a quick-learner. So we are sure that learning another foreign language will be easy for her."

"So ladies and gentlemen thank you for applying.

Miss Swan …the best of luck. Mrs. Victoria Lefebvre will be meeting you tomorrow morning to give you all the details concerning this new assignment at Newton, Black, & Associates Filiale in Montreal" And then Mr. Newton stopped speaking. He looked at me for my response.

"Thank you, Mr. Newton, Mr. Black, and Mr. Uley" I stated with the utmost professionalism, nodding to each one as I said their names. I could see they were pleased, so I continued even more confidently.

"I will do my best to serve your company interests. I will fulfill my duties with efficiency and integrity. Thank you again. You will not be disappointed." I concluded and from the looks on their faces I knew they were now even more thrilled they had chosen me. They were good businessmen and they knew a good business decision when they saw it.

"Good luck Miss Swan" Mr. Newton simply stated.

As the meeting dispersed, I wanted to jump up and down and sing from the 80th floor. Well, obviously that was out of the question. So instead I did a happy dance and sang inside my head:

"YES! YES! .THIS JOB IS MINE! GOOD-BYE NEW-YORK….HELLO MONTREAL…WAIT FOR ME…HERE I COME"

So this is it..End of chapter 2…Hope you liked it as I loved writing it for you..Edward is coming…Happy dance now…ummm….may be not…He can be a real bastard…Review and comment if you want. We live in a free country..xxxxx

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