A/N: S. Meyer owns Twilight.

Ouch.. What's up with the lack of reviews to the last chapter? Kind of hurt.. But anyway, I'm gonna keep posting for all my lovely readers who sticks with me through the good and the bad :) You guys are the best, and I love you!

Chapter 9

Monday morning, I woke up at 7 am sharp. I guess I'd already been half awake for a while, just floating in and out of my dreams about Edward. I couldn't say that I was happy that I'd woken up, since I was free to be as romantically gushy and clingy as I wanted in my dreams. Real life was a wholly other fucking thing.

A non-fucking thing, to be more precise.

After getting dressed and spending an extra 5 minutes in front of the mirror, only because I wanted to look good on my first day with a new client of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that my new client was Edward, I grabbed my bag and my keys from the table and took off. I stubbornly ignored the butterflies in my stomach that didn't seem to want to die no matter how many times I had preformed an execution during the last hour.

When I got to the office, everything was just as usual. Cammie, the receptionist, waved to me as I passed, and I successfully avoided Michael Newton on my way to my room. I had a few hours to finalize the plans I had prepared for Edward and then I would be heading over there around lunch time to show him what I'd come up with so far. I hoped he would like my ideas, and even more than that, I hoped that he would stay professional during the time we worked together. I knew I had screwed up at not mixing business with pleasure, but I still hoped we could function together without any of the emotional or, in my case, physical things messing up the project.

Working with Edward's apartment was like a dream come true. It was truly an amazing place, and there was so much to toy around with. I had enjoyed myself quite a bit with thinking and rethinking and planning the whole thing, while at the same time trying to not think about how I would have wanted to design the place if I were to live or spend time in his home.

Don't even go there, Bella.

Fuck no, I wouldn't go there. I was professional, damn right I was. So what if I had used my own favorite color for the living room walls? It was just a suggestion. And the fire place in the large bedroom was not in there because it was my childhood dream to have a fireplace, but because it fit the atmosphere of the room perfectly.

See? Strictly professional.

Maybe just a tad bit psychotic.

I was just starting to wonder where Esmee was at and why she hadn't come in to grill me about details of what happened at the party, when I remembered that she had a meeting down town that morning and wouldn't be in until later. I cursed a little; I had counted on having a little pep talk before I headed over to Edwards place. You know, a slap in the face and some kind words of warning and that sort of shit.

I realized then just who I could count on to give me a good slap in the face like I needed. I picked up my phone and sent a text message to Rosalie, praying that she would answer quickly.

Going to E's place in a couple of minutes. Any last advice?

A response came only minutes later, and I read it greedily, desperate for the support.

Wear a chastity belt and bring a cross.

I frowned, and swiftly typed a reply.

A cross? For what? He's no vampire, Rose. Though he does look a bit like that guy in the vampire flick Alice made us watch a while back…

She wrote back immediately, and I began to wonder if she ever got any work done at all when she was so quick to sent texts like this.

If he doesn't get scared off by it, you can always shove it up his ass if he tries anything.

I laughed whole heartedly, and could feel the tension disappear from my body.

You don't think Jesus would mind? It's highly sacrilegious.

A knock on the door startled me, and I put my phone to the side before I called out for my visitor to enter.

"Yes?" I tried to force the silly smile off my face. You could always count of Rosalie to make shit seem less severe than they were. I loved her dearly for that.

The door opened, and my stomach dropped as the first thing I saw was that familiar, messy, bronze hair. Then his face came into view.

"Hello Miss Swan." he said in his velvet voice, stepping into my office.

As usual, I had to concentrate on keeping my jaw from dropping when I saw him. Edward in a suite was quite the sight, even more gorgeous than Edward in his casual clothes, I decided. His hair was as wild as always, and his cheeks had that perfect 2 days stubble that I loved. I wanted to kiss him and feel that scratchy cheek against mine, and then I wanted to bury my hands in that fucking mess of a hair while his lips kissed down my stomach and…

Great, and now I was drooling.

I cleared my throat and straightened my white top, trying to dwell on the fact that I hadn't been able to fix my hair one more time before I saw him, "Good day, Mr. Cullen." I said, smiling.

"I thought I'd offer to take you out for lunch before we head over to my place, if that's alright with you?" he sounded really formal, but his eyes betrayed his charade. I knew when a man was checking me out, and Edward was most definitely doing that right now. He was talking to my breasts, so it wasn't all that hard to figure out.

I crossed my arms over my chest, and his eyes snapped up to mine. I gave him a knowing look, and he smiled crookedly back at me. "That's very nice of you, Mr. Cullen. Am I invited to, or did you just want these two?" I glanced down at my breasts and then raised an eyebrow at him.

"Always that smart mouth." Edward laughed, stepping forward until he was standing right in front of my desk, "Of course you're invited too, though I can't promise that I'll be able to concentrate on what you are saying when you're wearing that shirt."

It was my time to laugh, "Don't blame the shirt. You're just a creep, that's it." I leaned back in my chair, tapping my foot against the desk.

Bye, bye professionalism.

Edward didn't seem to mind my name calling though. In fact, he looked rather impressed, "A creep that is still waiting for an answer to his lunch proposal." he said, and then looked at his watch, "Clock is ticking and I'm getting… hungry."

Why the fuck did he have to look at me like that? I knew bloody well what kind of 'hungry' he was talking about when he gave me that smile and it wasn't anything that contained calories.

He put his hands on my desk and leaned forward, locking his eyes with mine. "What do you say?"

I was a little breathless as I squeezed out a "Yes.", and tried to get a grip over myself. Damn this man, no matter how much I want to refuse him, I just fucking can't.

"Great, I'll meet you by the exit." Edward straightened up, ran his hand through his messy hair and then turned and walked out of the office, giving me a nice view of his ass as he went.

Sighing to myself, I began to collect all the folders and color samples I had spread out all over my desk. I picked up my phone and saw that I had a new message from Rosalie, and read it while I put all the papers into my bag.

All is fair in love and war, dear friend. Or should I say, in sex and business?

Perfect, just perfect.

Edward was leaning casually against Cammie's desk when I entered the lobby. She was fluttering her eyelashes at him while he chatted, and I could clearly see the effect he had on her.

I used to really like Cammie, but suddenly, not so much.

"Ready?" I asked as I approached them, throwing Cammie a dirty look that she didn't notice. Of course she didn't, she was too busy ogling Edward.

"Certainly." Edward straightened up and smiled at me, then turned back to Cammie, "It was really nice meeting you. I'll see you around."

He'll see her where?Oh damn, now I was fuming. Flirting with women right in front of me? Fucking prick, I wanted to kneel him in his beloved crotch.

"Goodbye, Mr. Cullen." Cammie smiled, looking completely dazzled. I prayed that I didn't have that face when I looked at him.

"Make sure that you call Mr. Travers about the contractures Cammie, and have Paul change the lamp in my office. I've told you to do that twice now." I didn't know where that came from, but I delivered it with a touch too much venom in my tone.

Cammie looked startled, she immediately picked up her phone, "Absolutely, Miss Swan. I'm so sorry."

I gave her a short nod and turned to Edward. He looked a bit surprised, but amusement was clearly the dominant expression. I rolled my eyes and began walking, knowing he would follow. We reached the elevator and I pushed the call button, then stepped back and waited while tapping my foot.

Nasty habit, I needed to quit that.

A low whistle alerted me of Edward's presence, and I snapped my head in his direction to see him grinning down on me.

"Don't say a fucking word or I'll tell Cammie you have herpes." I grumbled, looking away from him to glare at the elevator doors instead.

He chuckled, "I think someone woke up on the wrong side this morning. You know, I could sleep at your place tonight and make sure that you wake up on the right side tomorrow. It would be my pleasure to occupy half the bed for your benefit."

"No, I'm pretty sure that the problem is that I woke up at all." I sighed, refusing to buy into his shameless flirting, "Besides, as I recall it, you took up more than your fair share of the bed when you passed out at my place last week."

The elevator arrived before he could answer, and we got in next to a woman from the floor above ours. I greeted her and then went to stand behind her, next to Edward, as the doors closed.

I began tapping my foot again, avoiding looking at him though I could feel that he was watching me the entire time. Two floors down, the woman got out, leaving us all alone in the elevator.

Holy fuck, I was in an elevator with Edward Cullen.

My subconscious cheered me on, she was a kinky motherfucker who had always wanted to have sex in an elevator, and she seemed to encourage hoohah to join in the game.

Press the stop button, undress and get it over with already! You know it is gonna happen eventually.

I needed to slap myself around a bit, I wasn't even thinking this consciously. It was my freaky inner sex addict that was at the helmet right now. My brain had gotten off on the 9th floor, along with morals and good judgment.

I was alone, deserted by all my noble senses. You know that old saying, "Abandon hope, all ye who enter"? Yeah, they should put that sign outside the elevator, but change it to "Abandon hope, all ye who enter with Edward Cullen."

My fingers were tingling. No, scratch that, everything was tingling.

Chewing on my lip, I glanced up at Edward. He seemed to be enjoying some kind of private joke, and he was leaning against the wall, watching me with a shiteating crooked smile on his god-like face.

"Everything okay there, Miss Swan?"

"Peachy. You?" I responded, searching desperately for professionalism but realizing that she wasn't even in the building anymore. To tell the truth, I had probably said goodbye to her when I had stuck my panties in Edward's pocket last week. She'd been a no show ever since, no matter what I had tried to tell myself.

Edward pushed off the wall so that he was standing closer to me, and like the addict I was, I inhaled deeply, letting his manly Edward scent fill my nostrils.

And I used to think that chocolate was my favorite scent in the world... Fuck that, Godiva didn't have shit on Edward, that's for sure.

"I'm getting hungrier by the minute." he murmured seductively, his lips close to my ear.

Caution and self-preservation abandoned the sinking ship, leaving the sex addict to fight for herself.

But who was I kidding? The lifeboats were gone by this time and she was ready to get wet.

"I have a banana in my pocket if you want it." I said, realizing that my old trusted friend sarcasm was still holding on to the railing, trying to fight off sex addict who was prying her fingers away one by one.

Edward's hand moved to cup my face, sending sparks through my overheated body. "I could think of another thing in your pants that I'd rather have…"

"My Blackberry? I always figured you for an Iphone guy." Sarcasm was holding on by her thumb and pinky, watching sex addict prepare to dive into the ocean.

"Hmm… Am I sensing a little restraint from you, Miss Swan?"

A little? He had got to be kidding…

His fingers traced my jaw line with soft movements, making me almost melt from the sensation he was creating. He began to take one step forward, so I took one back. When he stepped again, I continued, preventing him from coming closer. Eventually, I felt my back hitting the wall.

Damn, I was out of space.

It's an elevator, Einstein. What did you expect?

"If you feel something straining, it's probably in your own pants." Sarcasm, my last hope, was hanging by her pinky while sex addict stripped down to her skimpy bikini.

How long was this elevator ride, anyway? And why the fuck wasn't people getting on?

Yes, sex addict smirked, why aren't people getting it on?

"Just give in, Bella. It would be so much… easier. For both of us." his low, velvet voice sounded in my ear.

And there went sarcasm, beloved friend and trusted ally for over 20 years. She would be missed dearly.

The ship was abandoned, the white flagged raised by none other than hoohah herself, and sex addict dove in, head first.

I dropped my bag on the floor, grabbed hold of Edward's neck and pulled his head down to my eye level. His body was so close to mine that I could almost feel his heartbeats through his clothes, they were as erratic as mine at that point. I parted my lips, ready to invite him in, when a bell sounded, followed by the familiar female voice.

"First floor. Lobby."

The doors opened, revealing 3 baldheaded business men. They all stared at me and Edward with wide eyes, none of them getting a word out.

I untangled myself from Edward and bent down to pick up my bag. Then, with as much grace and dignity that I could muster, I straightened my skirt and stepped out of the elevator, Edward in tow.

"Gentlemen." I greeted them as I passed, ignoring their shocked expressions.

After a few steps, I heard Edward laugh quietly behind me and turned to look at him. He was obviously enjoying himself for some fucked up reason.

"What?" I snapped, only making his grin widen.

He shrugged, "Have you ever noticed that we seem to be under some kind of cockblock curse?"

I stared at him. And then started remembering…

Outside the bar when Alice came, in the bathroom when Emmett barged in on us, in the lake, once again by Alice, and now again.

"Damn." I said, frowning, "you're fucking right about that."

I kept walking straight through the foyer, resisting the urge to look back at Edward. I could feel him following close behind me.

Sex addict had climbed aboard the ship again, she was lying on deck, screaming at hoohah to take the flag down. She was wet, she was freezing and she was frustrated. I had to clench my fists to stop myself from dragging Edward with me into a broom closet there and then. I mean, being to close to those lips and then not getting any? Fucking torture for someone like me.

Once I was outside the office building I stopped and turned to Edward, "So, where are we going?"

"Marabelle." he answered. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes still, making it clear that he was just as sexually frustrated as I was after our interrupted elevator moment.

"You mean that new place on Madison and Third? Seriously? Isn't that some fancy ass, over the top, 10 dollars per breadstick restaurant?"

Edward laughed, "I think I can afford it."

Oh, right. I was in the company of the richest man in New York. How did I forget?

"Okay then, but I'm getting something super expensive to make up for you embarrassing me in front of those bald guys."

"Whatever you want, it is yours." he began leading the way to the garage next to my building, and I followed, staying at perfect distance so that I could glance at his ass while he walked.

Hey, it was a great ass. I would be foolish not to look at it.

I couldn't believe my eyes when he stopped beside a 2010 Silver Lexus and picked up his keys from his pocket. Damn, that was one fine car he had there.

"Seriously? This is what you're driving?" I asked, wide eyed.

He rolled his eyes and went around to open the door for me. "Yes, Miss Swan. Now get in so that we can satiate some of that hunger, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow, "In a hurry?"

"I'm quite starved, actually."

Sex addict was back with a vengeance, getting ready to dive in again.

oOoOoOo

We drove for about 15 minutes in light traffic before Edward pulled up at the restaurant. He got out and opened the door for me in a very gentlemanly manner.

Would you look at that? He does know how to behave, even though he obviously prefers not to show it most days.

Just as I took his outstretched hand, in a very un-Bella-like manner, I heard an annoying, somewhat familiar voice.

"Edward!"

I stood straight and released Edward's hand just before a cloud of blonde hair attacked him, causing him to almost lose his balance.

Since I got half of said hair in my mouth, I knew first hand that it was fake extensions. It wasn't even the good stuff from Taj Mahal, and don't ask me how I could tell that.

Edward pushed the blonde girl off of him, and I could see that he made an effort to smile. "Tanya, I didn't expect to see you here."

Yes, of course. This was Blondie from the party the other night. The one he had gone home with.

Blondie laughed, and the sound made me want to gag. Seriously, I'm not making this shit up.

"Oh Eddie, it's wonderful to see you too!"

Excuse me? When did he say that it was 'wonderful' to see her?

I gritted my teeth, "So, Eddie, how do you know…" I paused, turning to the skank with a slightly condescending smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Pamela, was it?"

She laughed, obviously not sensing my hostility. Edward did though, but he looked as if he was enjoying the show to much to say anything.

"I'm Tanya. I've known Eddie here for yeeeeears" she said, elongating the "e" like a moron. "He's best friends with my brother Jasper, so we're also really, really close."

"So where are you heading?" Edward said quickly, and I sensed that he didn't want Tanya to reveal just how close they actually were. Yeah, 'cause I couldn't guess from the way she spoke that they had fucked on more than one occasion.

The thought, combined with the sound and smell of the skank made all thoughts off eating fly out the window.

Great, and now she had ruined my lunch.

"I was just going to grab a bite to eat! I read in The Times that this place is to dieeee for!"

Again with the fucking "E's"!

Her eyes lit up suddenly, "Hey! Are you guys also here for lunch? We should totally eat together!"

Uh huh, hell no!

I took a step away from them, "You know what… I forgot an important paper in my office. I have to go get it."

Edward's looked stunned, he came after me but I held up my hands to stop him. "I'll meet you at your place to go over the plans in 2 hours. That should give you two enough time."

"Bella, no, don't leave." he said, and I thought I could detect a trace of panic in his voice. Did that mean he didn't want to be left alone with the skank? I would have thought he'd enjoy her company since he'd chosen to leave with her after the party.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what they had been doing that night.

"I'll see you later." I turned and walked out of the parking lot towards the street, getting ready to hail a cab so that I could go back to the office and try to keep from thinking of Edward and that girl… together… naked… touching…

"Stop it, Bella. You need to get a grip." I told myself. Wow, I was talking out loud to myself.

This was getting serious.

I'm really working on getting better at replying to reviews. I figure that since you take the time to write them, I owe you to take the time to respond. It's all for your sake that I'm posting, after all. Kind of hard right now though since I don't have internet access where I live, but I'm gonna do my best :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I sure loved writing it!