I don't own the characters, I just play with them historically. I do own a tee shirt that has the chemical symbols for Barium, Cobalt, and Nitrogen (Ba Co N).
~HOH~
Chapter 6: Getting the All Clear
The week flew by. As her first order of business, Bella scheduled a quick staff meeting daily in order to gather feedback from the team, to assess their progress, and to bounce ideas off of each other. For the most part, it was well received, and Bella was excited at the interchange of ideas. Quite often, no sooner had one person announced their findings did someone else start jotting down notes of something to research or verify. It was something to behold and made Bella's researcher's heart swell with joy.
Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Edward all had an almost eerie sense of symbiosis going on. Each was highly intelligent and extremely motivated, but they carried out their tasks with a sense of working together rather than competition. Individual talents complemented rather than contended and the information gathered was building at an amazing rate. Bella verbally praised the responsible parties and jotted down progress reports to keep in their individual records so when annual evaluations came around, she could pull up pertinent facts to include.
What had originally intended to be under an hour meetings grew into sometimes half a day discussions with laptops open, the Internet scoured and reference materials requested via inter-library loan. Under Bella's leadership, the team was working together to solve whatever they could before the visit to Masen Manor the following weekend.
Well … most of the team. One member lagged behind in enthusiasm for the project.
"I promise we won't be doing this forever," she had smiled placating the lone dissenter. "This is just until our visit to the Masen Estate so I can formulate our presentation to the foundation in the most accurate way possible. The faster we get that done, the faster our daily meetings end."
With a grumble a folder was carelessly shoved into her hands before its creator headed over to the snack table to inspect the sugary goodness hidden in pale pink cardboard boxes, eschewing the bowl of fresh fruit as if it carried the plague.
Stifling a disheartened sigh, Bella looked into the manila folder with Mr. Newton's contribution to the project—all ¾ of a page of it. Double spaced and in 18 point letters. She was not amused and a mildly restrained glare relayed her feelings.
"May I speak to you in my office, Mr. Newton?" Bella inquired coolly.
Without waiting for a response, Bella spun on her heel and marched down the hall, past Eric's empty desk, to her office and stood behind her desk, waiting for Michael to follow.
"You wanted to speak to me boss?" he demanded with barely veiled civility. Mike moved to close the door.
"Leave the door open, please," she ordered calmly. Eric was running an errand and the last thing she wanted to happen was her and Mike talking behind closed doors with no witnesses. "Mr. Newton, do you enjoy your job here at Hands-On History?" Bella asked quietly.
"It's one of the best ones I've ever had," he shrugged, tightening his grip on the napkin-wrapped package in his hands as if he feared she would whisk them away.
"And the Masen project interests you?"
"It's a'right." His blue eyes stared at her blankly.
Bella cringed internally at the drawling out of his words. Mike's entire being, from his body language to his lackadaisical attitude, grated on her nerves. She hoped she was maintaining at least a modicum of professionalism.
"Do you think, perhaps, that it would be prudent to actually read what your assignment was before submitting a findings report?" she continued in the same calm voice.
"What do you mean?" Mike cocked his head questioningly as if hearing her words in another language.
Bella picked up the piece of paper he had thrust at her just a few minutes before and began to read aloud.
"Western hemlock. Orca. American goldfinch. Steelhead trout."
She looked up at him expectantly.
"What?" he demanded, shuffling from foot to foot, belying the fact that he really would rather be anywhere else than alone with her in her office.
"Your assignment was to recreate the gardens of the Masen Estate, not report on the state tree, mammal, bird, and fish for the state of Washington."
Thank heaven for elementary state history, Bella ruminated. Had she spent all of her time in Arizona growing up, she never would have understood what the bullet pointed entries meant. That did not explain the half effort Mike had given his task, but it did at least show he could find rudimentary information if given enough time. The problem was, they did not have unlimited time.
He stared silently at her, blinking furiously. His normally pale skin slowly reddened in splotches, starting at his neck and rising over his jowls and up to his ears. Mike's mouth opened and closed silently, reminding Bella of a large-mouthed bass, gasping for air.
Bella began to wonder if he had a nervous tic, was close to a seizure, or merely struck dumb.
Without a word, he snatched the report from her hand, nearly giving her a paper cut in the exchange, before he slunk back to his office after the very private, very benign reprimand. He would not be seen for the rest of the day, though it could be argued no one saw a difference in their productivity levels.
With a deep sigh, she flopped into her chair and threw her head into her hands. As her fingers clutched at her hair, Bella shook her head back and forth at the memory of the half-assed job Mr. Michael Newton had tried to pass off on her. She quickly opened the word processing program on her computer and wrote up a report on what had happened in order to add it to his employee record. Her supervisor for her graduate assistantship had once impressed upon her to document everything when it came her time to lead. The good, the bad, and the ugly needed to be chronicled so that when the time came, a historical record would be in place to prove or disprove any accusation.
Bella's fingers flew across the keyboard as she factually reported the altercation. She paused and reread what she had written, adding a line here and deleting a word or two there. When she was pleased that the document was nothing more than a retelling of events and no pejorative words or phrases were used, she saved the file and turned her mind away from Mr. Michael Newton and back to the mystery of Anthony Masen and Marie Cigno Masen.
Bella sat at her desk flipping through the thin volume of information provided by the Masen Estate. Volume was actually quite the misnomer as it was more of a pamphlet, numbering only 20 pages in length. Every few minutes, she wrote something down on a legal pad. One time it would be a question to ask one of the members of her team while the next it was something to inquire of the estate's coordinator about the team's impending visit to the property. An hour into her endeavor and she had three pages of notes. It appeared that for every one question she answered, two more found their way into her mind.
"So how has the first week gone?" a voice interrupted Bella's ruminations.
Bella looked up to find Maggie standing in her doorway, leaning against the jamb, arms crossed over her chest. For the briefest moment, she felt as if Maggie were staring completely through her, peering into her very soul. It was a bit unnerving, to be honest, and Bella wished the steel gray eyes were gazing at someone other than herself.
"It's been …" Bella paused, unsure if she should answer honestly or stretch the truth.
"Before you complete that thought," Maggie said with a thin, though not unfriendly, smile, "do realize I much prefer the truth to any fabrication."
Well that put a kink in the line, Bella internally sighed. She pondered for a moment just how to answer.
"For the most part, it has been fabulous. The team is exceptional, and I cannot wait to unravel this mystery. The disappearance of Anthony and Marie has completely captivated me. From the looks of it, Mr. Masen was about to present a new composition to his sponsors in the east. He had only been married a few weeks, and he and his bride, Marie, were preparing to come to Chicago for their honeymoon and to perform at a small venue called Volturi Hall."
Bella held up the small volume the Masen Foundation had provided.
"It says the two disappeared the night before their trip and were never seen of again. Their valuables remained in their bedroom and none of their belongings were touched," she continued.
Maggie nodded as she listened to the details. Unfortunately, none of it was new to her. She knew of the basics but it was going to be up to the team, particularly Bella and Edward, to solve just what had happened. And to change it. She glanced down at her phone as it vibrated with an incoming text and smiled at what she read.
"What I don't completely understand is how the Masen Foundation came to be and why they are only now renovating the estate. There's no history of them anywhere and online searches come up with nothing more than space saver URLs. Why wait this long? From what I have read, the house and buildings have been left in disrepair since 1918 when the last living relation of Anthony Masen died. It has to be rather expensive to renovate a home that's been virtually abandoned for almost a century."
"Perhaps that is something you will need to ask the directors when you see them next week," Maggie shrugged.
If she knew the answers to Bella's questions, Maggie kept them to herself.
"I'm all for restoration of historical buildings and supporting the arts is a worthwhile endeavor, but it just strikes me as strange that the Masen finances were suddenly freed. I know the court system moves slowly, but almost 100 years is a bit overkill, don't you think?"
Maggie grinned and nodded her agreement.
"Have you checked into the wills of the last surviving relation?" she added.
"Not yet, but I will." Bella smiled as she made yet another note to herself. "Everything is going so beyond my expectations."
Bella motioned toward her desk at the bits of paper and even the list of e-mails she had received from almost every member of her team.
"The entire team has jumped onboard this project?" Maggie quirked an eyebrow at the younger woman, noting the reddening of the ears as Bella tried to think of a diplomatic answer.
Before Bella had time to reply, she was waved off.
"I know how Mr. Newton is, Bella. He has a fine mind when he decides to use it. To be honest, he rises to the company he keeps. If you keep him with the team, he will strive to be the brightest and the best. If you let him spend time with his fiancée, then you will find he does no more than surf the Internet for the latest and greatest subject of Snopes dot com."
"I've already had one run-in with him," Bella replied softly, hoping Maggie would not push for more details. "I just finished writing it up."
"Did you document everything?" Maggie continued to lean against the door jamb, not entirely in Bella's office but not entirely in the hall, either. She peered down the hall in the same direction Mike had departed.
"I did," she responded with an affirmative nod of the head.
"Good. Last thing we need is a breakdown in communication now that we have a complete team put together."
Bella nodded in understanding just as Alice popped into view beside Maggie.
"You still meeting us for drinks at Mickey's?" Alice inquired with a broad smile on her face.
Bella noticed that even in her heels, Alice was only up to Maggie's shoulder. How anyone could work all day in those deathtraps was beyond her ability to comprehend but Alice did it with grace and charm. Bella was certain she would have been in crutches and a hard cast five minutes after her first step if she had tried to walk in those shoes. She nodded before motioning to her desk.
"I just need to clear up a few things, and then I'll run by my house before meeting you all there," Bella replied.
"You're welcome to join us, Maggie," Alice interjected, smiling broadly up at the older woman.
"I appreciate the offer, Alice, but Sweetie and I have some business to attend to this evening in order to facilitate your trip to the Masen Estate next week." Maggie waved her phone she had received a message on a few minutes earlier to indicate that was who the message was from. "If we finish in time, perhaps we will see you there."
"Okie dokie!" Alice scooted off down the hall and toward the elevator.
"E-mail me your documentation on Mr. Newton as soon as possible," Maggie stated, her eyes growing darker. "I would like to have any proof of a less than professional performance before it comes into question. If it does, of course. The longer the paper trail, the less likely there will be problems in the future."
"Of course."
~HOH~
"And then he decides to walk along the roof line just to verify the use of lead soldering versus iron nails in the shingles on Ithaca farm buildings," Rosalie chimed, pointing at Emmett with her beer bottle.
"How was I supposed to know it was termite infested?" Emmett retorted with a grumble as he finished off the homemade potato chips and Ranch dressing before him.
"You're lucky I was inside the barn taking measurements of that fire truck because I heard the crash."
"And the cursing," Bella interjected, having heard the story of how Rosalie and Emmett had met.
"Lord, yes," Rosalie sighed with a loving smile. She settled closer to her man and rested her head on his shoulder.
"So do you have someone, Bella?" Alice asked innocently from her perch on Jasper's lap.
The crew had found a table at Mickey's that was shy one chair and Alice had offered to share with her husband rather than make any of the gentlemen stand.
Bella shook her head in denial as she finished her second and final beer of the evening. She never was much of a drinker and much preferred quality to quantity. Tonight, it was a delightful dark ale from a local brewery, but her pocketbook couldn't quite loosen enough to purchase a third ten dollar beer even with the promise of a full paycheck the following week. Some graduate school habits were hard to kill off.
"Not much time for relationships while I was in school," she replied. "And there weren't too many guys I was interested in."
Her mind jumped to one classmate in particular who had shown a remarkable talent for finding her on campus, no matter where she was. Bella had taken to traveling to her classes by various routes just to see if Riley would appear randomly along her path.
"Now that look on your face tells me there's a story in there," Alice grinned, raising her cosmopolitan to her lips.
"Not much to tell," Bella insisted. She felt her cheeks darken and hoped that in the dim light of the club, no one would be able to discern her blush.
"Tell them about Radar!" Emmett cackled.
"Radar?" Edward inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.
Bella sighed. There was no getting out of telling her story now.
"His name was Riley, and he had a crush on Miss Swan here. Anywhere she was on campus, he'd find her." Emmett waggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning a light smack on the back of the head by Rosalie. He only grinned in response as she rolled her eyes at his silliness.
"You had your own personal stalker?" Alice squealed sitting up straight, completely oblivious to the wince from her husband as she accidentally bonked him in the nose with the back of her head.
"Nothing like that. He just would randomly show up at places that I happened to be. Told me that he just used logic to figure out where it was mostly likely to find me and that he was right 89 point four percent of the time."
"He figured it out to the tenths?" Edward asked disbelievingly.
"Math major. Summa cum laude math major. Great brain, kinda cute in a Pointdexter sort of way, but social skills of mayonnaise."
The entire table rolled in laughter at this assessment.
"I'm sorry," Edward continued, shaking his head as he tried to hide a smile.
"Yeah. Sweet guy, but there just was no spark."
"Sparks are nice," he agreed, his eyes meeting hers.
"They are," she smiled back as her cheeks reddened. "Last I heard he had found a theoretical physics PhD student to stun and amaze."
"Well, good for him."
For a brief moment, both wondered what the other was thinking. Had they been mind readers, Miss Swan would have discovered that Dr. Cullen was rather fascinated with her wit and personality and was rather disappointed they had met through work rather than purely socially. Dr. Cullen would have discovered that Miss Swan felt exactly the same way.
As if synchronized, the two coughed and broke eye contact rather pointedly, her turning toward Rosalie and Alice while he signaled for another drink.
Bella never saw the two women - one in a steel gray business suit, the other clad in bright yellow and orange batik printed swaths of fabric - seated at the far corner of the bar watching intently her interaction with Edward. Nor did she hear the whispered conversation the two held before one raised her right hand and snapped her fingers a brief second before the battery in her trusty pick-up lost its charge.
~HOH~
Around one in the morning, Alice, Jasper and Edward headed toward the parking lot. Rosalie, Emmett and Bella had departed earlier while Jasper settled the bill. Bella had complained that the Whitlocks were paying for the entire night out but Jasper reassured her that this was tradition and the next time a new employee was hired, she could take the mantle and pay the tab. Whether this was true or not, Bella's pride was at least placated.
"Drive carefully, brother of mine," Alice said with a smile as she tucked herself into Jasper's side, shivering slightly at the sudden temperature change from the bar's vestibule and the parking lot.
"Always do," Edward grinned before striding off to his beloved Harley.
A few minutes later, he heard the familiar roar of Jasper's car's engine as it came to life and he threw up a hand to wave farewell as he pulled his helmet on. A faint clicking noise caught his attention. He scanned the parking lot quickly to determine its point of origin. He saw an ancient pickup truck a few spaces away. In the shadowy light, Edward would have sworn the driver was beating on the steering wheel in anger.
The door to the pickup flew open with a groan of protest and Bella emerged from the cab.
"Everything okay?" he called, beginning to head toward her.
"I think my battery is dead," Bella grumbled. "It's almost brand new. Charlie gave me one for my birthday in September." She glared over her shoulder at the non-functioning vehicle.
"Practical gift."
Bella laughed and Edward realized he really liked that sound.
"Yeah, Dad's that way."
Edward realized he liked even more the fact that Charlie was her father rather than her boyfriend. He noticed Bella was beginning to shiver in her thin cotton sweater. She had intended on being inside a bar for most of the evening and was certain she could handle the walk to her truck with no problem so she had left her coat at home. Now that her truck was incapacitated, what had seemed like a very logical idea was not so.
"Look," he said, narrowing the distance between the two even more as he pulled off his leather jacket. "It's late. It'll take forever to get anyone out here to fix it, so how about I give you a ride home." Edward motioned toward his bike with a nod as he wrapped the coat around Bella's shoulders. He rapidly buttoned his corduroy shirt up to retain as much heat as he could.
She quickly slid her arms into the warm leather and wrapped it around her, savoring the coziness of it. She was just chilled enough that she was not going to argue with Edward's chivalry.
"Are you sure?"
"I've even got a second helmet," he nodded.
"Okay." Bella turned and bent over the bench seat to retrieve her bag.
Edward may or may not have checked out how nice her legs and derrière were showcased by the perfectly fitting jeans that she wore. He quickly shifted his gaze as she banged on the lock and slammed the truck door closed.
"Ever ridden on a motorcycle?" he asked, ushering her toward his parking space and the psychedelic purple and black Harley Road King Classic parked there.
"Oh, yeah." She took the helmet from him with a smile as she remembered days in Phoenix zipping down the highway, though the vehicle she had ridden was nothing like the beast before her.
"Great," he smiled.
A few minutes later the two were speeding down the highway, Bella's arms wrapped around Edward's waist. She tried to convince herself she was only riding this way in order to keep him at least partially shielded from the cold night air as they rode home. It really did not matter that she kind of liked the feel of being pressed against his back, the sensation of his muscles shifting and flexing as they turned, or the raw power of the engine he skillfully controlled. No, Bella thought, those things did not matter at all.
She had never been so grateful that no one was around to call her a liar in her life. This was not good. Bella was certain there were anti-fraternization policies in place at Hands-On History and finding herself attracted to a co-worker would be on the top ten list of 'things good supervisor's don't do.'
Edward felt Bella suddenly stiffen and worried he had frightened her on the last turn.
"You okay back there?" Edward asked as they stopped at a red light.
"Just thinking," Bella replied, trying to sound casual.
"Sounds mighty serious," he smiled, hoping to lighten her mood.
"Work related," she explained.
"Oh. Okay. Left turn here?"
"Yes. Third house on the right."
Edward nodded and skillfully guided the motorcycle into her driveway.
Bella silently pulled off her helmet after dismounting. She held it out to Edward who shook his head.
"Keep it. I'll come get you in the morning, and we can get your truck fixed." He stood, removing his own helmet.
Bella stifled a giggle at the sight of his already unruly hair in even further disarray.
As if he knew her thoughts, Edward gave a self-depreciating smile and ran one hand through his hair.
"Yeah, it needs a cut," he muttered. "I'll walk you to your door."
Bella nodded silently, mentally disagreeing with his assessment on his hair, and together they climbed the few steps to the front landing. She turned to face him.
"Thank you again," Bella stated, suddenly unsure if she should shake his hand, give him a hug, kiss his cheek, or invite him in.
Manners said to invite him for some coffee or tea in but her worrisome what would a good supervisor do side about had a conniption at the notion.
"I'll call you around noon," he said. "I mean, if that's alright."
"You really don't have to do that. My roommate can take me by."
"Oh."
Edward shuffled his feet, unsure of what to do next. Should he shake her hand? Give her a hug? A quick peck on the cheek? What was the protocol for taking your boss home after her truck knocked off? This had not been covered in the new employee orientation. Of course, the prior archival historian-in-residence had been a wizened old man with a proliferation of ear hair and a broken hearing aid so it had really not been an issue.
"It's not that I don't want you to come back," Bella blurted suddenly, her words fast and run together. "I had a great time this evening and would really not mind getting to know you socially. I just really need to look up fraternization policies in the HR manual to find out what's proper."
"What?" Edward asked, trying to give his brain a few minutes to process what she had just said.
"I mean, I need…"
"I think I understand." Edward smiled peacefully down at her. Bella smiled in return, thankful that her verbal vomit had not frightened him off.
"I had a great time tonight."
"I did as well."
"I really wouldn't mind doing it again sometime," Bella murmured hesitantly.
"I'd like that as well."
"As long as the HR manual says it's okay, of course."
"Of course."
The two stood in awkward silence, tired from a long, mentally taxing week but not yet ready to end the night and say farewell.
"I guess we're even now," Bella interjected suddenly.
"Even?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, unsure of what she meant.
"I gave you a ride after a flat, and you gave me a ride after a dead battery."
"Oh. Right." Edward nodded.
The two stood in awkward silence, unsure of what to do next.
"I'll see you Monday, I guess," Edward stated, holding his hand out to shake hers.
Bella smiled wanly, regretful that modern office policies had put them in this situation. Both were professionals and neither wanted to ruin a budding friendship with an office scandal. Especially something that could get both of them fired under the right circumstances.
"See you Monday," Bella softly replied before entering her home and quietly locking the door.
Monday morning Bella Swan and Edward Cullen both found page 48, section 2D sitting front and center on their desks with the following lines highlighted in bright yellow:
Employees of Hands-On History are required to follow good common sense when it comes to interpersonal relationships. You cannot help who you are attracted to and we cannot, in good conscience, prevent you from pursuing fulfilling interpersonal relationships. That said, use good common judgment, be discrete at all times, and above all, use the brains that got you this job in the first place.
Bella read over the passage three times before looking up, blinking in disbelief. Where had this come from? Had Alice found it and placed it on her desk? Had she and Edward been seen by someone at Mickey's and they felt compelled to inform her of the policy she had intended on researching after her first cup of coffee?
"Knock, knock!" a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
Bella looked up to see Edward leaning against the door jamb, a piece of paper waving back and forth in front of him.
"Page 48, section 2D?" Bella inquired.
Edward nodded.
"So, what are you doing for lunch today, Miss Swan?"
Bella's face lit up in a grin.
~HOH~
I hope you enjoyed the bit about Riley—it's an embellished semi-autobiographical retelling of when DH & I first met *blush* Tho' he wasn't a math major. Just a Physics major with a math minor. Have I mentioned before that we're both geeks? Yeah.
It appears RL is going to require me to go to a once every two week posting schedule - At least through the New Year. I have two FGB auction chapters to write and wish to have those done by January 1st so HOH will have to go on the back burner until they are done. But, I do have quite a bit pre-written so I may need a break and will throw a shorter chapter together if that happens.
I appreciate every Tweet, review, and alert & wish I could send you all fresh baked goods in thanks.
I'm DeJeanSmith here, on Twitter and on GoodReads if you're interested in my babbling.
And finally, if you are celebrating this month, I wish you the happiest and most joyous tidings of the season.