How do! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and has comfortably settled into the new year. I got a bright and shiny beta for HOH as part of my pressies! I've never had one before but the lovely Javamomma0921 has taken me under her wing and made this chapter even better.

She's also encouraged me to put a warning on this chapter, and I agree with her assessment…if you are sensitive to sexual harassment, there will be a summary in the author's note at the end. It begins in the third section with Bella getting into elevator.

~HOH~

Chapter 7: Ch-ch-ch-changes

In her plush top-floor office, Maggie sat hunched over her desk, perusing a few pieces of badly decomposing paper within protective poly sleeves. The shards were oddly shaped and seemed to fit together, but when one read the text, the lines were nothing but gibberish.

Maggie was so deep in thought over the cyphers that she paid no mind to the door silently opening and then closing. She shuffled the poly sleeves, placing one first on the desk and then swapping it for another only to replace it with a third. It was as if she were putting together a puzzle with no box to tell her what the picture was supposed to look like.

"Did you deliver the proper pages to Miss Swan and Dr. Cullen?" she inquired suddenly, not looking up.

"Yah, I did," Sweetie replied, gliding across the floor without a sound. "Think it did some good. They are planning to have lunch together and get to know each other socially." She gracefully folded herself into the chair across the desk from Maggie and watched her without a word for several minutes.

"So you used a little magic?" Maggie finally said, breaking the silence.

"No need. I told you before that I don't go there, and I really don't think those two need any help." Sweetie rattled her left wrist, listening to the clink-clank of her golden bracelets.

Maggie glared over at her friend at the interruption, earning a wide grin. Maggie huffed in annoyance, releasing the sleeve from her hand and watching it gently fall onto her desk.

"So, what is so important about those scraps o' paper that you are crossing your eyes over them?" Sweetie inquired, not looking up from the silver bracelet that suddenly was in need of cleaning on her right arm.

"Anthony wrote these. I recognize the handwriting."

Sweetie's eyes shot over to her friend in silence for a second before rising and crossing to stand beside Maggie.

"You are certain?" Sweetie leaned over the desk, her eyes bright with excitement as she read over the letters and numbers.

"I think I would know my…"

"You know, Hands-On History hired an amateur cryptographer. You could let her look at them," she interrupted, staring intently at the archival clad slips.

"A crypt what?"

"Cryptographer. Someone who takes words converts them into secret codes and then back."

"And who would this be?"

"Jessica Stanley."

If Maggie had false teeth, she would have dropped them. As it was, her jaw dropped wide open, and she stared blankly at her assistant for several silent seconds.

"Our Jessica Stanley? The one that can't forward a call to save her life?"

Sweetie nodded, a slow smile growing across her face.

"And just how," Maggie said slowly, accentuating every word, "did you learn she had this talent?"

"First, it's on her Facebook page."

"Facebook?"

"Social media website. All the kids are doing it. Surely you aren't that out of the loop, Magenta. Even an old dog can learn some new tricks."

"I'll ignore that."

Sweetie snorted gracefully, if one could do such and continued her tale about the curious Jessica Stanley.

"You're older than I am," Maggie muttered, earning a shrug in response.

"Second, every quarter she has a journal she reads at her desk. Turns out it's the Journal of Cryptology. She gets quite snippy if you interrupt her while she's going through it. Seems to think her copy of Vogue covers it completely but more than once, she's put the Vogue upside-down. Some of the crew thinks that's funny and just a sign of what a bubble head she is. Anyhow, she hides the magazine every time she leaves her desk so I waited until she was at lunch and dug it out of her desk."

"Amazing."

Sweetie nodded in agreement. "She has several other talents that she hides as well."

"You don't say."

"I do say. The journal's webpage has her listed as a future contributor."

"Wouldn't have thought she could write a coherent sentence, much less an article in a peer reviewed journal."

"Not sure JOC is peer…"

Maggie glared over her half-moon glasses.

"Anyhow," Sweetie continued, waving her right hand at the sleeves of deteriorating paper which slowly rose off of the table and rotated in mid-air. She drew in the air with one well-manicured finger and the sleeves danced around as if invisible hands were putting together a particularly difficult puzzle.

"Well, I guess it can't hurt for her to look at them," Maggie sighed, leaning back in her chair with resignation.

"I am sure it won't," Sweetie smiled, plucking the pieces from the air and tucking them neatly together before swishing out of the room.

~HOH~

Bella sat at her desk, inputting her schedule into Hands-On History's TiMS program. Every employee was required to keep an accurate account of what they did throughout the day on the Time Management System. The purpose of TiMS was not to micro-manage but to allow supervisors a centrally located means of knowing where the staff was at any given time. It was easy to use and ported information quickly from whatever calendar program one preferred, giving each employee the power to pick and choose the means they felt most comfortable with. Rumor had it that Maggie still hand wrote her schedules and gave them to Sweetie to input but no one had the nerve to actually ask her if this was true.

The computer system at Hands-On History was state of the art. Once you logged onto HOH's computer network, every website visited and every program launched was documented. The IT department loathed filters; one never knew when a visit to a webpage some random rubric considered 'inappropriate' would in actuality provide the answer required and the constant 'please allow this site' e-mails were getting out of hand. As a result, no filters were used at HOH with the understanding that employees would wisely choose which URLs were acceptable.

As supervisor, Bella's password opened not only her own accounting but also her entire team's. She cast a quick glance over at the tabs of her co-workers, recognizing most of the activities. Unfortunately, a member of her team had a rather skewed work to non-work related computer history. Some of the webpages listed had Bella shaking her head in disbelief. Three letters caught her eye and with a quick flick of the mouse, she discovered the same co-worker was in the middle of a quest – one that had already lasted over an hour and a half.

With a few moves of the mouse, she captured a record of Mr. Newton's online activities with World of Warcraft and printed out a hard copy. Bella pushed away from her desk and stood with a growl of frustration. She carefully straightened her smart navy jacket and marched out of her office and down the hall.

"You have a meeting in ten…" started Eric, looking up from his desk.

"Thank you," Bella gritted, not looking at her assistant as she moved quickly to the stairwell and climbed to the floor above. "I'll be in Mr. Newton's office for just a minute," she called over her shoulder.

"Lord a mercy," Eric murmured, shaking his head and reaching for his rhinestone encrusted cats-eye glasses. "That's not good." He clucked and shook his head. "Not good at all."

With a quick click of a mouse, he called up the Excel spreadsheet with the wagers placed as to how long Mr. Newton's antics would go unnoticed. It appeared he had won this round and cackled to himself as he pulled out the envelope with his new winnings.

"Come to daddy," he giggled appreciatively, fanning out the twenties and waving them in front of his face.

Bella could feel her heart pounding as she rounded the corner. She hoped no one would be in the hallway but her prayers went unanswered. Jasper and Emmett stood outside their offices, talking amicably. Both nodded a friendly greeting as they recognized her and both exchanged concerned looks as Bella stormed by without a word.

Mike Newton's office door was open and Bella walked in. There she found him sitting at his desk, headphones on, staring at a computer screen.

"Take that you…" he shouted before the monitor went dark. "What the…"

Mike looked up in confusion only to meet the blazing eyes of his supervisor and had the good graces to look mildly abashed.

"Mr. Newton," Bella stated with a calm she truly did not feel, "I think we need to have another talk about appropriate use of time."

~HOH~

Hours later, Bella stood outside the elevator door on her way home. She was mentally and physically exhausted. After her confrontation with Mr. Newton, Bella had a quick meeting with Maggie to finalize plans for their on-site visit to the Masen home. That had gone exceptionally well, and she was truly looking forward to exploring the house and grounds.

After a lovely lunch with Edward, she had reorganized her office to make it more conducive to her own working style. She liked having a table to spread out her work on, to see everything all at once rather than relying upon what she could view on a computer screen at any one time.

Eric had assured her management services would have everything she required by the end of Wednesday but she wanted to create the space she required so Bella drew out a schematic of where everything would be placed. She needed to get rid of the rather clinical sofa and exchange it with a table for a few chairs. She was anxious to see her own personality show through in her workspace.

She felt a presence approach but as she was focused on getting home and out of the heels she had decided to wear, Bella pointedly ignored whoever it was. The ear buds in her ears should have hinted to the person that she was in her own personal bubble and did not wish to be disturbed. A sharp cologne assaulted her senses and she wrinkled her nose in an effort to fight off a sneeze.

She failed.

"Bless you," an oily voice announced.

Bella nodded as she dug in her bag for a Kleenex. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of fire engine red plaid and rolled her eyes.

Mike.

The elevator opened and he unfortunately followed her in.

Bella paused and wondered if it wouldn't be better for her to beg off rather than being trapped in the elevator with Mr. Newton but before she could make a decision, the doors slid closed behind her. She gathered herself and after pressing the button for the ground floor steeled herself for the two minute ride.

"That was some impressive management skills you showed earlier today," he murmured, taking a step closer toward her but keeping his eyes on the door of the elevator.

Bella remained mute. She did take a small step back.

"Did it make you feel good to belittle me?"

Again, Bella pretended she was not listening, focusing on a small spot above the elevator panel. Suddenly, her view was blocked by one Michael Newton, his pale face ruddy and screwed up with frustration.

"You will pay attention to me when I'm speaking to you," he hissed before spinning around, hitting the emergency stop button.

Mike stood stock still, his shoulders going up and down rapidly as he attempted to regain control of his breathing. Slowly, with an eerie calm, he turned around and faced Bella with an angelic smile.

"I have worked here for five years," he began, taking a single step toward her.

Unconsciously, Bella took a step back only to find herself flush against the back wall of the elevator, the cold metal chilling her through her blouse.

"And in that five years, I have had three supervisors. All women."

He took another step toward her. Bella soon found herself corralled into the corner where there was no hope of escape. Being the only child of a police chief, she had been taught what to do.

"Back away," Bella ordered in a steely calm voice.

"Or what?" he grinned. Mike eyed her up and down as if undressing her.

Bella bit back the bile that rose in her throat and slowly put her hand into her pocket, grabbing her keys and lacing her fingers around them.

Mike misinterpreted her preparations as fear and pressed closer. Her nostrils were now flooded with his Axe or Bod or some such so-called cologne. She sneezed abruptly directly into his face.

"You bitch!" he hissed, stepping back ever so slightly as he pawed at his face.

"Bless me," she muttered out of habit before lunging for the elevator stop button in an attempt to restart it on its descent toward the ground floor.

A pair of doughy arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

"Oh, no you don't," he muttered before slinging her into the wall. "I'm not done talking with you."

Bella lost her footing and crumpled to the floor, kicking wildly at Mike's ankles.

The ting of a bell brought both of their attention to the elevator door which quietly slid open. Both stared in shock and amazement as Sweetie and Maggie appeared in the entry.

Bella scrambled to her feet while Mike quickly tried to exit the elevator. Maggie and Sweetie calmly stepped into the elevator.

"Oh, no, Mr. Newton," Maggie said sweetly, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him back inside. She waved her hand at the door and it silently slid closed.

"You a'right, hon?" Sweetie inquired, helping Bella straighten her clothes and picking up her portfolio. "Nothing amiss?"

"I…" Bella stuttered before she suddenly felt as if she could not speak. Her eyes widened.

"It be a'right in just a minute," Sweetie soothed, running one pale hand down Bella's arm.

Bella had the deep down feeling that the woman was quite right and blinked disbelievingly as she watched Maggie whisper something into Mike's ear. He shook his head vehemently in denial of whatever she was saying.

Maggie silently pointed to what appeared to be a camera lens in the upper corner of the elevator.

Mike slumped in defeat.

"I think Mr. Newton has just submitted his resignation, Miss Swan," Maggie announced. "Do you accept?"

Maggie turned expectantly toward Bella who could still not speak but she could nod in agreement-and did so.

Bella wondered if she should press charges for assault or attempted assault. As her mind flitted from idea to idea, she watched Sweetie reach past her and press the elevator start button.

Bella suddenly realized that Maggie and Sweetie had boarded the elevator while it was stopped between floors. Her brow wrinkled in thought as she slowly shook her head back and forth. Bella was almost certain the doors had opened on the administration floor. But that was two floors above hers and they had been on the way down.

As the questions swirled in her brain, Bella felt the same warm comfortable feeling ease over her that she had experienced outside the night club just the last week. She tilted her head toward the two women who seemed to be having some sort of silent discussion back and forth. Bella sensed something was just not quite right and while she could not figure it out right then, she knew it was going to niggle at her until it became crystal clear.

Maggie still held firmly to Mr. Newton's collar and Bella had to bite back the giggle that threatened to bubble forward. It would have been completely inappropriate but in that particular moment, it seemed like the most valid thing she could do.

The elevator door opened on the ground floor and the four emerged. Bella thought she had never seen such a wonderful sight as the lobby and breathed fresh, clean air.

Maggie frog-marched Mike over to a chair and shoved him down into it.

"Sit. Stay," she ordered.

Bella wondered if Maggie was going to pull out a newspaper and whack Mike on the nose. She decided that she would rather do that herself. With something heavy. And sharp. The giggle that had threatened to burst forth finally escaped and Bella clamped her hands over her mouth in mortification. Neither Sweetie nor Maggie paid her outburst any attention.

Mike attempted to rise immediately only to find he could not move. He struggled in his seat futilely, causing it to shuffle across the floor a few inches.

Bella flinched with each sound and moved further away.

Jessica hustled across the lobby as soon as she saw Mike appear. She was just a few feet away before she skidded to a stop and tilted her head, much like a confused puppy.

"Something wrong?" she squeaked.

"Mr. Newton has tendered his resignation," Maggie replied coolly.

"What?" Jessica shrieked. The dream wedding she had always demanded relied upon his income from Hands-On History since his parents, cheapskates that they were, and her parents — ditto - were not contributing a single dime toward their nuptials.

Bella winced and poked at her ear in an effort to clear it. The woman had some lungs on her, that was for sure.

"Effective immediately," Sweetie smiled before waving her hand toward Mike.

Michael Newton felt a strange sensation ripple through him. It was not entirely pleasant, nor was it entirely unpleasant. Just plain strange. He still could not rise from the chair but now a drawing-up feeling penetrated his body, particularly his lap, as if he were regressing from full grown adult to pre-pubescent boy.

"Bella, do you wish to press charges?" Maggie inquired calmly, turning toward the younger woman.

"Whatever for?" Jessica demanded, clutching her fiancé's arm.

Mike winced as her extra-long acrylic nails dug into his arm through his shirtsleeves.

"Should Miss Swan decide to press charges, I am sure you will be informed of what for, Miss Stanley. Until then, I suggest you keep your mouth shut." Maggie flashed her teeth in a gritty smile.

Jessica wisely shut her mouth and stepped back.

Bella felt the severity of what had happened in the elevator overwhelm her and she took a few hesitant steps toward a chair as far away from Mike Newton as possible and collapsed into it with an "oomph." Without even thinking, Bella turned the chair so she did not have to look toward him or Jessica. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tried her best to not let her racing heart keep up with her breathing that was nearing hyperventilation.

While logically, Bella was almost one hundred percent certain that Mike only wanted to talk and was not going to do anything more, the fact she was in an enclosed space with him and that he prevented her from moving rattled her. It was going to take more than just a few minutes for her to regain her equilibrium and be able to function fully.

At that particular moment, Edward and Alice emerged from an elevator, chatting together. Edward came to a dead stop upon seeing Bella's pale face. Without thinking, he almost broke into a jog before Alice grabbed his arm. She shook her head in warning before the two as a unit hurriedly crossed the lobby toward her.

"Bella!" he cried, panic filling his features. "What happened?"

Alice's heels clicked across the tiles as she joined her brother who had broken away for the last few steps, worry evident on her face. Maggie beckoned for Alice to come over and whispered a few words into the young woman's ear. Alice's eyes grew wide and she quickly approached Bella.

"Bella?" she murmured softly, kneeling next to her new friend. Alice cautiously took Bella's hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. "Bella, hon, open your eyes for me."

Bella hesitantly obliged, her eyes flitting from Alice's to Edward's and then back.

"Edward, she's going into shock," Alice continued in the same soft voice one used to speak to frightened animals. "Call Rosalie."

Edward scrambled for his phone and punched in Rosalie's number. After a few minutes of hurried conversation, he pocketed his phone and stood back, watching as his sister tried to soothe Bella. He had rarely felt such helplessness as he could do nothing to make things better.

Maggie and Sweetie quietly spoke back and forth for a few moments. Sweetie nodded and headed for the receptionist's desk where she made a quick phone call and returned to where Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley stood, arms crossed and a childlike pout on her face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jessica shrieked, slapping Mike on the back of the head. "You don't touch anyone, especially a member of the opposite sex, without their permission. Idiot!"

"I only wanted to talk to her," Mike replied meekly, hanging his head.

"I don't give a flying flip what you wanted to do! You. Don't. Do. That!" Jessica punctuated her words with a slap on the chair behind Mike, causing him to wince with each beat.

"Police will be here momentarily," Sweetie announced gently. "They said Miss Swan can go home as long as she is accompanied and makes herself available for an interview."

"I think that would be perfect," Rosalie stated, emerging from the stairwell just a moment before. It was quite obvious she had rushed down the stairs, her coat thrown over one arm and papers hastily stuffed into her briefcase.

Bella shook her head suddenly. She knew she was better than Mike or anyone like him. She straightened herself in her seat. She knew she had to press charges and she knew she had to stand up to Mr. Newton. Bella also knew she needed to get out of there. Immediately.

"I need to leave," she announced, gathering herself and standing.

"Let me take you home," Edward offered, holding out one hand.

Bella flinched away ever so slightly and then gave a wan apologetic smile. Edward frantically looked between Rosalie, Alice, Sweetie and Maggie, pleading silently for one of them to tell him what to do and how to fix everything.

"Let me do it," Rosalie whispered, taking a step toward Bella. "I'll drive her home and Emmett can pick me up."

"I can take myself," Bella announced a little too loudly and a little too harshly.

"Bella," Rosalie soothed sweetly. "You know my story. You know it'll be okay."

Bella stood still, thinking for a moment. She did know Rosalie's story. A party … too much to drink … a woman alone and where a 'no' wasn't enough. This was someone she could talk to, listen to, and gain strength from. She silently nodded and followed Rosalie out the door and into the night without a second look at the others.

"Did I do something wrong?" Edward muttered more to himself than to his sister who remained by his side.

"Not at all, Edward. Sometimes, a girl just needs to fix things without male help," Alice smiled gently, rubbing one hand up his arm soothingly.

In the end, Rosalie drove Bella home, stayed while Bella emptied her hot water heater in an attempt to scrub off any remaining scent of Mike Newton from her skin, and just listened as Bella recounted what happened. She did not try to give advice, she did not insist everything would be better in the morning, she did nothing other than listen and be a warm presence. And Bella felt a world better by the time her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, Bella pointedly avoided the elevator, opting to take the stairs to her third floor office. She had wisely chosen to wear flats for just such an occasion, so she made it up without a tripping incident or a twisted ankle. Before entering her office, she cautiously poked her head into the one across the hall.

Edward sat hunched over his desk reading from a few pieces of parchment, a pencil in his right hand held as if it were a conductor's baton. Every few seconds, his long fingers delicately moved as if he were counting out time. Bella thought she saw his lips move ever so slightly as if sounding out music. She smiled to herself at the image before her and how he was completely enraptured with what he was reading.

"Knock, knock," she murmured, softly rapping on the doorjamb.

Edward's head popped up. He pulled his glasses down from atop his head and smiled as his eyes focused on her.

"Hey!" he grinned, obviously pleased to see her.

"Hey."

The two stared at each other for a few minutes. Bella finally gathered up the strength to say what she had come to his office to say.

"I just wanted to thank you for the offer to drive me home last night," she said gently, a little embarrassed by the entire event.

Bella was never one to like attention and bad attention was even worse. She could feel the flush rising on her cheeks.

"Not at all," he smiled back.

"I just … I didn't …" She stumbled with her words even though she had practiced several times on the drive to work that morning what she was going to say.

"Miss Swan," Edward began, debating whether to rise and approach her but deciding after last night that it might be best for him as a male to remain seated.

"Bella," she replied automatically.

Edward's face lit up like a child at Christmas and he smiled broadly at her. Bella noticed a few crinkles around his eyes behind the glasses and thought they were utterly adorable before the HR training kicked in and she shook her head to remove inappropriate thoughts from her head. But still …

"Bella," he continued. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I will be," she assured, a genuine smile gracing her lips.

~HOH~

Summary: Bella steps onto the elevator. Mike joins her at the last second. Mike threatens Bella and intrudes upon her personal space even after being told to back away. Maggie and Sweetie save the day and Mike is fired before the police are called. And, his manhood is now more of a boyhood thanks to Maggie.

RL will continue to be hectic as I prepare for a trip to southern India in mid-February. My entire family will be going, and we are very excited but I have to prepare the class I am going to teach as part of our venture abroad.

A special thank you to Scorpio11 for catching a continuity error in the earlier chapters. I do appreciate knowing when I goof up like that and am not offended in the least when I get messages telling me so. I get frustrated at myself but just blame it on 'mommy-brain.'

As always, I appreciate every update, alert and review so let me know what you think!