A/N: I've combined chapters 15 and 16 of P&P here. Might do the same thing for the next two.

Characters belong to S. Meyer. Major story line belongs to J. Austen.

"Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?"

"As much as I ever wish to be," cried Elizabeth warmly. "I have spent four days in the same house with him, and I think him very disagreeable." – Elizabeth to Mr. Wickham, Pride and Prejudice, Ch. 16

Chapter 15 & 16

Jacob Black was not always the most sensible guy, and this deficiency hadn't been rectified by either higher education or his position in society. His mother passed away when he was very young, and he was raised most of his life by his father Billy; a nice enough man but rather hard-headed, a trait Jake had inherited with a passion. Billy had also taught him to be humble, but unfortunately the position in which he now found himself combined with staggering good looks and a rocking hard body had turned him into a conceited smart ass.

A stroke of luck had brought him to the attention of Senator Jane De Volturi when the opening for her Personal Assistant had become available. Now the respect he felt for her and the high position she held in politics, as well as his gratitude for all she'd done for him, combined with his good opinion of himself, made him altogether a strange mixture of pride, self-importance and humility.

The truth was that Jake was in search of a wife. He'd built a promising career for himself and was earning a decent salary. When the Senator had quietly suggested that a wife and stable home would earn him more respectability in the eyes of his conservative colleagues and superiors, Jake had immediately taken her words to heart, and his thoughts had quickly gone to his childhood friends, the Swan girls. The fact that the Swan family was greatly indebted to him financially only served to strengthen his belief that he was making the right choice in turning his attentions to them. If the rumors he heard from La Push about the beauty of the Swan girls were true, then he would be killing two birds with one stone; absolving the Swan family of their debt, and finding a suitable wife for himself. A win-win situation all-around.

His plan didn't waiver upon laying eyes on them. Alice Swan's lovely face and manners satisfied all his pre-conceived notions for what was necessary in a suitable wife for a man of his rank. For the first evening, she was his obvious choice.

The next morning however, brought with it some changes. Within fifteen minutes of conversation with Renee over a cup of coffee – a conversation which centered around his new apartment in Madrona and naturally led to his hopes of finding a nice girl to tend to his home while he brought home the bacon – he was pleasantly encouraged with smiles and words, but cautioned against his very first choice.

"I feel I have to warn you Jake," Renee whispered conspiratorially, leaning over the small breakfast table, "Alice is in a serious relationship right now with a young man from town. I wouldn't be surprised to see her engaged to him before the summer was over."

Jake frowned over this new piece of information, but his eyes trailed to the small window over the kitchen sink, and from it he caught sight of Bella coming home from her morning jog, her long dark hair up in a pony tail, swaying back and forth as she ran, a thin sheen of sweat trailing down her abs. It was all it took for his choice in future wife to change.

Renee caught the way Jake's eyes darkened while he stared at Bella, as well as the way the corners of his mouth turned up in a satisfied grin, and she was happy as a pig in mud to think that by the end of the summer she might have two daughters well on their way to financially prosperous relationships.

Jessica's plan to go to Port Angeles the next day wasn't forgotten. All the Swan girls agreed to go, if for nothing else than a change of view from the small town of Forks. Jake was set to join them on the drive after prompting from Charlie, who was anxious to have them all out of the house so he can go on a short fishing trip by himself. He'd expected to have to entertain Jake somewhat, but was unprepared for the young man's habit of following him from room to room and offering up conversation on any and all subjects under the moon. When Jake hinted that he might want to go fishing with Charlie the next time he felt so inclined, Charlie quickly suggested he might be of more use as an escort to the girls on their trip to Port Angeles.

"You're right Charlie," Jake had agreed quickly, helping Bella with her coat while they got ready to go. "It doesn't make sense for four girls as young and pretty as these are to go into Port Angeles by themselves."

Bella rolled her eyes at Jake's words, but said nothing as she made her way into the driver's side of her truck.

"Do you want me to drive?" Jake called out, rushing out behind her.

Bella merely turned around and glared at him without answering.

The ride to Port Angeles consisted of self-centered conversation on Jake's part, received with barely civil nods from the two younger girls and forced smiles and short answers from the two older ones.

They finally arrived in town, and Bella quickly parked the car and got out, anxious for some fresh air and distance from Jake's slightly uncomfortable gaze. Everyone's temper improved once they began their walk down the Port Angeles riverfront, the younger two scouting the streets for hot guys while the older two looked in an occasional shop window and admired the real view.

All four girls' attention was soon occupied however, by the sight of an extremely good-looking guy coming down the opposite street with another man. The man was none other than Tyler Crowley, whom Jessica had specifically made the Port Angeles trip for, and he smiled widely at her as they passed by. All four girls were more interested in the handsome stranger however; and while they wondered who he could be Jessica and Lauren decided to find out, and quickly crossed the street with the excuse of looking into one of the small boutiques at just the opportune moment that the two gentlemen were passing by. With a quick look at each other, Bella and Alice followed, if only to make sure there two younger cousins didn't make complete asses of themselves. Of course, Jake followed all.

"Hey Tyler!" Jessica giggled, running up to the two men with Lauren in tow. "What's going on?" Her eyes trailed to the handsome stranger.

"Hey Jess," Tyler replied cheerfully. "Not much, just showing Mike here the town. He's going to be taking a few classes at the Port Angeles campus for the summer and working at your uncle's McDonalds."

Tyler made the introductions, and Jessica and Lauren's grins grew wide with anticipation that this new hot guy, Mike Newton, would be joining the ranks at McDonald's, because they were both already convinced all he needed to make him perfect was the black and yellow uniform. A quick conversation confirmed he wasn't only physically blessed, but had a great personality and a quick sense of humor. And after five minutes of standing there, all the Swan girls were convinced that Mike Newton was an easy-going guy with gorgeous blue eyes and a way of speaking that left all of them entranced.

It was only the strange and unexplainable tingle up her spine that forced Bella to turn around and away from Mike suddenly, and she was met with the sight of Jasper and Edward heading straight there way.

As soon as both gentleman caught sight of the Swan girls, their steps quickened and in three quick strides they were standing right before them.

"Alice," Jasper breathed, his southern drawl thick and holding a twinge of relief.

"Hey Jasper," Alice smiled broadly.

"We just came from your house. You mom told us you'd all come for a walk in Port Angeles, and we decided to come meet you. Right Edward?"

Jasper turned to his friend for voucher of his words, and Edward was just about to give it, when – while chanting in his mind 'Do not look at Bella, Do not look at Bella' – his attention was caught by another face; the new stranger to the group.

Edward paled as soon as he caught sight of Mike, his lip curling into an involuntary snarl while Mike turned beet red. Bella, of course, being the observant creature she was, caught the entire exchange. After a few seconds, as if seeming to remember his manners, Edward gave Mike a terse nod, which Mike returned quickly.

What the hell was that all about? Bella wondered to herself. It was impossible to know. It was unimaginable not to want to find out.

Edward turned to Jasper and murmured, "You know what, I think I'm going to head out on my own. I'll see you back at Forks." And he walked off without another word to anyone.

Jasper frowned, taken by surprise by his friend's sudden desire to leave the group.

"Edward, where are you going?" Jasper called out. But Edward didn't bother to turn or answer. With pursed lips, Jasper turned back to Alice apologetically.

"Alice, do you mind if we catch up later? Let me see what's got Edward…" he trailed off.

"Of course Jazz. I'll see you later then?"

Jasper smiled widely, his blue eyes twinkling with anticipation. "Definitely." He waved goodbye to the rest of the girls and went after Edward.

The girls walked on with Tyler and Mike, until they reached McDonald's, and having the late shift to work that night, the girls and Jacob left for the evening while Tyler and Mike donned their striped caps.

OOOOOOO

"So what do you think all that was about?" Bella picked Alice's brain that night at home, alone in their bedroom. "Why do you think Edward and Mike reacted like that to each other?"

Alice shrugged and shook her head. "I have no idea. But I'm sure whatever it is," – she added cautiously – "they had their reasons, and they're not our business."

Bella pursed her lips and glared at her older sister. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered. She stalked off to her bed and got under the covers before raising herself on her elbows to turn off the bedside lamp.

And as she lay quietly in the darkness of her shared bedroom, her mind turned to Edward, and the way his lips had curled into a snarl, his hands fisted at his sides, and his green eyes blazing in barely controlled fury. She shivered, and told herself it was because she needed an extra blanket, not because she'd been slightly turned on by an infuriated Edward.

And those are the words she kept telling herself as she drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The next day after work Bella and Alice took a trip to Port Angeles with their cousins and Jake again; since there really wasn't much to do in Forks. After walking around for a while, they ended up in McDonald's, and the girls were all thrilled to learn that Mike and Tyler were just finishing up their afternoon shifts and would be able to join them for some time in the dining room in a few minutes.

While they all sat in the restaurant enjoying their burgers and shakes and waiting for the other two men to finish work, Jake took the opportunity to look around and admire the place, the cleanliness, the neighborhood. He reminded everyone that Senator Volturi lobbied hard in Washington for the rights of every patron to the establishment; he mentioned how Senator Volturi's dining room in her home in Seattle was bigger than the entire McDonald's store they were in; how she had more employees working for her than the entire establishment had.

The Swan girls listened to Jake with barely concealed disinterest, and felt as if time were crawling, until at last Mike and Tyler joined them. As soon as Mike walked into the dining room, Bella was sure she had neither been seeing him before nor thinking of him since with unreasonable admiration. As insane as her cousins were, Bella had to admit many of the guys working in her uncle's McDonald's were surprisingly handsome, but none were more so than Mike.

Every pair of female eyes in the establishment turned and followed him as he made his way to where the girls and Jake sat, and Bella found herself to be the lucky female across from whom he placed himself. And the easy way with which he easily fell into conversation – even if the topic was merely how wet the evening was and the probability of a rainy spell – just managed to prove to Bella that even the most inane subject could be rendered amazing by the skill of the speaker.

The group soon settled into pleasant conversation with each other, and at some point a deck of cards was produced and the group quietly took over an empty corner of the restaurant to play cards and hang out.

Mike did not know the rules of the game currently being played though, and so he changed his seat to the other side of the table, between Bella and Jessica. At first it appeared as if Jessica would manipulate all of Mike's attention for herself, but as she was fond of cards and betting, her attention was soon taken over by the game and Mike was left to talk to Bella at his leisure, and Bella was more than willing to listen. Nevertheless, what she mostly wanted to hear from him she lacked the courage to ask; the history of his acquaintance with Edward. Her curiosity was quickly relieved however, when Mike brought the subject up himself.

"So Bella" – he smiled, his cerulean eyes twinkling brightly as he turned away from the card-playing bunch and brought his face closer to Bella's – "How far away is Forks from here?"

Bella grinned back at him. "About forty minutes or so."

Mike nodded. He hesitated momentarily before speaking again. "And how long has Edward Cullen been staying there?" he asked in a lowered voice.

"A few weeks," Bella responded, and then added quickly, "I hear he's got a nice vineyard in Upstate New York?"

"Yeah, he's got a huge piece of property up there. Worth millions of dollars, that's for sure." He sighed, moving his lips closer to Bella's ear, away from the others. "You couldn't have bumped into anyone who knew more about the Cullens than me, being I've been associated with their family since I was a kid."

Bella arched a surprised eyebrow.

Mike chuckled lowly. "I can understand your surprise. I'm sure you saw the…less than warm greeting we gave each other yesterday. Do you know Edward well?"

"Better than I would've ever wanted to," Bella snickered. "I spent four days trapped in the same house with him and found him to be a self-centered jerk."

"Well, I've got no right to give my opinion," Mike smiled wryly. "I've known him too long and too well to be a fair judge – it's pretty impossible for me to be impartial. But I'm pretty sure your opinion of him would pretty much surprise most people." He chuckled. "Anyway, you're with your own family here; I'm sure you wouldn't speak so freely anywhere else."

Bella pursed her lips. "Trust me, I wouldn't say anything here that I wouldn't be able to say anywhere else in the neighborhood, except for maybe in Netherfield Estate – where he's staying. He's not very well liked in Forks. Everyone's disgusted by his arrogance. I'm pretty sure you won't find anyone there with too many good things to say about him."

After a short pause Mike said, "Well, I can't pretend to be sorry you feel that way, though I must say it doesn't happen very often that anyone's able to see through his charade. Most people are either too blinded by his money and position or too intimidated by his arrogance and ego, and see only what he wants them to see."

Bella snorted. "Even from the little time I've known him I can tell he's an egotistical ass."

Mike simply shook his head. "I wonder…I wonder how much longer he plans to be in Forks."

"I don't really know. I didn't hear of any plans he had of leaving before the summer when I was at Netherfield." Bella looked at Mike warmly. "I hope your plans of staying in the area aren't affected by his presence."

"Hell no!" Mike snickered. "I'm not about to let him chase me away! If he's got beef with me, then he's gonna have to leave! I'm not going anywhere! We sure as hell aren't on what you may call friendly terms, and I hate having to see him, but I have no reason to hide from him. I didn't do anything wrong! He's the one who screwed me over! His father, the late Edward Sr., was one of the best men that ever lived, and every time I see his son I can't help remembering what a great man Edward Sr. was. This Edward however, has been nothing but an asshole to me, but even that I could've forgiven him. I could've ignored every last misdeed except for what he did to disgrace the memory of his late father."

Bella was beyond interested in the subject matter, her heart rate increased and her pulse raced wildly, but she forced herself to listen patiently, without interruptions.

Abruptly, Mike changed the subject to more general topics; Port Angeles, the neighborhood, his job at McDonalds, the university. He appeared very pleased with everything so far, speaking of all his new acquaintances highly.

"It's very important to me to be surrounded by kind, honest people. As a matter of fact, it was Tyler's recommendation that this part of Washington here was full of simple, unpretentious folk who are more concerned with friends and family than money and power that convinced me to move here. I've been disappointed by people before, but I'm not the type of man that can close himself off to friendships. And I've gotta work so that I can pay for school." He looked down at his McDonald's uniform and snorted. "A career in the fast-food industry isn't exactly what I'd hoped for but circumstances being what they are…" Bella bit her lip. "A career in the medical profession…that's what I was born for, that's what I would've had right now, if the gentlemen we were just speaking of hadn't taken it away from me."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked, completely forgetting herself.

"The late Edward Sr. left me sufficient funds to pay for my expenses to medical school, and then some. He was my godfather, and loved me very much." Mike sighed. "I can't even begin to tell you how good a man he was. He left me a generous inheritance in his will, but when he passed away, I got nothing."

"What?" cried Bella incredulously. "But how could that be? How could his will simply be disregarded like that? Why didn't you seek legal help?"

"The way my godfather worded it…well…it was just too vague for me to be able to get any help from the law. But any honest man could've easily read his intentions. Edward Jr., however, chose to ignore them, or rather to treat them as merely conditional recommendations. And according to him, I forfeited my claim by being too extravagant with my choice of schools, by being too brash and careless. Really, he was just making excuses. You see, I'm the type of man who speaks his mind, and I probably told him on more than one occasion what I really thought of him, how I felt he was a disgrace to the memory of his father. I honestly can't think of anything else I could've done or said. But the fact is, we are both very different men, and he just hates me."

"This…this is unbelievable," Bella murmured with wide, shocked eyes. "He deserves for everyone to know what an asshole he is!"

Mike smiled sadly. "I'm sure eventually everyone will figure it out on their own. But it won't be by me. As long as I can remember his father, I can't in good conscience speak badly of his son."

Bella was beyond touched by such kind, considerate feelings, and found Mike to be more appealing and handsomer than ever after such a speech. She was silent for a while.

"But why would he do something like that? What could've been his reasons?"

Mike shrugged. "He just really, really hates me. I mean, all I can think of is that he must've been really jealous of me, of how much his father loved me. He's not the sort of man who likes coming in second place, and from early on his father showed a preference for me."

"I…I honestly didn't think Edward was that heartless. I mean, I've never really liked him, but I didn't think he was evil enough to stoop so low! To be so malicious, so cold, so petty!"

After thinking her words through for a few minutes, she continued.

"I do remember him bragging once back at Netherfield, about the inflexibility of his temper, about not being able to forgive easily. What a horrible personality!"

"I don't trust myself enough to comment," said Mike. "I can't really be expected to be an impartial judge of that."

Bella was thoughtful for a moment again. "To treat his godbrother, his father's godson in such a way!" She wanted to add 'Such a great guy too, so obviously loving and kind and wonderful!' but she satisfied herself with just saying "And someone who was probably his own childhood friend!"

Mike nodded in agreement. "We grew up together. My father was Edward Sr.'s lawyer, as well as his friend. He was in charge of the business management of the Pemberley Vineyards. Edward Sr. often said he owed a lot to my father, so before my father died Edward Sr. promised to take care of me. I'm sure it was as much due to the debt he felt he owed my father as it was because of his affection for me."

"That's just crazy!" Bella cried quietly. "Un-freakin-believable! I just can't understand how Edward's own overblown pride didn't force him to be more honest towards you. I mean, if for nothing else than to prove what a great, pompous upstanding man he is!"

"It is hard to believe," Mike agreed, "since almost every move he makes has something to do with his pride. It's what's kept him more or less in line over the years. But we all digress at times and I guess there were stronger feelings than pride guiding his actions towards me."

"Can such an overblown ego ever have done him any good?"

"I suppose technically, it has. You see, his pride over his family name has forced him to pretend to be liberal and generous. To donate large sums of money to various charities and causes. He's proud of the name his father built for the family, and he doesn't want to disgrace it. The Pemberley Vineyards are well known throughout the country, and have a good reputation. To tarnish that reputation would be bad for business, and Edward is smart enough to know that. He knows that he and his sister's familial and financial legacies are tied to those vineyards. Both he and his sister are very sharp when it comes to finances." Mike snorted. "He's taught Rosalie well."

"What type of girl is Rosalie?"

Mike shook his head. "I wish I had good things to say about her. I hate speaking badly of a Cullen, but she is too much like her brother – very, very arrogant. She was cool as a kid; she and I spent a lot of time together, but she acts like she doesn't even know me now. She is beautiful, I'll give her that. And I heard she was recently accepted to Juilliard in New York. Since their parent's death she's been living in their condo in New York City. They have a lady that comes to check in on her whenever Edward's not around, and make sure she's okay."

"Hmm," Bella murmured thoughtfully, and then the conversation went off on a different tangent, though the topic was never far from Bella's mind. After a few minutes, she couldn't resist coming back to it.

"You know what else surprises me?" she asked without waiting for an answer. "His close friendship with Jasper Whitlock. I mean, Jasper is just about the sweetest, kindest guy you could ever meet. How could they possibly be friends! Do you know Jasper?"

"Not really, no."

"He is such a sweetheart. I doubt he has any idea what type of man Edward really is!"

"He probably doesn't. But Edward's very good at putting up a front. He doesn't lack charm when it suits him. He's very different among those who he considers to be of his social standing from what he is with us poor peons," Mike smiled wryly. "I mean, he's always pretty proud, but with those like himself he's very liberal-minded and sincere; hell, maybe even friendly!" he joked.

The card game soon ended and Jake came and took a seat next to Bella. She asked him how he'd faired in the game.

He shrugged and grinned carelessly. "Not too well, I guess. But you know what they say, 'Unlucky at cards…" he trailed off with an impish smile in Bella's direction. She turned away from him.

"Anyway, I'm not the kind of person who needs to worry about dropping a bill or two at a card game. Senator De Volturi and the federal government are very generous employers."

Mike's head quickly whipped in Jake's direction, and after watching him for a few minutes he asked Bella in a low voice how Jake knew the senator.

"Oh, Jake's her personal assistant," Bella responded in an equally low voice. "I'm not exactly sure how long he's worked for her, but I don't think it's been that long."

"You know that Senator De Volturi was the late Esme Cullen's aunt, and she is therefore Edward's second aunt?"

"No I did not!" Bella whispered in shock. "Until yesterday, all I knew about Senator De Volturi was that she was a senator from Washington State."

"Senator De Volturi also comes from a rich and powerful family, and it's always been her not-so-secret wish that Edward and her adopted daughter Heidi tie the knot someday and combine both families' names and fortunes."

This information made Bella smile. Poor, poor Tanya. All her ass-kissing towards Edward and his sister were useless if his interests already lay elsewhere.

"Jake has nothing but good things to say about Senator De Volturi and her daughter," Bella whispered in Mike's direction. "But I get the feeling his gratitude towards her misleads him. He's said a few things that make me think that maybe Senator De Volturi is just an arrogant and conceited wench."

Mike snorted. "Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. I haven't seen her in years, but I never liked her. I remember she spoke down to everyone. She's got a reputation for being pretty clever, but I think it just comes from people bowing to her rank and fortune."

Bella readily accepted his account of things, and they continued talking until the rest of the group decided Bella had manipulated Mike's attention long enough. And for the rest of the afternoon, everyone enjoyed conversation with Mike. His manners were perfect. Whatever he said, was said well. Whatever he did, he did gracefully and with charm.
By the time the Swan girls plus Jake headed back to Forks, Bella's head was swimming with thoughts of Mike. She could think of nothing else but him, and what he'd told her that day.

Reviews and thoughts?