Edward got home from having dinner with Emmett and set his briefcase on the table set in the foyer near the entrance before he moved to slip off his scarf, gloves, and winter coat and put them in their place in the coat closet before he moved through his apartment towards his bedroom as he pulled off his tie.

He barely noticed the living room to his right or the kitchen to his left. The place was immaculate, just as it always was. It was tastefully decorated in modern furniture in tones of black, khaki, and some beige and while there were some knickknacks here and there, there was nothing that could be described as personal. Truthfully he had hired a decorator to do everything.

His bedroom was a bit of a different story; while it was also tastefully decorated it seemed to have more personality. Here there were a number of black and white framed prints on the wall. He had always loved photography, something that his mother had instilled in him from a young age. As a matter of fact, one of the black and white photographs on the wall was an original Ansel Adams print that his father had brought for his mother on the first wedding anniversary. There were also two photographs on his dresser. One showed him with his parents. They were all dressed in ski clothes and his mother stood between him and his father. None of them were looking at the camera; instead, all of them were flushed from the cold and laughing.

It was the last photograph that he had taken with them.

The other photograph on the dresser showed his parents on their wedding day. His parents looked so young, carefree, and happy. It had always been his favorite photograph of them and had been in his bedroom since he was a young boy up unto this day.

Moving to the walk-in closet he shed his suit and hung it up next to a couple of others that he had to drop off at the cleaners sometime during the week. He moved back into the bedroom and to the dresser and pulled out a pair of workout shorts before he slipped into his running shoes, grabbed his iPod and a towel before he moved towards the living room to the treadmill that was sitting in front of the bay window that gave a great view of the city.

As he did whenever he could, Edward started to run. It was his way of getting away from everything. For about a good half hour he didn't care about his Blackberry or the work that never seemed to end. This was his time.

The music he listened to drowned out the sound of his heavy breaths and his feet hitting the belt as he ran. The music was loud, angry music. It has been his preference since he was a teenager and he still remembered how it had driven his parents crazy when he listened to it. They hadn't liked it, but they hadn't complained much since he was an overall good kid and it was just a small show of rebellion on his part that he listened to it and played it a bit too loud from his room. His mother actually joked that since he was a good, calm kid he must have a lot of anger inside considering where his musical preferences ran.

He had just liked the hard rifts and dramatic beats then, his choice of groups like System of a Down, Korn, and Disturbed had nothing to do with how he felt. Now, that he was older, the music fit his mood much better and he always listened to it while running.

As he ran he pushed thoughts of work out of his mind. Usually when he ran he thought of mundane things like when he would make time to go to the dry cleaners, or whether or not it was really time to replace his favorite pair of shoes. Tonight, his thoughts drifted to the angel he'd walked home the previous evening.

For almost twenty-four he found his mind wandering towards thoughts of her. He thought of her laugh, her soft voice, her chocolate brown eyes, and her smile. And, for the thousandth time he was mentally kicking himself for not getting her name, asking for her number, or asking if he could see her again.

He hadn't wanted to get to know a woman like this…well, he couldn't remember the last time he did, if ever.

Finishing his workout he shook his head and used a towel to wipe down his face and chest before he made his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

He figured he had two choices at this point: he could either push thoughts of her out of his mind and stop obsessing, or he could find a way to meet up with her again. He did know where she lived after all.

)( )( )( )(

Bella woke up for work the morning after her dinner with Alice and Rosalie and got ready for work. Making her way out into the living room and towards the kitchen she groaned as she caught Jasper and Alice kissing in the kitchen.

"It's really too early in the morning for me to be seeing that," she grumbled.

Jasper had come over the previous evening after she and Alice got home. She figured that this was going to be the norm now that Alice was in town and living in her own place with Bella. One thing that she was very grateful for was the fact that they had chosen a place with bedrooms at opposite ends of the apartment. She really didn't need to hear what was going on between one of her bosses and her best friend.

Jasper and Alice both just giggled as Bella made her way into kitchen.

Bella continued, "You two were so busy sucking face neither of you bothered to turn on the coffeepot! How am I supposed to get by without caffeine? There isn't even time for it to brew."

"Sorry," Alice said with a smile, though she didn't seem all that sorry to Bella.

Jasper chimed in now. "Yes, sorry, Bella. I'll make it up to you by driving through a Starbucks. I'll even buy you a pastry," he said with a wink. "But, we should get going. We have a staff meeting this morning."

Bella nodded as she looked at her watch, quickly grabbing her lunch from the fridge, glad she'd taken the time to pack it the night before.

As she rushed the foyer and grabbed her coat, scarf, gloves and hat from the coat closet and started to slip them on as Alice and Jasper said their good byes.

As they drove to work, Jasper had a silly grin on his face and Bella didn't even want to think about what had put it there.

"So what do we have scheduled for today other than the staff meeting?" Bella asked.

They were discussing shop when Jasper brought up the upcoming weekend. "Don't forget that we have that thing at the Kennedy Center this weekend."

"I do have to go to that, don't I?" Bella asked in a resigned tone.

Jasper nodded. "All part of the job, Ms. Swan. Besides, don't you like the idea of rubbing elbows with D.C.'s elite? I mean, the President is expected."

"Senator Cullen still hoping to get a meeting with him while there?" Bella asked curiously.

Jasper nodded. "Of course so will almost everyone there, but I think we'll get five minutes."

"His endorsement, even if not publicly made, would go a long way, Jazz."

Jasper nodded and frowned. "We're going to have to start getting the party on our side, there are others that are chomping at the bit for the nomination and we're a little behind in the game since most of the staff is new."

"You were in a late meeting last night with the Senator," Bella said.

Jasper just nodded in response.

"He's made a decision, hasn't he?" Bella continued.

Jasper glanced from the road briefly to look at her and nodded, his look turning serious.

"So, when do I start preparing the announcement that Senator Carlisle Cullen is running for President of the United States?" Bella asked, her pulse already quickening at the thought of what they were getting themselves into.

A/N:

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all liking the new story.

There are just several things I wanted to cover about this story. First, I would like to thank Coleen561 for the wonderful new banner. Second, I am going to do my best to not go into party politics here. Yes, this is a political drama set in D.C., but it isn't about being Democrat or Republican. I'm trying to make it more about the relationships, both personal and professional. Also, I wanted to let you know that this is a long story that's going to span a long period of time. If you're looking for a quickie, I'm not into that (in writing, otherwise sometimes they're necessary and fun).

Lastly, I would like to thank you all for reading and reviewing! I love getting your feedback!

D.