Happy Saturday!

Thank you SO MUCH for propelling this little story past 600 reviews!

Usual disclaimer applies - I still don't own any of it. I just like to play with the characters ;-)

Team Momo wouldn't exist without Midnight Cougar and Alice's White Rabbit with their red pens, or without AGoodWitch, Driving Edward, Mel, Maplestyle, and Eternally Addicted who pre-read and tell me if I'm off my rocker or not. They also were nominated in the TFFA so remember to send them some love!

Two things before we delve into it:
1. Laurent is definitively in the rearview mirror, so you can rest easy on that score. Sometimes in life when we come across a-holes, we don't always know how and why they disappear. In this case, Bella wasn't privy to anything of importance in Laurent's life, because that was part of his manipulation-keep her in the dark about stuff that mattered, so he could control her. Another thing to know about this kind of people: they tend to repeat their patterns of behavior, so it's safe to assume he did this to other people in addition to Bella, and with some poetic justice, I'd like to think his antics caught up with him at some point.
2. You all guessed Edward's reaction pretty accurately. Let's see how accurate your guesses were about what comes next.

Reminder on chapters: unless indicated, odd-numbered chapters are in EPOV, even-numbered ones are in BPOV. We're with Bella today.

Chapter 16 - BPOV

After an intoxicating, satisfying weekend of sex all over Edward's condo, going back to my studio on Sunday night felt slightly anticlimactic. But such is life. Coming home reminded me that, regardless of how crazy in love we were, we also found ourselves at different stages in our journeys, and that was okay. We had to learn to navigate it together.

When I stepped into the office on Monday morning, armed with coffee and a sleep-deprived attitude, a surprise awaited me.

"Good morning, kiddo."

"Morning, Alistair. What brings you here to the trenches?" It was unlike him to lie in wait for any of us, and as a rule, he tended to come into the office later than I did.

"I wanted to catch you before you started your day. Have a seat; sip your coffee." He motioned for me to get comfortable.

I dumped my tote bag on my filing cabinet and hung my coat on the back of the door. I refrained from unlocking my computer. Alistair's visit spelled all kinds of potentially ominous news; I didn't want any distractions.

"Out with it, boss. Or I'll start assuming it's ten times worse than it is. Whatever you're about to tell me, that is."

He shook his head, chuckling, then turned and leaned against Jasper's desk.

Coincidentally, I just remembered Jazz had taken half the morning off for a doctor's appointment. Because Alistair had access to our calendars and formally approved our PTO requests, this meant he'd planned his ambush. He knew I'd be alone first thing this morning. He could still have summoned me to his office, but that would have given away the game. Catching me in my space without warning—now, what did that mean, other than going for the element of surprise?

"Edward sent a request for an HR meeting with Rosalie, and you were cc'd in that email."

I nodded. That was one of the more mundane things we'd done at Edward's on Sunday, in between eating each other out. Edward thought it was his place to ask for the appointment and initiate the paperwork to disclose our relationship to the firm. I had no issues with it.

Alistair smirked at me when I didn't reply. "Fine. Play it close to the vest. But you could've told your old uncle Alistair."

"We just decided this past weekend, Al," I blurted out, then promptly clamped my hand over my mouth—way to go and give away my game.

"I had a bet going on with Emmett. Y'all just cost me twenty bucks."

I snorted—that'd be just the Emmett thing to do: run a betting pool on his brother's business.

"Wait until Edward hears about it."

"Oh, he will. No way in hell Emmett won't crow about it. But anyway—"

I interrupted him. "I was beginning to think you were only here to gossip about my private life. Say it ain't so?"

He took a deep breath. "You're going to see emails circulating in the next few days, but I thought it'd be more proper if the news came from me."

"Okay?" I replied tentatively, now quite on pins and needles. That wasn't a premise anyone wanted to hear on any old Monday morning.

"The partners have decided to hire someone to fill in for Edward and Liam Bamford."

Uh-oh. The law firm couldn't well be expected NOT to replace a partner on sabbatical (Edward) and a fairly prominent of counsel (one step below a partner). And yes, those of you who assumed Edward and Bella would officially announce their relationship at work were correct.

In other news, if you are in my FB Group (LaMomo's Lair - type the name in the search bar to join the shenanigans) I wrote the words "The End" to this story this past week. For now, I won't be switching to a more frequent posting schedule because I'm trying to get my other WIP wrapped up in the meantime. But it means I could be persuaded to throw in an extra post here and there if there's suitable demand for it ;-)

What's Edward's reaction at the new hire going to be? We'll know more next week.