In honor of Edward's birthday I decided to update earlier. Thank you so much for your reviews last chapter :)

Not mine.

Chapter 4

Of all the weird things Edward had experienced on this day, this woman - who honestly had been quite bitchy to him before - introducing him as her boyfriend to an entire roomful of strangers was the most shocking thing so far. He could only blink in confusion.

"This is your boyfriend, Ms. Swan?" Emmett could not have sounded more shocked if he tried.

"Yes, Emmett, this is my boyfriend, Jacob, he came to visit me, thank you for helping him, you can let go of him now." Bella's voice was so high-pitched it sounded like she had inhaled helium.

Grudgingly, Emmett let go of Edward and excused himself to leave the office. Not that it was his place to judge or anything, but he thought Ms. Swan could do better.

"FINALLY!" Renée shrieked. "We meet at last. I've waited so long to meet you; this is so exciting!" She jumped off her seat and crushed Edward in a bear hug.

"Um... hi?" What the fuck was happening?

"Oh, you're so handsome, Bella never mentioned how handsome you were, she never showed us any pictures or anything." Renée's joy could not be contained. Jacob existed! "She didn't mention you were a ginger though," she added as an afterthought.

"Mom!" Bella chided.

"It's not a bad thing, darling, I'm just saying." She turned to Edward again and gave him yet another hug. Edward returned it because even though he had no clue what was happening he could never refuse a hug. "Come, let's go have lunch, my treat."

Edward looked in Ms. Swan's direction, this had gone on for too long, he was confused and just did not have the time to join in whatever this little game was. Before he could speak, she stood up to face them and it was only then that he noticed for the first time the giant pregnant belly she was sporting.

-PH-

After asking her mom to wait for them downstairs, Bella and Edward were left alone, he needed to know what was going on and she needed him to play along until she could figure something else out.

"Jacob was my boyfriend; we were together for around four months until I got pregnant. I wanted to keep the baby and he didn't want to have anything to do with that. My parents have been living in London for the last three years, I told them we were together for longer just to get them off my back. I caught enough shit for getting pregnant out of wedlock."

"Ms. Swan."

"Bella."

"Bella, I get you're in a tough spot and I wish I could help but don't understand what this has to do with me."

Here goes nothing, Bella thought "I need you to pretend to be Jacob."

Edward must not have heard her correctly, "what?"

"Just until my mom leaves."

"But she just got here!"

"It would only be for like ten or fifteen days; I'll figure something else out after that."

Edward ran his hands through his hair, "Look Bella, I wish I could help, I really do but I can't. I have to finish a composition and I haven't even started. I can't come up with anything, I have a meeting with the director in two days and I have nothing to show him. I need this job to be able to get caught back up with my mortgage otherwise your bank will foreclose on my house."

Edward's actions started to make sense to her. "That's what you needed the phone for, to find the right song and get some inspiration," she surmised.

Edward looked at her and nodded.

"I can help you with that, you don't even have to be here, you can call me, and I can transfer you to all the extensions until you find the song you're looking for."

Bella could see Edward was doubtful, so she decided on another tactic: intimidation. "Look Edward, you can either help me or I can call Emmett back up her and tell him you were trying to stage a robbery and you were holding my mom and I hostage."

"What the fuck?!" If Edward wore pearls he would've clutched them.

"Your choice." She waited while he glared at her. "Look, I can help you get what you need, and you can help me get my mom off my back, I'll tell her the truth eventually."

Edward snorted. "When, at our wedding?"

It was Bella's turn to glare. "Do you know how easy it would be for me to accuse you of something illegal? I have your name, your address, your social security number…"

Edward blanched. "You're evil."

"No, I'm desperate. Just give me a week, after that I swear I'll leave you alone."

Edward thought it through, she really hadn't left him much choice, had she? "And you're sure you can help me find the right jingle?"

"Positive."

He thought about how much was riding on this job and it seemed like this would be the only way to find that damn music and get his inspiration back. "Okay I'll do it, but I'll only do it for 24 hours and you have to promise you'll help me find the jingle."

"Perfect. I'll tell my mom Jacob had to fly out of the country after that." Hands were shaken; a pact was made.

And now, lunchtime.

-PH-

After deciding on a sandwich shop near Bella's work, Edward made his way to the bathroom, he wasn't ready to deal with whatever craziness was coming his way just yet. After splashing some water on his face and trying in vain to tame his hair he joined his lunch companions.

"Don't say anything, Bella already told me." Renée said.

Edward smiled as he looked at Bella "You told her already?" Sweet! The plan was off.

"Yes, I told her you'd have to travel for work tomorrow."

Never mind.

Renée leveled Edward with a disapproving look. "I really don't think you should be missing your baby's birth. You should've asked for time off."

"He can't get any time off from work, mom," interjected Bella.

"I'm a freelancer, I have to go where the job is, you know." Bella looked impressed at Edward's quick thinking.

"You know, darling, in England they have paid parental leave, all of Europe does. I just don't understand the States…"

Bella let her mother ramble about what made England so much better than the U.S. for a few minutes while she tried to enjoy the last of her meal, she was always so hungry these days. When she could no longer tune her out, she stopped her. "Mom, I have to get back to work. How will you be getting to Sue's house?"

"Could I use your car, darling? Edward can drop me off."

In a nanosecond Bella's face went from ivory to such a fiery red Renée was reminded of those charming English telephone booths she loved so much.

"I'm not… I don't have my car with me." Bella managed to get out while staring at the ground. She really wished her audience would understand what she meant but unfortunately for her when she looked up, they both seemed utterly confused. She sighed and cradled her bump. "I have a Mini Cooper," she offered as an explanation. It had been many weeks since Bella had to admit to herself she no longer fit in her car, these days she had to Uber everywhere.

Renée looked at her daughter with such tenderness she almost teared up. She remembered the days before she gave birth when she felt bigger than a house and how uncomfortable she was. She doubted Bella would want to commiserate over the highs and lows of pregnancy. Renée placed a comforting hand on Bella's tummy. "You look beautiful, darling. Doesn't she look beautiful, Jacob?" she asked.

Edward didn't respond.

"Jacob?"

Two sets of eyes looked his way, Edward suddenly remembered who he was supposed to be.

"Uh yeah. Yes." Renée looked like she wanted to kill him for not agreeing faster. He cleared his throat. "Gorgeous."

The older woman smiled. "I can take a cab, Bella."

Suddenly, Edward remembered the card in his pocket. "Wait, don't take a cab. I know someone who can come and get you." Billy, the Uber driver had really been onto something by handing out his business cards.

-PH-

Renée was happy to finally meet the man who was so important to her daughter but there was something about him she didn't quite trust. He seemed a little uncomfortable and like he wasn't quite sure what was happening around him.

Bella picked up on her mother's behavior, she could tell that Renée suspected something. In an effort to keep the charade up she clasped Edward's hand, he startled for a second. Edward looked at Bella, her eyes begging him to play along.

Renée watched the young couple interact with shrewd eyes. Inspiration struck. "Darling, let's have dinner at your flat tonight."

"Mom, I would prefer to eat out. I didn't know you were coming, and I haven't gotten a chance to go grocery shopping."

"Oh baby, don't worry. I brought lots of stuff with me so you can try."

"I really would rather eat outside, mom." Bella insisted. "There's lots of places we can go."

"Bella, darling I travelled all this way to see you, to see where you and Jacob live. At the very least I would like to see my grandchild's nursery!" She looked at Edward for support. "Doesn't that make sense?"

Edward had to agree. "It does." It did.

He could feel Bella's grip tighten.

"It's settled then; I'll see you tonight at 8 PM at your place." She smiled.

Bella glanced at her watch, she really had to get back. "Mom, I really have to go, will you be okay waiting for your Uber here?"

"I'll be fine, darling."

Bella and Edward said their goodbyes and took off hand-in-hand toward Bella's office. As soon as they rounded the corner and Bella was sure her mother was out of sight, she let go of Edward's hand like it was burning her. "Why did you have to agree with her?" she asked, annoyed. "Your hands are clammy," she mentioned as she fetched a pocket-sized sanitizer from her purse.

Edward just rolled his eyes. "Look, I did my part, now you do yours." He was wasting precious time by arguing with her.

"Fine, whatever. When you get home just call me at work, you have the bank number, my extension is-"

"666?" Edward guessed.

Bella glared at him "1918" she spat and turned to get back to her office.

Well, they're not quite best friends, huh? Hope you enjoyed :)