After ending the call with Alice, I went back to work, focusing on the current projects, before moving on to editing a few bibliographies and novels that I was sent a week ago.

As the time inched closer to noon, I realized that Jen either ignored my prior memo or she must have not gotten the memo I sent her earlier.

Either way, it meant that her ass was now in the sling if she didn't get her shit together within the next few days.

Her slack was making us all fall behind, and there were only so many people willing to take extra work to even things out. This was the third time within the last two weeks that I had sent her a memo asking her to edit the same manuscripts that were handed in by tomorrow morning.

Rising Swan was a tough place to work for. Especially if you lacked to do certain things within the department you're placed in.

Jen is a part of the production editors and she was falling behind only turning in four within these last few weeks when Mirena, the head of the department, informed me that she is constantly out of work. Which led me to believe we would soon be looking for a new editor.

Throughout the day, I managed to finish most of my tasks, even managing to prepare for the meetings set for the following day. It was just after four in the afternoon when my phone began buzzing once more, reminding me of another thing I had to do.

Sighing, as I tried to reign in the oncoming headache I felt at the thought of what was coming, as I picked up my things before heading to the door.

As I walked out into the hall, I saw Bree, moving quickly around as she locked away everything, before shutting the computer down.

"Hey, Boss. Heading out for the day?" Bree asked me, as she turned to look at me.

"Yes, I need to head to Clear Brew's to speak to Seth and Leah but I'll be heading home right after then. Are you heading home soon or shall I expect you tomorrow morning in the same clothes?" I asked, raising a brow at her as I zipped up my leather jacket before I reached down to pick up my messenger bag and helmet from the couch.

"No. My older brother, Riley, is coming in from Ohio for a week. I need to go pick up a few things for my guest rooms." She says smiling excitedly at me, in response.

That explained why she was putting everything away in such a hurry.

"Sounds great, I hope you have a good time with your brother when he gets here. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Take care, and let me know if you need anything, alright?" I told her as I began walking towards the elevator.

I quickly push the call button to the elevator, quietly waiting for its arrival. As I go down to the basement, my mind tries to run scenarios of what could happen this weekend.

It has been a few months since my last visit home.

As the elevator reaches the ground floor, I am already thinking about what Seth and Leah could possibly need to see me for so urgently. I was highly suspicious of their motives. I knew that my dad, Charlie, had either spoken and enlisted their help in getting me to come down for a weekend visit. Or they had been in on it since the beginning.

There were many reasons as to why I didn't want to go to Forks.

Too many to name, many of which have to do with what happened years ago.

It was rather bothersome to me and I only wished to put it past me, but the pettiness of the town folk wouldn't lay the topic to rest. Especially while I was there.

Yes, a lot of us have dark pasts. But here at Rising Swan, I didn't judge because I too had a dark past, and even though we were required to do background checks on everyone we hired, by law. There were ways around those laws which allowed me to focus on the person's skills and working methods rather than their background.

I tended to mainly focus on the abilities of the applicant, and depending on the record or what type of crimes were shown, we usually hired them. Because I know everyone deserves to be given a second chance. Even those who society has deemed unworthy.

"Ms. Swan?" I heard suddenly, bringing me out of my reverie to realize I was still standing next to the elevator doors.

"Er, yes? Andrew?" I replied, walking towards him.

"Are you alright? You've been standing next to the elevator for the past five minutes. Did you forget something?" He asked, with a concerned expression on his usually stoic face.

"Oh, erm, no. My mind is simply elsewhere. I'll be fine. Have a great night. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." I said as I slowly made my way to my baby.

I sighed as I straddled her, feeling her purr under me.

"Have a good night, Miss. Swan." He said as I slipped on my helmet, taking off a moment later.

Reveling at the feeling as I slowly backed out of my spot and dashed out of the lot. I headed in the direction of Clear Brew's making it in half the time it usually took, I briefly debated on whether or not I should go in.

I sighed as Truth Hurts by Lizzo began playing and knew who it was before even answering. I knew right then that my decision had been made for me.

'You coulda had a bad bitch, non-committal

Help you with your career just a little

You're 'posed to hold me down, but you're holding me back

And that's the sound of me not calling you back.'

Why did Leah choose that ringtone beats the hell out of me, I mean, she does have Jacob, and had Sam before him… So, what boy problems could she possibly have had? Maybe she just liked the song? Yeah, that had to be it, why else would a married twenty-five-year-old set that song as a ringtone?

"Yes?"

"Hey Bitch, get your big ass in here before I go drag your ass in here!" She snapped before hanging up.

Ugh. No hello? This is why I dislike my family sometimes, they were a pain in the ass. This being one of those times. I wasn't looking forward to whatever they wanted to talk about.

Especially since I knew that they were possibly working with Charlie and Sue. I had to be on high alert. Because not knowing what they're up to is really dangerous.

Just as I climbed off my bike, a familiar black truck charged into the parking lot and parked two spots away from me. Next to Seth's beat-up jalopy.

I leaned back to check and to see if it was the same fucker that nearly caused me to eat shit this morning, and to my surprise, it seemed it was indeed the same asshole.

I stared at the monstrosity, watching for a moment, licking my lips.

Yes, it was definitely him. He had the same 'Calvin Peeing' sticker on the darkly tinted back window, along with the Harley Davidson stickers and the familiar silver emblem placed on the bed of the truck, plus the familiar roar of that monster was easy to point out. It was the same fucker from this morning.

"Hope he's still here when I get out. I need to exchange a few colorful words with that asshole." I mumbled to myself as I quickly made my way into the coffee shop.

The smokey, sweet, nutty aroma of coffee assaults my senses as soon as I step in through the door.

"Finally. What the hell took you so long?" Seth asked as he got up from his seat on one of the couches he had.

Clear Brew's opened about two years or so ago by my younger stepbrother, Seth. He opened it on the corner of Bundies and Sycamore.

When he first opened the small establishment, he asked his older sister, Leah, and I to help decorate it.

So we helped.

Both of us started by deciding the type of flooring the place would have, and the color of the walls and crowning first. Even going as far as deciding on the decorations in the bathrooms too.

We decided to paint the main room in a warm brown earthy tone.

A dark chocolate tone for the crown molding in the room. The women's bathroom had a warm brick tone for the walls and dark tiled floors. Adding a hygienic dispenser, and an automatic scent sprayer.

For the men's bathroom, we decided on a forest green tone and the same type of flooring as the women's bathroom.

Both bathrooms had a few decorative pictures on the walls, and a plant or two.

After letting the paint dry, Seth decided to call two of his friends to help him put in the tiled flooring because we weren't helping him at all by getting in the way and eating all his food.

From my place in the room, I can still see the dent Seth caused when he and his friends were bringing in all the shelves and furniture.

I couldn't believe it had been so long since we began working on this place.

I shook my head to clear it, slowly letting out a sigh, I slowly pulled off my messenger bag, and unzipped my jacket, hanging the bag before I walked over to Seth and Leah.

"Finally!" Leah grumbled, putting down her cell phone.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, lay it on me. What is going on? And why do I need to be here when I could be at home doing other shit?" I asked, throwing myself down into one of the chairs.

"Well, for two reasons, really. One, I wanted to give you this month's payment, which is a bit more than the last since sales are going up. And two, because mom called…" Seth said after handing me an envelope.

I looked at him, cooly, before placing the envelope into my inside jacket's breast pocket. "What happened? Is Charlie alright? Is she? What's wrong?" I asked, getting ready to stand up.

Fucking hell! What situation had the old man gotten himself into now?

"Nothing! Nothing is wrong. Our dear brother, here, just seems to have a problem with getting to the point. Look, Bee, Charlie called us two weeks ago, and told us he needs all of us to come down for the weekend. He didn't tell me why or for what reason. Just that we all need to be there. It's an important occasion for him." Leah said.

I leaned back, sagging in relief as I realized Charlie and Sue were alright but worried now that something else was going on. "Just Saturday?" I asked, in defeat.

"You might need to prepare for three days, Bee, he also wants me to inform you that he wants us all on our best behavior," Leah said, eyeing Seth and me, pointedly.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I asked, sitting up annoyed.

"It means—" Seth began only to get interrupted by the ding of the bell on the door, causing us to turn to look towards said door.

"Edward, dude!" He said, smiling and rushing over to a tall, tattooed, muscular man with penny-colored hair, and green eyes in a pair of tight dark jeans and a black t-shirt. As he stood by the counter drumming his fingers annoyingly.

From my place in the chair, I could see the amazing sleeve that went from his wrist all the way into his shirt, possibly covering his shoulder and chest.

The sight had me, clenching my legs together, and practically wiping the nonexistent drool from my chin.

"Here," Leah said, suddenly placing a tall cup of iced vanilla, and caramel frappuccino before me.

As my eyes landed on the tall cup of deliciousness, I yelped excitedly at the delicious sight before me, picking it up and drinking greedily from the straw.

I moaned as the sweet and salty, icy confection slid down my throat as I sucked greedily on the straw. Thus forgetting the sight before me.

"Better?" She asked as we stared at Seth and his hunky friend.

My eyes couldn't help but look at his hair, I marveled at the possibility of running my hand through the soft-looking wispy hairs on his head, even running my fingers on the fine hairs of his trimmed beard.

Leah snapping her fingers in front of my face amused brought me out of my musing, as I began to sip the delicious, caffeinated nectar greedily once more.

"Are you going to answer my question?" She inquired, raising a brow at me.

"Hm. Oh. Yes, much better. I have been needing this since this morning, but I was running late and Jordy never did manage to bring me my coffee this morning…" I groaned, before leaning back against the cushion.

As I groaned and licked the whipped cream off my lips, Seth's friend turned in my direction, eyeing me from head to toe, curiously. I looked back at him, biting my lower lip as I saw the tip of his tongue peek out and run over his plump lower lip.

"So, about this weekend…" Leah says, elbowing me to gain my attention once more.

I sighed in exasperation and shook my head at her, "Leah, we both know I can't spend the entire weekend over there." I finally said, biting my lip, and twiddling my fingers.

"Bella, honestly, it's just to celebrate Charlie's and Mom's anniversary. Though that's on Saturday. I think some of Charlie's friends moved back to Forks recently and he wants to introduce you to their son." She said.

Oh hell no! Not this again!

"Yeah, even more motivation to not stay the full weekend. But I will try to stay until Sunday morning. No more than that. Are we done here or does Seth need to discuss something with me as well?" I asked, standing up.

"No, we're done here. I have to get back home. We had a test today and I am behind in grading. Besides, I think Jacob is home, and I don't need my phone being blown because I am not home yet." Leah says, picking up her massive tote bags.

"Great. I'll call you tomorrow so we can iron out the details for this weekend, m'kay?" I say, before snatching the second cup of deliciousness from the table.

I was just about to reach the door when I heard Seth call me back.

"Hey, Bee!"

I sighed, turning towards him and his friend. "Yes, Sethy?" I asked, sweetly.

He laughed, giving me an exaggerated eye roll before beckoning me towards him. I sighed in defeat as I made my way to where he and his friend were standing, wondering what he needed.

I wanted to go home, and eat takeout from Chico's Palace for dinner.

"I wanted to introduce you to a good friend of mine." He says as I approached them. "This is Edward Cullen. His parents recently moved back to Forks. He is one of the people that Charlie wants to introduce to you." Seth says, with an amused grin.

I turn towards him, eyeing him carefully, before nodding. "Nice to meet you, Edward. I'm Isabella Swan." I say, stretching my hand to meet his outreached hand.

"Nice to meet you, Isabella." He says, causing me to choke on my saliva as I heard the deep timbre of his voice.

It was smooth, deep, and masculine, and dare I say, velvety? It reminded me briefly of my neglected lady bits, causing me to clench my thighs in response. Maybe it was time to pull out ol' B.O.B.?

"Nice to meet you too, Edward. Um, Seth, I have to get going now, I have a meeting early tomorrow morning." I told him.

"Oh, really? Damn, I needed to speak to both of you…" he said, looking back and forth between us.

I felt my brows furrow in question as he started between us, before turning to give me a pleading look.

I looked back at him, waiting for him to continue. "Is something wrong?" I asked, worried.

"Oh, no. It's just a business proposal." He said beckoning us back towards the chairs, that Leah and I had just vacated a few moments prior.

I sighed, realizing I was probably not going to eat anything but Carl's Jr for dinner tonight.

"What business proposal? And do you have said proposal written out yet?" I asked, sipping the straw.

"No, actually the opportunity just appeared recently, but I wanted to run it by you first." He explained as Edward sat down next to me.

"Seth, you already know I will back you up, but I need to see a written out proposal first," I said, stifling a yawn, as I felt the day's events weigh on me.

I almost felt like chastising him for not being prepared. I liked to be thorough, he knew this. Me being thorough about whatever type of investments I made was a must. I needed an executive summary, project details, timeline, terms, and costs, as well as a conclusion and signature field for the prospect.

Before I could take any type of decision I like to see whether or not there will be any gain from said proposal. Word of the mouth isn't very helpful, even if it is interesting to hear.

"How about I just tell you about it first?" He suggested, with the puppy dog eyes.

"You can, but without the summary or details of the proposal, I can not make any type of a decision," I replied to him, immediately.

"Alright, well, Mr. Walker said he has decided to sell this building and the next two. He has offered to let me buy it out so I don't go out of business. He made the same proposal to the Lorenzos and the Blakes but they bowed out. They'll be out of the building by the end of next month." He rushed, excitedly.

"What does him selling the next few buildings have to do with the business proposal? Are you going to extend the cafe or something?" I asked, halting him with my hand, as I felt my confusion grow.

"Yes. I want to take Walker's offer and buy out the buildings. It would be perfect to extend to the cafe! You know, branch out into a bakery, minimarket, and even a Restaurant, type of bistro. Of course, the name would change but just think about it." He explained, excitedly.

It sounded great but we had to do numbers, check if it would work out… This sounded like he planned to extend the block and make it into a mini-mall.

"Seth, isn't this building two floors?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Yes, it is. That's what is so perfect, Bells. Each of these buildings is connected. The bakery can go right next door. The next build already has a kitchen layout so we just need to knock down a few of the walls and maybe fix up a bit." He explained, growing more and more excited as he spoke.

I smiled at his child-like excitement, before taking a look at the paper on the table.

It was a hand-drawn layout of all the buildings and said connections of the buildings. True to Seth's word, the next building had a kitchen layout from the previous tenant's restaurant. In all honesty from the looks of it, the only thing that needs to be done was to get a few upgrades within the building and bring the buildings up to code before the inspection.

It would be beneficial for Seth to have these near him, yet, I still wondered a few things.

"Look, I won't make any type of decision without looking at the business proposal first. Now, I want to know how you plan to manage all of the businesses if I approve the proposal. I need a time estimate for renovations, when you'll be opening…. And you said three buildings so what will the third one be used for? All of these buildings have two to three floors, Seth. How do you plan on using all of that room?" I asked, raising a brow.

A throat cleared, gaining both the attention of Seth and me. "Well, that's where I come in…" Edward said, leaning forward in his seat before intertwining his long, nimble, tattooed fingers.

I turned to look at him, raising a brow expectantly at him. "Go on…" I said, taking Seth's water bottle from him and taking a long sip from it, before licking my lips.

"Well, I recently moved here from Chicago. I want to open my own tattoo shop in town, and Seth mentioned that the owner is selling the four buildings here." He explained.

I turned to look at Seth, who had the decency to flush scarlet as he nodded his head at me.

"Four? I thought you said three? Seth, what's going on?" I asked.

"Well, you see… I might have mentioned to Edward that you're my investor…" Seth stumbled out an explanation.

I felt my eyes widen at his explanation. Practically snapping my neck off as I turned to look at him in shock, as I shot to my feet. Oh God! Why in the world would he do that?

"Seth! I am not a fucking bank! Why the hell would you tell your friend that I am an investor?" I asked, feeling my face heat up.

"See, Ed, I told you she was going to get mad…" Seth muttered, flushing scarlet red too.

"Well, you are already invested in this business. So, why not invest in other things as well? It could be a beneficial opportunity for all of us present here." Edward pointed out, standing too.

I step back to look up at him before I answer him. "Because I am not a fucking bank. I am the owner of a fucking publishing company!" I yell, stomping my foot angrily, before turning to look at Seth.

He flinched in response to my heated gaze before taking a step back. "I want that fucking business proposal on my desk by tomorrow morning." I snapped, snatching my bag off the floor.

"Wait…! I've seen you somewhere before… where have I seen you before?" I heard someone mumble from behind me.

I felt myself stiffen as I remembered this morning's incident, before slowly turning back to look at them. "I'll tell you from where. You're the asshole who rushed past me this morning and caused me to almost eat the pavement." I growled at him, narrowing my eyes at him.

I watched as Edward's eyes widened in recognition of what I said.

"Oh shit, you're the sexy biker, who cussed me out this morning? Damn, I am so sorry. I was running late for a meeting this morning. My apologies." He said, gulping.

Meeting this morning?Why was he asking me to invest money in him if he had other dealings? That just seemed suspicious.

As he stared at me, since his eyes flicked from my head to my toes, I got an idea. "Of course, I accept your apology. If you accept mine." I said, giving him a timid smile, as I walked back to them.

He stared at me confused. "You're apologizing to me. What for?" He asked, apprehensively.

"For this," I said, smiling angelically as I snatched the two cups from the table and poured them over his head as he sat there looking at me in disbelief for a second before a smirk appeared on his face as Seth handed him a stack of napkins.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Seth. Remember, what I said." I called over my shoulder as I grabbed my bag off the floor and my jacket off the rack, before skipping out of the shop.