EPOV
Two days after our dinner out, Bella stops by my office early in the morning. While I'm sitting at my desk going over my schedule for the day, Bella taps on the door with a smile. "I'm heading out. I just wanted to stop by and say bye, I guess."
Beckoning her into my office, I slide out from behind my desk to wrap her in a gentle hug. "Do you have everything? Full tank of gas? Cord for your phone?"
"Yes, I have everything." She rolls her eyes as she pulls away. "Emmett and Rose wanted me to tell you that their offer is always open. They're your friends, Edward."
"No qualifier with that?"
She beams up at me. "Not at all." She digs into her purse, handing me an index card. "Here's my dad's address and home phone number. Every so often, the reception gets spotty up there, so in case you want to talk to me and can't reach me …"
"Thanks. You'll let me know when you get there?" I ask, sensing that she's ready to leave.
"Of course." She presses her lips to my cheek before moving back to the door. "If you're lucky, I'll call you from the road when I get bored."
"Oh, lucky me." We both laugh. "Drive safe. Have fun."
"Bye, Edward."
A few hours later, I get a text from Bella just as I'm taking a call from the PI I hired. "Felix, hang on a moment." I get up from my desk to close my office door before placing the call on speaker and opening my messages.
Bella: Made it in one piece. Still not much going on here, but Dad painted the house. Included is a selfie of Bella in front of a modest two-story house in a robin's egg blue.
Edward: Glad you made it. Enjoy your time there. The house looks good.
"Mr Cullen? Are you there?" Felix's voice pulls me from looking at Bella's picture before I clear my throat.
"Sorry, I was distracted by a text. What were you saying?" I take a seat on the sofa opposite my desk, sighing. "Something about there not being a paper trail on Jane after she moved to Delaware?"
"That's correct. VU Security has no record of her or her alleged employment with them. The condo rented under Jane Marcus' name was sublet to a Maria Xavier, who also has Jane's former phone number." Felix pauses long enough for me to put two and two together.
"Are you implying that Jane changed her identity to Maria Xavier?" Leaning forward, I can't even begin to fathom why someone would do this. Why would Jane do this?
"I'm saying that I've scoured the internet for socials, and Miss Xavier appears to have a Facebook that is under lock and key. I've requested official records, and because you wanted to stay above board, that's going to take a few weeks. Plus, it's the holidays."
Felix tells me everything so matter of factly, but I understand that he's giving me realistic expectations. "I get it. You have the photos I had of Jane. Can't you go camp out in front of the condo and see if it's the same person? Go to this Maria person's work?" I rise, starting to pace.
"I could do both of those things, except the condo complex got a security shack and a privacy wall about three years ago; VU has top notch security, considering cybersecurity is what they're selling. They can't have any Tom, Dick, or Harry just waltz in." He snorts. "Look, I'm doing the best I can with what I have. I have a couple of contacts who work in Social Security and the DMV, so I'll be checking in with them."
A little more back and forth and I feel comfortable with Felix and leave him to it. Hanging up, I mentally cycle through my relationship with Jane. I'm trying to remember anything remarkable out of place or weird.
The only issue we, I, really had was when I came home to find her there, snooping through my personal things. Not just in my dresser or nightstand, but she'd clearly been all over the house. Every cabinet, drawer, and closet had seen her grubby little paws.
After a detailed search of her phone, her purse, and her car for any of my personal belongings, I took her key back and never invited her back. We continued to see each other for another eight months or so while she finished her degree. Then that was it.
When she told me about the job offer, I was more than willing to let her go and start over somewhere new. I leased her a condo, paid for her move, and her cellphone. Maybe it's my fault for just assuming she was still using those two luxury items and not trying to contact her and letting her stand on her own.
But it didn't really matter to me. Jane seemed a bit lost … aimless … when I first met her. Much like Bella told me she's feeling now. Deep inside of me, I feel like nothing happened to Jane; at least, I certainly hope nothing happened. Until I hear from Felix, the only thing I can do is put it aside and focus on everything else.
It's been four days since Bella left, and we've FaceTimed and texted a few of those days. She's been keeping me up to date with all the wild happenings in Forks, and I've been trying hard not to tease her about her sleepy hometown.
I'm currently sitting on a video call with the board when things start to get staticy. "Well, folks. This might be our cue to wrap it up. Happy Thanksgiv—" My screen goes blank. My entire computer shuts off. I reach for my desk phone, but there's no dial tone when I put the receiver to my ear. When I rise and open my office door, the entire floor is in a state of chaos.
People are running around panicking, trying to make calls, and some are even slapping the side of their desktops, trying to get them started again. Raising my voice above the din, I call out. "Everybody, we need to calm down. It seems like we're having a power outage or a network outage. Mark"—I turn to the person closest to me—"call IT on your cell and find out what's going on. I'm going to check on everyone else."
When the head of IT, Ben, finally calls me, I've sent most everyone home. But the information he gives me isn't good; in fact, it's terrible and I'm worried for my people and my company.
"Someone piggybacked into our network. We had a breach, and someone, somewhere on our network downloaded some malware. That's how they gained access. I can narrow it down, but it could have been anyone." Ben sounds haggard, and I know he is. When I finally got him on the phone, he'd told me he was already rebuilding the network.
"Now what?" I'm pacing in my office, fingers crossed for good news.
"Now you send everyone home. You tell them and yourself to enjoy their holiday weekend and that you'll see them Tuesday."
"Can you get us up and running by then?" There's a long pause as he's considering what I'm asking.
"I can try." He sighs again, and I can hear the exhaustion in his voice. "Look, Edward, can I call you Edward? You need someone to investigate what happened. That's not me. I'm fairly certain I can get us back up and running with minimal loss to data by Tuesday, but—"
"It's not your forte, I get it. Do you know someone or a firm that could do it? Someone we could trust?" Taking my chair behind my desk, I'm ready to take down anything he needs to share with me.
"I might know a few people, but it won't come cheap, and they don't like playing for corporate types."
"That doesn't matter. Making sure this company is safe and employee's work is secure is all that matters to me. Out of your crew, is there anyone you trust?" I hate asking the question, but I have to.
"Do you have anyone on your staff that you don't trust? Look, we're treated very well here; better than many other people in our positions as similar companies. You've made sure that we've gotten the raises we deserve, the hybrid work schedule we need, and you prioritize us like you do with the editorial staff." Ben laughs. "I'd take a bullet, no, I wouldn't, but I'd trust any of my team with the password to my email."
"Fair enough. I want you with your families for the holiday, but … Ben, I'm sorry. Round up who you can, whoever is willing to work over the weekend. Holiday pay and all that jazz. Keep your receipts for food; we'll reimburse you. Get us up and running by Tuesday. Please."
Ben assures me that he will do what he can, and we hang up before I compose an email on my phone to all the employees. Yes, we had a network shutdown. Everything is under control. Enjoy the holiday weekend with your family and friends. See you Tuesday.
A few minutes after I send the email, Irina pops through my doorway with a wan smile. "You know what you should do?"
"Sell the company? Retire early?" I shoot her a smile and wink, but it feels false, even to me.
Rolling her eyes, she enters and perches on the sofa. "No, you should take your overnight bag that I had Dwayne drop off and drive to Forks."
"I, wait-what? I'm not going to Forks." I stutter out the words, feeling the heat rising in my cheeks.
"Well, you should. Look, you've been stressed the last few weeks, and I know you miss Bella. Today hasn't helped anything. Wouldn't you rather go over all of it in person with her? Before you say no, I already called the motel, and they're holding a room for you if the Swans can't put you up. Dwayne filled up your tank, so you're all set." She smiles deviously, and it makes me laugh.
"You pulled this off all in a matter of what? Two hours?" She preens, looking incredibly pleased with herself. "I haven't said it enough, but I'm going to miss you … and I'm very proud of you."
"I understand why you didn't think I was right for Real Men, and I don't hold it against you. But whenever I get my first article published, I'm sending you a copy." She grins before standing up and walking to the door.
"You better." Walking together to the lobby, I shake her hand. "I know you're still here until the end of the month, but this feels like goodbye."
Irina grabs her things, and we ride down the elevator together. She asks me to say hi to Bella for her, and I tell her to enjoy her weekend. As I climb into my car, I call Bella to let her know I'm coming, but it rings until voicemail picks up. Not wanting to prolong my drive any more, I set out knowing she'll call when she can.
Almost five hours later, my car creeps down a barely lit street to find the address that Bella gave me some time ago. When I spot her car parked on the street in front of the light blue house, I know I've found the right spot.
Light glows from inside on the first floor, so I feel confident that the Swans are still awake. Leaving my bag in the car, I jog up the walk and ring the bell. I can hear some laughter and voices speaking around each other as a figure walks up to the front door with the opaque glass insert.
"Edward? What are you doing here?" Bella looks delightfully surprised when she opens the door.
"I just … I had a really long, crappy day, and I wanted to talk to you, but I wanted to do it in person. I hope I'm not interrupting." Hovering on the doorstep, feeling awkward because she never called me back and I never tried her again.
She could be happy but uncomfortable that I'm here. I've overstepped a boundary and upset her. "Look, I have a room at the motel. I'll just—"
She launches into my arms, her arms around my neck, legs wrapped around my waist as she whispers into my ear, "I missed you."
"Bell, who's at the door, kiddo?"
We both turn at the masculine voice approaching to find who I can only assume is Charlie Swan, looking at us with a bemused expression. "You must be Edward? Why don't you come in so we stop letting all the heat out."
Bella slides down, taking my hand and dragging me inside, shutting the door behind us. A woman with long black hair comes walking into the entryway, taking Charlie's arm, and I assume this must be the girlfriend, Sue.
"Dad, Sue, this is Edward Cullen." She tugs on my hand, drawing me closer, "Edward, this is my father, Charlie, and his girlfriend, Sue Clearwater."
"Mr. Swan, Ms. Clearwater, it's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm sorry for dropping in unexpectedly." I extend my hand to Sue first, then to Charlie.
"Please, it's Sue and call this one Charlie. Bella's been calling him that since she was 10." Sue laughs, offering to take my coat and get me something to drink. "We're playing cards and eating dessert. Have you eaten dinner? We have leftovers."
"That sounds amazing, if I'm not imposing."
Bella grins. "We used to always just do deli sandwiches before a big cooking holiday. You get what you get and you like it." She follows Sue into what I assume is the kitchen, leaving me alone with her father.
"Drove all the way from Seattle on a whim?" His mustache twitches.
"Uh, something like that. Horrible day which I could have just called to complain about, but it's different than talking in person, isn't it?" I answer truthfully before backpedaling. "Not that that's the only reason I'm here."
"Of course not. My girl is fantastic, and you miss her, don't you?" Twitch.
"She is, and I do. Bella isn't just someone I want as a partner, but she's a confidant; someone I trust implicitly."
Twitch. "Then you'll have something to eat, have some dessert, and you'll stay here. We have a guest room if Bella doesn't want to share." Charlie claps me on the shoulder. "Lose the jacket and the tie; we're not that formal around here."
"Sir, I can stay at the motel—"
"Edward, I'm not a stuffy prude. Stay where you want, but I can already tell you'd rather be here." He nods out to my car. "You got a bag out there?"
"Yeah, I'll go get it."
He extends a hand for my keys. "I'll go. Bella probably has a mountain of a sandwich for you by now. Go eat, and then we'll play cards. Tell me, do you know how to play Phase 10?"