BPOV

The first week of December finds me packing up all my belongings and moving into Edward's house. It's weird at first to think that once again we're moving too quickly, but this is clearly not only what we need, but what we want.

Dwayne is with me today to set up an office in one of the spare rooms. While Edward and I haven't nailed down the kind of work he'd like me to do for the magazine. We both know that it needs to be remote. I don't need to be in the office each and every day, unless I want to be there.

"I think I personally would've made him grovel some more," Dwayne tells me quietly as he hangs the floating bookshelves I picked up.

"Yes, but I'm not like you."

"And what am I like?" he asks, perched on the stepstool, hammer in hand.

"A petty bitch." I hold my serious gaze for a moment too long before we both burst into laughter. "Look, I think he paid his penance. He chopped wood with my father and impressed him. That's a lot."

As Dwayne climbs down the stool, he turns to look at me. "You happy?"

"Yes. With Edward and the shelves; thanks."

"All right, then I'm outta here. I got a date with a man about a massage," he tells me with a wink.

"Oh? Are you and Austin getting massages as Christmas presents for each other?"

Dwayne stops on his way out the door. "I didn't say anything about Austin, but that's a great idea. Thanks, babe!"

Shaking my head, I go back to setting up my desk to my specifications as I hear Dwayne let himself out. After another hour or so, I have everything set up the way I like it, and my books and knick-knacks litter the shelves. I take a picture of the setup and send it to Edward, who responds faster than I could have imagined.

Edward: Can you stop by the office? I need to talk to you about something that's business related.

Some of our talks in Forks were about setting a boundary line between work and home and how there shouldn't be so much bleed over. It's necessary to let off steam at the end of the day, but to continuously talk about work in your downtime can be stressful and toxic. So, we're trying to keep things in their respective places. I don't expect this question from him though.

I tell him that I just need to clean up and change before I can leave, and he tells me he'll see me soon. With everything that's been going on, I can only imagine that this has to do with the Maria/Jane situation and our trip back East.

Demetri smiles as soon as I step out of the elevator. "Hi, Bella. How are you?"

"Good. How's it going here?" I stop at the desk to listen to the new receptionist talk about the job. Demetri has an ear for hot gossip, unlike Irina, so it's sort of fun to hear whatever he has to say.

"It's been weird here the last day or so." His eyes dart across the lobby, and I look around. "Everyone seems on edge about something, but I don't know what it is."

Demetri is young; younger than me by at least four or five years. I wish I could put his mind at ease and tell him there are so many outside forces beating against this place right now, and that's why things might feel off. Except I can't. It's not my place, and I wouldn't betray Edward like that, but I can encourage Edward to take the temperature of his people and do it himself.

"I'm sure it feels that way, but everything is going to be all right. Why don't I get you a matcha when I'm done visiting with Edward?" Smiling gently, Demetri perks up a little.

"Gosh, you would be my favorite person today!"

I walk away after promising to come back bearing gifts and make my way to Edward's office. As I'm walking though, I notice that the mood is definitely off. The place has never been incredibly lively, per se, but they usually have music and few TVs going with local and national news. Coworkers are always talking to each other and collaborating, gathering around one desk or another, up and about. Everyone is at their own desks, and it's eerily quiet.

A few people look up as I pass, and I smile, but I get blank stares in return. Edward's office door is open when I reach it, but I don't knock when I find his back to the door, staring out over the city. Instead, I walk in and softly shut the door.

He turns slightly when I sit down on the couch but doesn't face me. "There's been a development."

I don't say anything, just wait for him to tell me what's going on. He finally turns to face me and moves to his desk. I realize now that we're in a business meeting, and I'm not here to see my partner.

"When I first started Real Men, I didn't have the collateral to build this magazine the way I wanted initially. I needed some investors, and with their investment, I guaranteed them a certain number of shares in the stock." Edward looks so serious, and I'm concerned. "One of my investors got twenty, while the other two received fifteen."

"Okay," I drag the word out, trying to make sense of everything. "But, you kept the majority, right?" I ask, just waiting for the floor to fall out from beneath us.

"Three years ago I retained my fifty percent of the stock while one investor sold off his fifteen percent, and two other investors kept their shares. A year ago, one of my investors sold back five percent to me, and then sold off his other ten."

"I don't really understand what's going on. Who has all the other shares?" I ask, doing the simple math in my head.

"Still with the original investor." Edward sighs, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Who now also owns the remaining 45 shares."

"Who is it?"

"Eleazar Donnelly."