The Business Arrangement - Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream.

Chapter 7 – Forgiveness

Bella POV

I was dreaming – I had to be. I was so cold. It felt as though thousands of tiny needle-like raindrops were piercing my skin over and over. My teeth were chattering; I was shivering. Then I was enveloped in something warm, something comforting, something that smelled like…Edward? What the fuck? I startled myself awake.

I rolled my eyes around to assess my situation. I appeared to be in some motel room, firmly encased in Edward's arms with his hands running soothingly through my hair, my body snugly up against his. The earlier events of the day came crashing back in with amazing clarity.

I pulled my head back so I could look at his face. Concern showed in every feature as he whispered to me, "Are you warm enough now, Isabella?"

"Um, yes," I replied.

He reached around to cup my jaw in his hand and said, "Truly, love, I am sorry for any pain I caused you. I was an idiot and didn't treat you with the respect you deserve. I hope you can forgive me. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

"Well," I sighed, "since you seem to do fine out of the city, I will consider a conditional forgiveness. When we get back to the city, we'll see how you do in real life."

He replied, "I think that's more than fair." Then he moved his lips closer to mine and kissed the corner of my mouth.

And I was supposed to remember how to think now? He didn't know how lethal his kisses actually were and I wasn't about to tell him.

I lay my head back on the pillow and looked over at Edward. He said, "If you promise not to go anywhere, I believe I saw a latte place a little way down the road. What would you like? I'll go get you something to warm you up on the inside."

I sat up and requested a chai tea and he got out of bed to do my bidding. Yes, he was on "probation," but I couldn't resist staring at his ass as he slid into his jeans. As Edward opened the door to go outside, I could see it was still raining, although not quite the downpour it was earlier. I lay back down contentedly, enjoying our shared body heat still warming the bed.

When Edward returned, it startled me. I must've fallen asleep again. Soon, he was protectively leaning over me. "I'm back, love," he said. Then he kissed the corner of my mouth again. It was enough to drive a woman absolutely crazy.

As I drank my tea and he drank his coffee, I asked him what time it was. He said around 3:30 in the afternoon. I mused I should get up and get back to Charlie's so I could get his dinner started. "So early?" he wondered.

"You still need to take me back to my truck. I need to get into some of my own clothes as I'm sure my own aren't dry enough yet. Knowing you, you probably didn't make any dinner plans in the booming metropolis of Forks. I'm cooking dinner anyway, so I'm assuming you're going to eat at the Swan residence. So, I need to go to the grocery store."

He grinned happily at me and said, "Well then, let's go!"

I looked back at him and asked, "Edward, have you ever been to a grocery store?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said cheerfully, "Nope!"

I hauled myself out of the bed and found my shoes that were still squishy, but would have to do for now – at least until I got to Charlie's. "Well, this will be an experience," I said.

Soon enough, my truck was parked back in my dad's driveway, I was dressed in dry clothing, my hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and I was riding in the passenger seat beside Edward in his rented Volvo. Who the hell rents a Volvo? Apparently Edward Cullen, that's who. We arrived at the Thriftway grocery store – the only true grocery store in town – which was alongside Olympic Outfitters, both owned by the Newton family.

I decided to control the grocery cart so Edward could gawk at the items stocked on the shelves. He wasn't kidding – this was a totally new experience for him. I wanted to giggle at his almost childlike wonder, but then we turned the corner to the next aisle and almost ran into Mike Newton who was stocking a shelf.

"Bella!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since high school!" He pulled me in for a hug and I could've sworn I heard a sharp intake of breath from Edward beside me.

"How have you been? Where are you living now?" Mike kept on with the questions.

Mike looked almost exactly like he did in high school – blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, still built like he could play on the football or basketball teams. I responded, "Hey Mike! I've been good. Alice Brandon and I moved to New York. In fact," gesturing to Edward, "this is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Mike Newton. Mike and I went to high school together."

I looked on as the two men silently sized each other up. Oh Lord, here comes the pissing contest. Edward politely shook Mike's hand. Just to get the story straight, Mike was never my boyfriend in high school. He followed me around a bit like a puppy dog when I first moved to the area, but the novelty quickly wore off.

"So, Bella," Mike was speaking again, "you look fantastic!"

And in that split second of me thinking of replying that I was caught in a pounding rainstorm at La Push earlier in the day, Edward's lips were claiming mine and his arms were around me, pulling me to him. What was he doing – going all caveman in the middle of the only proper grocery store in Forks? Ooooo…not that his lips didn't feel very nice – moving over mine. Soon I was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen.

Edward finally released me. I looked around for Mike who was no longer standing with us. I looked up at Edward and said, "Edward, what the hell are you doing?"

He replied, "Your friend was leering at you. I decided it was time to show him you are mine, Isabella."

"You don't need to make a scene at the only grocery store in Forks! Besides, it sounds a little caveman to me," I said.

His lips were near my ear and his velvet voice whispered, "Do you want me to drag you back to my cave by your hair and have my wicked way with you?"

I did have to giggle then. I slapped him playfully on the chest and replied, "Seriously, Edward! Don't drag me by my hair – that hurts."

His arm was still around my waist as he was whispering in my ear, "Does that mean I can have my wicked way with you if I don't drag you by your hair?"

"You're still on probation, mister."

To that, he reached up and pulled on my ponytail gently so that my lips were turned up to meet his. He gave me another light kiss. We then continued our grocery shopping without incident.

Dinner at Charlie's was nice. I was surprised at how well Edward and my dad got along – once my dad realized Edward really did love me and was looking out for my best interests. Edward didn't "talk down" to my dad because he made less money than he did or lived in a small town rather than New York City.

After dinner, Edward and I decided to go for a drive. I promised to show him my old high school and any other places Alice and I used to hang out, which weren't too many. But it got us out of the house so if we wanted to talk, we could, and my dad could watch his baseball game on his flat screen television in peace.

We'd driven around for a bit when we finally stopped in the well-lit parking lot of the still-open Thriftway. We weren't going back inside, but it was the perfect place to talk. I'd been keeping up a never-ending commentary about places Alice and I had went in our high school days and was now ready to talk about my future – a future that hopefully included Edward.

Edward shut off the car engine and turned sideways in his seat to look at me. He took my hand in his and kissed the back of it. Then he kept it firmly encased in his larger hands.

"Edward," I started, "we need to talk about us."

"OK," he agreed with a smile.

"I don't expect you to reorder your entire world just because of me. I know your company is very important to you and I still expect you to give it the attention it deserves. But I would like to be a part of your life too. I'm sure we can work out the details of that somehow. I just don't like feeling like a dirty, little secret in your life."

His eyes looked into mine and he replied, "I know, love. I can't begin to tell you how wrong that was. It was originally to shield you from the press, but we should've talked about it. And I never gave you that opportunity. I'm so sorry. I'll apologize for that for the rest of my life for screwing up so badly."

"Edward, I don't want you to keep apologizing. I just want us to make a new start." I wiggled my hand out of his grasp and moved it to place it on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my warmth. He seemed to make a hum of contentment. "Edward?"

He opened his eyes again and said, "Yes, love?"

"I want to go back home. I miss Alice and I can't wait to see you in action now that you know how I feel."

"You won't regret it. I promise you that. I didn't say I would be perfect at every opportunity, but I'll definitely make a concentrated effort. Just know that I love you, Isabella."

I then asked, "And you'll help me…with the press?"

"Of course, love," he said as he pulled me to him for a kiss that took my breath away. Once we came up for air, he continued, "You don't need to tell them every intimate detail. But I won't ever deny that I'm dating you. I don't want you to wake up some morning and read some ridiculous story in the newspaper where I said I was dating someone else. It will only be you. You'll normally be with me, so I wouldn't deny the facts."

Then he drew his head back and looked at me a bit more. "You look a bit tired. Are you ready for bed?" I had to admit that I was. "I wish you would let me take you back to the motel room and worship your body all night long to show you how much I love you and long for you. But I'll take you back to Charlie's. Can I come back in the morning for breakfast?"

This – this was the Edward I'd longed for and knew was under the exterior. The one who could make me feel like a puddle of goo just by something he said. "Of course. I hope you'll be getting our flight arrangements settled so we can head back to Seattle in the morning."

We kissed once more in the car in Charlie's driveway before Edward left. I loved the feel of Edward's arms around me.

I kissed my dad on the cheek as he was still sitting in front of the television with his baseball game blaring. I told him Edward and I would most likely be leaving in the morning back to New York. He said, "Aww, Bells, you know I'll miss you. It gets pretty lonely around here without you."

I gave him an impulse hug and then headed off to bed. I slept pretty well most of the night, then I woke up and got lonely for Edward. I didn't dare call or text him in the middle of the night. I found I still had his t-shirt and sweatpants that he loaned me from earlier in the day. I put those on and found they still smelled of him. It was so comforting, I fell right back to sleep.

The next morning, it was raining again. This was Forks, after all. I got up, took a shower, and dressed quickly. I made sure my suitcase was packed and ready to go when Edward arrived. Then I headed downstairs to make breakfast for my dad and Edward.

Just as I was finishing up with the French toast and putting the syrup in the microwave to warm, I heard the Volvo in the driveway. Soon, my dad was letting Edward through the door. As I went to greet Edward and kiss him good morning, I noticed he brought me another chai tea – so very thoughtful – my dad pulled the French toast, bacon, syrup, and orange juice to the table.

We had an entertaining breakfast. Charlie told us stories about the guys who worked at the station with him. He also talked about this famous book series that had been written about the area and these hordes of women who wanted to pose for a picture with him. I had to giggle, imagining my dad as a celebrity.

Edward said he'd been in contact with Shelly and she had secured tickets for us to fly back to New York at 2 p.m. today. My dad had to leave for work soon. I told him I'd clean up from the breakfast dishes, as he still hadn't installed a dishwasher after all these years.

He shook Edward's hand and said, "Take care of my girl." Edward replied that he had every intention of doing that very thing. Then Charlie pulled me in for a hug. "I'll miss you, Bells. Love you. Give Alice a hug for me," he said gruffly.

"I will, Dad. Love you, too," I replied, tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes. Thank goodness he ended the emotional moment for us as he strode to the front door, put his gun belt around his waist, gave us a wave, and was out the door without another word.

Edward pulled me into his arms in a moment. "Are you all right, love?" he asked gently. I just nodded silently, but buried my face in his shirt. My tears flowed for a few minutes as he stroked my back, soothing me.

Finally, I could speak. "My dad and I aren't big on emotional displays. I think it's just been a while since I've been back to Forks, so I've missed him a lot." Edward kissed me gently and wiped my tears with the pads of his thumbs. "OK," I said, "let's get this kitchen cleaned, then we'll get on the road."

Surprisingly, Edward was very helpful around the kitchen, even though I figured he hadn't spent much time in one. I think it was just because he liked order. He was good about putting things in their proper place. We finished and locked the front door behind us as we left. Then we were on the road back to Seattle.

I pointed out some places of interest on the way back, such as Crescent Lake where Alice and I had gone swimming numerous times, Bella Italia in Port Angeles where Alice and I went with some now nameless boys on prom night (holy cow – was that a growl I heard emanating from Edward's chest?), and the ferries that would take you to Canada.

We arrived in Seattle to (not surprisingly) more rain. They were really socked in with heavy fog. As we turned in the rental car and were shuttled back to the airport, the air seemed rather quiet to me. I had seen how volatile Edward could get at his brother, so I wasn't sure if I should say anything about the possibility of flights getting out in this weather.

When we entered the airport, chaos seemed to be apparent. There were people everywhere – standing, sitting, sleeping. As Edward led me by the hand toward our appropriate airline counter, I chanced a glance at one of the large screen read-outs of arrivals and departures. Oh hell, every flight had been delayed or cancelled due to the weather.

Since Edward always flies first class if he's not flying on his own plane, he was able to walk right up to the ticketing agent. "Good afternoon, ma'am," he said.

"Hello sir," the now slightly flustered agent replied as she gazed at Edward.

"What seems to be the problem? We have a flight scheduled for 2 p.m. to New York." Edward gave her our ticketing information.

"Sir, no flights are departing Seattle today due to the weather. I see you are booked in our first class section, though. At this time, we are prepared to offer you a night's accommodation in a nearby hotel and food vouchers for the inconvenience."

Edward's glance flickered over to me for a brief moment and said, "Hmm…well, that will have to do. I'm glad I had no urgent need to get back to New York today. I do hope the weather cooperates tomorrow, though."

The agent looked at both of us and addressed Edward again, "Are you traveling together?"

Edward's arm was around me at once as he replied, "Yes."

Her brief disappointed look was replaced with a smile as she said, "That will make it easier to get you a room – one instead of two."

Once again, Edward's gaze flicked to mine. Was he looking for – permission? I'd placed him on probation until we got back to New York so I could see how we fared in front of people we knew. Crap. Why does life have to be so friggin' complicated?

Edward was addressing the agent again, "We won't need food vouchers. Just the room is fine. We can find meals on our own."

"Thank you, sir," she responded, as she handed over the room information. It was for a nearby hotel with easy access to several restaurants and a shopping mall.

Soon, we were in a taxi, heading away from the airport to the designated hotel. Once in the room, we saw it was furnished with two queen-size beds. I figured we'd deal with sleeping arrangements later. Right now, I needed lunch!

We headed over to the shopping mall and ate in the food court. It was surprisingly good and filling. Then we each decided to do a little shopping on our own. Edward headed one direction and I headed off in another. We arranged to get back together in about two hours.

As I began walking away from Edward, I felt my phone vibrate for a text message. I took it out and looked at the display:

You do have the nicest ass. ILY. – EC

I knew I was blushing furiously. And I certainly wasn't going to turn around to give him the satisfaction of him seeing me blush. I jabbed in a message of my own and pressed "send:"

Yours is pretty nice, too. I checked yesterday. – BS

Let him deal with that and try to figure out when I checked out his ass. And now that he's effectively turned my insides to jelly again, I'd arrived in front of a Victoria's Secret store. Well, Mr. Cullen, let's see what we can tease you with.

I purchased a matching bra and panty set in black with hot pink ribbon threaded through it. Since he also seemed to like me in blue, I found a royal blue corset and panty set and got that as well.

I shopped in some other stores as well, picking up some things for Alice and some other girls at work and then met Edward back at the designated spot.

Edward's eyes widened immediately when he saw me coming toward him. He stood up to greet me and kiss me on the cheek. "Isabella," he said, "are you trying to kill me?"

"Why would you say that?" I wondered aloud. He pointed to the distinctive pink and white striped bag from Victoria's Secret. Oh crap – the bag. I wish I could've hidden it away so he wouldn't have known. "That's for…um…later."

His voice was low against my ear, "Isabella, how much later?"

"Um…"

The Business Arrangement - Chapter 6

Edward in his Forks attire

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream.

Chapter 6 – Home Is Where Your Heart Is

Edward POV

As Sam drove me back home at around 10:30 a.m. that Saturday morning, I half-hoped, half-prayed Isabella was still there. Perhaps she was in the garden, deep in conversation with my mother about something. Maybe she was down by our stretch of beach, walking along the water, just enjoying the morning. I called her cell phone which went straight to voice mail. I left her a quick message, telling her I was sorry I was late and I'd be home shortly. I mentally kicked myself for not leaving her a note. I know how involved things can get at work and how involved I can get with work – what the hell was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't. Dammit.

I rushed into my suite as soon as we pulled up to the house. The bed was freshly made, the breakfast tray was gone, discarded clothing was picked up and put in the hamper – not a thing was out of place – exactly the way I liked it. It was as if Isabella had never been there. Where the hell was she and why wasn't she answering my phone calls – as I was now trying her once again and it again went to voice mail.

I heard some footsteps on the carpet behind me. It was Jasper, my level-headed brother. He said simply, "She's gone."

After turning to look at him like he'd grown another head out of his neck, I replied, "Well, I can see that."

And then in walked the whirlwind known as Alice Brandon. Walking was an understatement – I think stomping would've been a more appropriate term. She stomped right up to me and slapped me in the face. "What the hell, Alice?" I asked.

I remember Isabella saying I had intimidated her in the past. That obviously wasn't the case with Alice – obviously I didn't intimidate her at all. She was right up in my personal space – as much as she could be anyway – she was much shorter than I was – but like I said, intimidating in her own right.

"You have hurt my best friend, asshole, and I am not putting up with it for one more minute! She may not be here to defend herself right now, but I am and I'm going to. You've been treating her like your dirty little secret and I'm sick of it," she yelled at me.

"Alice, hang on. What are you talking about?" I glanced over at Jasper, but obviously he wasn't going to be any help in this situation and he was willing to give his girlfriend free reign.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, dickhead. You say you want to be with Bella and romance her and all that other bullshit. And that's all well and good. But then what do you do? You send her flowers – to the house. To the house, Edward. What the fuck is that about? Who the hell is ever going to see them? Who even knows you sent them? At least Emmett has the common decency to send them to the office, even if she didn't want those flowers."

Oh hell, I'd forgotten about those flowers. She was right about that. I remember her setting them on Lauren's desk so other people could enjoy them as well. Was I a bigger douchebag than my brother?

"And then," Alice barely paused for a breath, "you only kiss her behind closed doors. What the hell? I'm sure 99.9 percent of the people at your company don't even know you and Bella are having a relationship as you certainly don't publicize it. Are you afraid of what will happen if you break up or something? Why don't you ever take her out in public? When you have dinner together, she's always coming here. Don't you think she'd like to be seen by others on your arm? I know she cares about you a lot, although at this moment, I can't figure out why. Right now, I'd like to punch you in your junk. Aren't you proud of her? Don't you want to be seen with her? Are you ashamed of her? You are a fucking tool, Edward, and you piss me off."

"Alice," I said in reply, "Of course I'm not ashamed of Isabella. I am very proud of her. She's the most beautiful person in the world to me. I love her beyond reason. I suppose I'm just…scared."

She put her hand on my arm then and I was hoping her earlier violent episode was over. "Edward," she said as she looked at me, "it's ok to be scared – but get the hell over it already! None of us have a crystal ball. We don't know what's going to happen in our relationships a year from now or five years from now. I think you and Bella have a good start on something special and I don't want you to screw it up so badly that she'll never see you again."

Oh…had I done that already?

I asked her, "Where is she?"

Alice sighed and said, "She's gone."

"Yeah," I said a bit tersely, "I heard that already," as I looked at Jasper again. "Where did she go?"

"If I tell you, Edward, you have to promise me something. If you go there to try to get her back, you will not screw this up. Bella wants to be loved, cherished and protected just like every other woman of value."

I nodded dumbly as no words could make it past the lump in my throat. That was exactly what I wanted for Isabella and I'd been a stupid fool. I'd been holding on to my workaholic behavior for so damn long that I didn't know any other way to act. I'd meant it wholeheartedly when I'd told Isabella that she made me feel alive. The work paled in comparison. In this moment, I could see exactly what I wanted in my future – Isabella, trips abroad, children. The work would always be there. I could hire more people to do some of the things I'd been doing. I could learn to let go. Now I just needed to convince Isabella to come back to me.

"Edward?" Alice's voice brought me back to my present reality.

"Yes, Alice?"

"You're not going to screw this up, are you? Because if I find out you do, me punching you in the junk will be the least of your worries," she affirmed.

I smiled at her and said, "No, Alice, I'm not going to screw this up. Now, please, tell me where she is so I can bring her back home."

She still looked at me warily but said, "She went back to Forks for the week. She needed a vacation from your dumb ass, apparently."

This struck me as funny and I laughed out loud. Alice rolled her eyes and said, "You're really weird, Edward."

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "But now I have a lot to do, so could you two be on your way? I have to pack, get a flight ready…."

Jasper interrupted my speech, "Edward, Alice and I already packed for you. Your bag is ready to go on the other side of your couch."

A wicked gleam came into Alice's eye and she grinned as she said, "Oh yes, packing for you and going through your underwear drawer was like touching the Shroud of Turin!" Now it was my turn to roll my eyes! Women! She just giggled over my reaction.

"And," Jasper continued, "we already booked you first-class on a commercial flight to Seattle that leaves at 1. So you'd best get yourself to the airport. You also have a hotel booked in Seattle when you arrive. You need to have a clear head when you see Isabella. Plus you have a bit of a drive ahead of you."

At that, Alice handed me a Google map from the Seattle airport to Forks. She also handed me a hand-drawn map of the town of Forks showing me where Isabella's father, Police Chief Charlie Swan, lived.

I looked at Alice and asked, "Are you going to tell Isabella I'm coming?"

She looked up at me and said, "No, I won't. I want her to be surprised. But you have to be sincere and tell her what you're feeling in your heart, Edward. She has to know you love her without a doubt – not just when you're out of New York City – and that you're willing to demonstrate that no matter where you are."

Jasper said in parting, "And, dude, don't worry about the office. Shelly, Angela and I will take care of whatever comes up. We will live without you for a week. Take some time off – run away from home. Only check your cell phone once a day – not every 30 seconds like normal."

My flight was uneventful so I had a lot of time to think. I did want Isabella in my life. I wanted that right along with humanity's other basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. She was a necessity in my life. I prayed she would take my dumb ass, as Alice called it, back.

I had been so very stupid. I'd taken the image of the company upon myself and projected that out to the world and hadn't been thinking about what I wanted. But truthfully, Cullen International and Edward Cullen were two different entities. Cullen International was a publicly-traded company which made a multitude of products to satisfy customer's demands. Edward Cullen was a man desperately in love who would go to wherever the love of his life was to beg her to take him back when he screwed up – on my knees if I had to – I wasn't above that.

Isabella did deserve to be taken out and shown off to the world at large and/or at least New York City. I could take a few lessons from Jasper. He was doing that with Alice and things were working out great for them. They were absolutely nuts about each other. He sent her flowers at work, had bought her some jewelry, went out to numerous dinners and clubs, and probably even took her for some carriage rides in Central Park for crying out loud.

Once I landed in Seattle and was settled in my hotel room, I called to various motels in Forks. Most of them were full. What the hell? Apparently some popular book series had been written about the area and fans had been coming from every place around the globe to visit the tiny town. The last place I called, the helpful woman gave me the name of the motel that was at La Push Beach. I scored the last room with a queen-size bed available. Even I can change and squeeze into that size of bed. It wasn't as luxurious as my normal king-size, but for Isabella, I could do most anything.

I dressed in jeans and a cream thick cable-knit sweater, drove to Forks, and arrived at the home of Chief Swan. There was a police cruiser in the driveway. I looked at my watch and saw it was around lunchtime. Maybe Isabella was with him! I got out of the car and made my way up the front steps. Then I nervously knocked on the door.

The front door was opened by a man almost my height with the same color hair as Isabella and a mustache. "Can I help you?" he asked as he looked me up and down.

"Hello," I said. "I'm Edward Cullen. I'm looking for Isabella Swan."

"Huh," he replied. "Well, she's not here right now. Do you want to come in? Bella's told me about you and there's some things I need to say to you."

"Certainly, sir." No use arguing with a man who has a gun on his hip.

He shut the door behind me and I followed him into his kitchen with painted yellow cabinets. It was a cheerful enough space and I could imagine Isabella growing up here.

"Have a seat," Charlie said as he motioned to the chair opposite him. His lunch of a frozen entrée was on the table. "I wasn't expecting company for lunch."

I said, "Oh, it's no problem."

"So," Chief Swan said gruffly, "Bells tells me that you're her boyfriend in New York." A secret thrill ran through me. She actually told her father I was her boyfriend? "But she also told me you haven't been treating her right, Edward. I don't appreciate that for my daughter. My daughter deserves the best."

"Yes," I responded. "I agree wholeheartedly. That's why I'm here, sir – to beg her forgiveness. I haven't been acting as gentlemanly as I should. I've taken some time to reevaluate my priorities and now realize that Isabella is to be my number one priority instead of work. I've been a workaholic most of my life and need to make some changes. Hopefully she will listen to me and take me back."

Chief Swan took another bite of his meal and said, "Please – call me Charlie. Bells is a pretty level-headed girl, although somewhat stubborn. I think she'll hear you out if she thinks you're sincere."

I smiled and said, "Thank you, Charlie. Would you please tell me where she is so I can work on getting her back?"

"Sure, Edward. She's walking down on First Beach at La Push. You probably saw the sign for La Push when you were driving into town."

"I did," I replied.

I got up to leave. Charlie reached over to shake my hand. "Let me know how things go," he said. I assured him I would.

I drove my rental car to La Push and found my motel easy enough – it was the only one there. I placed my luggage in my room, then walked out to the beach. The sky looked like it was threatening to begin raining at any moment and the wind had picked up right out here on the Pacific Ocean.

I spotted a lone figure walking on the beach. She needed to be inside as it was cold out here. She was wearing jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt.

"Isabella!" I called out. The name was caught by the wind and snatched up toward the sky seemingly as soon as it left my mouth.

I jogged in her direction and soon caught up with her. There's no way she couldn't have heard my approach as the stones clattered under my shoes.

I gently took her elbow in my hand and said her name again, "Isabella."

She stopped walking immediately and wrenched her elbow out of my grasp. She said in a measured tone, "What do you want, Edward?"

"I want you," I replied.

"Well, you certainly have a difficult time showing that. I suppose if I hadn't smartened up and left, I could've been your dirty, little secret for years."

"No, Isabella…" I attempted to interject.

"No what?" she yelled, turning now to face me. I could see her beautiful face was streaked with tears.

"I don't want you to be my dirty, little secret at all. I was a fool for doing that. I was scared, Isabella. I didn't know where Cullen International left off and Edward Cullen began. I've taken a good, long look at what I've been doing with my life. That's not how I want to live anymore."

Isabella said through her tears, "No, Edward, don't. Go back to New York. Go back to the company you're successfully running. I understand its importance to you. It's what you want and need in your life. I was just a speed bump on your road to success."

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and implored, "Isabella, please. That is not how I feel about you at all."

"What the hell was all that secretive stuff about?" she demanded.

I took her hand in mind and thankfully, she let me continue to hold it. "I saw how you were with the press in Chicago, love. You were terrified of them. I didn't want to subject you to more of that in New York. When we start dating publically, the press will be all over both of us like vultures. Are you prepared for that?"

She chewed on her bottom lip in indecision for a bit, so I steamed full speed ahead. I dropped to my knees in front of her and just like a really bad movie, the sky unleashed a torrent of rain on First Beach. Fan-fucking-tabulous. Well, I wasn't going without a fight, dammit. She was going to hear me out.

"Love, I'm not ashamed of you. I want to be with you in every way possible. I am truly sorry for how things have gone between us. I do want to take you out and show you off to the world. If you see me getting all workaholic again, you need to tell me. Please, Isabella, tell me you forgive me."

I chanced a glance up at her through my lashes to see the rain had soaked her clean through and she was standing in front of me with her teeth chattering. Oh holy hell – what was I doing? I was on my knees, apologizing to the love of my life when clearly she needed to be inside, warm and dry.

I shot up off my knees, scooped up Isabella in my arms and ran through the rain and wind to my motel room. It seemed she was even colder by the time we arrived at the motel. She was shaking uncontrollably as her teeth continued to chatter.

Once inside the motel room, I stood her up near the bathroom and started the shower. "Isabella," I said gently, "you need to get in the shower to get warm." She looked at me warily. Did I need to beg her here as well? "Please, love? You're freezing and your clothes are soaked clean through."

I helped her remove her clothing as she was shivering so badly she could barely do it herself. There was nothing sexual about it. She needed to get warm and I wanted to help her toward that goal. As soon as she was undressed, she went into the bathroom and I shut the door behind her, hoping to hold the heat and steam in there as long as possible.

I took off my wet clothing as well. From my suitcase, I got out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for Isabella. I knew they would be too big for her, but they would keep her warm. Once the shower shut off, I told Isabella dry clothing was waiting for her just outside the door.

I got into the bed to warm it up for her. I heard the bathroom door open and then close again quickly. Finally she emerged – looking so damn cute in my clothing I wanted to grin at her, but I knew now wasn't the time or place.

"Come, Isabella," I said to her softly, as I lifted up the bed covers on her side of the bed. She looked at me dubiously. "Please be reasonable, love. You're freezing and need to get warm. I'm not going to touch you inappropriately."

This seemed to appease her as she crossed the room and got into the bed beside me. I drew her into my arms as I knew body heat would be the best thing to warm her up. She snuggled closer to me as she drew from my warmth and was soon asleep.

I knew our discussion wasn't fully over, but she was at least sleeping with me again – at the moment. My hands ran down the length of her hair until I, too, fell blissfully asleep.

The Business Arrangement - Chapter 5

I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream/vision!

Chapter 5 – Moving Pieces

Bella POV

We soon discovered why Emmett didn't go to Chicago with us – and it didn't surprise us at all. He had attended a benefit along with Carlisle and Esme the night of our Chicago trip. While there, he had met Dr. Rosalie Hale, a leading pediatrician in New York.

Needless to say, Edward was very angry at him for blowing off company business for yet another woman. He probably would've spent a good twenty minutes in Emmett's office – when Emmett finally showed up back at work, reprimanding him for disappointing him and the company yet again if I hadn't waylaid him first by asking him to step into my office. I closed the door firmly behind him.

I started, "Now, Edward, you can go in there and yell at Emmett for awhile until you get that out of your system or you can kiss me again like you did on the plane back from Chicago."

Edward had a momentary look of confusion in his eyes and replied, "But, Isabella, he needs to learn some responsibility…"

I cut him off by pressing my palms into his impeccably-pressed shirt covering his muscled chest. Thank goodness these stiletto heels made me a little more even with his height. "I think he's heard that sermon from you a time or two now, Edward. Please, I need you to kiss me…now."

In a moment, his arms were around me and his lips were on mine, branding me with every ounce of passion he felt. This was much better than listening to him ranting down the hallway at his brother!

When he finally let me up for air, he was smiling. "Thank you for that, Isabella. That was definitely a better way to work out my frustration."

I grinned back at him and said, "I'm glad I could assist."

He asked, "You're still coming for dinner with me tonight at the house, correct?"

By this point, Edward and I had officially been a couple for about a month. He had sent me several flower arrangements to the apartment I shared with Alice, we'd shared some lunches in the office, and I'd been out to his house a few times for dinner. There had been some stolen kisses in our respective offices – always behind closed doors.

"Of course," I said.

He winked at me and said as he grasped the door handle to exit my office, "Bring an overnight bag."

Oh yeah, I could feel the blush working its way up from my neck to the roots of my hair on my forehead. It wasn't as if I was a virginal young thing – I wasn't – but the thought of sleeping with Edward got me all hot and bothered.

As I was getting ready for my dinner later, Alice breezed into my room. She was getting ready for yet another date with Jasper. They were going to dinner and then a club downtown. A little niggling suspicion of doubt settled itself in the back of my head, but I tried to brush it away quickly – surely I was imagining things. I finally settled on wearing a short black skirt along with a royal blue button-up blouse with a black collar and cuffs. I wasn't sure how Edward felt about the garter belt and stockings on our fateful trip to Chicago and didn't want to ask him in advance, so I decided to add them as well, along with black patent leather stilettos.

Sam arrived right on time at 7:30 p.m. and we enjoyed a nice chat as he drove me to Long Island. I was glad this was a Friday night. I was looking forward to spending a luxurious Saturday morning in bed with Edward!

I was greeted at the door of the mansion by one of the staff, who took my purse and overnight bag and whisked me away to a room I hadn't visited yet. It was circular in shape with many green plants around the room. Most of the walls were glass as was the ceiling – through which I knew I would be able to see stars in the night sky later when it was darker. A small table, glowing with candlelight, near one side of the room was set for two. The entire room was bathed in candlelight and the regular lighting was all on dimmers. Beautiful music was coming from the grand piano near one of the window walls. As my eyes adjusting to the low lighting, I could see Edward sitting at the piano, playing.

Edward could play the piano? Cue the next thing I thought was swoon-worthy about him!

I walked over to the piano and sat next to him on the bench. "Good evening, Isabella. You look beautiful this evening," he said, looking straight at me but still playing perfectly.

"Hi. You're pretty handsome yourself," I said. I'm sure I blushed. I was hoping in this low lighting, he wouldn't be able to see.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

Damn. "Yes, a little. Did you see me blush?"

Edward removed his hands from the ivories and reached up to stroke my cheek. "No, I heard it in your voice. There's nothing to be nervous about. We're just going to eat dinner."

I nodded mutely as he took my hand and guided me over to the table. He pulled out my chair for me and we sat down next to each other to enjoy our first course of salad and rolls.

I know we were enjoying some good conversation – there was talking and laughter – when the next course was served – lobster with butter sauce. Edward insisted on feeding me part of my portion with his fingers. Any coherent thought I had left my head as I sucked the butter gently off his long, elegant fingers.

His attention moved to my lips. "Your mouth drives me crazy. Did you know that?" I hadn't been intending to be seductive. The lobster and butter sauce were incredibly good – and this very handsome man was feeding me this delectable treat. I was simply enjoying myself.

Edward's gaze lifted to meet mine. "I've been wanting to kiss you since the moment I saw you walk in here tonight." He seemed to wait for confirmation in my eyes and then he leaned toward me and kissed me gently on the lips. We both tasted of lobster and butter.

My hands went around his neck automatically and ran through the back of his hair. He groaned into my mouth and broke away from me for a moment as he said, "Isabella, you don't know how much I want you."

I looked back at him with an arched brow and a challenge in my eyes and said, "Show me." He hurriedly cleaned his hands with a warm wet napkin provided for that purpose as he got up and strode to the door from where the servant had brought our meals and informed her we would not be having dessert. He was back beside me in a moment.

Edward grasped my hand gently and drew me up to a standing position beside him. He cradled my face in his hands briefly and then began kissing my lips, gently at first and then with increased desire. I matched him back with my own. As his tongue flicked and nipped down my neck, I moaned out loud from the sheer pleasure of it. My arms encircled his head, trying to draw him closer to me, tugging my hands through his hair – it was so soft and thick.

His hands moved down my body to my waist, then quickly moved back up my ribcage. His mouth claimed mine again as his fingers expertly found my nipples and made them harden at his touch. "Oh Isabella," he breathed, voice thick with desire.

Then before I could scarcely take in that information, he was kneeling before me, pulling my skirt up. "Mmmm," he said in pleasure, "you wore this garter belt again. I didn't get a chance to tell you how much I liked it in Chicago. You were turning me on and you weren't even aware of it, my beautiful girl." Then his tongue was on my skin, dancing over my thighs at the top of my stockings.

Moisture was pooling between my thighs at a rapid pace. I wasn't entirely comfortable making love in this public area of the house, but I was about to throw caution to the wind and not give a damn where we were due to the talents of this wonderful man's tongue. Soon, I felt Edward pull my skirt back down. What the hell?

His mouth was back on my throat, breathing deeply. "Isabella," he practically moaned, "I need you. Will you let me have you?"

"Yes, of course," I said, as I wound my fingers into his hair again. His arm went around my waist as he guided me from the room and up to his suite. Oh, he wanted privacy – excellent choice – me too. I was glad we didn't run into anyone on the way. Edward's hair looked nothing like his normal workday look – it was sex hair on fire. I didn't look down at myself, but I could feel my lips were swollen from all the kissing we'd been doing and I'm sure the look in my eyes was pure, wanton lust and love for the man beside me.

As soon as Edward closed and locked the door behind us, I jumped into his arms with abandon with my feet locked behind his back and began kissing him again – which he matched back with equal fervor. "Isabella," he panted.

"Hmmm?" I questioned around our warm, wet tongues.

He slid his tongue down my neck again and whispered, "I want to undress you, my love." He carried me over to his large king-size bed and placed me in the exact middle of it. I shivered in anticipation. He kissed along my jaw and said, "Don't be nervous, love. I'll take care of you."

He unbuttoned my blouse carefully, taking his time with those long fingers of his. As each button came out of the buttonhole, he kissed each newly-exposed inch of my skin. He loved seeing my black lacy bra – I think it inflamed his desire even more – but he didn't spend any additional time there just now. He wanted me completely undressed.

Next came my skirt – he unzipped the side zipper and slid it over my hips. Lying there in the center of Edward's bed in my bra, panties, garter belt and stockings – with him gazing down at me, I never felt sexier in my life.

Then he unhooked my stockings from the garter belt and rolled them down my legs. When I saw the meticulous care he gave them, I thought he surely must've done the same in Chicago even though I was totally unaware. And now that I could see how it affected him, it must've been a Herculean effort on his part to go sleep on the couch in his suite in that hotel room.

Edward stared at me for a bit and then said softly, "Oh, Isabella, you are so exquisitely gorgeous like this for me." His eyes had missed nothing on their exploration of my body. He kissed my lips and sucked on my earlobe as he expertly unfastened the clasp on the front hook of my bra. His hands massaged my breasts through my bra for a bit, then as his mouth moved a bit further south on my body, he pulled my bra further apart so my erect nipples were waiting for his mouth.

And he definitely didn't disappoint in that area. As he sucked one into his warm, wet mouth, he kneaded and pulled on the other one and alternated between the two. Everything he was doing was making a direct electric current between my legs, which I was attempting to rub together to gain some relief. My hands remained in Edward's hair or caressing his back. I had finally gotten him to shed his dress shirt.

The roar of my pulse in my ears was overwhelming, but I know I was moaning incoherent moans along with his name. Edward whispered into my skin, "Do you like that, love?" I nodded my head furiously and clutched his back closer to me. He moaned appreciatively at my assent and moved further down my body. He whispered into my belly button, "I want to taste you, love. Would that be all right?" His tongue dipped into my belly button as I moaned out a "yes."

He slipped my panties and garter belt off gently and dropped them to the floor, I assumed. I didn't care if they were wound around a lampshade at this point. Edward moved me up on the bed so my head was lying on the very comfortable pillows. He took a neck roll pillow with a smirk and a kiss to my lips.

He asked me to lift up my butt a bit so he could put the neck roll pillow underneath it and to spread my thighs. Gladly! I felt very exposed – but this was Edward. He kissed slowly from my ankles up to the insides of my thighs on both legs. The sweet agony! Didn't he know he'd already set my lady bits on fire and that fire needed put out now? The man had been destroying every pair of panties I'd owned for the past month since we'd become official. I'd never done so much laundry.

Finally, his glorious face was between my thighs and he quietly said, "Love, you are exquisite everywhere." He slowly parted the folds of my pussy with his long fingers and tentatively licked it from bottom to top. I let out an appreciatively deep moan. "Mmmm…and you are so wet for me, love. I love you just like this."

His tongue and fingers went to work on my pussy, making it even impossibly wetter. The neck roll pillow made my body at the perfect angle for Edward's talented tongue and fingers to get deeply inside me. He was making me moan, gasp for breath and scream his name – all at the same time. Finally, he wrapped his arms around my thighs with his long fingers holding my pussy lips open while his tongue was lapping me so I could barely move the lower half of my body. My orgasm ripped through me like a runaway locomotive and fireworks all wrapped up together.

Edward backed off a bit and kissed and nipped at my thighs for a bit until I came down from my orgasm. As soon as the words "That was incredible" left my lips, his tongue was back on my clit, urging me toward another orgasm. Fabulous – death by orgasm sponsored by Edward Cullen – sign me up! The next orgasm came quicker than the first and I was seeing stars behind my closed eyelids and panting like mad.

As soon as I had a burst of energy, I got Edward's attention by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up beside me. I divested him of his pants and boxer briefs. He was already rock hard. I needed him inside me – now! He settled himself between my thighs and slid inside me. We were a perfect fit. Of course, his dick was large, but the perfect size for me. I'd never felt so filled up, but completely satisfied.

His lips were on mine again as we moved together. "Oh, Isabella – love, you feel so good," he panted into my mouth. I assured him he felt just as good to me.

Soon, Edward's own orgasm was upon him. Judging by his face and the look of utter contentment, he felt fantastic as well. I didn't need to be concerned about him afterward – he was a cuddler. He wasn't the type to just roll off you with a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am." He wanted to be chatty.

"Love, that was fantastic. Thank you so much for being you," he said.

I ducked my head shyly. "You're welcome."

He brought a finger under my chin and lifted my face so he could look into my eyes. "Now, love, I just saw you orgasm twice, we've made love, and now you're lying here in my arms naked – and you're being shy? You're gloriously beautiful, love."

"Thank you, Edward."

He turned toward me, "No, love, thank you. You asked me before where I lived. I think now I know. I'm alive when I'm with you. You make me feel alive."

I snuggled in closer to him and ruffled my fingers through the smattering of hair on his chest. We fell into a light sleep then.

We grew cold a short time later and crawled underneath the covers. That necessitated another round of lovemaking. I was a lucky girl.

Edward POV

What the hell was that beeping? I was having a glorious dream and it involved me and a beautiful brown-haired, brown-eyed princess and we were making love for hours on end and it did not involve any incessant beeping.

I opened one eye and looked around. My arm was thrown protectively over said beautiful brown-haired, brown-eyed princess – my lovely Isabella – in my very own bed and I listened again. My cell phone was chirping at me. What the hell? Can't people even have the common decency to let people sleep? It was Saturday and I was looking forward to a little more sleep as I hadn't slept much during the night. A certain princess had kept me up – in more ways than one – a lot of the night.

I got up without disturbing Isabella and reached over to my cell phone on the table beside the bed. Oh, fucking hell – the market in Japan was going to the dogs at a great rate of speed – and taking some of our products with it. I'd have to go into the office to sort this mess out. Crap!

Well, hopefully I could get my ass to the office, sort things out and be back home with Isabella before 9 a.m. as it was – I checked my watch – 5 a.m. now. I took some clothes with me and took a shower in a guest room down the hall so I didn't disturb my sleeping princess. I stopped in the kitchen and had one of the staff prepare a breakfast tray for her.

With all our activities during the night, I expected Isabella to sleep for quite a while and not even notice my absence. I left her breakfast tray on the coffee table in front of the couch in my suite. In case she did wake up early, she'd have breakfast and know I'd be back soon. With that, I was out of the house and on to the office to sort out the mess.

Bella POV

As I woke the morning after, I found myself in Edward's massive king-size bed alone – the scent of him still on the pillow next to me. I called out, "Edward?" There was no response.

There was a tray of croissants and fruit juice on the low table in front of the blue couch.

I slipped on my blouse I found folded next to the bed and went over to the tray. I picked up a croissant and began nibbling it, waiting for Edward to return. After waiting approximately a half hour with no sign of him, I thought I should get dressed in the clothing from my overnight bag and go searching for him.

Once in the main part of the house, I found Esme getting ready to go out to the garden. I asked, "Where is Edward?"

"Oh!" she said, "He's gone into the office."

"Do you have someone available who can drive me home?"

"Of course, dear."

I didn't let the tears fall then – I waited until I was home and in the shower. That little niggling doubt of suspicion had become full-blown. The flowers always delivered to my home, stolen kisses behind closed doors, dinners always at Edward's home – never out in public, no public declarations of love – I was tired of being Edward's "dirty little secret."

The Business Arrangement - Chapter 4

I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream/vision. Please don't steal my original work.

Chapter 4 – Changes

Bella POV

I woke from a dreamless sleep at around 7 a.m. There was something weighing down my eyelids, so I couldn't open them. As I reached up to find the item blocking my vision, I discovered it was a wash cloth. I removed it and wondered where the hell I was. I attempted to think back to my last conscious memory.

I had been dancing with Edward in a nightclub of some sort. I was drinking Diet Coke. We had eaten dinner previously. Wait – there was something I was missing. I rewound my fuzzy head to the part between the Diet Coke and the dancing. I remember Edward had two shots of tequila sitting in front of him. He drank one. I could see in my mind's eye now – I was reaching over and took one myself. What in the hell was I thinking? I can't drink alcohol…at least not while I'm on these prescription migraine medications! And furthermore, where in the hell was I?

My eyes focused more as I looked around the room which was decorated in light and dark blue tones. This was definitely not my room in the hotel – my room was decorated in soft green tones. I looked around the room a bit more to try to gather any additional clues to whose room this might be when I focused on a color photo in a small leather frame on the nightstand next to the bed. It was the photo from the newspaper from the party at the Cullen's. Was this Edward's room?

At that thought, my mind became totally focused and hyper-aware. Why did he carry this photo around? Where was my dress? Did he undress me? Worse yet, did he sleep with me while I was passed out and oblivious to the entire world? I looked at the entire king-size bed and saw the other side of the bed was undisturbed. If this was Edward's room, where was he? Did he sleep in my room instead? Why didn't he just take me to my own room?

I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, made use of the facilities, then looked in the mirror. One good thing about sleeping like the dead, I suppose, your hair looks almost exactly the same. Some mornings when I got up, it looked like a haystack. I put my dress, stockings and heels back on.

Before opening the bedroom door, I wondered to myself what I'd say to Edward if he was on the other side of this door. I had nothing in mind – just that I was sorry he had to take care of me after I made a very stupid move.

Once out in the living room of the suite, I found Edward still asleep on the couch. He looked so angelic with his mouth partially open and one hand tucked under his handsome face. I knew I had to wake him up and not just be gone.

"Edward," I said softly.

"Mmmm?" he sleepily responded.

"Edward, you need to wake up," I said as I gently touched his shoulder.

Edward bolted up from the couch so quickly you would've thought his hair was on fire. Suddenly, he was off the couch and standing beside me. "Isabella, are you all right?" he questioned. He inspected my face with his green eyes.

I tried to suppress my giggle; I truly did. I know he was concerned about me, but his very prominent erection was making itself very well-known as it was hanging in the air between us.

"Oh my god, Isabella, I'm so sorry," he said, as he grabbed the periwinkle blue blanket he'd been using off the couch and wrapped it around his waist. I think it was the very first time I ever saw Edward Cullen blush. I didn't even know he was capable of doing that. Then he sat back down on the couch and gestured for me to sit next to him. I did so.

"Yes, I think I'm all right. I did something very stupid last night, though; something I shouldn't ever do. I should never drink since I'm on medication for migraine headaches," I told him.

Edward replied, "So I've heard. Alice and I had a little conversation after you passed out on me. She told me the medications you were taking. I called my doctor to find out what I needed to do for you. I assure you, Isabella, nothing inappropriate happened."

"I know, Edward. You're a gentleman. You wouldn't do that. Can I ask you a question, though?"

He looked at me earnestly and said, "Anything."

"Why do you have that picture from the newspaper on your bedside table?"

He let out a slow breath and said, "Well, it is a nice photo." He ran a hand through his hair and then said, "Look, Isabella, why don't we both get ready for the day? I will order some room service for breakfast and then we can talk." I agreed.

Edward followed me to the door with the blanket still wrapped around his waist. I picked up my clutch off the table nearest the door and checked inside for my room key. I opened the door and he held it open for me.

I looked at the number on his door and casually mentioned, "You know, I'm just two doors down from you on the other side of the hallway."

He drew his hand through his hair again and was clearly uncomfortable in his state of undress. I can't say that I minded looking at the smattering of hair on his chest and his well-toned muscles. I reminded myself to keep my eyes focused on his and brought them to his face again. He replied, "OK, well, can you be ready within an hour – and dress casually?"

I said that I would and headed down the hallway toward my own room. I'd call Alice during my preparations to let her know I survived the night.

Edward POV

No, Isabella – not all the Cullen boys are rat finks – just Emmett – even though my morning wood is stretching out to greet you like it's fucking 15 years old and wants to shake your hand and make your acquaintance in an up-close-and-personal way! I was mortified beyond belief. I don't think I'd ever been so embarrassed by my own bodily functions as I was just then – not even when I actually was 15 years old. I know it's involuntary and it was the morning, but can my dick not wake up in a lust-induced haze with Isabella around? My brain immediately thought, "That's the wrong question!"

And then the first question out of her mouth is what the picture was doing on my bedside table. I wanted to slap myself silly. Why hadn't I thought to move that last night and put it back in my luggage? Oh hell no – leave it on the nightstand. Then the woman of your dreams can wake up to it and wonder why you're carting around a photo of her like a lovesick puppy. You know, Edward, for someone who appears to have it all together, you really are losing it!

I flung the blanket back over to the couch and stalked into the shower. I needed some relief before Isabella came back to my room and I made a bigger fool of myself.

Isabella arrived back at my room just as the room service was being delivered. She was a vision, as always, in black dress pants, a fuchsia pink blouse and low-heeled shoes. I had ordered us omelettes, fruit, juice and toast.

As our hotel was located on the Magnificent Mile here in Chicago, I had taken the liberty of moving a small table in front of the picture window so we could enjoy a view of Lake Michigan while we enjoyed our breakfast. Masochist that I am, I had arranged our chairs so they were on the same side of the table instead of across from each other – to enjoy the scenery, of course, not because I want to sit beside the object of my desire. Yes, now I'm lying to myself!

We both dug into our breakfast and looked out over the water. It was a gorgeous day. If our conversation went well, I wanted to take Isabella to some of the shops on the Magnificent Mile and possibly over to the beach on the lake.

"So," she began and raised one eyebrow at me, "are you going to tell me about the picture?"

"Do you want the politically correct answer or the honest one?" I replied.

She looked straight back at me and said, "I only want the truth from you, Edward. I have nice photos at home, too. Why is this one so important you would bring it with you?"

It was now or never, I supposed. "Honestly, I didn't know you'd be sleeping in my room here. You would never know I kept that photo on my nightstand. In my concern for you, I didn't think about moving it. I've," I hesitated, "developed feelings for you, Isabella."

"Me?" she asked incredulously. "Why me, when you could have your pick of any socialite in the world?"

"In this business, you find out who is a fake and who is real; who is just after the fame or prestige; who just wants to be arm candy or who wants a real relationship. I've been observing people for a long time now – since before I took over the company from my father. I believe you to be genuine; the real article."

Isabella had stopped eating and was just looking at me with her beautiful brown eyes.

I started again, "Isabella, please tell me what you're thinking. I can't read your mind."

She set her fork carefully on the edge of her plate and said, "Wow. This was definitely not where I thought this conversation was going to go when I came back here this morning. I'm surprised – pleasantly, of course. I have feelings for you as well."

Our gazes never separated. I slipped my hand gently around her neck and into her glorious brown hair. My head moved toward her in what felt like slow motion. I swallowed in anticipation. The kiss was slow, tender, undemanding. The sweetness of it left me wanting more.

When I lifted my mouth from Isabella's, I didn't loosen my hold. I saw the same emotions swimming in her eyes. "Wow," she said again, under her breath. I gave her one of my rare crooked smiles.

"Edward? You're smiling," she said.

"Am I?" I stroked her cheek. My smile widened. "I must be happy."

"You're quite handsome when you're happy."

I trailed the back of one finger under her chin. "I'll make note of your preference."

I broke the spell by going back to my breakfast or I'd be staring goofy-eyed into this woman's face for the rest of the day. "How about we finish our breakfast, then we'll go poke around at some of the shops on the Magnificent Mile or check out the lake?" I suggested.

Isabella was agreeable to that. Since I only had dress clothes with me, I decided to forgo the jacket and tie.

As we were checking out some of the shops later, I asked Isabella, "When I called Alice last night from your cell phone, why did she ask if I was being nice to you?"

She turned to me and said, "Well, she knows in the past you've intimidated me. I'm sure she was just checking on me."

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead. I asked, "And do I still intimidate you, Isabella?"

She mumbled into my chest with a smile, "Not quite so much." I chuckled as I took her hand and we continued our walk.

Ah, love! The barriers it could break down!

After Isabella had rolled up my pant legs and insisted I get my feet wet in the cold water of Lake Michigan as she did the same (I believe her exact words were "Live a little, Edward!") and we sat at a bistro and ate lunch near the water of the Great Lake, I called Sam and asked if he could have the plane ready to go by 2 p.m. We had stayed much longer in Chicago than I'd originally planned, but a good thing had happened here – Isabella and I had begun our relationship.

On our flight back, work suddenly wasn't the most important thing we could be doing.

Isabella asked me, "So, what does a relationship with Edward Cullen look like?"

"Hmm," I replied, "I'm not certain. Wining? Dining?"

"Let's skip the wine, please," she implored.

"Definitely, for you – let's skip that," I agreed with a smile. A devilish gleam came to my eye, "Hot, passionate office sex?"

"Edward!" Isabella shrieked.

"What?" I asked, mock innocently.

She shook her head and said, "I would've never thought of you as that kind of guy."

"Hey," I said, "Just because I seem straight-laced to you doesn't mean I don't have fantasies." I skipped a beat and tilted my head to the side, thoughtfully. "Hmm…if we keep taking these business trips, I'll have to get the planes redesigned so there's a bedroom included." That earned a well-deserved smack on my arm. I laughed and she laughed with me.

Soon after, Sam buzzed me to inform me of some rough air currents coming up before our descent into New York City and that we should fasten our seat belts for safety reasons. I told Isabella and she complied immediately. She was sitting in the seat next to me, so I held her hand and made random patterns with my thumb on the back of it. I looked over at Isabella and her eyes were closed and she was gripping my hand tightly. I have to say, it was pretty rough going there.

To distract her, I did what I'd been wanting to. I leaned over and explored, tasted, and nipped at Isabella's mouth, hoping it would relieve the tension which had built inside me since I'd first seen her. Instead, it made me hunger for more. Much more. With an effort, I dragged my mouth free.

Her eyes remained closed. "Oh, that was nice. Would you do that again, please?"

Groaning, I crushed her to me as well as I could in our confined space, kissing her more deeply, reveling in the feel of her. She gave back as much as she took, then something changed. She pushed against me. I broke the kiss, but still held her close.

"Edward?"

"Hmmmm?"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

We had a few air sickness bags on board our private jets and I found one quickly in the side pocket of my seat. Isabella got it opened just in time.

Well, so much for my kissing expertise! I knew it was the turbulence that had gotten to her and not my sexual prowess. I rubbed her back to comfort her.

Once she felt a bit better, she kept whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Isabella, it's quite all right," I assured her. Now that the plane had leveled out and the rocking had stopped, I told her she was safe to go into the restroom to freshen up. She took me up on my offer and headed in that direction.

I got up as well while she was in the restroom to get her a Sprite with some ice from the small bar we kept stocked on the plane. I had that ready for her when she returned. She smiled at me gratefully and took a large sip. We refastened our seatbelts to prepare for landing.

Once we safely landed, I called my parents and let them know Isabella would be coming for dinner. They thought that would be fantastic as Alice and Jasper were joining them as well!

Weekday traffic being what it is, it took quite a while to get to the house from the airport. I had started completing some work on my laptop computer while we were waiting in traffic, but then I noticed Isabella slumped beside me with her head resting on my shoulder. Her being sick earlier must've taken the starch right out of her. I set my laptop aside and nestled her into my arms.

Sam looked into the rear view mirror, smiled, and said, "I think change is in the air for you, Edward. It looks good on you." Sam and I had always had a friendly relationship; I just grinned back at him.

I woke Isabella up with a kiss to her temple once we arrived at the house. She was surprised she had fallen asleep.

She was excited to see my parents again and also to see Alice. Once Alice ascertained that I had indeed taken good care of Isabella, all was right with the world. I think I rolled my eyes in their general direction. As if I would do anything less! Alice Brandon was not someone to be trifled with – she was just about as intimidating as I was – albeit in a much smaller form.

After a dinner of baby greens salad, parmesan-crusted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and chocolate lava cake, I took Isabella on a tour of the house. She declared she would need one of those "you are here" maps set up at strategic locations throughout.

Then I took her to my separate quarters. Each family member had their own separate space away from the rest of the family that had a living room, study, bedroom, and bathroom. My space was decorated in blues and browns – very masculine and tailored.

"Well," Isabella said as she twirled around slowly in the space, "it doesn't look like any women live here – or are even invited here!"

I caught up with her and snaked my arm around her waist and said, "Only you, Isabella. What changes would you like to make?"

She thought for a moment and then said, "None. I'd like to just see you in your environment. This looks like you."

My heart soared like a teenager when I kissed her and said roughly, "I wish you could spend the night."

"Maybe another time; there's work tomorrow," practical Isabella, the woman after my own heart, said. She kissed me back gently and continued, "I'd best go find Alice and make our way home for the evening. Walk me out?"

I did just that, located Alice with Jasper, installed both women in the car with Sam, and said good night to both of them. Tomorrow would be the first full day of our new relationship!

The Business Arrangement - Chapter 3

I don't own Twilight, but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream/vision. Please don't steal my original work.

Bella POV

Alice was super-excited one day after work when she came bouncing in our apartment with newspapers in hand. I wasn't sure what had her in such a tizzy. "Bella, we're in the newspaper! On the society page, for goodness sake – look!" she said as she thrust a copy into my hand.

I looked at the black and white photo. There stood Carlisle and Esme Cullen to the side as I introduced Alice to Jasper; Edward was nearest me. We were all smiling – that was odd…I had rarely seen a smile grace Edward's face…and usually not in my presence. Although he was very charming after the incident with Emmett – for which I was grateful.

"And," Alice paused dramatically, "since you're redecorating that blasted bulletin board over the desk in your bedroom, this would be a perfect addition!" She was right. I had removed the photos of Emmett, storing them in a file folder. He was still a handsome man, but not someone I needed to be looking at or dreaming about on a daily basis. I'd seen what his true colors could be and that wasn't what I wanted. I'd started placing photos of areas I'd like to visit on the board instead – Paris, Italy, London.

Not that Emmett had attempted to apologize – he had. A huge bouquet of flowers arrived on my desk the Monday after the party with a handwritten apology card. He came and told me he was sorry. I accepted his apology, but as soon as he was out of my office, I took the bouquet and placed it on Lauren's desk. It would get seen a lot more from her vantage point rather than in my office. I thought I saw a smirk on Edward's face once when I saw him passing in the hallway, but I couldn't be sure. He was a difficult one to read – I couldn't be sure what the smirk was about.

Alice's cell phone rang just then and as she answered it, I went to make dinner. We were having spaghetti, garlic bread and tossed salad tonight. I turned on the radio which sat on the kitchen counter. Then I set some water on the stove to boil for the pasta and got the salad ingredients out of the refrigerator.

Alice entered our small kitchen, gazing dreamily at me and asked, "Guess who that was on the phone?"

I looked her square in the eye and said, "Well, from your look, it must've been Prince Charming."

She squealed and exclaimed, "It was! It was Jasper Cullen! He wants to take me out on Friday night!" She grabbed me up and twirled me around in a circle. For such a small thing, she can be strong when she wants to be.

"Put me down, Alice. You're making me dizzy!" I said. After she complied, I continued, "That's great, sweetie! I think you'll have a lot of fun!"

"Of course we will," she said and winked at me. "I'm more than ten kinds of fun!" No doubt about that!

We finished our dinner preparations and ate; all the while Alice regaled me with how fabulous Jasper was. I just grinned, excited for her. I knew Jasper was great – that's why I wanted to introduce them to each other.

For some reason, that night was the first night I dreamt of Edward Cullen. What was he doing, showing up in my dreams? It was the strangest dream – it started like a normal day at work, but then suddenly morphed into an almost-fantasy "Beauty and the Beast" where Edward removed his professional persona and showed me his true self – smiling, laughing, loving – and I fell in love with him. I awoke with a start at the first ring of my alarm, wondering what the hell that was about. I couldn't and wouldn't let myself get involved with another fantasy man – as Emmett was to me before I learned the real truth about him. Besides, Edward could have his pick of any society woman in New York – or the world, for that matter. There is no way he would be interested in Bella Swan from Forks, Washington!

Edward POV

The day the newspaper came out with our photo in it from the party, Shelly brought it into my office. "This is a very nice picture of you, Edward," Shelly complimented me.

"Thank you," I replied. "Could you contact the photographer and have him send the original photo to me?"

"Of course," she said and left my office. There was one good thing about being influential and powerful – you could get photographers at newspapers to bend to your will.

Now that color photograph resided in a frame on my bedside table at home. Most nights before drifting off to sleep, I imagined running my fingers through Isabella's hair and kissing her beautiful lips. It was probably best she wasn't sharing my bed – she wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep. Who was I kidding? She probably would never want me that way – especially after the stupid way my brother acted with her. I wanted to go to his room down the hall and punch him right in the face.

Every day at work, I became more impressed with her, her ethics, her personality – everything about her. When I saw she moved Emmett's flower bouquet from her office out to Lauren's desk, I almost laughed out loud in the hallway. I tried to cover it with a well-timed smirk when I saw Isabella looking my direction.

I held a meeting with the management team, outlining the new changes within our group. The changes mainly dealt with business travel. For instance, the senior manager and their own assistant would not fly together. If, God forbid, something happened to the plane, the other person would still be available. Jasper and Angela didn't travel that often with the rest of the group so the new policy didn't affect their working relationship that much. It did, however, affect Shelly, Emmett and Isabella, along with me.

I couldn't make the big change I'd really like to – make Isabella my assistant. Shelly had worked for our company for years. She and I had a great working relationship. With Isabella directly next door to me, I'd never get anything done. Besides, with Isabella working as Emmett's assistant, I knew the day-to-day functions of our company were in good hands.

Additionally, I informed them a business trip was coming up within the next week that would require traveling to Chicago, Illinois. We were discussing the possibility of taking over a smaller company located there. It was decided Isabella and I would travel on the first plane out and Emmett and Shelly would follow soon afterward.

What was with Isabella today? She seemed a little stand-offish and I couldn't understand it. Normally I was the one who acted that way – that was my normal way of going about business during the day. I decided I needed to look into it immediately. I retrieved the travel details for the upcoming trip from Shelly and told her I would take care of informing Isabella. She gave me a surprised look, but willingly handed over all the documentation.

I knocked lightly on Isabella's open office door and she bid me to enter.

"I brought the travel documents for you for our trip next week," I said, in what I hoped was a smooth voice.

Isabella seemed to stiffen her spine and said, "Oh, well, thank you, Edward."

I continued, "We'll be flying in one of the company planes to Chicago and then staying at the Hilton once we arrive. The meeting with Trask Communications is scheduled for 3 p.m. the day we arrive." I placed the documents on her desk in front of her.

"OK," she said in a small voice.

"Have I done something to offend you, Isabella?"

"No!" she barely squeaked out.

Her hand was resting on her desk and I reached over to place mine on top of it. It felt as though there was an electric current passing between us and it wasn't because I had been dragging my feet across the carpet on my way to her office. She looked down at our hands.

"Are you sure, Isabella?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm positive," she responded as she exhaled a long breath.

I removed my hand from hers and said, "OK. I did want to remind you about something on our business trip. If Emmett takes it upon himself not to show up, you are to conduct his part of the presentation."

She looked up at me quickly and said, "I understand."

I smiled at her a bit and said, "I've seen you in action around here. You'll do great!"

Bella POV

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap…don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out! Yep, this is what I was mentally chanting to myself to get through my little interaction with Edward. Why had he brought me the travel documents? I had expected Shelly to bring them. No, Edward, you've done nothing to offend me. I've just spent my entire night dreaming of you and falling in love with you in that dream, for God's sake. No, everything is perfectly ok.

If I could drink, now would be a great time to do it…right after work! But I didn't even have that luxury…damn migraine drugs.

I wasn't having a problem with Edward telling me I'd need to do the presentation if Emmett didn't show up. I knew the presentation backward and forward – I'd developed it. I'd already made several presentations to the home office staff.

Soon enough, travel day was upon us. Sam Uley was a licensed pilot and he would be flying us to Chicago today. I wasn't a big fan of flying, but I felt safe with Sam. Of course, I was also traveling with Edward as my only traveling companion on one of the company's private jets.

Once Sam gave us the clearance, both of us stayed busy with our laptop computers for most of the trip. Finally, Edward closed his and said to me, "You realize the press will be at the airport, hungry for a story on this takeover."

"The press?" I squeaked out as my foot began jack-hammering against the floor of the plane beneath me.

Suddenly Edward's hand covered the knee atop my furiously pounding foot and my foot stilled immediately. He looked into my eyes and said, "You don't have to speak to them, if you don't wish. You wouldn't have to give them any more information than if you were writing a press release in Publications."

I replied quietly, "I'd prefer to let you speak to them."

At his quiet assent, we gathered our coats and headed for the exit. As soon as we stepped foot on the tarmac, I was blinded and disoriented by flashbulbs.

Edward POV

I could see Isabella immediately stiffen beside me as we deplaned and set foot before the news-hungry press. Without a second thought, I put my arm around her waist and drew her to me. Even though the reporters were loud and obnoxious, I could swear I heard her sharp intake of breath – but she didn't move away.

I answered their questions for a few polite minutes, and then told them we needed to be off to our scheduled appointments.

One last question stopped me in my tracks. "Mr. Cullen, who is this lovely young lady on your arm and what is your relationship with her?" Oh – the things I'd love to answer that question with – I wanted to be everything to her. I answered simply, "This is Isabella Swan. She works for Cullen International as my brother's assistant."

The nosey reporter kept on, "Are you dating her?"

I thought about breaking his pathetic little tape recorder into a million pieces, but replied simply, "No."

With that, I guided Isabella to our waiting limousine where our luggage had already been stowed safely inside and indicated she should slide in first.

When I had shut the door and let the driver know we were ready to depart, Isabella looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes and said quietly, "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it," I replied quickly, still on professional take-no-prisoners mode.

I noticed she withdrew into herself and stared out the opposite window at the passing scenery instead of chancing another glance at me. Fuck! Why did I always screw things up with her? I wanted her to like me – hell, fall in love with me – not tune me out. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

Someday I was going to have to talk to her about how I felt about her. She would never guess how strong my feelings really were – not in a million years.

We were installed in our rooms at the hotel and I noticed I had a voice mail on my phone from Shelly. Apparently my charming brother didn't bother getting himself to the airport in time and Shelly was unsure if she should come alone. I called her back immediately and told her it was fine if she stayed in New York. Isabella and I could take care of everything for this meeting in Chicago.

At 2:30 p.m., I met Isabella in the lobby of the hotel and we rode over in the same limousine to Trask Communications. I informed her that Emmett and Shelly were not coming. If she was going to freak out, I needed to know now – before we got in front of these people. She drew in a deep breath but assured me she was fine.

The presentation was nothing short of spectacular. Isabella did so well! I knew she did great with our company's employees, but to see her in action with people who were totally unfamiliar – she totally charmed them. She presented her information in such a way and she was so damn beautiful, it seemed Mr. Trask was willing to give her just about anything she wanted.

Glad I was there as the voice of reason and to lure Mr. Trask's eyes away from Isabella in her gorgeous dress. My possessiveness was going to get the better of me if I didn't cool down for a moment. I was just about to the point of making her wait in the hallway for the meeting to finish. Isabella, though, always surprises me – she sat down in the vacant conference room chair next to me, placed her hand on my thigh for the merest whisper of a moment, winked at me, and began wrapping up the meeting. What the hell just happened – did she even know what she was doing to me?

The meeting concluded – not soon enough for me, even though Isabella never touched me or looked my way inappropriately another time – and we went back to the hotel.

I asked her if she would eat dinner with me in the hotel dining room, which she readily agreed to. I asked her to tell me about her childhood. I learned all about her growing up in Phoenix and then Forks. I'd never been to Washington State, but had heard it was beautiful. Then she told me she and Alice moved to New York as Alice wanted to be near the fashion capital of the world and she'd been lucky to find a job at our company.

Then she asked me, plain as day, "Where do you live, Edward?"

I sputtered a bit and replied, "You know where I live – New York, Long Island. You've been to my house."

She gazed back at me over the dimly-lit, damask-covered table, "I mean in your heart, Edward."

Here was my chance to tell her how I felt! I smiled at her gently and opened my mouth to speak. Just then, the waiter at the next table dropped his serving tray and there was a clatter of dishes in all directions. Apologies and chaos ensued and our moment was broken.

As we were heading back to our rooms, I noticed a nightclub in the hotel. "Isabella, please come have a drink with me before we turn in."

She looked dubious, but said, "OK."

She ordered a Diet Coke, but I asked for two shots of tequila. I was going to tell Isabella how I felt about her, dammit, and if I needed liquid courage to do so, well so be it!

After one shot of tequila was down my gullet, I asked her if she wanted to dance. She just looked at me. "Isabella, we always dance after celebrating something or other. Last time it was the way you handled Emmett. Today it was the way you and I handled the meeting with Trask."

She agreed. Then, she did the strangest thing. She picked up my other shot of tequila and drank it down. Maybe she needed her own liquid courage!

There was a slow song playing and I was grateful for that. Isabella was holding onto my waist and I was holding onto hers. We were moving in a slow circle. Soon, I felt her body go slack against mine. If I wasn't holding her, she would've fallen to the floor. Holy hell! What was happening? I needed to get her out of this club and soon. I held her body next to mine, found her clutch and carried her out of the club.

It was tantamount to treason to go through a woman's handbag according to my mother, but I had no idea which room was Isabella's. This was only a small clutch that possibly held her ID, a cell phone, a credit card, some MAC lip gloss and her room key.

I attempted to revive her by saying her name several times, but there was absolutely no response. I kept my arm firmly around her waist, hugging her to me and pulling her along. I can't say I didn't enjoy the lovely scent of freesia and strawberries emanating from the beautiful woman beside me. In fact, I put my nose to her hair and positively drank that scent in. Heavenly.

I was trying not to attract too much attention from the other hotel guests. We finally made it to the elevator, where I pushed the button for the floor of my room and finally scooped Isabella up in my arms. I was glad we were the only occupants of the elevator.

I fumbled with my room key, but it finally slid in the lock and the door opened. As soon as the door closed behind us, I started speaking a little louder, "Isabella, please! Wake up! Tell me what's going on!"

Isabella still wasn't responding to anything I was saying. Crap! I couldn't just put her to bed in her dress. I gently placed her on the bed as I went around to the other side and turned the covers down. I went back to her and sat her up so her forehead was against my abdomen. I worked her dress from underneath her and then off her arms. As she was sitting there in her slip, she moaned. Oh fuck – anything but that, Isabella! My dick twitched in my pants involuntarily. I looked down at her. Her breasts were swelling most fetchingly out of that silky slip she was now wearing. She still had not opened her eyes and was still passed out.

I placed her back on the bed and that's when I noticed she had hose on her gorgeous legs. I couldn't let her sleep in those. I took her stilettos off and placed them by the end of her bed. I went to pull down her pantyhose – only, she wasn't wearing pantyhose – she was wearing stockings and a garter belt. As if I wasn't tempted enough already. I tried not to stare inordinately as I unhooked the clips and rolled the stockings down her flawless legs. I wasn't even going to attempt to take off the garter belt – the hell with that. My dick couldn't take that. She'd just have to sleep with that on, along with her slip and whatever other sinful undergarments she was wearing under there.

I retrieved a wet wash cloth from the bathroom and placed it over her eyes, then shut the bedroom door of my suite and went out into the living room portion. I went through Isabella's clutch and found her cell phone. I found Alice's number right away and called her.

Alice answered, "Bella! Are you having fun in Chicago? Is Edward being nice to you?"

I responded, "Hello Alice. This is Edward Cullen."

She said warily, "Where is Bella?"

I continued, "Alice, that's why I'm calling. I need to ask you if Isabella has bad reactions to alcoholic beverages."

"Oh my god," she screamed into the phone, "you let her drink?"

"Not intentionally!" I affirmed.

"OK. I'm trying to calm down. Bella takes migraine medication. She's not supposed to drink at all and she knows that. I wonder why she was drinking tonight?"

"Well, we were in a celebratory mood. She did order Diet Coke, but reached over and took one of my tequila shots," I said.

After a few more minutes on the phone with Alice and determining what medications Isabella was taking and promising I would take good care of her, I hung up with Alice. Then I called my own physician to determine what Isabella's damage would be. He decided if it was only one drink, the consequences wouldn't be severe, but I should keep watch over her. I told him I was already doing that.

After replacing Isabella's wash cloth with a fresh one, I stripped down to my boxer briefs and went to sleep on the couch in the living room. I got up several times during the night to check on Isabella, always replacing her wash cloth with a new cool one. She seemed to sleep soundly – while I was out of my mind with worry. Finally the stress won out and I drifted off to a troubled sleep.

The Business Arrangement - Chapter 2

Bella's party dress (although hers is dark plum)

I don't own Twilight - but I'm grateful to Stephenie Meyer for her dream! Please don't steal my original work.

EPOV

Friday before the party was a long day at the office. I'd been attempting to keep my office door open, trying to find out the office gossip about Isabella. Before you ask, I don't normally keep tabs on office gossip – I could care less. I wasn't trying to be a stalker or anything, but I wanted to know who she was bringing as her "plus one." I could've come right out and asked Shelly but that would've been too obvious. If she was bringing a boyfriend, I would've stopped this incessant behavior immediately and gone back to my previous lonely life. I think this was worse – not knowing for sure.

One of my younger brothers, Emmett, strolled into my office. He must've seen my open door. Great – he wanted something. I could tell just by the way he was prowling around.

I drug my hand through my hair in frustration and asked, "What can I do for you today, Emmett, since you've graced us with your presence at work?"

He grinned at me and asked, "Are you bringing anyone to the party tomorrow?"

"No," I answered. "I haven't really had a chance to get close to anyone, like you seem to on a weekly basis."

Emmett responded, "Who are you to lecture me about closeness? Your idea of a long-term relationship is giving your date a chance to order dessert."

I gave him a hard look and said, "I don't have time for dessert. I'm too busy with this company. And don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out of my office."

As my youngest brother left my office, I thought what a jerk he was. He could be in a different "relationship" every week and not bat an eye. Were women just playthings to him? Just because I didn't want to date someone different every night of the week, I didn't feel there was anything wrong with that. I had a reputation to uphold – I had the reputation of this company to think about – and I couldn't live with myself if I whored myself out the way Emmett did.

BPOV

As soon as I told Alice about our invitation to the Cullen party, she pulled in a favor from one of her clients – a hip hair designer, Enrique.

That's where we found ourselves on the Saturday morning of the party – both being subjected to the whims of the salon. Both Alice and Enrique scared me – even more than just Alice alone. I had no idea what they were plotting.

Alice, thankfully, knows me well. She brought my IPod and the novel I was currently reading. She knew the combination would send me to my happy place and I wouldn't be forced to stare into the mirror and grit my teeth at every movement of Enrique or one of his staff.

I couldn't say I wasn't a bit envious of my best friend's short 'do as I turned more pages of my book. Why did I insist on keeping this long hair? Sometimes it could be such a pain.

Alice finally unceremoniously ripped one of the ear buds out of my ear and said, "It's time, Bella! It's gorgeous – have a look!" I looked at her warily, but took out the remaining ear bud from my other ear and marked the current page in my book. Then I hesitantly looked up at my reflection in the mirror.

Holy crap – I'd been turned into Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." And I don't mean that in a bad way – my hair looked amazing! Enrique was holding up a mirror to the back so I could see the cascade of Shirley Temple-style ringlets flowing down my back. My hair was pinned up gently on the sides to add more to the curls in the back. Any shorter curls framing my face were gently curled. I hoped Alice had a dress that would make this hairstyle worth it – it was stunning!

Alice clapped her hands together and declared it perfect! I finally pulled my gaze away from the mirror and looked fully in her direction. She had her entire head covered in soft, gentle waves. She looked gorgeous as well! I was now hoping this would be an epic night for both of us.

One of Enrique's assistants went to the bistro next door and came back with Caesar salads for both of us, which we munched on while getting manicures and pedicures. When Alice determines you're going to look girly, you're going all the way!

Alice instructed my manicurist paint my nails a deep plum color. I still hadn't seen my dress for the evening – my roommate was keeping it squirreled away in her closet until the last possible moment – until there was no way I could back out from wearing the darn thing. I was just praying it wasn't covered in layers of ruffles. There would be a murder in New York City then – or else I would just refuse to attend the party.

One of the "perks" of attending this party was the Cullen family was sending one of their drivers for the members of the management team. That way if anyone overindulged or if they didn't own a car – and some New Yorkers don't – Alice and I fit into that category, they would still arrive home safely.

Alice finally did reveal my dress and I was pleasantly surprised. It was an elegant and sophisticated one shoulder long dress by La Femme in a shimmery dark plum shade. It featured two pleated straps over one shoulder that separated in the back. The A-line skirt was pleated and flowed beautifully.

My gorgeous roommate was dressed in a red strapless long dress. She was a knockout. I was planning to introduce her to Jasper Cullen tonight – she just didn't know it and I wasn't planning on telling her in advance. She would start freaking out and be all over me with questions. I figured I'd let Jasper answer his own questions – make it easy on myself.

When our driver came to pick us up, I noticed it was Sam Uley. Sam was Edward Cullen's private driver. I was a bit surprised at that. I figured they probably had several of their staff pinch-hitting tonight as drivers and probably even hired a few more from private companies.

As we arrived at the Cullen's beautiful mansion on Long Island, Sam escorted us right to the entrance of the garden that was set up for the party. There was barely time to take everything in as we were ushered inside and greeted by Carlisle and Esme Cullen. Even though I'd worked for the company for quite a while now, I'd never met them personally. Esme greeted me with a hug – totally unexpected! Edward, dressed in a very dapper black tuxedo, was standing next to them. I didn't know if he was part of the welcoming committee – he still seemed too intimidating to me. When I chanced a glance in his direction as I introduced Alice as my roommate to the group, he seemed to relax a little. I found that weird but continued with my introductions to Jasper who just showed up as well.

A reporter and photographer from one of the newspapers decided this would be a picture-worthy opportunity of the Cullen social event of the season. A flashbulb popped as I was introducing Jasper and Alice to each other, with Edward and his parents looking on. I'm sure I was blushing as red as a radish.

I turned around to walk out into the garden. It was decorated with small tables covered with white tablecloths throughout. Each table had a hurricane candle on it with a riot of multi-colored blooms encircling the base. Every table had four chairs around it for cozy conversations. Hors d'oeuvres stations were set up and manned. There were also a couple of large dessert islands. Drinks were also plentiful – I saw at least three bars set up around the garden. Small fairy lights were in every tree, giving the entire garden a magical look.

From one of the bars is where I heard my name – or should I say, a variation of my name – being drunkenly called. "Bellie-boo!" Can you please fuck my life right this moment? There was only one person who called me that, and I wasn't happy he called me that when he was sober. Now that it was obvious he was drunk, it was a whole different story.

But I had just arrived and I did not want to make a scene. My roommate had been introduced to (hopefully) the man of her dreams and they were talking – somewhere. So I turned around, plastered a smile on my face and looked at my boss in a black tuxedo weaving toward me. "Emmett," I said, "how are you this evening?"

He came closer and tipped his champagne glass up to his mouth, emptying it and setting it on the nearest table. "I'm good, Bellie-boo," he said, still a bit too loud for the general hum of the party. "Did you just get here?"

"I did," I replied simply.

He grabbed my wrist and demanded, "Let's dance," as he pulled me toward the dance floor. It wasn't that I didn't know how to dance – I just wasn't in the mood to dance with Emmett, drunk as he was. But still in the spirit of not wanting to make a scene, I let him lead me to the dance floor.

I didn't know whether to be horrified or grateful it was a slow song the band began next. Emmett pulled me close to him and held on tightly. After we took a couple of turns on the floor, he slurred in my ear, "It feels so good to hold you. Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"No," I replied.

He pulled back a bit and looked into my eyes. He said earnestly, "You're dazzling."

I looked away immediately and said quietly, "Emmett, I think maybe we should take a break."

"You're right," he whispered in my ear. "Do you know where the solarium is?" When I shook my head that I didn't, he briefly explained where it was, then continued, "Meet me there."

I left him on the dance floor as I made my way to the solarium. I needed to get Emmett away from the crowd so he could sober up a bit. On my way, I picked up a couple of bottles of water from one of the bartenders.

EPOV

I had dressed with care for this party. No matter who Isabella showed up with, I would look like the CEO of a successful corporation – even if my heart was breaking. When Isabella introduced Alice Brandon, her roommate, to my parents and brother, I felt like making a very unprofessional fist pump in the air, but instead I exhaled and felt as though some of the weight of the world had dropped off my shoulders.

Jasper seemed to hit it off right away with Alice and they went to one of the bars immediately to get a drink and continue talking. I cursed internally that I had the gift of gab when it came to talking to colleagues, but when it came to the object of my desire – it seemed I clammed up around her, said something totally inappropriate, or became a total nerd.

One of my business associates was bending my ear, talking about the stock market and I really was attempting to pay attention. The stock market is always near and dear to my heart. My eyes, however, were roving the crowd for Isabella. Where was she?

My heart picked up again – there she was. Her beautiful mahogany hair was pinned into all those wonderful curls that seemed to bounce with every step she took. My body never knew what to do when in close proximity to her – run my fingers through whatever hairstyle she was wearing that day or kiss her soundly – or both.

And what was this fresh hell? She was dancing…with Emmett? Oh hell to the no! Jealously walloped me in the gut and nearly knocked the breath out of me. I excused myself from the conversation with my colleague to make my way to the dance floor. My hands had clenched into fists the more I watched.

It appeared they were stopping. Isabella was making her way off the dance floor now and going toward one of the bars. She retrieved two bottles of water from the bartender and made her way to – the solarium? Oh, fuck no! Emmett had asked her to the solarium? Over my pile of ashes! I knew exactly what he did with women in there and that was so not going to happen with her. I had a key to the solarium or I would break the door down with my bare hands – whichever would be the most dramatic would work for me. No fucking way!

I found my weasel of a brother easy enough. He was at a different bar – picking up two champagne flutes and a just-uncorked bottle of champagne. Wasn't he the big romantic? Augh! I took a circuitous route around the dance floor so it wouldn't be obvious that I was following him. I wanted to arrive at the solarium in time to defend Isabella's honor, but not before he had revealed himself to her as a jerk.

I waited about ten minutes before going to the solarium door and attempting the lock. Emmett hadn't even locked the door – classy. Anyone could've walked in on them! I was grateful for our staff who kept things in meticulous shape as the hinges didn't even squeak as I opened the door and shut it again soundlessly.

"Bellie-boo," I heard Emmett over by the chaise lounge with the red flower-print cushions, "have a drink with me." Bellie-boo? What in the hell kind of nickname is that? This is a woman who should be treasured and valued, not called some meaningless nickname like that. I hid behind a large group of potted ferns so I was unseen by the other occupants of the solarium.

"Emmett," Isabella said, "I think you may have had enough already. I don't need a drink."

"Aww…c'mon," he slurred. It sounded as though he slurped some champagne out of one of the flutes.

Isabella said, "Emmett, why don't you drink some of this water instead?" I could hear the crack of the seal from the water being opened.

"Water's no fun, Bellie-boo. Let's make out instead," he replied.

Blood was thundering in my ears now. I believe there was the sound of some sort of scuffle. It was difficult to hear over the blood pounding through my veins.

Isabella said loudly, "Emmett, no!" Then there was a resounding slap.

I peeked through the ferns to make sure Isabella was the one doing the slapping, not Emmett. Our father had raised us never to strike a woman and it damn well better not start now.

Emmett sat on the chaise lounge, holding his cheek that now bore Isabella's handprint. "Geez, Bellie-boo, you didn't have to hit me!"

"You weren't taking the hint, Emmett. No means 'no'! And please stop calling me that stupid nickname – call me Bella or Isabella. I hope this won't affect our working relationship because, if so, I'll ask for a transfer."

Oh no, no, no – she couldn't leave me – not now! I made a show of opening and closing the solarium door with a slam.

"Isabella?" I called as I came around the ferns blocking the doorway from view.

"Yes, Edward?" she responded.

I smiled gently in her direction, "I thought I saw you come this way. I'd like to introduce you to some people. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No," she looked up at me, "we're good here." She looked back at Emmett and said to him quietly, "Sober up. I'll see you on Monday." I have to admit, watching her walk toward me in that silky dress was a lesson in self-control for me. She truly didn't know how irresistible she was. Then, before I knew it, she met me at the door.

I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the solarium. Once we were a few hundred yards away, her bravado seemed to fade. "Are you ok?" I asked, concern etched in my face.

"Yes, I will be. I guess I didn't realize what a tool your brother could be," she replied with a little laugh. She shook her head a bit to clear her thoughts. "Now, who is it you'd like to introduce me to?"

"I confess," I said, "I really have no one to introduce you to. I just wanted to get you out of that uncomfortable situation."

"You were there…listening?" she looked up at my face in confusion.

I tried to play it off nonchalantly and looked off into the distance. "Well, yes. I wanted to be there to protect your honor."

"Wow – I wouldn't have expected that from you, Edward Cullen. But, just so you know, I'm the daughter of a police chief. I do know how to protect myself."

I said, "Good to know. I'll try to remember that in the future."

"But," she continued, "since you're being honest, you were trying to protect my honor, and everyone made it out unscathed – except for Emmett, of course – how about we have one dance to celebrate? You still intimidate me, Edward, but I think I can manage one dance with you."

I swallowed the lump that had now permanently lodged itself in my throat and nodded at Isabella. Holy hell – this would be like "Beauty and the Beast" – Belle was always afraid of the Beast until she found the chink in his "armor." How long would it be before Bella found mine?

She felt wonderful in my arms as I expertly guided her around the dance floor. I wanted to crush her to me and never let her go, but I was respectful and kept my distance.

Changes were going to be made at the office that was going to affect the entire management team – for better or for worse.