A Change in Direction: Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

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I wasn’t nearly as eager to go the following day. In fact, I slept fitfully until almost ten. That was late for me. I was more of a morning person. I just couldn’t get past the painful anxious twist in my gut. It was making me very uncomfortable.

And I didn’t rush to get a shower and breakfast, either. All I had for it and lunch was tea. My stomach wasn’t exactly happy with me. I always had a nervous tummy.

That afternoon, I took a shower and quickly washed my hair. I let it dry on it’s own and pulled it into a ponytail at the back of my head before putting on a light layer of makeup. Instead of going with my nicer business clothes, I put on a pair of jeans that had been well-loved and faded, a rip across my right knee. I wore a white t-shirt with a black vest over it, too. To top it off, I slipped on my ratty Adidas that I had gotten from Goodwill a few years before. They were probably the most comfortable shoes that I have ever owned. 

After that, I gazed at my keys for a long while, uncertain if I would really go through with it. I felt crazy, but it seemed... It seemed like what I needed to do. 

It was a little past three when I realized that I still had Mr. Masen’s umbrella. I felt, at the very least, I needed to return that to him and give him my answer. 

It went back and forth in my head the entire drive down there, even though I was pretty sure I would say yes. 

Crazy. I must have been insane. There was no other way to describe what I was doing. To explain whatever mental condition that I had. What self-respecting person did this to themselves? Maybe two years out of work made me a little less respecting and a lot more desperate than I thought. A job was a job, right?

That’s what drug dealers told themselves, too, I was sure.
 
I had to tell him no. I wasn’t that kind of girl. 

I didn’t notice if there was anyone at the front desk. If there had been, Lauren probably gave me a death glare that could have melted plastic. My stomach dropped with every floor that I went up. By the top, I was almost positive I would pass out. 

“Ms. Swan!” Angela stood up as soon as the doors opened. “Mr. Masen wasn’t sure if you were coming back today, but he told me to tell him as soon as you got in. He’s in a meeting, but if you could wait a moment-”

“No, no. That’s okay. He’s busy. I’ll go-” I started, going towards the elevator. I wasn’t even sure how my feet carried me forward to the middle of the small waiting area. 

But then the enormous wooden doors that led to his massive office opened, and several men came spilling out, including Jasper. It only took a second for two sets of eyes to land on me. 

“Bella!” He called happily as he came to me. He wrapped his strong arms around me and gave me a big hug, lifting me off the floor as he did so. “So, you’re taking the position with Mr. Masen?” He asked in my ear. 

“Uh...” I drew out, clearing my throat as I pulled away from him. He suddenly remembered himself and chuckled as he backed up, too. 

“Right. We’ll talk later. Why don’t you come by the office after and you can have dinner with Ally and me? We’re doing Mexican. My treat.”

“That sounds nice, but I don’t know. I’ll come by and let you know. What floor are you on?” I inquired, my eyes locked with Mr. Masen’s. He was talking to the group of men that lingered around him. Only two of them had headed to the elevator to get back to work. Though he was speaking with them, he was peering at me. 

“I’m on the fourth floor. They’ll point you in the right direction, won’t you, Angie?” He called to the pretty secretary. 

She beamed at him happily and nodded her head. “I’ll walk her down there personally.”

“Good woman,” he chuckled, patting the desktop. “I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you later, sweetie,” Jasper drawled in his thick southern accent. It was hard not to smile at it. 

“Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have some personal business that I need to attend to,” Edward said when he saw Jasper go towards the elevator. He patted someone on the shoulder, an older man with this brown curly hair. “I’ll see you later.”

He waited until all the men went into the elevator before he spoke again, slipping his hands into his pants pocket. “Ms. Swan, it’s lovely to see you again.”

“I wanted to return your umbrella,” I mumbled, pulling it out of my back pocket. 

“Is that all you wished to do? There wasn’t anything else you wanted to discuss?” He raised an eyebrow at me, a tiny crooked smile on his face. I flushed and glanced over at Angela, who was watching the whole exchange from her desk with curiosity. 

Honestly, I would have been too if I were in her position.

Clearing his throat, he pursed his lips. “Right. Why don’t we go into my office to talk? Angela, hold my calls. I don’t want to be bothered for the rest of the day. If it’s Dad, tell him I’m busy, and I’ll call him back tonight.”

“Yes, sir. Can I get you anything?”

“Ms. Swan?” He questioned. I shook my head. Mr. Masen shrugged and made a sweeping gesture towards his office. “After you.”

Walking in, I took each step purposefully. So I didn’t trip, fall, and die of embarrassment. He shut the door behind us, locking it. It made me nervous. I swallowed back the bile in my throat, suddenly very glad that I had eaten nothing. Though, it probably didn’t help with the lightheaded part. 

“Can I say that I’m honestly stunned to see you again? Pleasantly, of course,” he began from behind me. “So, are you here to tell me to go to hell, or are you just here to return my umbrella?”

“Well, I’m not going to tell you to go to hell,” I told him truthfully. “That thought, surprisingly, hadn’t even crossed my mind.”

“That is shocking,” he chuckled as he leaned against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. “So.” He smiled more. “Are you going to leave me hanging? Am I going to get an answer?”

“You were serious about this?” I asked, once again, just to be sure. 

“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “I was.”

“And you’d respect me?”

“Completely.”

“How?” I pushed. “How is that even possible?”

“Because I already respect you. This- this thing... it would be more for companionship than anything else. I need that. You need a job. It seems like a good match. I would never, ever, do anything you weren’t comfortable with. If you don’t wish to do something, just tell me. I’m a big boy, and I can handle that. If you don’t want to do this at all, I can handle that, too...” He trailed off. “But I’d like to have your answer, if that’s alright with you.”

I looked down, biting my lip as I thought. Or, at least tried to. That was easier said than done. After a moment, I just sighed and closed my eyes. “Yes. I’m going to hell, but yeah. I’ll take it.”

“Gee, don’t sound so excited about it,” he murmured dryly, his lips pulled down into a frown. I couldn’t help but laugh. As I did, his smile returned. “So, I guess we have some things to discuss.”

“I suppose so,” I replied, taking a few steps forward. “Today? Or...” I trailed off, letting it hang in the air. 

“I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else until we did, so today. Unless you have somewhere you need to be,” Mr. Masen mumbled, going to his desk in a hurry and retrieving a few sheets of paper. 

“No, right now is fine, sir,” I stated as I sat down on the edge of one of his chairs. 

He was half bent over his desk when he raised his eyes to meet mine. His already blushed cheeks were slightly redder, as was the tip of his nose and ears. “Hm.” He swallowed. “As sexy as it is for you to call me ‘sir,’ you can call me Edward.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been taught to be respectful. Ma’am and sir just kind of slip out,” I explained in a rush. 

“There is no need to apologize.” He looked back at the paper, signing it quickly with some flourish. “As I said, I find it rather hot, but I’m uncertain if it’s exactly appropriate.”

“I’m pretty sure this whole thing isn’t,” I snorted. 

He grinned at me, almost wickedly, before clearing his throat. “So, first off, I’ll need you to sign this confidentiality agreement. It states that you will not speak about what goes on between you and me and the company publicly. It also says that I won’t share any information about you without your permission. Please read it over and sign it.”

I glanced over the sheet and picked up a pen from his desk. It only took me a moment to realize that it was my own, along with my legal pad I left the day before. I had completely forgotten about them. I scratched my name across the dotted line and handed it back to him. 

He took off his jacket and then pulled his tie loose before pressing a button on his phone. “Ang, please cancel anything else that I have going on. I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

“Yes, sir.” Static filled the room. “Your father called.”

“Thank you. I’ll call him later. If you’d like, after you’re done, you can take the rest of the day off, too,” he informed the speaker box. 

“What about Ms. Swan? I told Mr. Whitlock that I’d take her to his office,” the machine spoke back in a feminine voice. 

Smirking a little at her worrisome tone, he glanced at me. “I’ll make sure she gets to where she needs to go. Don’t worry.” She seemed like a nice person. I had a feeling I would get to know her a lot better in the next few months.  

“Yes, sir. Have a good night.”

“You, too,” he called before turning his attention to me once again. 

“I suppose we have quite a few details to iron out, don’t we?” 

I ran my tongue over my teeth thoughtfully, one of my many bad habits. I swallowed and nodded, giving him a small smile. “I hope that you know what you’re doing because I don’t.”

He gave me a slightly anxious grin but shrugged in response. “I’m pretty good at faking it.”

“I’m not,” I told him truthfully without thinking about what else it could mean. 

“Well,” he laughed, “that’s good information for later.”

“Oh, my god!” I giggled in embarrassment as I covered my face with my hands. “That’s totally not what I meant at all. Oh, my... how awful,” I muttered. 

“I’m sorry,” he continued to laugh. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that. Truly, I apologize. I’ll behave from now on.”

“I doubt that,” I smirked. “And Jasper said you were a serious person.”

“I normally am.” He shrugged again, looking thoughtfully down at his desk for a long moment. “I may just be giddy. I honestly never expected you to say yes.”

“You don’t seem like the type to be giddy.”

“I’m not,” Edward chuckled before clearing his throat. “So, let’s get down to business, shall we? We need this to work for both of us, but I have a few things that I’m firm on.”

“I bet you have,” I mumbled under my breath. His cheeks went red hot. We held each other’s gaze for a long time until I tilted my head slightly. “Payback.”

“It’s a bitch, apparently,” he sighed as he rolled his eyes at himself. “Um, so… Let’s discuss the specifics. This is important. I would like to have you with me in the evenings, Wednesday through Friday. And all day Saturday and Sunday unless we arrange otherwise. I figured Monday and Tuesday is my busiest time, and that could be your days off unless I have an event that I will need you to attend with me. But I will give you plenty of warning. I expect the same from you if you need a different day off.”

“When would you like me around? I mean, what time?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. “I would like you to be at my home around three, to make sure that my personal matters are taken care of. I’ll provide you a list of groceries that I like to keep in my house at all times. I also want you to make sure that my maid and gardener are doing their jobs as well as possible. Plus, I’d like you to take care of things like dry cleaning. I can provide you with a driver while you’re working to help you with your errands. Then, when I get home, I’d like us to have dinner together. You’ll be in charge of arranging reservations when needed. Sometimes we’ll go out. Concerts, clubs, movies, and things of that nature. You’ll also arrange that, but I would prefer to discuss our plans each night before you do so.”

“Yes, si-” I began but stopped myself from saying, ‘sir.’ We didn’t need to start that conversation all over again. “Of course, Edward.”

“Very good,” he said as he scribbled a few things on a blank piece of paper. He tapped his pen on the desk before throwing open one of his drawers. “I’ll expect you to dress well at all times when you’re with me and to keep up your appearance. I don’t think that will be a problem.” He glanced up at me as he passed me a black credit card with his name on it. “I’ll get you your own in the next couple of days. Whenever you’re working, or if it’s anything for your time with me, you will put it on this. Clothing, makeup, salon, food. Whatever you require.”

“What limit is there?” I asked just to check. I was uncomfortable with using it, but that was something I needed to know. 

“There isn’t one.” I didn’t even know that was possible. I nodded my head and swallowed hard as I slipped it into my pocket. 

“I would like it if you took tomorrow to go shopping and visit a spa. Get yourself some new clothes and some pampering. I would like you to start on Friday if that’s acceptable to you.”

“It is,” I responded quietly.

Biting his lip for a moment, he considered his words carefully. “I want you to know that I won’t jump you as soon as I walk in the door,” he answered my anxious thoughts. “You’re not the only one that has to get used to the idea. And, as stupid as it sounds, I’m not that kind of man. I want us to be comfortable with each other before we move to the next level.”

“Oh, okay,” I remarked, feeling a bit better. For some reason, I believed him. I really didn’t have a reason not to. He seemed to have been honest thus far, and if this was going to work, I needed to trust him at least a little. 

He put down his pen and leaned forward in his chair as he lowered his voice, “Bella, I can’t tell you how very pleased I am that you’re here right now. How happy it makes me that you said yes. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since I saw you on Monday, telling off Lauren.” He smirked a little before his eyes rose innocently to mine. “I want to let you know that I won’t abuse this thing we’ve started.”

My cheeks heated, and I suddenly wished that my hair was down so that I could hide behind it. “Thank you for that.”

“I’ll have a driver pick you up from your home around four on Friday. I’d like you to select a restaurant and an activity for us to do together. Whatever you want to eat and do, it doesn’t matter. I just want us to get to know each other better.”

“Any food that you don’t like?” I asked, wondering if that was some information I needed to write down. Maybe I should take notes or something.

“I’ll eat anything.” He smiled. After a moment, he stood from his desk. “So, that leaves us with your pay.”

My eyes got wider. I almost forgot about that part. “Oh...”

“Checks weekly. Direct deposit if you wish. Paydays here are on Wednesday if that’s acceptable to you. Your official job description will be ‘personal secretary.’ You’ll get your first, not this week, but the one after that. If you need anything for yourself until then, please use that card. It’s my personal account,” he spoke as he looked out at the river again. It was a beautiful October day, the sky a lovely light blue with a few puffy white clouds. There were a few condensation trails over in the direction of the air force base, but the planes weren’t in sight. 

“That is very kind of you, but I’ll be able to make due until then.”

“As I said, I’d like you to take tomorrow to get some new clothes. You’re already beautiful, but I expect a certain image to be maintained. Get yourself a bit of everything. Casual, business-like dresses. It would be wise to have some cocktail dresses on hand with the holidays coming up, too.”

“Do you go to a lot of parties?”

He shrugged a little. “There is always some event going on. Between the business and my charity work. Ah, that reminds me of something. Do you have a passport?”

“Yes,” I answered. My mother remarried a couple of years before in Mexico, and I had to get it. 

“I may need you to travel. I will pay all of your expenses, and I’ll give you ample warning. Will this be a problem for you?”

I quickly shook my head. “I don’t see it being.”

“Good, good. I think that’s all for now. I’ll try to have everything that you will need by next week. You’ll have to fill in some forms for your insurance and such. I want to get all of that arranged as soon as possible. And I’d like you to get a checkup.”

Slightly offended, I frowned. “I assure you that I’m STD free.”

“I have no doubt that you are, but there is the matter of birth control. Though that won’t be an issue for a little while, it’s something we both need to think about if this moves forward. I’m not interested in just humping you without getting to know you first, but I will keep protection on me at all times when we are together. But I think that’s something both of us want to avoid... an unplanned pregnancy, I mean.”

“Oh...” I breathed out, biting my lip. That hadn’t crossed my mind. He was right, though. I could see why he was the boss. He had thought of things I hadn’t. 

He turned away from the window and tugged off his tie. Edward threw it onto his desk before running his fingers through his hair. “I have one more thing. It’s more of a request than a demand.”

“What’s that?”

“That you abstain from seeing others romantically while we have this arrangement. I can promise that I won’t, either. I mean, if there is anyone you have feelings for, I won’t stop you but-”

“Yeah, don’t worry. That won’t be a problem,” I laughed bitterly. “I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time.”

“Neither have I,” he replied. “I think that’s it for now. I have your address. Four o’clock on Friday?”

Being dismissed, I stood from my chair and put my pen in my pocket. “I’ll see you then.”

“Do you need me to escort you to Jasper’s office?” He inquired as he followed me to the door. “I don’t mind.”

“No. I think I can manage. Fourth floor.”

“Okay.” He almost seemed disappointed, but I wasn’t sure if that was my imagination or not. “I’ll see you then.”

Coming around the desk, Edward placed his hand on my side and leaned in for a small peck on the cheek. It was almost something you would give your sister or aunt. It was very chaste. 

“Goodbye,” I whispered as I slipped away to the door.

“Goodbye, Bella,” he said in a purr. I could feel his eyes on me as I hurried out to the lobby.

I was thankful Angela was nowhere to be seen. When the door shut behind me, I leaned against it and let out a huffing breath. It felt like the air had left my body, and all the blood went rushing through my ears. 

“Oh, wow,” I breathed quietly as I put my hands on my face. “Wow, wow, wow...”

My stomach growled and twisted, reminding me I needed to get something to eat. This also made me remember that I needed to get down to Jasper’s office. I glanced at my watch, the numbers almost pointing to the five and twelve. I was sure that he would shove off for the day soon and that he probably already told Alice I was joining them for dinner. So, I needed to hurry. 

I pushed off the door and made my way toward the elevator. They dinged open almost instantly, and I took the steps forward to go inside. Attempting to keep my fingers from shaking, I pressed the number four. Just as they began to shut, I watched the massive wooden doors of Mr. Masen’s office push open a bit. Edward peeked out at me, his cheeks were slightly flushed. When he saw me there, he gave me a charming and genuine grin. 

I couldn’t help but return it. Suddenly the knots in my stomach were gone, and my heart pumped at a slightly slower speed. But just a little. 

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading this chapter!

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