"How people treat you is their karma, how you react is yours."- Anonymous

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and follows after the last chapter! I love hearing from you all :)

Chapter 8: Defensive Maneuvers

BPOV

Throughout undergrad and even in my master's degree program, I had seen literature as the deepest form of expression. The diction the writers chose engrossed my mind and made me feel entwined in the unfolding journey. The characters became real people whose decisions both enlightened and at times confused me.

Needless to say, after reading through the entire Forks, Washington library system by the time I was ten years old, I was expecting more out of life then the dull and mundane events that seemed to follow me. I felt experiences should be more life changing, obstacles more challenging, and love more all-consuming and natural.

Unfortunately, life never inspired those emotions for me and by college I had given up on the entire notion and retreated into the world of English. Whether it be poems, short stories, or novels, there was nowhere in a book I couldn't hide from the painful and obsolete existence I seemed to lead. The only job that held any interest or led to any future aspiration happened to be the epitome of an avid reader. It was my dream to become a professor at some university where I could share my passion with other students. Kindred spirits, who felt the same why about literature that I had when I was growing up. Other jobs were downright depressing to think of and oppressive to my creative mind.

That isn't to say, I had not worked every day after the state of Washington declared me old enough to hold a job. I knew in time that being the only daughter of a civil servant would favor my financial aid claim for education, but I was still in dire need of the bare necessities. Which in my case included grocery shopping and buying a car of my own; I had opted to walk instead of ride in the police cruiser. Charlie's idea of a balanced diet was fish fry seven days a week. If I didn't want to be overloaded in the omega three category it was up to me to be the cook of the household.

I worked in all types of places and did many different jobs. I was a sporting goods assistant, waitress, and even a barista. Until I realized that only certain jobs could condone my clumsy nature. After tripping over too many balls, spilling food on people's heads, and giving myself third degree burns, I had finally landed a job that was perfect for my skill set. Getting paid seven dollars an hour to work at the public library was like getting paid to read… it was heaven.

That was the last job I actually enjoyed, until now. Due to a life of one utter disappointment after another I was more surprised than anyone that the complex world of public relations awed and thrilled me. Publicity was like the drama filled medium of books that I had desperately sought after my entire life. The way we took someone's intricate life or company and drew upon a distinct plot line. It was intriguing to work behind the scenes, even if it was pushing paperwork through the system or sitting in the occasional meeting with Emmett. It was still the most excited I had ever been outside a college classroom.

Instead of the work day droning on with no end in sight, they were always filled with some new issue to conquer and time had flown by. I had been working for Cullen Investments for nearly two months now and for the first time I didn't mind having my nose outside of a dusty old textbook.

CI wasn't an ordinary investment firm with brokers and accountant- well at least not on this floor. It had an entirely autonomous PR department headed by Emmett Cullen, the eldest son of wall-street mogul Carslie Cullen. The PR department had clients ranging from multi-national corporations needing a generational face-lift to politicians seeking a mud-racking free election.

During the last months, it was nearly impossible to avoid the gossip and history lesson behind CI. Emmett had been given the position of VP of Public Relations when he had graduated from Dartmouth with an MBA. Except when he first took over the position, the job description only included drafting press releases for market changes or informing a client of an investment made on their broker's behalf. Emmett liked to say it was the only place his father knew a wild, twenty-two year old, couldn't set fire to his precious company. Now six years later the department was flourishing under his leadership and his accounts payable was astronomical. I had heard through the water cooler gossip that Emmett had never even been considered for the executive office. That role had always been reserved for the prodigal son when Mr. Cullen Sr. retired four years ago. Talk about child favoritism.

Edward was apparently groomed for a young age to become an investment genius. Graduating high school when he was sixteen he went on to get dual master's degrees in Finance and Accountancy at Dartmouth. He graduated Summa Cum Laude by the age twenty-one. It was impossible not to be slightly impressed.

Edwards's immediate ascension into the office of the CEO caused quite a stir at CI four years ago. The company's board of directors wasn't too pleased about Carslie's choice of successor. They were distrustful of a twenty- one year old taking the reins of a multi-million dollar company. However, Cullen Sr. owned fifty-one percent of the Cullen Investment's IPO, so his decision was irrefutable. It was quite a story and explained Edward's cold demeanor (to some extent) and the powerful presence he exerted in the business world at such a young age.

Thankfully these last couple months had passed without incident. I had not seen Edward since running out of his office after the Lauren fiasco. Speaking of Lauren I had not seen her or heard any mention of her in office dialogue since that day. Not to mention all my CEO correspondence had been with Angela Weber his other assistant.

There was still a slight twinge in my chest when I realized I wasn't even worth an explanation or apology to him. I was just come assistant he fucked, past tense only. But overall, I'm glad my horrible beginning at CI hadn't influenced my ability to do my job.

Being Edward's brother's assistant and him being the active CEO, I was always hearing about him or transferring him- or rather his assistant- to Emmett. Fortunately, the sick feeling that erupted in my stomach at every mention of his name had faded and our brief sexual encounter was all but forgotten. Except I still vividly remember the intensity of his emerald colored eyes and the feeling of his rough hands roaming my skin. There was only so much you could ask a girl to forget! But those thoughts were saved for when I was alone.

"Bella," the intercom chimed "come into my office. There is someone here I want you to meet." That was odd. Normally Emmett would barbarically yell out his office door when he needed something. Also, who was in his office? He didn't have any appointments on the books and I was operating on the assumption that he had been working alone behind closed door since I got back from my lunch break.

I knocked fluidly on the door frame and was told to come in. The first thing I noticed, granted he was hard to miss, was a massive bronze-skinned giant in the corner of the room. His jet black hair was tied back in a ponytail away from his face and his eyes were a startling grey color. He was the classic depiction of Native American heritage, only he was dressed in an expensive, deep navy suit.

"Bella, I wanted to introduce you to Jacob Black, the campaign manager for Congressman Hunter's election committee. You have probably heard of Hunter Industries they are one of CI's largest subsidiaries." I held out my hand to the giant and hoped he wouldn't crush my feeble hand.

Mr. Black just laughed and his face lit up with a boyish grin from ear to ear. Correction- cuddly giant.

"It's great to meet you Bella! Emmett hasn't stopped talking about you, I feel like I already know you." He chuckled.

"It's all in exaggeration I'm sure. It's nice to finally put a face to the initials JB? I was starting to think Emmett's weekly lunch meetings with JB meant he was sneaking down to the Jack in the Box around the corner." I laughed and Emmett starting cracking up.

"So that's why you were always groaning and saying you were hungry before those meetings, you wanted curly fries!" Emmett started in a fit of laughter. The blush spread across my cheeks and I felt embarrassed in front of Mr. Black. This was Emmett's and my relationship, we were quirky and he treated me like I was his little sister. However, it didn't seem quite appropriate in front of a client until Mr. Black joined in on the laughter.

Once the commotion died down. Emmett went back into work mode.

"Bella, I wanted you to get familiar with Jacob because you will be working closely with him for the next few months before the congressional primaries. You will be my eyes and ears in a lot of the Hunter campaign meetings that I can't be a part of." I was a bit shocked at his faith in me, after all weren't there at least twenty interns vying for this kind of opportunity in the field? He continued. "You have great insight Bells and I think you will be a valuable asset to have on this account."

"If you're sure…" I looked at Emmett and glanced in the direction of Mr. Black. I got big smiles from both of them. "Well then, I would absolutely love the opportunity." Mr. Black spoke next and gave me certain meeting times and places I was expected to be. Most of them were during the workday and it would become part of my job description to be available for all campaign functions. This now included the annual Hunter Industries Gala at the Seattle Center for the Arts in a few weeks' time. I had to make a note to ask Alice to help me find an affordable dress for the event.

As the meeting was wrapping up, we all stood and I shook hands again with the gentle giant. Mr. Black was a really nice guy. His personality was a lot like Emmett's and I could tell we would get along just fine. Mr. Black opened the door out of Emmett's office for me.

"It was great to meet you Mr. Black. I'm glad I don't have to organize a fast food intervention for my boss anytime soon. I said in gratitude.

"No need to be so formal, Bella. You can call me Jacob from now on. We are going to be working rather closely over the next few months."

"I'm looking forward to working with you on the campaign! So I will see you tomorrow evening at the Olympic." I nodded in his direction and began to turn towards my desk. It was then that I froze mid stride and Jacob all but knocked me over.

Edward was standing behind my desk, staring intently down at something with a pensive gaze plaguing his features. He looked up when Emmett loudly stumbled out of his office behind us .

"Bells, would you file these to accounts payable?" Emmett said as he handed me a pile of recent receipts. I must have looked like I'd seen a ghost, but I shook my head and tried to gain some strength behind my voice. Emmett turned back to his office and didn't even glance in Edward's direction. When I looked back towards my desk, Edward had retreated from behind my chair and was now standing near the wall leading into the corner wing. His face was a blank mask and his eyes gave away nothing. He was wearing a black Armani suit with a black button down. The black was accented by a chocolate brown tie in a loose double Windsor knot. The suit fit his muscular chest and defined arms perfectly- he commanded attention even if I was the only one in the room.

Jacob didn't seem to notice any difference in my demeanor and he continued his path out of Emmett's office. I tried desperately to focus on my walk, not wanting to trip and fall flat on my face in front of anyone.

"See you tomorrow night, Bella!" Jacob said enthusiastically and gave a slight wave. That was when he noticed Edward and he gave a small, stiff nod and continued to walk away. Edward's features seemed to harden in that moment. I took a deep breath and walked towards my desk and sidestepped Edward to gain entrance to my chair.

"Was there something you needed, Mr. Cullen?" He shifted uncomfortably knowing I had seen him before he jumped away. I found a hard edge to my voice. Just because he was the CEO didn't mean he didn't have to respect my personal space. Okay, that was a bit ironic. Since I had no trouble with him entering and taking control of my "personal space" ten minutes after setting my eyes on him. But the precedent was still there.

"Nothing that I haven't had before." he mumbled sardonically under his breath and looked up at me in contempt. What the hell was his problem now! I hadn't seen the man in months, but the last time we had spoken he had at least tried to be civil. I desperately wanted to slap him across the face and call him a bastard. Then I reminded myself he wasn't just some guy I had slept with, he was the head of CI.

"Sorry Mr. Cullen I didn't quite catch that." I smiled sweetly, biting my tongue for the moment. He seemed to relax his rigid posture and compose his smile into a friendly smirk. Yet, his eyes still held some hidden emotion.

"I just wanted to check Emmett's schedule for this afternoon." He said in a business oriented tone. "But I can see Hunter is monopolizing his time once again."

"Well you'll be happy to know he will be monopolizing my time starting tomorrow." In an attempt to save Emmett some ill will I had ended up incriminating myself and making myself sound even more fickle. It wasn't until the glare spread across his face that I realized that wasn't my only mistake

"Well I knew you could be flexible with the assets you possess.I'm sure you are a valuable tool when things get hard and need some experienced handling." Edward practically growled and I heard the double meaning to his words. I was momentarily taken back by his harsh attitude but I quickly recovered my slacken jaw and stood up to face him.

"Oh Mr. Cullen. I know how you like your company's assistants to be extremely professional and cater to your every need. Not to mention the importance of being open to you at all hours and willing to go the extra mile. I supremely hope your new assistant is versed at getting you from start to finish on every project, however small, that is in need of special attention." I said smugly knowing he wasn't expecting me to use his double meaning diction back on him. He wasn't playing fair and neither was I. We were now standing less than a foot apart, both leaning in. Brown to green, our eyes locked and I couldn't look away. The emerald in his eyes was practically smoldering. His eyes seemed to soften slightly in the moment and his lips twitched as if he was about to speak. That was until Emmett chose that minute to interrupt and walk out of his office.

"Hey Ed, I was just coming to see you." He said casually as if he didn't notice the precarious stance that Edward and I were occupying. I stepped back relived at the interruption. The tension was getting to be too much. I needed to gain some clarity. He was my boss! And I had once again accused him of being a selfish, man whore. I seriously wonder why he didn't fire me right on the spot for being so outspoken.

Edward quickly stood straight, pasted a smile onto his brooding mask of indifference, and began to walk toward Emmett's office without a second look in my direction. I stumbled back into my chair staring at his retreating form, completely baffled at what had just transpired.

"Isabella, always a pleasure." Edward called over his shoulder and closed the office door behind him. Two months without seeing him and in less than two minutes he had challenged my integrity, insulted me, and seriously tested my patience.

In those tension filled moments, Edward was about ten seconds away from either a bitch slap across the face or a knee to the groin. Luckily Emmett intervened… because even in those flashes where I was wavering between forms of physical violence- there was still a side of my consciousness that was rather fond of both of those particular areas of his anatomy.

Some people get defensive to divert the attention away from their true feelings...(cough) Edward.

Thank you all for Reading & Reviewing (if you have time)!