Summary: When Edward visits Bella while she's working at Newton Outfitters things don't exactly go to plan.

I do not own 'Twilight', the characters or anything. This is just for fun and for entertainment purposes.

BPOV

I forgot how boring it was to work at Newton's Outfitters. Although I appreciated how lucky I was to even find a job in such a small town like Forks, I couldn't help but wish there was more variety. I had considered quitting several times before, and as today was especially mind-numbingly boring, I went back to that way of thinking.

Edward wanted me to quit.

He couldn't understand why I even needed this job - or any job for that matter. He'd told me many times before that he'd gladly buy me whatever I wanted, that he'd take care of any monetary issues that may arise in my future. And of course there was no way I was going to accept that.

He had only visited me at work once before, and that seemed innocent enough as he arrived with Alice on his toes (as she was not one to ever turn a shopping trip down - even when only shopping for tents) and had brought half the store for their upcoming camping trip.

So I was extremely surprised when I saw Edward's glorious face walk in. At first I thought that my absolute boredom had led me to begin to hallucinate, but he approached me and tapped his fingers casually against the glass top counter.

"Hello there miss, I'm looking for some new hiking boots, and possibly a new waterproof jacket."

"Edward, what are you doing here?" I whispered urgently, scanning around the small store, panicking as I saw Mrs. Newton staring at the two of us, her price gun in her hands.

"Why, I'm just here to shop. Why do you think I'm here?" He winked at me and leaned closer.

"Edward! You're going to get me fired!"

"No, I'm not. I'm here to shop. Now, lead me in the right direction or I'll have to ask for your manager," Edward said slyly, grinning.

"God. Fine, ugh…Aisle six for the boots. The jackets are on the racks over there," I gestured lazily as I trailed off.

"Thank you."

I glanced at him every few minutes from the corner of my eye, wondering why he was taking so long to ponder over the small selection of jackets.

"Bella, would you go put these back in the storeroom for me?" Mrs. Newton asked.

"Sure," I muttered, distracted as I picked up the small cardboard box full of rolls of price stickers.

As I headed into the tiny room at the back of the store, Edward approached me again.

He took the box from me, and smoothly slid past me to put the box away.

"Edward, go back to shopping or go home. Please?"

I began to realise just how important having this job was. I didn't have to rely on Charlie - or Edward - whenever I needed anything. Having extra cash to throw around also came in handy for buying new clothes; something I hadn't really cared about until I met Edward.

"Calm down," he said, stroking my hair. "No one's even watching."

He placed a kiss on my neck and stepped back.

I headed back to the checkout when Mrs. Newton stopped me again. Could you go and clean up around aisle two, some kids must've been playing around over there, all of the tent gear is all over the floor." She sighed heavily and shook her head muttering to herself.

She was right. The aisle was a total mess. Sighing I bent down to retrieve a strewn tent pole when Edward's cold hand beat me to it. He swiftly - but at a still human pace - cleaned the aisle with ease. I stood, glaring at him in shock while he did my job for me.

Why did he have to be good at everything.

"That should do it," he smiled.

I turned around when I heard a small squeak from behind me. Mrs. Newton blinked and smiled, a little too warmly at Edward.

"Wow. We could really use a young man like you around here." She walked back away, smiling to herself.

"Um," Edward muttered, running his fingers through his hair suddenly looking embarrassed and a little ashamed. "I should go now. I'll pick you up at two."

He paused briefly and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"What..?" I asked, watching as he deftly moved back through the store and out the sliding doors.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly, and I found myself hanging up my horrible florescent vest sooner than I would have thought. I guess pondering over Edward's sudden change in mood made the time pass faster than it normally would.

"Oh, Bella?" Mrs. Newton called, stopping me in my tracks as I gathered my things.

"Yes?"

"Uh, I don't quite know how to say this…," she paused, looking uncomfortable and shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"You see, the thing is, is that, we don't really, um…," she cleared her throat and looked back at me sadly.

"We're making slight cutbacks, you know, because it's getting quieter here and Mike's taking up a few more shifts…," she trailed off suggestively.

"Are you firing me?" I asked quietly.

"I prefer the term 'letting you go'," she explained solemnly. "Uh, you see, you were a good little worker, but we just don't need as many workers now. I'm sorry Bella."

I just nodded politely, quietly thanked her and slid my coat on before walking outside.

Of course Edward's Volvo was parked in the closest available spot, and as I began to walk closer to his car, I realized it was drizzling. Again.

I sighed and slid into the passenger seat.

"I assume that you heard," I said simply, not looking at him, a little too embarrassed to make eye contact.

"Yes."

"And that's why you left suddenly."

"Yes."

"There's still one thing that's confusing me. Why did she say 'we could use a young man like you', when she told me they were making cutbacks."

Edward sighed and looked at me in the eyes.

"She…thought that if she fired you, then she could hire me instead…," he paused, watching the fury cross over my features.

"What? She just lied to me - right there?" I pointed a sharp finger at the store.

"Yes."

"Ugh!" I muttered, crossing my arms across my chest.

"I'm sorry Bella, perhaps visiting you was a bad idea. I should have listened to you."

"It's not your fault," I muttered again, still sulking.

It was silent for a while as Edward drove, leaving me to think in silence. When he pulled up outside Charlie's house I turned to him.

"And are you going to take it? The job, when she offers it to you?"

He laughed.

"Of course not," he said.

I smiled at him softly. Of course he wouldn't. He would never do that to me.

"They could never afford me."

I sighed.

Thoughts? (: