~A/N Whoa! What is happening here? I'm in a slump and when I wrote a lot of fanfic, I was never in a writing slump, so here goes. Back to my roots. This story was important to me at one time, so important, I wanted to make it an original novel and that's why I took it down. But I have 12 novels going right now, so I need to flesh this out on here. It's mainly the same story you should remember except I've grown as a writer over the years and I'm only updating when I consider chapters are better than they once were. Also, there was a super fan for this fic. I hope she's still around and sees that I'm reposting this story again. ;)

For anyone that doesn't remember this one, Decadence is a darker fic. It contains certain trigger warnings: control, abuse, possible violence as well as mental and emotional conditions. Reminder: it's only fiction. If the things I mentioned make you uncomfortable, then this might not be the story for you.

Copyright disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Jacob Black stumbled into the perfect position. His luck was on the upswing as soon as he started working for Edward Cullen. He was doing what he loved and getting the recognition he finally deserved. He thought nothing could go wrong, and then she entered the picture. A delicate flower, so timid and sweet but painfully shy. She was in a terrible way, a victim of manipulation and possible abuse. Bella was all Jacob ever wanted but couldn't have. One serious obstacle existed; she was also Cullen's wife. [AH, Jacob/Bella]

Decadence

Chapter 1: Luckiest Day of My Life

The slow rise of the elevator pushed my anxiety through the roof. I was finally granted an interview for my dream position. All those years of school were possibly going to start paying off. I needed this gig in the worst way. I was up to my eyeballs in student loan debt, not to mention stacks of medical bills. I'd assumed all the financial responsibility to my father's growing medical debt. He had been on the decline and his disability checks would never cover his everyday expenses on top of his medications and treatments.

The Cullen Institute of Research and Pharmaceuticals was making strides like no other medical research corporation in the US. It was tough as hell to get a foot in the door. The only way I succeeded was because I met a relative to the CEO during my internship with a smaller company. Alice was a cool chick. We were both out with separate groups of friends one Saturday night that was frequented by students in the medical and tech fields. I bought her a drink, not because I was trying for anything else; I genuinely liked her, and she'd kicked my ass at pool. I rarely lost, especially not to a chick. She was smart, funny, and energetic. As soon as I mentioned the degree I'd recently completed, we hit it off even more. Alice was pre-med and unbeknownst to me; she was from a wealthy family that had strong ties to my field.

"Oh wow, my cousin Edward is definitely someone you should meet."

We got to talking even more. I knew exactly who she was talking about. I'd already tried and failed to get hired at CIR. They denied my internship months ago and I'm sure my newest application sat unnoticed in a pile of thousands of others. We exchanged phone numbers. Alice was a little tipsy and I never expected her to follow through. We were BS'ing at a bar but sure enough she landed me an opportunity to send in my resume complete with glowing personal recommendations, which eventually brought me to where I was today. I was in the elevator scheduled to interview with none other than the man himself, Edward "fucking" Cullen, CEO.

I reached the thirtieth floor, finally. I assumed Mr. Cullen preferred to be high and mighty while admiring his empire. Word was, after I asked around, that he was a real dick. If I got hired, I didn't care if he had the personality of a horse's ass. Most CEO's don't interact with the lab minions, anyway. It seemed a little out of the ordinary that he was the one set to interview me in person. I had done a few other interviews at big companies and they were usually with someone from HR or a junior VP.

A gorgeous redhead stopped me in the wide-open area, surrounded by glass and desks. "Mr. Black?"

"Yes."

She looked at her watch, obviously making sure I was on time. They probably had a checklist: on time, under-dressed, ill prepared or various other positive and negatives. I would pass all the easy stuff. I looked the part since my sisters chipped in for my power suit and a leather briefcase for my graduation. The personal assistant handed me a thick packet and advised me to have a seat while I familiarized myself with CIR. I'd done some of my own research, but she added Mr. Cullen only makes time for well-informed applicants.

Funny, I noticed straight away, he and I had something in common. We both started out pursuing medical degrees. He bowed out when his father retired, handing over the reins of his family's corporation. The company had been going in a different direction at that time. It was Edward that shifted things to focus solely on medical research.

I spent most of my childhood and teen years imagining myself as a doctor. I wanted to take care of people like my father, but then I realized I could only reach so many patients with hands on care. If I succeeded in stopping or slowing down the disease process, then I could touch thousands of lives, maybe more.

He made me wait and wait and then wait some more. I was ten minutes early, but he was an hour behind schedule, apparently. It was possibly a tactic, like icing the kicker in football, or maybe he was truly a pompous ass that thought the rest of the world owed him. Just give me the damn job, asshole. I could wait all day. I didn't care. If he gave me the chance, he wouldn't be sorry.

The redhead appeared like magic in front of me. I never saw her coming. "Mr. Black, you're welcome to go in now."

Mr. Cullen looked imposing. He was impeccably dressed not a hair out of place. Suddenly, my suit didn't seem so powerful. He stood up from his desk and we met in the middle to shake hands. First impression and a strong grip had me reconsidering my preconceived notions. Maybe he was a gentleman after all.

We got straight to it. I decided to withhold my judgment against Edward Cullen. He knew what he wanted and how to get it done. I pulled out a few of my latest projects along with my master's thesis. He perused the trials and results in a few of my biggest experiments. "You seem to focus on the neurological side. Is that the only area you have confidence or are you onto something?"

I was onto something, but I kept that to myself. No sense in showing all my cards at once. I said not at all, but I gave a little rundown on my father. It was a gamble bringing up my personal shit, but he appreciated it, said he was a family man as well. I saw the back of a silver frame on his desk, but only the black velvet on the back was visible. I wondered what his family might look like, but it wasn't time to ask.

He said he expected much more than treatments for spinal injuries and nerve degeneration. He was interested in innovations in Parkinson's, MS, ALS, etc. I assured him I was well versed in any ailment to do with the central nervous system.

He grilled me for well over an hour. I wasn't sure if he was impressed with me or hated my guts, but he made a call and the redhead came in seconds later with contracts. He expected me to have my lawyer go over the documents before I signed, but Mr. Cullen needed to know an answer by the end of the week.

"I'm sorry, you're a new grad. Maybe I made an assumption, but do you even have an attorney?" His words had a little taste of condescension, but I wasn't too offended.

I lied my ass off and said, "Sure, sure." More like kiss my ass. Of course, I don't have a damn lawyer, but I'll figure something out.

He gave me a parting handshake and we said our goodbyes. Ed was an enigma. I'm sure he never went by Ed in social circles and definitely not in his office, but in my mind, I'd call him that just to take him down a notch which kept him from being so damned intimidating. He shook his head and smiled with confidence, "I'm sure you'll make the right decision. I mean, CIR is the best pharmaceutical company out there and who wouldn't want to start at the top, Mr. Black?"

I was close to saying, "Hell yes." What did I have to consider? He was right. Dad didn't raise any idiots, but I continued to act cautious.

Mr. Cullen added, "I think we could work well together, get things accomplished, make a few millions. How's that sound?" He laughed like millions of dollars was hilarious. I knew he'd make the real profit, but damn if I could get fucking caught up with bills and life for once, that's all I wanted. I'd be batshit crazy if I didn't take the job. As soon as I got in the elevator, I looked closer at the contract. Holy shit! 85K. That was a lot more than I expected. There were mentions of bonuses as well. It was the total package: 401K, potential company shares, and insurance benefits. I wasn't sure about all the legal mumbo-jumbo. Hopefully, my pseudo-attorney could decipher it for me. I texted Embry to meet for a beer that evening.

Me: Meet me at Whiskey's Pub. I'm buying asshole.

Emb: Really, what's the catch?

Me: No catch, just wanna hang, bro.

Embry had a seat in the booth with me at our favorite hangout. "Why the booth? We usually sit at the bar so we can check out hotties." I didn't have time for that. I shoved the contract pages in front of him. "See... I knew it. You wanted something. That's the only reason you're buying."

I asked him to check out the offer to make sure it was on the up and up.

Embry studied the documents for a good ten minutes before giving his non-expert opinion. "Dude, sure you don't want real legal advice? I'm just a third-year law student."

"You're good enough, asshat. Do you honestly think I have money to pay some stranger his outrageous hourly rate?" Embry ordered the most expensive beer on tap and some chicken wings, extra hot. "Damn bro, I said drinks. You expect me to buy you food too?"

He waved the papers in my face. "Yeah, I do. You're getting off easy."

We had a good visit, talking about the good old days and friends back on the reservation. It seemed like Embry and I were the only ones to get out of there. The rest stayed close to home and did manual labor type things. I wasn't judging. I learned a few things about fixing cars growing up, and I would've done that if hadn't been for scholarships and loans. Embry was a brainiac and had a full scholarship for his undergrad work, but he was working his way through law school. Neither of us were strangers to hard work.

He was excellent at multitasking. So even though he seemed starved and extra thirsty, he figured out the contracts while we chatted.

No way would my best buddy give bad advice. "Seriously, this is a good opportunity, Jake. You could easily make six figures with the bonuses."

I agreed. "That's how it seemed to me too, so it's good, huh?"

"Yeah, actually great money-wise, but are you aware of this ownership clause?"

He went onto explain, since I wasn't sure what ownership meant. Apparently, when I walked through the doors and did my research, it all became property of CIR.

"What if it doesn't work out? You'd be forced to leave your ideas and start over. I know how important your research has been. You're borderline obsessed."

"Shit man, it's not like I won't do any and everything to make this job work. No one else is offering a salary anywhere close to this. I'll just suck it up and stay, no matter what. Cullen's where it's at. He didn't get to the top in a short amount of time by chance. What could possibly ever make me want to abandon this sweet deal?"

"You just need to be aware that when you sign, he forever has you by the balls."

"No one's coming close to my balls unless she's invited." I winked at the woman eyeballing us at the bar. She and I'd been playing a little game, but I wasn't going to speak to her tonight. I had too much on my mind for that, but maybe she'd be around another evening. I could use a good fuck. School and job hunting had kicked my ass in recent months. Embry snapped his fingers in my face. Oh, yeah, hookups later, life decisions now. The lingo on the contracts didn't worry me too much. "It's just business, all that ownership jargon. I'm sure it's like that at any other company. Nothing's going to rain on my parade. I'm signing." And so, I did. I signed and submitted everything back to the email Mr. Cullen gave me. It was a done deal and I'd never felt more confident about a decision in my entire life.

The last thing I did that night was send out a thanks to Alice. I told her I was in. She said Edward must have really been impressed. He wasn't easily sold on new people.

Alice: Congrats, Jacob.

Me: I'm so looking forward to this job.

Alice: It'll be great, I'm sure. Just remember, don't ever get on his bad side or intrude on his personal life and you'll succeed.

Intrude on his personal life? What the hell was she talking about? I had no plans to go anywhere near his personal life. He was going to be my boss. I didn't even ask about his wife. I saw the ring on his left hand and the picture frame was on his desk. That was the telltale sign of a married man. I couldn't help but consider her warning. I wonder what Edward Cullen's bad side looks like. Meh, who cares? I'm a likeable guy and a hard worker. We'll be great colleagues, maybe even friends. A whole new world awaits, and the best was sure to come.

~Thanks for reading.