Coming to Terms.pdf

Coming to Terms

By GinnyW 31

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4626503/1/

Chapter 1: One Night in Seattle

The waitress set my drink on the table in front of me and, without even bothering

to ask if I would like anything else, walked off to attend to another table. Typical.

Even at a Hilton I manage to get snubbed by the staff. Though, it’s true, I didn’t

look as if I fit with the ritzy business crowd; even if I was here on business, I just

didn’t look it anymore. I’d spent far too much time in meetings and boardrooms

today in an attempt to convince some of Seattle’s most infamous businesses that

they needed to update their software and computer security systems, and that

the Newton Corporation was the company that would do the best job for them.

Taking a long sip of my drink, I sat back in my chair and sighed. The meetings

had gone well, and for that I was grateful. I’d been working for the Newton

Corporation since I’d graduated from college and was now vice-president of sales

and customer relations for the brand new Pacific Northwest branch that was

expected to open in just over two months time. I just didn’t know which city I

would be calling home. Which meant that I was living out of a suitcase and

practically would be until the new office was open. At least after the office was

done, my traveling would go back down to the normal once or twice a month.

In the last two weeks I’d been to Eugene, Salem, Portland, Vancouver, Olympia,

Spokane, and finally Seattle. I was currently waffling between whether I wanted

to pitch Portland and Seattle as the site of the new office because of their size

and the quick, easy access to the airport. Ease of travel: always a necessity when

your business was sales.

I took another long sip of my drink and closed my eyes to shut out all of the

people around me. My feet were tired. My neck muscles ached. Perhaps I needed

to take a bath rather than consume alcohol. Not that I was ever a heavy drinker.

No, I only drank when I wanted an easy way to unwind after a day full of

meetings. Well, either alcohol or sex would serve that purpose, but seeing as I’d

not been with a member of the opposite sex in well over a year, and the only

man I knew who was available (and readily at that) was Mike Newton… well, let’s

just say that I wasn’t that drunk yet, nor was I likely to ever be.

I had been traveling with my business associate, Mike, for the last two weeks. He

was the technical guru; the one who would be in-charge of implementing the

promises that I was making. Not to mention that he was the company owner’s

son.

Mike was currently expressing his preference for Olympia being our new base for

Northwest operations. Although he claims that his preference for Olympia has

nothing to do with a certain blonde cocktail waitress who he saw, and exchanged

saliva with, last Tuesday night. But, the only advantage that Olympia offered was

a more central location between the current markets we were trying to break into

and if that were the singular deciding factor, Portland would seem the more

logical choice.

It didn’t matter, though. Not really. Each location was as bad as the other. Wet,

rainy, dreary, cold.

It was my own definition of hell.

Why I was even considering this job transfer to one of the rainiest sections of the

United States was beyond my grasp, but it meant loads for my career. A raise, a

promotion… neither of those things were something to scoff at. Especially since I

was still struggling to payoff the student loans I’d taken out to attend college. But

the souvenir t-shirt that I’d seen for sale at the Portland airport had made me

seriously begin to rethink my decision. The ugly yellow shirt had hung in the shop

window with the simple words: People In Oregon Don’t Tan… They Rust.

And I knew from experience that Washington was the same. I had spent most of

my life living with my mother in California and Arizona, but every summer I had

been forced to spend two weeks with my father in a small town in Washington

named Forks. Once I’d graduated and had been officially on my own, I’d spent

one final summer with Charlie and then had begun college in Arizona with its

glorious sunshine. By the time holidays and summers rolled around again, I cited

financial responsibilities and work as a reason why I could no longer visit that

rainy little town. The only time that I had ever gone back to Forks was two years

ago when Charlie had been shot while on the job. Once the hospital released him

and he’d returned home, I’d only stayed for a couple of days until he was settled.

I groaned and massaged my temples.

Alcohol always made me pensive.

“So, Bella, what say you and me open up those doors separating our rooms

tonight?” Mike asked as he plopped down in the chair next to mine.

“Uh, no. But thanks for the offer.” I didn’t even bother to look at him. He had

obviously had more drinks than I’d had. He’d gone beyond pensive to a point I

refused to drink to… horny.

“Come on, Bella, it would be fun.”

I looked up to find that Mike was now leaning on the table towards me. I rolled

my eyes. “I’d have more fun getting a bikini wax after I baked in the sun all day.”

“Ooh. Ouch.” He paused and flashed me a wicked grin. “But a lovely image.

Thanks for that.”

Then I kicked him.

“Fine, Bella, but you don’t know what you’re missing,” he said, standing from his

seat while slightly favoring his left leg that I’d just attacked. “I’ll try my luck over

there.” And with that, he headed towards the bar where a beautiful woman with

short, blonde hair had just sat down.

I watched, only marginally interested, as Mike put on his best performance for

the young woman. She smiled at him and said something that made Mike laugh

before turning her attention to the bartender. Whatever she’d said, I think that

Mike felt encouraged because he sat down on the stool next to her and continued

his attempts to flirt with her.

With marginal interest I watched the odd little mating dance that I’d seen my co-

worker perform on numerous occasions until I felt more than saw someone come

up to the table. Assuming it was the snobbish server from earlier, I didn’t even to

bother to glance her way as I shook my head. “No, I’m good, thanks.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Do you mind if I sit down?”

My head snapped up to see one of the most gorgeous men that I had ever laid

my eyes on. “Uh… um… sure?” It sounded like a question. I quickly glanced

around the room, my eyes noticing that there were several empty seats and

tables and I wondered why someone like him would want to sit with someone like

me.

He sat in the chair that Mike had vacated only a few minutes before, and smiled.

It was then that I got a good look at him. His face was nearly flawless, clear, with

a strong, angular jaw and a pair of the deepest green eyes that I’ve ever seen.

They were outright mesmerizing and I found myself getting lost in them before I

even had a chance to introduce myself. His hair was a reddish-bronze color, a bit

longer, messy, and seemed to be almost begging me to run my fingers through

it.

I was pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open as I continued to gawk. It

wasn’t until he began to chuckle softly that I was able to draw myself out of my

daze.

“Long day?” he asked.

“God, yes. Sorry.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts and held out my hand

to him. “I’m Bella.”

“Edward,” he replied, but instead of shaking my hand as I had expected, he

brought it up to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of my hand.

I had to stifle the gasp the built in my chest at the gesture. The instant that his

fingers touched my skin, I felt a jolt tingle across my skin. Not like an electric

shock, something deeper that raced directly to my soul. What in the hell is going

on?

“I really don’t normally do this, but I’ve been watching you since I came in here,

and there is just something about you that drew me over here.”

“Oh… uh… thanks?” Back to the questions again. Seriously, I didn’t know how to

respond to this guy, he sounded as if he’d just swallowed my latest Harlequin.

He chuckled again. “I sound stupid, don’t I?”

“Well…” At least I smiled at him when I shrugged, right?

“That’s what I thought. In my defense, I’ve been up for the last thirty-six hours,

and after this, I plan on going home and sleeping for the next two days.”

I ran my finger along the lip of my now empty glass, trying to think of something

witty I could say. Ever since he’d approached me, I had the feeling that my brain

was leaking out my ears. Really, all I wanted to do was ask him why he was

sitting here talking to me, and if he would please kiss me until I didn’t even know

my own name so that I would at least have something pleasant to dream about

tonight. Oh, and while he was at it, to let him know that he was more than

welcome to spend the next two days naked in my bed.

Instead, I settled for: “So, what is it that brought you here tonight?”

He nodded towards a table at the other end of the room that currently held four

people. The most notable was a blonde woman whose face belonged on the cover

of magazines, now she seemed like the type of woman that this man belonged

with. She sat between a large, muscular man with curly brown hair, and a much

smaller man with dirty blond hair who wore it in a long ponytail. The other person

sitting at the table had her back to me; all I could tell was that she was very

petite, with short, spiky, black hair.

“I’m here with my brother and his fiancée; they are getting married in a few

months, and tonight they were checking out the facilities here. Tasting food,

drinks, looking at the banquet hall. I finally had to get up and leave when the

hotel’s events planner and my sister began to argue about the benefits of flower

arrangements versus candles as table centerpieces.”

“And you came with them,” I deduced.

“Yes. With my sister, Alice. She’s the small one with the dark hair. Her boyfriend

couldn’t join her, and she said that she refused to come here for dinner without a

date.”

“So, you chose to abandon her when she began to argue with the wedding

planner.”

“Ah, you see, the event planner is merely the guy who works for the hotel. Alice

is acting as my brother’s wedding planner. And Alice is very… determined.”

“That sounds like another word for stubborn.”

“Determined, stubborn, obstinate, pushy… all the same thing,” he said with a

wink.

“Ah. I see.”

There was a pause before either of us said anything. “So, tell me about yourself,

Bella.”

“Um… what is it that you want to know?” I asked, more than a bit flustered that

the conversation was suddenly turned back towards me.

“Well, are you from Seattle? What is it that you do? What brings you to a hotel

bar on a Thursday night?”

“Let’s see… I’m in Seattle on business. No, I’m not from here, although my dad

lives in a tiny town on the Olympic Peninsula, so I am familiar with the area. And

it was my business trip that brought me to Seattle on this, dark and drizzly

evening.” I began to fidget with my fingers as I was speaking; I wanted to forget

about the stress of the day. “Look, I would rather not talk about work. It’s been a

long couple of weeks and I’d simply like to forget all about it.”

Edward nodded. “Okay. No talk about work.”

“Thank you.”

“What are your hobbies, then? Tell me, what does Bella like to do with her free

time?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I love to cook, although, lately, I haven’t had much time to do

that, because I’ve been traveling so much. And read. Books are my passion. I like

to write, too. I know that sounds silly. I’m not a writer, but I enjoy writing short

stories for my own amusement. I swear that it is some of the best therapy there

is.” The words that I’d just uttered had seemed to come unbidden, and I found

myself glancing at the melting ice from my cocktail, wondering if there had been

far more alcohol in that beverage than I had thought there was. No one knew

about my writing. No. One.

His grin broadened. “I don’t think that writing is silly. Everyone needs a creative

outlet. Even if it’s only for yourself.”

“Does that mean that you have a creative outlet, Edward?” I asked, suddenly

curious.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I like to compose music.”

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