A/N: I'm not sure if I like this story or not so tell me what you think. I realize not much happens in this chapter. He will meet Bella in the next one.

EPOV

I swung open the shower door, walking out onto the chilly tile floor toward the fogged mirror. I wrapped myself in a towel and headed into my bedroom to dress. As I fastened the final two buttons of my white shirt I heard someone yell my name. "Hey Edward, hurry up! We have that meeting in an hour!" It was the deep voice of my older brother, Emmett. I grabbed my cell phone and ran a hand through my hair, knowing that trying to comb it would just be a waste of time. I walked into my kitchen and saw Emmett standing with the refrigerator door wide open.
"Emmett, shut the door and let's go." I said as I rolled the long sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows. I heard the fridge door close and saw my brother holding a choclate pudding cup in his hand as he ransacked a drawer searching for a spoon. "The spoons are in the drawer to the right, idiot. Come on." I picked up my breifcase and keys and walked outside.

I arrived to work ten minutes before the meeting started. I walked quickly toward my office and greeted my secretary, "Good morning, Jessica. Do you have anything for me?" I looked up from the newspaper I held in my hands for her answer. Her eyes glazed over and she blushed a little, "Jessica?" She shook her head to clear her thoughts as a small giggle escaped from her. It was then that I realized my question could be and was interpreted in a way I had not intended.

"Uh, yes. The report from Matherson." She stood to hand me a portfolio, "You're to look over it and make sure everything is in order. If so, then I will schedule a meeting so you can discuss the final details with them"
"Thank you." I said and walked into my office, shutting the door behind me. I put the report and my newspaper on my desk and made sure I had everything I needed for the morning's meeting.

"Thank you, gentleman. We appreciate your time and will certainly consider your ideas," Jasper said as we all stood to shake hands with the two men from the company we were planning to take over, unbeknownst to them, of course.
After they had exited the conference room I heard Emmett chuckle and say, "Do they actually think we'd merge with their ridiculous corporation?" I smiled and saw Jasper turn to me. "I'll handle this, it should be fairly easy. They have practically already signed everything over. They should really look into finding some new attorneys, the ones they have now are obviously neglecting to read the fine print."

I nodded my agreement and he spoke again, "You know, Edward, you should take a couple days off. After all you've managed more than your fair share of work while I was gone." Jasper had recently returned from his honeymoon with my new sister-in-law, Alice.

"It's fine," I said though I knew I could use a little rest. I wasn't a workaholic but it seemed that way lately.

Emmett spoke up then, throwing an arm over my shoulder, "Go ahead, Edward. A few days away from this place couldn't hurt. You could call up that girl you went out with a couple of nights ago for some fun." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "She was pretty attractive."

I sighed, finally giving in, "Yeah. A week off actually sounds nice. I'll give you the Matherson report before I leave today so you guys can take care of it."

It was only 11 A.M. when I returned to my office, sinking into my desk chair. I rubbed my eyes. I was up last night going over some things for work that I had put off for my tryst with Leslie, the attractive girl Emmett had referred to earlier. I wasn't planning on calling her during my mini-vacation, I had already been out with her three times, and that seemed to be my limit. According to my mother, Esme, I had "committment issues." I laughed to myself. I don't think it's that I can't committ, just that I haven't found the right girl to committ to.
I picked up a section of the newspaper and skimmed the page. A trial had been postponed and an accused child-molester had been released on bail. I sighed, turning the page over to read under the fold, "Starbucks Unveils New Flavor" Of course the Seattle newspaper would have a headline about coffee gracing the front page. I chuckled and shook my head then looked to the left corner of the page. There I saw a blurb about a local bookstore and turned to page three to read about it more. It was a privately owned shop with a lot of character, fighting to stay in business. 'Hmm, maybe I'll head over there during my time off,' I thought.

At six o' clock I gathered my things and asked Jessica to make sure my brothers got the report and told her I'd be gone for the rest of the week.

"Should I inform you of any calls?" she asked, dissappointment at my impending absence coloring her tone.

"No, only if they are urgent and extremely important. I'm sure Jasper and Emmett are able to take care of any business calls."

She nodded before batting her eyes at me, "I certainly hope you enjoy your week, sir. You work so hard, you deserve a break. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, anything at all." I mumbled my thanks and walked out as quickly as appropriate office behavior allowed.

As I drove home I noticed that the sky was gray and mist was falling from the clouds above. 'Ah, Seattle in November. The weather couldn't be lovlier,' I thought sarcastically. I parked my car and walked up the dock toward my boat-house. When I got inside I kicked off my shoes and set them next to the door. Switching on the lights all the way to the kitchen, I reached for a glass and placed it under the faucet to fill with water. As I drank, I noticed a small red light flashing in the corner of my eye. I turned to my answering machine and pressed play, the pre-programmed voice told me that I had three unheard messages:

"Hey Edward, it's Leslie. I was just calling to see how you were. I had a really great time with you Saturday, I hope we can do it again soon. Can't wait to see you, call me. Bye." I rolled my eyes, the girl had giggled through the entire message. I pressed delete before the next one played.

"Hello honey, it's Mom. Emmett told me that you're taking some time off of work, that's great, you need it. Please come see us, Edward. Your father and I would love to have dinner with you, just us three. Well, call us back when you have a chance, darling. We love you, goodbye."

The last message began:
"Edward! It's Alice, how's it going? Since you have a few free days I thought that we could go shopping. You could use some new clothes, Edward. Don't deny it. I'll be over there Thursday morning, bright and early. You can't get out of this, so don't try to, kay? Love you, bye."
I groaned as I made sure all the messages had been cleared. How did Jasper find the most hyper woman in the world to fall in love with? I mean, I loved Alice and she was really great...just not when she forced me to go on day-long shopping trips. I headed to my bedroom, unbuttoning my shirt as I went. I pulled it off, along with my pants and crawled under the covers of my bed, I was completely exhausted. I closed my eyes and drifted into the most amazing, deep sleep I had gotten in about a year.