MeteorOnAMoonlessNight: Malicious Compliance Chapter Eleven

Between Bella and Austin, they’d rescheduled the meeting with Seth for the evening so Edward could be there. Bella wasn't sure how she felt about his revelation from the night before. Not that he was better off financially, or even that he’d kept it from her.

No, those things she could accept.

It was the way he’d viewed her when they were no longer together that gave her pause. In a way, she had intentionally portrayed the situation with Austin to her advantage. She was insecure enough to need the rich bitches who ran in his inner circle to feel that she belonged there. When that didn't work, she embraced the trophy girlfriend/sugar daddy persona. They were going to think it anyway, so she might as well run with it. The only thing she hadn't expected was for it to hurt Edward.

He’d made it abundantly clear when he broke up with her that he didn't care anymore whether she succeeded or fell flat on her ass. He didn't wish her well and try to remain friends. They were, in short, enemies. Of her own doing, she eventually came to realize, but still. If he didn't love her anymore, she had no one. Friends weren't a thing in her life—again, by her doing—leaving her with nothing but work. She’d finished culinary school and didn't have to waitress anymore, thankfully. L’Orangerie had promoted her to head chef as they’d promised when they hired her, even knowing she was also pursuing further education in pastry school. So she buried her head in the sand and put in all her time at work and school. No dating, no stab-you-in-the-back friends, no social life. Only when she’d graduated again did she try to allow herself to have some fun. It took two years after losing Edward to have a semblance of a life again.

Bella supposed it was the idea that she thought Edward knew her inside and out, and knew she wasn't what she pretended to be when she got with Austin. Yes, she was petty enough to post it on all her social media in the hopes he’d be even a smidgen jealous, but she didn't actually expect him to care. Why would he pay attention to that when he didn't love her anymore? What difference did it make who she was seeing and what their arrangement was if Edward didn't care if she lived or died? The one person who should have seen through her pain, her act, didn’t recognize reality at all. And knowing she had no right to be upset about that wasn't helping her state of mind.

But there was more to worry about at the moment. Austin and Seth were waiting for her, so she picked up the pace after parking her car. The sun was bright, the air was crisp and clean, and flowers still spilled out of window boxes as she neared the florist. Maybe she’d leave those, since they were so cheerful. Assuming she didn't kill them all with her brown thumb.

“Bella!” As always, Seth greeted her as an old friend. That was how he treated everyone.

“Hey, Seth.” Bella’s grin couldn't be contained, and she was pleased to see Seth’s partner, Jake, had joined them. “Hi, Jake.”

“Haven't seen you in a while.”

“I’ve been busy.” Bella joined the men near the back of the store, where they’d gathered to wait for Edward.

Austin said, “You look great, Bella.”

“Oh, thanks.” She gave him an awkward kiss on the cheek. It was too late to be uncomfortable with a guy she hadn't fucked in months, but the feelings were there all the same. He was her ex boyfriend, after all, and her current boyfriend was due any second. Of course, he was also an ex, so maybe there wasn't anything wrong with it feeling like a clusterfuck of emotions.

“What made you decide to sell?” Austin asked Seth.

“I found out the place I’ve always wanted is available,” Seth answered. “It’s closer to our house, and it’s bigger. In a busy shopping district, too.”

“It’ll make it easier for me to pop in and help in the evenings if Seth needs it,” Jake added. “Right now, he’s too far away for that.”

“That’s amazing,” Bella said. “Sort of full circle for both of us.”

“I’m happy for you, Bella. I had no idea you wanted my shop.” Seth winked at her.

“Want, covet, need. Same thing. I’ve never spoken up because it seemed rude to tell you I want what’s yours.”

“I’m happy that it’ll be yours, honestly.” Seth hugged Bella. “Can’t believe you’re finally opening your bakery.”

“For now, it’ll just be cakes and cupcakes. I need to start small so I can figure it out as I go. Then I’ll add more products later.”

The bell over the door chimed, and Bella had to check her chin for drool as Edward walked in. Motherfucker, that man was too hot for his own good. She couldn't help but notice Jake eyeing him up and down until Seth nudged him gently. Jake shot him a look of chagrin and Seth just smirked.

“Hey, baby.” Edward nearly crushed her to his chest, and she gave him his manly moment. It wasn't exactly a hardship.

“Hey.” Unsteady when he let her go, she smiled up into his eyes. “I think we’re all ready.”

It was a tedious hour, that was for certain. Austin knew more legalese than everyone else combined, and he broke down the terms for them. Bella would get a good deal thanks to Austin’s knowledge and Seth’s generosity, but at the same time, she didn't want to cheat Seth and Jake out of what the building was worth.

“As I said before, selling it to you with a small discount means I don't have to spruce it up, get a realtor, wait around for the market to be right, and all that.”

“Is there a clause about the selling condition?” Edward asked.

“Right here.” Austin flipped through pages until he found it, pointing it out to Edward. “We’ll get an inspection, which Seth agreed to, and if it fails, he’ll fix the issue. Otherwise, Bella agreed to repaint and redecorate anyway, so there’s no need for him to go out of his way on that.”

Edward took another minute to read it over before nodding. “Okay.”

At the end of it all, Bella had the place she’d dreamed of being hers. She’d probably have to wait a month before she legally owned it, but it was all signed and notarized and official.

“I’m a business owner.”

Edward threw his arm around her shoulders. “Congratulations.”

Austin rose, buttoning his suit jacket. “I’d like to take everyone to dinner to celebrate.”

Biting her lip, Bella exchanged looks with Edward. She wanted to go and hoped he wouldn't object.

Also standing, Edward said, “Perfect. Will Eric be joining us?”

Austin’s brows went up slightly, and he glanced at Bella. “Yes, he can join us.”

“We’re down,” Jake said. “Just let us lock up.”

Bella thought it would be terrible, that Edward and Austin would be at each other’s throats . . . that she would want to sink into a black hole, or at the very least, under the dining table . . . but she couldn't have been more wrong.

“And I told him, if you insist on making this harder on all of us, you’ll regret it,” Edward said, leaning back in his chair with a glass in his left hand and his right arm slung casually over Bella’s chair.

“You’re right, you know.” Austin sipped his drink. “He can’t force you to do that.”

“Oh, he was positive he was right,” Edward said. “Right up until the moment we handed him the bill.”

“Expediting parts like that must skyrocket the price,” Eric commented.

“Exponentially.” Leaning forward again, Edward winked at Bella. “There’s little I enjoy more than a tinge of malicious compliance.”

Her cheeks heated.

Seth guffawed. “You gave him what he asked for, after all.”

“I mean, Emmett and I both tried to tell him he was in the wrong, but he wouldn't hear of it. Do it my way or I’ll go somewhere else. Good luck with that, buddy.”

Bella had heard more about his coworker Emmett at that dinner than in the entire time they’d been back together. Of course, since he’d previously kept his job a secret, it was understandable.

Jake said, “No one else would have worked with him if he had that kind of attitude.”

“Nope, and he knows it. We’ve had other companies try to warn us against servicing his plane, but business is business. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before treating us like grease monkeys.”

By the time they left, the six of them were good friends. In fact, they had plans to get together again the following month.

“I can see why you like those guys, Bella.”

The street was dark, with a handful of puddles reflecting building lights. “I’m just surprised you do.”

“Why? You think I’m an ogre?”

Chuckling, she slipped under his arm. “No, of course not.”

“A great big green ogre, with red eyes and jealousy oozing from his pores.” He tickled her sides, and she shrieked with laughter.

“Maybe! Okay, maybe I thought your jealousy would get the best of you.”

“I can’t fault a man for taking one look at you and falling in love.”

Dear God. “Oh, Edward.” Rising on her toes, she pulled him in for a quick kiss.

“Let’s get you home,” he said.

Home was not the same anymore. Not after knowing how it felt to be back at Edward’s place. “Can we go to yours?”

“Baby.”

She heard the reproach in his voice and interrupted whatever he was about to say. “I know, I know.”

He gripped her hand. “I don't want to go too fast this time.”

“You don't have to explain it again. I get it.”

But it still hurt to look at him standing at her door, knowing he was about to leave. Knowing she couldn't ask him to spend the night because he would say no.

Instead, she clung to his body when he curled around her. When he pressed their mouths together and opened to her, she pulled him as tight as possible against her. When they exchanged breaths and their hearts beat rapidly, she willed herself not to cry.

Edward brushed her hair out of her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I miss you.” Unable to look him in the eye, she buried her face in the warmth of his jacket. His arms tightened.

“But I'm right here.”

“No, I miss being with you. Waking up with you, going to bed with you. Sharing a life; our lives.”

“That’s what we’re working toward, sweetheart.”

“I’m just impatient, that’s all.”

Kissing her temple, he said, “I need it to work this time, Bella. I don’t think I could stand it if we fucked up again.”

The only answer she had for him was to press her lips to his throat. Kissing along his jaw, she met his mouth once more and let him know the only way she could that she loved him and would wait. She’d wait until the end of time if she had to, as long as he knew she wanted it to work, too.

Going back to L’Orangerie the next day was damn near boring. Knowing her dream was waiting for her right around the corner made it difficult to continue working at the restaurant. But she was also smart enough to know she needed all the money she could garner. She was up in the air about quitting; though she needed to spend all her time on Luscious Bites, having an income to fall back on would relieve some of her fears. Having stepped up front to speak with the maître d', Bella spotted a table for two occupied by the cattiest bitches she’d ever had the misfortune to know. Hoping they hadn't seen her, she edged behind the decorative shrubbery to make her escape back to the kitchen.

“Ugh, did you see that Bella fucking Swan is the head chef here?”

“Get out! I thought that skank was just a waitress.”

Tanya and her bestie, Vicky, were the most vile bottle blondes Bella had encountered back in high school. Though she did her best to avoid them at all costs, she’d seen them a few times while out with Austin. They were quintessential society mavens with more money than sense.

“No, her name is right there.” Tanya pointed to the establishment’s placard with the name of the owner, the manager, and herself.

“Ew.” Vicky waved her hand around. “Are we sure we want to eat here?”

Tempting as it was to poison their soup, Bella would never do such a thing. Just as she thought she’d be better off moving on, she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

“I saw Edward again.”

Tanya knew Edward?

“And?” Vicky prompted.

“And I can’t believe he let that stray cat back in his bed.”

“After the way she treated him?” Vicky scoffed. “I’m surprised he’d willingly fuck Austin’s sloppy seconds.”

Tanya giggled, making Bella nauseous. “Well, not for long. I’ve got him in my sights, don’t worry.”

All her excitement about the new building went down the drain. Tanya was known for many things, not the least of which was getting everything she wanted. If she couldn't pay for it, she bribed, lied, and blackmailed until she obtained her prize. When compared to the way Bella had treated Edward in the past, she only felt guilt at the thought of fighting for him. One thing she knew for certain; he deserved better than Bella.