Chapter 8

EPOV

Work was becoming monotonous and I knew why.

Isabella Marie Swan.

She'd taken over every thought I'd had even before seeing her in the video and even more so now because I had watched it.

Four times if I was being honest.

I still didn't know exactly why she had captured my interest, but I knew I had to be careful.

Not only was this a business deal, but I also didn't want to let my feelings for her, if I had any, take over and for things to get complicated.

Instead of concentrating on her, I threw myself into dad's plans and took on a more hands on roll when it came to contractors at the house.

I knew it was still a few weeks off before it would be ready, but if I kept up their ass long enough, they would know that I didn't want any delays or slackers.

I was now eager to start on this new plan and anything else that got in the way pissed me off or bored the hell out of me.

I had a few days of heavy work before I could get my mind back on the job and I was now even more excited about starting it because we had chosen the three girls that would, hopefully, be joining us in this adventure.

I had a funny feeling that Jasper would try and persuade Alice to stay, purely on the fact that I had to hunt down the DVD because he's taken it from my room one night when I was on a shoot.

I found him in his room almost licking the screen of the TV. Okay, he wasn't on the verge of doing that, but he was pretty damn close. And Emmett was just as bad when it came to Rose. He kept asking mom what she thought Rose would like in her room and what type of clothes would suit her. He was whipped before they'd even met!

I just hoped that once Bella found out exactly what the job entailed, she would still be on board.

Dad had left the final choice of the girls down to myself, Emmett and Jasper, but still insisted on being there for the interviews to make sure that we had the right chemistry for the job.

He wanted to make sure that we got on and had the right feel as 'couples'.

I could see and understand his point, but I also knew that we might not hit it off straight away and that a lot of this would come down to respect and trust from both sides.

No one in their right mind would get on from the start, knowing what we had to do as a job and live with each other 24/7.

God, it took months for me to get used to Emmett and Jasper being around all the time and we went to school together.

There would be habits that we hated, music tastes we despised, but we would have to work through it.

This would be a huge step for the girls to take and it would certainly take a lot to open up, knowing full well that cameras would be on them at all times.

That's when Jasper put forward an idea.

He thought it would be good for us to choose the girl we liked most, contact them ourselves and go from there.

Before filming started, he thought that it would be beneficial for us to get to know each other, almost like dating. I liked the idea. We could spend some time getting acquainted with each other as 'couples' and as a group and that would certainly help when we moved into the new house.

Ah, the new house.

It was a beautiful thing, it really was.

Dad had bought it quite a while ago and it had finally been finished to the standards that he expected, though it still needed tweaking in a few places. The team was now installing all the cameras that would be needed, as well as constructing a smaller house for the staff and to act as an onset salon of sorts, where you could have your hair, nails and waxes done. Dad wanted to make sure that the most private of things were kept away from the cameras and I agreed with him.

I also insisted that the bedrooms have half baths in order to have a bit of downtime away from the cameras and also a place to clean up without people being able to watch. He agreed, thankfully, and had other 'communal' bathrooms installed for entertainment use only.

"Okay, so we still need to arrange some places where you can take the girls when they get here and also see if they mind taking just a few reels of footage on how you get on over the following couple of weeks. Screen tests, if you will," dad said over his paperwork.

He was constantly jotting down new ideas so the concept wouldn't get old too soon, even if we didn't know how long we were filming for.

"I don't mind the cameras bein' there on and off, but not all of the time. I think the girls would open up a lot more if they didn't have a camera shoved in their faces," Jasper said as he picked up a bagel and started to cut it open.

"Yeah, I agree," I said as I poured a coffee.

"Can I just say how nice it is to see you lot thinking so much about the girls, taking their needs into consideration," mom said fondly and we all smiled.

Trust mom to find a romantic side to all of this. For me, there wasn't much romance at all, and if there was, it was for the cameras only.

Of course, I'd never reacted to a costar the way I'd reacted to Bella.

"Yeah, well, I remember my first time with the cameras around. God, I had such a problem getting it up and keeping it there," Emmett laughed as he ate his bacon with gusto.

"Mmm, sex talk and breakfast, what a lovely combination," I said with a laugh and they all joined in.

To be honest, we had seen everything, done 99% of it and talked about God knows what around the table, so nothing seemed to phase us now.

If you didn't like it, you knew where the door was.

"So, you've made your choices, when are you going to contact them?" dad asked as we all finished up with breakfast.

"I have a set in about an hour, so I can try and squeeze her in before then," Emmett said with a smirk.

We all followed him as he stood up to leave the table.

No doubt he would have fun with this girl. They seemed to have a lot in common, but even I could see in her eyes that she wouldn't take any shit from him.

That was always a good thing.

"I have to go out now for a medical, but I can try and do it later," I said and Jasper nodded.

"Me too," he said as we walked out of the kitchen and went our separate ways.

The rest of the day went slowly, too slowly for my liking.

I moped about the place after my medical, until it was time for work, and then I had to keep finding things to do to keep my mind on the job as it were.

Jessica was in a foul mood with me because of the plans and it made working even harder so we had to keep stopping and starting.

Finally by seven that night, I had my time to myself and I dug out Bella's number.

It rang a couple of times before very heavy breathing took over.

"Hello, Bella speaking," her voice travelled down the line right to my dick as I thought about why she was panting the way she was.

"Hello, Bella, this is Edward Cullen, I'm calling about your job application," I said softly as I thought about her panting in my ear. I heard a faint gasp as I spoke and it only served to make me harder.

"Hello, Sir," nervousness hit her voice straight away and her innocence pushed me further into a fantasy land with her.

I thought about having her say 'Sir' to me in a scene and that threw me off for a few seconds.

"Please, call me Edward," I laughed awkwardly as I had to stop myself palming my now twitching cock.

"Okay then, how can I help you, Edward?" she said softly as I heard rustling in the background on her end.

I wondered what she was up to, but it wasn't for me to question that, not just yet.

"Well, I wanted to let you now that, barring any issues or complications through the interview process, the job is yours, Miss Swan." I chuckled as I heard her start to stutter.

"Are you sure, you're really sure? You're offering me the job before the interview?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I am very sure, Bella, you made an impact with myself and other members of our team," I smiled as I thought about how mom liked both of the girls from the tape.

Mom had caught me watching the video for the second time and we spoke briefly about how they showed a deep connection to each other. She liked how they acted and buffered each other.

She was just as desperate to see the two girls together as I was.

"What about Alice? I can't take the job if she doesn't have one with you, too," she said softly and it was then that she confirmed my earlier suspicions that they were more than just best friends.

They had a connection like I had with Jasper and Emmett.

"Alice will be getting her own phone call, but it's safe to say that she will be offered a job too, Bella, don't sweat it," I chuckled as I heard more laughing and giggling coming through the line.

It sounded like Alice was there with her and I instantly thought about how Bella answered the phone. Were they in a sexual relationship? The thought of the two of them doing that made me steel hard and I tried in vain to wipe out those thoughts.

If they agreed to come here, we would find out soon enough.

"Thank-you, Edward! You have no idea how much this means, to both of us," Bella said reverently.

"I think I do, Bella, I can hear it in your voice. Now, I'm going to email you some details and I hope that they're okay for you, with dates and times. We still need to interview you both, just to make sure that things will work out between us all, but that will be very informal," I said softly, wanting to ease any fears that she had.

I also hoped that they would be okay with the dates that we had set. As much as I was desperate to get the ball rolling with all of this, I also couldn't wait to actually meet her, get to know her and possibly more.

"Okay, but I'm still unsure about what the job will entail." I heard her gentle voice and it was full with worry, but I didn't know how to alleviate that at the moment. I really didn't want to tell her over the phone and I knew that face to face would be better.

Also, if we did this face to face, there would be less of a chance for her to run away. If I told her now, over the phone, I knew that I would never get a chance to meet her.

I had to tread carefully with this one.

"How about you come down for the interview and I can tell you then, Bella?" I hedged, hoping that she would agree.

My knee bounced a few times before hearing the words I wanted.

"Okay."