Chapter 10

EPOV

"Look sharp, Mr. Cullen is in a suit!" Emmett boomed out a laugh as we all sat round the table for breakfast. Mom rolled her eyes at his playfulness and dad smirked.

"Emmett, first and foremost, this is a business meeting that we're having today with the girls, there's no issue in having a bit of respectability and dressing the part," I chastised him lightly as I smiled.

In all honesty, I just wanted to look good for her.

If I turned up in jeans and an old tee, she would run for the hills. If I were dressed the part, like in a suit and looking respectable, she might at least think more of me.

"Very true, but seeing as though this would be one of the only times you would actually be wearing clothes around the girls, I would have thought that you would be wearing something a little more comfortable," he laughed and Jasper joined in.

Trust him to mention the no clothes thing. Just because we worked together, didn't mean that we thought the same. I knew for a fact that he was desperate to get his girl in between the sheets, but with me, it was different. I didn't want to jump head first into things with Bella. I wanted her to trust me, get used to me and like me, before we did anything remotely similar to what Emmett had planned.

"Very funny, wise guy, how about you fill your mouth with food and concentrate on the job, and not on what I'm wearing?" I smirked as I filled my plate with food.

I was nervous and I was man enough to admit that.

I had always worked with pros, they knew the job forwards and backwards, and they knew what was expected and what was not.

This was going to be completely new to all of us, but as the one in charge of it all, I had a lot more on my plate than the other two.

Talk about life unscripted.

"Edward, where are the girls staying when they get here? You haven't told me yet," mom asked as she sat down at the table.

I hadn't seen her for the last couple of days because I had been working so hard, but it was good to catch up with her again.

"I thought that it would be good for them to stay here, actually. I wanted them to get a sense of what it would be like to live in a busy house and see how things work a little bit. I think it would also be good for them to have a female role model like you around, just in case they needed to talk about anything. If they're okay with it, in a few days we'll take them to the new house for them to see it, pick rooms, that sort of thing. See if they like it. If there are things that need changing, we would have some time to do it before we go live there," I replied as I thought about the plan. It was good and gave the girls a buffer of my parents when they first got here.

"I like it, good thinking, Edward," dad said as, he too, sat down.

I was really pleased at how things were coming together.

"What time does their flight get in?" Mom asked and Emmett answered this time.

"Rose's gets in at two and the other girls a little time after that." He smiled when he said Rosalie's name and I had a funny feeling that they'd had more than one phone call since we decided on them.

I couldn't blame him though, he at least had had the guts to call her more than once. I was too chicken shit to call Bella. She'd responded to the email that I'd sent her, so I didn't exactly have a reason to call her, which pissed me off somewhat.

"And you're meeting them there?" dad guessed and we nodded.

Again, I was nervous about this first meeting. I didn't want my personal feelings to get in the way of something that was strictly business, but I still had them regardless and they were sneaking around my body the more I thought about her. I was old enough to know better, and to know that Bella could be a dangerous creature to me if I let my guard down.

I knew mom had an idea of what I was feeling, but I had to be careful around the others. We needed to be versatile here and if I started to get possessive, they would have my hide. Emmett would rip the piss out of me and Jasper would just start questioning everything.

"And who has Jessica now been paired with?" Mom wanted to know so she could keep an eye on her. Jessica had really been playing up for the crew over the last couple of days and mom wanted to step in if she continued.

Jessica detested the fact that she hadn't been chosen for this job and I was starting to thank the Gods of that fact. There was no way I could live with her 24/7, no way in hell.

"Peter," Jasper mumbled. He and Peter didn't get on. There was always conflict between them and I still didn't know why, but I had a feeling that Peter felt threatened by Jasper's connection to my family.

I met Jasper when we were in our last year of college and his family was harsh with him. They couldn't accept that he was bisexual and they wanted him to settle down and get married. He didn't want that, hell, he still doesn't. He's too much of a free spirit to be tied down, but I still hoped that one day he would find a special someone, though I wouldn't hold my breath.

Anyway, when his family cut him off, he was beside himself. He wanted to continue with school, but couldn't do it financially. He threw himself into working and his studies, but he was beyond exhausted.

The catalyst came when he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and nearly killed himself.

After that, I got dad to offer him a job, and although he was hesitant at first, he finally relented and had been with us ever since.

Emmett, Jasper and I shared a bond that went beyond brotherhood and I was never more grateful than when they agreed to do this new job with me, because I couldn't have trusted anyone else for the roles.

"Okay, so you're to pick the girls up early afternoon, what are your plans after that?" dad asked and us boys looked at each other.

"We thought about taking them to a late lunch and then maybe some shopping? Alice and Bella's journey will have been quite short, but Rose is travelling from New York, so she'll be tired,"

Emmett cut in and we all nodded.

Jasper thought that shopping would give us a chance to get to know the girls and I was all for it.

Most times, you could learn a lot about a girl's personality by what they chose to wear.

"Okay, so have a good day boys, and I'll make sure that dinner is on the table for, let's say, seven?" mom asked as she stood up and started to clear the plates.

We all agreed and went our separate ways until it was time to leave for the airport.

I took the time to go over some more paper work and call up a few contractors to make sure they were on hand, just in case we had to change some plans.

"Edward, it's time to go, mate," Jasper called through the door of my study.

I let out a huge breath and stood up from my desk.

"This is it," I mused to myself as I walked out of the office and clapped my hand on Jasper's back.

"Ya ready?" he chuckled as we walked out to the car. Emmett was already there, bouncing on his toes like a little kid.

"As I'll ever be," I chuckled as we got in the back and the driver took off down the large driveway.

"It'll be good, Edward, don't sweat it, everything will fall into place," he smiled as Emmett opened up a bottle of champagne.

"A little early, don't you think?" I chided as he laughed.

"It's never too early to celebrate three beautiful women entering our lives," he smirked as he poured out three glasses.

I just hoped that they didn't leave too soon.

It would be a pain in the ass to have to start the process all over again, and I just had a hunch about these three.

And Bella, I didn't want to let go of her too soon.