Falling for a Dark Soul

Chapter Fifteen

Disclaimer: None of this mine, nor do I claim to be Stephenie Meyer. I just like to dabble in the playground that she created with Bella, Edward and her Twilight characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

We left off with a cliffhanger from the last chapter. We'll pick up where we left off, but in Bella's POV. There will be some fall-out from the cliffie ... you'll just have to see what happens.

Chapter Fifteen

Edward

The inside of the ballroom was decorated beautifully. It sparkled under the specialty lights. Photos from the campaign were projected on various screens and the makeup was displayed elegantly around the room. There was music playing, giving the room a funky vibe.

"This has got to be the coolest launch party I'd ever been to," Alice gushed, hugging Bella and then quickly squeezing me. "Victoria has told me that presales are through the roof and the hype is mainly positive."

"Mainly?" Jasper asked.

"A few negative reviews, but they are from New Moon's competitors," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, there's Laurent! We should congratulate him."

Navigating through the crowd, Alice tapped on Laurent's shoulder. He turned around, his smile wide and blinding. "Alice! Bella!" he said, hugging them both. "Jasper, it's good to see you." He shook hands with Jasper. "And, Mr. Cullen, thank you for coming." I shook hands with him, as well.

"Congratulations, Laurent. You must be so proud," I grinned.

"We worked hard for years and to see it come to fruition? It's beyond amazing," Laurent said. "It wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of everyone on the advertising team." He blinked to Bella. "You are a goddess, Bella. Your ideas are fresh, innovative and perfect for our new line."

"It was a team effort," Bella said humbly.

"Laurie! They didn't have Macallan whiskey, only Johnnie Walker Blue," said a female voice. I cringed, recognizing it immediately. "Here you go, baby." She sashayed up to Laurent, handing him a glass. She was wearing a dress that barely legal, displaying her body in an unflattering way. Her hair was bleached blonde and her makeup was caked on. With an impassive expression, her ice-blue eyes found mine. "Edward, fancy seeing you here."

I glowered at her, wanting the world to swallow me whole. "Tanya ..."

Fuck. My. Life.

Bella

Who the fuck was this silicone Barbie and why was she glaring at my boyfriend? Edward was as stiff as a board, his jaw clenched and his green eyes icing over. He looked like the angry, broken man I'd first met. Emmett and Rosalie had made their way over to our group.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asked.

"My apologies, beloved," Laurent cooed, sliding his arm around her waist. "Tanya Denali, this is the team that created our advertising campaign. We have Alice Brandon, the team leader. Emmett is her right hand."

"Was her right hand," Emmett answered. "I now have my own team."

"Congratulations, Emmett," Laurent beamed.

"Thanks," Emmett nodded, pursing his lips. "I may have been Alice's right hand, but Bella was the brains behind this promotional campaign. She really bonded with Victoria and together, they came up with this multi-faceted approach using social media. We're lucky to work with her."

"Agreed," Laurent smiled, clinking his champagne glass with mine. "And we're already working on our next campaign. Right, Bella?"

"We've got preliminary plans figured out," I nodded. "Victoria is still trying to finagle me to be the model for the print ads. I'm no model."