No copyright infringement implied. I know SM owns all the characters.

Bring Him Home - Chapter 10

It took me a while to calm down Judy and by that time the rest of the staff had started to arrive. As they gathered my audience grew bigger watching me trying to get the dirt off the couch.

"What is that and where did it come from?" as ever it was Rosalie that started the conversation. "Did you have some sort of weird party in here last night Boss?" she continued. If so why wasn't I invited?

"Is that where all my chocolate and snacks went?" Judy piped up quickly followed by Irina asking where at least half the fruit bowl had gone.

"If you had a party and didn't invite me I'm going to be so annoyed" Rosalie was laughing , she knew I would never throw a party.

"When you are all quite finished I'll explain if you give me a minute. Last night after you all left the homeless guy turned up, so I let him sleep here. Yes, Judy, he ate the sandwiches out of the fridge and I left the chocolate and snacks on the table for him so I presume he took them as well as helping himself to the fruit"

"You left him in here on his own? He could have looked at all our files, have you thought this is maybe a set- up with him bumping into you and then wheedling his way into your business? He could be a corporate spy, Jasper says"

"Alice he is not some sort of spy, he was tired and hungry and cold. He slept on the couch, I locked myself in my office and slept in there, he was still on the couch this morning when I came out of my office"

Perhaps telling them I'd stayed here too wasn't such a good idea, they all erupted in simultaneous outrage at what I'd done.

"Wow wow wow , just a minute ladies. I was perfectly safe, I was locked in my office, I had my phone and my pepper spray with me" I moved away from the couch to try and calm them all down.

"Look I won't do it again ok, it just seemed to be the right thing to do. He was exhausted and as soon as he had had something to eat and he got warm he was asleep in seconds, I didn't have the heart to wake him. Now it's done so please can we get on with our day? Judy please arrange to get the blankets and the sofa cleaned, take some cash out of the petty cash tin and restock your drawer and the fridge and see if you can get some of those individual protein bars, in fact get a couple of boxes of them and I‘ll drop them off at the homeless shelter when I do my next shift".

With that I went into my office and closed the door, I really needed some breakfast and coffee but I wasn't going back out there for at least an hour. They all needed to calm down so I sat at my desk starting at the hand print on the wall. Had I had a close call after all? Luckily today was self-defence class day so they would all be able to take their frustrations out on each other or poor Emmett if Rosalie ever let go of him. As my stomach grumbled loudly I couldn't put off going out any longer, so I grabbed my purse and made my way through the office.

"Where are you going boss?" Rosalie asked. I knew she was just worried so I bit my tongue before I answered.

"Just to get some breakfast, does anyone else want anything? I asked to be polite

Several "no thanks" came back before Rosalie answered" I'll come with you just let me get my purse"

"I don't need a bodyguard or a nanny" I looked at her with my stern face, I meant business.

"Well I need a huge latte, a stack of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup, it's fight day today and I need some energy after the night I've just had" she smirked at me as she pushed past and sauntered out of the door, turning back to look at me she continued "If you're a good girl and eat all your breakfast I may even tell you what I got up to be this hungry" she said with a huge smile on her face.

This made me laugh out loud and the tension in the office dissolved instantly. I followed her out and into the elevator and as the door shut she turned to me with a wicked look on her face.

"Once I've spilled my guts then you can explain to me why there are dirty smudges on your office walls, in the office bathroom, in your bathroom and in reception."

Before I could answer the elevator doors opened and three guys got on from the floor below. They all knew Rosalie, not really surprising, everybody seemed to know Rosalie but one of them was looking at me.

"Hi I'm Jake" he said holding out his hand for me to shake, very formally.

"Bella"

"Well Bella if I'd have known you were hidden away upstairs I would have definitely hung around the elevator more often, are you going for breakfast or coffee by any chance?"

"That's just where we're going " Rosalie answered for me. "Would you three like to join us?" 

I don't know why I was so shocked, she was never slow at being forward, and before I could even start to object Rosalie had told them we where we were eating and the other two had introduced themselves as Paul and Embry. As he said his name I couldn't help but remember the reaction the homeless guy had had to Emmett's name and I started to wonder if I'd misheard him perhaps he was saying Embry. As we reached the diner/ deli that was on the ground floor of our office block I was trying to work out how I could ask Embry if he knew anyone homeless. The more I thought about it the more stupid the question sounded in my own head so in the end I just pushed the thought away and tried to enjoy my breakfast.

Luckily for me Rosalie was in fine form in front of her new audience, she kept the conversation light and funny while we all ordered and then tucked into our food. Jake was desperately trying to engage me in conversation but I was too lost in my own head to take much notice. It wasn't until I received a kick on my ankle and a stare from her that I realised the table had gone quiet and everyone was looking at me.

"Sorry I was miles away, what did I miss?" I asked trying to rub the sore spot where she had kicked me.

"I was just saying you look remarkably like the woman in the you tube video that's doing the rounds, you know the one where the woman loses it with the old beggar" Paul said as the three man laughed. "It was awesome to see someone finally lose it with one of them, I‘m so sick of people asking for me for spare change, I mean change is cash, why would I give away cash?" With that Paul and Embry high fived and dug back into their breakfasts.

I was fuming, apart from the fact that he hadn't been begging, he was not old, and he was more than likely the same age as them, if not younger.  They gave no consideration to the fact of what might have made him homeless and that he was hungry with no means to buy food. The realisation I was sitting sharing space with these idiots turned my stomach and I couldn't wait to get away. I picked up my purse and threw enough cash to cover everyone's meal onto the table.

 "Rosalie I'll see you back at the office" was all I could say as I left the diner.

I stood in the foyer of the building trying to calm down when something caught my eye. I turned to look and out on the concourse in the exact same place I'd seen him before the homeless guy was stood looking at the building. I watched as he started to walk towards it and then stop and go back to the exact spot. He tried several times before he finally walked away, all the time clutching and pulling on the beanie hat he held in his hands.

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Can I just add a huge thank you to Rita01tx who rec this story on her blog yesterday, as ever she is proving to be a huge friend to me who I can rely on not only for amazing banners but also for advice and ideas. Thank you sweetie xx

Also to gabby1017 who sent me the most amazing message after reading this story, I keep reading that the people on this fandom are awesome and these two people have certainly proved that so far. If you're not reading RESCUE INK you should be,

"Carlisle Cullen is a pillar of the community. He's a humane veterinarian/philanthropist who owns an animal hospital & shelter. He's a loving husband, a devout father, & his three sons follow in his footsteps as well as on a Harley. They're tattooed bad boys who right the wrong to protect & save. They have hearts that fall in love with the blink of an eye. Well, except for Edward"

And finally AJG is back in the country today, safe and sound , looking forward to seeing you and Ladyletters tomorrow xx