Meet again

Bella's alarm blared as she groaned awake. She rolled over and half expected to see Paul laid asleep next to her. An immense feeling of disappointment swept through her at the sight of the empty, and clearly unused side of the bed.

She went about her morning routine eager to get the day over with. Bella got to work on time and smiled when she noticed Angel wasn't in yet. She would be very happy if he didn't come in at all. However, as she started up her computer and collected her files for the day, he walked in.

"Bella? You're here?" he asked in surprise causing Bella to raise an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Of course, I'm here, why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

Angel shook his head and shrugged off his jacket. He picked up various items on his desk and sent them back down as she watched him. She noticed he was doing everything he could to avoid her question.

"Angel?" she asked.

He looked up at her surprised as if he had forgotten she was there. Bella stood up and walked around her desk. She glared at him and, with her arms folded, asked.

"Why did you think I wouldn't be in today?"

Angel's face turned red as he scrambled for an explanation.

"Oh ...... erm I ... I err .... I was out last night, and I saw you get out of a car with a man. I assumed that you ...you err hooked up or something, you know" he didn't seem so sure of what he was saying.

Bella could tell he was hiding something else. 'He saw me last night? was he following me?' she thought.

"That wasn't a hookup," she said.

She wasn't sure if she should reveal anything else to him. He looked at her as if to say, 'yeah I know.' Which made her even more suspicious of him, than she already was. He quickly avoided her stare and sat down at his desk. She returned to hers but kept an eye on him as she worked.

Sometime later a knock brought the two of them out of their uncomfortable silent working moment. A young woman walked in and smiled warmly at Bella. She had been the one that had shown Bella around on her first day. She had also, warned her about Angel and his flirting.

"Hi Bella, I have that box of files you asked for. Sorry, it took me a while to get them," she said as she placed a rather heavy-looking box on the table next to Bella.

Bella smiled warmly at the woman.

"It's ok Emily, thanks for taking the time to find it," she said and with a look to Angel, she added, "I have been asking for this since last week. I should have come straight to you right from the start."

Angel pretended he couldn't hear them, but Bella knew he did by the way he lowered himself closer to the computer screen. Emily smirked at the not so subtle dig at Angel.

"Yeah, it wasn't as hard to find as I first thought" she confirmed.

Emily smiled at Bella before leaving her to it. After one more glare at Angel, Bella started looking through the papers. She had requested the files on all the orders, building requests and reviews over the past year.

The company she worked for noticed some strange inconsistencies in the prices of material and labour and then the quality of each one. There was enough money within the budget of each development project allocated for excellent materials and experienced crew members.

Bella was sure someone was hiring inexperienced workers for a fraction of the price and buying weaker materials and then pocketing the difference. She knew it was happening she just had to figure out who and how.

----

Angel avoided Bella all day. He took a long lunch break and came back even grumpier. However, Bella wasn't complaining, this allowed her to work in peace without creepy pickup lines. He left quickly at the end of the day, without even saying goodbye. Emily had passed him in the door way and instantly felt the chill. She looked quizzically at Bella.

"Was it something I said?" she asked.

Bella chuckled and shook her head.

"I don't think he liked what we were saying earlier. He has been in a foul mood all day."

Emily laughed along with her as she followed Bella outside. They waved goodbye and Bella made her way back to the apartment. She had decided to leave work earlier than yesterday. It was lighter and there were more people around at this time. Even so, she still looked behind her every few minutes to see if she was being followed. Bella couldn't relax as she made her way home. She was so focused on what could be behind her that she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her, until it was too late.

"Oofh," she heard as she banged into a very hard chest and started to fall backwards.

She waited for the inevitable shot of pain as she connected with the hard ground and, the embarrassment of people staring at her as she tried to get up with some dignity. However, the fall didn't come. Instead, a pair of strong arms gripped hers and stopped her.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," she mumbled as she stepped out of the stranger's arms and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

"It's ok, completely my fault and pleasure," the stranger said with a chuckle.

Bella looked up and gasped. The man from last night, the one that had saved her, was standing in front of her with a shit eating smirk on his face.

"Paul?" she asked in surprise.

His smirk turned into a smile.

"You remember me," he said, pleased at her reaction.

Bella regained some composure and smiled shyly at him.

"Of course, I remember. How could I forget the man that saved me?" she said as she blushed.

He smiled again; he could hear her heart racing.

"Well I hardly saved you, all I did was open my door," he said modestly.

She smiled as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Yes true, but if you hadn't who knows what could have happened," she shuddered at the thought.

Paul placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently.

"Best not think about it, right?" he told her.

"I should probably get going, I have a lot of work I need to look through," she said with a sigh as she moved to go around him.

By now the streets had emptied a little and the light was fading. Paul was reluctant to leave her, just as much as Bella was to leave. He gently grabbed her arm, to stop her from walking away.

"How about I walk you home, make sure you get there safe," he offered.

Bella's blush was back with a vengeance. She nodded, and he moved in step with her. They walked in silence, the sexual tension between the two could be cut with a knife. All too soon Bella stopped at her apartment complex.

"Well, this is me," she said as she pointed to the door.

Paul looked up at the building and then back at Bella. She could see he was disappointed. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was as well.

"Thank you for walking me back," she said reluctantly.

Paul looked up again at the huge building.

"How long have you lived here?" he asked. 'Has this amazing woman been living so close to me all this time and I've been too blind to see her?' he thought to himself. Bella laughed, which had him transfixed. 'She has a downright sexy laugh' he thought.

"No, I've only been here about a week now. I actually live in New York, I'm here on business for the company I work for," she explained.

Paul's face fell, which made Bella's heart jump. He wasn't sure if he hated the idea that she had been living so close and he never knew more than the idea that she was only here for work then she would be leaving.

"Who do you work for?" he asked. 'Hopefully, someone that has offices in New Orleans' he thought.

Whilst looking for her keys Bella answered.

"Oh, it's the Lahote Development Company."

Since she was looking down she failed to notice the look of shock across his face. He quickly slipped his mask on as she located her keys and looked up at him.

"I've worked for them for several years now," she explained.

He nodded, seemingly lost for words. His mind and heart were at war right now.

"What do you do for them?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I want to tell you" she blushed.

He forced a smile, "why not?"

'She knows who I am, she made up the attacker. She wants my money' he thought. He ignored the sharp pain that tugged at his heart at that thought.

"Ok, but don't laugh," she warned, he nodded. "I'm a forensic auditor, it's a bit like an accountant but, I specialise in problems. If the accounts don't add up anywhere in the company, I come in and find out why," she explained.

He nodded and looked at his watch.

"I'm sorry Bella, I have a meeting in half an hour. I need to get going," he said before saying a quick 'goodbye' then quickly speeding off.

Bella watched him go bewildered. 'What's up with him? I knew I shouldn't have told him about my job,' she thought as she made her way inside.

Paul took out his phone as soon as he was far enough away.

"Hello," a sleepy voice answered.

"We need to talk, urgently. I'm going to be at the office in twenty minutes meet me there," he ordered then hung up the phone