Chapter One: Mistakes (EPOV)

There was a time in my life where I could have easily classified everything as perfect. I had the most amazing and beautiful girlfriend in the world who I was about to propose to. I was the CEO of a major business in New York City. And everyone in town knew my name which could be a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because I could easily get my way. If I wanted something, people knew better than to deny me. However, I always had press on my back, just waiting for me to mess up.

And mess up, I did.

Alice bounced into my hotel room, the smile that normally adorned her face gone. She was glaring at me.

"I have no interest in your sex life Edward. But all the women out there do." She said, gesturing out the window to the city below. "And having Tanya freaking Denali leave your hotel room at 6am in a sweater that clearly says "Cullen" on the back is the epitome of idiocy!" She shrieked.

I sighed as I flopped down onto the freshly made bed. "She left before I could wake up, Alice. I didn't know that she was going to wear the one sweater with my name on the back."

She groaned. "Well because of your stupidity, the press is having a field day coming up with a million different possibilities as to why she was in your hotel room. And it disgusts me that most of them are probably true."

I rubbed my hand over my face, trying to resist the urge to tell her to leave me the hell alone for five minutes. But it was Alice and she was not only my assistant and my manager in a way, but she was also my best friend. She had been there for me as long as I can remember.

"Alice you know the situation between Tanya and me. You know that I can't just…I can't seem to…" I trailed off, hoping she would understand.

Alice sighed and the next thing I knew, she was flopped down on the bed next to me.

"I know Edward, but she's out to ruin you. This thing between you two is sick. It's not healthy. And I worry about you." She said softly.

I groaned. "I know, I know. But I loved her so much. I still do in a way."

She sighed. "Yeah, but does she love you?" She asked.

It was silent for a few moments until she realized that I wasn't going to answer that question.

"Ugh. Okay fine, Edward. I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night. Enjoy the hotel room. It was a pain in the ass to reserve it this late." She stood up quickly and started walking towards the door. "You'll find someone else eventually, Edward. Just…don't settle for someone who won't treat you the way you deserve." She said quietly. I listened for the click of the door, signaling that she was gone.

I stood up then and quickly stripped off my clothing and threw them carelessly in the corner of the room. I surveyed the room as I walked to the bathroom in my boxers. It was nice…okay that was an understatement. Everything was pristine. The bed was huge and the room was probably as big as two hotel rooms. I sighed in contentment and then walked to the bathroom.

After taking off my undergarments, I hopped in the shower and turned it so it was almost unbearably hot. I sighed as the water loosened my muscles and relaxed my body. I let my mind wander and, as it so commonly does when I let it, I thought about Tanya.

She was my first kiss. My first love. My first time. She was my first everything. We met in high school during my sophomore year. She moved to the school and immediately took it by storm. All the guys vied for her attention and for some reason, she gave me it. She for some reason chose me to be with.

We stayed together throughout high school. It was the stereotypical teenage romance. All hearts and flowers. But then graduation came and went and the next thing I knew, we were going to college. And that's when things started to change.

She went off to UCLA to take some class in fashion design while I went to Dartmouth for a degree in business. She started acting strange whenever I called her and on the rare occasions that we saw each other, she was very distant. She'd barely say anything to me or look at me. Kissing was a joke.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the shower wall, letting the water run down my face.

I went to visit her as a surprise, thinking that maybe we could fix things. And as I walked into her apartment, I saw a strange pair of shoes that I knew didn't belong to her. And when I made it to the living room I found her getting it on hot and heavy with some mutt. My heart broke.

I yelled and threw things while the idiot guy stood there, trying to defend Tanya. Needless to say, we broke up soon after that. But she never left my life completely. She'd call randomly or text me or just drop in on me, and I could never find it in my heart to refuse her. She could worm her way back into my life when it was convenient for her, but she never gave me the chance to move on. And I resented her for that.

So when she came to my hotel room that night, I couldn't turn her away. Her blue eyes were calling to me, making me see the girl I loved all those years ago. The girl that I still loved no matter how much I didn't want to.

When my fingers started to look like prunes, I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, shivering when the cold air hit my skin. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body right before I walked out into the main room. I looked at the clock, noticing that it was already 10pm. I was exhausted. After quickly grabbing my pajamas out of my suit case and throwing them on, I hopped into bed.

I was out within minutes.

I awoke the next morning to a timid knock on my door. Shit. I didn't put up my do not disturb sign.

"Housekeeping." The voice said quietly.

I sighed and got up, glancing at the clock. It was about 10:30, so I decided it was as good of time as any to get up.

"Yeah, come on in." I said as I stretched my arms up above my head.

I stared at the girl as she walked in. She kept her head down and didn't meet my eyes as she started heading towards the bed with clean sheets in hand.

"I'll be out of your way quickly, sir." She promised in a soft voice, still not looking at me.

"It's okay, take your time."

She didn't say anything else to me as she quickly stripped the sheets of the bed.

She still kept her head down as she threw the dirty sheets into a basket she had on her housekeeping cart. Her long brown hair was pulled into a gentle ponytail that laid gently down her back. Her arms, which were exposed from the short sleeves of her uniform, were pale and thin. The gray of the uniform did nothing but wash her out.

But there was something else about her. The way she held herself…she was almost folding into herself. She looked…tired?

It was then that I realized I was analyzing the way a maid was acting, and I quickly shook myself out of it.

"Did you find your room to your liking?" She asked as she put new pillow cases on the pillows. You could tell this was something that she had to ask. It was performed, rehearsed.

"Yes I did, thank you." I replied.

I was suddenly getting frustrated. This girl wouldn't look at me. I hadn't seen her face yet and I didn't know why I was getting so upset by this fact.

I was about to ask her to look at me, but before I could, I was cut off by a muffled beeping coming from her pocket. She froze in the middle of putting the pillow cases on, her hand going to her phone on what seemed like instinct, but stopped herself. She continued her work but her body was more tense then before.

"Go head and answer it." I said quietly.

And then, finally, her head snapped up to meet my gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, starkly contrasting to her pale white skin. Her full light pink lips were pulled into a frown. I watched as she unconsciously pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and began to chew on it.

But what attracted me most about her face were her eyes. They were brown, but a deep chocolate brown that made my stomach do a flip. And they were sad and anxious.

"I'm on the job…if my boss found out…" she trailed off.

I smiled at her and her eyes widened slightly. "Well, I'm not going to tell, so unless you do, I have no idea how they would find out."

She gave me a half smile to show her relief. She dropped the pillow and grabbed her cell phone out and flipped it open. Her smile dissolved as she read the message and she began typing back furiously. For a few moments after she sent the message, there was a tense silence in the room as she waited for whatever response was so important to her. She didn't take her eyes off of the phone.

When it finally chirped, she flipped it open quickly yet again and her eyes quickly examined the screen.

She mumbled something under her breath as she stared at the screen.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her.

She sighed. "No. There's a family emergency, but I don't know if I can get out of work early. But I need to get home…" She trailed off as she began to make the bed again. I stared at her as she did so, taking in her nervous eyes and her yet again tense posture.

As soon as she was done with the bed and did another quick survey of the room to make sure there was nothing else to be done, she turned towards me.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?" She asked me.

I smiled at her. "Besides calling me Edward, no." I said.

She smiled at me. "Well if there is anything I can do for you, Edward, feel free to find me. I'll be on this floor all day." She said.

I smiled at her. "Thank you."

And with that she was out the door, shutting it quietly behind her.

I didn't know what fascinated me so about this maid. Her overall demeanor made me wonder about her. Where she came from, if she was married, what kind of life she led…but I brushed those thoughts aside and began to get ready for my day.

It was only after she left that I realized I forgot to ask her for her name.