Fascinated by you

Chapter 7

Bella came 10 minutes earlier than the meeting time. While on her way, she ordered macaroons from the nearby bakeshop which she always paired with her black coffee. It seems that heaven is working on her side because it was delivered before Mrs. Green arrived. She brewed the Arabica beans which Mrs. Green loves. In her two years in the field, she learned how to please every investor by knowing what they love and what they hate. Maybe that’s the reason why she is still here in business.

           “Good morning Mrs. Green, please have a seat,” she heard Ms. Carmen said.

           She gets the brewed coffee and the macaroons and serves them to her. Unlike Mr. Choi, Mrs. Green focuses a lot on the details. She focuses more on data and values the importance of time. The moment she arrived, they started presenting the new product proposal. Ms. Carmen discussed the nature, parts and features of the product.

           “By the way, when will I meet Mr. Parker? I heard he’s also a handsome bachelor,” Mrs. Green asked all of a sudden.

           “He’s in an urgent meeting but he will be here soon,” Bella replied to Mrs. Green.

           “If that’s the case, then let’s enjoy the coffee while waiting for him,” Mrs. Green stated.

           I hope he reads my messages.

           Bella sent messages about this meeting, and if she’s sure, Charles is on his way now.

           “Sorry, beautiful ladies, if I made you wait,” Mr. Parker apologized to them.

           There he is. Thank God!

           “I must say that the rumors were true, you are truly handsome, but are you really single?” Mrs. Green asked Mr. Parker.

           “Yeah, I am ma’am but I think I already met her,” he smiled. “I just hope that she’ll give me a chance,” he added.

           “For sure she will, Hijo. As long as it is not Bella,” Mrs. Green said while smiling at Bella.

           “Would you mind if I asked why?” Mr. Parker wanted to know the reason.

           “I used to pair up my son with her but my son ended giving up. My son admitted that he can’t defeat Greg in his heart, and that is actually the reason why I wanted Bella – it is because of her commitment,” Mrs. Green said frankly.

           Ms. Carmen wasn’t shocked at all, since she knew the story. Charles understands now why Bella is aloof. But Bella feels her legs are weakening.

It’s natural for her to be frank all the time, but does she need to broadcast her past about Greg?

“Hija, you know I always care for you. It’s been two years since he left. It could have been easier for you if he said goodbye and parted ways with you but he isn’t,” Mrs. Green said with hatred.

Mrs. Green notices the silence and decides to leave.

“Oh, sorry. I think I went overboard. I’ll send the documents when it is ready,” Mrs. Green said, “Goodbye, see you around,” she added.

Ms. Carmen accompanied Mrs. Green. Thanking her for her time and support for the business.

Bella has no strength to move her legs. She was about to fall down when Charles held her arms. Charles seated Bella on the sofa. There was a moment of silence. Bella couldn’t find strength to start a conversation and Charles could understand it.

“Why don’t you take a leave now? You’re not looking all right. Would you like me to drop you off at your place?” Charles said to make Bella feel better.

“So-sorry but would you mind giving me a space?” finally, Bella said what was in her mind. She was feeling frozen but she knew that if Charles would leave her even for a short moment, she could feel better.

He knows Bella is shaken and wants to be alone.

           “All right, I will - but call me if you need anything, okay?” Charles held Bella’s hands.

           When Mr. Parker leaves the room, he sees Ms. Carmen approached the conference room. And he signaled Ms. Carmen not to disturb Ms. Bella for a while.

           Bella was left all alone and she wanted it. There is no reason for her to react and feel that way, but it hits her when Mrs. Green said if only Greg said goodbye and parted ways it could have been easier.

           Damn you Greg! I wasn’t asking for much but you still left me hanging. And her tears falling freely from her eyes.

           After saying it, Bella feels better. All along, it was her first time to swear a word to someone and it was what she really wanted to say to Greg. Bella knew that she was in the office and couldn’t entertain her feelings any longer. She wipes her face and retouches her make-up. When she looks at her watch, “it is almost an hour,” I wasted almost an hour.

           Bella with time wasted. She meets the production team to ask for a sample of the new product for Mrs. Green. After that, she was accompanied by Elizabeth, a senior manager of the PR Department, to meet a broadcasting station about the promotion. As expected, everything went well. She forgot what had happened. Her work makes her occupied.

           “Ms. Arabella, should we head now to the office?” Elizabeth asked Bella where they would go next.

           Bella glanced at her watch. It’s already past 5 in the afternoon.

           “We can call it a day, Ms. Elizabeth,” she replied, “we finished our task early so we can relax now,” she added.

           “Thanks Ms. Arabella!” Elizabeth said “shall we part ways now? Actually, I was set up on a blind date and I’m excited. See you then tomorrow,” she said while waving her hands to Bella.

           Bella smiled back.

           “It is too early to go home,” she said to herself, and decided to walk until she got tired. She was at Taguig. She didn’t have a certain place to go and let her freewill decide.As she was walking, she noticed couples who were holding hands while walking, some were sitting on the benches and there was a pictorial, maybe it’s a pre-nup pictorial.

           Everyone is busy with their lives. And so, she should be.

           She found herself standing at a bar. It is an acoustic bar and it’s been a while since she last visited such a place. She entered the place and was seated at the back, since she decided to leave after a drink or two. The lead singer has a good voice; he has the same voice as Greg, and is singing ‘Forgetting’ by Davichi.

She’s sort of happy because she thinks that this place knows what she really feels. Bella ordered another beer and another until she had seven. She knows that her beer tolerance is just 3 bottles but she exceeded it. She’s not the type who speaks when drunk, but that night she catches her phone and starts calling Charles.

The phone is ringing.

“Bella, where are you?” a sound was coming from the line.

“Where am I?” she replied. You can notice from her voice that she was drunk.

She smiled. “I do-no no, don’t know, but I have an empty bottle of beer. Oh, would you want to join me?” she asked Charles.

“Yes, do you mind if I talk to one of the servers?” Charles said, just to find out where she was. It’s almost midnight.

“But promise me you’ll buy me another bottle, okay?” Bella responded while handing her phone to one of the waiters.

The waiter said the address and Charles drove as fast as he could. He had been worried since that morning because she didn’t notice that Bella was already out of the office and doing some field work. When Charles contacted Ms. Elizabeth, knowing that she was accompanied by her, had already parted ways. As there was no heavy traffic during that hour, he reached the place in no time.

“Bella,” Charles' soft voice was coming from behind her.

 “Oh, there you are!” she said loudly while waving her hand towards Charles. There were lots of customers but they didn’t mind her.

“Don’t you know what time it is? I’ve been calling you but you’re not answering your phone. My God, I’m worried about you,” he said with his concerned voice.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you home,” Charles said while holding Bella’s hands.

“No! Nope!” she removed Charles' hands.

“You promised me,” she said annoyingly. Bella seemed frantic.

Charles paid the bill and gave an extra tip to the waiter whom he talked to.

“Leave me – “she couldn’t finish her words because he was shocked as Charles carried her with her broad arms. The next thing she noticed, she was facing towards his brawny chest. Bella feels hot. She doesn’t know if it’s because of her drunkenness or it was Charles who made her like that.

Charles let her sit at the shotgun. When he reaches the seatbelt, their lips almost touch and it makes her more reddish. But it seems that Charles didn’t notice it. He hurriedly rode into the car and drove towards home. To avoid him, she pretended to be asleep.

When they reached Bella’s place, Charles waited for Bella to wake up. He doesn’t want her to be disturbed. Bella, who pretended to be asleep, really fell. She wakes up when she notices that someone is watching her.

“Sorry, did I make you awake?” Charles asked curiously, but his eyes were enthralling. And before she could say anything, her hands approached Charles' face. Charles didn’t do anything because he didn’t know how to respond.

“Can I kiss you?” Bella’s question was out of the blue.