Arabelle

Chapter 9 - Second Encounter

Derrick’s POV

“You have a meeting with the board today sir by 10:00am, it’s of utmost importance that you attend it” Alfred said,

Exhaling, I nodded my head and glanced at the schedule in my hands, today was a very busy day for me, I had even had foreign investors coming in from Japan, even my lunch break was interrupted, I had a meeting with the board of Directors, we had a new project we were working on and I couldn’t afford any mistakes, everything had to go as planned or all the effort and time put into it will go down the drain,

“Make sure there are no disturbances today, I want everything to go smoothly and make sure I am not disturbed” I said

“I understand Sir, I will make sure you are not disturbed” Alfred said,

“That will be all Alfred, you can leave now” I said,

Alfred nodded and walked out.

Looking through the schedule one more time, I sighed, my first meeting was due in 10 minutes, it was a meeting with the head of the production unit, he had a few things to report and some minor adjustments needed to be made before the new products were released,

I stood up and went to put on my jacket hanging on the rack behind me, I had just slipped on the jacket when I heard a knock on the door,

“Come in, it’s open” I called out and went sit in my chair,

A few seconds later, the door opened and Ruth walked in, she had that nerve wrecking smile on her face, I felt my mood immediately become sour, today was the board meeting and she had come to make sure I attend or she will cause problems for me, well sorry to disappoint her, nothing was going to keep from attending today’s board meeting,

“Good morning Derrick” she said and extended her hand toward me for a handshake,

Looking wearily at the hand, I reluctantly stretched out my hand to meet hers, it was dry and bony, it felt like something barely alive,

“Good morning Ruth, always a pleasure to see you” I said and placed a smile that mirrored hers on my face,

She kept the smile in place “I had some business to take care of before the meeting so I decided to drop in and check on you” she said,

I chuckled and said “That was really thoughtful of you Ruth, I feel you take too much trouble on my behalf”

She smiled and said “I told you Derrick, I care you about just like a son”

“I will be sure to remember that in the future Ruth” I said

She nodded and smiled “Please do” she said,

“I really would love to stay and continue this discussion but I am afraid I must leave now, I have a meeting scheduled right now and I would very much hate to be late” I said and glanced at my wrist watch,

“Oh please, don’t let me keep you, I was just checking up on you that’s all and now that I have seen that you are doing okay, I can go” she said

I smiled and said “I will see at the meeting later in the day”

She smiled once more and said “See you later Derrick”

I nodded my head and gave her a smile that was imitation of hers, I watched as she walked out of the office and shut the door behind her, I sighed, I wondered if she never got tired of putting up an act, I found it extremely tiring to keep playing a battle of wits with her but I will rather die than let her beat me,

Looking at my wristwatch once more, I saw that I was already late with 2 minutes, cussing under my breath, I walked out my office and headed to the conference room.

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BELLA’S POV

I had picked out a black knee length dress, the bodice and long snug sleeves were made of soft black lace, the rest of the dress was made of rich, black silk, as for my hair, I had chosen a side swept hairstyle, I had coiled it in loose coils, it shimmered when the light hit it, I had a pair of long silver earrings on, I had put on a pair of silver heels, I carried a small silver bag on my shoulder, I had finished the look up with a subtle red lipstick that wasn’t prominent enough to stand out in a crowd but it a color definitely worth looking at twice,

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt I looked exactly the way I wanted, I looked beautiful and yet endearing and slightly dangerous,

Deciding I was okay with my look, I headed downstairs, I needed to find mum and see she if she was ready to go, it was 9:00am now and I needed us to leave soon,

“Sofia have you seen my mum?” I asked Sofia after checking my mum’s room and not finding her there,

“Hello Isabella, your mum had to leave a few minutes ago, she said received a call from the company saying there was an emergency and so she had to go immediately, she said to tell you to go without her but if you want to wait, then maybe you can both go tomorrow” Sofia said,

I felt this was better for me, if I had gone with mum, it might have been difficult to carry out my plan but now, I could go ahead with my plans and not worry about mum,

“Don’t worry Sofia, I will just go on my own, I will call mum and tell her not to worry” I said with a smile,

“You look really beautiful today Miss Isabella” Sofia said with a bright smile which I gladly returned,

“Thank you Sofia, I have to get going now” I said,

Sofia waved me goodbye and I walked out of the house, my car was parked in the garage, I hardly used it because I was normally driven around but today I felt like driving myself,

“Miss Isabelle, will you be driving yourself today?”  Harvey asked me, Harvey was another of our drivers

“Yes Harvey, I will be driving myself today, you don’t need worry” I said with a smile,

“Okay Miss” he said and walked away,

I got into my car, it was a shiny chocolate brown BMW, I had no idea what make it was, I didn’t know such things, the car was just delivered one day and mum told me it was mine, it was really beautiful and I loved it.

Putting the key in the ignition and turning, the car’s engine came alive, the sound was smooth, putting on my seat belt, I pulled out of the garage and maneuvered the car towards the gate, when I got close to the gate, it slowly slid open and I sped out of the house, I knew my destination very well, the king’s tower was very famous and easy to locate.

“I look forward to seeing you again Richard” I said to myself as I entered the traffic and drove toward King’s Tower.

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BELLA’S POV

It took about 20 minutes for me to arrive at my destination, I had to admit it was really a sight to behold, I had always passed by it when I was passing through but today was the first time I was standing this close to it, it was designed to appear domineering and intimidating but today I didn’t care what it was designed to be, I had to see Richard today and nothing will stand in my way,

I parked my car in the parking lot and headed towards the entrance, it was guarded by two security men, walking up to them, I suddenly felt like Lady Arabelle Highwater, I didn’t feel like Isabella Mavericks, I felt like the woman who was praised all her life because of the great beauty she possessed, I was felt like the woman all the girls in town were jealous of, I felt like the woman who an accomplished lady of society, I felt like the powerful witch that I was, I felt the magic in my blood singing, I suddenly felt strong,

“Good morning Ma’am, how can we help you this morning?” one of the security men said to me when I got to the entrance,

“Good morning, I am here to see Mr. Derrick King” I said, I almost didn’t recognize my own voice, it sounded sophisticated and commanding, it was a voice that demanded to be listened to at once,

The security men exchanged looks with one another “Do you an appointment ma’am?” one of them asked me,

I gave him a look and said “I don’t have an appointment but you can tell him that Arabelle wishes to see him”

“I am sorry ma’am you can’t see the boss unless you have an appointment” one of the men said to me,

I was getting tired of this conversation, keeping my gaze on the men, I whispered a spell and then smiled at them,

“I am sure the boss won’t mind, just go right inside Miss, you can the receptionist at the front desk, she will tell you right where to go” one of the men said and hurriedly opened the door for me,

I smiled and said “Thank you for understanding” I walked past them into the open door,

“Have a great ahead ma’am” I had the men call from behind me

Somewhere deep inside me, I felt excitement rising, I couldn’t believe I had just a mind control spell, even back then, I had only used weak magic, just simple weather spells and animal spells, I had never had a reason to use spells like this but my mother made I learnt them all, my mother was not a witch but she was the daughter to great witches, despite not been a witch, her mother had taught everything there was to know about witchcraft and magic, thinking about my dear mother, I suddenly felt sad, I wondered what became of her after my death, there were a lot of questions that needed answers and the bastard I had come to see was able to give them to me, there was no way I would leave today without seeing Richard, no matter the cost , I must see him.

Reaching the front desk, I saw a girl about my age, she had bright red hair and brown eyes, she gave a bright smile,

“Good morning ma’am, how can I help you this morning?” she said, her voice was very cheerful,

“Good morning, I am here to meet up with Derrick King but the problem is I don’t have an appointment, is there any way you can help me?” I said, putting a bright smile on my face,

“I am sorry ma’am but an appointment is needed to meet with Mr. Derrick, it’s just standard procedure but I am very sorry but I can’t help you” the lady said, giving me an apologetic smile,

I had expected this, lowering my eyes, I put on a disappointed look “it’s okay, I understand, I just wanted to surprise him, actually I am his girlfriend, I just returned from a long trip and decided to pay him a visit, I guess I will just wait some other time then” I said, sounding very downcast,

It’s wasn’t entirely a lie, Richard was my husband in another century so that should count as something in this lifetime,

The lady’s eyes twinkled with excitement “I didn’t know the boss had a girlfriend” she said sounding very interested,

I smiled and gave her a smile “It’s a secret, our relationship is still very private, please don’t tell anyone about it” I said,

The lady nodded her head quickly “I understand ma’am, I will keep this a secret” she said, keeping her voice low and gave me a wink that hinted at conspiracy,

I gave her another smile “So can you please help me, I promise I won’t tell anyone you let me go upstairs” I said,

“Sure I will, just take the elevator to the last floor, the boss’s office is there, you might want to hurry up though, he has a meeting scheduled soon, you must hurry if you want to catch up with him” the lady said quickly,

I said thank you to her and waved her goodbye, a wave she responded to very enthusiastically,

I walked away and went toward the elevator, I got in and pressed the button indicating the last floor, the elevator closed and started it’s accent up, I watched the buttons light up as each it reached a new floor, the building had a total of 13 floors, finally the elevator opened on the last floor, I walked out of the elevator, there was only a single door here, it looked more like pent house to me, walking towards the door, I stopped when I got to the polished mahogany door, raising my hand, I knocked softly, it took a few seconds for me to his voice say “Come in” from within,

With a smile on my face, I pushed the door opened and walked in, he was busy writing something so he didn’t look up when I entered

Clearing my throat, I said “Good day My Lord”

His head shot up so fast, I wondered if he wouldn’t hurt his neck like that, his eyes went wide when they fell on me,

“Arabelle” he said, it sounded more like a question than a statement, I was finding this very amusing in a way,

“You seem surprised to see me My Lord” I said with a sweet smile and took a step forward,

“What are you doing here Arabelle?” he said,

“I came here because you and I are going to have a long conversation and you don’t really have much of a choice in this matter” I said and sat down on the chair facing him,

He looked like he had seen a ghost, just then, his phone rang, the caller ID read Alfred,  he looked down at it and a cuss escaped his lips,

I almost laughed, this was a habit of his even back then “Go ahead and answer your phone” I said,

He looked at me for a while then he pressed the reject icon on his phone, the phone immediately stopped ringing,

“You want to talk, let’s talk” he said

I smiled sweetly at him and said “Indeed my Lord, we have a conversation long overdue I must say”