Arabelle

Chapter 43 - Dining with Danger

Melissa Maverick’s POV

I drove to king’s enterprise with a happy feeling in my heart, I felt like all my hard work was finally paying off, I wanted to work hard now so that Bella will not have to work as hard I did now, I wanted to provide a life filled with all the luxuries this world could offer, I could give her what I considered basic now, I wanted to live like a queen, that was the life I wanted for my baby and I will make sure she had that kind of life, this was something I promised myself when her father died, I will give the life he wanted her to have,

The drive was short and when I arrived, I parked my car and walked over to the security men, this wasn’t my first time here and I was already familiar with most of them,

“Hello Brad” I said to one of the men sitting down at the check point, Brad was a fat man with a smiling face and bald head, he was a cheerful man who always something nice to say about everyone,

“Good morning Mrs. Mavericks, it’s always a pleasure seeing you ma’am” he said and tipped his hat in my direction, he gave me a warm smile,

 One which I returned with a warm smile of my own “I have a meeting scheduled for today with the execs” I said,

“Yes we were informed, you can go right in, no one is in there just the madam and her secretary, so you have the place to yourself I guess” Brad said with another smile,

“Thanks Brad” I said and walked into the door he was holding open for me, the office was completely empty, it didn’t matter, I knew exactly where to go, the email had told me that I was to go to the conference room, whoever I was meeting with will be waiting inside for me,

Honestly, I was finding all this a little unprofessional but I wasn’t so bothered by it, the sooner I got done with meeting, the sooner I will have a reason to celebrate with Bella and Sofia,

I got into the elevator and pushed the button leading to the floor I wanted to go to, it was the 15th floor, I was not someone to usually feel nervous but today, I felt the nervousness in the very core of my being, my palms were clammy and sweaty,

I composed myself before the elevator doors opened and I stepped out, my heels made a “click” sound anytime it came in contact with the marble floors,

A woman walked out of a room, she was a tall woman with broad shoulders, her black hair was pulled back in a tight braid, she was dressed in coat trousers and a black jacket, she had a plain white button down shirt on, she also had low heels on as well,

She was smiling at me “Good day, you must be Melissa Mavericks” the woman said, her was deep and almost masculine, she extended her hand out to me, I quickly shook her hand with a smile on my face,

“Yes, I am Melissa Mavericks, it’s a pleasure to meet you” I said,

“I am Agatha Miner, I am the secretary to Mrs Yvonne King, the president of this company, she is waiting for you inside, come with me please” the woman said,

I suddenly felt like I was hyper ventilating, I had no idea I was meeting with the company president, everyone knew Yvonne King, she was the picture of sophistication and elegance, most women in the business world sought to be like her, she had singlehandedly ran the company after losing her husband to cancer, she was often described and bold and beautiful, she was a woman I respected a lot and the fact that she was personally meeting with me made feel on top of the world,

Agatha gestured for me to go into the door she was holding open for me with a smile on my face, I was supposed to be following behind her but I was in shock,

I gathered my wit around me and straightened out, I walked over to the open door with my usual elegant steps,

Once I was inside, the door closed behind me, inside the conference was a woman, she was sitting in the far end of the room, she stood once I walked and started working over to me,

From the distance between us, I could see she was a woman of average height, she had a black gown on, it was free fitted with long snug sleeves, her hair came pouring down to her shoulders in straight shiny strands,

When she finally got to where I was standing, she had a smile on her face, it was a smile of elegance, she walked with grace and sophistication,

I really liked this woman already, I thought as a smile crept into my face,

“Melissa Mavericks I presume, I am Yvonne king, please feel free to call me Yvonne, I find it bothersome when I am called Ma’am or Madam, it makes me feel very old” Yvonne King said to me, her voice was smooth and soft, I hadn’t expected her to be so nice, she always had a cold exterior anytime I had seen her before but today, she was all warm smiles,

“Yes I’m Melissa Mavericks and it’s a complete honour to meet you Madam President” I said with a smile,

“Yvonne please” she said with another smile of elegance,

“I am sorry but I am finding it a little difficult calling your name, you are my role model” I said and meant it,

A smile crossed her face and she said “This is the first time anyone ever said that to me, I am flattered”

I smiled,

“Let’s discuss business, I have a lot to discuss with you, I have a feeling this the beginning of a fruitful partnership and friendship Melissa Mavericks” Yvonne King said with a smile,

And I couldn’t have wished to hear any other words today because those words just made my day completely.

******************

After a two hour meeting with the president of King Enterprise, I felt on top of the world, the deal had been reviewed and we both felt it will indeed be a very beneficial arrangement for all parties involved,

Yvonne King had been very interesting to talk to, she had agreed with me on almost everything, I felt we thought alike, after we had concluded what we needed to conclude for now, the part that could be discussed now complete, we agreed to meet on Monday and continue with our meeting,

After the meeting, Yvonne King had suggested we have a late breakfast together since she hadn’t had anything to eat yet, since I also hadn’t had breakfast, I agreed to go with her,

So right now, I was having breakfast with Yvonne King in a small café by the road, she had chosen this place herself saying she loved their coffee and croissants and she was right it was absolutely delicious,

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the power that comes with my position but sometimes it becomes overwhelming, sometimes I just want to be a mum to my son and stay home and not have to worry about how my company is doing in the stock market or thousands of employees working under me, it gets tiring sometimes but of course that is the price a woman must pay when she decides to take the reins of leadership, we have to miss out many things, like me, I don’t even know when my son grew up so much, I still remember him being so little just like it was yesterday but now, he is all grown up and I feel like I missed everything” Yvonne King was saying,

I couldn’t help the sad smile that crept into my face, she was completely right, I felt exactly the same way, I felt that I didn’t spend enough time with Bella, I felt that I left her alone way too much because I had to run the company and secure her future,

“You are absolutely right, I feel the same way about my daughter, there are day when I wish I could throw everything away and spend the entire day with her but I have too much responsibilities and I don’t even have the luxury of that” I said,

Yvonne king was quiet for a while then she said “I think we really understand each other Melissa, it’s nice to have someone to talk to who gets the consequences that come with the position, it’s really nice and I really glad I was able to meet you today”

I smiled and said “I am glad as well, it was really a pleasure meeting you today”

She raised her coffee cup with a smile and said “A cheers to women in power who have sacrificed a lot”

I smiled and raised my cup as well “Cheers” I said and with that, we clicked our cups together and drank, signifying the beginning of what felt like a new friendship.

***************

Yvonne Kings’s POV

I couldn’t help but feel very great about how today had gone, Melissa Mavericks had fallen completely just like I had wanted, everything was going exactly as I wanted, very soon, Arabelle won’t know what hit her, it will come like a shock to her in the worst possible way and I will revel in her misery,

A permanent smile had been on my face since I separated with Melissa Mavericks, all that rubbish about women with power had completely drawn her in, she fell for it hook, line and sinker, she must probably think we had a connection by now,

It was easy to manipulate her, I had dug deep and found out how much she cared about her daughter, my informant had been very thorough,

Melissa was a woman who wanted to be at the top and she loved her daughter to a fault, most of the pictures I had seen of her were with her daughter and it was obvious that Arabelle loved her mother dearly as well,

It had always been said that love could become a weakness and a vulnerability and that is exactly what I will use to strike at Arabelle, I had told Richard that Arabelle must die but perhaps that could be reviewed, I didn’t have to kill her, I could just kill everyone she cared about, leaving her all alone and as for Richard, if he didn’t want to stay with me willingly, then I am afraid I will have to make use of the spell I had used before, he could only hate me and I will rather have him hate me and stay by my side than not have him by my side,

I had done it once already, I was not above doing it again, and poor darling Arabelle will be left all alone with no one to care for her and then she will feel what it was she had intended for me,

I felt giddy with happiness just by thinking about how miserable she will be and I will be the winner this time around again, Arabelle could never beat me even if it was in a thousand lifetimes, I will always win and she will always be the loser.

I think tonight called for a grand celebration, I had that bottle of wine that they had said was fifteen years old, it seemed perfect for my mood, I will find Richard when I got back home and tell him I won’t be hurting his precious Arabelle and I won’t be lying, I was going to hurt her, only those she cared about,

After I am done with Melissa Mavericks, my next target was that half-wit friend of Arabelle, Daniel Kingston, my informant had said they were very close and I am sure Arabelle will be so miserable after losing such a friend and I will enjoy watching it all,

Then finally, I will go after the Langroves, Arabelle seemed close with them as well, I will not stop until she was completely and utterly alone.

Feeling excited about the whole affair, I felt like doing something I hadn’t done in a while, I was going to cook for my dear son.