Possessing Bella Ch. 06

"All these tears are over nothing. It was a mistake that's all, no need to get all upset about it. You need to toughen up, stop asking and start telling. The only person you have to answer to here is Kurt, maybe Rob when he shows up. Everyone else works for you," she laughed. Bella stared at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Kurt's right you should know more about the company you are part owner of. It shouldn't come at the expense of your own plans though. At home and the club or with a Master you have agreed to obey, you can be your sweet submissive self. But here in this place, you are the boss lady, and you need to start stepping up and accepting that. Then they won't treat you like a sulking little girl and Dianne will find those boundaries she inadvertently crossed." Dorothea grinned at her, "If you tell someone to pack their things so they can be escorted from the building you shouldn't back down."

"Oh God," Bella said miserably. "Another thing I have messed up today."

"What exactly did you do wrong?" Dorothea asked.

"I misunderstood the schedule and then went up to the roof for some fresh air," Bella mumbled.

"Only two people understood that schedule, Dianne and Patrick. That was their mess let them own it. If they had half a brain between them, they would have let Andrew in on the joke before it went so far. Definitely not your mess," Dorothea dismissed the idea. "As for the roof that idiot should read the memos. It was his fault, not yours. I imagine Kurt is already interviewing for a replacement."

"How did you even know about that?" Bella suddenly realised she knew the whole story.

"I know everything," Dorothea laughed merrily.

*****

With her schedule reduced to only the meets she must attend and invitations to others she could decline if she wanted, Bella began to manage her own work day rather than accepting everything that others decided for her. With Dorothea's help, Bella began to realise she could compartmentalise her life. She had always acted on a different set of rules when she was with her parents to when she was with her friends. There was no reason why she couldn't look at her work life, her home life and the rules she obeyed when exploring the lifestyle she had chosen to pursue as separate spaces with their own rules and responsibilities.

Dorothea pointed out that Mel had blurred those lines for her, wanting to control every aspect of her life. He had known her family well. He had disregarded her friends out of hand and given her friends he approved of and could influence. He had chosen where she lived and how she lived. Now it was time to accept some of that responsibility back. Very few Masters were as all-encompassing as Mel and most of them valued independent thinking within reason.

It had taken days of discussion on Dorothea's behalf to make her see that being true to herself was entirely her choice. That she needed to question what was being asked of her in the various facets of her life now that Mel was no longer there to manage it for her and trust in her own feelings and decision making skills.

It was Dianne that appeared to have the most problems dealing with the changes in Bella and her role within the company. She was as always supportive and caring, but Bella felt a distance grow between them as she began to assert herself more at work. Dianne had always been the older wiser friend and through that, held certain dominance over Bella as well. The changing dynamics of their relationship were a minefield for both of them.

Bella became more focused on her own project and worried less about pleasing all of the executives within the company. Everything she did, she tried to do to perfection, to show her commitment to the money the company was investing in her ideas.

Andrew was quietly pleased with how the rocky start to the week had smoothed out and Bella had focused on the task at hand. She had brought in a range a beautiful hand blown glass objects and jewellery which decorated the office. Andrew could appreciate her eye for beauty in each piece she chose and was surprised when she suggested he take a working break in Venice to see the particular stores that had been a major influence in her plans.

Dorothea declined the extra hours available as Andrew's trip was booked, a temp would be used to take messages in their absence. She instead wanted to take the time Bella would be away to attend to some personal appointments she had and Bella agreed without a second thought grateful for the fact that the older woman was able to be there while she was in the office.

By Friday afternoon, Bella felt like she had accomplished a lot in her first two weeks at the company. She sat thinking about everything she had put in place for Andrew to do in her absence and smiled knowing she was leaving her project in capable hands that shared her vision for it. Packing her briefcase with assorted notes and her tablet so she could show her father how her project was coming along, Bella set the alarms on the display cases and left her office and left to meet Kurt and go home. She was looking forward to seeing her parents and showing her father how far she had been able to take her ideas into a real business plan.

*****

After a quiet evening alone which she had requested and a restless night's sleep, Bella woke early but lay in bed with her eyes half closed feeling as if sleep had eluded her entirely. As usual she padded out of her bedroom to get some juice and make some breakfast before getting ready to leave, she was still in the kitchen when a knock sounded softly on her door and she went to answer it.

"Good morning sleepy head," Rob smiled and looked her up and down appreciatively. "Stephen will be here soon so I thought I would come to you for our good morning cuddle as I won't see you for two weeks now."

"You're just in time for cinnamon toast," she ran her fingers through her hair quickly and stood back letting him enter her apartment. "I'll make you some if you will give me a few minutes to shower," she laughed.

"How about I make you a decent breakfast while you shower," Rob said with a smile.

"But I love cinnamon toast," Bella retorted "It's a decent breakfast really."

"Mmhmm," Rob murmured doubtfully folding her into a warm embrace, "Go shower, I'll see what I can find in that little hole you call a kitchen." He let her go and smiled as she padded away towards her room.

Bella left her hair unwashed in favour of a quicker shower, deciding instead to braid it in an attempt to hide the lifeless curls. She emerged from her room dressed in a simple sun dress to the smell of bacon and eggs. She was glad she had packed her small bag for the weekend the night before. The instructions from Hunter had remained the same, so she planned only to take the small pouch with her phone and credit card tucked into it for emergencies.

Sitting at the small table with Rob in her little apartment felt so odd, like they were playing house. She couldn't help but giggle making him look at her oddly. "It just seems strange that you would be cooking for me," she grinned.

"Actually I like to cook, who do you think taught Jake some of his better recipes," he said proudly.

"I didn't realise you had more in common than just the club," Bella was a little surprised by the turn in the conversation. Saved from having to explain herself further there was a knock at the door and she got up to let Stephen in.

"Good morning, little one," Stephen took in the breakfast at a glance and moved to greet Rob. "I didn't expect to find you here."

"We have a chat most mornings," Rob answered getting up and removing their plates from the table, "You want some breakfast?"

"No, I wanted to get on the road before the weekend traffic. It's a bit of a drive," he shook his head.

"I'll just clean this is up, and I will be ready," Bella said picking up the glasses from the table.

"Leave it," Rob said, "I'll get one of the cleaners to come up. Go and have a good time, let Rosie spoil you," He put the plates back on the table and took the glasses from her hands. Wrapping her in a strong embrace, he murmured, "I'll miss you, little brat."

"I will miss you too," she murmured into his chest, "it will fly by though and I will be back same as always, like I had never even been away." She smiled up at him, as he bent to kiss her forehead.

With Stephen carrying her small overnight bag, the three left her apartment and Rob entered his own apartment only after they had stepped into the elevator. Bella rode down to the car silently with Stephen. She had noted that he didn't wear his usual dark suit and appeared more relaxed in black jeans and a loose white shirt. Still not what she would consider casual wear, but more relaxed than she was used to seeing the austere Sir Stephen.

Walking from the elevator Stephen finally spoke, "I am glad you braided your hair, I haven't had much of a chance to drive my own car on the open road, I thought this would be a good opportunity." He walked toward a convertible and tossed her bag into the boot before opening her door for her.

"It's beautiful," Bella whispered a little in awe. "Did you restore it yourself?"

"Actually it was my father's passion, I inherited all his hard work. But I do enjoy maintaining it," Stephen was impressed that she knew it was a classic car. He remembered the car her father was working on for her and realised he should not have been surprised.

"I always wanted one of the classic Mercedes like the one Grace Kelly drove in an old movie," she enthused. She was looking forward to going home for the weekend and smiled widely as the engine roared to life. There was no chance to talk during the drive between the wind and the engine noise so Bella sat back and enjoyed the ride letting her mind wander over the last two weeks including her encounter with Hunter. She was both nervous and excited to be spending time with him.

She watched Stephen from time to time, seeing him relax more as they drove further from the city. She thought it was odd that even when he had visited her at Rob's shack he had seemed so formal. A smile lightened her face remembering she had always thought the same about Mel. It had been rare to see him in anything but a suit, although at times he would forgo the jacket.

She missed Mel greatly, but it hurt less to think of him recently. Not entirely pain free she found the tears were not just waiting behind her eyes to spring free. She knew she had Sire's careful consideration of her loss for that. His acceptance of the grief she still felt as part of her persona and his advice on how to protect herself and become more independent without him had been a turning point for her, especially as she went back to work.

She let her mind wander to everything and the trip went by faster than she realised. They drove past the turn off to her childhood home and continued on to the small town that serviced the small mountain community. Parking he turned to Bella and smiled, "I think your mother would like some fresh flowers, don't you?"

"Yes, she loves flowers, but you don't have to do that," Bella said touched by his consideration of her mother.

"Of course I do. I am a guest in her home. I can't arrive empty handed," he laughed and once again Bella was taken aback by how relaxed he seemed this morning. Stephen helped her from the car and as they stepped onto the sidewalk she felt his hand gently rest for a moment on the back of her neck. The familiar feel seemed odd in this setting, but she relaxed as it slowly slid down to rest in the small of her back as he guided her into the florist.

Just as she had begun to compartmentalise her life she guessed so too did Stephen. She wasn't sure how to behave with this altered version of the man she knew, she found it unsettling. She found she was grateful when after the brief stop in the small town, they arrived at her parents' house and her mother began to fuss over her.

The weekend went by too fast for Bella. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her mother cooking and tasting the favourites she had known since childhood. Her mother fussing that she was still too skinny.

Stephen and Joe spent an equal amount of time out in the garage fiddling with one of her father's many projects. For a lawyer, he had a strange love for getting dirty under the hood of old cars and generally had one he was rebuilding in some way out in his garage. She managed to find time to talk with her father about business on Sunday morning before the day got away from them again and by the time she was getting ready to leave she felt good about her life and the direction it was going.

Stephen's good mood seemed to evaporate when they began to say good byes. The drive out to the bay was quiet and the relaxed countenance he had shown throughout the last two days was slowly replaced by the stern glare Bella knew so well as he stared at the road ahead. Pulling up at the marina, he helped her out of the car, his hand resting on the nape of her neck once again in the protective way she was used to when they were amongst people within the lifestyle.

"You have your phone and your charger?" Stephen asked in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Sir Stephen," she answered feeling his mood feed her anxiety.

"You will ring anytime you feel uncomfortable or would like to return." He said it as a statement and she barely nodded, feeling her throat tighten wondering at his mood and words.

"Thank you for being so prompt," Hunter appeared before them. "Come, girl."

"Remember what I said," Stephen murmured and released her to walk toward Hunter. "I will be visiting next weekend. She will have her phone close by for emergencies." His deep baritone was serious as he addressed Hunter.

Hunter's arm curled around Bella's waist and he picked her up, slightly bending his head to kiss her. His tongue snaked out and she parted her lips under his allowing the kiss to deepen. He kissed her for long minutes so that when he finally lifted his head she was breathless to the point of panting.

"Of course she will have all the things I have agreed to. I look forward to your visit Stephen. I will have some exciting entertainment planned," his teeth flashed in brilliant white against his dark lips.

"I am sure," Stephen replied with distaste clearly resonating in his voice. "Be well, little one." He turned and left the dock walking away with haste. Hunter, who had not placed her back on her feet yet chuckled as he held her against him.

"I have been looking forward to seeing you again, precious pet," his head lowered and he kissed her deeply once again.

*****