Chapter 55

Chapter 55
Bella woke up very late, tired from the stress of speaking to investors and business partners at the social event the day before. She took a bath, got dressed for work, and headed to the dining table for breakfast.
It was already a few minutes to ten when Bella was done eating and left for work. By a minute past eleven, she was at the office.
"Anything I need to know?" She asked Audrey. "What is my schedule for the day?"
Audrey read out Bella's schedule to her. "You have a lunch meeting with Mr Williams today, but he wants to reschedule for Thursday."
"Do I have free time on Thursday?" Bella asked.
"I've gone through your itinerary. You're not free," Audrey answered. "You will be having a lunch meeting with Mr James."
Bella nodded. "That's true. Send an email to Mr Williams informing him about it. Let him know the days I'm free so that we can reschedule the meeting."
Audrey nodded. "Okay, ma'am."
Silence invaded the room. Bella's eyes were fixed on a document. She looked up. 
"Is that all, Audrey?"
"Yes, ma'am," Audrey answered. "Do you want me to get you anything?"
Bella shook her head. "No... Or maybe a cup of coffee."
"Okay, ma'am."
Audrey left the office, and Bella's attention returned to the document in front of her. She needed to go through it, sign it, and have it ready so Audrey would take it with her when she returned.
It didn't take long before Bella was done. She stared at the wall clock. It was still some minutes past eleven. Soon, she heard a knock on the door. Bella knew it wasn't Audrey; she would have walked in after the first knock.
"Come in," she mumbled.
The door opened, revealing Charlotte and Liam. Bella stood up.
"Charlotte? Liam?"
Liam ran towards her, hugging her. "Good morning, Aunt Bella," Liam said.
"Good morning, Liam. It's good to see you." He lifted him, kissing his cheek. She faced Charlotte. "I didn't expect to see you."
Charlotte nodded. "Liam wanted to see you. We went to the house and were told you left for work. Did you not promise me to get some rest?"
Bella smiled. "Of course I did. I woke up by nine."
Charlotte nodded. "I guess you did." She sat down. "I'm thinking we could do lunch, but I don't know if you're going to be busy."
"I am not," Bella answered.
She only had a short meeting with the staff before lunchtime. With Mr Williams' lunch meeting canceled, she had time to spare.
Charlotte smiled. "Then I will call Mia and Jade."
Bella nodded. "You should."
They heard a knock, and the door opened. Audrey walked in.
"Your coffee, ma'am." She placed the coffee on the table. 
"Have you seen my friend today?" Bella asked when Audrey turned to leave.
"We already met," Charlotte answered. "She was the one who told me that you're in the office."
Bella nodded and picked up the document she had worked on. "You can go with it." Audrey took the document from her. "Tell Sarah to handle the staff meeting. I'm going for a lunch date with my friends, but I will be back before the meeting with Miss Pam."
Audrey nodded. "Okay, ma'am."
She left the office. Bella took a few sips from her coffee and dropped the cup on the table.
"You should call Jade and Mia."
Charlotte smiled. "Do you know I have forgotten I wanted to do that?"
She placed a call to Mia to inform her.
"Jade is here with me," Mia said. "We'll be there on time."
"We'll be expectant," Charlotte answered.
Charlotte ended the call and placed her phone on the table.
"So," Charlotte began. "About the competition. Do you plan to participate?"
"Competition?" Bella furrowed her brows.
"Yes, the one Jordan told you about."
"Oh, that," Bella said. "I haven't thought about it. Maybe when I meet with him today and he gives me detailed information on it."
"You both haven't talked about it? Did you not meet yesterday?"
"We did, at the event, but..." Bella sighed. "There wasn't time to talk. We plan to meet today, though."
Charlotte nodded. "No matter what you decide about the competition, I will always support you. You know that, right?"
Bella nodded and smiled. "I know. And that's why I love you."
"I love you too," Charlotte replied with a smile.
They began to talk about work. Audrey showed up, and Bella had to leave the office to meet with a client who had shown up without prior notice. She was one of Bella's top clients.
"She doesn't want to meet you in your office," Audrey told her. "She's waiting in one of the VIP fitting rooms."
Bella excused herself and left the office with Audrey.
"Did she say why she's here?" Bella asked.
"She did not," Audrey answered.
"She said nothing to you?" Bella asked.
She needed to know what the client discussed with Audrey so she could prepare herself.
Audrey nodded. "Nothing. She only asked to see you."
"Is she with someone? Did she come alone?"
"She came with a young lady," Audrey answered.
Bella nodded and said nothing after that. They got to the fitting room. Bella took a deep breath before going in.
"Hello, Mrs. Arden," she said. "It's been a while."
"Bella," Mrs. Arden said, standing up. "It's good to see you. I hope I didn't disrupt your work. I needed to see you privately."
Bella shook her head, smiling. "No, you did not." She pointed. "Please sit."
Mrs. Arden sat down; Bella did too.
"Meet my daughter, April," Mrs Arden introduced, pointing at the lady beside her. "April, this is Bella. The one I told you about."
"Hi, April," Bella waved slightly.
"Hi," April replied, not glancing at Bella.
"She's an introvert," Mrs. Arden told Bella. "She doesn't talk much."
Bella nodded. "So what do you have for me?"
"She's getting married," Mrs. Arden said.
"Wow, congratulations," Bella answered.
"Thank you," Mrs. Arden said. "And I want you to make her dress."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Bella answered.
"But," Mrs Arden continued. "The wedding is in three days."
Bella furrowed her brows. Three days, three weeks, or three months? 
"Three days?" Bella asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Arden answered.
"That's a short time," Bella said.
"I know," Mrs. Arden sighed. She went on to explain what had happened and why they needed the wedding dress in three days. "I don't mind paying double," she added.
Bella brushed her hair backward. It wasn't about the money but the time. Three days is a short one.
"Please, Bella," Mrs. Arden said. "You're the only one I can turn to."
Bella sighed. "Does she have a design in mind? Or would she go through our catalogues?"
"I have my dream wedding dress," April answered, bringing out her phone. "This is it." She handed her phone over to Bella. "Every detail should be included."
Bella stared at the design, and then at Mrs. Arden. Every detail? For a wedding taking place in three days?
April kept talking about how detailed she wanted the dress to be and why she wanted that.