Possessing Bella Ch. 21

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The control she needs.
  • December 2015 monthly contest
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Part 20 of the 24 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 01/06/2014
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xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,497 Followers

Authors Note: Thank you once again to everyone who leaves comments and feedback on my writing, it is much appreciated. Thank you very much to Aisielynn who continues to my second set of eyes, she is a great friend to help me out so much. Thank you also to Margret who also looked over this chapter for me. I hope I manage to surprise some of you as we near the end of this series. ~ellie

*****

Possessing Bella Ch.21

Bella travelled down to the dining hall on the fourth floor with Andrew and their new personal assistant, Chelsea. Chelsea was a tall, slim, confident woman who had a wholly professional approach and a resume that told of her experience with large corporations. Bella liked that the woman did not know her history or anything about her personal life, aside of the fact that she had been Mel's lover and protégé before his untimely death. In their first conversation this morning, Bella had cleared the air about that and invited her to ask any questions.

"Your personal life is your own, Miss Biancotti. It is good that I know certain elements that may encroach into work, but I am not one to pry. If you feel I should know something, I am sure you will give me the information but, as they say, if I know nothing then I can't inadvertently repeat it to the wrong ears," she gave a small devilish grin then, and Bella knew they would get along well.

The dining hall was surprisingly full. Bella had not realised there were so many executives and associates in the company. Dianne was standing beside the door directing the traffic flow into the room. Bella smiled and approached her.

"You are looking fabulous. How are you feeling?" Bella asked quietly.

"I feel fabulous, Honey," Dianne placed a hand on her belly. "Kurt wants you up in the front with him, and he wants you," she said over Bella's shoulder, "and I am assuming you," she looked at Chelsea sizing her up, "To attend a meeting in his office directly following the breakfast."

"Sure thing," Andrew said easily and moved into the room.

"Chelsea, this is Dianne, my friend and personal assistant to Kurt White. Dianne this is my new assistant, Chelsea Daniels."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Chelsea held out her hand to Dianne, who took it, still sizing up the woman.

"Hello," Dianne replied and kept things businesslike as she continued. "You can go up to the front with Bella." She had heard about the shared arrangement with Andrew and didn't approve at all, especially after seeing the strikingly beautiful woman.

Bella moved through the room, introducing Chelsea to those she knew along the way. She was startled when she reached the front of the room to see Rob lounging there with a cup of coffee in one hand and the other arm around Dorothea's shoulder.

"Good morning, Miss Biancotti, it is lovely as always to see you," he grinned up at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming in? We could have ridden in together," Bella returned his smile and looked curiously at Dorothea.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me, my assistant Dorothea Brown," he said solicitously. "I had left before you were ready, I had an early meeting with Kurt, and then I had to go and pick up Mrs Brown here who was a bit squeamish about getting on my bike. She uses any excuse for a day off. You know how she is," he smirked as if enjoying himself immensely.

"Pleased to meet you," Bella laughed, playing along. "May I introduce my assistant, Chelsea Daniels?"

"Well, how do you do?" Rob took the hand Chelsea was extending to shake his and kissed it dramatically, taking her by surprise.

"I do well thank you," she said, retrieving her hand from his grasp and extending it toward Dorothea, "It's an honour to meet you, Mrs Brown. I knew Mr. Brown quite well in his later years." Bella did a double take and looked again at Chelsea, who was smiling quite naturally.

"Oh dear," Dorothea put a hand to her cheek, "Should I apologise for his behaviour now or after this little circus." Chelsea gave a small laugh and turned to Bella. "Can I get you a small plate and some juice?"

"You don't have to do that," Bella said quickly.

"No, but I am offering to," Chelsea brushed away Bella's protest.

"Juice would be lovely, thank you," Bella agreed and watched the woman move through the crowd toward the buffet table.

"What's this all about?" Bella whispered to Rob.

"You, little brat. You've caused all this trouble as if you had to ask," Rob was in a jovial mood and laughed loudly.

"Me? Oh gosh, what have I done wrong now?" Bella's eyes were wide as she looked at Dorothea, who shrugged but didn't argue with what Rob had said. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"I'm afraid Kurt has a bee in his bonnet about something and, considering they dragged me out of bed on a Monday morning, I don't think it is a small matter," she looked at Rob. "Have you even slept yet?"

"I'll sleep when I am dead," Rob protested good-naturedly to her mothering tone.

Kurt and Dianne joined them at the table, and he clipped on the hands-free microphone, leaving two handheld microphones on the table in front of Bella and Rob.

"You just slide the button up when it's your turn to use it," he said, and Bella felt ill. She had caused this mess, and now he wanted her to speak to these people? She couldn't talk to a room full of executives. Not even to apologise for whatever she had done wrong. She turned pale and shook her head slightly.

"You just need to greet them, nothing too onerous but you need to be seen as the strong, confident young woman we know you are, to the rest of these people here," Kurt said. "I am already quite ready to punish you for the whole assistant debacle that I knew nothing about, so don't make matters any worse," Kurt spoke to her in a stern, commanding tone. "When I introduce you, you will stand and greet the people who work for us. You will follow my lead and praise them for their hard work and loyalty to the company during the last year of uncertainty."

"Yes Master," Bella said automatically.

"Good girl. I trust you don't need a pep talk too?" he turned his focus to Rob, who laughed raucously and shook his head.

"Ah good, Chelsea. It's good to have you on board. I am glad to see common sense prevailed in the end. I will speak to you both after this meeting," he turned his gaze to Bella, and she knew with certainty that this was somehow about her willingness to share her assistant with Andrew. She sat quietly, gnawing at her lip as Chelsea placed a glass of juice in front of Bella and a large plate of pastries on the table for people to share.

"Oh god, thank you," Dianne said helping herself to the plate. "I could smell these and have been craving one since we arrived.

"Try not to chew your lip, if you have to stand up and talk to people it may look swollen," Chelsea whispered. "Here nibble on this." She slid a cinnamon danish onto a small plate for Bella.

"Thank you," Bella said nervously.

"If everyone could take their seats please," Kurt said, getting to his feet and making his way up onto the small stage. "It's come to my attention lately that certain changes that have occurred over the past year have not been universally accepted." He let the murmur of voices die down as people realised this was not a general meeting where they were all given a pat on the back and told to keep up the good work for the coming year speech they usually received in January when most people returned from the holidays.

"Mel Marino ably led this company forward for over two decades." A picture of Mel appeared at the top of the screen behind where Kurt stood. "He led by sheer force of will. He did it his way and if people didn't like that they soon found the way out was swift." He paused letting that sink in. "What some of you seem to have forgotten is that he didn't do it alone. From the very beginning, he had two business partners. They did not seek the limelight nor did they throw their weight around, but they were there helping to guide this ship of fools through treacherous waters and make it one of the top-grossing corporations in the country." There was a smattering of applause and a general agreement with that fact.

"Rob Collins and Kitty Flanigan were here from the very beginning; these three people were the founding members of this great company. Sadly two of them were taken from us far too soon, but not before Mel and his partner Rob could put in place their vision for the future of this company by giving shares and partnerships to people who would lead the company forward with them and in their memory. I am one of those partners, and I am honoured that so many of you have stayed the course with me and my partners during the last turbulent year."

"The formula for success that these three talented people used has not changed. The formula, the business plan, the success it means for all us, and I am sure you were all happy with your holiday bonuses this year, has not changed. The company is still led by a team of three in partnership. Please welcome to the stage Rob Collins and Bella Biancotti."

Standing Rob put a hand in the small of Bella's back and guided her to the stage to stand between himself and Kurt. Once again there was a smattering of applause and deep murmuring though it didn't sound as affirmative as the last time.

"I don't often stand up and say I'm the boss, and you will do what I say my way," Kurt went on. "I am a reasonable man, most days," he paused. "I hear everyone out, any idea can be a good idea with the right people behind it, but I am telling you right now... this very moment to take a good look at the stage. We are the people who sign your paychecks, who hand out the bonuses and who make this company the workplace it is with all of its benefits and bonuses. I do not do it alone."

"Make no mistake, I can be and will be every bit as ruthless as Mel ever was, and this is my warning shot," Kurt said forcefully. "If anyone here thinks management has softened, think again because due to recent events I will be stalking the halls like Caligula himself and I will sever any poisonous limb from the body of this company no matter how small or how big." He paused looking dramatically around the room of people before him, "Well, at least some of you have the good grace to look shocked, that is something." He finally fell silent.

"Good morning everyone," Rob said amiably. "I expect that is my cue to step in here and be the good cop to Kurt's fabulous rendition of bad cop, but alas I am just as pissed off as he is."" He shook his head. "I come in once a week or so to get the updates from the horse's mouth so to speak, but there is a weekly newsletter that goes out is there not?" he paused as the murmur rose and many heads nodded their assent. "Though we may not see each of you on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, we do our best as a team to keep you informed of company business. You are all executives and associates, you need that information to be able to function in this workplace properly; am I right?" Again he waited.

"Imagine our surprise when we asked you, the executives, to respond to an invitation we made, with either acceptance or apologies in that very newsletter and only about half of you replied, most of them being the more senior members of the company." Rob smiled at the look of shame on some faces and put in the kicker, "Those that did reply found their bonuses doubled this year, those that did not have come back to work to find a performance evaluation date waiting for them." Worried looks passed between people as he spoke.

"I'm pissed off," he said again. "That never would have happened under Mel's leadership, and it better not fucking happen again, but that is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. Unbelievingly one of us standing up here on the stage was told that security would be called to escort us from the building if they did not remove ourselves immediately. So take a good like at us because you can be damn sure that if security is called again, it won't be us leaving." He stepped back and let the murmur run on.

"I guess that means it my turn to be a good cop. I can see that after Caligula and a pissed off Rob Collins have threatened you, you don't need me riding in on my broom like the wicked witch of the west to rant some more," Bella said lightly and heard a few titters at her attempt at humor. "I am the newest member of the leadership team here and must emphasise that it is a team. We three need you, the executives, to support us if we are to make this company even better than Mel could have imagined, and he had big dreams and even bigger expectations for us to live up to." she said honestly.

"I understand that I have not gotten around to every division here as yet, and some of you don't know me at all. My schedule has been given over to working towards a new and exciting business plan, but I will try to rectify that over the coming weeks with the help of our senior executives who know this company so well." Bella wasn't sure what else to say, but neither Kurt nor Rob had taken a step forward to help her, so she continued.

"I will tell you that it was me that was asked to leave the building. It would seem that I made a large mess breaking that glass ceiling this company was rumoured to have firmly in place and when I appeared on the helipad unaccompanied I surprised more than a few people." There was a murmur of chuckling as she made light of the situation. "I am looking forward to meeting more of you and working with you as I begin to take on more responsibility within the company at large." She stepped back, making Kurt take control of the meeting again.

"Bella may have made light of the situation, but Rob and myself are pissed, and it will take a lot of hard work to win back our trust. She was right about one thing, though; we need a good executive team behind us. We need people we can rely on. If that is not you then by all means be on your way, no hard feelings. Just last week we promoted an assistant who already knew the business and was nearing the end of a business degree. No one is irreplaceable, and those that come close move up the corporate ladder quickly." He was stating the obvious now. "Enjoy the breakfast, but bear in mind that the girls on reception are probably cursing all of our names quite loudly by now." He left the stage and the room quite quickly, ending the meeting abruptly to show his displeasure.

Rob guided Bella from the stage and, barely stopping at the table, he indicated that the three women sitting there should follow them from the room and moved with purpose, propelling Bella toward the door. As they waited for the lift to return to the upper floors, Andrew caught up with them, and when they entered the elevator and turned around, Bella saw Rhys Muldoon and Patrick smile and wave them on ahead.

Bella felt dread as she entered Kurt's office behind him. She knew the pep talk downstairs was only the beginning of what he was angry about, and she gnawed at her lip as she worried about what would come next. Chelsea pulled Bella aside and pressed a small pastry into her hand.

"Look I know it's my first day, and I shouldn't be telling you what to do but all that lip biting makes you look weak and nervous. Something tells me you want to appear confident right now. Every time you realise you're biting your lip pinch off a little bit of the pastry and nibble on it. It's an old trick but it's helped me in the past," she smiled reassuringly.

"I'm not even aware I do it most of the time," Bella said. "I will try it, thanks." She was aware of her bad habit and often gave herself small ulcers on the inside of her lip from biting them too much. It may not have been the best timing, but the advice was sound.

"Gentlemen and Bella come and sit," Kurt indicated the leather couches in front of his desk. "Ladies and Patrick you may bring in chairs from the meeting room."

"Rhys and I have some concerns about the direction of your business plan, Bella," Kurt began. "Things have been purposefully slow due to the amount of time you were required to spend away from the company over the past few months. That is about to change, and I am pleased." He looked to Rhys to continue.

"Yes, it will be good to get on top of a few things that require some clarification. In some circumstances what we had discussed and what Andrew brought to the table, though not dissimilar, had changed in ways I couldn't fathom as you and I had agreed on going another direction," Rhys commented. "I found it odd during your last absence that you sent me an email that didn't quite line up with the information I had received from Andrew."

"While we understand that you gave Andrew a great deal of autonomy where the business was concerned, we are not sure that your shared vision is the same vision anymore. Tell us about the marble pieces that were ordered recently," Kurt prompted. "I had been led to believe you wanted to work only with glass, metals and precious gems."

"Small amounts of leather as well but I hadn't been looking at marble," Bella shook her head. "Maybe Andrew found something he hadn't had time to tell me about yet," she said uneasily.

"Yeah," Andrew admitted, "I ordered a few sample pieces to show Bella. They never look as good in photos as when you hold them in your hand.

"I see, and the sample pieces Bella asked for that were returned on your say so?" Kurt inquired.

"They were not of the quality we expect," he said. He was calm and cool under pressure, having reasonable answers for each of the questions they asked him. He was surprised that Kurt and Rhys had taken the time to monitor such small details as this. Neither transaction involved large sums of money.

"It concerns me that you feel that you can speak for Bella, given her position within the company. I find it strange that you feel confident enough in your position as her assistant, as you were at the time, to make these decisions without even so much as an email to her or confirmation from me," Rhys frowned. "I am possibly as invested as yourself, if not more so having come in at the beginning of the business, and I certainly never would have sent these back without consulting with her first," he handed a small rosewood box to Bella. "Personally I think the flaws give personality to the gems. The settings are a little outdated for my taste, but I am led to believe that Bella has a liking for that sort of thing."

"Bella trusted my judgement when it came to the items we were looking at," Andrew said, concern creeping into his voice.

"Andrew has been fabulous at keeping the momentum going with the business. I think that this has just been a small lapse in communication because I have been so busy both before and after the holidays. I took on too much, and I will rectify that this year and be more hands-on with every aspect of the business. I apologise, for the confusion, Master Muldoon. Thank you for saving these though, they are exactly what I wanted," she said, happily closing the box and placing it on the table.

"I don't think it is you who should apologise, my dear," Rhys returned her smile and looked at Kurt. "I will follow this matter up at our team meetings this week, if you would like to move on, I understand you have an extraordinarily busy morning planned."

"I do," Kurt nodded and scowled at Bella. "Has everybody met Chelsea Daniels?" Kurt stood and went to where she sat. "We have some mutual friends, if I am to believe your resume. I will steal you away to have a long lunch sometime," Kurt said cheerfully before turning his scowl on Bella again, making her jump and bite the lip she had been chewing.

"You are a partner in this firm, Bella. You are starting your own division that will, if Rhys's projected figures are correct, become a large and thriving entity within the company given time. You need your own personal assistant. You will not share one, do you understand?" Kurt's voice was firm and brooked no argument.

xelliebabex
xelliebabex
5,497 Followers