Possessing Bella Ch. 24

"It's quite a turnout," he smiled at her.

"It's wonderful," she gushed, "I'm so excited for Bella. I think many will return when we officially open for business on Monday."

"I have no doubt of that," Rob chuckled. "It was wise not to do sales or take orders tonight. It leaves the stock for all to see. I have no doubt she could have sold out of some of the more specialised items." He leaned into her ear and murmured, "Come down and see me when it's over and you can tell me all about it," he stepped back and gave her a sly smile, and she nodded with an answering smile.

""I would like that, Master," she said quietly. She had missed his company over the last few weeks. He made her feel safe and cared for and loved not for what she could give him but for what he could give her.

Rob interrupted Bella as she spoke to a couple and kissed her forehead, "I'm going down to the club now. Congratulations little one this was spectacular. Stephen is by the door should you need any help." He indicated the large looming figure near the door.

"Thank you, Master," Bella said excitedly and gave him a wide smile.

Rob went to the door and stopped beside Stephen, "Bring Bella and Belinda down to the office when it's done, we'll toast tonight's success." Stephen nodded saying nothing and watched as Rob left.

Stephen continued to watch Bella as both dominant and submissive alike fought for her attention. Rob's words continued to roll around in his mind, and he searched the crowd for Dorothea but frowned when he couldn't see her. In fact, many of the stakeholder and their girls had begun to move down to the club to make room for others who waited outside without invitations for the opportunity to have a sneak peek at the new store.

"Isn't it all wonderful!" Stephen was brought back from his thoughts by Tali, who bounced up to him excitedly. "Master said we could come back Monday and get something pretty for me," she said in a high excited voice. So many lovely things I don't know what to choose!"

"You found the precious pet range, I take it?" Stephen chuckled.

"Yes! I want them all, but Master said no, I can choose just one," Tali almost pouted but grinned again, "My birthday isn't too far away, though."

"That is lucky then," Stephen laughed and commiserated with Mark, who groaned and rolled his eyes, knowing he would spend a great deal of money in this store. "I don't suppose you saw Dorothea leave did you?" he asked.

"She went home with Sera earlier, I think Charles is still here, down in the club," he said with a shrug.

"She's been spending a lot of time with Sera lately," Tali commented, "Maybe we should invite her over for dinner too. Can I, can I, please, please?" She turned to her Master and bounced excitedly.

"I better get this girl home, it's been a bit too much excitement for her I think," Mark chuckled and led Tali out of the store and toward the front entrance of the building. The store remained full right up until the finishing time of midnight. It took Stephen lifting Bella to a seat in her tight skirt and standing beside her threateningly while she made the closing announcement.

"Thank you, so much for coming to this preview this evening. The store will be open for business on Monday. I look forward to seeing many of you return next week," she smiled as there was a polite smattering of applause and people slowly made their way toward the door. The two security guards that were regulars from the Club entrance held the door for people to leave without letting any further curious visitors into the store. The staff cleaned up the glasses and champagne bottles loading then into crates and taking through the back of the store to the service elevator and down to the club kitchen.

Bella locked the front doors and turned off the lights setting the alarms system before following Stephen and Belinda through the back to the service elevator and down to the club. It was almost one thirty by the time she stepped into the kitchen and the welcoming embrace of Jake.

"Congratulations! I snuck up earlier, and the place was packed," Jake said wrapping his arms around her.

"Thanks it was great, better than I could have dreamed," Bella smiled.

"Rob and Kurt are waiting for you," he let her go but take this you could probably use it," Jake grinned and handed her a platter of hand wrapped spring rolls, and prawn toast. He gave Belinda a cheese and fruit board to carry and followed them in with an antipasto platter. All of her favourite things.

"This is wonderful thank you," Bella gushed suddenly feeling very hungry.

"I wish I could take all of the credit, but he ordered it." Jake indicated Stephen. "Still I managed to pull it together in record time."

"Ah good, we can call off that search party," Kurt said easily as the small party walked through the door of the office.

"Familiar story around here, no one wanted to leave," Stephen chuckled.

"It went well then?" Kurt said.

"We possibly could have sold out of some things on the first night, if we hadn't decided to go with just the teaser, sneak peek," Bella said. "We'll see how many people come back when they are available for sale.

"They will come back," Belinda said confidently, "At least the people I spoke to will for sure. They were all very excited by the range you had available for on the spot purchase and your willingness to take personalised orders. That's where the real drawcard is. Dom's like to put their initials on everything thy own including their girls," she giggled. "I saw so many tattoo's tonight it was incredible and in places I would rather not have been shown," she let out a soft melodious laugh.

The small group laughed and chatted easily dissecting the night and eating the finger food provided so thoughtfully by Jake and Stephen.

Kurt stood with his glass in hand and raised it to Bella, "Congratulations on your successful opening and here's to many more." The others raised their glasses and murmured their agreement as Bella beamed under their praise.

"I know there is a story to the name, but I've never heard it," Jake said as everyone drank to her continued success. "Why did you call it The Golden Apple?"

Bella took a breath and explained, "There is a myth I studied or heard at high school where the spiteful goddess of discord, threw a golden apple into a banquet on Mt Olympus that she had been excluded from, on it were the words "For the fairest of them all." Three goddesses claimed the apple as their own and a mortal, Paris was asked to judge who the apple should belong to. Each goddess tried to bribe him with their gifts, Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered wisdom and skill in war, and Aphrodite, offered the world's most beautiful woman. Paris traded the apple for Helen, and we all know how that story went."

"Every woman wants the golden apple, and every man wants a woman like Helen," Jake mused

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder my friend," Rob said with a chuckle

Bella felt her high begin to wear off. She had worked hard and slept little in the past week putting all the final touches on the store she had dreamed of for so long. "This has been a big day, and I hope you don't mind if I go up to bed, it's almost three O'clock," she began to stand awkwardly hampered by the tight skirt.

"I'll take both you and Belinda up. It's too late for her to be travelling home alone tonight," Rob stood as Stephen helped Bella to her feet. "That means I leave with the golden apple and Helen," he laughed loudly following the girls from the room as the other men groaned.

"Let's get a drink and see who the stragglers are tonight," Kurt suggested as Jake piled up the remains of the platters and put them near the door for the kitchen staff to carry back in.

"Sure," Stephen said easily.

"I think I will go and make sure they are shutting down the kitchen properly and getting the prep done for Sunday breakfast," Jake stretched, "I'll take a raincheck for next time."

"Suit yourself," Kurt shrugged, "Just remember even God rested on the seventh day."

"Pot, kettle, black," Jake called over his shoulder as he walked into the restaurant.

"Have you talked to Dorothea lately?" Stephen asked Kurt as they sat in the comfortable leather armchairs of the saloon bar watching the slow parade of the late night members.

"I assume she has been helping Bella with the opening from home or here," Kurt said unconcernedly. "She hasn't been in at the company much this week, but that is not unusual. Is there something to worry about?"

"I just have a feeling. I'll check it out tomorrow," Stephen said with a shrug. "It's probably nothing."

"Keep me in the loop," Kurt said, "There isn't much I wouldn't do for that little lady," he said with feeling. Dorothea had rescued both he and his mother from a violent home situation and had shadowed his young life, making sure he had the best opportunities possible. He worked his way through college on a half scholarship and her husband James, impressed with is hard work, had got him a job in a newly formed company. A company he now ran as part of a three-way partnership. He hadn't realised his mother was a submissive until that point in time, and that was how he and his mother had come under the watchful eye of Mrs Dorothea Brown.

He knew many of his friends and acquaintances had similar stories gratitude and affection for James and Dorothea. They were well regarded even by the younger new generation coming through the club. At James funeral people the great cathedral overflowed with mourners he dreaded the day Dorothea followed him to his final resting place.

"Speaking of little ladies, shouldn't you be getting home to yours?" Stephen asked.

"Since becoming pregnant she sleeps like a rock, and tomorrow is the seventh day," Kurt said with a grin. "I'll be home for breakfast in bed."

"It's a good life for some," Stephen chuckled.

"Bella loses her restrictions and collar this weekend," Kurt said pointedly. "She can date reasonably freely for once."

"That would explain the conversation I had with Rob earlier," Stephen scratched the side of his face, feeling more than just a five o'clock shadow on his face.

"We're her guardians, it's only natural that we have a vested interest in who she dates and the collars she might consider," Kurt said. "She over thinks things when left to her own diversions, and I expect she won't exchange one perceived cage with a slightly open door for one threatens to take away the freedoms she currently enjoys."

"I hear you," Stephen said somewhat abruptly, "I heard when Rob gave me the same speech." His tone was of a man who didn't want to discuss the subject, yet he knew that to own Bella would mean always being answerable to these men in some way. It irked him, yet he loved her and still wanted her like he had not wanted any other woman in his life. Tonight he realised that he would need to put firm boundaries in place when it came to her guardians once he had collared her.

He had no intention of taking away the freedom she had to work or see her friends. In truth, he hadn't minded her interlude with Josie last weekend either. It was her devotion to another man's collar he couldn't abide and since they had begun to tentatively explore their burgeoning relationship she seemed to constantly wear another man's collar. He had been content to give her time given that the training was over, and he would not have to see her kneel at another's feet again until her guardians stepped in and collared her again. He had not been impressed and had raged in his private moments over the events that seemed to forever put distance between them. To him being a second, even to Rob, had been hard to bear.

The question of caging her confused him, and he wasn't sure where it had come from, but he would find out when he saw her for lunch. If as Rob and Kurt had intimated, she was to be uncollared again. Then it was time that they spoke seriously about the future again.

*****

"Hello Stephen," Dorothea answered her phone with a smile in her voice. "To what do I owe this early morning pleasure?" She asked.

"Can I not just call to see how you are?" Stephen chuckled.

"I'm doing well thank you very much. I haven't changed since you saw me last night. Would you like to tell me the real reason you have called so early?" Dorothea challenged him.

"You may have seen me last night, but I don't recall seeing you there. I think you have been conspicuously absent from all our lives lately including Bella's," he challenged her in return. "Also, you seem to be spending a great deal of time with Sera, and I am concerned about you."

"Oh, you are so sweet worrying about an old woman like me. I am just working on a few projects of my own and Sera's enthusiasm is so motivating, so I have asked her to help me," Dorothea said easily.

"Would you like to have lunch with us today? I am planning on taking Bella out to the cove. You have always liked it out there on the cliffs," Stephen invited.

"Oh I would love to, but I already have plans with Mike and Nyx today," she replied with a cheery voice. "Maybe next weekend if you both have some free time," she suggested.

"It's a date," Stephen chuckled, "If you're sure you can fit us into your busy social life."

"I will always make time for the ones I love," she laughed and hung up the phone before she began coughing again.

Stephen looked at his phone after it went dead. There was something not quite right with Dorothea, but he had done what he could for now. He gathered his few things together and went to get Bella. He knew that despite the late night she would be awake as always at a reasonable hour.

After knocking he was surprised to find her still in her robe which looked like it had been hastily wrapped around her. Recovering his shock, he followed her into the apartment.

"Good morning, little one," Stephen said softly, "Did you sleep at all?"

"A little," she said wanly. "Good morning, Sir Stephen." She smiled and went to the kitchen. "Can I get you coffee or anything, I'm afraid I have gotten off to a slow start this morning." She poured herself a glass of juice as she spoke.

"How about you go and shower, and I make you breakfast for a change?" he suggested seeing just how fatigued she was.

"You don't have to cook for me," she gasped livening up slightly. "I will be fine in just a few minutes I promise then I can make us both something."

"Go and shower little one. You will feel better for it," he ordered advancing on her as she sipped the juice. "Take the juice with you, the sugar will give you a little energy until you eat." He steered her in the direction of the bedroom and kissed her forehead. "Do as I ask," he turned and walked away from her back into the kitchen.

Stephen was disappointed with what was available to him in Bella's kitchen. He knew Rob had put her on a healthier eating regime but the lack of even bread to make toast with had surprised him. He found fresh fruit and natural yoghurt and muesli and while it was not his choice of breakfast food it would do until he could have something sent up from the early staff in the club kitchen. He believed in moderation in all things but as he inspected the juice she had been drinking he shook his head. Rob had not let her indulge in any of her preferred food over the last month by the look of it.

He had to admit, as she came out of the bedroom and walked toward him that she looked wonderful. She had regained all of the weight she had lost and had become toned and supple in the process. She took a seat on one of the high stools and crossed her legs as he watched on appreciatively. He pushed a small bowl toward her and smiled.

"Are you feeling a little better now?" he asked softly.

"I am, thank you, Sir Stephen," she said taking up the spoon and beginning to eat the yoghurt and muesli combination he had prepared. There was a soft knock on the door, and she swung her head toward it with a frown. She had not been expecting anyone else.

Stephen went to the door and ushered in Jake, who smiled widely and presented breakfast for three. Moving to the dining room table, Bella was delighted to find her favourites underneath the clotches.

"Gosh thank you this is exactly what I needed," she said biting into a still warm, thick piece of cinnamon toast.

"I managed to get to the opening last night, but you were so busy I didn't get to tell you how fabulous it was," Jake enthused. "I am going to make an appointment with the guy who was talking about designing emblems to match a man's ideas. That's an awesome service."

"Owen is so creative, he would be the best one to sit down and discuss it with," Bella nodded excitedly enlivened by Jake's enthusiasm, "he's the workshop manager so he will be available in store by appointment." She added in case Jake didn't realise that Owen wouldn't be in the store full time.

"Yeah he said, but I think it will be good to create one, we don't all have a family coat of arms to fall back on like the big man here," he chuckled. "While we are on the subject of fallbacks, though, and before you fall back into spending so much time with Stephen now that you are uncollared again, how about that date I mentioned?"

"I wouldn't call him a fallback," Bella laughed lightly diffusing the look of consternation that had come over Stephen's face. "I enjoy the time I spend with Sir Stephen." She paused for a moment and rushed on. "The problem with dating you is that it would be hard to find the time. I work all day, and I am exhausted during the week and your biggest days at work are the weekends. I'm not like most submissives, and I can't just blow off work or be like a zombie during the day because I went out the night before."

"The store is open now, and you have stolen some of our best girls to work in it so you can afford to take it easy there now," Jake shrugged showing that he had no real idea of what she did at the company.

"You've been such a good friend to me, and it saddens me to say no, but I have to," Bella said with feeling. "I just know it wouldn't be right for either of us."

"Well if you change your mind it could be a lot of fun, you don't have to consider the collar of every man you spend time with," he said knowing what she was getting at. "Just think about it, you know where to find me." He turned to Stephen then and chuckled, "One less shark in the pond for you to worry about I suppose."

"Suits me," Stephen smirked and helped himself to more bacon from the platter. He had been dreading her new dating status and her response to the first invitation she had received pleasantly surprised him especially given Jakes closeness to her.

"It's Mel's Birthday and a year since we lost him at the end of next month," Bella said softly. "If I am honest I don't think I will be dating anyone just now," she looked up at Stephen as she said it and then looked down at her food again wishing she hadn't said that in such an abrupt way but unable to take it back. Since learning of Dorothea's illness, the anniversary of that day that Mel was shot had been coming into her mind more often.

With time to process it, she had been able to accept Dorothea's decision to live her life as she wanted. To die in the way she wanted and she had come to terms with the fact that everyone dies one day. Dorothea's day was closer than most people knew about their demise and in some ways it was good that she knew so she could get her house in order, unlike Mel who had put many things in place without seeing the long term results of those decisions. She hoped he would have been proud of her and what she had done with all that he had given her. She was done playing games and flitting about in both the lifestyle and work. She knew what she wanted or, at least, she thought she did, but she needed to get past this one last obstacle. Then she hoped to be free to make some choices about her future.