The Prince and The Charming

6. Old Enemies

Isabella smiled looking down at the empty, barren land filled with dumps of sand at one corner while trucks lined up clearing way for construction. Cement trucks parked at their designated corners as labor stood scattered at places, wearing the yellow hard hats, with yellow and red stripe jackets, calling names for work.

Materials and equipment lined up as the preparatory operations had just begun. She went ahead to sit down on the bar stool placed in the middle of her office, that was larger than her Barcelona ones. The light blue creamy walls surrounded the three corners while the huge glass wall showed a clear view of the sea outside, where the construction was taking place.

Isabella smiled looking over the designs placed on the frames in front of her and looked down at the construction site.

Soon! My design will be a reality!

Feeling proud of her achievement, she mentally patted herself but her parent’s words rung through her brain again.

It had been an entire week and somehow working had helped her sooth out the pain that he parents words had inflicted on her mind.

“We don’t have a third daughter!”

Her father’s words in particular kept ringing through her brain over and over again.

Is this what, they had told everyone who had ever known me?

She thought what she had been ignoring in her our thoughts for years.

What had they ever told everyone, in their social circle, even in their extended families about me, after I had run away?

The knock on the door woke her out of her feelings. She ordered to come in and stood up walking towards her swivel chair and laptop, as her new assistant Kathleen walked in.

She looked a prominent corporate woman, with slick red hair tied in a tight bun, white shirt and black skirt hugging her body, looking exactly in her late twenties, with a sleek figure and pointed features.

Isabella smiled at her to make her feel adorned rather than foreign.

“Mr. Bruce is here!” she notified in a stiff tone which just made Isabella roll her eyes, “And you have a three pm meeting with the CEO of the labor company, they have certain demands they want to discuss.” She read through her jotter and Isabella simply nodded her head.

As Kathleen turned to leave Isabella called her out, making her stop.

“If you are free at Three, why don’t you join me for the meeting?” she asked in the same friendly way she used to ask Paolo.

Kathleen scoffed at her, “of course!”

There was something about her tone that seemed taunting to Isabella but she shrugged it off. As Isabella left for Matt Bruce’s office, Kathleen smirked watching her leave, mentally judging her for her ‘way too naïve’ behavior. Kathleen was used to having a new boss by every six to ten months. She was smart woman who had worked with different people, earning more experience than people older than her. She was too cunning for her own good and looking at the sweet Isabella she simply felt pleased, thinking how fun and easy the time with her will be.

Isabella rolled down the elevator, entering down the reception of the building, which had a young lobby boy sitting by the desk and Matt standing in front of him, with his two assistants. He turned around and smiled at Isabella.

Surprisingly he wasn’t wearing his usual mantra clothes, rather than a normal tee and jeans, but the beads garland was indeed wrapped around his wrists in three or four folds.

He checked out Isabella head to toe, as she wore a lilac shaded chiffon sleeveless blouse followed by raw silk high waisted shorts.

“I have to say I am impressed.” Matt appreciated, “You got the project started within a week.”

Isabella smiled at him, “The sooner it starts, the faster it ends and the earlier I leave.”

Matt smiled shaking his head, “See, your aura needs cleansing.”

Isabella held the urge to roll her eyes back. There was nothing less to her than her believe in soul preaching. For her, she had known that anything that mattered was just the physical appearance, the outer beauty as inner beauty was just for the blind who can’t even see the outer beauty. She believed in her work, to make the buildings look beautiful because that’s just how the world works by looking at the beauty of anything.

“You need to lessen your burdens.” Matt commented.

“You need to stop dropping bombshells at me, my work will be lessened automatically.” She pointed out at him, making him laugh out loud.

As they stood talking over the reception, they heard voices reaching out from outside, which seemed like a heated argument between some men.

Isabella walked out, rushing behind her was Matt. “What's going on?” she asked with complete distress.

She saw a man standing in black suit, holding a brown leather bag and some files pinned against his, between his arm and chest, another man wore a black polo shirt and a pair of black jeans, he was big and bulgy, like some sort of security person. He nailed a board down the main front ‘Construction Delayed!’

“What? What the hell?” Matt read the sign board and complained.

“How can you put this here? We have the government's authority to….” Isabella began.

She was cut off straight away, “Ma'am, these are the straight orders from the head of the state.” The man in black suit, short and broad in posture, spoke. He opened up his suitcase and grabbed a file, passing it down to Isabella.

“The head of state?” Isabella felt confused as grabbed the papers, “But we have signed papers from the government. Call Kathleen…” she ordered one of the employees.

“Ma'am, the government papers have nothing to do with it. The project is under the supervision of the monarch and it is their direct orders…”

“THE MONARCH?”

She yelled out loud making everyone look at her with confusion and surprise, as she stood frozen. Her mind had lost the capability of thinking for a split second as she heard the words ‘Monarch’. To her it felt like her dark past was calling on to her.

The confused man in suit cleared his throat as he spoke, “Yes, the monarch.”

This drove Isabella out of her lost conscious as she shook her head and cleared her mind.

“Now, if you'll excuse, I'll have to go and see Ms. Isabella Rowan.” the man spoke walking past her towards the reception.

Everyone stood looking at Isabella who was still in a complete state of shock and shivering with the mere name of ‘The Monarch’.

“Isabella!” Matt shook her as she saw everyone gawking at her and she shook every thought away running behind the suited man.

“Excuse me, I am Isabella Rowan!” she called at him making him look at her with an utterly confused look.

“No… I am pretty sure, that you are not the Isabella Rowan we're looking for. She's the design head of the project.” he tried denying the truth.

“I am the design head of the project.” she stated sternly. A problem she always had explaining people who never believed in her position because of her age.

He looked at her head to toe once again and shook his head. “Are you sure, you're the only Isabella Rowan, around here?”

She rolled her eyes once again, “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I am Isabella Rowan?” she felt offended.

“Alright then, His highness, Prince Charlie who is the state in charge of this project, has specifically….”

Listening to the name Isabella stood shook. Her entire body felt frenzy. Prince Charlie, the name from her nightmares. The boy who bullied the life out of her when she used to be the chubby, fat tomboy. He always ruined every moment for her, every spark within her. He always crushed her under his feet, and it was literal when he would knock her down by bumping into her and then walk right over her in the school hallways.

“Isabella!” she was brought out her thought stance by Matt.

She looked around to see all the employees of the project gathered around her while the suited man had just left.

“What… What happened?” she asked with utter confusion and surprise.

Matt c****d an eyebrow at her, “This is what you need to tell us, what happened to you. You completely zoned out. You need to go and see Prince Charlie, like right now!”

“NO!” Immediately escaped her lips as she heard those words.

“Ah, yes!” Matt nudged her back.

“No! I can't go. I'm sorry. We'll find some other way.”

“Ms. Rowan they have stopped the project, all the material and labor has been deployed now, if we pull back, everyone is going bankrupt.”

She heaved a heavy breath, her heart hardened with the burden of making everyone suffer because of her self esteem and ego.

__________________________________

“It's okay Isabella, just breathe in and out. In and out!” she repeated the Mantra inside her head again and again, finding some peace.

She looked around her and saw the huge office decorated in mint and brown from the mahogany desk to the black swivel chair, to the minty walls to the cabinets in polished brown. She sat on the green couches, placed in front of the wooden coffee table, through which she could actually see her own reflection.

But she felt anxious, ultimately anxious at the mere thought of sitting in the office of her biggest nemesis. Till this date she never understood his behavior and attitude towards her and even now he was down to bullying her.

What if he still insults me?

Of course why else would he specifically send his people to give me the message to come to meet him.

Her heart felt heavy with her respiratory tract feeling short on breath. Her head burst out with the pain induced by her migraine.

Something that she couldn't tell anyone about. Her migraine.

Ugh!

Groaning in frustration she stepped towards the glass wall, to gain some perspective and air of course. She peaked a view at the bulging skyscrapers of the city, followed by the adjoining housing colonies.

She had been waiting inside the same office for the past hour and with every passing second she wished for Charlie to never show up. Nobody even showed up in his room, not even his assistants and that she felt really freaked out about.

She heard the door click open behind her but she stood frozen, not having the guts to turn around and look, dreading to see what she had been loathing the most.

Even for the hour she sat in his office, she didn't even think about how the meeting would commence, what will he say, how will she react. Nothing seems to settle or sooth her mind.

Finally hearing the clearing of a throat she turned around and slammed right into a hard figure, hitting her head pretty hard as she stumbled back, hitting her back against the wall.

I don't remember a solid surface, present over the place.

She rubbed her head and looked in front of her.

She saw, a black suit, covering a blue shirt, over a broad chest. She followed her gaze up. The sunlight from behind her, illuminating the tall and broad structure prominently, with a physique of 5’11”, the man had a sharp jawline, perplexed cheekbones, hazel brown eyes covered with thick eyebrows and a well puff of hair resting over his head.

Isabella gulped down instantly recognizing the man. Her nemesis and now the handsome prince Charlie.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked in an authorized tone.

She gulped hard, looking anywhere except for his piercing gaze over her face.

“I…” she cleared her throat, standing straight and gaining her posture, “You asked for me.” she chose her words with ego and replenishing self-esteem.

“I'm Isabella Rowan.”

Charlie's eyes bulged out for a second looking over at the lady in front of her.

Of course he had asked for her, he specifically had trailed the long lost Isabella Rowan to be back in town as the design head of the new project but never in his wildest dream he had ever thought Isabella to turned out to be such a grace.

He roamed his eyes over her perfectly cheeky face, her plum lips, never knowing that they looked so admirable, her slender arms, followed by the perky bulge over her chest that looked ravishing to his eyes, her sleek waist and her long slender proportioned and toned legs. Everything about her figure was salient and admirable.

Never in his wildest dream he had ever thought to be checking out Isabella, who apparently noticed his roaming gaze over her body and cleared her throat, walking past him to stand front across the desk.

He followed his gaze over her back and noticed the bump over her shorts of her perfectly rounded bum.

He brushed every thought away, realizing that she was still Isabella Rowan! The woman he loathed with all his might.

“Yes, I asked for you.” he smirked looking over her face walking down towards his seat.

He didn't offer her to take one because he liked the view of her sleek body, shining against the sunlight from behind him.

“You started the project without the complete paperwork.” he notified her.

“I thought that paperwork was complete because I got the state secretary’s signature.” she stood her ground and spoke confidently.

He felt taken aback for a second to notice her behavior that was filled with a tone of confidence and snark. And Charlie hated seeing her so convicted.

He straightened up sensing it wasn't a one sided game. Not anymore!

“You were supposed to check in with me first.” he put forth his statement.

She gulped down, already hating him with every cell of her body. First he kept her standing without offering a seat and there was no way she was going to take one, now it was the question of her self-esteem.

“These things were not my responsibility. You should've called someone from the Bruce enterprises or the operations team.” She hit him back with even more confidence.

He clenched his jaw tight, hating the sense of her confidence reaching to his insult.

“I must say, you've forgotten about the rules regarding to the royalties.” he leaned back in his chair and smirked. “Years of Barcelona seemed to do too good for you?” There was hint of snarl in his tone. A taunting one!

Isabella rolled her eyes on purpose. She smiled a complete fake one, bowed in curtsy, “You have called in the wrong person your grace. Always making mistakes.”

She stood back up and gave a stern face to Charlie who was throwing death glares her way.

“Now if you'll mind, commencing the project?”

He c****d his eyebrows at him, judging her self-confidence.

“What makes you think, I would resume it right away? Nothing begins without a ceremony.”

She gave out a sharp breath rolling her eyes, “Barca constructions, don't go into ceremonies until after…”

“We have a celebration tonight.” he cut her off.

She was about to speak back when he stopped her. “I'll sign your project to resume. You'll have to do me a favor.”

She c****d her eyebrows at him. He looked her body up and down as she felt conscious about herself.

“Be my escort for tonight… And be at work Monday morning.”

He casually shrugged keeping the condition in front of her.

Isabella’s heart instantly flipped. She knew that there was no parallel universe where Charlie would ever ask her out for any good. He was up to something.

“My apologies but I don't go out with people from work…”

She used her usual tactic to dodge such situations.

He chuckled softly at her words, “Who said I was asking you out. As your boss I'm ordering you to come to the ball with me.”

Isabella flexed her jaw with utter disgust and anger.

“I don't think that's happening.” she grabbed her purse off the desk and turned over her heels, never again falling under Charlie's traps of making her feel vulnerable and miserable again.

“Well so isn't the project.” he called out making Isabella stop, “I'll see when everyone who has put millions in this project would go bankrupt on roads just because your ego was bigger than their investments.”

He smirked playing the moderating card over her. But she didn't bother turning and continued to leave from his office.

“My car, will pick you up by seven.” he called her out before she left the office.

He sat back against his chair, smirking as he accomplished in throwing Isabella back down again.

When will you learn Isabella? You'll never win from me.

He chuckled at the thought.

He had always heard from flying rumors about Isabella’s whereabouts. He had known she worked in a huge construction company in Barcelona, after she had run from home, something he always thought she was stupid to do so.

When he read her name under the design head of the project, reading her profile, he wanted to know if it was her. Going through the paperwork as he realized that Aaron Rowan, who was the most dishonorable man he had ever seen in any office, had signed the incomplete paperwork right away, he knew it had to be his reason of amusement, it had to be Isabella. The girl he felt pleasure in hurting and torturing.

He immediately went through his phone, searching over the i********: engine for Isabella Rowan and there she was, the third search. Opening her profile, he went through her profile and saw how amazingly she had changed.

She had been to every corner of Europe, traveled through half of Asia, lived in Vegas. He was impressed to see such a strong profile with twenty-three thousand followers. He stopped his search on a picture of hers, opening right through it. It was a picture of her in a two-piece bikini covered with a body hugging cloak, standing over the beach of Miami.

She was smiling, holding out her hands in joy as the cool breeze was blowing through her hair. Even through the thin material he could see through it and feel the sleek curves of her waist, the proportion of her breasts and bulge of her rounded arse.

Who had thought that the fat tomboy would ever turn out to be such a piece!

He smirked, mapping his tonight's plan for breaking down Isabella’s confidence.

He pulled out a file from his desk and signed through the paperwork, even though it was incomplete.

He finally had Isabella Rowan under his command.

I had been bored for so many years Isabella! I finally have you now! It will be fun playing you. And with your sheering confidence, it will be more fun bringing you down.

He smirked, thinking about all the ways he'll torture Isabella beginning from that night.