2 – Daily Grind
1769 Words
DONE with the important matters in the office, Belle’s eyes went to the drawers in her table.
Biting her lower lip, she contemplates what to do. She was about to open the drawers when Dione entered the office.
“I have the designs in my email. Do you want the soft copy or I’ll have it printed?”
“Have it printed. Thank you.”
Her office in the metro is located on the ground floor of the Carmen Moonshadow building. She rented two units. One for the showroom while the other is for her private office.
For now, she has a branch in the city. However, in all the resorts owned by her grandfather in Hungary, her swimwear line has a showroom together with the other souvenirs.
Suffice it to say, she has greater feedback from abroad.
It was after five in the afternoon when Belle stood up. The designs were great and most of them have been approved.
When she exited her office, Dione was still at her table.
“You can head home at six. I’ll be fine here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Have fun, Dione. We’re only young once.”
“I know but I have a mate to consider.”
“And a very strict dada.”
“That, too.”
“Your parents are still here?”
The young woman shook her head. “They flew back to the pack when the threat to Ms. Janni and Ms. Leonel has been concluded.”
“Meaning, you can have fun. Dada and mommy are no longer here.”
“But Boom is still here.”
Belle chuckled.
Just like her, Dione has been shielded all her life. Aside from having parents that were both warriors of the pack, her only sibling became a policeman in the human population.
“I’ll be in the store. If I’m not back at six, you can leave.”
“Yes, Miss.”
There were a few customers in the store when she came in. Two were in the cashiers paying for their items.
Belle checked the display while the sales lady was occupied.
A smile formed on her lips when she saw the swimwear in the kids and teen section. Almost half were gone.
She also ventured into swimwear for mother and daughter that loves twinning OOTDs. She found out that it sells out like a hot commodity.
Her eyes went to the woman on her left side. She has been musing between the two swimsuits in her hands.
“Hi. Do you need help on deciding what to choose?”
The middle-aged woman laughed.
“Yeah. I like red so much that most of my swimwear is red. However, I also like this one.” She lifted the stripe swimwear. “I think, the design would flatter my wide hips.”
“That I agree. It would also show off your trim waist.”
“But I like this one, too.” She held the red-colored one.
It was a one-piece bathing suit but displayed the skin from below the bust towards the side of the abdomen until the waistline of the bikini bottom. It was connected in the middle by a triangular fabric. Between the breast was a gold, circle metal that connects the triangular fabric and the bikini top.
“Won’t blame you if you check out the two,” Belle said with a grin.
“You’re right. Why do I have to choose when I can pay for both?”
“Right. They have more designs here that could complement those hips.”
“I like how you think, darling.”
“But of course. We women should pamper each other once in a while. There is nothing more relaxing when we're in the water watching those waves with a drink in hand.”
The older woman giggled.
“Truth is, my husband and I were celebrating our anniversary in the Maldives. I want to show off that I still have what it takes despite giving him two kids.”
“Oh? How long have you been together?”
“Twenty years. Both kids were in the university.”
“Congratulations! With that great marriage, I will gift you that blue two-piece.”
Stunned, the older woman stared at her wide-eyed.
“This is yours?”
“Yes, ma’am. So, you can choose another pair. The other is free.”
“Oh, my god! Wow, thank you, darling.”
“You’re welcome. Come on. I’ll help you with another pair so that you’ll have the perfect getaway OOTDs.”
The woman left the store with four different swimwear. She also has a wide smile on her lips as she bid Belle goodbye.
“Hello, girls. How’s our sales today?”
“More than great, Miss. The people in the metro seemed to plan to be on the beach this weekend.” Said the saleslady.
“That’s right, Miss.” The cashier added.
“New arrivals will be here by tomorrow. We can sort the items that will be for the discounted sale.”
“I already set aside pairs that have no other sizes available.”
“That’s good.”
When eight o’clock came, she went back to the office. At least, Dione has followed her order to go home early.
In the privacy of her own office, she found a note from her assistant. It was a reminder of the upcoming shipment of the new swimwear. As well as the cargo that will be sent to Hungary.
Belle is ready to go when she remembered the report that she got today. She went back to her table.
She inhaled a lungful of air before she opened the drawers.
The familiar yellow envelope greeted her.
It came early this morning. It was Dione who received it.
With anticipation, she opened the envelope. Several pages of paper were inside.
She released a sigh before starting to read.
A lot of times, her eyes widen as she reads. She even swallowed the lump in her throat at the kind of person the moon goddess has sent her.
“Why?” She muttered in the air as she read through the third page.
She stopped. She fished out the page where the woman’s image was printed.
“What have you been doing?”
She stared at the picture. Belle was taken aback when she looked at the hazel eyes of the woman.
Árnyék yapped in her head. She is drooling at the sight of their mate.
Yes, that woman in the parking lot was the person that the moon goddess has bestowed on her.
When Árnyék confirmed that it was their mate, Belle had the woman investigated. She wanted to know the person that the mother of all werewolves has paired for her.
“Isn’t she gorgeous, human?” Said Árnyék. It was obvious that she was over the moon just watching the hazel-eyed woman.
Belle huffed. She did not respond to her wolf. She continued reading.
“Oh, my goddess! She’s a criminal!” She exclaimed.
She let go of the papers. She placed them on top of the table.
Shocked, she turned to the picture again.
“You! I knew that you’re not just filthy looking. I never ask for a perfect mate but how could the moon goddess give me you? What could Mama say about this?”
She thumped her feet on the floor. Her hands went to the strand of her newly dyed hair from its original black to mahogany.
“How could I tell mama that my mate is a rebel?” She said loudly. “D*mn!”
“But she’s gorgeous! Look at those eyes. I could stare at her all day.”
“Oh, shut it, Árnyék. How are we going to tell mama about her? She’s into street fights. She smuggled drugs. Hear this, she was also involved in human trafficking!”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I know. That was the reason I had her investigated.”
“What are you trying to say, Belle? Are you going to reject the person that Mother has given to us?”
When her wolf growled, she growled back. Belle suffered more. Her temple started to hurt.
‘Please give our mate a chance. You don’t know the instances why she resorted to things like that.” Árnyék almost beg.
“She looked filthy.”
“You’re such a diva. You have money. You flaunt your damn money. Make her look like she’s rich. Humans always make themselves look good. You can do that to her.”
Belle paused. Her wolf has a point.
“What if she steals from me?” She added as she contemplates.
“What if she did not?” Her wolf retorted.
“What if she makes me take drugs?”
“Can’t you say no?”
“What if she sold me to the highest bidder? I’m pretty. She can get big money from selling me.”
“What if you shut your mouth and start thinking? Do you think our mate will sell us? You should start trusting the mating bond, human.”
“Hey!”
Árnyék huffed. Belle can almost imagine her wolf rolling her eyes and acting like a Prima donna.
“Before you judge our mate, you should get to know her. She may turn out to be a better person than what you read in those papers.”
“You think?”
“Human, you’re a werewolf. Whatever comes your way, you can get away with it. You have vampire blood and witchcraft in your vein. Use them in case she is indeed a criminal.”
“That didn’t make me feel better.”
Árnyék thwacked her tail that made Belle straighten in her seat.
“Fine. Just one chance.” She stated in a firm voice.
She dug the paper with the image of her mate. She positioned it before her face.
“Summer Summers, who are you?”
She grimaced when she noticed the woman’s clothes.
She had on a faded jean jacket over a black shirt. Her hair was in a bun.
“But she’s pretty. Her eyes were interesting. But her parents have no creative imagination in naming her, aren’t they?”
She viewed the hazel eyes intently. She hummed.
“She seemed naughty. Well, of course, she is. She loves trouble.”
She gathered the papers. She placed them back on the envelope before hiding them in the drawers.
“F*ck! My mate is a woman!”
- Writer
