Bella soon became tired of reading and her head was hurting slightly so she put down her book. She looked over at Zane and watched with new eyes at how handsome he looked concentrating on what he was doing.
This man before her was a power house. Strong and fierce. She studied the way his brow scrunched as he was thinking and how nimble his finger seemed as he typed.
His phone buzzed and she watched as he answered it with out even looking at it.
"Yes"
"No, get me the report in a hour. Then go find that ass and tell him he will corporate or he will be sorry."
Zane hung up; then Bella caught his eye and he smiled.
"Did I disturb you?" He asked.
"No, I was taking a break just watching you work." She smiled.
"That can't be very interesting now." He got up a walked over to her.
"Very interesting. You look very handsome working."
He sat next to her and pulled her into his lap. He laughted, "Bella my beauty you give me a reason to work hard. How are you feeling now?"
"Fine, I guess. I have a small headache but nothing like I use to have." She said snuggling into his embrace.
"Do you want something for it?" he asked.
"No, I am getting a little hungry."
"What would you like to eat?" Zane pulled out his phone.
"Chicken Alfredo." She smiled.
He gave Mary Ann a call and as they waited for the food to arrive he read to her.
◇◇◇♡♡♡◇◇◇ THUMBLING cont.
Thumbling had climbed up among the hay and found a beautiful place to sleep in: there he intended to rest until day, and then go home again to his parents. But he had other things to go through. Truly there is much affliction and misery in this world!
When day dawned, the maid arose from her bed to feed the cows. Her first walk was into the barn, where she laid hold of an armful of hay, and precisely that very one in which poor Thumbling was lying asleep. He, however, was sleeping so soundly that he was aware of nothing, and did not awake until he was in the mouth of the cow, who had picked him up with the hay.
"Ah, heavens!" cried he, "how have I got into the fulling mill?" but he soon discovered where he was.
Then it was necessary to be careful not to let himself go between the teeth and be dismembered, but he was nevertheless forced to slip down into the stomach with the hay.
"In this little room the windows are forgotten," said he, "and no sun shines in, neither will a candle be brought."
His quarters were especially unpleasing to him, and the worst was, more and more hay was always coming in by the door, and the space grew less and less. Then, at length in his anguish, he cried as loud as he could, "Bring me no more fodder, bring me no more fodder."
The maid was just milking the cow, and when she heard some one speaking, and saw no one, and perceived that it was the same voice that she had heard in the night, she was so terrified that she slipped off her stool, and spilt the milk.
She ran in the greatest haste to her master, and said, "Oh, heavens, pastor, the cow has been speaking!"
"You are mad," replied the pastor; but he went himself to the byre to see what was there.
Hardly, however, had he set his foot inside than Thumbling again cried, "Bring me no more fodder, bring me no more fodder."
Then the pastor himself was alarmed, and thought that an evil spirit had gone into the cow, and ordered her to be killed. She was killed, but the stomach, in which Thumbling was, was thrown on the midden.
Thumbling had great difficulty in working his way out; however, he succeeded so far as to get some room, but, just as he was going to thrust his head out, a new misfortune occurred.
A hungry wolf ran thither, and swallowed the whole stomach at one gulp.
Thumbling did not lose courage. "Perhaps," thought he, "the wolf will listen to what I have got to say," and he called to him from out of his stomach, "Dear wolf, I know of a magnificent feast for you."
"Where is it to be had?" said the wolf.
"In such and such a house; you must creep into it through the kitchen-sink; you will find cakes, and bacon, and sausages, and as much of them as you can eat," and he described to him exactly his father's house.
The wolf did not require to be told this twice, squeezed himself in at night through the sink, and ate to his heart's content in the larder. When he had eaten his fill, he wanted to go out again, but he had become so big that he could not go out by the same way.
Thumbling had reckoned on this, and now began to make a violent noise in the wolfs body, and raged and screamed as loudly as he could.
◇◇◇♡♡♡◇◇◇
When Mary Ann came she brought fresh cloths, fruit, and the food Bella asked for.
Zane insisted on feeding her which made her blush a rosy pink but she let him.
They talked of many different things that night as they ate.
"Zane, Will your parents ever come around?" She asked.
"Bella, they will but it will take time. My mother loves me and even though Dad had clear plans for my life he will come around once he sees me really happy. Remember the book I said my mother gave me?"
"Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger" she stated.
"Yes, Everything I do is an adventure to explore the world and one day I will take my drawings and return to my world were the
rose is waiting for me. My mother is the rose and one day we will see each other with the love we once had. So don't worry my beauty, things will work out."