Chapter 16

Bella was very happy that Charlotte was finally smiling. She stood up and stretched her hand to her.
"Welcome to Isla Verida."
Charlotte took Bella's hand into hers. "Welcome to Isla Verida bestie. I..."
Bella pulled her into a hug. "I am happy you are finally smiling."
Charlotte chuckled. "I know you are but can you free me now? I need to go take my bath, or we won't be able to visit a lot of places today."
Bella pulled away. She bowed slightly. "As your lordship pleases."
"You are not serious," Charlotte mumbled. "I will be right back."
She went to the bathroom and Bella brought out her laptop to send some mail to her secretary. She went on to make some calls and also received some incoming calls.
Bella stared at her phone. It was a few minutes past noon, enough time for them to bathe, eat, sleep, and be ready to go out.
Charlotte was done taking her bath and walked out just in time. Bella was ready to take her bath. She went into the bathroom and was out half an hour later. She got dressed in a simple gown and then joined Charlotte so they could eat.
When they were done, they poured themself some wine and sat down on the balcony to watch the street and also enjoy the breeze.
At first, they talked about work. Their plans for the rest of the year and what they thought they should have done better over the past six months.
"Let's not talk about work," Bella said after a while. "We are here to relax and have fun."
Charlotte chuckled slightly. "We are here for work too, remember?"
Bella nodded. "I know but today shouldn't be about work, but ourselves."
"What do you want to talk about?" Charlotte asked.
"You," Bella answered.
"Me? What do you want to talk about me?"
"When are you calling him?" Bella asked.
Charlotte furrowed her brows. "Who?"
"Melvin, of course. When do you plan to talk to him?"
"Maybe tomorrow."
"Have you forgiven him?" Bella asked.
"That will depend on how much fun I have today."
Bella smiled. "Then let's have a lot of fun. Do you want to pick out the places we will go to?"
"I would love to do that. Do you have pictures?"
Bella went into the bedroom to take her iPad. Most of the pictures of places she thinks they can visit in Isla Verida are saved there. She returned to join Charlotte on the balcony.
She sat down and handed over the phone to her. "You can check them out."
Charlotte took the phone from her and began to scroll through it. Bella moved closer to her.
"What do you think about this place?" Charlotte asked, after scrolling through the first three pictures.
It was a picture of a waterfall. Charlotte had quickly read through the description and she would love to visit it.
"Whispering Falls?" Bella pointed at the pictures and Charlotte nodded.
"It seems like a nice place to go."
"It is. I have read a lot of great reviews about it and trust me, you won't want to miss going there."
Charlotte nodded. She can tell.
"Whispering Falls is located in Virelle. It used to be one of those ancient cities. What was it called again... Veridia?" Bella shook her head. "No. Viridia? Oh yes, Viridia. That city has so many places to visit like the fashion gallery, Galería Solmar. The Lumina Spa. Their restaurants are..."
Charlotte folded her arms. "Bella, have you been there before?"
Bella shook her head. "No?"
"Why are you talking like you've experienced it? Are you trying to convince me?"
Bella chuckled. "No, but I think it's not going to be a bad idea if we go..."
Charlotte nodded. "We will. I need to experience them myself. Let's pick it as one of the places we will visit."
Bella shook her head. "Too bad we can't."
"Why?"
"It's not close. It's very far from our hotel. It's also a big place. We can't cover it in a day. According to my research, it's going to take three to four days, including going back and forth."
Three to four days? Charlotte shook her head. They can't go there.
"We can't pick it then."
Bella nodded. They can't.
"I would still like to visit the city, though. What do you call it again?"
"Virelle," Bella answered.
"Virelle," Charlotte mumbled. "I don't know of other places but I love the waterfall."
Bella nodded. "I love it too. We can add that to our itinerary after the program."
Charlotte nodded. "We should take note of that." Bella wrote it down on her phone's note. "You can also record other places we are interested in, too, so we don't forget."
They continued to check out places. Most of the places they were interested in were not close and would need a day or two.
"Are there no places close to the hotel?" Charlotte asked. "Why do we have to travel so far?"
Bella chuckled slightly. When she chose those places, she did not consider them coming a day before the summit started. She had planned all their outings for the rest of the days they would use, after the summit.
She had also picked so many places that she thought a few of them would be close to the hotel, but surprisingly none were.
"Should I be truthful?" She asked.
"I can guess," Charlotte said. "But you can say it."
"I did not make any plans for today."
Charlotte nodded. They weren't supposed to be in Isla Verida today if she had followed the plan.
"I know. I changed the plan."
Bella shook her head. "You did but it's a good thing. We can just take a stroll and speak to the locals."
"The locals? What if they are not friendly?" Charlotte asked.
"We can't say until we try," Bella answered. "I can also check out a few places that are close to the hotel. If the locals are not friendly then we can find our ways."
"That sounds like a good idea," Charlotte answered and Bella nodded.
Charlotte yawned slightly. She stretched.
"Are you tired?" Bella asked and she nodded.
"Maybe I should get some sleep."
"Please, do. I am going to take a nap, too, but that would be after I have chosen a few places we can visit."
Charlotte stood up. "You don't have to do that now. Go take a nap. We can do that after we wake up."
Bella stood up. "That is a good idea."
They left the balcony together and went to the bedroom. Charlotte lay down on the left side of the bed, and Bella slept on the right side.
"Good night, bestie," Bella mumbled.
"Are you that sleepy? It's just past two," Charlotte answered.
Bella chuckled. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we are going to bed and when we wake up, we will be energetic enough to drive through the town. Isn't that what happens in the night and morning after we wake up?"
Charlotte yawned. "I..." She yawned again. "I-I don't have the strength to argue with you. Goodnight."