Another Chance Book I of III

Book III-Chapter 114, January 1, 2216, Downtime

Prince's POV

Prince woke up feeling cold. He had been so totally out of it after the love that he and his Bella had made, that he had fallen asleep in the buff and had barely pulled any covers over him. He sat up and looked around to get his bearings. They were in a lovely suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and their bedroom had a wall of windows that faced Lake Michigan. It was equally as beautiful in the winter and looked very much like a picture postcard particularly when there had been snowfall as apparently there had been after they got in. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was already 9:00 AM. They got in a little after 5:30 this morning. He would not have known the time though, as the heavy closed drapes had kept the light out of the room. He didn't know how he knew it had snowed, he just did. He got up rubbing his naked arms to offset the chill and walked over to the window. Peeking out he saw a very heavy layer of snow that was, as yet, totally undisturbed, no footprints in that part of it that covered the beachfront could be seen. He let go of the curtain and went and crawled back into the bed. He was tired. He pulled the winter weight comforter up over his shoulders and turned on his side moving closer to Bella, who was in a perfect spoon position. Her body jerked as his much colder one spooned behind her, but she did not wake. After moving a little and settling close to her, his body began to warm from being near her and she had settled back into the peaceful, slow rhythm in her breathing that let him know she was still sleeping deeply. He kissed her neck lightly and fell back to sleep himself.

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when he heard the shrill ring of his cell phone. Grabbing it, he looked at the phone screen and saw that it was Christian and that it was 10:30 AM. He started to send it to voicemail, but then thought better of it and answered the call. He felt as groggy as he sounded. "This is Royal", he said. "Good morning Royal this is Christian". "Sounds like you are still knocked out". "Yeah we played the after-party last night and got in after 5:00". "Well, I didn't think that you would want to wait to hear this", Christian said chuckling. Prince didn't say anything; he was too tired. " Prince, with the Christmas and New Year's weekend receipts the Film has hit $550,000 million in sales in the US alone. The Accountants expect Canada to turn in $150 million thus far after the holiday receipts are tallied and in Europe, where the film had not opened until Christmas day, receipts were already at $7 million with one week of shows. That will grow slowly until the concert tour and then the numbers there will move upward quickly. That comes to $707 Million Dollars and that is without discussion of the Asian markets or adding in the Album sales", Christian said proudly. "We really might see a Billion in sales just from the film", he added. "Holy Father" Prince whispered! "Well digest that Royal and get ready to push the envelope with the Tour. Happy New Year", Christian said laughing and disconnected the call. Prince put his phone back on the nightstand. 'This is crazy' he thought. 'Father please let me go back to sleep, I am getting a headache'. The numbers were mind-boggling In His mercy the Lord answered his prayer and he fell back into some much needed sleep.

At 1:00 PM, Bella turned over and while still sleeping, she was in that twilight place just before waking, the place where dreams finished playing out and seemed so real and were remembered. Prince had awakened a few minutes before and now lay with his face toward hers and was smiling. No matter how many mornings he opened his eyes and saw her there next to him, he was always pleasantly surprised at her amazing beauty. He moved closer and kissed her on the forehead and as he did, her long lashes began to flutter and her lovely eyes opened. "Good morning Prince", Bella said. She smiled that million-dollar smile of hers. "Good morning sweet Bella. Sleep well"? She stretched and yawned as she did and said "yes thank you and you"? "Pretty good. Christian called and woke me up at about 10:30 this morning". "He did", Bella said, more as a question than a statement. "What did he say"? "Bella, the film as of this past weekend's receipts, has done $550 million in the US alone. That does not include the $150 mil that is expected from Canada once the tally is confirmed, and in just one week Europe has reported roughly $7 million. Without any additional priming, we have receipts of $707 million for the film alone. That does not include any proceeds from the Album. Bella even after expenses, Carlos and I are multimillionaires at this point and this is just the beginning". Bella smiled at her handsome man and said "yes my love and what a beginning it is." Bella got up, leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head and then went into the bathroom. After washing her hands she stepped into the little kitchen area and put the coffee on. When she returned, Prince was sitting on the side of the bed. He looked up at her and she could feel the tension inside of him. "What is is baby", she asked? I just want to make sure I don't mess up our investments or anything". "Prince", Bella said sitting down next to him on the bed, "you won't Jesus and I won't let you". He looked up at her and saw the grin on her face and had to laugh. " I know that's right" he said softly and kissed her softly on her lips. "Do you want to order in or go out ", Prince asked? "Definitely order in and what time are we supposed to meet your folks"? "Why don't we invite them here to dinner tonight. We can go to one of their places tomorrow". Bella smiled and said "sounds good to me" and went and got their coffee. When she returned with two cups of coffee in hand, Prince was talking to Carlos. He smiled at her as he took the mug from her and sipped the aromatic brew. Carlos said that he was awake when he answered but had not gotten up yet. Elaine was still sleeping. He was fine with inviting the parents to the Four Seasons for dinner tonight and said he would call his folks and tell them shortly. Prince dialed his dad's number and his dad answered like he was barely awake. " Hi dad. Did I wake you"? "Yeah, but your mother is already up. That was some performance last night son. We are really proud of you". "Thanks dad". Prince said. "That means everything to me". Bella and I wanted to know if you, mom and Torrey and Darrell were up to coming to the Four Seasons for dinner tonight? Carlos is calling his folks to see if they want to also. We thought it would be nice just to hang with family and of course Christian since he is in town". "Sounds great to me, but let me ask your mother and I will call you back. Will you call Torrey or shall I", his dad asked? " I can call her, but I will wait to hear from you before I do", Prince said. His dad was just agreeing to that when he heard his mother's voice. "Are you awake Royal", she asked? "Yes, I am talking to your son", his dad answered. He told her what Prince had shared and she said that sounded great. "Your mom is in and asked what time", Royal said. "Bella, what time", Prince repeated? " How does 7:00 sound", Bella asked? His dad had put the phone on speaker and he heard his mom say fine! "Hold on for a moment dad". Prince reached for the landline on the night stand and called the concierge desk. He told her what he had in mind and she recommended the Allium Restaurant and asked how many would be in the party. 17 including the bodyguards he thought but asked that she call him to confirm in about an hour. She agreed to do so. Prince disconnected the call and then told his dad, "see you at 7:00 in the Allium, which was the Four Season's, fine dining offering. "Your mother is going to love that", Royal said. Savannah giggled and said"I sure am". "See you tonight dad", Prince said and disconnected the call. Bella called Torrey, put the call on speaker and filled her in and she said she and Darrell would be there. It would be nice to get his mom out, even with her in her wheelchair. Would it be okay to bring her? "Of course," Bella said and "what about the kids"? No she would get a babysitter for them. Prince said "see you at 7:00 Torrey". The count was now up to 18.