Stranded

by Chance Carter

  “Okay, that’s it. I’m going home now. I’m not sure if this is the kind of thing I’m willing to put up with.”

  “Oh, no wait!” I’m grabbing her wrist, I’m actually doing this! What is wrong with me!

  Chad, stop it, please!

  “Stop!” Ella knocks my hand off of her and runs out the door.

  “Wait, Ella!” I shout after her, but she’s not listening.

  She’s gone.

  Crap. I’ve ruined this already. Why did I go out drinking?

  I head upstairs to bed and see that my daughter is sitting at the bottom of her staircase, arms folded with a very disappointed look on her face.

  “Marnie?” I say.

  But she doesn’t reply. She just shakes her head, sits up and goes back to her bedroom.

  Wow. I’ve really screwed this up.

  Chapter 8

  Ella

  “You… are… KIDDING!” Kat exclaims.

  “Yeah, L! That is bonkers. I mean, I can’t believe you didn’t go for it!” Cameron shouts, in an equally emotional state.

  “What?” We both shout back.

  “Okay, I get the feeling we aren’t on the same page,” Cameron says, sinking into her seat.

  “So you’re telling us that Joe Abercrombie, the Joe Abercrombie, got drunk and hit on you, right after hiring you as his daughter’s nanny?” Kat asks, just to make sure she understands the situation.

  “Well… yeah, pretty much.” I shuffle uncomfortably in my seat, as both of my friends seem unable to comprehend what I’m saying. Then Kat turns to Cameron and starts shouting again.

  “And you—you think she should have gone for it? Completely sober! You know that’s taking advantage right?”

  “Yeah I know! But he’s so dreamy,” Cameron sighs.

  “You are mad, woman.” Kat rolls her eyes at Cameron, before turning back to me, “So, what are you going to do?”

  “What do you mean?” I reply, knowing what she means, but not really wanting to continue the conversation.

  “Well, you kind of need that job. Are you going to go back?”

  “I don’t know, I suppose I have to. But I’m going to be strict. I can’t lead him on, you know?”

  “Does that mean I can?” Cameron asks, excitedly.

  “No!” Kat and I shout over to her.

  “Oh fine, I won’t,” she gets up, probably to go back to the job she’s been ignoring, “But if he’s got any friends—?”

  “Go back to work!” Kat and I shout back at her again.

  “Seriously though, are you okay?” Kat asks, moving to the chair next to mine.

  “Yeah. It was just weird, you know? Like, God knows I want him to hit on me, but not like that. It was just shocking, and it made me uncomfortable. I can’t work for him if he’s going to be like that all the time.”

  “I’m pretty sure he won’t. He probably just needed to let off some steam and got a little carried away. You know how guys are.”

  “Yeah. You’re probably right.” I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket, then check to see that Joe is calling me. Oh God, what could he want?

  “Oh wow, that’s him!” I show Kat my phone, and she chokes on her coffee a little. “Well answer it!” she snaps.

  “Alright, alright!” I get up and walk a little bit away from Kat to get some privacy,

  “Hello?”

  “Gosh Ella, I’m so glad you answered. I wasn’t sure if you would,” Joe says, sounding a little defeated.

  “Well, I don’t know, I guess I figured I owe you a chance.” I shrug. I don’t know if I owe him anything, but it’s against my nature not to give people a second chance.

  “Thank you so much, I don’t deserve it, but thank you.” He pauses and takes a deep breath, “Ella, I am so, so very sorry for the way I acted last night. I was completely out of line and acted like a pig. I have no excuses.”

  “Well, alcohol brings out the worst, I guess.” I laugh weakly, thinking it is sweet of him to apologize like this.

  “I guess. I still feel terrible. But I wanted to call and apologize, and also to ask if you would let me take you out for dinner tonight?”

  “What? Really?”

  This is pretty out of the blue. I mean, it’s a sweet gesture, I guess.

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to. I would just like a chance to show you that I’m not a complete lunatic,” he says, laughing awkwardly. He really is trying.

  “Oh, no. Of course, Joe.” I turn around mid-sentence to see Kat and Cam looking over either side of a wingback chair, listening in to my call, “Just let me call you back and I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay, great,” he says, actually sounding a little surprised, “I dropped Marnie off at a friend’s house, and she’ll be there until later tonight, so if you do decide, let me know as soon as possible and I’ll come and pick you up at about six?”

  “Sure, Joe. I’ll let you know in a bit.”

  “Okay, bye, Ella.”

  I hang up the phone and head back to my friends.

  “So, what did he say?” Cam asks excitedly.

  “He asked me out for dinner, to apologize for last night,” I reply.

  “Oh my God, that’s awesome! What did you say? Are you going to go?” Cameron is getting way too excited over this.

  “I thought you were supposed to be working,” I raise my eyebrow at Cameron, “And, I said I’d think about it.”

  “Well, you have to go. I’m sorry, but you just have to!” Cameron looks way more excited about this than I do.

  “I mean, free meal for sure,” Kat laughs. “You’ve got to at least give him a chance, don’t you? Well, I guess you don’t, but if you decide to go and he starts being a creep again, feel free to tell us I told you so!”

  “Yeah! Come on L! What if this is the start of something amazing!”

  I roll my eyes at the thought. I suppose it might still be a good night. I’ve never been taken out by a billionaire, or anything close for that matter.

  “Oh alright. Fine, I’ll go, but please could you be on alert in case I need to escape?”

  “Of course, sweetie!” Kat gives me a hug, “I’m sure Cam would volunteer to tackle him for you anyway.”

  We all laugh and share a hug together. Where would I be without these girls, honestly?

  “Okay. I need to go home and shower, and shit, what am I going to wear?”

  “Go on girl! Get moving!” Cameron shouts at me, pushing me out of the coffee house.

  I should probably tell Joe that I’ll go first. Gosh, what am I supposed to wear? How fancy is he planning on going? Where is he going to take me? Taking the cowards way out, I text him.

  I’d love to come to dinner with you Joe, see you later! X

  Was the kiss too much? Should I have put hugs and kisses? I don’t even know. My phone buzzes in my hand and Joe has already replied. Wow, that was fast. He must have been waiting on my reply.

  Great! I’ll pick you up at 6, xx

  Two kisses? What am I getting myself into? I need to get ready.

  * * *

  I think I’m ready now. What time is it? Five ’til, ugh he’s going to be here any second!

  Last minute check before I go out to meet him. Eek… I hope he likes my dress! Oh gosh, what if a dress is too much? No, can’t be… mirror, please tell me I look okay!

  Short red dress, flats and a little black jacket. Seems fine to me, not too low cut, maybe a little short.

  I can hear a car beeping outside, then my phone buzzes in my bag. Oh, that’s him! He’s here, he’s—I check my phone for the time—two minutes early! Who the hell does he think he is?

  Alright, okay calm down… just be yourself and don’t try too hard. Relax, he asked you out to dinner as an apology, it’s not a date. It’s not.

  I compose myself and grab my bag before walking out of my apartment. Come on L, just walk out the door it’s easy.

  Oh, a limousine… would you look at that, oh crap, it’s just like
my dream! Shush, don’t even think about that now.

  Joe steps out of the limo and walks over to me.

  “Evening, Ella. You look lovely,” he says, smiling sweetly and leading me to the door.

  “Thank you so much.” I smile back, wondering if he can tell how nervous I am. I take a seat in the back of the limo and Joe sits across from me, pulling the door closed as the driver moves off.

  “So, where are you taking me?” Hopefully not out to some ditch to be killed. I can’t help crossing my fingers… just to make sure.

  “A place in town, they have a nice rooftop garden that’s beautiful on autumn evenings.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  “I hope so, I’ve never actually been. My assistant recommended it.”

  “What kind of food is it?”

  “Italian, I think.” He pauses, “Oh gosh, I really should have asked what kind of food you like before I planned this. I’m so sorry!”

  “No, not at all, I love Italian!”

  “Oh, good. Sorry, I just want this to be a good night.“

  “I’m sure it will be.” I can’t help trying to give him a reassuring smile, he looks so flustered.

  Silence fills the limousine and we struggle to maintain eye contact, which makes the rest of the ride a little awkward. I watch the world go by through the tinted windows as he struggles to hold a conversation. I know he wants to apologize, but he’s nervous about seeming too apologetic. It’s actually kind of sweet.

  I look up at the sunroof, I’ve always wanted to stick my head out of one of those, but now is not the time. Just sit quietly and try not to accidentally squeak the leather seats.

  The limousine finally stops and I feel like I may have fallen asleep for a second, I hope there’s no drool on my face.

  Joe gets out, then helps me get out. Immediately, I am faced with a skyscraper, so we’re in the city center! Wow, it’s so bright and busy! Maybe he’ll take me here a lot? I can’t even imagine.

  “Right, so the restaurant is on the twenty-fourth floor,” Joe says, leading me up to the door.

  “Hey, that’s like how old I am!” I say cheerfully, not realizing that I sound like a complete simpleton until it’s too late. Joe laughs though, so I guess it’s wasn’t that bad. Maybe try to be a little more of an adult for the rest of the night, okay L?

  We step through the doors to the elevator at the back of the lobby, it’s one of those posh ones with mirrors all around, and you can see for what seems like miles. I can’t help making weird faces at myself and watching the hundreds of other Ella’s follow suit. Again, Joe finds it funny so I guess I’m not making a huge fool of myself. But who cares anyway? If I’m anything, it’s a bit of a loon. Which is probably why I’m currently sitting up on the rails on the sides, letting my legs hang down.

  Gosh, this bar is actually a lot sturdier than I thought. Someone could definitely hold someone up here while they fooled around.

  The lift stops and my balance on the rail isn’t as good as I thought—

  “Whoa there, don’t fall!” Joe catches me as I’m about to fall half a meter to a soft carpeted floor. I’m still perched on the rail with my hands on his shoulders. Why was I thinking about fooling around right before this happened? And now here we are in this compromising position, cheeks blushing and hands in places they shouldn’t be.

  “Sorry,” he says firmly, removing his hands from my waist.

  “That’s okay!” I giggle to myself, “My mind was elsewhere.” I can’t help biting my lip after thinking about that. The pink in his cheeks tells me he was thinking the same thing.

  “Shall we?” he asks, leading me into the restaurant.

  “Ah, Mr. Abercrombie!” A waiter greets us as if he’s been waiting for hours to see us, “Ah, your gorgeous lady friend! Let me show you to your table.”

  “Thank you so much,” Joe says, shaking his hand, “You must be James. Asher has told me so much about you. Oh, and please, call me Joe,” then he smiles that ridiculously charming smile of his and James practically faints.

  “Follow me, please!” he says, taking us out to the terrace.

  “Oh wow!” I say, walking past Joe to the edge of the terrace, “You can see the whole city from up here! And I bet the sunset looks beautiful!”

  “It certainly does!” says James, “Here is your table, and I’ll be right back with your complimentary bottle of wine.”

  “Ooh, complimentary.” I grin as Joe pulls my seat out for me, “Such a gentleman,” I babble and flutter my eyelashes at him.

  We laugh a little bit as he sits, then quickly revert back to the awkward silence.

  “Look Ella. I can’t take it anymore, I just have to tell you again how sorry I am about what happened last night,” Joe says. “I really hope this doesn’t affect your wanting to work with Marnie, she really does love having you as her nanny.”

  “Joe, stop!” I can’t help laughing at his slight helplessness. “I’m not going to quit, and it’s sweet of you to take me out like this. It really means a lot to me to see the lengths you’ll go to making up for it.”

  He blushes and smiles, brushing back his hair, “So you’ll stay?”

  “Yes, for now,” I say, knowing that it would torture him just a little.

  “Good, now at least I can enjoy the meal without worrying that it will be our last,” he choked up a little after that statement, making me laugh again.

  “So, are there going to be other apologies?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

  “What? No, I—uh—” he stutters.

  “I know what you meant, Joe, don’t worry. I’m sure we could take Marnie out somewhere sometime?”

  “Right, yes of course, if there’s anywhere back home that you know of? Marnie’s been itching to explore,” he smiles. It’s very sweet how hard he tries to please his daughter.

  James drops the sparkling wine off at our table and tells us he’ll be back in a moment to get our orders. I guess being Joe Abercrombie gets you into some exclusive places. It’s sweet of him to take me here. I could never afford a place like this in a million years!

  I take a quick look at the menu and notice there are no prices, “Joe, not to be picky or anything, but how come there aren’t any prices on the menu?”

  “I think the general idea is that if you have to ask, you can’t afford it!” he laughs.

  Gosh, I thought that was just a rich people joke, I didn’t know it was real! Maybe I should try and sneak a look at the receipt later, or don’t rich people need receipts either?

  Chapter 9

  Joe

  “Ella, you have got to try this, it’s so good!” I know dessert was a bad idea, but gooey chocolate sponge cake is my weakness. Marnie had me hooked on it the first time I brought her to a restaurant.

  Ella looks a little apprehensive as I hold out my forkful to her, I can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she makes her decision. She leans over and eats the cake off of my fork. Funny, I expected her to just take the fork. She looks up at me as she does it with her big blue eyes, damn those eyes.

  “Gosh, that’s amazing! It’s so rich!” she says.

  “You’ve got a little,” I point to my upper lip, where she’s got a little chocolate sauce on her face.

  “What?” she snaps, a little embarrassed. She goes to wipe it off with her napkin and checks her reflection in her knife to see if it’s gone. I can’t help but laugh at how cute she is.

  “How’s yours?” I ask, trying to cover up my laughter.

  “It’s great, although I wish I’d ordered the chocolate cake now!” she giggles, “So, how’s Marnie? I hope we’re not too late.”

  I check my watch and sadly she has a point, I should be getting back to Marnie soon, if only to rescue her from that crazy lady.

  “I’ll pick her up after I drop you off if that’s okay?”

  “Of course.” She looks a little sad, like either she wanted to see Marnie, or she preferred not to be dropped off. I can’t t
hink like that. I’ll get hard just thinking about what I’d do to her if I brought her home for the night.

  “So, you wouldn’t believe the woman whose daughter Marnie is visiting today. She is—she’s pretty crazy,” I say, trying to change the subject in my head.

  “Oh yeah? You said something about it this morning on the phone. What happened?”

  “Well, I met her at Marnie’s school the other day when I went to pick her up. And according to Marnie’s friend, her mother actually told her to be friends with Marnie because of me! Can you believe that?”

  “Totally,” Ella laughs.

  Oh great, so is it really common then?

  “Moms used to do it all the time back where I used to work, especially if they were single. They’d get their kids to befriend the kids of the hot single fathers. I mean, it’s a good tactic, but it puts a lot of stress on the kids if they don’t like each other.”

  “Hmm, I never thought of it like that. I hope Marnie gets along with her.”

  “She probably will!”

  “But anyway, that’s not even the craziest part. So, this morning, obviously I was in a bit of a state. Marnie was cross with me for, uh, for last night.” Crap, she’s gonna see me blushing again, I really can’t apologize enough. “And driving her over this afternoon was a bit much, I felt like I was going to be sick.” Okay, maybe this story isn’t the best dessert conversation, but she seems to be giggling. “I got to the friend’s house and immediately the girls run off to play in the sun. I was just about to leave but then the mother pulls me inside. I don’t know quite what’s going on, but suddenly she’s handing me a drink. To be fair, it’s about mid-afternoon. I still feel like, well, I feel like shit, so another drink is the last thing I need!”

  Ella starts laughing. Come on, I haven’t even got to the crazy part.

  “Anyway, she’s talking about, honestly I can’t even remember what. But she’s getting a little cozy and starts stroking my leg! So, I get up and apologize, saying I’m sorry if she got the wrong idea, but I was just dropping Marnie off! Then she was very confused, and maybe a bit angry at me. I don’t really understand it at all, but I just left after that, and in all honesty, I’m a little scared to go back later!”