by TN King
“Well, umm…” This would be her chance to see him again! She needed to control her nervousness, this wasn’t a dream like earlier, this was reality. “Yes, please,” she finally got out, her fingers tightening upon himself to try and contain herself.
Loretta paused for a moment, the clicking getting louder, before she continued, “He’s staying at the Hunt Hotel. The address is—”
“Oh, I know where that is,” Ellie interrupted, half-stopping apologetically when she realized what she had done. It was done and over with though she continued, “It’s a big, beautiful hotel in Center City, right?”
“That sounds right,” Loretta verified, amusement just barely discernible in her tone. It forced Ellie to wonder if her nervousness and her demeanor gave away more than she intended for it to.
“Okay, so, the Hunt Hotel penthouse?” Ellie squeaked out, her attempt at sounding cool and collected falling flat.
“I’m sure you can just leave it at the front desk and someone will get it to him,” Loretta offered. “But, if you wanted to thank him for…rescuing you from a burning building, was it?” Again, that amusement had creeped back into her voice, but it was kindly despite it.
“Yeah. That’s what he did,” Ellie confirmed rolling her eyes at herself and regretting having mentioned that part at all. She had just been flustered…she was still flustered.
“Yes. Well, you are more than welcome to go up to deliver it yourself. I can give him a call and let him know that you are coming,” Loretta trailed off, the clicking easing up in the background.
“No!” Ellie blurted out, too quickly, “Please don’t do that. I’m not sure…” That she was actually going to be able to make it up there, that she wouldn’t chicken out last minute, but that was a lot to drop on a stranger over the phone.
After a short pause Loretta asked, “Are you nervous, dear? He’s just a man. He puts his pants on one leg at a time like any other man. I’m sure he’d love to know that you appreciated his courage.”
Ellie considered Loretta’s words and was thankful for the encouragement. Just a man? He’d looked a little more than that and his voice... She shook her head, as she again, got lost in the memory of him. “Just please don’t let him know that I found his phone. I promise I’ll take it to him first thing in the morning.”
Loretta took a moment before responding, “How about this? I’ll notify him that his phone has been found so he can breathe easy, and know that it’s on its way, but I won’t mention that the young lady he rescued is the person who found it. Does that sound reasonable?”
“That sounds very reasonable, yes. Thank you!” Ellie sighed in relief, her whole body sagging from the tension she hadn’t even been aware was building loosing from her form.
Loretta laughed lightly on the other end, “Okay good, I’ll handle that from my end then… and dear? Good luck.”
Ellie paused, a smile fighting at either corner of her lips. “Thank you Loretta,” she finally managed to get out, listening to the amused laughter on the other end before the dial tone overtook her ear.
Letting out a deep breath, she ended the call, staring at the phone in her hands in wonder. What had she just agreed to? She was excited, sure, but she was also equally terrified. She did want to thank him, as Loretta had said, and she realized just at that moment that she hadn’t done so at all while on the scene of the diner. He probably thought she was entirely ungrateful. This was her chance, maybe she could be a little more eloquent than the first time he’d met her as well. Maybe it wouldn’t result in anything, she wasn’t still dreaming, but it would at least make her feel better.
Ellie laid Morgan’s phone back down on the counter and turned to go back to her shower to plan her outfit for tomorrow. She needed to look perfect when she saw this man again. Or at least as close to perfect as she could get. She wasn’t dreaming too far off, if nothing else she was just… trying.
Morgan
The bathroom was quiet, something that Morgan was even more grateful for after having to stay in a regular, economy hotel three weeks back due to scheduling errors. Laying in the tub, attempting to relax, now only made him all the more thankful that he didn’t normally have to deal with those inconveniences regularly. He might have been staying in a hotel currently, but he was in the penthouse suite, and the bathtub he was leaned back into could have fit three of him. Easily.
Although it wasn’t a clone or two of himself that he was imagining in that tub with him at all, but Ellie White. The girl he had saved from the fire. She was sweet, unpretentious, and her eyes had been hiding secrets in their depths that he only wanted to figure out. It made him feel—his phone in his suite rang, interrupting the atmosphere and banishing the mental vision that he had begun to build, of he and Ellie. “Ugh,” he grunted, sighing in frustration as he stood from the tub entirely, walking that distance to the still ringing phone unhurriedly, dripping as he went.
“Hello?” He felt less than enthused, obviously, at being interrupted, looking around him for something to dry off with. But of course, he wasn’t in the bathroom any longer.
“Mr. Hunt?” the female voice inquired timidly.
“Yeah,” again he answered shortly, his hand scrubbing down the front of his face in frustration.
“This is Loretta from the Hunt Group here in New York. I just wanted to inform you that your phone has been located. Someone should be arriving there tomorrow morning to deliver it,” she spoke quickly, like she could hear his irritation, her tone business like and the sound of her fingers typing away as she spoke clear.
“Great!” Almost immediately he felt his anger dispel somewhat, excitement at the prospect of not only having to deal with that the next day but of not losing his files crushing in on him instantaneously. “That’s awesome! Who found it?” Or where did they find it? Could it have been the emergency responders over by the fire? A helpful passerby? Had it even been by the fire in the first place or had he misplaced it somehow after and missed doing so? He had any number of questions concerning it.
“I’m not sure, sir. I just wanted to let you know that your phone is on its way.” Again she sounded apologetic, but she was efficiently moving through, the typing in the background slowing somewhat. “Also, sir, will you be attending the Governor’s Charity Ball in New York, next Wednesday?”
He’d forgotten about the charity ball, he tended to do so until the last minute, which really wouldn’t do this time seeing that he needed a new suit for it. “Sure,” he tiredly agreed, his excitement over having his phone found dimming slightly.
“Should I RSVP one or will you be attending with a date?” Again, the typing paused and he was forced to realize that she was probably taking down his answers.
“Uh.” He paused himself the time, thinking it over. Maybe he could take Ellie? If he could find her before then. It would certainly be an event to invite her to, women always enjoyed being pampered, and taking them to a governor’s ball had the added benefit of making them feel special as well. “Put me down for two,” he decided, looking across the hotel suite and half-smiling. The plan, at least, was a good one.
“I’ll update your calendar,” Loretta replied, easily, the background noise informing him that she was literally doing just that.
“Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you very much. This just made my day.” Morgan assured her, trying to make up somewhat for how irritably he had answered the phone. He wasn’t actually lying, it had certainly made his day easier. Like his grandfather had always said, work smarter, not harder. He grinned, hanging up the phone with that goodbye and half fist-pumped before he caught himself. “Yes!” Even laughing at himself for it, and the excitement he felt from that bit of news. There would be no struggling over the next few weeks to get his work back under schedule, no rushing around to attempt to meet deadlines…
The first thing he would do when he got he got that phone back was back it up on the Cloud, then onto his tablet and laptop. He could always replace the phone but it was t
he information on it that made it so valuable to him. If the experience had taught him anything, was he needed to be more careful about such things.
He moved once more, walking back towards the tub slowly, thinking about his phone. Of course, thinking about his phone meant that he was also thinking about how he could have lost it in the first place, which in turn led him to thinking about Ellie. Wouldn’t it be great if she were the one that found his phone?
Hmm. Ellie. He remembered how fragile she felt in his arms, her slight body still, and her head hanging back limply over his forearm. He’d immediately felt this strange cross between protective and possessive regarding her, waving off the first responder that had begun to head towards them. She had been so tiny, laying there surrounded by ash, smoke, and fire. He’d thought that, maybe, when he first saw her that she might be dead. Even once he’d carried her clear of that gaping hole in the building, where he had gotten to her he hadn’t been sure she was breathing, what might have been movement of her chest so slight that he thought he could be imagining it.
He’d done the best that he could in resuscitating her, that ash transferring from her face to his, and he’d never felt so uniquely responsible for someone else in his entire life before. Maybe it was because he had been the one to pull her out and to provide CPR to her. Yes, that was it. It made sense. Nothing else logically fit in its place. It was hardly like he was having feelings for the girl, that would be … ridiculous.
He certainly had some sort of emotion towards her though, it just tended to slate more towards the physical side of things than anything else. She was gorgeous, even dirty as she had been. He really should have gotten her number, but he was going to blame his absent mindedness with doing so on his own smoke inhalation. He couldn’t be expected to keep everything together, he had never expected to go off chasing after a woman running back into a fire. Certainly not one as attractive as Ellie had been.
“Get it together, Morgan,” he said aloud, shaking his head and pausing in his step at the sight of his reflection.
He certainly wasn’t bad looking, and he didn’t think it was arrogant for him to notice as much. He was well-toned, his body well taken care of and in the kind of prime condition that many men his age and younger fought to achieve. It didn’t hurt that he was a successful businessman with a slew of contacts. Not that it had anything to do with his aesthetics, it was only that it helped his assurance to himself that he would find her.
Even on his own, he could always call the owner of the diner. Surely, he could find this information. He or she could then connect him to a manager or supervisor that could get him Ellie’s number. Or he could go to his investigator and let him find her. Simple, right? And it wasn’t stalking because he was genuinely concerned about her and having been her rescuer, afforded him the right to know how she fared. Or at least that was what he was going to tell himself to excuse any guilt from his mind.
“That could work,” he mused aloud, finally lifting his eyes to meet his own gaze in the mirror with another grin. It could work.
She would have some time off while the diner handled the repairs and she had said something about enjoying her vacation. Maybe she would enjoy a weekend getaway with him. Tahiti was nice this time of year, and he hadn’t had a vacation in—he didn’t even remember how long. Yes. This would all work out fine.
Unless she refused. He shook his head at Mirror Morgan. You just met her. Why would she go anywhere with you?
Morgan straightened and headed back to the bathroom. Why wouldn’t she? He countered himself. He was attractive, he was well-to-do, and there had been some sort of spark there in the shell parking lot of the diner she worked at, he was even fairly sure he had caught her checking him out, even if she made a good enough save to pretend otherwise. And that blush... He was known in his company as the master at sealing a deal, famed for closing even the most difficult of clients, and generally for more than they had ever intended to spend. He could do it. He would do it. As soon as he got his phone back, he would make some calls and get it underway.
Ellie and he would be having dinner tomorrow night on his private jet. Then maybe they could explore the idea of Tahiti or somewhere similar. Maybe, seeing how close he was to having things settled, he could talk her into spending her time with him until after the Governor’s Ball. Then he would have certainly gotten his fill of her and the added relaxation of a vacation as well...
CHAPTER THREE
Ellie had almost chickened out numerous times by the time that the cab pulled up to her apartment that morning to take her to the Hunt Hotel. She had originally meant to take the bus, but after realizing how easy, it would be to just not get off at the right stop or get caught up in any number of the dramas that regularly occurred on the bus in Philly… she decided to splurge money she didn’t have on the fare for the cab to the hotel. It just meant that she was, very likely, late on one of her bills. Probably, her water bill. But maybe she could find work at a diner along the way home from the hotel and make up for all of it.
Personally, she was while in the cab itself, glad to not be riding the bus period. Just the week before a man had drunkenly stumbled up into the bus she was on and attempted to hijack it with a drumstick. It wasn’t as if the situation had become dangerous at any point, but it had gotten out of hand enough for the bus driver to have to pull over and call the police to have the man removed. She’d arrived late to work that day and ended up having to work an extra shift to make up for missing the lunch rush. It was just incidents such as that which had made her choose the cab. With the way her luck ran it would be just that sort of incident that happened on the way to getting Morgan Hunt his phone back.
Lord only knew she didn’t want to delay any more on that or she might have never gone at all. It was her promise to the woman over the phone that kept her really going, looking equal parts eager and nervously out of the window as the cab pulled up to the front of the Hunt Hotel.
She impulsively, thought about telling the cab driver to continue going, but didn’t. It was just nerves, she assured herself, waiting for the expensively dressed man standing on the curb to come and open her door. If they’d had uniforms like that at the diner then she was pretty sure they wouldn’t be waiting so long for their insurance claim. Then again, if they’d had uniforms like that, she could have sold her uniform to pay for her month’s bills.
Fancy. “Thank you,” she demurred to the man who nodded, stepping past him and onto the sleek gray stone walk that led her to the entrance of the hotel. She’d never been, personally, and had only ever heard or seen of it in passing. It was the kind of hotel that made her shabby apartment look like a roach-infested motel. Strong, architecturally beautiful pillars, green in the trees that had been strategically planted about it and the flower beds that were obviously well kept up with. She just stood for a moment, taking it all in, happy that at least her mouth wasn’t dumbly agape as she stared.
It was only when someone else passed her that she was jolted back into the present, following the expensive suit before her until he disappeared inside of the doors several yards ahead. Again two men in expensive uniforms stood, one to either side of the doors, staring ahead as if they were a part of the Queen of England’s National Guard or something. Slightly intimidated she approached, her eyes rounding accordingly. The man nearest her opened his door, stepping back to allow her to pass.
“Thank you,” she said again, but this time to the man holding the door open for her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been waited on this often.
“Ma’am.” He returned, one corner of his mouth hitching up at the side.
She wondered if her awe was obvious, not that she was given long to dwell on it. She passed through the door and into the lobby, her eyes rounding comically once more. If the outside had blown her away, the inside was heart stopping. She hadn’t even fully passed through the doors before she saw the huge, brilliant chandelier that hung in the center of the room. The crystals glitter
ed, but not in the gaudy way that cheap imitation diamond did, casting reflected light only over the ceiling above it and not below. Below that sat a group of plush sofas colored a deep, rich, jewel tone. All around them greenery was dispersed throughout the lobby, giving the illusion of a spa retreat instead of a hotel lobby.
On nearly every surface, an elegant, expensively clad body sat; talking, reading, or browsing on their even more expensive looking hand held gadgets. A business center was highlighted immediately to the left upon entering, lines of computers and desks and what appeared to even be private meeting rooms beyond it still somehow looking elegant and luxurious. To her immediate right there were overstuffed chairs and ottomans, little tables and reading nooks, all leading into a coffee shop that obviously rivaled Starbucks. Both of those areas and the lobby seemed to be hosting their fair amount of people.
Looking around at these people though, Ellie couldn’t see a single one of them that honestly looked like they were on any type of vacation. As high-end and sophisticated this place seemed it definitely seemed to cater more to the modern, business minded individual. Higher end influences and people who were from the upper echelon in life were obviously the only sort that could afford to cavort about this space. Every single person inside of the hotel seemed rich, their attention zeroed in on whatever it was they were hoping to accomplish rather than any one person around them.
What am I doing here?
She felt inadequate suddenly, her fingers clenching at her sides. All of these people were working and still somehow, were dressed better than her, even in her best. She was wearing the nicest dress she owned, purposefully. She had even ironed the red and white polka dot dress before she’d put it on this morning, and done her toenails to match the corresponding red pumps on her feet. When she had left her apartment this morning she’d felt pretty and sophisticated. Standing here, in the lobby, now she felt so far below that that it made her want to cry. What was she even trying to do here? Impress a billionaire used to having women throw themselves at his feet?
