by Hazel Kelly
If I were as sexually liberated and strong as she was, Will and I would still be enjoying each other’s company. We would still be going on fancy dates, having amazing sex, and reveling in delicious sexual tension at work. Instead, I messed it all up by asking him not only if he had feelings for me, but if his meetings with me had anything to do with love. Love?!
How could I use such a word after a few dates and a few trysts? Not only did it seem incredibly conceited on my part, but now that I had the benefit of hindsight, I knew how naïve I must have sounded. He was my boss- my much older boss for god’s sake- and I was barely out of college. Of all the tantrums I’d thrown, there was nothing I regretted more than saying that word to him.
It made me feel so vulnerable. I shuddered to think that he thought I loved him when I hardly knew him. No wonder he wouldn’t dare risk admitting he had any feelings for me beyond a physical attraction.
I was obviously crazy!
At least it was over. It was going to end somehow anyway, and there was no way I wasn’t going to be the loser in the end. As much as I hated to admit it, he was wrong for me. It was so easy to convince myself that I deserved affection from someone like him, that those fancy meals and his athletic tongue weren’t wasted on a girl like me. But my needs were simple, and a relationship with him could never be simple. It would always be complicated because of the money, power, and influence he had.
But I couldn’t let him influence me anymore. No matter how deeply I missed him, I had to put his laugh, his strong body, and his charm out of my mind.
My phone rang, snapping me out of my trance. By the second ring, I remembered I was at my desk and collected myself.
“Ella Riley.”
“Ella. It’s Ben.”
“Ben who?”
“Ben the handsome man you met in the café the other day?”
“How did you get this number?” I let my eyes drift over to Emily who was on the phone herself.
“Does it matter?”
“If I wanted you to have my number, I would’ve given it to you.”
“I assumed you forgot.”
“What can I do for you, Ben?”
“I’d like you to help me plan an event for a charity organization.”
“Oh.” I reached for a pen and turned to a clean page in my notebook. “What charity?”
“I’m joking. I want to take you to lunch.”
“That’s very forward.”
“I’m a forward kind of guy.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
“What do you say?”
I pursed my lips. “I say no.” I didn’t even know him. What the hell?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t think you realize what a big deal it is that I’ve asked you to come eat food with me?”
I laughed. His mock self-importance was sort of endearing.
“Or maybe you do because you’re certainly making it into a big deal.”
“Sorry. How did you say you got this number?”
“I asked Paul at the front desk.”
Damn it, Paul. “And he just gave it to you?”
“I can be very persuasive.”
“Well your persuasive techniques might have worked on Paul, but they’re not working on me. Have a nice d-”
“Wait!”
I brought the receiver back up to my ear. “What?”
“Hear me out for a second.”
I sighed.
“I just got back from school in the U.K.”
“What’s your point?”
“Everyone there has a stiff upper lip.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“And for years I’ve been looking forward to going out to lunch with a beautiful American girl who’s an easy smiler.”
“And you think I’m an easy smiler?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I only know your smile puts every British girl’s to shame, and ever since the first time I saw it, I’ve wanted to see it again.”
I felt my cheeks go rosy. I was so lame to fall for this womanizer’s bullshit lines.
“It’s only lunch.”
Will came out of his office and stopped at Emily’s desk. She handed him a few papers and he bent down to sign them.
I lowered my voice. “I don’t know.”
But then Will started to walk towards my desk.
“Say yes. You won’t regret it,” Ben said in my ear.
Will passed in front of my desk without even looking at me.
“On second thought,” I said too loudly. “I would be delighted to have lunch with you.”
“Great! I’ll meet you in the lobby at one o’clock.”
“Okay,” I said, wondering if Will heard me agree to have lunch with someone else. Not that he was still asking me.
“I know this great little place nearby.”
“I thought you said you were new to the city?”
“Not so new I haven’t eaten anything since I arrived.”
“I can’t wait to check it out,” I lied. “See you soon.”
I hung up the phone and wondered where Will was going when he walked by. Either he was sincerely busy or he was matching my behavior towards him, and I have to say it sucked to be treated like that.
Regardless, I wish I knew if he heard me on the phone. Part of me wanted him to know I wasn’t pining for him like a pathetic teenager. But it was also irrationally important to me that he knew I wasn’t so crazy no one else would take me out.
I didn’t know if he would be jealous if he knew. I didn’t know if he would be hurt.
All I knew was that accepting Ben’s invitation hadn’t made me hurt any less.
Chapter 6: Will
When I heard her say she was going to lunch, I wanted to punch a hole in the wall. Then I realized it could’ve been with anyone- perhaps a client or even her mother. But something told me that wasn’t the case. After all, she obviously made a point of saying it loud enough for me to hear, and she wasn’t a particularly loud person. So it must have been for my benefit.
And that made me angry. I would’ve taken her out myself. Why would she want to rub my nose in the fact that she was going to spend her lunch break with someone else? It crossed my mind that maybe she wasn’t even on the phone with anyone at all. The way she had accepted the invitation- if there was one- sounded awkward and forced.
Was she trying to make me jealous? I hadn’t pegged her as being that conniving. Plus, she was the one that didn’t want to go out with me anymore, not the other way around. So I have no idea what she was trying to accomplish.
It took a lot of restraint not to ask her who she was going to lunch with, but it would have blown my whole cover. I was spending a lot of energy giving her space- at her request- and I refused to let my curiosity get the best of me.
I made sure to leave for lunch before she did just to make it clear that her plans didn’t concern me. Though naturally, my thoughts jumped to whether she might be having the sort of extracurricular lunch that she and I used to have. I doubted it, but the thought made me more uncomfortable than I dared admit to myself.
Besides, I had other things to worry about. We had a tech firm arriving from Japan that afternoon to impress. I went down to make sure Paul had his team ready for their arrival.
“Mr. Abbott, sir. How are you today?”
“Fine, Paul. Thanks,” I said. “I just wanted to make sure everything’s set for the Oshiro group today. I understand it’s a large party.”
“We’re very well prepared.”
“Good.”
“We have all of their usual requests on hand and even a few new surprises for them.”
“New surprises?”
“Miss Riley had us organize some additional gifts to welcome them this year so they would have a memorable stay.”
Paul might as well have kicked me in the balls. “Did she?”
“Yes. It’s all been quite tastefully done.”
“I’m glad.”
“I think Mr. Oshiro and his colleagues will be impressed with our attention to detail.”
“So I have nothing to worry about then?”
“Nothing at all.”
“And how has Miss Riley been to work with lately, Paul?” I asked, unable to help myself. “Since you’re my eyes and ears.”
“She’s delightful to work with. To be honest, her presence is always a real morale booster for the team.”
I nodded.
“And the clients often go out of their way to mention how pleasant she is to deal with.”
“Who do they mention it to?”
“Sometimes we over hear them talking about her and other times they leave notes about her in the compliments box.”
“The compliments box?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t think anyone ever filled those cards out.”
“It is rare. Most people usually tip the staff directly when they’re pleased and complaints are typically reported in person.”
I furrowed my brows.
“Not that we get a lot of those, though, and when we do, they’re addressed right away.”
I relaxed my face.
“Do we save the compliment cards?”
“We save the ones that stand out, and if a particular member of staff is mentioned, we let them keep it.”
“That’s nice.”
“I actually have some here that I’ve been meaning to give to Miss Riley, but I haven’t had the chance.” He opened the drawer in front of him and pulled out a short stack of cards bound with a rubber band.
“I can take those off your hands, Paul.” I reached for the stack and slipped them in my pocket. “I’ll make sure she gets them.”
“Oh- there she is now.”
I turned around and sure enough, Ella was waiting by the front door. She was in a long red coat with a high collar that made her look like she’d walked off a winter runway, and she was holding her purse in front of her with both hands.
“She looks like she’s waiting for somebody,” I said. “I’ll give these to her when she gets back from lunch so she doesn’t have to carry them around.”
“Whatever you think is best,” Paul said, sliding the drawer closed. “They’re sure to make her day whenever you give them to her.”
The idea of making her day appealed to me more than he knew. Just seeing how she looked from afar made my day.
Until I saw what happened next.
A man on the other side of the lobby stood up from his chair and made his way over to where she was standing. It was like the whole thing happened in slow motion. At first all I saw was that he was a younger man than me, and I felt my pulse quicken and my fists clench.
But when he came up behind her and touched her arm, I realized who it was. She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him while he put a hand on her lower back and pushed her towards the door.
I didn’t say a word or blink or have a single thought. I just watched her walk out of the hotel and disappear. With my son.
“Everything alright?”
“Of course,” I said, rolling my shoulders back. “I just didn’t realize that Ben and Ella were going to lunch today.”
“He asked me for her number earlier.”
“He did?”
“Yes. Should I not have given it to him?”
“Oh no. It’s fine. He would’ve met her eventually anyway.”
“I don’t think meeting her is what he’s interested in doing.” Paul’s eyes flashed down at the clipboard in front of him. “If you don’t mind my saying.”
“What makes you say that?”
Paul shrugged. “I don’t know. I was that age once,” he said, letting his eyes travel up. “If I met a girl like Miss Riley and had your son’s confidence, I would probably try to impress her, too.”
“You’re quite taken with her, aren’t you?”
“Only in the way that every man who works here is,” he said.
I clenched my jaw.
“Just calling it like I see it, sir. I’m your eyes and ears after all.”
“Yes you are,” I said, slapping him on the back too hard. “You keep up the good work.”
He nodded and brought a hand to his chest.
From the wheeze he emitted, it was obvious that I’d knocked more wind out of him than I intended to. “Sorry, Paul, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s okay Mr. Abbott. My wife’s been saying I should start hitting the gym. Maybe she’s right if I can’t take a pat on the back from my own boss.”
I was relieved he was well enough to talk. “Well thanks for all your hard work and if you need any assistance when Mr. Oshiro arrives, please let me know.”
“Certainly.”
I turned back towards the elevator and stepped inside. As I watched the doors close, I kept my eye on the front door of the hotel hoping I don’t know what. That Ben would have offended Ella in the first thirty seconds of their lunch break and she would come rushing back through the doors?
I knew better than that.
Ben was a shark when it came to women. Not that we were close enough to talk about it, but Laura had told me enough stories for me to know he was a threat.
Losing Ella was one thing, but losing her to Ben was unacceptable.
And it wasn’t going to happen.
Chapter 7: Ella
Ben led me to a little burrito place around the corner that I never noticed before. I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of reeking like Mexican food back at the office, but it seemed like a classy enough little place, and I didn’t want to offend him. Once inside, we headed towards a corner table between two yellow painted walls that featured colorful photographs of different kinds of chillies.
“Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me,” he said, pulling a chair out for me.
“You didn’t exactly sound like you were going to take no for an answer.”
He smiled and sat down across from me. “It’s not so much that I can’t accept hearing a no. It’s more that I believe my will is greater than yours.”
I looked over my menu at him. “You are the most presumptuous person I have ever met.”
He tilted his head like he was considering my accusation. “I can deal with that.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re not a vegetarian or anything are you?”
“Why?”
“Cause I know that’s really trendy right now, and I don’t want to waste my breath recommending the best dish they serve if you only eat rabbit food.”
“You’ll be pleased to know then that I’m not very trendy.”
“In that case.” His eyes scanned the menu in front of him. “I highly recommend the barbacoa burrito. It’s brilliant.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, checking the description before closing my menu.
“If there’s something you’d rather have though-”
“That sounds fine.” The fact that he told me what to eat reminded me too much of Will. I wasn’t about to start arguing with him. “Plus, I’m starving. I’d rather just order.” My mind wandered to the bet Will and I made over the goat’s cheese tart and what a joy it was to lose it.
“Whatever you want.” Ben raised his arm to call the waitress over and asked for two barbacoa burritos and then turned to me. “Could you stomach a margarita?”
“No. Absolutely not.” I turned to the waitress. “Water’s fine for me thanks.”
“I’ll have a Corona then,” he added.
The waitress nodded and returned to the kitchen.
“So how long have you been working for The Abbott?”
“A few months,” I said.
“How do you like it?”
“I love it. The work is challenging and fun. I feel very lucky to have a job there.”
He nodded.
“What about you?” I asked. “How long have you been stalking women that work at The Abbott?”
He laughed. “You’re the first woman I’ve stalked there.”
<
br /> “You’re not new to stalking then?”
“Maybe not.” One corner of his mouth curled up. “But this is the first time I’ve been accused of it.”
“I’m surprised.”
“I can tell,” he said. “Are you acting like this because men ask you out all the time or-”
“Acting like what?”
“Hyper-defensive.”
“I’m not defensive.”
He looked at me like I’d perfectly demonstrated his point.
I sighed.
“Only a fool wouldn’t try to get to know you. You’re drop dead gorgeous for one,” he said.
I looked down for a minute. The truth was, if I hadn’t been seeing Will Abbott recently, I would’ve been too nervous to even form a sentence around a guy that looked like Ben.
“And you’re funny.”
“How would you know if I’m funny?”
“Maybe that’s not the right word, but you’ve got personality for sure.”
“Everyone has personality.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “The last few women I’ve gone out with have been painfully dull.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’ve fallen on such hard times.”
“Are you always this snarky?” he asked. “You look so sophisticated and then when you open your mouth, it’s like I’m liable to get stung.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right.”
The waitress walked by our table, depositing a basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa on the way without stopping.
“I’ve been in a bad mood lately, and it’s totally unfair to take it out on you when you’re only trying to be nice.”
“What’s got you down?” He scooped some salsa on a chip and stuck it in his mouth.
“I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s not important.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes were bright and wide. “Cause it’s important to me if it’s upsetting you.”
I smiled. For the first time since I’d met him, he seemed sincere.
“I’m actually a pretty good listener,” he said.
