by Hazel Kelly
“Sounds like she’s going to be your new bad habit.”
“Jesus, Frank. Do you always have to be such a sexist ass?”
He shrugged. “Is it going to be a problem for you that she’s beautiful?”
I squinted at him.
“Oh come on. She’s obviously attractive or you wouldn’t be so interested in training her to work with you. Especially if she’s got no experience.”
“The fact that she’s good looking is a coincidence.”
“Tell yourself whatever you want. Nothing in your world is ever a coincidence. Your life is like a finely orchestrated symphony.”
I smiled. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s really a compliment for Emily.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Does she know you’re bringing on a new experiment?”
“No, but she’s always very supportive, and unlike you, she’ll understand that I am just trying to do a nice thing for someone.”
“For absolutely no reason other than that you’re such a nice guy.”
“That’s right,” I said. But I didn’t believe me any more than he did.
Chapter 7: Ella
When I walked into the hotel on Tuesday afternoon, the place was as stunning as I remembered. Even without the music and the socialites in formal dress.
Meanwhile, I was beyond intimidated and couldn’t get my palms to stop sweating. Which was all Jackie’s fault. Meeting Will was intense enough. It didn’t help that she’d made such a big fuss.
There was nothing more I could’ve done to prepare though. I had followed her instructions to groom myself to within an inch of my life. I even sprung for a manicure which was a very rare occurrence. I usually just ended up chipping it off when I got anxious, and it had taken all my energy not to do that on this occasion. By the time I reached the front desk, I was so on edge that a broken nail might have caused me to have a complete meltdown.
“Hello, Miss,” the smiley front desk manager said. “How can I help you today?”
“My name is Ella Riley.” I cleared my throat. “I’m here to meet Mr. Abbott.”
“Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here Miss Riley.”
“Thank you.” I took a mint from the bowl on the granite counter top.
“Can I get you anything to drink while you’re waiting?”
“No thanks,” I said. Though a stiff drink was probably just what I needed.
I turned towards the seating area and found a firm chair by the window. When I reached it, I sat down with my knees together and made a point of sitting up straight despite the fact that perfect posture wasn’t exactly my default setting. I rolled the mint around on my tongue and took a deep breath.
It was time to not blow it. It was time to play ball. It was time to repeat any motivational, confidence boosting cliché I could think of. At least I looked the part even if I didn’t feel ready.
I decided a black suit would be too boring, and after everything Jackie said I figured a skirt wouldn’t work against me. Most importantly, I was wearing my favorite jacket. It was a bold blue color that made me feel more self-assured than I was. Plus, blue elicited trust in people, and that’s what I was going for. I wanted Will to trust me with whatever the job was that he had in mind.
I am the person for the job I told myself, and he’s just a person. Just a regular guy.
But then the energy in the room shifted and when I looked up, Will was walking across the lobby like he was moving in slow motion. I think I actually saw the light catch on his bright smile as he waved and nodded at the people he knew. Which seemed to be everyone.
“Miss Riley,” he said when he reached me.
I stood. “Mr. Abbo-” The mint got sucked back in my throat when I spoke.
The smile fell from his face. “Are you all right?”
I brought my hand to my neck and my eyes started to water.
“Are you choking?”
I turned my back to him and tried to cough, but the mint wouldn’t budge. I put one hand on the back of the chair I’d been sitting in and smacked the other against my chest. My forehead felt so warm I thought I might faint.
Then I felt two arms wrap around me and squeeze just below my chest hard enough to lift my feet off the ground. My limbs hung like a rag doll’s as the air was forced from my chest. A moment later, the mint shot out of my mouth onto the chair in front of me.
His thick arms set me back on my feet, and I started to catch my breath again without turning around.
“Ella?”
My face was burning up. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
I turned around and stared straight into Will’s chest, letting my gaze travel up his tie until I was looking into his grey green eyes. “I am now. Thanks.”
“Wrong pipe?”
I nodded and took a step back. “So much for first impressions.”
“Nonsense. Fresh breath makes a great impression. Plus, we’ve already met.”
The friendly concierge appeared beside him. “Is everything okay, Mr. Abbott?”
“Actually, Paul, would you mind removing the mints from the front desk until they can be replaced with smaller ones?”
“Of course, sir.”
Will reached for the handkerchief in the front pocket of Paul’s jacket. “Thank you.”
Paul smiled at me and then made his way back towards the front desk.
Will held the handkerchief out to me and nodded at the chair behind me.
I grabbed the cloth napkin and turned around, pinching the mint inside it. When I turned around, he was holding out his open hand.
“You want this?”
“I think it’s safer with me.”
“Very funny.” I put the balled up hankie in his hand. “I’m very sorry about that I-”
“There’s no need to apologize. You had a mint before a job interview. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to replace all the mints on my account.”
“Yes I do. I can’t follow all the guests around when they fancy a mint, can I?”
“No, but-”
“If anything I should be thanking you. You probably saved me a law suit.”
“Oh.”
“Let’s put it behind us and get you something to drink.”
“That would be nice.”
“And I assume you’re hungry or that wouldn’t have happened?”
“I thought we were putting it behind us?” I asked, straightening my shirt.
He raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I could eat.”
“Come on then. The restaurant’s on the fifth floor.”
I followed him to the elevator, trying to regain my composure.
He held the door open for me and I stepped inside, admiring the mirrored tiles that decorated the elevator’s interior. Then he got on and stood beside me, facing the door with his legs hip width apart.
“Oh- before I forget,” he said, reaching in his coat pocket. “I have your raffle winnings.” He handed me an envelope.
“Thank you.”
“Everything is in there except dinner with me, obviously. We can arrange that for an evening that suits both of us at a later time.”
“Okay.”
“And I’m a personal friend of the chef’s at the place we’ll be going.”
“Wow.”
“So if you want them to cut your meal up into tiny bites for you, that will be no problem at all.”
“You’re really hilarious.”
“One of my many gifts,” he said, smiling at me out of the corner of his eye.
When the elevator stopped, he held the door for me again. Then we went through to the restaurant where he greeted the hostess before walking right by. I followed him to a private wraparound booth in the far back corner, admiring the way his broad shoulders moved through the restaurant’s immaculate inte
rior. Every place setting was perfect, every napkin was folded the same way, and every glass was sparkling in the bright space.
And in that moment I remembered why I was there: to get my dream job. To secure an opportunity to design events and parties with big budgets. I wanted to rub shoulders with glamorous people. Like Jackie got to do at her job. That way I could earn enough money to pay off my loans and get my Mom and I out of that roach infested shit hole.
I had to put the last few minutes behind me. After all, even though I hadn’t gotten off to a great start with the choking and him needing to give me the Heimlich within moments of me being in the building, it wasn’t too late. I could still impress him. I had to consider the whole thing with the mint an unconventional icebreaker and turn things around. And I could do it. I was smart, and I was the girl for the job. I had to be.
Chapter 8: Will
She really threw me off with the whole choking thing. I had promised myself before our meeting that I wouldn’t touch her under any circumstance and that I would treat her with professional respect no matter how difficult it was.
But she was choking so what choice did I have? I had to wrap my hands around her gorgeous waist and save her life. It was the right thing to do. I suppose I didn’t have to enjoy it as much as I did, but my life was so well planned it was exciting to have to be on my toes for change.
Of course, as soon as she was done being embarrassed, I needed to get serious again. After all, just because she was hot didn’t mean she could screw around if I hired her. Not without my close supervision anyway.
“Would you like to see a menu or will I just order for us?” I asked once she’d scooted into the seat across from me.
Her face crinkled. “Why would you order for me?”
“Because I’ve eaten everything in the restaurant, and I can make sure you don’t waist a single calorie on anything that’s not absolutely delicious.”
“I assumed everything was delicious.”
“It is. Does that mean you’d like to see a menu?”
“Please.”
I wasn’t expecting her to be so stubborn, but I suppose she was still trying to save face from her incident earlier. I figured there was no harm in humoring her.
I raised my eyes and Charlie appeared in an instant. “Good afternoon, Mr. Abbott. What can I get for you and your guest?”
“The usual for me, Charlie, and Miss Riley would like to see a menu.” I looked across the table at her. “And I imagine she’d also like to hear the specials.”
Charlie rattled off the menu for the day, and I watched Ella’s face as she hung on every word, following her jaw line to where it met her slim neck.
“Don’t bother with the menu, Charlie. That salmon dish sounds lovely.”
“And to drink Miss?”
“Do you have ginger ale?”
“We have anything you could possibly want, and if we don’t we’ll make it our business to get it.”
She laughed. “Is that a yes?”
Charlie nodded and smiled at her. Then he turned to me. “Peroni, sir?”
“Please. And I liked that bit about having anything someone might want. Did you think of that yourself?”
“I did.”
“Tell the rest of the servers it’s the new stock answer for any question starting with do you have and tell Charlotte to contact me about giving you a raise.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
I watched Charlie hurry to the kitchen, and when I turned back towards Ella, she was beaming at me.
“That’s very generous.”
“That’s business, Ella.”
“Do you always give people raises whenever you feel like it or did you just do that to impress me?”
“The first one.”
“Well I’m intrigued to know more about how you run your business, Will.”
There it was. My name in her mouth again, tumbling out from between her pouty lips. I became more determined than ever to make sure I gave her lots of excuses to say it. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it?”
“It is, and I’m really looking forward to hearing more about the role that you think might be a good fit for me.”
Charlie arrived with our drinks and disappeared like a mirage.
I took a sip of my beer. “Why don’t you start by telling me a little bit more about your experience?”
“Sure.” She pushed her shoulders back and her necklace disappeared down her shirt.
I was jealous.
“I graduated with honors from Mallard College w-”
“The all girls’ school?”
“That’s right.”
“Go on.” Now I was intrigued. I thought there were only three kinds of women that came out of all girls’ schools: Lesbians, Sluts, and Virgins. Fortunately for me, though, I didn’t get the vibe that she was any one of those.
“Anyway, I have a degree in hospitality with a minor in event management.”
“Sounds expensive.”
Her eyes dropped for a moment. “It was actually.”
“Personally, I don’t put a lot of stock in degrees. Never got one myself.”
“I understand you dropped out?” She took a sip of her ginger ale.
“Did you Google me?”
Her face turned bright red.
“I’m flattered, but I asked about what experience you have.”
“I organized a lot of parties for social clubs at school.”
Suddenly I was worried I was about to make a huge mistake. She didn’t have a clue. I couldn’t offer her a full time position.
“But I’m eager to start organizing bigger budget events for a more discriminating clientele.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” she said, putting her shaking fingers under the table.
“What would you have done differently at the benefit you attended here last weekend?”
“I’d like to apologize for any offense I caused by suggesting that it wasn’t a great party. I don’t know why I said that.”
“The champagne went to your head?”
“Perhaps.”
“Do you think you could’ve done a better job?”
“Yes. I do.”
It was obvious to me that her confidence was fake, but I found something endearing about that. It was almost like her bold ambition reminded me of myself at her age. Except she wasn’t half the bullshitter I was then. “I’m listening.”
“I think it was a bit stuffy.”
“Stuffy?”
“Formal. Predictable.”
“Okay. I get it.”
“I think people with that kind of money expect a showstopper, something they can’t just experience anywhere.”
“Like a band and a bar and a raffle?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Exactly.”
“And you think if I gave you shot at planning- I don’t know- the company Christmas Party, you could do a better job?”
“No one can make your money go further.”
I leaned back. “See that’s exactly what I want to here because I think the benefit should’ve been a lot more spectacular considering the budget I gave the event planning company, especially considering their experience and connections.”
“I couldn’t agree more. What you need is someone with a fresh perspective.”
I smiled. “You’re charming when you want something, Ella.”
“I’m glad you can see how much I want this.”
“I do, but I think you and I both know you don’t have much relevant experience.”
She swallowed.
“However, for some reason I think you might have enough tenacity to pull something like this off.”
“I look forward to proving you right.”
“Just keep your mouth shut now and let me make you an offer.”
She pursed her lips.
“I’ll take you on for a limited contract. Your only responsibility will be to plan the company Christmas party, the
budget for which will be a quarter of a million dollars.”
Her dark eyes doubled in size.
I tried to ignore them. “I’ll give you thirty thousand dollars for the job.”
Her mouth was slightly ajar, but it made her lower lip look so fat I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
“And if the night is a success, you’ll get a twenty thousand dollar bonus.”
She was staring at me so intensely I had to drag my tongue over my teeth to make sure there was nothing there.
“Ella?”
“Yes, sir. I mean, Will.”
“Do those terms sound fair to you?”
“More than fair. I can see why your staff thinks so highly of you.”
“You got the job. You don’t have to flatter me anymore.”
“Will?”
“What?”
“If I do a good job- sorry, when I do a good job- would it be possible to discuss moving into a full time position?”
“When the time comes, we can certainly discuss it.”
“Would it be inappropriate if I gave you a hug?”
I laughed. “Not if you absolutely must.”
I stood up and waited for what felt like forever for her to take the two steps towards me.
She put her arms around me tentatively at first but once they were in place she gave me a good squeeze, and I could feel her hips and chest press against me. It was the most genuine display of affection anyone had shown me in a long time, and it felt surprisingly good.
In fact, it felt so good I had to step back so my body wouldn’t give away exactly how much I enjoyed having her wrapped around me.
But I hoped we could do it again sometime. Without clothes on.
Chapter 9: Ella
I probably shouldn’t have hugged him. Looking back, I can see that it may have been a little inappropriate. It certainly seemed to make him uncomfortable, but I couldn’t help it. The guy saved my life in more ways than one. First he kept me from choking and dying in the lobby of his hotel. Then he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime for no reason other than the fact that I gave him the feeling I could pull it off.
