by Hazel Kelly
He leaned forward and the light of the candle between us was reflected in his eyes. “You look absolutely stunning.”
I pursed my lips.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
“Not at all.” I wanted to tell him he looked pretty damn amazing, too, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it professionally. Plus, I figured he already knew how good he looked.
“I feel like I’m the one that won a prize here.”
I felt my lips curl up. “You’re very kind.”
He was staring at me like I was a unicorn or something, like he was as enchanted by me as he was happy to see me.
I worried I might melt right off my chair.
His smile went crooked. “Do you really think that’s an appropriate dress to wear out to dinner with your boss, though?”
I looked down and my face fell. “I’m sorry. I thought-”
“I’m kidding. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“You like it then?” I smoothed my hands over the bodice of the navy dress. “I got it at Macy’s.”
“Like it?” He laughed. “I think they should stop selling it. There’s not a woman in this city who would wear that dress if she saw the way it looks on you.”
Oh god he was flirting with me. Maybe Jackie was right.
“Mr. Abbott.” A bright eyed waiter appeared next to our table. “Can I get you and your guest something to drink?”
“I’ll have another gin and tonic, James.” He turned to me. “They make the best in the city. Would you like to try one?”
“Please,” I said, deciding that the situation was overwhelming enough without me being stubborn about what I wanted.
James nodded and placed two thin menus upright on the edge of our table before disappearing.
Will picked up the menus and handed one to me. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving.” I flipped it open. “I didn’t have lunch like you said.”
“You won’t be sorry.”
At first glance, I wasn’t sure if the descriptions on the menu were for food or an exhibition at Moma. “This is a pretty fancy menu.”
Will raised his thick eyebrows. “Is there nothing you like?”
“There’s nothing I don’t like.”
A smile spread across his face.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place that didn’t have prices on the menu.”
“No?”
I shook my head.
“Have you heard the rule that you shouldn’t eat anywhere where you have to check the prices?”
“Yeah, but I’ve still never heard of a priceless menu.”
“Maybe you’ve never had priceless food?”
“Intriguing.” I dragged my finger from item to item. “What do you get?”
“The filet.”
I laughed. “Of course you do.”
He cocked his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I’m just not surprised.”
“Do you really find me that predictable?”
“Yes and no.”
“I suppose you wouldn’t even be thinking about getting the salmon then?”
I looked up at his twinkling eyes.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well at lunch you talked about how it was your favorite food for a good ten minutes.”
“Actually, I was thinking about getting the venison,” I lied.
“They’re both delicious.” He straightened in his chair and his shoulders seemed to stretch across the room. “But if you get the salmon, you might have more room for dessert.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I stole another glance at him and then looked back down at my menu.
He closed his and leaned back. “So, Cinderella. Is that who you’re named after?”
“Actually, I’m named after Ella Fitzgerald.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I know it seems that way since we don’t have much in common.”
“I bet you sing like a songbird.”
“I’m closer to being a singer than I am to being black, but they’re both a bit of a reach.”
He shook his head. “What a shame. Named after the first lady of song and you can’t sing.”
“It’s a cruel world.”
“Do you like jazz yourself?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t really given it a chance.”
He hung his head. “You don’t know what you’re missing. At least tell me you’ve heard Ella Fitzgerald’s Summertime.”
“I’m not sure.” I couldn’t believe how excited he was. I’d never seen him so animated.
“It’s so sexy it’s chilling. I have it on vinyl.”
I wasn’t surprised.
“I’ll play it for you sometime.”
I squinted at him. What was he doing? Telling me I looked beautiful? Saying he wanted to play sexy music for me? He certainly wasn’t making it easy for me to resist him.
Chapter 14: Will
I could tell she was enjoying herself. Even when James put down our gins, her eyes got huge when she saw the ball of ice in the glass. And not only was she breathtaking to look at, but she was great company, too. Most of the women I spent time with didn’t even flinch at my lifestyle or the restaurants I went to, but Ella’s enthusiasm for every little detail made her really fun to be around.
I promised myself I wouldn’t flirt with her or come on too strong, but it was a struggle. I couldn’t not tell her how gorgeous she looked. I had to so I’d have permission to smile at her all night. And it did feel like that was all I was doing. I hoped I wasn’t coming across as an idiot, but she was positively magnetic.
After she downed her first drink to keep up with me, she seemed more relaxed within minutes, smiling and laughing more easily. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I craved her attention. As a result, showing her a good time seemed like the most important thing I’d done in weeks.
However, I decided it would be unfair not to ask about her plans for the party before she got to the end of her second drink. After all, it was in both our best interests for her to nail her pitch.
“How’s the salmon?” I asked.
She covered her mouth and swallowed. “Melt in the mouth. I think they put something on it so it would be addictive.”
“I could ask the chef.”
“Oh yeah, you could!” she said, breaking another bite off with the side of her fork.
“But I think I overheard him talking about his secret ingredient once.”
She was leaning forward like I had the winning lotto numbers. “Do you remember what it was?”
“I think so,” I said, loving her on the edge of her seat.
“Well?”
“I think they call it… butter.”
She shook her head. “You are the worst, you know that?”
I was so glad she noticed. I hope she would punish me for the very bad boy that I intended to be to her.
She shook her head and half her lips curved up into a smile. “It must be priceless butter.”
“Ahhh yes. That must be it.”
She put another bite in her mouth.
“So when are you going to dazzle me with your ideas for the Christmas party?”
“Oh right. That’s why we’re here.” She reached for her gin.
“One of the reasons, yes.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. Are you ready?”
“When you are.”
“Are you familiar with The Nutcracker?”
“The ballet?”
“Yes, by Tchaikovsky.”
I put the last bite of my perfect steak in my mouth, sat back, and nodded.
“I was thinking we could have that be the theme.”
I waved my hand in the air, encouraging her to continue.
“I want everyone to feel like they are a toy under the tree.”
“Go on.”
“So there will be a big tree decoration, but it will feel lik
e everyone is underneath it.”
“Is that possible?”
“I’ve made a few calls and several people are set to follow up with me on Monday with their pitches.”
I nodded. So far so good.
“And there will be jumbo presents around the perimeter of the ballroom to help lend to the atmosphere that we’re all under the tree.”
I took a sip of my drink. She was getting more excited with every idea she shared, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I would’ve been happy if she’d talked forever.
“And all the bartenders will be dressed up like nutcrackers.”
I nodded. “Cute. I like it.”
“And this is my favorite part,” she said, her eyes dancing. “This is the sexy part.”
“The sexy part?”
“Well I couldn’t exactly plan a party for William Abbott and not have it be sexy could I?”
God this girl knew how to get me.
“So we get all these attractive female servers.”
“I’m listening.”
“And they’re all sugar plum fairies.”
“What does that mean?”
“I was thinking they could all be wearing different dresses with big full skirts.” She held her arms out to show me. “But the dresses will be edible.”
“Edible?”
“Yeah, like pure fantasy stuff. So one girl’s dress will be made of tons of candy canes, for example, and everyone will be able to pluck candy canes off her skirt as she walks by.”
“Wow.”
“And another girl will be wearing a dress made of cake pops.”
“What’s a cake pop?”
“It’s like a bite sized piece of cake on a stick. Like if a cake and a lollipop had a baby.”
I laughed. “Got it.”
“And another girl will be wearing a skirt made of chocolate covered strawberries, and another will be wearing those whiskey filled chocolates you like from Giorpinos.”
“How did you know I like those chocolates?”
A smile spread across her face. “I did my research.”
“Well done.”
“I noticed they’ve been available at every party since the first time you had them.”
“I’m impressed.”
She shook her small fists in front of her like she was dancing in her chair.
“Are you sure you can pull that off? That those dresses can be made?”
“I sketched exactly what I wanted and two companies have already confirmed that they can do it. I just have to get them bidding against each other to get the best price.”
“And this would all be within the budget?”
“Of course.”
“Ella, Ella, Ella.” I shook my head.
"Will, Will, Will.” She mocked.
My pants felt tighter instantly.
She scrunched up her face. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s going to be sensational.”
“Really?”
I lifted my glass. “I knew you could do it, but I must say I wasn’t expecting to be that bowled over.”
“Bowled over?” She clinked her glass against mine. “So you think it has enough ‘wow’ factor?”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you wanted a permanent position.”
She winked at me playfully over the top of her glass.
“I guess I had nothing to worry about.”
“You were worried?”
“Worried is the wrong word. Anxious.”
“Little old me made you anxious?”
“All right, I can tell you’re pleased with yourself.”
“Very.”
“Would you like another drink with dessert?”
“I’m so full. I don’t know if I-”
“You have to have dessert. I insist. It’s the best part.” I looked around for a dessert menu. Not that I needed one. “Especially after all that talk about sugar plum fairies.”
She shrugged. “You make a good case.”
“I just need to get a menu.”
“Don’t bother.” She looked across the table at me. “I trust you know what’s best.”
“You’re so easy going after a few drinks. What a pleasant surprise.”
“Very funny.”
“I think I know exactly what you’ll like anyway.”
I caught James’ eye, and he appeared beside us in an instant. Then I ordered one chocolate cake and one apple crumble.
“Do you like ice cream?” I asked her, suspecting I already knew the answer.
She nodded reservedly, but her excitement was obvious.
“Make those both a la mode, James.”
“Right away, sir.”
“Do you get sick of people calling you sir?” she asked when James was out of ear shot.
“Do you get sick of being told how beautiful you are?”
She looked down. “Those aren’t exactly the same.”
“How are they different?”
“One happens a lot more than the other.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to it then. I’ve been speaking my mind for too long to change now.”
She topped up her glass of water and drank some of it right away.
I watched her intently without saying anything.
“So which dessert is for me?”
“Both,” I said. “I’m just going to keep one in front of me until you’re ready to switch plates.”
She tilted her head. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
“I’m not going to eat both desserts while you just sit there.”
“We’ll see about that.”
James arrived with the desserts on cue and looked back and forth between us.
“The apple crumble, please,” Ella said, eyeing me.
James put the desserts down and walked away.
She glanced at the chocolate cake in front of me and then back at her own plate. “I love it when the dessert is warm and it melts the ice cream.”
“I love your obsession with details.”
She picked up a small spoon and broke a piece off the side of her crumble, topping it up with ice cream on its way to her mouth. When it hit her tongue, she closed her eyes and sucked the spoon clean like she was auditioning for a yogurt commercial.
“Do you like it?” I asked, wetting my palate with the last of my gin.
“It’s heavenly,” she said, continuing to take bites like she was deliberately trying to turn me on.
I watched her eat the whole thing. Bite by bite until it was gone, closing her eyes half the time so that her long eyelashes cast pretty shadows on her cheeks.
When she had two bites left she looked up at me. “Would you like to try it? I should’ve asked you sooner. I guess I got carried away.”
I smiled. “Sure.” I slid my plate towards her. “You might as well try the chocolate cake then.”
“I’ll try it,” she said, sliding her crumble towards me.
She broke off the tip of the chocolate cake with her spoon, and when she put it in her mouth, she actually groaned a little.
It made me want to have her right there.
“That is divine,” she said. “No wonder you come here so much.”
“I’ve actually enjoyed it more tonight than I ever have before.”
“Really?” She dragged her fat lip over the back of the spoon.
“You’re great company.”
She tilted her head. “Thanks. So are you, Will.”
I couldn’t wait until she was ready for me to show her the extent of how good my company could be.
When there were a few bites of cake left she stared down at her plate like she was trying to decide between letting me be right and just finishing the damn dessert.
“I won’t hold it against you if you eat it,” I said. “I think you’ll only regret it if you don’t.”
She looked up at me with a face full of preemptive guilt. “I think you’re
right.”
She hoovered up the rest of the chocolate cake and ice cream as daintily as she could in her slightly inebriated state. The only bad thing about her being tipsy was I couldn’t tell when I was making her blush anymore.
After I paid the bill, I escorted her out of the restaurant. She held onto my arm the whole time, making me feel even richer than usual.
When we reached the curb, I turned to face her. She smiled at me for a moment, but the fresh air seemed to snap her out of her reverie.
“Can I bring you home?” I asked.
“Excuse me?” She let go of my arm.
“Can I give you a ride,” I said, wishing she’d just said yes.
“Oh.” She ran her hand over her head. “No. Thank you. I better just get a cab.”
“It’s no trouble.”
She shook her head and mumbled. “That’s what you think.”
“What was that?”
“I had a wonderful evening.” She looked back and forth between my eyes. “The most wonderful evening.”
“It doesn’t have to end now. It’s still early.”
“Good night, Will.” She leaned forward and held her cheek to mine. I could feel her hot breath on my ear as she whispered. “Sweet dreams.”
But when she walked away, she took my sweetest dreams with her.
Chapter 15: Ella
The months leading up to Christmas went ridiculously fast, and I underestimated how intense orchestrating the details of the party was going to be. My schedule was dominated by work. I slept only when I had time and ate only when I remembered to do it.
I didn’t let my outside reflect the exhausted mess I was on the inside, though. After the compliments Will had given me when we had dinner at Capulets, I made it my business to look good, and found it fun trying to catch his eye. Not that the compliments continued. He was friendly of course, but he didn’t go out of his way to linger around my desk. Plus, he had to travel a lot to the other branches to make sure they were on track leading up to the holidays. So I didn’t see him nearly as much as I would’ve liked.
The Monday after we had dinner, he brought me a pumpkin cappuccino and told me to give it to Emily and set up a time to tell her about my ideas for the party. Then he basically left me alone to get on with it. I didn’t know if I’d offended him. I didn’t know if when he asked if he could bring me home if he’d meant what I thought he meant. God knows I’d gone home with men after far less enchanting dates. Or evenings, I guess. It wasn’t really a date per se. More like an appointment, the most fun appointment I’d ever had.
