“Let’s bring them in for interviews,” he said to her, tapping the stack of papers vertically against the desk to straighten them.
“All of them, sir?”
“No, just the top three.” He pointed to the papers before passing them to her. “They seem to have the best ratings.”
She added them to the heap on her clipboard. “All righty. Will do, sir.”
“Thanks, Clary.”
“No problem.” She adjusted her glasses. “And sir, have you checked the time? Isn’t today your lunch date with Faye?”
Hawk’s glance skimmed to the clock on his desk. Clary was right. He wasn’t sure how other people survived without an assistant pointing out the obvious on an hourly basis.
“Right,” he said, rising and making his way to the coat stand in the corner. “Time to head out. Thanks, Clary.”
“You got it. I’ll let you know how the interviews go.”
“Awesome. Thanks. One more thing. Can you do me a favor? Can you get me Ella Embers’ phone number?”
“The girl who stole from you?”
Hawk winced. Though Clary had called right afterward, she hadn’t been there in Ethan’s office when they’d found the tampered feed. He’d been too preoccupied to fill her in.
“About that,” he said. “Turns out that was a complete setup. Someone framed her.”
“Seriously?” Clary’s tone was shocked. “How did they even get past your security?”
“It was someone on the custodial staff. They had keys to places they shouldn’t have,” he said. “She smooth-talked one of the guards and got in. Needless to say, that guard has been fired and the two women involved have been arrested.”
“Unbelievable,” Clary said. “Which is why you’re on the hunt for new staffing.”
“You got it.”
Even though he’d be heading out into the late-December air, Hawk decided to leave his overcoat and shrugged into his suitcoat instead. He was actually looking forward to a brisk walk. He braved the elevator, grateful when it reached the lobby and opened when his text notification pinged.
Hawk stepped aside, out of the flow of lunchtime traffic in the lobby, and checked his screen. Faye was texting?
Hawkie boy. Meet me here at La Comida Buena?
Confusion rattled through him. “Since when does Faye text?” he mused aloud, glancing around, half-expecting her to be waiting at her usual spot by the fountain. She wasn’t there.
He shot a quick reply that he was on his way, and pushed aside the doubt crinkling his thoughts. This was probably the first time in all of their weekly lunches Faye had not come to meet him. She’d always insisted she didn’t want to show up alone and wait for him, that she’d rather loiter in his lobby and be accompanied to wherever their lunch destinations were.
What was she up to?
Crossing the snowy street, Hawk dashed down the sidewalk to La Comida Buena’s entrance. He opened the door, kicked snow from his shoes, and immersed himself in the smells of pork and beans and the loud clang of pans and dishes.
Hawk wasn’t sure where Faye would be, but he searched the space, taking in families, couples, and singles occupying tables until his heart dropped to his stomach.
Faye occupied the table they’d sat at the last time. But she wasn’t there alone.
Ella Embers sat across from Faye, smiling and sipping her drink as if she was the one with the lunch date instead of him. A purple beanie hung over her chestnut hair, and the scarf he gave her on Christmas hugged her neck. A kiss of pink still hadn’t left her cheeks from trading cold outside for the warmth inside. No food was before either of them.
Hawk hadn’t been able to get over the panicked plea in Ella’s eyes when she’d been accused of stealing. While he’d asked Clary to find Ella’s number, this was different. He certainly didn’t want to talk about it in front of Faye. He intended on laying everything out for her, including how she made him feel.
He considered strolling out and leaving them to it. But Faye would never forgive him if he walked out on her.
It could be a coincidence. Maybe Faye knew Ella, and Ella had just stopped by to say hi on her way out. He could talk to her. Keep it casual. Save what he needed to say for later.
Hawk exhaled as he approached. Faye’s grin stretched across her face, but Ella swallowed as if she was being confronted by an unwanted spider. She scooted against the back of her seat and stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
Great. Fear wasn’t exactly the reaction he wanted when approaching a woman. Especially not her. Still, what did he expect, considering the way he’d ended their last conversation?
He slicked on a smile. “Hey there,” Hawk said. “What’s going on here?”
Faye beamed at him as if this were the most normal thing in the world. She patted Ella’s hand. The same way she always did to his. “Hawkie boy. I don’t think you’ve met even one of my grandkids.”
His brow puzzled. Ella? Ella was Faye’s granddaughter?
“You’ve…never wanted me to.”
Faye slapped the table. “Well, I do now. Have you met Ella? My late daughter’s girl?”
“I—”
Faye didn’t wait for his thoughts to sort themselves out. “Ella, this is my godson, Hawk. Though something tells me you already know who he is. I’ve heard things from both sides, and it sounds to me like the two of you need to talk.”
“What do you mean, you’ve heard things from both sides?” Hawk asked. He’d mentioned the theft after all, but had Ella also told Faye what happened?
Faye pushed away from the table, using it to brace herself as she stood. “I’m not feeling La Comida Buena today after all. I think I’ll just pop over to Debbie’s, that coffee shop on the corner. They have the most delicious sandwiches.” Back hunched, she wrangled her coat from the seat.
Instinctively, Hawk held it for her, but he didn’t offer it for her arms to slip through until she scowled at him.
“Faye, come on,” he said, “you don’t have to go.”
“Yeah, Grammy, stay here. Eat with us.”
Grammy. He couldn’t believe his godmother was grandmother to the woman he’d been daydreaming about for days. There was something fairy tale-like about this whole situation.
“Nonsense,” Faye said. “You two enjoy yourselves. I’m perfectly capable of getting a sandwich on my own.” Faye was already halfway to the door. “See you two later,” she added, waving as she branched out into the afternoon.
Hawk continued staring dumbfounded, as though Faye really was a fairy who would reappear any moment. Of all the things he would have imagined when he’d gotten Faye’s text twenty minutes ago, this was not it.
“Sorry,” Ella began, rising to her feet with her fingertips splayed on the edge of the table. “She didn’t mention what she was up to. She invited me out to lunch and said she wanted to wait before ordering. I had no idea you already had plans to meet her.”
Hawk grinned in spite of himself. Good old Faye. He glanced at the door one last time before removing his suitcoat and settling it onto the back of the seat Faye vacated.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ella couldn’t believe Hawk was there. Grammy knew—she’d known the whole time, from the minute she’d invited Ella to meet her. What a sneaky thing to do. Then again, Grammy was all about surprises. And miracles. Maybe she thought she was working another miracle by arranging a time for Ella and Hawk to catch up.
“I’m glad you’re here, actually,” Hawk began. “I feel awful about the way I treated you.”
Did that mean he thought she was innocent? Ella couldn’t chance it. She had to say the words, to do everything she could to clear her name and ease his mind all at once.
“I don’t blame you,” Ella said. “But you have to know, I didn’t steal from you. I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know.”
Her brows leaped. She’d been ready for a full recourse, for total groveling if she had to. “You—you do?”
Ella
could practically taste the anticipation seeping from him. His eyes were soft and reassuring, and they made hope shout from her heart. If it were anyone else, in any other circumstance, he might drag things out and tease her a bit, but not with something this serious.
“I received a visit from your stepsister,” he said.
The word stepsister was like a whip crack to an already wary lion. Ella went stiff.
“Pris?” Why would Pris go see him? Unless it was to further incriminate Ella with more lies.
“Charlotte, actually,” Hawk said.
Charlotte?
“It turns out she’d overheard a conversation between your stepmother and her daughter. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but they—”
“Set me up?” Ella suggested.
He nodded. “Yeah, they did. I’m so sorry.”
Ella had suspected it from the start, but it was quite another thing to hear it confirmed. And to hear it’d been Charlotte who’d come clean. During their interlude as supposed family, Charlotte had always remained on the sidelines in every scuffle that had happened between Ella and Pris.
“I’m not surprised it was them,” Ella said with honesty. “I am surprised Charlotte told you, though.”
“She was in tears about it,” he said. “She said she wanted to do the right thing, and so she confessed everything. Your stepsister’s jealousy, her desire to ensure you didn’t get in the way of her recent engagement. Even Stina’s desire to save face with your dad so she didn’t have to outright fire you.”
Pris’s stinging words from the ball reverberated in her mind. When she’d said she hated her, she’d really hated her. And Stina as well. Ella wasn’t sure why. Aside from the mix-up with Derek, she’d always done her best to get to know them, to get along with them. She was the type of person to find the good in every situation, including prickly people. What had she ever done to make them feel so harshly about her?
She couldn’t deny how much it hurt to hear the words. From Hawk Danielson, no less. Had her father known any of this?
“Unbelievable,” Ella said. “And yet, totally believable at the same time.”
Charlotte had been warming toward Ella for some time. Ella remembered the way she’d invited her to go dress shopping after work with her. It had been genuine after all. She took heart in that.
“I knew before she called, though. Ethan managed to find the faulty video feed and connect us with the original. Seems your stepmom and sister didn’t cover their tracks as well as they thought. We even found some deleted feed showing them in the process. Glancing over their shoulders, acting quite suspicious.”
“Did you call the police?” Ella asked.
He inclined his head. “I hope you don’t hold it against me. I had to do it.”
Something fluttered in her chest. “I’m glad you did,” she said. “I’ve always been afraid of Stina. Of Pris and even Charlotte. When my dad married Stina, they waltzed into our lives and I’m sorry to say, I just let them walk all over me. I don’t do well with confrontations.”
“It’s okay,” Hawk said, staring openly at her. After a brief pause, he went on. “I’ve been bewildered by something during all of this. And there’s something I think I’ve figured out.”
She wasn’t sure she could handle any more at this point. Stina and Pris had been arrested. Her name had been cleared. And he’d discovered something else?
Still, she brought herself to ask. “What’s that?”
“How anyone could know you at all and feel that way. Just shows poor character on their part, not yours. Ella, I’m so sorry I let the situation get to me. I regret that I assumed the worst of you. It won’t happen again.”
She squirmed under the frankness of his focus. His words held no guile, no additional, underlying meaning. Truth resonated from his eyes, truth and an underlying intention she couldn’t quite discern. Desire?
It wasn’t physical, though. It was almost like a plea for her to believe him. Because he felt it so strongly, he wanted her to know. It brought tears to her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I said it because it’s true.”
Ella wasn’t sure she could endure such a look much longer. Aside from Grammy and Chloe, no one had ever been so openly admiring of her. Not even Derek. He’d always been too preoccupied with Pris.
This unquestioning honesty was so refreshing, so completely rejuvenating. With a single, pointed glance, Hawk implied faith in her; he declared belief in her good character, in her honest nature, in her soul, as being something beautiful and wanted.
She longed to return the sentiment. To tell him how highly she thought of him too, but she couldn’t find the words. It meant so much to know he trusted her. To know she could trust him in return. Another couple entered La Comida Buena, sending a flurry of cold air until the door closed behind them once more. Ella realized they were both still standing, but she didn’t want to sit. Not until she said what she needed to say.
“I’m sorry too,” she said.
For some reason, this amused him. His posture loosened, and the most adorable smirk pulled the corner of his mouth. “What do you possibly have to be sorry for?”
Her stomach fluttered. “For not just telling you who I really was. I guess I worried you wouldn’t be interested in me if you knew…”
He took her hand. “If I knew you were a custodian?”
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Shame at the admission was too unbearable.
Hawk tipped her chin upward, and the touch of his fingertips sent fire coursing through her. “Ella,” he said. “Do you think I care about that?”
Ella’s thoughts froze. His eyes were the crystal blue of water beneath ice, but they were the opposite of cold.
He inched closer. “The only thing I have ever noticed about you, the only thing I have ever cared about, has been your heart. Your sweetness to me that day in the elevator. If anyone is embarrassed about themselves it should be me.” He laughed inwardly. “But you saw past that. You saw past my insecurity and my profession, too. Why should I care about yours?”
Her brow nudged upward. A smirk played at her mouth. “The only thing you cared about was my sweetness?”
A shrug. “And maybe how badly I wanted to kiss you.”
Ella didn’t wait for another invitation. She didn’t care that they were standing in the middle of a restaurant bustling with people. She tiptoed toward him, slid her hand behind his neck, and pressed her lips to his.
Hawk’s arms encircled her. She didn’t need to be in a stalled elevator for time to slow, for the weightless sensation that the ground would drop out from underneath them, that they were plunging toward something incredible and unbelievable and only theirs.
The kiss slowed, but still, he held her. Their gazes locked, his hands secured around her waist, and she teased the hair at his nape with her fingers while her heart thrummed a melody in her chest. She had the sense they were sharing a moment of wonder, the kind of moment where her heart no longer belonged to only her. Where a piece of it detached and drifted to plant itself only with him, where she was vaguely certain it would always remain.
Hawk Danielson was even more handsome up close. She held tightly to him, as tightly as she could, basking in the realness of this moment and stomping away any notion of interruption. She’d thought she’d lost this. The chance at a connection with him, at being held by him, at having him look at her as though she were something precious. The fact that she was here in his arms now made the whole room twizzle. She never wanted it to end.
“Now what?” Ella’s voice was still timid, but oh so grateful.
Hawk pressed another kiss to her mouth before releasing her.
The restaurant bounded back into place with startling clarity. She’d forgotten they were there, standing in La Comida Buena. She’d forgotten anyone else existed at all.
Hawk rested a hand on the back of the seat Grammy had va
cated. “Now? I could tell you I’ve fired Stina Malus’s custodial services and am looking for new staffing, but I think I’d rather tell you how I want to spend the afternoon with no one else but you.”
It was an enticing sentiment, but she could only focus on the first aspect. “You fired Stina? What about her crew? What about Janice Hepworth? And Charlotte? They had nothing to do with what happened. They can’t lose their jobs. Janice has three kids, she—”
Why was he finding this funny? His eyes gleamed with admiration as he waved away her worry. “It’s okay. I’ve had Clary contact the other members of her company and see if they’d like to be hired directly.”
“Really?” Ella wasn’t sure her heart could handle any more of his generosity, and yet it somehow continued to swell. How could this man be so decent?
“I could also tell you you’re included in that invitation if you wanted.”
“I don’t,” she said. “Thank you, but I’ve lived my whole life trying to please everyone else. I want to do something for me now.”
“And what’s that?”’
“I love to design clothes,” she said. “Did I ever tell you that?”
“No, you didn’t,” he said, sounding impressed. He held up a finger to stop her from continuing. “You know what, though? I vaguely remember Faye telling me about you. About your talent.”
Ella’s ears flamed. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the fact that this man was also her beloved grandmother’s godson. Or that Grammy had spoken of her to him. What else had she said over the years?
“Yeah,” Ella said. “I’m the only one of her grandkids who showed any interest in sewing. I think I’d like to sell my designs, my creations.”
“That sounds awesome. I’d like to see them sometime,” Hawk said.
She braced herself for the confession. “You almost did, actually. I tried making my dress on Christmas Eve.”
“You made that?”
She shook her head, unable to pull away from his gaze. “I designed a dress but ran out of time. Grammy tried to help me finish it, but she ended up buying me a dress instead.”
Hawk stared at her as though she was still wearing the gown. He exhaled a puff of air. “You looked so gorgeous that night. I was beside myself to not pull you to me and kiss you right there in front of everyone. But, you know, you’re just as amazing in my sweats and shirt.”
Ella And The Billionaire's Ball (Once Upon A Billionaire Book 2) Page 15