by Hazel Kelly
“That’s okay.”
“It’s guy troubles, isn’t it?”
“Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “If it was girl troubles you wouldn’t mention it, but if it’s guy troubles, I could see why you’d mention it and not want to talk about it.”
“Give it a rest, Sherlock, and change the subject.”
“Can I just say first that any guy who would let you get away is a goddamn fool and a waste of your time.”
Perhaps Ben was smarter than I thought. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” He shoved another chip in his mouth.
I reached for my first.
“So tell me a little about yourself.”
“I graduated recently from Mallard College-“
“The all girl’s school?”
“That’s the one.”
“Kinky.”
“No,” I said when I saw his cheeky smile. “Definitely not kinky at all.”
“Don’t ruin this for me,” he said. “Please continue. You can skip the parts about the naked pillow fights if you have to.”
I squinted at him. “I think I will. Anyway, I studied event management-”
“How did you end up at The Abbott?”
“I got a lucky break because my Mom knew the owner and he decided to give me a shot.”
“I bet he did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“I’m more than qualified to do my job.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said.
“What about you? What are you qualified to do?”
Ben sighed. “I don’t really know yet. I graduated early with a degree in hospitality, and I’m trying to figure out what to do next.”
“What do you want to do?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? I’m not sure. I figured if I spent some time seeing how The Abbott gets run I might be able to narrow it down.”
“So what are you? Some kind of intern?”
“Basically. A shadow, I guess.”
“How’d you get that gig?”
“My Mom knows the boss, too.”
“That’s weird,” I said. “How?”
“They’ve known each other since college,” he said, handing me a salsa covered chip.
“Thanks.”
“How about your Mom?”
“He gives a lot of money to the charity she runs.”
He nodded. “That’s cool of him.”
I wasn’t in the mood to have a conversation about how generous and amazing Will was at the minute so I let the moment pass. Fortunately, the waitress showed up with our food and drinks, giving me enough time to come up with something else to talk about.
“How does New York compare to London?” I asked.
“You’ve never been to London?”
I shook my head and picked up my burrito.
“It’s soo different,” he said. “You’d love it though.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because all women love it. It’s really stylish and has all these iconic features like the West End, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, a big ass palace…”
“You mean Buckingham?”
He nodded and reached for the Tabasco sauce.
I watched him open it and douse the open end of his burrito like he was trying to put out a fire. I’d never seen anyone put so much spicy sauce on anything in my life.
“What?” he asked before taking a big bite.
It pained me to even watch. “Isn’t that really hot?”
He kept his eyes on me while he chewed and swallowed his bite. “It’s nothing compared to you.”
I rolled my eyes.
“That’s the only problem with the U.K.,” he said. “The food is a bit bland for my liking.”
“Good to know.”
“You want to meet up some night this week?”
“Let’s see how the rest of lunch goes first.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “Just putting it out there so you can think about it.”
“Thanks.” I took a meaty bite of my burrito. As far as my palate was concerned, it was plenty spicy enough already.
“So I walked by Rockefeller Center last night, and they had the lights on and all these people were skating around…”
I stopped chewing and looked up at him.
“It looked like a movie set or something.”
“Uh-huh.”
He took a sip of his beer. “Anyway, I thought that might be a fun thing to do, ya know? Just so I could say I did it.”
I leaned back in my chair.
He locked his eyes on me. “You’re probably thinking that’s the lamest thing you’ve ever heard.”
“Not at all. It’s just funny that you mentioned it.”
“Why?”
“Cause I was only telling someone the other day that I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Does that mean you don’t have to think about it?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t. Let’s do it. That sounds like fun.”
Chapter 8: Will
I rubbed my sore jaw with my hand. It felt like I’d been clenching it since I saw her walk out the door with him. My imagination was running rampant. I didn’t trust, Ben. I hardly knew him. All I knew was that he was his mother’s son and that was enough for me.
I knew him coming here was a bad idea. I just didn’t know it would be this bad.
And Ella. Poor Ella. She was vulnerable right now. The last thing she needed was for a smooth talker to show up when she was licking her self-imposed wounds, the very wounds she blamed me for. I couldn’t bear to watch her put herself in harms way like that.
I wanted to call her into my office and set the record straight, but something told me to wait. I didn’t want to sink to her level and throw an impulsive tantrum the minute she did something to upset me. I figured my remarks would have more impact if she thought she got away with seeing someone else.
Then, just before she left for the day, I would call her in and let her know how it was going to be. If she wanted to cry and get upset, she could cry all the way home for all I cared. The only thing she absolutely couldn’t do was see Ben again.
And I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was well within my rights to say so.
As far as Ben showing up and causing trouble for me when he hadn’t even been in the city for seventy two hours, I didn’t know what I was going to do about that. I promised Laura I would give him a shot, but if he blew it by not taking things seriously and thinking my hotel was just some sort of club he could chase girls in, he had another thing coming.
At quarter to five I picked up the phone.
“Ella Riley.”
“Ella. It’s Will.”
“What can I do for you?” She sounded so smug. It was like she knew what she’d put me through.
“I need to speak with you in my office.”
“Is it urgent? I have a few things I want to finish up here before tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. Just stop in before you leave for the day.”
I didn’t want to say what I had to say in the first place, but I’d waited all day so I didn’t see the problem with waiting a few more minutes. Plus, the nonchalant tone of her voice made me so angry it was probably good that I had a few minutes to cool down before she stopped by.
At ten past five, there was a knock on my door.
“Come in.”
She poked her head in. She had her red coat draped over her arm and her bag over her shoulder. It felt like she was trying to make it obvious that she wasn’t planning on staying long.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Would you mind closing the door?”
She swung it shut behind her before setting her bag down on the chair in front of my desk. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?”
&nb
sp; “Did you call me in here to rave about how well things went with the Oshiro group today?”
“No. Did they go well?”
“Perfectly,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I put a lot of work into making them feel welc-”
“Paul told me.”
“Oh.” She sank back down on her heels.
My mind wandered to the cards in my drawer that were meant for her, but I wanted her to get the following message loud and clear. I brought my hands together in front of me.
“So what’s this about?”
“I saw you leave for lunch today.”
Her head fell at an angle. “And?”
“I want to know if anything happened with that man.”
“Excuse me?”
I stood up. “Did. Anything. Happen. With. That. Man.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything.”
She crossed her arms in front of her.
“I saw the way he touched you before you left.”
“Good for you,” she said, her eyebrows drawing together.
“What happened?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Actually, what happens on these premises is exactly my business.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Did you go for lunch with him like we used to go for lunch?”
“How dare you.”
I shrugged.
“Are you implying that I can’t have lunch with somebody without sleeping with them?”
“Can you?”
“This is pathetic, Will.” She brought a hand up to her forehead.
I raised my eyebrows. “Answer the question.”
“You have no right to ask me that.”
“I have the right to do anything I want just tell me wheth-“
“No!” she said. “I mean yes.”
“Which is it?”
“Yes, I can go to lunch without sleeping with somebody, and no, nothing happened with the guy. I just met him.”
I took a deep breath and let the relief travel through me.
“But you’re a pig for asking that,” she said. “Just so you know.”
I laughed. “A pig?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “A pig.”
I waved her insult away like it was a bad smell.
“Is that why you called me in here? To ask me about my lunch break?”
“No.” I stepped around my desk and leaned against the front of it. “I called you in here to tell you that you aren’t allowed to go out with him again.”
She laughed. “What?!”
“I feel like that’s pretty clear,” I said, resting my palms on the front edge of my desk. “You aren’t allowed to go out with him again.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but whether or not I go out with him again is none of your business.”
“I forbid it.”
She leaned forward. “You forbid it?! What a joke! You don’t own me.” She put her hands on the back of the chair between us. “You don’t get to tell me who I can and can’t see.”
“It’s for your own good.”
“My own good?!” She leaned back and put her hand over her chest. “Since when are you concerned about what’s good for me?”
“How can you even say that? I’ve only ever wanted what was good for you!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Just don’t see him again. That’s all I ask.”
“Am I forbidden to go out with every man in New York or just the good looking ones or just that guy or-”
“Just that guy,” I said, though it pained me.
“You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
“I’m glad we understand each other.”
“Oh no.” She shook her hand in the air. “You’ve got this all wrong.”
“Do I?” I hoped I did. I hoped I imagined the whole goddamn thing.
“This is what you wanted.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Yes it is. You wanted us to have fun and to have the freedom to do our own thing on our own time.”
“This isn’t fun.”
“Tough,” she said. “You were adamant that how you spent your time and who you spent it with when we weren’t together was none of my business.”
“You misunderstood.”
“I didn’t misunderstand anything. Granted, I thought everything was going better, but apparently it’s not because we still don’t want the same things.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well for one thing, I want to move on and you want to play games.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Evidently you do, and I’m not going to humor you on this. I have every right to see and DO whoever I want. You’re the one that said that this-” She pointed back and forth between us. “-was never more than a casual fling.”
I swallowed.
“You have no right to tell me how to manage my personal life.”
I could tell by the glaze over her eyes that she was angry and that I wasn’t getting through to her. “See whoever you want. Just don’t go out with him again.”
“Have you heard a word I said?”
“Please, Ella. Just promise me you won’t.”
“I’ll tell you what.” She picked up her coat and her bag. “I’ll promise you the same thing you promised me.”
I tilted my head at her.
“Nothing,” she said, opening the door.
“All I’m asking is for you to not see one guy in the whole city! Is that really so much to ask?”
“It’s far too much, actually.” She turned around and grabbed the door handle. “Plus, we already have plans.”
Chapter 9: Ella
I didn’t know why I said that. It was a bitchy thing to do. There was no reason to deliberately hurt him. After all, I genuinely didn’t think he’d hurt me on purpose. I just figured for one reason or another he couldn’t open his heart up enough to be with me, but my being a bitch didn’t help the situation.
Then again, he sort of deserved it. He was totally out of line calling me into his office and telling me who I could and couldn’t see. Though I had to admit it felt good to make him jealous. I still wanted him to want me. That argument was the first time we’d spoken in days and I missed talking to him. Not like that, but still.
That’s why I said the thing about already having plans with Ben. Cause it made me feel good to know he still didn’t want to share me even though he kept letting me get away. I knew it was stupid, but it meant a lot to know he cared more than he was letting on.
At the same time, he needed to get it through his head that I was allowed to see whoever I wanted. Just because he could control every tiny aspect of his business didn’t mean he could control me. He was totally off his head if he thought I would just obey him like he was my master or something.
Unfortunately, that idea made me think about how it was to be with him, how there was nothing he couldn’t get me to do when we were naked. At least nothing he’d tried in the time we were together. The thought of him putting his hands on me sent a shiver up my spine. Despite the disgusting way he’d just carried on, I still missed him like crazy all over. Every inch of my body missed him. It was exhausting to miss somebody so much. Especially when they were right in front of you all the time, close enough to touch.
The truth was, I should be with someone like Ben, someone my mother would approve of. A man with a college degree who wasn’t too old for me. That’s what she would think about Will anyway, that he was too mature for me. But I knew there was nothing old about him except for the fact that he was chivalrous… and I suppose the controlling conversation we just had didn’t make him look too good.
At least Ben was a distraction. He was smart and high energy and sexy as hell. If I wasn’t so obsessed with Will, he probably would’ve had me at hello.
Speaking of which, I pulled out my phone as I crossed the street with th
e hurried crowd.
Jackie picked up on the second ring. “Hey hey.”
“Sounds like you’re in a good mood.”
“I am.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m about to move into a super sick pad with my best friend ever.”
I smiled. “You got my pics?”
“Ella, the place is gorgeous!”
“I’m so glad you like it.”
“I can’t wait to break it in,” she said. “It’s going to be amazing!”
“I know. I can’t wait either. I’m counting down the days.”
“Me too.”
“How’s your week going otherwise?” she asked. “You still standing your ground with Will or have you caved for lunchtime sex?”
“I haven’t caved,” I said, stepping over some dog shit.
“Are you happy with that decision?”
“In body or mind?”
“Well I know your body isn’t happy with it based on how you said the sex was with him.”
“That’s an understatement. It’s miserable. He ruined me.”
“What about your mind?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m glad I have my self-respect and everything.”
“But sometimes you’d rather just get laid?”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
“Story of my life.”
“Anyway, I’m calling because you were right about my horoscope.”
“Whoa- seriously?”
“Yep.”
“You met a handsome stranger?”
“A very handsome stranger.”
“No shit.”
“And we had lunch today.”
“That’s great news!”
“It’s news anyway,” I said.
“You don’t sound that happy about it.”
“I am. It’s just that I still have Will on the brain, ya know?”
“So you’re not quite as excited as you would be if you were properly over him.”
“Exactly.”
“When are you seeing the new guy- what’s his name?”
“Ben.”
“Ben what?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t really come up.”
“That’s a rookie mistake.”
“Sorry. It would’ve seemed a bit formal to ask him.”
“How am I supposed to creep him on Facebook if you don’t know his last name?”
“I’ll have to find out the next time I see him, I guess.”