Haven could only hope he wasn’t talking about her. She prayed he continued walking past the library. Just her luck, he sauntered inside, muscles glistening in sweat from what looked like a vigorous morning workout. The man had a body like she’d only seen in magazines. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. He was ripped without being bulky. She was amazed. He was too evil for God to bless him like that.
“I was hoping to have a moment alone to talk to you.”
Haven thought to herself, He’s a jerk. All men were gigantic pimples right between the ass. “Funny. I was hoping I’d be able to avoid you.”
Ellis smirked. “Highly unlikely, considering I’m going to be here for the next few months or so.”
Haven rolled her eyes. “Great. Then, I suppose it’s best to have this discussion now to get it over with.”
He took a long pull from his water bottle. “Are you always this irritable with your employer in the morning, or, is it just me?”
“Considering you’re my employer’s grandson, I’d prefer not to answer that question.”
“Fair enough. I’ll get right to the point. My grandmother has become quite fond of you over this past year.”
“As have I of her. She’s a lovely woman.”
“Friends don’t usually take a paycheck, among other things, to be a companion.”
“Ellis, I’m not going to stand here and defend myself to you. But, what I will say is your grandmother wouldn’t have had to pay me to be her companion if her only grandson would quit gallivanting all around the world and spent some quality time with her. She’s seventy-six years old! Most of her days are behind her, and you’re all she’s got.”
“My relationship with my grandmother is none of your business!” Haven touched a nerve in just the right spot.
“Considering she’s the one who hired me, I would say my employment with her is none of yours either.”
“Watch yourself. I sign your checks.”
“Ahh . . . If you didn’t make yourself clear yesterday, now, I get it. You’re a bully and an asshole.”
“I’m that and then some.” Ellis could get rid of Haven at the snap of his finger, but his grandmother would kill him. He had to tread carefully because it was her feelings he was most concerned with.
He forced himself to put his pride on the shelf and calm down. “Contrary to what you might think, I make sure my grandmother is looked after and well cared for. You’ve known her for about a year and believe that you can judge me?”
“Me? Judging people seems to be your department. I only state the facts as I see them. Yes, I’ve known her for a little over a year, yet this is the first time I’ve ever met you! You don’t have the right to stand here judging me, or her, for that matter. So, if you’ll excuse me, Ms. McKenna should be coming down for breakfast at any moment, and I don’t want to be late.” Haven started to walk away before remembering one more thing. “Oh yeah, the real vultures, the ones you try to keep away? You’re wasting precious time if you think I’m one of them.”
Ellis watched Haven storm out of the room. He wasn’t used to being challenged and didn’t like it one bit—especially when everything she said had been right on the money. His grandmother was getting older. He did need to spend more quality time with her. Phone calls were simply not enough.
Haven may have just gotten the last word in this exchange, but she didn’t know him very well. She was going to learn. He was not a man to be taken lightly.
Ellis did have to admit, if he weren’t so completely unsure of her intentions with his grandmother, he might be interested in giving her an up close and personal lesson. There was a fire inside that woman simmering just below the surface. He could see it plain as day. If circumstances were different, Ellis wondered what it would be like to unleash it. Even he wasn’t blind to the swell of her sweet ass, the curve of those hips, and those legs. He couldn’t help but notice them in her cargo mini-dress. Those legs alone could bring down a nation. Too bad. Too bad indeed.
*****
Haven and Ms. McKenna sat in the heated sunroom, drinking tea and looking out over her snow-covered estate. It was a beautiful, peaceful place.
Ms. McKenna’s voice brought Haven out of her thoughts. “You seem distracted and a little tired. Didn’t you get enough rest last night?”
Haven sounded worn out even to her own ears. “I was up late, working on a paper for class tonight.”
“Is that all?”
She couldn’t look Ms. McKenna in the eyes and lie. So, she focused on her drink and stirred a bit more sugar in her tea. “Mmmhmm. Everything is fine.”
Bertha didn’t believe her but wouldn’t push. “I talked to my grandson about yesterday. Did Ellis apologize for his abhorrent behavior?”
Haven chose her words carefully. “Apologize? Um . . . we talked and cleared the air.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. He’s really a good man but, not unlike all the other McKenna men, singularly focused. If he had someone special in his life, they would help him find the right balance.”
Haven couldn’t imagine who would want to deal with him. Ignoring his grandmother after what she’d gone through over the past year was a hard pill to swallow. She couldn’t even entertain the idea of being with a man who could so easily dismiss his own grandmother. Still, Haven wouldn’t bash her jerk of a grandson. She, more than anybody, understood the need to make excuses for the people they loved.
“Ms. McKenna?” Her nurse interrupted them. “It’s time to take you up.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Already?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Bertha turned to Haven. “Getting old is a real bitch. The mind is willing but the body . . . not so much.”
It was always funny to hear Ms. McKenna curse. That genuinely brought a smile to Haven’s face. “Our time does seem to fly by.” Haven checked her watch. “I didn’t realize it was so late either. I’ve got to leave for class so that I’m not late. It’s a long drive from here. Besides, tomorrow will be here before we know it.”
As the nurse wheeled Ms. McKenna away, she stopped her. “Haven?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Your chocolate eyes are too beautiful not to sparkle. Remember that m’kay?”
Haven’s throat grew thick as she nodded.
Ms. McKenna smiled before signaling to Vanessa, her nurse, that she was ready.
Haven took a deep breath and watched her go.
*****
It didn’t take too long to gather her things. Haven was grateful for small favors, and being able to slip out of the house without running into Ellis was one of them.
If she left now, she’d just make it to class on time. Haven put her key into the ignition of her car and turned.
Silence.
She tried it again—same result.
Haven was ready to throw a tantrum that would make a two-year-old proud. Instead, she pulled out her cell phone to call Dylan. Of course, when she truly needed him, it went straight to voicemail. She didn’t hold back this time and screamed at the top of her lungs before finally resting her forehead on the steering wheel.
Haven wasn’t sure how long she’d been in that position before she heard someone banging on her window. She looked up only to see Ellis. Someone in heaven had it out for her. She was sure of it.
She mumbled, great, took a deep breath, and clicked the button for the window to roll down. It didn’t budge. Right. She remembered her raggedy ass car had conked out on her, so she was forced to open the door.
“Falling asleep at the wheel is almost as bad as drunk driving.”
“Have you always been this . . . annoying?”
Ellis genuinely looked surprised. “Whoa . . . can’t remember the last time a woman called me that.”
“It probably happens a lot more than you think. Anyway, I wasn’t asleep. I’m frustrated because my car won’t start. I have an important paper I need to turn in at class tonight.” She thought to herself, and my entir
e life is one big disaster. Tears started to sting her eyes.
Ellis was always a sucker for tears. He guessed he could only be grateful that Haven hadn’t wrangled a new car out of his grandmother. “Pop the hood. Let me see if I can tell what’s going on under there.”
“You?” She half laughed through her tears. “You want to look underneath the hood of my car?” She rolled her eyes. “I should probably call AAA or somebody who knows what they are doing.” There was no way Ellis McKenna, rich boy and heir to the McKenna fortune, knew anything about cars.
He was offended. “Pop the damn hood.” His tone left no room for argument as he walked to the front of it.
Haven pulled a lever underneath the console, and it opened. Humoring him was wasting time she didn’t have. After a few minutes, Ellis came back around to the driver’s side window. “It looks like your alternator is gone.”
“Are you sure? How do you know?”
“I know my way around a car or two. My grandfather and I used to work on classics all the time.”
“Damn it! I’ve got to make it to class. I’ve worked too hard this semester to mess it up by missing this assignment.”
“Can’t you just call the professor and tell him you’re having car trouble?”
Haven bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “No. He has stressed all semester that he wasn’t going to accept any late assignments especially this one—short of death or hospitalization.”
Ellis didn’t want to be bothered with Haven, but his grandmother would never let him hear the end of it if he didn’t help her. “Get out. I’ll take you.”
“What? No. I’ll figure something out.” Haven didn’t want to be confined to such a small space with that man. She couldn’t be responsible for what she might say, and as of this moment, she at least had a job. That could all change if he gave her a ride to school. “I’ll get a Lyft or something.”
“It’ll take them at least thirty minutes to get here. You’ve got that kind of time?”
Her non-answer was answer enough.
“Exactly. So, what choice do you have? I’m not looking forward to it either, but this might be a good time to finish our chat from this morning.”
That’s what Haven was afraid of. Still, he was right. She didn’t have a lot of time. “It’s almost an hour’s drive from here, and the class is two hours long.”
“Great, three hours of my time.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her. “I’ve never known a woman yet who brought nothing but problems. Grab your stuff and let me go get the car.”
Chapter 5
The drive to the University was made mostly in silence except for the few times Haven attempted to call Dylan—each time getting his voicemail.
“I don’t know who you’re calling, but he’s obviously kind of busy.”
Unable to hide her frustration, Haven responded, “Can you please just drive?”
“I would think you could at least pretend to be grateful considering I’m the one saving your ass from pissing away an entire semester.”
He was right. It killed her to say it, but she managed to grind out the words. “Thank you.”
“That’s better.”
Haven wondered what she’d done wrong in life to deserve this string of bad luck, Ellis McKenna included.
They drove along the highway for another few moments lost in their own thoughts before he broke the silence again. “How did you meet my grandmother?”
If they were going to talk, Haven thought this was the safest topic. “We met at the hospital.”
Ellis took his eyes off the road, and a slight crease appeared on his forehead as he stared. “Hospital?”
She nodded. “Yes. Last year when she had her heart attack.”
His eyes lingered on hers longer than necessary before he dragged them away. His jaws clenched, and she noticed his knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel.
Dawning finally hit her. “You didn’t know? That’s why you didn’t come visit her over the past year.” It was said as a statement of fact and not a question.
“Apparently, my grandmother is better at hiding things than I thought.” Barely able to contain his anger, Ellis answered, “Despite what you may think, I love my grandmother. There’s no way in hell had I known she’d been hospitalized that I wouldn’t have been by her side.”
Part of Haven felt as if she’d just betrayed Ms. McKenna. If she didn’t tell him, then she obviously had her reasons. Haven could put her own issues with Ellis to the side. She felt awful. “I’m sorry. I’m sure she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want you to worry.” There was another part of Haven that was somewhat relieved he wasn’t as big a jerk as she’d originally thought. He was still a jerk . . . just not as big.
“You worked there?”
“No. She and I met at the chapel. We were both feeling a little . . .” Haven didn’t finish her thought. “She and I seemed to find common ground there and bonded immediately.”
Ellis heard what he thought was loneliness in her voice. “Was my grandmother lonely?”
Haven couldn’t maintain his gaze and looked straight ahead. “I think a little.”
“Of course she was. That’s why she hired you.” Ellis raised his voice just a decibel under a yell. “Why wouldn’t she call me?”
“I guess because she didn’t want to feel like a burden. She’s always talking about how you’re trying to conquer the world. Maybe . . . Maybe she felt as if she were interfering with your life.”
“That’s ridiculous. My grandmother is the only family I have left.”
“And, you’re the only family she has left, too.”
The car was quiet again as he let her words sink in. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, and Haven left him to it. She had her own to attend to. It wasn’t until the GPS told him to make a right turn at the next corner that there was sound in the car again. As if on autopilot, Ellis turned. Once they were closer to her school, Haven gave him additional directions.
“My building is up on the right.” She could see how upset he was by the set of his jaw and the crease between his eyes. She genuinely felt bad, but there was nothing she could do.
Ellis drove his Mercedes as close to the building as he could get.
He stared straight ahead and spoke in a mundane tone. “What time did you say your class was over?”
“I’ve already missed the first half hour. Can you come back in an hour? Is that okay?”
He nodded. “I’ll be here.”
Haven got out and watched his car as he drove away. Even though her heart was pained, she knew she didn’t have time to take on anyone else’s problems because she had plenty of her own.
*****
Getting through her class was grueling. Somehow, she managed it, and as promised, Ellis was waiting when it was over.
Haven slid inside his car. “Hey. Thanks again for picking me up.”
Ellis pulled away from the curb. “It’s the least I can do.” He still had that troubled look on his face. “I had someone take your car to get it fixed. It really is a piece of junk. You ought to consider getting a new one.”
Haven had been feeling sorry for him, but he quickly changed that. Ellis irritated the hell out of her. It didn’t help that Dylan still hadn’t called her back. Haven snapped, probably more than she would have if Dylan had called. “You don’t have even a little sensitivity in your entire body, do you? Newsflash, I’m not rich. I don’t have money just laying around to go pick up a car like some people buy underwear. Remember, I work for a living for your grandmother.”
He completely ignored her lashing out. “Your car is a piece of shit. I won’t take that back. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it, but it doesn’t make it any less true.” As if thinking to himself, as an afterthought, he continued to speak. “We’ll have to figure something out.”
“We? No, I think I can handle things on my own.”
“Uh-huh. You’ve done such a great job of it already. Y
ou know, ‘Thank you, Ellis,’ works too.”
Haven pinched the bridge of her nose. “Thank you for bringing me to school and for being a pain in my ass! Gaaaaaawd . . . You bring out the worst in me. I’ve never cursed so much in my life as I have since I met you. That can’t be a good sign.”
Ellis’ phone rang saving him from wringing her neck. He didn’t think he’d ever met a more ungrateful woman.
He answered the call through his Bluetooth. “Hey, sweetheart. Yeah, I know. I was helping someone out and couldn’t get back to you. I’m still with her now.” He exhaled in frustration. “I’ll call you later.” He disconnected.
She snorted. “You . . . have a girlfriend? Miracles never cease.”
“First, stop eavesdropping. It’s not sexy, and I don’t do the girlfriend thing. She’s one of several women I spend time with when I’m in town.”
Haven rolled her eyes almost out of her head. “Riiiight. Okay.”
“If you wanted to know if I had a girlfriend, all you had to do was ask.”
“I don’t care if you have one or not. I’m just grateful that I’m not your girlfriend. I don’t have to believe you.” Haven thought about her answer for a second and couldn’t resist taking her frustrations out on him. “But, you know what I don’t get? I don’t understand why men can’t commit to just one woman? And, if you can’t commit, why not just be honest about it!”
He focused those piercing eyes on her again. “Are you talking about me or the guy you’ve been calling all night?”
Haven didn’t respond. His knowing gaze made her regret asking the question.
“Look, I don’t lie. I have no reason to. I’m always upfront about the fact that I don’t have time for a relationship. However, if a beautiful woman would like to spend time with me when my schedule allows, we can do that.” He shrugged. “If she wants more, then I have to move on. It’s never my intention to give anyone false hope.”
“False hope,” she whispered. “Sometimes, it’s hard to know the difference. How can you tell what’s real and what’s not?”
Ellis sighed. He wasn’t usually a sucker for damsels in distress, but there was something about Haven that had him wanting to comfort her—a little. It was probably his damned grandmother’s conscience burrowed into him. “I hate to admit this to you, but for the most part, my grandmother is an excellent judge of character. Let’s both agree that you and I got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I don’t know you very well, but you seem like an okay person.”
A Reservation for One (Untamed Love Series Book 1) Page 3