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Turning back, I went to the lift, escorted Ella inside, and slammed my hand against the door close button.
“I thought you had better taste in women than that.”
I looked down at Ella. Her brows were pinched, her lips tight. Reaching out, I pulled the stop button, and the lift rocked to a stop.
“Ella, love, that was a mistake younger me made. I thought,” I said, placing a finger under her chin so she had to look at me. “That was a drunken night out with the fellas. I had no idea she knew who I was. I told no one back there before I joined Da here. I never wanted my money to make me a target. She got her claws in me good. She’s a regret that is better left in the past.”
“She sent you those flowers. That note.” My hand moved to cup her cheek.
“No one will change how I feel about you. They will not scare me into doing something I don’t want. Nor will they make me walk away from yer love. Ella, sweetheart, I fecking love ye. Yer smile. Yer kindness. All of the pieces that make ye so damn special to me.”
Her cheeks pinked with a blush. “I love you. I’m sorry, I wanted to pummel her. I would have too, but you were in the way. I didn’t want to clobber you in the head instead of her.”
“Ye can clobber me anytime, love.”
Her smile had my heart. “Don’t joke about this. What if?—”
“We live in the now, not in the what ifs. Nothing will happen. Ye will be with me at the auction. And after. Yer bidding on me, right?”
Her silence had my brow raising.
“Ella?”
“I don’t know, I’m still thinking.”
“Thinking about what exactly?”
She looked at her fingernails, dusting them on her shirt. “Oh, I don’t know. This and that.”
Chuckling, I hit the stop button, pushing it back in place. The lift jerked slightly then continued its trip up. When we got off, I was met by scowling security men.
“Is there a problem with the elevator?”
“No, it’s fine,” Ella replied, taking my hand.
“What happened in the lobby?”
“Oh, that was just the trash being taken out.” Her words were flippant and still full of anger.
Shrugging a shoulder, I let her lead me through the reception area and back to my office. We had work to do. Tonight, instead of going home, we were going a few streets over to the hotel where the auction was being held tomorrow night. There was a 9:00am reversal so everyone knew where to stand and how they were expected to act.
This was just not my thing. Da owed me big time.
“Okay, so, you have a meeting in twenty-five minutes with the Mason Group. There is a new proposal which I’ve looked over, made you some notes, and your father did the same.”
“I looked at this one yesterday.”
“No, you looked at the first one sent; this one came while you were getting your photos done for the auction.” She laid it out in front of me. “I’ll be in there preparing for your 10:30am, and don’t forget, there is a group meeting with your Dad at noon. The Oswald conference call is at 3:00pm and to end your day, the men from Johnston Construction will be here at 4:15pm.”
“Can we cancel it all and just go to the hotel already?”
Her eyes sparkled as she smiled. “We have reservations for dinner at 6:30pm. From there, we can go to the hotel. You can’t move any of these as they’ve already been moved once. Your sex drive cannot get in the way of work, Mr. Ferguson.”
“The feck it can’t.”
“Rudy, baby, work now, and you can play later. Don’t work now, and well, you go to the hotel alone. Comprende?”
“Ye drive a hard bargain, love.”
