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Not ashamed that he read me so clearly, I lift my glass and give him a salute of acknowledgement, “How could it not be Ellie?” It’s unfathomable that I could ever be interested in anyone other than her now that I’ve met her. Already I know that she is everything I have ever wanted.
His expression sobers. “I get that, man,” he says seriously. “How could it be anyone else.” I detect a hint of something like wonder in his tone. I think he knows exactly how I’m feeling. We sit in silence. It’s obvious he plans to take very good care of his wife.
After draining our pints, X and I part ways. He heads straight to the penthouse elevator, in a hurry to see his bride. I head to the security offices to find Travis and go over my assessment of the entrances to the building. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to spot Ellie on the security cameras and keep an eye on her from a distance.
Chapter Twelve
Ellie
Yesterday was Sunday and after church we took Auggie and Lizzie to the park. She dotes on him when they are playing outside. He runs around after her on his little chubby legs calling her ‘Tia Izzy’ in his sweet baby voice. He feels much better, and I’m grateful his cold was so short lived. It’s like instead of being worn out by the cold and the enforced rest, his battery was charged and now he’s nothing but go-go-go!
But Monday morning… Monday morning brings me to this. Not that I have any idea what this is. All I know is that I’ve been summoned to Mr. Cerelli’s office. This has never happened before, and I can’t help but wonder if I’m getting fired. Right now. That has to be it. Lawrence warned me that he would get me fired. Sucking in a nervous breath I lift my shaking hand and ball it into a fist and quickly rap on the closed door I’ve been freaking out in front of for at least five minutes. I’m relieved that no one has walked by and seen me in this state of panic.
When a muffled voice bids me to enter I gingerly turn and knob and push the door open.
Head down, my eyes firmly on the scuffed toes of my sneakers, I slink inside. My mind is racing with so many things, but the thought taking up most of my head space is how in the world am I going to get another job after being let go by Luminoso. Mr. Cerelli hasn’t been in Vegas long, but already he’s built a very strong reputation for himself and his small hotel and casino, so getting fired will be a strike against me anywhere I go.
“Ellie,” Mr. Cerelli’s rough voice is low and gentle when he says my name, surprising me. I don’t know why, but I expected something else from him. “Come in and have a seat.”
Gathering my almost non-existent courage, I lift my eyes toward his voice and can’t contain the small gasp of surprise that slips past my lips. Mr. Cerelli is seated behind his big desk where I would have imagined he would be. What I wasn’t expecting was for Blake to be sitting in a leather, wingback chair across from him, his bright green eyes locked on me. When my eyes crash into his, he gives me a reassuring smile and gestures to the matching chair beside his.
“Come sit down, Ellie,” he encourages, so I hesitantly approach and perch right on the edge of the big chair.
“Do you know why I’ve asked you to come see me today?” Mr. Cerelli asks.
“Are… are you going to… to fire me, Mr. Cerelli?” I stammer nervously. My voice sounds thin and shaky to my own ears, my cheeks burn with heat. Blake’s warm, calloused hand wraps around my freezing one and squeezes softly. His gentle touch bolsters me, and I force myself to look across the desk and meet my boss’s eyes.
He smiles. “No, Ellie. I’m not firing you. There are a few reasons for that, one being that you’ve done nothing to deserve being fired. Not to mention the fact that Ana would not be happy with me, and I wouldn’t want that.”
He laughs a little and my lips twitch in response. Ana probably would be mad if I got fired. I didn’t think of that. Feeling a little surge of confidence, I respond, “Definitely not! Why am I here then?”
Blake speaks before Mr. Cerelli gets a chance, “Could you tell us why the first thought you had was that you were being fired rather than thanked for all the extra hours you put in?” He waves his hand at a file sitting on
the desk. I glance at it and see my name on it. It must be my employee file.
“I…,” I don’t know how to respond. I was so sure I was about to be terminated. I’m scared to admit why that was my first thought. If it gets back to Lawrence that I tattled on him there is no telling how miserable he’ll make me.
“We already know everything, angel,” Blake leans close, whispering to me, with another tender squeeze of my fingers.
Heat rushes through me at the endearment, followed by the certainty that Blake won’t let anything bad happen to me for talking about what’s been going on. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. I can do this. Lawrence is the one who is doing something wrong, not me. I can’t think of anything else that they might want to know about.
“Lawrence bullies a lot of the girls.” I say the words fast, like ripping off a Band-Aid, then wait to see what happens.
“Does he bully you?” Mr. Cerelli inquires. His voice isn’t soft anymore, but clipped and angry. I tremble inside, hoping he’s not mad at me.
No longer feeling brave enough to say it out loud I nod once and drop my eyes back to my lap. From the corner of my eye I look at my small hand wrapped in Blake’s much larger one. I like the contrast of my darker, honey-toned skin against the pale gold of his tan.
Mr. Cerelli clears his throat, shaking me from my silent observation and bringing my gaze back up to him. “Ellie, you’re my Ana’s friend, so from now on, please feel free to call me Xavier, or X if you’d rather.” He makes the offer so formally. Before I can formulate an answer, he continues, “Lawrence won’t be making work difficult for you, or for anyone else, again.” He says, his voice grave. He believes me, and I believe him. Relief swamps over me.
“Thank you, Mr. … Xavier.” I stumble over his given name, but there is no way that I can call him by a nickname. Not without feeling ridiculous.
“You’re welcome.” His smile is kind. “It’s also been brought to my attention that you work a lot of overtime and cover shifts for your coworkers, both in housekeeping and waitressing.”
I nod again, feeling a bit like a bobble head. I need to stop being so intimidated by him and use my words.
“Yes,” I whisper into the expectant silence. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous about anything. He slides a thin folder across his desk toward me. Tentatively I reach out and take it between my thumb and pointer finger and pull it toward me. Blake’s thumb strokes my wrist, brushing over my swiftly beating pulse for just a moment before releasing me so I can settle the folder in my lap and open it.
Inside is a single sheet of paper and a handwritten check. I pick them up and scan the contents. He’s giving me a bonus and a raise? “Why…” I start to ask. “Is this so I don’t tell anyone about Lawrence?” I blurt. I don’t know what else to think, but the second I utter the words I wish I could snatch them back. Said out loud they didn’t sound quite the way I intended them too.
