Karim tried to hide his smile but couldn’t. The corners of his mouth turned up and despite his best intentions, he let the smile breath through.
Ella saw it and sat down in the chair across from his desk, even more confused than ever. Here was this man who had stopped speaking to her for no apparent reason. This man who had dodged her at every opportunity for the past month. The kind, funny man who had opened up to her in the hotel room on the island. Here he was again, in front of her in his office.
Ella didn’t know what to think anymore. She looked at Karim with a flat, exhausted expression. “What?” she asked, watching as his eyes twinkled with delight.
“Nothing,” Karim said, still smiling.
He was tired, too. The past month had been hell for him. Things with Nadia were going from bad to worse, and she had left him to handle nearly everything with the wedding. With his feelings for Ella, he knew he couldn’t have direct contact with her, so he had to juggle his staff to handle all of the interactions with Ella. And he had to have more staff to look after Nadia. She had gotten out of control and Karim was certain the media would catch her in a weak moment and reveal the truth about their wedding.
Ella sat back and sighed. “Fine,” she said, her sense of humor failing her. Still, she was glad Karim was speaking to her again, despite the kiss she had just seen. She still believed what Karim had told her on the island—that there was no love between him and Nadia.
“So, will you, or Amira, or Djaron, or someone just approve the cake so I can get it ordered, please!”
Karim reached his hand out and Ella handed him the pictures and prices. He looked them over briefly before signing the invoice.
“Done. Anything else?” He didn’t want to usher her out, but was afraid he had already to start to lose his resolve. He had told himself he wouldn’t be mean to Ella anymore, but he had to keep their interaction to a minimum. Just being in the same room with her for more than a few minutes was driving him crazy.
Ella looked at him with wide eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. Okay, she thought. So that’s how he’s gonna play this. She stood up and grabbed the paperwork.
“Nope, that’s it for now. Thank you,” she said as she turned to leave.
She got to the door and then remembered what Nadia had said. She spun around and looked at Karim. “There's just one more thing,” Ella said.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“What was Nadia talking about when she said ‘tell her about the island?’”
Karim sat back in his chair and clasped his hands over his face. He slid them down until they rested on the leather blotter on his desk. Ella didn’t know what was coming, but based on his body language, it wasn't good news.
She stood at the door and waited for his response. “Well,” Karim said slowly, watching Ella’s reaction. “Nadia said that since the weather is so unpredictable in Eleuthera, she doesn’t want to hold the wedding there anymore.”
Ella threw her hands up in the air. “What?! Are you kidding me?” She looked down at her watch as if it were a calendar, calculating the days in her head. “She wants to change the venue thirty, no—twenty-nine days before the wedding?! Are you serious?!”
Ella couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Once, and only once, had she let a client change their venue. And that was six months before the wedding, and even then it had been a fiasco. Ever since then, Ella had included it in her contract that any venue changes were the responsibility of the client and Ella would not be responsible if the vendors could not accommodate the changes. Clients needed to understand how difficult it was to secure a location for a wedding, and she couldn't be responsible if not.
Karim just nodded. He wanted to laugh, just a little, at the sight of Ella. Her professional demeanor had quickly come undone. The tight bun that rested on the top of her head had started to unravel and loose hairs hung down against her soft cheeks. The steely cold look she had in her eyes began to shine with frustration, making them even brighter and greener than before.
As polished as she still was, Karim could see the real girl underneath coming out. He could tell that Ella just wanted to do a good job. She didn’t care about the praise, the money, the accolades. All she wanted was to make her clients happy and give them what they wanted. And Nadia was making that impossible.
“So,” Ella asked from her position at the door. “Where on earth does she expect she will have the wedding now?”
Karim cleared his throat and looked down as he spoke. “The Plhrra Hrrlll,” he said mumbling from his spot at the desk.