I stood up to leave but he stood too and towered over me, rooting me to the spot with his confidence and power.
“Only you Ella. Only you can help me with those……urges.”
He smirked at me as he spoke and I lost my mind. I was skittish, nervous, trapped. I could hardly breathe. He took a deep breath in then his face became more serious.
“Help me out here, work with me. I know you feel this pull between us. I know you want me. So let’s stop the games and just give in to what our bodies are telling us.”
“You are quite possibly the most arrogant, conceited, egotistical man I have ever met. I have no desire to work with you or for you.” I spat out, “The words ‘Hell’ and ‘freeze over’ come to mind Mr Madden.”
He shook his head in mock sadness and repeated his earlier threat, “Like I said, I don’t want anyone else. If I don’t have you I’ll be walking away.”
“I’m not some add on prize you know. Come work with Parker Hayes and you get your choice of office girl thrown in for fun! You can’t blackmail me into working with you.” I said looking straight ahead. I knew if I let me eyes wander towards him he would have me in that lusty quick sand again, clawing to get myself out but failing miserably as he seduced me with those diamond eyes of his.
“Blackmail is a strong word Miss Reid and I would never describe you as just an ‘office girl’, you are so so much more.”
He smiled and tilted my chin up to meet his sparkling seductive eyes.
“I have no intention of forcing you to do anything you don’t want to but I think it would be of mutual benefit if we pulled in the same direction on this, don’t you agree?”
He came closer to my neck as he spoke and then he whispered breathlessly “I love your perfume.” Oh hell no. I pulled
away and walked purposefully to the door. I had to get away from him before he had me totally undone.
“Some things you just can’t fight Ella…” he called over to me, rubbing his hand across his stubbled jaw and smiling out of the corner of his mouth, “I’m one of those things.”
“Frank and Eric will be more than happy to help you Mr Madden, and I hope your business is a success…” I stated, “I also think your girlfriend out there wouldn’t be too impressed with the way you conduct business.”
He went to speak but I cut him off, pulling open the boardroom door before he could make any more suggestions. I marched towards the ladies to lock myself into the first cubicle I could find. This was not how I had envisioned this day going.
As I pulled open the door to the ladies there stood the green eyed skinny bitch with a face like a slapped arse.
“And the punches just keep coming….” I moaned as I tried to step past her to take up my place in the comfort of a cubicle. She blocked my path with an evil glare in her eyes.
“He’ll lose interest in you soon enough,” she spat out with all the venom she could muster. “Joe doesn’t do relationships only one night stands. So don’t get comfy darling you are nothing special.”
She glanced up and down my body in disgust and grinned obviously happy with herself for warning me off.
“I have no interest in being anything to Mr Madden so you can keep your warnings to yourself, they’re wasted on me love” I replied with my own grin. “Some of us have self-respect and dignity, but I guess that’s a foreign concept to you isn’t it.”
She turned on her heels to stomp off out of the ladies but not before she issued me with her parting shot.
“He likes tall sexy brunettes, who take care of their bodies like me not short, plain and dumpy blondes like you.” And with that she was gone and I was left staring into the mirror.
Dumpy? Plain? Those words hit deep and all the insecurities I had tried to bury when I was with Adam started to surface. Short, yes maybe I was only five foot six after all, but plain and dumpy. Those words cut like a knife to my core and I stalked over to the nearest cubicle, locked the door and slumped down onto the floor.
I stayed in that cubicle for about thirty minutes before Kim came in and told me that Chris had sent her in on an Ella finding mission and that Mr Madden and his ‘associates’ had finally left the building. I sighed and opened up the door, looked in the mirror to try to regroup myself. ‘I will not believe that I am dumpy and plain’ running as a mantra through my mind in an effort to bury the insecurities once more.
“I’m not surprised you had to come into here to calm down,” Kim said, “I found myself in here earlier after I saw him and I had to splash water on my face to cool me down. That guy is a serious hunk of man candy and I’d love to feast on him, sod the diet!” she laughed and I couldn’t quite believe myself but a pang of jealousy hit me. As disturbing as I found his attention, it was also extremely flattering after spending the best part of five years feeling drab and frumpy, ‘dumpy and plain’. I rolled my eyes at those damn words surfacing into my conscious again.
“His girlfriend was stunning wasn’t she! Looked like a real man-eater though…” she said, “I suppose you’d have to be to keep a hunk like him in check, hey Ella.” And with that I was instantly put back into my place, he didn’t do monogamy, relationships, girls like me. He was playing games with me, I was just an amusement to him, someone to toy with and keep him entertained. I had to put him out of my mind and escape the sexy vortex he kept pulling me into. It would only lead to heartbreak and humiliation once the next model brunette came along.
Chapter Six
Chris and I headed out for our liquid lunch, a much needed diversion after the morning we’d had. When we stumbled back into the office putting on our most sober convincing persona, Frank popped his head round his office door and called me into his office.
“Mr Madden was very impressed with everything we do and he wants us to start work straight away,” Frank enthused.
“That’s great news Mr Parker I’m so pleased to hear that, it’ll do wonderful things for the agency.”