Ella's eyes widened as Delores draped her arm over Charles. “Hello, big boy.” How Delores could manage to sound so seductive was beyond Ella.
“Big boy?” Charles looked up surprised. No recognition flashed on his face.
“Yeah, you liked it when I called you that last night.” Delores still purred her words, but a little of her confidence melted from her posture.
“That was you?” Charles looked her up and down, his eyes still cold. “You don't look the same.”
“I should look even better today. You said last night was the best night of your life. You said you wanted to see me again.” Delores lost the softness and suddenly looked feral.
“Honey, I say that to everyone I sleep with,” Charles said, no emotion in his voice. “To be honest, you weren't anything special. Certainly nothing I'd fight another divorce for.”
“What?” Delores flushed. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees, even in the storage room. Ella was glad that she wasn't out there. Hopefully, her stepmother would never know that she'd seen this humiliation. Delores would only torture Ella for having viewed her shame.
“My current wife ignores my dalliances and I ignore hers.” Charles took a sip of his drink. “You aren't worth the lawyers fees to change that.”
Delores's jaw hit the floor. She couldn't have looked more shocked if Charles had straight up hit her. “But...”
“Look, you want a drink? Whenever the bartender gets back, have one on me.”
“A drink? After what I did for you last night?” Delores spit out the words like they were bitter seeds. “Here's a drink for you.”
With that, she reached to the bar, grabbed the glass of water, and threw it in Charles face before storming off. Charles just stared after her, water streaming down his face. He didn't even blink.
Ella waited until Delores was out of the bar before coming out the storage area. Without a word, she offered Charles some napkins to wipe himself off. He calmly proceeded to dry himself off as if getting drinks thrown in his face was a normal occurrence. If what Jace said about him was true, it probably was.
“One more drink, and then I think you're good for the night,” Ella said, pouring him a fresh glass of whiskey. “This one's on the house.”
“Won't the boss lady be angry?” Charles asked. He looked up at her with blue eyes. They didn't have the green that made Jace's so beautiful, but they had enough of Jace in them to make her smile with memory of him.
“She's always angry with me,” Ella informed him.
Charles lifted his glass. “Sounds good to me, darling.” He took a nice deep sip. “You seeing anyone? You'd be a great match for my son.”
Ella nearly dropped the bottle of whiskey.
“Your son?” Ella repeated. “What makes you say that?”
“You make me smile. You make Madelyn smile.” Charles looked up at her with red rimmed eyes. “He needs someone who can make him smile. And who isn't afraid of the boss.”
Ella topped off his drink. “Don't tell the boss.”
Charles laughed and took another sip. “I don't think she wants to hear from me anyway.”
Ella picked up her dishrag and kept finished wiping down the bar with a smile on her face.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The hotel hallways were deserted as she walked back to her room. Her phone had a message from Jace. He'd sent it an hour ago and it wasn't anything crazy, just a hello with a smiling icon. Still, it made her pulse race. He followed it up with a message about breakfast before his flight left.
Her fingers paused over the keypad, trying to find the best words to say what she felt. She bit her lip, waiting for inspiration to strike. She wanted to type more than just “yes!” because that felt too simple. She wanted to make his heart race as much as hers did.
“What do you think you're doing?”
Delores stepped out of her office and directly into Ella's path. She nearly dropped the phone in surprise.
“Going to bed.” Ella turned off the screen without responding back to Jace. The last thing she wanted was for Delores to see her texting the man who'd scorned her's son.
“It's no longer your day off.”