Page 10 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

And what if something happened, something she asked for, and at the last minute, she freaked out? What would he think of her? How would they work together after that? No, it was easier, safer, to walk away, so that was what she’d do.

She would still receive two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, a cracking amount, but she had to protect herself in every way possible.

Forcing herself to meet his eyes, she twisted her lips. ‘Sorry, but I’m not the right person for this job.’

Ella saw the frustration in his eyes, and a little bit of panic, and realised how important it was for him to solve this problem for his sister. In fact, it was a lovely thing for him to do, but she couldn’t let that sway her. She had to protect herself, and that meant not putting herself in positions that could backfire. He was asking her to be alone with him for long stretches of time, to stay overnight at venues out of the city, and her comfort zone. He was a fit, strong guy and she wouldn’t have a chance in hell against him. While she was reasonably sure that he was one of the good guys, she couldn’t take that chance.

Ella was about to refuse again when his phone rang, breaking their tense silence. Micah jerked the device out of his trousers pocket and scowled down at the screen. She watched as tenderness replaced anxiety, affection chased away frustration. He held up his finger, silently asking her to wait, and answered his video call.

‘Hey, how are my two favourite guys?’

‘Hi, Unca Micah.’ A very young, piping voice drifted over to Ella. Unable to resist, she craned her neck to see the source of the high pitched voice. Instead of the one child she’d expected, she saw two, both with bright blue eyes, lovely light-brown skin and curly hair. They wore different coloured T-shirts and shorts but it was obvious they were twins.

‘Why aren’t you guys smiling?’ Micah asked, sitting on the edge of the desk. ‘Did Mummy send you to the naughty corner again?’

‘Mmm-hmm.’

Ella watched, fascinated by the half-smile that caused Micah’s lips to twitch. His eyes, lighter and brighter, were full of amusement and he looked years younger. When he did it properly, Ella was fairly sure his smile could blister paint.

‘We said dammit and Mummy put us in the naughty corner for five minutes!’

Micah swallowed and Ella suspected he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep his expression sober. ‘Guys, that’s a bad word. You shouldn’t say it,’ Micah told them, his voice serious.

Their response was quick and hot. ‘Then why don’t you go to the naughty corner, because you say it all the time!’

‘It’s not fair!’ the other twin added.

Ella slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. ‘You’re right, I should go to the naughty corner, maybe even forfifteenminutes.’

‘But that’s for ever!’

Micah nodded, his expression still serious. ‘Don’t repeat my bad words, guys, and listen to your mum. I’ve got to go but I’ll talk to you guys later.’

He disconnected the call and gently banged the face of his phone against his forehead.

‘Ugh, my sister is going to tear a strip off me again,’ he told her, finally allowing his smile to bloom. It creased the corner of his eyes, showed off his white, even teeth and dropped another few years off his face. Ella glanced at the wall, disappointed when she didn’t see the paint bubbling.

‘I think they won that round,’ she pointed out, unable to resist teasing him just a little.

‘I do try to watch my language around them but I’m not always successful.’

Ella was surprised Johannesburg’s favourite bachelor billionaire had even taken their call—which had to have been authorised by their mum, so she couldn’t be too mad at her brother—and was also shocked he sounded so at ease with the twins. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time with them and spoke to them often.

He was smart, nice to kids and far too attractive, Ella thought, and she needed to leave his presence before she did something stupid and agreed to spend three weeks with him hunting down a venue.

It took a lot of effort for her to stand up and hold out her hand. ‘I’ll take the two hundred and fifty thousand but I’ll pass on your other offer. Anna de Palmer-Whyte is amazing; I’m sure she’ll find you a venue.’

Ella turned and hurried towards the door, knowing that if she stayed, if he smiled, she might just say yes. And that wasn’t something she could afford to do.

She definitely couldn’t return to her old job at Le Roux Events, Ella decided at the end of what had been a long, interesting, weird day. And, with the quarter million pounds Micah had promised to pay her as a settlement, she could take some time to decide what she really wanted to do, where she wanted to be.

It gave her some breathing room but she’d still emigrate. If she was going to start a new life it might as well be in another country, Ella thought as she headed to her leased car on the far side of the staff car park. The UK would be a blank slate, some place to start afresh, to reinvent herself.

To start again...

How many more times would she have to do that? She’d had to pick herself up after her mum’s death and grieve on her own, recover on her own. Her father had supplied her with a place to stay and money, but he’d stopped emotionally engaging with her, and in time had stopped talking to her altogether. She’d spent the past decade trying to bash through the steel plate he’d erected around him, to no avail. She could only give him so much time, so much energy, and she was done. He didn’t want her in his life so she was giving him what he wanted.

After university, she’d returned to the coastal city, found an apartment and a job and in time had received the offer from Le Roux Events, which necessitated her moving to Johannesburg, a fast-paced and cutthroat city. She’d embraced the new start and the challenge but then her world had fallen apart...

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