Page 39 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

You mean you need the cash, Ella thought, mentally rolling her eyes.

If he’d had funds, he would’ve finished the renovation. How stupid did he think they were? But, okay, she’d play his game. ‘Would you object to some minor touch-ups?’

‘Like what?’ Samuel demanded.

‘Painting the veranda, some of the inside walls. Neutral colours, of course. If I can, I’ll try to match the original colour as closely as possible.’The way it was before your insensitive, cloddish renovations.Ella managed a small smile. ‘Will you think about it and, if you agree, let me know?’

He shrugged, looking sulky. ‘As I said, it will be a massive inconvenience,’ Samuel whined. Ella knew that as soon as they left, he’d research rental charges for weddings and would at least quadruple the the going rate.

Micah placed a hand on her back and steered her towards the front door. On the front steps, he shook Dobson’s hand, told him to call as soon as possible, walked her to his Bentayga and opened the passenger door for her.

They were halfway down the driveway when Micah turned to her. ‘Are you okay? You seemed a bit off in there.’

She debated whether to tell him, then decided that she would. She trusted Micah not to dismiss her feelings. ‘Your friend gives me the creeps. He spent more time talking to my breasts than my face.’

God, she was so sick of shutting down, retreating when she felt uncomfortable. She was tired of pulling into herself, mentally rolling into a tight ball and hiding in the corner when she felt even a little hot male interest. Yet Micah, whose eyes frequently blazed with desire, never once made her feel that way.

Micah hit the brake and the car came to an immediate stop. ‘Did he say something to you when I stepped out to take that call? Did he try to grope you?’

Micah looked furious and she rushed to reassure him. ‘No, nothing like that,’ she answered him, lifting one shoulder. ‘He was just creepy, that’s all.’

Micah lifted her chin so that she had to look into his eyes. ‘If you feel that way about anybody, ever, walk away. You don’t have to experience that again, El.’

She appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn’t a practical solution. As an event planner, she met all sorts of men all the time. Many—most—were decent, but there would always be one or two who’d try their luck, ask her out or try to cop a feel and laugh it off, claiming it was just a joke. She couldn’t keep running away; she had to learn to live in the world as it was and not how she wanted it to be.

‘Don’t see him alone, okay?’ After dropping an open-mouthed kiss on her lips, Micah pulled away. At the stop sign at the end of the road, he looked at her. ‘I need to tell you something.’

The serious note in his voice caused every muscle in her body to contract. It was late Sunday afternoon, and the end of the weekend, and he was calling it quits. She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a chasm, about to fall.

‘I received an email from my PI regarding his investigation into Neville Pillay.’

If he was about to break up with her, why was Micah mentioning him? And what did his PI have to do with it?

‘I don’t understand.’ Ella managed to push her words up her throat and over her tongue.

‘He’s tracked down a significant number of women Pillay has harassed over the years, most of whom are prepared to make an official statement accusing him of sexual harassment and, in one case, attempted rape.’

Ella gripped the bridge of her nose. Okay, so he wasn’t breaking up with her. Good news. Right, now she could concentrate on what he was telling her about Pillay.

‘I’m sad to hear about all of those women but happy your PI has made so much progress.’ She sent Micah a quick look. ‘So what’s next?’

Micah’s smile was cold and hard. ‘I’m going to leak the story to a journalist I trust. It’ll be headline news in a few days. After doing her research, Kendall, the journalist, will, officially, call me for a comment. Jago and I will then release a statement saying that, on investigation, one of our employees was sexually accosted by Pillay and that we are terminating our association with him and his entertainment company.’

Ella was thankful that he would be exposed but she still had a question. ‘Why couldn’t you release a statement like that when I first told you about what he did?’

Micah didn’t hesitate to answer her question. ‘Because—sadly and wrongly—one woman’s accusations, even with our support, don’t have the same impact of a dozen or more accusations. He could’ve said that you led him on and that we were overreacting by firing him. This way, he has many, many questions to answer and there’s a damn good chance he’ll lose his career—definitely his reputation,’ Micah explained. ‘Naturally, we’ll keep your name out of the papers.’

Ella nodded, glad that Pillay would never be in a position of power again. Strong men, as Micah had taught her, didn’t need to wield their power like a burning sword. It was over and she could move on.

But to what? And where? Was emigrating still a reasonable option? How on earth was she going to live anywhere in the world without being able to see him, touch him, talk to him and love him? Because, judging by her reaction when she’d thought Micah was breaking up with her, she couldn’t.

I’m prepared to let you hire my house for your client’s wedding, I’ve emailed you a quote. We’ll need to have a very boring discussion about the finer details—parking and bridal suites and space for the caterers and bar staff—and I’m sure Micah’s time is too valuable to waste on things we can decide between us. I can see you at six this evening.

Ella, working from Hadleigh House, scowled down at the screen of her phone and tasted the sour panic at the back of her throat. Cathcart House was beautiful, historic and, after Anna de Palmer-Whyte and her team got hold of it, would be the perfect backdrop for Thadie’s romantic wedding.

It was a flawless solution and she was the person who’d found it. The only problem—a huge one, in her view—was that Samuel Dobson wanted her to meet him alone at the huge, isolated house set in two acres of private grounds.

The price to rent the house as a wedding venue was steep but it was clear that Dobson wanted something a great deal more personal. Her.

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