Page 40 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

Ella picked up her phone and sent a return message.

I am unavailable tonight. Could we meet in the morning?

Tonight suits me better. Or we could forget the idea.

Dammit, dammit, dammit, Ella thought as she typed a reply, telling him that she’d get back to him soon.

She didn’t like Dobson. She really didn’t want to meet him alone but she didn’t know whether she was overreacting or not. She didn’t know what to do.

She desperately wanted to talk to Micah about this, to get his down to earth, pragmatic point of view. He had a way of cutting through her emotion to reveal the heart of the problem, what was truth and what was perception. She knew she could show him her biggest fear, knowing he wouldn’t mock or dismiss her.

She trusted him.

Ella placed her chin in her hand. She trusted him and she loved him. She loved that under the charming facade was a dented and damaged man, someone who had his own scars and issues; that he was imperfect but he kept showing up, trying to win at life. He was honourable and honest and, once he pulled you under his protection, you stayed there. He could’ve forgotten about Brianna, accepted that bad things happened and carried on with his life. But instead of doing that he’d carried her with him and had tried to make the lives of the people he loved better, easier. Micah took complete responsibility for his actions, determined not to repeat past mistakes.

Taking on the responsibility of finding Thadie a wedding venue was a perfect illustration of his sense of responsibility. He didn’t need to—he could’ve handed the problem back to Thadie, Clyde and their wedding planner—but, because in his mind it was his job to smooth their paths, he’d taken on the work. Did the rest of his family take advantage of that? Maybe. But she also accepted that, once Micah decided to do something, wild horses couldn’t stop him.

He was a strong, stubborn, sexy man, someone she’d told herself she could not fall for, but she had. She was so in love with him, and these were sensations she’d never experienced before. Her feelings weren’t tempered by frustration and neither was she wearing rose-coloured glasses. She knew Micah, she loved him...

But Ella couldn’t shake the feeling that the scales of whatever they had were uneven, definitely tipped in Micah’s favour. And, no, she wasn’t talking about wealth or business influence—she couldn’t compete with him there. No, this was far more subtle than that.

Micah was completely self-confident, at ease with himself and his place in the world. He didn’t second-guess himself or struggle with decision making and wasn’t scared of people or situations. He knew exactly what he could offer the world...

Whereas she was still trying to figure out how to navigate her life.

She wanted to be his equal, to be strong, to claim her power and her confidence. And to do that shehadto move past what had happened in the past.

Her mum had died because her dad hadn’t believed her, but then why should he have automatically believed the word of a teenager? He was the one with the life experience and it had been a reasonable assumption that her mother would be fine after she slept off her midday drinking. He couldn’t have been expected to believe in a teenager’s gut instinct, a young woman with absolutely no medical experience. It was time to let her anger, hurt, and resentment go.

And she had to stop worrying so much about whether she was believed or not. Micah believed in her and, more importantly, she believed in herself. She could not carry on letting what had happened affect her self-worth. Micah had said to her, quite a few times now, that she was incredibly strong to have handled what she’d experienced on her own—both as a teenager and recently—and maybe it was time she believed that. It was definitely time to take back her power. She knew the truth, Micah knew the truth and that was all that mattered.

But...making a mental shift was one thing. How was she going to translate that into her daily life? If she stayed in South Africa, opened up her own business—and that scenario was looking more and more likely—and continued to see Micah, she couldn’t expect him to be there every time she needed to meet a man for business. This meeting with Dobson was a good example of her dilemma. How would she be effective at her job if she didn’t overcome her fear? How could she organise events if she couldn’t meet with chefs, lighting guys, stage builders and two dozen other types of supplier without wanting to hide in a corner?

Pillay had taken that away from her. He’d made her scared to do her job but she was damned if she’d let him do that to her any more.

Micah had helped her come into her power and, for the first time in a long time, she felt confident in her ability to stand up for herself. Meeting Dobson alone would be the first test, the first steps on this new journey.

She knew she could handle herself, and him if necessary. The stakes were too great for her to fail.

But, because she wasn’t one hundred per cent comfortable with Dobson, she’d ask Janie to come with her. She didn’t need a bodyguard, but she wasn’t foolish enough to go with no back-up at all.

She could do this; shewoulddo this. Securing Dobson’s agreement to stage Thadie’s wedding at Cathcart House would be her present to Micah.

And, possibly more importantly, it would be a massive gift to herself.

Ella picked up her phone and made a call. ‘Janie, what are you doing tonight around six? I need your help.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MICAHRUSHEDINTOhis office, uncharacteristically late. He dumped his leather briefcase on his desk, pulled out a couple of folders and grimaced. He had just a few hours to prep for an important meeting with a Swedish businesswoman who wanted to offload her small chain of English malls. Le Roux International owned a few properties in the UK, but this was a mega-money deal, and Erna Morganssen was reputed to be as quick as a whip and not above trying to take more than her piece of flesh.

But he’d caught Ella admiring his body in the mirror in the bathroom and that had led to some very creative fun on the bathroom floor. Thanks to indulging, he was now more than an hour behind schedule.

Worth it, though.

Micah heard the brief rap on his door and looked up to see his twin standing in his doorway, his face thunder-cloud dark. Oh, God, what now?

‘I know you have bad news, Jay, I can see it on your face. But if no one has died, can it wait? I have an online meeting with Erna—’

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