Page 23 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

‘I don’t think it’s fair to blame her,’ Micah said.

‘Oh, I blame everyone involved,’ Ella quickly responded. ‘The whole thing was badly handled.’

Really? ‘Why do you think that?’

‘Firstly, if I were the owner of the hotel, or the hotel’s function manager, on receipt of those emails I would’ve got on the phone, or even driven to the wedding planner’s offices, and demanded a face-to-face meeting to find out what went wrong. I can’t understand why they didn’t, because they’ve blotted their name with every wedding and event planner in the city now.’

‘So you think the hotel messed up?’

Ella pushed her straight hair back over her shoulders. She wore another dress today, this one fitted to the waist and flaring over her hips in a navy-and-white polka-dot print.

‘Of course they did. Badly. If you can’t trust your vendors to call you when a problem arises, how can you use them ever again? Trust me, The Gables are going to regret this. And I can’t understand why Anna didn’t scream and shout and dance on the hotel manager’s desk until they reinstated the original booking. I think she let The Gables off the hook far too easily.’

Interesting. When he’d heard about the cancellation and the snafu, he’d gone into problem-solving mode and, after hearing that it would be impossible to hold the wedding there, hadn’t given The Gables another thought. His entire focus had been on finding a new venue, sorting out the problem and keeping everyone happy.

And maybe Anna de Palmer-Whyte wasn’t as hot as everyone thought.

Micah saw a herd of cattle at the side of the road and, knowing how unpredictable they could be, slowed down a little more. ‘What’s your favourite type of event to organise?’ he asked, interested in everything about her.

Ella half-turned to face him and smiled. ‘Weddings, of course. But, as I said yesterday, I’d like to specialise in family events, like Anna does. That’s the dream, but specialising takes connections at the highest level, connections I don’t have. Maybe when I get to the UK I can look at doing smaller, more intimate events. I’m good at those.’

He believed her. ‘Why are you emigrating?’

Ella removed her water bottle from the cup holder and tipped it up to her mouth. Micah remembered those lips under his, sliding across his chest, down his stomach. Lower...

He squirmed in his seat but Ella seemed oblivious to his discomfort. ‘There’s nothing and no one left for me in South Africa.’

That was a hell of a statement. ‘At all?’

Ella replaced her water bottle and tucked her leg behind her knee, her torso angled towards him.

‘I’m an only child of only children. My dad still lives in Durban but we don’t talk.’

‘Why not?’ he asked.

‘After my mum died, our relationship significantly deteriorated.’ It was an answer but not an explanation.

‘We’re not on speaking terms any more. His choice,’ Ella added.

Micah knew that something major had happened for all communication to end. He’d lived a scenario exactly like that. And he knew how painful it was to see your family ripped apart. He at least had Jago and Jabu and, although she’d been so young at the time, Thadie. Ella, it seemed, had nobody. His heart ached for her.

Ella turned the silver ring on her right middle finger round and round. ‘I just want a new start, another one. He—’ She abruptly stopped talking and turned to sit in her seat properly, staring out of the side window.

‘Will you tell me what happened?’ he asked quietly. ‘Between you and your dad?’

‘I don’t want to rehash it, Micah.’

She shrugged and bent down to fiddle in her bag. When she sat up again, she slid sunglasses onto her face, despite it being a grey and wet day without a hint of a glare. She didn’t want him to see her eyes, to catch a glimpse of her thoughts.

Why did Ella hiding from him cause him such frustration? Why did he want to explore her mind as well as her body? He wanted to be the one person she could open up to, to feel safe with...physically and emotionally. Why her? And why now? What was it about Ella that made him forget why he was the way he was—an extroverted loner? There were few people he let into his inner world... Jago, Thadie and Jabu. Brianna, back in the day. People had to earn a place to eat at his table and he seldom gave anyone the chance to do that. But here he was, asking Ella to open up, and considering doing the same for her.

And it was funny how, since meeting Ella, he was thinking about Brianna more than he had in years. She would’ve liked Ella, and vice versa. He could see them being friends, laughing together over something he did or said. Missing Brianna came in waves and, right at this moment, he felt as if he was drowning. His eyes burned, his heart felt like a petrified piece of wood and he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs.

Ella’s hand on his leg, her fingers tightening on his thigh, pulled Micah out from under that cold wave.

‘You’ve gone to that dark place again,’ Ella stated quietly. ‘As I said last night, it’s not a good place for you to be.’

He sent her a look and, when she didn’t ask a follow-up question, when she didn’t push or pry, he sighed. ‘You are the least curious, least pushy woman I have ever met.’

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