Page 30 of The Billionaire and the Maid

“Yeah, they are interesting. I’m glad we didn’t get stuck talking to them. I have a feeling they are only here for the status points of attending,” I state as I offer Ella a plate at the food bar.

“I thought we were leaving,” she says as she tentatively reaches for the plate.

“We are, but I want to drive home the point that you are most definitely with me,” I explain as I fill her plate with some food and then reach for a chocolate-covered strawberry. I hold it up to her pink lips. “Bite,” I command.

She gives me a look that says,what the fuck, but complies. I watch those lips wrap around the fruit. I’ve never wanted to be a piece of fruit before, but right now, I’m jealous of this damn strawberry. I lean forward as I pull the fruit away and kiss her.

Then I glance back at her stepmom to find her gaping. I look back at Ella. “Mission accomplished, Eleanor. I do believe we’ve stunned your stepmom.”

She giggles. “Well, that’s a first for me.”

I place a quick kiss on her nose. “It won’t be the last if I have anything to do with it.”

She looks at me with a shocked expression.

“What?” I ask as I take a bite of another strawberry.

“Nothing…it’s just…you don’t have to…it’s not like…you know…” She trails off as she blushes.

“I know I don’t have to, Ella, but I want to. No one should treat you like that. You deserve better,” I state. I’m beginning to wonder if anyone has ever stood up for her before, at least against her wicked witch of a stepmom. As we eat in silence for a moment, I try to remember if she spoke about her stepfamily when we were kids. I don’t recall. But then again, most of our time together was exploring the far reaches of my grandfather’s property and doing fun kid things like building the treehouse. Was I a bad friend back then? I never considered why a young girl was off, riding by herself so often. I remember I did ask once about her parents, and she just said something about her father traveling for work often. Which means Nancy didn’t give a shit where she was at so long as she wasn’t in front of her. I feel my blood boil again.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say as I hear the auction beginning. Everyone’s attention is turned away from us and we slowly make our way out of the room.

When we’re clear of prying eyes, I lead her to a small side garden on the property. It’s a warm night for this time of year, but the electric heaters in the garden make it feel even warmer. I sit on a bench and pat the space next to me. Ella sits and looks down at her hands.

I reach out and place a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at me.

“You alright?” I ask.

Her eyes mist over but she nods.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here. It was too much,” I apologize as I smile at her. “But I’m glad we could shock your stepmom.”

“No, it’s fine. If we’re doing this whole fake dating thing, being public was part of the deal, right?”

“It was…I mean, it is,” I answer.

A noise startles us both and we look over to find an older woman making out with some man in the bushes.

“What in the…” I start.

“Oh, uh, shit, we should…” Ella trails off as she stands abruptly, but her sudden motion has the woman pulling back from her date.

“Oh, hello, kids,” the woman says with a smile. She looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place her. Her bright pink lipstick is smeared across her face, and when the older gentleman turns, his lips are covered in the same bright shade of color.

“We wondered how long we’d have this make-out area to ourselves,” the man says with a laugh.

“S-sorry, Marie…we were just…” Ella trails off again, clearly at a loss for words.

“Oh, pish-posh, Ella, don’t overthink things. You need to loosen up, and from the looks of it, you found yourself a perfect gentleman to do that with. Mr. Chase,” she says to me with a nod.

“We were just, uh, leaving,” Ella manages.

“Don’t stop your bench sex on our account,” the man says as he motions to the bench we just stood up from.

“No, we weren’t, uh, no, it’s fine,” Ella sputters.

“We were just leaving,” I pipe up.

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