Taming The Wild CEO novel Chapter 33

C H A P T E R 3 1 : H E R F I R S T M E E T I N G

E L L A S T A N F O R D

The correct word to decribe it was ‘strange’, Ella decided. It was strange to fall into a deep slumber when her mind was so disturbed, but her mental and physical exhaustion was such that she fell soon afterwards into bottomless sleep, her body curled on its side, one hand beneath her cheek, in the attitude of a weary child.

Perhaps her mind was not completely asleep because she could feel him. She was not sure what the time was and whether she was imagining things or it was truly happening. But she felt his hand touching her face, caressing her cheek, and then she felt his lips on her forehead, giving her a light goodnight kiss someone would give a child.

Ella wanted to open her eyes so badly to see whether it was merely a fickle of her imagination or if it was real, yet her eyes remained shut. Another proof that she had been so worn out.

Then she finally awoke. At first, her lids reluctantly raised themselves in the face of strong sunlight. After a few seconds, she could finally see her surrounding. She stretched her body then rolled over to one side of the bed and got up. She went to the bathroom and after making sure that both doors were locked, she ran the water on the bathtub and added lavender and rose oil she had found on the counter by the sink. She slipped into the scented bath and leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. Warmth enveloped her, and she closed her eyes. The events of the day before raced through her mind and she sighed heavily. Everything had changed in a matter of twenty four hours. No, everything had changed since they shared a kiss in his bedroom during his birthday party. It was as if for the first time ever, he recognized her present. For the first time he took notice of her. And not just as his secretary but as a woman. A woman he found desirable, not frigid and professional alike.

Ella got out of the bathtub after relaxing for another half an hour and cleaned herself up then got dressed. Once she had made sure that her clothes were proper and showed no vulnerability nor did it reveal more skin than necessary, she took a deep breath and through the joint bathroom, she opened his side of the door.

“Sir?” When there was no response, she called him a little louder. “Mister Summers?”

Still there was no reply so she walked further inside his room only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. He had left and he had not left any note for her. Panic began to surface as her mind was forming all the worst case scenarios. Then the doorbell rang and it was coming from her room so she went through the bathroom again, all the way to the vestibule, then opened the door.

A hotel staff was standing in front of her with a polite smile on his face. “Good morning, Miss.”

“Yes,” Ella replied. “May I help you?”

He pushed the tray close to the door and said, “I brought your breakfast, Miss.”

“I am sorry, I think you are mistaken. I did not order breakfast.”

“Are you Miss Ella Stanford?”

“Yes.”

“Then I believe this is your breakfast, Miss. Someone has ordered it for you. May I?”

Ella moved away from the entrance and held the door open as the hotel staff pushed the tray inside her room. While he was setting everything up, she reached for her purse and pulled twenty Euros.

“Your breakfast is ready, Miss,” he gestured at the splendour of food, a jar of pineapple juice, and a pot of coffee. There were too many food and drinks that she would not exactly call that breakfast. Her usual breakfast was a plain toast and a cup of tea. “Please call me when you need it cleared.”

He walked to the door and she handed him the twenty. “Thank you.”

He put the bill inside his pocket then blushed. “Oh, I almost forgot.” He fished out a note from his pocket. “I should have put this on the tray but I forgot. Here, Miss.”

After handing her the folded paper, he bowed then walked away. Still puzzled, Ella went inside her room and sat on the chair. She poured the pineapple juice into an empty glass and frowned. She loved pineapple, she had always been although she rarely drank them because tropical fruits were a luxury she could not afford. What a coincidence that the hotel had it as part of the breakfast! She gulped the juice down and sighed dreamily.

There were so many choices of food and she decided to eat the toast with a bit of butter, some pancakes with maple syrup, and the fruit parfait. While munching down her food, she opened the folded note and nearly chocked herself to death. It was from Javier. Even from a glance she could identify his penmanship.

Miss Stanford, I am going to take a trip to my brother’s place. You look so tired, I did not wish to awake you. I am sure after what happened last night, I am the last person you would like to see in the morning. Enjoy the day. I will not be back until evening. J. S.

All of the sudden, Ella lost her appetite. She did not feel like eating but her pride forced her to finish all the food she had placed on her plate. It was pure idiocy to not eat just because the food was ordered by him, or the fact that she had hurt him as much as he had hurt her. They were both wounded and as much as she wanted to put all the blame on him, she knew she was as fault too.

She drank another glass of pineapple and decided that she was done with breakfast. Since there were still too many food there, she decided not to call the hotel staff. One glance at the clock on the nightstand informed her that it was nine o’clock in the morning and she figured she could still eat the leftover for lunch.

In her attempt to distract her mind from thinking of Javier, she grabbed the Business and Management book that she had brought with her. Even though she had only gone to a community college and never been to a university, she wished one day she could afford one thus why she had borrowed Damon’s books to some sort of prep her. She had always enjoyed it when she gained more knowledge yet right now, not even the most interesting topic could stop her from thinking about Javier. One hour later, she decided to finish the leftover then called the hotel staff. Once they had taken the tray away, she put on some sun lotion, changed her work clothes into a pair of jeans and a plain shirt, and grabbed her purse and dumped the book and a beach towel inside it. She left the hotel and walked around the beach.

Just like the day before, the beach was crowded and she had to walk further until she found a peaceful place with less people. She laid the beach towel on the sand and sat on it. Perhaps all she needed to concentrate was to be in a place where she had no memory of him. She pulled the book out and started reading again. It seemed to work the trick as she went pages over pages.