Leo looked at her, his anger increasing at the calmness of her face.“Why are you just coming to work?” he asked her in a hard voice.“I’m sorry, Mr. Warner. I had a personal issue to attend to, and that was why,” Ellen answered, trying to tread carefully so as not to spite him more.“You call coming late to work without any notice 'attending to personal matters?” Leo stated his grip on his arm rest tightening as he tried to reign in his anger.“I’m really sorry, Mr. Warner. It was not my intention to come in a few minutes late,” Ellen pleaded, wondering why Leo was being so angry. Her heart broke as she looked at the man who had shown her so much passion the night before.The look he gave her was clouded with suspicion, similar to the one that had encompassed his expression on her first day.“Mr. Warner, I..." Ellen opened her mouth to say, but all of a sudden Leo rose from his chair and walked over to her, interrupting her.“Don’t you forget you’re bound by a contract, and I hope yo
Ellen held her breath as Leo listened to the voice on the other end. "Okay,” he replied as he ended the call.At that moment, Alex walked into the office.“We’re leaving now,” Leo said to Alex as he picked up his laptop and picked up his suit.“Alright sir.” Alex replied as he followed Leo out of the office.Leo didn’t give Ellen any explanation, nor did he glance her way as he passed.As the two left the office, Ellen sat down in her seat as the pressure of the day pulled down her shoulders.“What is going on? Why is Leo being like this?” Ellen muttered as she tried to make sense of the day.Why do I feel hurt by the change? I had gotten my hopes up, Ellen thought.“For a moment, I felt there might be a connection between us,” Ellen whispered as she blinked her eyes to stop the tears that had gathered in them from rolling down her cheeks.A few hours after Leo and Alex left the office, “Ms. Grater,” the guard who stood at the elevator, called to her.Raising her head to face him, Ell
The text had Ellen springing up from the bed as she read through it: Leo isn’t yours, Bit*h. The four words glared at her as her mouth hung open. “What the hell?” she muttered. Who could send such a thing to me? Ellen thought. Most of the ladies she had been sent by Leo to respectfully send away didn’t like her, but which of them would send her this? Ellen thought. “Damn you, Leo,” Ellen muttered as she undressed. The hurt she had felt that morning came washing over her. A tear ran down her eye. Why did she feel so hurt by Leo? Why did his words hurt her so much? All these thoughts ran through her head as she went to bed. After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, Ellen closed her eyes to the thought of Leo’s hard face. ****** Leo stretched as he got up from his seat. It was almost mid-night, and he had worked all night. “What a night,” Leo muttered as he moved to the lounge, mentally taking note to go up to the penthouse later. “I’ll need Felix to be around for tomorrow
They both turned in the direction of the scream. “Ah, another one of those guests," Felix said.Every once in a while, you get those kinds of guests who scream instead of airing their complaints in a calm voice.“It seems so,” Leo replied.“I’ll see you later; I need to get back to the hotel,” Felix said and hurried away.As he left, Leo realized Felix had not answered his question. He became more curious to know what Felix had meant by his statement.Deciding to ask Felix again, Leo walked over to the reception to check out the reason for the screaming himself.Upon seeing Leo, the ladies at the reception chorused, “Good morning, Mr. Warner.”“Morning. What is going on here?” Leo asked.The guest, an elderly man who looked to be in his mid-fifties, spoke up, “Are you the manager? How do you train your staff?”“If you tell me what the problem is exactly, I can better assist in resolving it,” Leo answered instead.“Mr. Filly checked out of his room a few minutes ago, and his reservatio
It was Felix’s voice, so Leo turned and gave him a stern look. Felix only grinned in return as he walked up to them.“Hello, Ellen. How was work today?” Felix said to Ellen as he ignored Leo.“I didn’t know I became invisible today,” Leo said sarcastically.Turning to look at Leo, Felix said, “Dear cousin, you’re not as fine as the beauty standing in front of me; that’s why.”“Oh, I see,” Leo replied, raising his left brow playfully.“Hello, Mr. Albert.” Alex said from his desk as he stood up to go.“Hi, Alex, see you at the hotel tomorrow,” Felix told him.“I’m invisible right now, Alex; Felix made me so because of Ellen, so good night, okay?” Leo said as Alex left the office, laughing.Ellen felt her cheeks color at their banter. To cover her nervousness, she quickly said, “I need to go home to my mom.”Tapping his forehead as if in remembrance of something, Felix said to Ellen, “That’s right, how is she now?”“She’s better; thank you so much; it’s all because of you,” Ellen replied
“Who the hell are you?” Ellen whispered as she turned. The footstep hurried past her.Blinking her eyes to be sure, Ellen turned to look at the lady who had spoken; she was now crouched in front of a girl who held a teddy bear to her chest.“He isn’t yours, darling. We’ll go back up and get yours, okay?” the lady was saying to her daughter as she took the teddy from her.Ellen placed her palm on her chest; that was close, she thought.The girl sobbed as her mom took the teddy. “But it looks like Ted,” the girl said in her baby voice as she followed her mom to return the teddy to another girl who was with her father.“I’m so sorry,” Ellen heard the mother saying as she stepped into the elevator.“Kids…” Ellen muttered, smiling at what had happened.The day was mostly slow as there were few things to attend to. The hotel was in the weekend mood, with the next day being Friday.A few minutes after mid-day, Leo beeped Ellen, “Ellen, come to my office now.”“Alright, Mr. Warner.” Ellen rep
Ellen stared at the closed elevator door, her eyes glued to it, as she realized what just happened."F*ck,” she whispered as she pressed the button for the elevator. Just then, she pictured Leo’s face when he told her a while ago not to allow any interruptions to the meeting.“Who the hell is this lady? She is going to complicate matters for me,” Ellen muttered as she entered the elevator, mentally wishing it would move up faster than it was moving.As soon as the elevator opened, Ellen saw the lady with the guard. Relief washed over her.“Thank God,” she whispered as she walked towards them."Ma'am, you can’t be here. I told you this earlier.” Ellen said it politely, trying not to anger the lady.“I had to stop her from going in because you didn’t inform me anyone was coming upstairs," the guard told Ellen.“Yes, thank you for that.” Ellen replied to the guard as he went back to stand by the elevator doors.“Okay, I’m here now; I’m not going down to the lobby. I’ll wait up here till
The line was silent for a few seconds, so Leo asked again. “What did you just say?”“I said I’m calling on behalf of Royal Airlines,” Sandra said.“Why would you be calling me on behalf of Royal Airlines?" Leo asked her.“Well, I work there now, and I’ll be the representative you work with henceforth," Sandra replied.Leo was shocked. “How is that even possible?” he stated, not believing her.“Well, I started working here not too long ago; it’s purely coincidental,” Sandra informed him."Damm!" Leo muttered as he flipped his hand through his hair."Look, Leo, we both can work together as reasonable adults, okay? What happened in the past doesn’t have to cloud our relationship now,” Sandra said.“Like reasoning with you is ever possible,” Leo replied, his voice hard.“We can work together, at least. I know this deal is important to you, Leo,” Sandra told him.“Don’t you dare use that on me." Leo sneered into the phone. “Not after the stunt you tried to pull with the Caraway Foundation,
Leo looked back to see Felix walk into the office with a smug look on his face. "Felix! Where have you been?" Leo asked before looking to see Ellen pointing at Felix with a look of panic on her face again. "Why are you pointing at Felix? Ellen, what is going on? Are you sure this isn't just an act?" Leo asked, stepping away from her. "It's him; he is behind it, Leo," Ellen said, speaking up. Leo shook his head in amazement and replied, "If this is some sort of joke, would you please stop it?" "I am telling you the damn truth; would you for once believe me?" Ellen shouted at him. Leo paused for a minute, then turned to look at Felix as he asked, "What the hell is she saying?" Felix shrugged and said, "I don't know Leo; I think she needs to go to the hospital; it's probably a panic due to the pregnancy." Leo turned to Ellen, concern etched on his face this time around as he said, "Ellen, I think we should get you to the hospital." Ellen screamed, beating Leo on the chest as she
Downstairs, Felix navigated through the crowd as he tried to avoid mingling. Everyone was having a light conversation while they all waited for the host."Felix? Over here," Mr. Phillips called from the crowd.Felix waved and smiled, hoping he would be able to slip away without having to go over, but Mr. Phillips had other plans."Felix, what a lovely event you have here. I must say that these past few days have made the Haven hotel the talk of the town," Mr. Phillips commented."I'm glad the event turned out better than we imagined," Felix replied, trying to keep his smile in place."I'm sure Leo is glad to have you on this; truly, two good heads are better than one," Mr. Phillips added."Felix, have you really been around? It's almost like you don't stay in New York," Viva said as she joined them with a glass of wine."I am Viva, but you only have eyes for one person; I guess that's why you haven't noticed me," Felix replied with a charming grin.Every other person in the group chuc
Ellen could feel her inside running faster than her physical legs could carry her."I should go home; yes, that's what I should do." Ellen murmured and walked out of the restaurant.She couldn't look back, for fear of seeing Felix come out of the restroom already.Ellen hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of her house."Alright, ma'am," the cab driver said, and he drove back onto the road.It was then that Ellen had the courage to look back, and she saw Felix walking out of the restaurant."This could just be a misunderstanding, right? I mean, what if I'm just mistaken? What if it's pregnancy hormones?" Ellen murmured.“I think I should have stayed to ask him,” Ellen muttered, adding, “It felt so real.”"I should tell Leo right; he has every right to know; he needs to know," Ellen whispered to herself with determination.She looked at her phone and realized it was too late to head to the hotel. She picked up her phone and dialed Leo's number. It rang for eternity, and nobody
Suddenly, fear gripped Ellen, her heart skipping as she looked back at the person behind her."Did I really scare you?" Felix asked, a broad grin on his face as he enjoyed the look on Ellen's face."What the hell was that about?" Ellen exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest as she calmed herself."I didn't mean to scare you; I just wanted to pull a prank on you," Felix explained as he laughed at her."That was not funny, Felix," Ellen told him, feigning anger."I know, but the look on your face was cute," Felix replied.Ellen turned and continued walking. "I thought you were too busy to come here," she said.Felix hurried after her and said, "Yeah, I had some things to take care of, but now I'm here and I'm taking you for dinner.Ellen paused, stopping in her tracks. "Dinner? All of a sudden?""Yes, you're done for the day, right? Let's go. I'll treat you to a nice meal," Felix said, grabbing Ellen's arm as he started walking towards his car.*******In Leo's office, he was going over
"What do you want, Sandra?" Ellen said, looking at Sandra, who showed up from nowhere to stand in front of her."You've grown some guts, Ellen; I thought you were banned from coming to this hotel." Sandra glared, stepping closer to her."Sandra, is there something specific you need or want to tell me?" Ellen asked calmly."You think I would have something important to talk to you about?" Sandra mocked."Whatever this is, I really don't have the time for it," Ellen informed her, stepping backward to create space between them.Sandra laughed mockingly, "What do you have if not time? I mean, with that pregnancy and all, I doubt if anyone is going to look your way.""Do you feel better from being mean?" Ellen asked.Sandra's eyes narrowed as she asked, "What did you just say?"Ellen struggled to remain calm. She looked at Sandra and smiled. "It's fine; we can't all have it perfect."Sandra's face went rigid. "Leo will never come back to you; I'll make sure of it," she hissed.Ellen looked
Leo brushed a hand through his hair and said, "Grandma, Ellen is...""Ellen!" Mrs. Grater exclaimed before Leo could finish his statement.Ellen? Where? Leo wondered as he looked towards the door, but there she was, in flesh."Uhm, hi, Mrs. Warner," Ellen said, stuttering as she tried to put on a smile for Mrs. Warner."How are you doing? Leo has been busy with school, you know; he has not come home. Why didn't you bring him home?" Mrs. Warner asked Ellen.Ellen didn't know how to explain it, so instead, she replied, "I'll make sure he comes from now on."That put a smile on Mrs. Warner's face as she pulled Ellen back to the lounge with her."Leo, see, it is Ellen." Mrs. Warner announced as if Leo was blind and hadn't seen her."Yes, grandma, it's Ellen," Leo replied, gesturing with his hand towards her.As Mrs. Warner pulled Ellen down beside her, they heard a commotion at the door."No, you can't do that now; it's supposed to be later today," Alex said as he walked through the door
Felix turned towards the wall nearest to him and slammed his hands against the wall, his face filled with anger as he cursed under his breath."F**k you!"Ellen didn't know what to do—if she was supposed to call him or just wait there till he saw her.Felix turned and headed out towards the entrance. Ellen hurried out and waited till he got to the entrance before she called out to him."Hey Felix, I didn't know you were still around," Ellen said, faking a surprised smile.Upon hearing Ellen call out to him, Felix relaxed his expression and turned up his lips in a smile."Hey, what's up? Yes, I am. I assumed you had gone already," Felix replied as he turned to face her."Uhm, we finished not too long ago; how are you?" Ellen asked, adding, "Are you heading to the hotel?""Uhm, yes, I am. Do you need a ride home?" Felix asked."No, don't worry, I'll find my way," Ellen replied. She wished she could ask him what was wrong, but she couldn't."Okay, call me when you get home," Felix told h
"Love stems from the most surprising places," Leo said, his voice deep and hoarse.Ellen placed her hand on the wall, her heart beating fast as she processed what she had just heard Leo say.The anchor for the broadcast asked again, "Would you say you have experienced this, Mr. Warner?"Leo smiled as he replied, "Yes, I have."Ellen hurried away into the restroom; she didn't stay to hear more of what Leo had to say."Our legacy was formed from love, and that is why the theme for this event is love and light," Leo concluded.In the restroom, Ellen stared at herself in the mirror. "I thought I was over this; he has found love. What do I care?"Her words didn't make her feel any better, but they gave her the strength to head out to meet the rest of the team after she relieved herself."Are you okay? That took you so long," Janet said to Ellen when she joined them."Yes, I'm fine," Ellen assured her."Okay, everyone, we are to meet here tomorrow; all that we have done will either be chang
Felix was jerked out of his thoughts. He glanced towards Ellen, embarrassed that he had been so lost in thought."Uhm, nothing; I was just thinking out loud about, you know, not knowing what goes on in Leo's mind," he explained.Ellen chuckled. "Did you really just give serious thought to understanding what goes on in Leo's mind?" she asked.Felix grinned in reply. "I guess I just did."Ellen laughed. "You have a better chance of winning the lottery than cracking the code in Leo's mind."They laughed at the thought until Felix pulled his car onto the sidewalk of Ellen's apartment."Thank you for bringing me home and for making me laugh too," Ellen stated, a soft smile on her face as she turned towards Felix."You're welcome, dear. I think I should make more jokes about Leo since it seems to crack you up so much," Felix joked.Ellen chuckled. "I don't think that would be necessary. All your jokes make me laugh anyway.""I'm glad to hear that." Felix replied, adding, "Do you mind if I p