Chapter 43
Ellie
It’s a big day, and I’m a little nervous.
It’s the first time that our two worlds have fully collided, and given the personalities involved, anything could happen.
My whole family, his whole family, the whole of their chaos?
I’m not sure how all that energy will be contained in one room.
It’ll probably break some kind of law of physics.
I’m in my office, putting the finishing touches to my makeup.
I know this is a weird place to be getting ready, but I had work to do, even today.
Maddox was happy getting everything ready without me.
In fact, he’s in his element, full of a new level of confidence and efficiency that tells me he is very much progressing.
I smile as I think of him. My handsome, hot, hellish, complicated man. I send a little prayer up to whichever Goddess cares to listen to me and say thank you. I’m so incredibly lucky.
Three months have passed since Frank Fallon abducted me. Even now, when I think about it, my heart races and my mouth goes dry. Dr. Patel tells me this is normal. It’s a post-traumatic response that I can manage, and that will ease with time.
Of course, what Dr. Patel doesn’t know is that he’s dead, which does help.
Dead, and one day, hopefully forgotten. Part of me does wonder if my younger siblings will have issues because of him.
They were small when our mom died, and I’m not sure how clear their memories of him and the way he neglected and abused us are.
I protected them as best I could, and I’m hoping that the love and security they’ve been surrounded by since we walked into the Phoenix Center and met Keres, Ace, and Romeo has been enough for them.
It’s been enough for me. I send up yet another prayer of thanks. It’s definitely a day to be grateful.
I add a slick of lip gloss and pin one of my stray curls back up. My hair is trying to do its usual escape act. I look myself up and down in the full-length mirror and like what I see.
My dress is perfect, hitting my curves in all the right ways. It has little buttons all the way down the back too, which makes it look demure from some angles, and I know exactly how much of a kick Maddox will get out of undoing all of those buttons and unwrapping me later.
I sigh, feeling a pleasant ache between my legs. I didn’t think it was possible for our sex life to get any better, but yet another miracle has occurred. I pause and send up one final prayer. “Thank you, Goddess, for big dicks, sinfully talented tongues, and Maddox James’s magical fingers.”
I laugh out loud. I should get that particular prayer on a T-shirt.
Or maybe on a framed print, which we could hang in the bedroom of our new townhouse in Hell’s Kitchen.
It’s so cute, with our own little courtyard garden where we grow herbs and fruit, right in the heart of an area that has every kind of culture known to man.
It’s a great place to be, full of energy and life, music and food, and interesting people.
Not that I care where I live, as long as I’m with Maddox. Like he said on the day he proposed, we are each other’s homes.
I glance down at my finger. I have a new ring now, a beautiful antique Berber piece, but I also still have my plastic pony one in my jewelry box. It will always be special to me because it’s the one that made him my fiancé.
“Okay,” I tell myself, looking at my reflection one more time. “It’s time to go.”
I grab my bag and prepare to leave my office. Just as I’m about to switch off the lights, Mason pops his head into the room. He looks uncharacteristically serious. “Ellie, I’m glad I caught you. Could you pop into Elijah’s office for a moment?”
I stare at him. Really? Now? What could possibly be so important?
He glares at me expectantly, and I nod. “Of course.”
Mason might be family, but he’s also still my boss.
I got this job on merit, not because of who I was sleeping with, and I intend on keeping it that way.
I follow him along the corridor and into Elijah’s big corner office.
The man himself is sitting behind his desk, and Mason perches on the edge of it.
Both are dressed in their finery, because of course this is a big day for them as well. For Maddox, for me, for all of us.
So, why are they looking at me like that? Why have they called me into the office just as I was about to set off? And why do I feel like I’m about to get told off by the principal?
I can’t help it, I feel suddenly nervous. My mind races going over all the various projects I’m working on. The huge workload that I’m juggling. There are a lot of plates spinning, but I’m managing. Or have I dropped one of those plates without knowing it?
Elijah nods, his face expressionless. “Please, take a seat.”
I do as I’m told, my heart thumping. “Ellie,” he says. “There’s no easy way to say this, but we’ve decided that we can no longer keep you on as our VP of Marketing.”
My mouth drops open, and my hand goes to my chest. What? What have I done wrong? How can this be happening? I love this job, I work so hard at it…I thought I was good at it.
I look at Mason, and he shakes his head sympathetically, as though he’s saying “I’m sorry kid, there’s nothing I could do.” I try to hold it together, but I can feel my lips trembling as I try to formulate a response. “I see. Can I…can I ask why?”
Elijah nods, very slowly, steepling his fingers in front of his serious face. “Because we feel you are no longer suitable for that role, Ellie.”
Are they firing me? Today, of all days? Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.
Mason lets out a weird noise, and I stare at him. His hands are in front of his mouth. Damnit. I realize the strange noise was him trying to hide a laugh. I fail to see what’s so fucking funny about this, and I feel so hurt that he does.
“Elijah, bro, enough. You’re too good at this,” he finally says. “Maddox will kick both of our asses if we upset Ellie. Especially today. You should have gone into acting.”
Elijah breaks into a grin, rubs his hand over his beard. “Funny you should say that. Amber’s trying to talk me into auditioning for a part at the community center Christmas play. Says I’ve got the right ass to play Captain Hook.”
Mason guffaws. “She just wants to see you in tights, right?”
Elijah shrugs and gives him a wicked grin. “I have my suspicions.”
I glance from one of them to the other, listening to the familiar James brothers banter. What is going on? Did I accidentally eat a magic mushroom omelet during my brunch with Katy earlier?
“Please,” I say loudly, making myself heard over their laughter. “Will one of you just explain what the hell is happening?”
They both look at me, and Mason grins. “Yeah. Sorry Ellie. We’re messing with you a little. It was his idea.”
“It very much was not,” Elijah assures me, giving me a warm smile. “It was his.”
“I don’t care whose idea it was. I do care if I still have a job. Because you’re both behaving like assholes.”
Silence. Shit. I just called my bosses and almost brothers-in-law assholes. They both look suitably contrite though. “Ellie,” Elijah says, all business now. “We are very sorry. We incorrectly assumed that you knew with absolute certainty that we would never fire you.”
“So, I do have a job?”
Mason winces. “We genuinely don’t want you as our VP of Marketing anymore. We’ll be recruiting for that role in the New Year. Buuut…” He drags the word out, giving it a million-and-one syllables.
I narrow my eyes at him.
“We’d like to offer you a new role,” Elijah adds in speedily, obviously seeing that I’m at the end of my tether. “A promotion.”
Oh. A promotion? Well, I guess that is good news. But I’m still annoyed with them for their hilarious gag, and not quite ready to forgive them. “Tell me more. And then I’ll consider whether I’m going to accept or not. Jamestech is not the only business in town, you know. I have options.”
They both look surprised, and it serves them right. I’d never really leave here unless I had to, but it feels good to serve up a taste of their own medicine. I cross my legs, smooth my beautiful dress down. Then I twist my engagement ring around my finger as I wait for their response.
Elijah recovers first, unsurprisingly. “We’d like to offer you a newly created role within Jamestech, Ellie.
While you are one of the best marketing VPs we’ve ever worked with, we’ve also been impressed by your commitment to and continuous improvement of our social and green programs. To put it bluntly, you’ve worked your ass off, and you’ve changed us for the better.
Your creativity and passion have been a huge asset to us as both a business, and as people.
Ellie, we’d like you to become our Director of Social and Environmental Affairs.
We’re still hammering out the details, and we’d welcome your input into the job specifications.
There will still be an element of marketing, but more big picture than day-to-day.
We also thought of you spearheading our charity projects, developing community liaisons all around the world, and leading on reducing our carbon footprint as a corporation. But hands off the private jet.”
He smirks slightly with the last statement. I sit back and let it soak in.
It’s…wow. It’s pretty much my dream job.
The chance to combine my professional skills with my personal interests.
Not to be too arrogant, but it’s the chance to really make a difference.
I can’t wait to tell Maddox—assuming he doesn’t know.
I look at the two men across from me and play them at their own game.
“It sounds interesting. I’ll think about it. ”
They blink at me.
“Until?” Mason asks.
“Until you’re suitably sorry for messing with me like that just now. You know I’m already a bundle of nerves today.”
“So, you’ll take the job, because we are very, very sorry. Totally didn’t think it would land how it did,” Mason says.
“You just told me I didn’t have a job.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re our fucking sister-in-law, Ellie. Why the hell would we fire you?”
“And your last performance review was exemplary,” Elijah adds, bringing it back to business again.
I look between them both and resist the urge not to laugh. “Fine. I accept. I assume there’s a hefty raise too?” I’m pushing my luck now, I know.
They stand up and I join them, linking my arms through theirs. Elijah smiles. “Of course there’s a raise.”
We head to the lobby where we’re being picked up by their driver. I’m thinking electric cars might be the way to go for the Jamestech fleet, but I don’t mention that right now. I’ll spring it on them when they’re weak.
We pull up in the limo, and I climb out.
Maddox is right there, waiting for me. Smartly dressed in a suit and crisp white shirt that makes his eyes pop.
No tie, his top buttons undone, a hint of his gorgeous chest on show.
I mentally fan myself. He looks downright edible, as usual.
He holds out his hand and helps me from the car.
Elijah and Mason take one look at us and disappear inside, muttering about us getting a room.
Maddox looks me up and down, twirling me like we’re on a dance floor. He pulls me in for a kiss, and it’s totally worth losing my lip gloss for. His hands roam down my back, landing firmly on my ass. Which, yeah, looks ample in this skintight dress. Just as I suspected, he loves it.
“We need to talk about these little buttons,” he says, squeezing me. “I know you don’t like waste, but I really can’t see them surviving the night. I promise, though, if I tear them off later, I’ll make a donation to the charity of your choice.”
His breath is hot against my neck, and I moan as he dusts kisses along my jawline. Right now I’d be perfectly happy for him to tear them off here in the street. “Okay,” I murmur. “How’s it going?”
We part a little, enough for me to breathe again, and turn to look at the building.
“Pretty good, I think. Amber has hypnotized Romeo with that slow-blink trick of hers, and Ace is now officially nothing but a climbing frame for Luke. Lorenzo, Drake, Nathan, and Dante are holed up in one corner talking, Max and Joey are staring into each other’s eyes, while Mia, Amelia, Kat, and Mel are chatting about something apparently hilarious in another corner with your siblings.
It’s full-on, but they’re all getting on great. ”
“And Keres?” I ask, slightly nervous. She is great, and I adore her, but she’s also intense.
This isn’t just family and friends, there are business people, suppliers, and investors here too, as well as food critics and members of the media.
It’s a chance for Maddox to shine and to show off his achievements. I want everything to be perfect.
“She’s helping out behind the bar.” He grins at my expression. “One of the staff called in sick with stomach flu, and she volunteered. She’s a dab hand whipping up a margarita.”
Well, she is a woman of many talents. “It looks great, Mad. I’m so proud of you. And I think she would be, too.”
We stand together and gaze up at the café that was once Sally’s. Light spills onto the sidewalk, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows I take it all in. The hustle and bustle of a packed room, the food and drink circulating, the mellow music playing in the background as people chat.
I see my family, new and old. Blood and found. I hold his hand, stand up on tip-toes to kiss him. This man, this amazing man. My heart, my home. “Shall we?” he asks, offering his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman. I nod and take it.
Together, as always, we walk inside—to the launch night of Maddox’s new restaurant, Verona’s Place.