Page 13 of Once Upon a Prince

“Dax?” Ella asked.

It took me a few seconds for my mind to get away from the inappropriate thought I was having about my Ella and concentrate on what she was saying. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and said, “No. That will be all. Let me know when you hear back from Frank.”

“Of course,” she said and walked out of my office.

I dropped my head to the back of my chair when she closed the door. It had been a little over two weeks since Ella had started to work for me. I had quickly learned that my first impression of her had been completely wrong. Not only was she intelligent and insightful, but I wondered if she could read my mind. There had been more than one occasion she had given me or taken care of something for me before I had even asked her to do it. In one instance, she had done it before I even knew it needed to be done.

She was without a doubt the best assistant I had ever had. I wondered at times how I did my job before she came along. I worried what I would do if she ever left me. My office, my schedule, even my life was running better since she came into it. I hadn’t realized how much time I had been wasting on doing things that I didn’t need to do or how simple organization to my schedule and my office could make things run that much better.

Before with my assistants, I had ones that looked good, who would smile at the clients when they came in, who made others jealous that they worked for me. They were decent, they knew their job, and when I had been taking more of a backseat to the running of the company, they had worked fine. With me doing more, with me having to prove to the board that I could and should take over the company, I needed someone who could do better than just a decent job. I needed someone who didn’t mind long hours, could be personable without being flirtatious, and could handle my moods.

Ella filled all those requirements and more. I had asked her to be more than just an assistant with me and she had certainly done that. She was assertive without being overbearing. She could anticipate my needs without making it seem like she was overstepping. She had a way of finding out some random bit of information about a client and commenting on it when they came to the office. She even seemed to know just the right time to come into my office to help dispel what could turn into a sticky situation. The more I worked with her, the more I was impressed by her.

I found myself coming to her for advice. She had a head for business that rivaled most CEOs, including me and my father. I knew that she would make an excellent head of her own company one day. I was just very glad that it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. I liked having her around, I liked seeing her in my office, and I didn’t want her to leave. I usually found ways to keep her around, even staying late with her some nights to work on a project simply because I didn’t want the day to end.

It probably didn’t help that I found her annoyingly attractive. There was something about how she moved, how she talked, how she looked at me that got me every time. There wasn’t anything that she did. Unlike my other assistants, she had never tried to flirt with me. She had never done anything that would make me think that she was attracted to me.

Still, just being around her could and did drive me crazy. I was sure she didn’t even know she was doing it. There was an innocence about her that I found as attractive as her intelligence. It was the innocence that I was drawn to. She didn’t know how her perfume would fill my head when she flipped her hair over her shoulder or when she would lean over me to get me to sign something. She didn’t know how her smile was infectious and as beautiful as her laugh. I didn’t get to see them much, she was too professional, almost aloof, around me. But on the rare occasions I did see them, they made my heart and other parts of my body contract.

It didn’t help that she was immune to my charms and any attempt, no matter how serious, I made to flirt with her, was met with no response. If I was a less secure man, I would have issues with her lack of response. It only made me want to try harder to get a reaction out of her and make her even more attractive to me.

I was sure it was because I couldn’t have her that made me want her more. If I were to get involved with my assistant, it would be one way to prove to the board I wasn’t right for the job. My desire for her was only compounded by the fact that she didn’t want me. Hence, why I was having the most inappropriate thoughts about her while we were at work.

It didn’t help matters that I wanted to discuss changing her role and duties with me. I knew it was the best decision for her to learn from me and for the company. I wasn’t sure how well it was going to be for me, as it would require us to spend more time together and in close quarters. Ultimately, I would have to find a way to keep my libido and attraction to Ella under wraps. For once, I was going to have put the interest of the company and what was best for it over my own needs and desires. It only showed me how much my future and the company meant to me. I hoped that my father and the board would eventually see and realize it.

Later in the day, I called Ella into my office and had her sit down. She came in as she always did, her head high but a little meek. It was as if she was unsure if she should be in my office but also knew that she had a job and was going to do it. She showed both respect for the office and me but also for herself. It was just another thing I found incredibly sexy about her.

She always carried a notebook with her. I found it interesting that she was so old school and didn’t use a tablet or any other note taking devices. I wanted to ask her why she did but I didn’t want to pry into her work.

“Mr. Hartalk agreed with your proposal and will be sending over the final draft by the end of the day. Your meetings for tomorrow have all been confirmed. Did you decide at what restaurant you wanted to have lunch with Mr. Lopez next Tuesday or would you like me to pick it for you?”

There was a slight smirk on her face when she spoke, almost as if she was challenging me. She had given suggestions on restaurants for some meetings the last few days and they all had been excellent choices. She had suggested I take one client from Texas to a bar-be-que joint. Originally, I had thought it was a horrible idea, but he had been impressed with the restaurant and had said it was the closest he had gotten to home-cooking since he left the south. Another one had been impressed with the small hole-in-the-wall sushi place we had gone to two days before.

“Why do I get the impression that you already have a restaurant in mind?” I asked.

“Mr. Lopez is originally from New Orleans. There is a French restaurant that is supposed to have excellent beignets.”

“Have you tried them; can you attest that they are as good as Cafe Du Monde?” I was teasing her and even doing a little bit of flirting. I wanted to see her smile, I wanted to see her blush but she didn’t.

“I have not had the pleasure of going to Cafe Du Monde nor Chevre in Alphabet City.”

“The restaurant is named “the goat” in french?” I asked.

“Apparently the owner had one when she was a child and has a fondness for the animal.”

“Is it a menu item?”

“Not that I am aware of, but I can double check. Would you like me to make a reservation for one P.M.?”

“Yes. If this restaurant is half as good as the last one, then Mr. Lopez will not be the only one impressed.”

“Thank you, sir. I like to do what I can,” she said and waited for me to tell her why she was there.

“You have done an excellent job and far exceeded my expectations,” I admitted.

“I’m glad you are happy with my work, sir.”

There was a slight squint in her eyes that made me think there was more that she wanted to say or that she was almost offended by my comment. I wasn’t sure why she would be and moved on.