Page 16 of Once Upon a Prince

My mind told me I should come up with a witty comment as to why I was there and hiding in the hallway, but I couldn’t think of anything. Dax rolled his eyes and then said, “Ms. Taylor, thank you for all your help this morning. Your work today was exceptional as always.”

He tilted his head at me and walked around the corner and toward the women. I had no choice but to follow him. I squared my shoulders and tried to look like I hadn’t heard the women’s comments but it was hard.

Dax didn’t seem to be bothered by what the women said and kept a steady conversation going as we turned the corner and walked by them. Well, Dax did all the talking, I just nodded.

I did have the satisfaction of seeing the shocked look on Diana and Tanya’s face when we walked by them. They both immediately stopped talking and at least Diana looked a little ashamed. Tanya looked like she didn’t care who heard her.

“Ladies. Good afternoon,” Dax said. “I take it you are on your break and not wasting valuable company time standing in the middle of the hallway gossiping. If you have done all your duties for the day and are looking for something to do, I am sure Janice in Accounting can use some help.”

“No, no, Dax. We were just coming back from our break,” Diana said.

“Good. Then I suggest you get back to your desks. And it’s Mr. Moore. I would have expected your supervisor to train you properly. You do work in HR, don’t you?” he asked and stared Diana down before looking over at Tanya, her supervisor.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I hadn’t expected Dax to give the women a dressing down nor had I thought it would be so spectacular. I also found it interesting that he had asked me on several occasions to call him Dax and I kept calling him Mr. Moore. It was out of respect as much as to keep a professional distance between us. Yet, he was doing the exact opposite to Diana.

“Yes, Mr. Moore,” Diana replied sheepishly.

Dax didn’t say anything more but nodded at them and walked onto the elevator and I did the same. I could feel them staring at us as the doors closed. While I appreciated him doing what he did, I was worried what type of retaliation the women would do to me. I had dealt with that enough with my step-siblings that a small victory now could mean bigger consequences later.

I kept my head down as I followed Dax off the elevator and to our office. He didn’t speak but I could feel the anger coming off him. I hadn’t worked with him for very long but I had learned his moods and he was not happy with what had happened. I hated that I had embarrassed him and that I wasn’t measuring up to the standards. I hated even more that he had heard what the women said and knew what the rest of the office must think of me.

When I got to my desk, I still didn’t look at Dax. I wanted to pretend the whole situation never happened and go back to the way things had been. When Dax didn’t move to his office but stood in front of my desk, I knew I wasn’t going to be that lucky.

“Ella, if you could come into my office, please.” His words were curt and short, reaffirming how upset and annoyed he was with me.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

I knew there would be some retaliation from what happened, I just hadn’t expected it to come so quickly or to come from Dax, but that is exactly what I thought as I followed him into his office.

Chapter 10

Dax

I don’t think I had been more angry in my entire life. I couldn’t decide who I was more mad at, Tanya and Diana for saying such things to Ella or at Ella because she stood hiding in the hallway as they said such horrible and ridiculous things about her.

She didn’t seem like the type of person who would just let herself be spoken about in that way. I thought she was stronger, I thought she would stand up for herself and I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t.

It was only because I hadn’t wanted to cause a scene that I hadn’t said anything more to the women. I also didn’t want to embarrass Ella any further than she already must have been. I hadn’t done well keeping the anger out of my voice and I knew I needed to calm myself before I talked to Ella. She did as I asked and followed me into my office. I was sure she knew I hadn’t asked her there to talk about my week but what had just happened. Still, she had her usual notebook and pen in her hands as she sat down.

I walked over to my cabinet and poured myself a drink. I hesitated for a second and poured her one too. I turned around to see Ella sitting in her chair with her notebook and pen clutched tightly to her. It gave me pause and as much as I wanted to chastise her for what happened, I knew I couldn’t.

“Scotch?” I asked her as I held out her glass to her.

“Yes, that is.”

“Would you like some?” I asked a little more curtly than I should.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be drinking on the job,” she countered.

“It is if the boss asks you to join him.” I put the glass closer to her and she accepted it. I took a sip of mine and then leaned back on the desk. We didn’t speak but I smiled when I saw her wince when she tasted the Scotch.

“Not a fan of Scotch?” I asked.

“Considering this is the first time I had ever had it, I can’t say.”

“Fair enough. I take it that wasn’t the first time you had heard those women talk about you.”

“Mr. Moore, I’m sorry you heard that. It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. If we can pretend it never happened, I would appreciate it.”