Page 27 of Once Upon a Prince

“I want to be here for my employees and have this situation rectified as soon as possible. We will get this handled soon. I will be in Buenos Aires next week but that shouldn’t deter this from going forward. Trent knows how to get a hold of me.”

“This is wonderful, any movement on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I’ll see what I can find out and let you and Trent know by the end of the day.”

“I would like to say take your time but I do want this matter resolved soon,” I said.

“Thank you. I won’t let you down,” Casey said.

“No, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Have a good day,” I said and ended the call.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Dealing with Tanya and her inappropriate behaviors was something I had wanted to handle. I hadn’t counted on doing it as soon as I got into the office. Still, I was happy with the progress and knew that I had one person to thank for that, Ella.

She was one of the smartest people I had ever met. That she was willing to go against Tanya and make sure she didn’t bother anyone else showed me how brave she was too. It reminded me of what a great worker she was and how lucky I was to have her in my corner. It increased my resolve to have her go to Buenos Aires. I wanted to take her away from Tanya and Diana; I didn’t want her to be around if there was any blowback but I also just wanted her with me.

It was hard to separate my need to have her there as my assistant and my desire to have her there as a woman I was interested in. She had been dealing with a lot and I didn’t think it was right to ask her to come to Buenos Aires so we could be lovers. It wasn’t how I showed her I respected and cared for her.

I wanted her, it was as simple and as complicated as that. I wanted to be with her but I didn’t know how she felt. She was my assistant; I was her superior. I didn’t want anything to be construed as being inappropriate or that this would affect her job in any way. There wasn’t enough time to take her on a proper date before we left but I thought I had a way to test the waters. I just wasn’t sure if she would agree to it.

She looked incredible when I saw her sitting at her desk. She had always looked good to me but there was something about seeing her in her new outfit that made her seem more relaxed, more confident, and even happier. I was glad that I could give her that and it only made me want to do more good things for her. I wanted to give her everything that I could. I wanted to make her as happy as possible.

“Dax?” Ella said as she knocked on the door and came in.

“Yes. Come in.” I sat up taller in my chair and smiled reassuringly at her. She looked a little tentative when she walked in. Seeing her being just as nervous as I was about the conversation made me feel a little bit better.

I watched her as she walked toward my desk. I had seen her do it countless times but for some reason, I really watched her then. She was beautiful, just beautiful, and my heart raced at the thought of having her in my arms. Her eyes held mine and I had the joy of watching her blush.

She didn’t say anything until she sat down. She took out her pen and opened her notebook before asking, “What were the dates you needed me in Buenos Aires again?”

I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice when I said, “November third to the ninth,” I said.

“Okay,” she said and wrote in her notebook.

She knew the dates. She had been planning the trip for over a month now. It was a tactic to give her more time and to leave no room for miscommunication about what we were talking about.

“You don’t have to come the whole time if you have other obligations or need to get back to the city. You could fly back on Friday if you wanted, but I was hoping you could stay and fly back with me on Sunday. Is that an idea you would be open to?”

“I haven’t agreed to go on the trip at all and now you want to extend it. Are there going to be more meetings?”

“There aren’t,” I said slowly.

“What would we be doing with those extra days?”

“There is a gala I’ve been asked to attend that supports a charity that is dear to me. I would like to go but I would rather not go alone. It would be a lovely evening with good food and wine, dancing, and entertainment.”

“Okay, what are you asking?”

“Would you go with me?”

“You implied that, but what does that mean? What are you looking for? What would my role be in this?” she asked.

I moved from behind my desk and went and leaned on the front so I was right in front of her chair. She had to uncross her legs to give me enough room. The movement was innocent enough but it got my mind thinking what it would be like if I could move between those legs and bring her body to mine.

“There is something going on between us,” I began and let out a short laugh. “Or at least I think there is.”

“Yes,” Ella said.

“Are you saying yes there is, or was that a yes to have me continue?”

“Isn’t it the same thing?”