I got into the bath, and my phone started to ring. I couldn’t go back there. Everyone at work knew I was dating him. Now, everyone knew I was dating our boss. What if they thought I knew? What if they thought that was the only reason I got hired? I couldn’t show my face there again.
I got out of my bath and threw on my robe. I wanted to lay in bed and go to sleep. I did just that.
Three days later, I was still in bed. My phone had finally died yesterday, and I didn’t care to put it on the charger. I should get up at some point today to go look for a new job since I still had those bills to pay.
I finally moseyed up enough energy to get dressed and look for a job. My luck, no one would be hiring. I veered around the corner to the cafe and a sign in the window saidNow Hiring. It was the last place I wanted to work with the memories of him, but it was my only choice it seemed.
I walked in and asked for an application from the manager. He said he was doing open interviews so he had me follow him to the office.
“Tell me a little about your work history.”
“I was an office manager for ten years, and I just left the hotel up the street.”
“Why did you leave the hotel?”
“It just wasn’t what I was looking for.”
“Working at a cafe is?”
My eyes bugged out of my head because I couldn't believe he just said that out loud. No, working at a cafe was not what I wanted, but I didn’t have a damn choice.
“Nope, but you have a sign up. When can I start?”
“You start tomorrow.”
I had never worked at a coffee shop before, so I’d have to learn how to make all those fancy drinks that were so popular. No big deal, I could do it.
The next morning, I woke up for my first day at the coffee shop. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It went by fast because we stayed busy, and the drinks were easy to make. I left to head home, and my phone started to ring. It showed Alexander’s name. Ignore.
I called Charlotte to let her know what was going on. I figured she would be the right person to call. “Hey, girl, what’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing, just been working. What are you up to?” Charlotte replied.
“Just got off work. Figured I’d call and let you know that Alexander and I broke up.”
“What? What happened?”
Honestly, I wasn’t really in the mood to explain the situation, but then why did I call her? I couldn’t sit in my bed crying forever.
“Monday, we had all the corporate show up for a big staff meeting, and I found out that he is the CEO.”
“Wait, so he is your boss? You quit?”
“Sure the hell did. Walked out. Haven’t talked to him since.”
“Ella, if he was trying to see how the hotel ran before the staff meeting, then he probably couldn’t let anyone know who he was.”
“It doesn’t matter. He should have told me. We were together for a year. Only to find out that I have been dating my boss the entire time.”
“You should at least talk to him. Hear his side of the story. You guys were so happy to just let that go. Think about it.”
Maybe she was right. We were happy. Maybe he had to keep it a secret. Part of me just didn’t want to believe it. How could we get past this?
Chapter Twenty-Six
ALEXANDER
I didn’t know what to do. The morning of the meeting, she walked out, and I hadn’t heard from her since. I understood she was frustrated with me for finding out I owned the hotel, but it was a secret. The others wanted me to stay at the hotel and see how it was running. I was glad I did, or I never would have had the pleasure of meeting Ella. I had gotten no response, so I decided to give her time before I paid her a visit and explained it to her. She hadn’t been back to work since that day either, and I hated to think she quit because of me. How was she going to pay her bills?