Chapter 1 - "It will be my pleasure to see you enjoying yourself, Ella."

It had been raining in Washington D.C. and the pavements were thronged by people. Sleek limousines edged their way along between the yellow lines of taxis who maneuvered their way in and out of the already busy traffic jam. Wealthy, big companies inhabited the tall block of that street, and the company Ella Stanford was working for had been one of them.

As Ella walked into the building, she gave the security guy a smile to which he replied with a grin. He knew most of the employees who worked in Summers Industries by sight, some were by name.

Ella walked toward the electronic gates and tapped her card on the machine. There was a buzz before the door slid open and Ella walked in. She immediately went to the set of elevators and hit the call button. Once she was on the correct floor, she walked out of the elevator towards the heavy plate glass door which bore the sign “SUMMERS ENTERTAINMENT”. Ella offered a smile to the young receptionist working behind the desk and crossed through the open office before getting into the opaque glass door which bore the “JAVIER SUMMERS” name. Javier Summers, her boss which was also the CEO of Summers Entertainment (one could easily guess by his surname), had a large square room beyond her own with a door communicating between them.

She had worked for Javier Summers for three years now. Her air of reserved efficiency and professionalism had been the reason why she had managed to keep this job that long. It was quite rare or so she had been told by her coworkers that before she came, Javier had fired five people and the last one had only been working for a month.

It was ten minutes before one. She had come back to the office early and spared enough time to get prepared before her boss came back from his lunch. Ella hung her jacket on a coat hanger, in the corner of the room, and tucked away her hair before settling down at her desk.

“How’s my wonderful professional secretary doing?”

Ella gritted her teeth against a seething wave of annoyance. Sometimes it was hard working for Javier and this was one of the reasons: when he was so careless with his words. He did not have to put the word ‘professional’ there just to make her sound boring. Furthermore, the only reason he would call her ‘wonderful’ was because he had made another conquest. Not necessarily a good business deal, his list of conquests stretched to females as well.

His voice was filled with smugness, a sure sign of sexual satisfaction. No doubt. he had spent a pleasurable lunch with his latest woman. Another sign was his missing tie. Ella remembered that when he had come to the office this morning, he had been wearing a grey tie. Not only had that tie gone missing, but his collar was also undone.

Yet one look at him and she could understand why females were finding it hard to resist him. Other than his naturally handsome look, he was also disturbingly attractive. His eyes were as blue as the ocean and sometimes when his mood had been cloudy, they would turn darker, almost as dark as the night sky. His cheekbones were angular, almost austere. His mouth was wide with the top lip firm and controlled and the lower full conveying the hint of sensuality and his mastery in the art of kissing. His face always reflected his current mood, sometimes it was full of pride when he needed to intimidate someone (especially his subordinates or business partner). At the other times, it was incredibly charming that an icy heart would surely melt at the sight of him. One thing for sure, it was always full of power just like he was. Sometimes it annoyed her how he could think faster than normal humans.

Javier Summers was a dangerous man. He was as difficult to handle as a wild puma: savage, unpredictable, and predatory. He worked hard and played hard. He was thirty-two years old, in the prime of life, and had the well-earned reputation of being a genius in the entertainment field. Other than that, he used his undoubted sex appeal mercilessly. His name had been coupled with a succession of stars. A new star or artist often got free publicity simply by being photographed with him coming out of a nightclub. He showed no signs of settling down and getting married and none of his affairs had ever appeared serious nor lasted for longer than a few weeks.

When Ella had first begun to work for him, he had asked her to dine with him which she had politely declined and his response had been a needling form of mockery. Still, Ella maintained her cool good looks and quiet manner. Even if she did have feelings for him, she had two reasons to avoid getting in bed with him. One, at that time, she still had to pay for her mother’s debts. Her mother had recklessly owed money to some people and if she had not paid them back, they would put her in jail. Two, she refused to be one of his conquests. Perhaps the reason why he had fired his previous secretaries was that he had gotten bored of them after they had shared his bed. Whether it had been true or not, Ella found it easier to avoid being intimate with him. After all, he was her boss, for goodness sake!

“Good afternoon, Sir,” Ella replied with a small, polite smile.

His dark, rakish eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Sir?”

“Is it not why you put the word ‘professional’ in your greeting just now so that I would address you formally?" Ella tilted her head to one side, returning his quizzical look with one of her own.

Javier laughed, his ocean eyes twinkling with devilish delight. The devil was clearly enjoying this little banter. “You never fail to amuse me with your sharp tongue, Stanford.”

That was one more annoying thing that he always did. He called her by her surname, the same way he had been calling his other male buddies!

Ignoring him, Ella picked up the files she had prepared for him before lunch and handed them over to him. “These are the files that you asked for. You will need to review them so I can start arranging the meetings,” she said efficiently. Once he took the files, she offered him another polite smile and asked, “Is there anything else you need from me right now?”

“No,” he shook his head and began waltzing to the connecting door. And then as if he had just remembered something, he stopped, turned around, and leaned by the doorframe. “Though there is one more thing. How is the planning going for the party this weekend? Is everything on track and according to the list I gave you last time?” When she had not answered immediately, his brows lowered. “You have not forgotten about it, have you?”

Of course, she had not! How could she forget to arrange and make plans for her boss's birthday party this weekend? Not only her salary but her job, as well as her head, would also be on the line!

“No, of course, I have not.” Ella stretched her lips into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Everything is going to be perfect! I have arranged it exactly as you wanted.”

“Good, good,” he said momentarily then his blue eyes were once more fixated on her. "You know you are coming, right?”

“I- I—” Ella cleared her throat and then answered in a calm manner. “I do not think that would be necessary. It is not a business meeting, I don’t think you’ll need your secretary there.”

“Nonsense!” Javier shook his head, giving her a disapproving look. “I will need you there. Consider it the reward for all the work you have done in working with the Event Organizers in putting the party together.”

“Thank you,” Ella answered silkily. “I’ll look forward to relaxing and enjoying myself then.”

His eyes twinkled dangerously and for a split second, Ella saw something in those blue eyes she had never seen before. “It will be my pleasure to see you enjoying yourself, Ella.”

If the glint in his eyes was not enough to make her suspicious of his motive, the fact that he had just called her by her first name for the first time ever had.