Chapter 4 - “I could make that ten minutes worth it,”

Ella was late. Miss Ella Stanford was clearly late. 

Javier could not stop himself from glancing at his Rolex watch and then at the entrance every now and then. Another ten minutes and everyone who was currently enjoying cocktails and light snacks in the foyer would be moving to the dining hall. Yet here he was, standing on the balcony, looking down at the crowd beneath him and trying hard to find his little secretary. 

“Where on earth is she?” he growled to himself. His buoyant anticipation had slid through a heap of frustration at her lack of appearance before it turned into a nagging worry. Had she perhaps been in an accident? 

“Babe, what are you doing here?” A sultry voice asked then followed by hands snaking their way around his waist. London Star placed her head on his left shoulder, her lips grazing the side of his throat. “All your friends are downstairs. Why don’t we go down and say hello?”

“Ten more minutes,” he replied curtly as he moved slightly away from her. 

“I could make that ten minutes worth it,” whispered London, clearly had not noticed the worries on his face and how his brows had furrowed. Her hands started moving on his front and her breasts pressed against his back. 

“Not now, London.” Javier put his hands on her wrists then put her hands away. He fished out his phone and dialed Ella’s number. She did not pick it up and he tried again. After the fifth try, he ended the call and shoved his phone inside his pocket. He was starting to feel like a stalker with his incessant calling. Perhaps she had been driving thus she could not answer her phone. 

He turned around only to find London standing there in nothing but her lingerie. Before he could say or do anything, she placed her mouth on his, silencing him with her kisses. And for a few seconds, he let her ravish his mouth before finally putting a stop to it. 

No matter what, his mind was still worried about Ella and her whereabouts. 

＊＊＊

Ella had arrived exactly five minutes before the guests were being led into the dining hall. Even though Javier had told her to enjoy herself, she knew she had to make sure that the event went on without a hitch so she had gone to meet Jackie, the event organizer. Jackie had been Ella’s friend since college and recently she had opened her Event Organizer business. Since Ella wanted to help her friend, she had given this job to her instead of the usual EO who had been arranging such events for Javier and Summers Entertainment. 

It seemed that she had been right to talk to Jackie as soon as she had arrived because Jackie looked frantic. “What happened?” Ella asked. 

“Oh, Ella, what should I do? We’re doomed! I’m so, so doomed!” Her friend was literally shaking, cold sweat forming on her temples despite the air conditioner being turned on. 

“Calm down and tell me what is wrong,” asked Ella, keeping herself calm and cool-headed so that she could find the right solution. 

Except that there was no right solution here. The singer who had been booked to sing happy birthday to Javier had diarrhea and she could not perform tonight. 

“I wish I can sing!” cried Jackie, her face looking pale. She wanted to blame the singer so badly but even she knew that this was a mere coincidence that the light snack being served had eel in it and the singer simply could not stomach it. The poor girl was still occupying one of the bathroom cubicles.

“We can find someone in the audience, maybe?” Damon suggested. “I mean, most of the guests are artists and people who work in the entertainment industry, right? Surely there is someone who won’t mind singing for your boss.”

Damon had been right but knowing her boss and how he had prided himself, there was no way he would accept one of his guests singing for him freely. He would be embarrassed and then Jackie and her company would suffer. “No. We can not. Javier will not have it. He will be pissed if he knows we ask one of his guests to sing for him.”

Jackie blinked and when she stared at Ella, her face finally regained its natural color. “You can sing, Ella. You can sing!”

“W-what?”

“You can sing. I know you do. You won the talent show back when we were in college. Why don’t you sing for him? I am sure he will not mind if it is you.”

Damon nodded in agreement. “She’s right. Your boss won’t even know that you’re not supposed to be singing. He’ll think that this is part of the plan and that you want to surprise him.”

“B-but—”

Before Ella could utter her disagreement, both of her friends already started planning what needed to be done. They agreed that Ella’s red dress was a killer dress thus she did not need to swap her attire. Damon and Jackie were still discussing her make-up and accessories for her hair when Ella finally found her voice back. “Wait!”

Both of her friends stopped their discussion and looked at her. 

“I can’t sing for Javier! That is way too personal! He’s my boss for goodness sake!” Ella shook her head frantically, she could not even imagine singing for him let alone truly doing it. 

“Oh, come on, Ella. Please,” begged Jackie, holding Ella’s hands. “This is my first gig, I don’t want it to fail.”

“You are going to be alright, Ella dearest,” said Damon, trying to convince her. “Did you not say that you want to surprise him with your new look so he would stop thinking that you are boring?” He lifted one brow and smiled. “This would give you the perfect, grand entrance. All eyes will be on you including his.”

Ella closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. Damon had been right and what was more important, she wanted Jackie’s business to succeed. Giving her this job would open her chances to meet Javier’s great connections who perhaps could be her future clients. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it.”

Both Damon and Jackie squealed in joy, clapping their hands while Ella tried to recall all of the condescending comments Javier had ever said to her, about her being uptight and prim. 

Oh, to prove him wrong and to see the look of surprise on his face would salve her wounded pride.