It was with the speed of lightening that Ellen jumped out of bed and got ready for work.“Damn, of course today is Monday. The party was on a Sunday, which makes today a work day,” Ellen muttered as she got her bag and hurried out of her room.“Hey, my dear, you’re still around?” Mrs. Grater said this as soon as Ellen stepped out of her room."Morning, mom, yes, I am,” Ellen said, hurrying towards the door.“I assumed you had gone to work already,” Mrs. Grater replied as Ellen opened the door.“It’s alright, mom; see you later,” Ellen shouted and left the apartment. Ellen mentally prayed she wouldn’t get held up with traffic; that was why she usually loved to leave home early.“Well, it’s not my fault; I mean, the party was on Sunday for crying out loud,” Ellen muttered as she got down from the bus and hurried towards the hotel.“Not that I can tell Leo that.” Ellen said, rolling her eyes at her statement as she entered the hotel lobby.Ellen was twenty minutes late by the time she go

Ellen had finished sending the notice across the department, and she was about to go report back to Leo. She walked over to his door, and the next thing she knew was that her lips were close to his chest as he bumped into her.“Hey, Alex,” Leo was saying when he bumped into Ellen. For a minute, Leo and Ellen froze; they stood rooted at the door.“Mr. Warner?” Alex said as he stood up and walked towards them. Alex didn’t have a direct view of Leo’s door from his desk, so he didn’t see Leo and Ellen.The realization that Alex was walking towards them had Leo and Ellen springing apart.“Hmm, I’m sorry; I didn’t know you were coming out,” Ellen said hurriedly.“I’m sorry, it’s fine,” Leo answered, trying to cover up how flustered he was.“Mr. Warner, you called me,” Alex said as he got to them. He noticed that Ellen looked awkward and asked her, "Ellen, are you fine?” Alex asked, concerned.“Yes, I’m fine, Alex,” Ellen replied.“Hmm, we are going over to check the ballroom. Let’s go,” Le

Leo opened his eyes to the darkness, his foggy mind trying to process the reason why he was awake. He felt so tired, like he had run a marathon in the night. Leo had thought about Ellen till sleep finally took over him, but here he was again waking up to the thought of her."Goddammit!" Leo cursed under his breath. He felt a pang of pain in his head as he tried to stand. Despite how weak he felt, Leo managed to sit up in bed.“What is wrong with me?” Leo muttered as he held his head against the pain.As he tried to stand, he fell back on the bed, his body feeling weak. Rolling to the side of the bed, he managed to pick up his phone from the bedside table.He dialed Alex’s number, but he didn’t pick it up. He then decided to dial Ellen’s desk, hoping she would be in the office already."Hello,” Leo heard Ellen say as soon as she picked up the call. Leo closed his eyes for a minute as relief washed over him.“Hello, Ellen,” Leo said faintly, his voice hoarse. “Come now,” he added weakly

Standing right under the chandelier was his grandmother. She looked at the slipping chandelier, mouth open and eyes wide in awe, as if glued to the center of the ballroom.“Grandma!” Leo shouted just as he saw Ellen walking towards the center, where Mrs. Warner stood under the chandelier. Leo’s heart stopped for a minute when he saw the huge light bulb slipping from its hold.“Mr. Warner,” Alex said behind him, coughing slightly and in a nervous way.Leo looked up and realized the chandelier had stopped moving. Perplexed and confused for a minute, he looked down and saw Ellen helping his grandma move away from the light. Leo felt someone tap his shoulders; he turned and saw it was Alex, who had been trying to get his attention.“Mr. Warner, look up; the light was getting adjusted,” Alex said, pointing at the workers Leo had failed to see earlier.“Oh, hmm, yes, of course." Leo said as he tried to cover up his error. He had thought the chandelier was about to fall on his grandma. He tr

Ellen’s eyes were glued to Leo’s face, her thoughts a zillion miles away from the present. She felt the beat of her heart increase frantically as she stared at him.“Ellen?” Leo called once again, rising to his feet. Leo’s eyes clouded with desire as he stared into Ellen’s eyes. Tension grew in the air around them, and Leo reached out as he took a step towards her, stretching out his hand to her.As soon as Leo’s hands touched her, Ellen jerked, coming back to reality. She realized what had just happened. “Hmm, sorry, I just wanted to check on you,” she stammered, taking a step away from him.Leo saw the transformation on her face; her eyes told the truth she was hiding.“Are you sure you’re fine?” Leo asked, his voice hoarse as he tried to calm his beating heart.He had felt the change in the air between them, but he had been the one to draw a line, and he wasn’t about to step over that line."Uh," Ellen replied, giving him a forced smile as Leo sat down to continue what he had been