After he hung up, he dug into his pending file. He had to admit, having his tasks prioritized was a luxury. Before he realized it, it was after one. He hadn’t seen Clint today, but the plan had been for him to go to the construction site. It was possible that Ella had gone to lunch without his knowledge, but he doubted it.
He headed down the hallway and saw her at her desk. He found it curious that her computer desktop looked just like his.
“Hey,” he said. “Did you copy the files from my computer to yours?”
Her body stiffened. “Yes. I didn’t want to have to run to you every few minutes for information. If a customer calls and asks how much he owes, I want to be able to give him the information without having to go through you.”
That was incredible. “I never thought to do that. Did you copy everything?” He had some personal items on his computer.
“No. Only what pertains to the vendors and your employees.”
Was there anything this woman couldn’t do? “Sounds great. Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Would you like to have lunch at the diner?”
Ella hesitated. “Sure, but aren’t you afraid of running into Sasha?”
What was she talking about? “Why would I be afraid?”
Ella dropped her head back and then sat up straighter. “Okay, I might have told a lie.”
He’d already told a lie to the woman who was very interested in dating him. “What did you say?”
She inhaled. “I went to lunch there yesterday. Thankfully, Sasha wasn’t working, so a woman named Carolyn waited on me.”
“Carolyn is the owner. We’re actually good friends.” He could only imagine how that conversation went, but he wanted Ella to confirm it. “What did she say?”
“She recognized me as the person with you the night before. She asked if I was your mate.”
The pulse at his neck throbbed. “And what did you say?”
“What could I say? You’d already announced I was your girlfriend. To avoid saying too much, I merely said yes.”
This was going to be very interesting indeed. “That’s fine. All rumors should be put to rest then.”
“I hope so.”
Ella almost sounded upset. If they were mates, which he believed they were, she would feel the same draw, too. It was just a matter of time before she admitted it.
For the next two days, Ella barely saw Tanner. He was either at the construction site or meeting with suppliers. When they finished work on Friday, he reminded her about the Expansion Day celebration.
“Pick you up at seven?” he asked.
Ella didn’t want to go to a dance with Tanner and be stared at—or rather glared at—by Sasha and some of her friends all night. She had planned to tell him that she preferred to stay at the hotel, but he seemed so excited for his two partners and their mates to meet her that she didn’t have the heart to say no. “Sure. What’s the dress code?”
“It’s sort of fancy. I’m actually wearing clean jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and, of course, my boots.” He smiled.
“Clean jeans, huh. Wow. That will be a high bar.”
He laughed. “It may not be formal, but it’s not grunge either.”
“I’m sure I can find something. See you at seven.”
“What’s your room number?” he asked.
“I’m in room 305.”
“Great. I’ll come to your room.”
His cell rang, and he checked the caller I.D. “Sorry, I have to take this. See you tonight.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Once back at the hotel, she took a long shower to help her relax and then looked through her clothes in order to decide what to wear. She wanted to impress, but not stick out like an outsider. After an hour of trying on outfits, Ella finally went with a bright navy-blue top since that color didn’t wash out her face as much as white or black did, and a pair of light blue jeans—clean ones, of course. Because she probably would be dancing, she wore flats. Her mother wouldn’t approve of the casual attire, but that was all the more reason to do it.
Her mother’s words about makeup had been drilled into her. Going subtle was the most elegant. That meant a light-colored blush, light pink lipstick, and subtle eye liner.
Once Ella was dressed, she paced her room. Tanner said he’d pick her up at seven, and it was already fifteen past. Not needing him to come up to the room, she tossed on her jacket, stuffed her keycard and her phone in her pocket and went down to the lobby. She expected him to be there, but he wasn’t. In the past she might have been upset, but this was Tanner McCarson. Most likely he had to take care of some detail at work and time had gotten away from him. She smiled at the idea of him rushing home and tossing on the first clean pair of jeans he found.
As if she’d conjured him up, the hotel entrance door whooshed open, sending in a blast of cold air, and Tanner rushed in.
Whoa. Underneath his open leather jacket was a white button-down shirt that hugged his body, rather tight black jeans, and shiny black boots. The man looked fine. She wanted to rush up to him and tell him how hot he looked, but that might be inappropriate and a bit awkward. He was her boss, after all. It didn’t matter he was her pretend mate. Considering her reaction just now though, there might not be anything pretend about it.
His gaze was focused on the elevators and not on her. “Tanner?”
He stopped, and when he spun toward her, she swore the room lit up from the cheer in his eyes. What was that about?
Tanner strode toward her. “Ella. I’m sorry I’m late. You look amazing.”
Heat raced up her face. “Thanks.”
He stepped close,
