CHAPTER SIX
Ella pushed the large, wheeled garbage can along the hallway, stopping to wipe the glass display near the elevator with the employee names and their room numbers. Earbuds in place, she drowned out her worries with a podcast on fashion design.
The featured speaker that morning discussed streamlining a formal gown to be a cross between a full, flowing princess skirt and a more contemporary bodice. From there, the conversation drifted into more of the marketing side of things. Having designs noticed by magazines. Getting a photo op on a front cover.
Ella wished she could stop to take notes, but as it was, she did her best to mentally catalog the tips being given. Fingerprints removed from the glass display case, she now rotated.
The podcaster paused long enough for sounds of a squeaky-wheeled mop bucket to trail from down the hall. Charlotte gave Ella a small wave. She’d always been the nicer of her two stepsisters.
Ella peeked at the clock over the stairs. It was nearly nine. Time to return cleaning tools to their coordinating closets on every floor and close things up for the day. Hand in her keys, get home and take a few minutes to scratch out the new design dominating her thoughts.
Charlotte wheeled in closer. “Did you see this?” She offered her phone in Ella’s direction.
“What are you doing here?” Ella asked. “I thought you were on the seventh floor.”
“Mom reassigned me. Check this out. These gowns are going for amazing prices.”
Ella examined the screen, impressed by the designs. Gold ball gowns, indigo, strapless dresses, black and sequined that reached only to the thigh. Each display joined with a little yellow sale tag. The prices were actually decent.
“Where is this?” Ella asked.
“Circle of Elegance, downtown,” Charlotte said.
“They’re lovely,” Ella said. She rested her cloth against its place on the garbage cart when her pulse kicked dirt like a runaway horse.
Hawk Danielson turned the corner and made his way to the stairs. To where she and Charlotte stood.
Ella was painfully aware of her rumpled jumpsuit from her dingy locker down in the basement. She panicked. He couldn’t see her like this. Her hands were sticky thanks to something that had clung to the garbage bag she’d emptied. Her hair was falling loose from its bun.
The last time he’d seen her she was dressed half decent. But this? Besides, he’d put the pieces together about where she worked.
The custodial closet taunted her from down the hall, too far to make a mad dash without being completely obvious. Heat pooled in her cheeks. Hawk drew closer, looking razor-sharp and dressed to kill in a pinstriped suit, his blonde hair swooping up in that oh-so-casual way that bespoke of rumpled, roll-out-of-bed mornings made better by hair gel.
“Hey, there,” Charlotte said as he approached.
On impulse, Ella yanked the dust cloth from her pocket, dropped it to the floor, and crouched for it just in time to hide behind the garbage can like a total coward.
“Good morning,” Hawk responded. Ella imagined his gaze making the briefest sweep toward her direction. She moved farther to the side, hoping he couldn’t see her, or worse, that he wouldn’t roll the garbage can away.
While he was blocked from her view, Ella could see Charlotte staring at him like a befuddled school girl. Silence ensued. Ella imagined Hawk blinking several times as if questioning her mental state.
“Have a good one,” Hawk finally said, casting a final look toward the garbage can before giving Charlotte an acknowledging nod and swaggering to the stairs.
The stairs. Ella almost laughed. Of course, he wouldn’t take the elevator again. Not after what happened to him the last time.
Ella exhaled the minute he was out of sight, rolling the garbage can away just enough to regain her posture once more. A mixture of relief and shame filled her. What was her problem? Would it really have been so bad to just talk to him?
“Did you see that? He said hi to me,” Charlotte said, fanning herself. “Oh my gosh. Who knew the Candy Man was such a hottie?”
Ella decided to feign ignorance. She bobbed her chin in the direction Hawk headed. “Who was that?”
Charlotte scoffed. “Only the owner of this entire building. Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t seen him around.”
“I haven’t really paid attention,” Ella bluffed, bending for her yellow dust rag. Turns out she’d left it on the floor after all.
Charlotte licked her upper lip, still ogling the stairs. “You know, I’m suddenly looking forward to this Christmas Eve ball.”
Rag in hand, Ella wheeled the large, gray can the rest of the way down the hall and into the custodial closet. She pushed it back to make room for Charlotte to empty her mop water into the floor-tub. The garbage wasn’t full enough to empty, so Ella left it for tomorrow.
“You’re going?” Ella asked.
Charlotte shrugged. “Why not? Mom’s party is during the afternoon. We’ll have the evening to ourselves. She’s cleared everything so we can go.”
We.
Had Charlotte just included Ella in that? Ella’s excitement grew. “I hadn’t heard. She said she had me scheduled to clean Highland Heights.”
Charlotte hung the mop on its peg and dusted her hands. “On Christmas Eve? Please. Mom isn’t that heartless. Anyway, I can’t believe some of these dress prices. I’m going to head over and see if I can’t get in on this sale. You should come.”
Ella was stunned. “You’re seriously inviting me?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
She narrowed her eyes. While Charlotte may have been the nicer of her two stepsisters, she’d never invited Ella anywhere.
Charlotte seemed to read the question in Ella’s gaze. She fiddled with the zipper on her jumpsuit, as though just as nervous about all this as Ella was. “It’s Christmas. We should go shopping together.”
Ella couldn’t help the unease passing through her. Plenty of Christmases had come and gone in the ten years since their parents had married. What made
