“Ah. I see. Hang on.” She patted Ella’s hand again before shuffling toward the bar.
Ella’s mind was a tizzy of thought. Why should this strike her as so unusual? What did it matter if Grandma Larsen also happened to be Hawk Danielson’s godmother?
Moments later, Grammy returned with two mugs of hot chocolate. She took the seat across from Ella. “Tell me what’s bothering you. Did my boy mistreat you?”
The mug’s sides heated Ella’s hands. “No, nothing like that. We’ve had a…misunderstanding. I’m not quite sure what to do about it.” After a moment of pause, she glanced around. “Are you sure you should be sitting here with me? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“What are they going to do, fire me?” Grammy laughed.
Ella managed a smile.
“You tell me all about what happened.”
So Ella told her. About the dance, about Pris splashing wine in her face and ruining the dress Grammy had surprised her with, about blowing Stina off to help Hawk at the hospital instead, and finally, the theft. The video with her on it.
“He thinks I stole from his office, Grammy. He thinks I’m just some stupid, lowly criminal.” She cradled the warm mug and stared at the whipped cream melting on its surface.
“Did you steal anything?”
“No!” Ella said too loudly. She couldn’t believe Grammy would even ask.
Grandma inclined her head to one side. “Sorry, Ella girl, I had to ask. You know I believe you, but did you tell Hawk you didn’t?”
“I told him, but he said he never wanted to see me again. Things were good, Grammy. He kissed me. We were going to go ice skating. Now, this has completely come between us. Not that there was an us to come between.” Not anymore.
“If he kissed you on Christmas Eve, that sounds like an us situation,” Grammy stated, warming Ella with a smile.
“How can it ever be now?” Ella asked. “He thought I was stealing from his corporate office. Does a suspicion like that ever go away?” Could he ever trust her again? Once trust was lost, it was so hard to earn back again.
“You need to give that man the benefit of the doubt,” Grammy said. “Truth will come out. It always does. This might’ve shocked him, but he’ll get over it.”
“He completely ignored me in my custodial attire,” Ella said. She decided not to point out the fact that she’d hidden behind a large garbage can at the time. “He stopped talking to me after he thought I was nothing more than a common thief. It’s clear he has standards that I just don’t fit. He’s a billionaire, Grammy.”
“I’ve known him all his life,” Grammy argued, pointing a crooked finger at her. “While he’s not perfect, he may not be as judgmental as you think.”
“He hasn’t given me a reason to think otherwise.”
Grammy tossed up her hands in exasperation. She stared out at the empty store before shifting her attention to Ella once more. Her aged hand closed over Ella’s. “Drink your cocoa, Ella, and don’t worry so much. Things will work out, honey. As for that stepfamily of yours—”
“Don’t,” Ella said, squeezing her eyes closed. “Please don’t say anything.”
Grandma Larsen’s tone shifted to something more suited to a reprimand. “I haven’t talked much with your dad since your mom died. He would have kept me from you completely if he’d had his way. But sounds to me like that man needs a talking to. And so does his wife.”
The idea fisted with panic in Ella’s ribs. Look what Stina and Pris concocted to get back at Ella. She didn’t want to think what they might do to Grammy if they found she was meddling.
“Please. I’ll handle it.”
Grandma Larsen pinched her lips, bringing out wrinkles around her mouth. Clearly, she didn’t like the idea of backing down. Eventually, her expression relaxed.
“Okay, then. But it sounds like we have a lot to catch up on. Why don’t you meet me for lunch tomorrow?”
This came out of left field. First Grammy was talking about dealing with Ella’s stepfamily and then this? “Lunch?”
“Assuming you don’t have a job interview or something.” She gestured to the stack Ella placed on the table beside her cocoa.
Ella smoothed a hand over the applications and lowered her head. “Right. Yeah, I’m not going to work for Stina anymore. Not after how she helped Pris frame me.”
“Good girl. It’s about time you’re walking away from that viper’s nest. Who knows, maybe my Hawkie boy is hiring in one of his stores.”
Her Hawkie boy. The moniker brought a smile to Ella’s lips. Grammy always had a pet name for Ella and her cousins. Her smile soon faded, though.
Hawk would never even consider her after this whole thievery fiasco. Ella didn’t want to bring the conversation back there. She gestured to the shelves in an attempt to keep the mood light.
“I’m not sure I’d survive working here around all this temptation. I’d gain twenty pounds during my first week.”
“True enough.” Grandma laughed and patted her belly. “I’m tempted to eat the whole store. Ah well. I’d better get back on my feet. But lunch? Tomorrow?” She pushed her chair back.
“Sure,” Ella said, taking a sip of the cocoa. Hot chocolate heated all the way to her stomach.
It would be nice to have someone to talk to. She knew she needed to tell Hawk the truth, but she wasn’t sure how to convince him, not when there was video evidence. She had to make him believe her. Maybe Grammy had a way of doing just that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hawk flipped through the list that Clary had left on his desk. Several of the new custodial companies looked promising, but he wanted background checks and serious interview questions with each candidate. That whole situation with the burglary, with suspecting Ella had betrayed him, was something he never wanted to repeat.
And then to find out Ella had been set up? That her stepmom and stepsister had been
