Wanting Ella ✔ (Blaq Hearts 1)

28: Brava Ragazza

The next day, Ella walked into the company feeling more confident than she had ever felt.

The day off had been more than useful, and exactly what she needed. She felt like she should thank Kaiden for it, no, she knew she should thank him for it. However, the decision she'd come to would be more than enough to show her appreciation.

She loved Alex. A decision like this would not be one that she would have come to on her own, because, yes, she was a coward and refused to admit her feelings all the time, or even act on them. She had always denied it, claiming to be brave, but everyone who knew her well knew she wasn't.
Today, however, was different. And the confidence surging in her at that moment would make it possible.

"Ms. Hart, good morning." She smiled at Steven, the security man, a fifty-year-old sweetheart who never felt to greet her with his brightest smile, and today wasn't any different. "You look radiant, ma'am."
She felt her cheeks heat up at that.

"Thank you, Steven. And I've told you, just Ella is fine." He tipped his cap in a slight nod like he always did when she corrected him, but Ella knew the next day won't be any different, and she'd have to remind him to call her by her first name instead of using honorifics.

He opened the doors for her, and she walked through, stride sure and confident. A few colleagues she recognized from the office party said their hellos which she had a smile ready for. She was finally starting to feel like she was a part of the company. Their clique. But without a doubt, the developers were her closest colleagues.

As if conjured by her thought, Tony appeared before her, face red, and hands holding a box that seemed heavier than it looked. He grinned at her, leaning under the weight of the box as they stood before the elevator. He tilted his head slightly, his eyebrows furrowed.
I
"Maybe I'm suffering from fatigue, but something seems different about you."

Ella smiled, subconsciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "In a good way?"

He shook his head. "Definitely a good way. You should wear your hair down often."

She nodded, still smiling and they both stepped into the elevator, Ella pushing the top floor button before Tony could. He sighed thanking her. "This weighs more than the weights I use at the gym."

She eyed the box, trying to make out its contents. "What is it?"

Tony puffed out a breath. "Five years' worth of blueprints and files of past projects, all canceled."

She frowned. "Why do you need them if they've been canceled?"

He settled the box more firmly on his chest, holding the bottom with his hands. "Exactly what I'd like to know. The big man walks into the office this morning and asks me to get it all, no explanation whatsoever." He exhaled deeply again. "So here I am, being crushed under the weight. I always knew I wouldn't live to see thirty, but I didn't think this is how I'll go."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be so dramatic, Tony. Here," She held out her hands. "Let's share it."

"No, no, thank you, but I can't ask you to share it with me. I'm a man and-"

"Shut up or I won't help, and I won't call anyone to help when you collapse."

He grinned widely, his eyes lighting up. "Well, if you insist." He turned the box, offering the other end to her. "Brace yourself, it weighs a shit ton."

Ella tried to hide her grimace as half of the weight rested on her arms. She wasn't the strongest type of girl you'd meet out there, and the last workout she'd done was rope climbing during gym class seven years ago.