Yours Completely(19)

“Wooing the Connor family is supposed to be Allison's job.” Delores glared at her, green eyes staring daggers. “Not yours.”

“The Connor family?” Ella was completely lost. The only wooing she wanted to do was with Jace, and she was trying very, very hard not to do that.

“Imagine my surprise when Madelyn Connor calls me and asks that Ella, the maid Ella, be her personal wedding liaison,” Delores continued. She stood from her chair, putting both hands on her desk and leaning forward to better assert her dominance over Ella. “Again, I ask. What the hell do you think you are doing?”

“Madelyn did what?” Ella gasped.

“I'm so glad you two are already on a first name basis,” Delores sneered. “How could you do this to your sister?”

“Do what to my sister?” Ella asked, still utterly confused. Why in the world would Madelyn ask for her? She certainly had never asked or even insinuated Madelyn should do anything of the sort. The last thing Ella wanted was to do anything that would jeopardize the wedding plans for the inn.

“Allison has been working so hard on making sure everything for this wedding goes perfectly, while you sit on you ass and leave the light on in the laundry room. I can't believe you would usurp your only sister's chance at leaving this hellhole by sabotaging her like this. Sabotaging me like this.” Delores stood straight and made a disgusted sound. “And using your mother's wedding dress to bribe her, Ella- it's deplorable.”

“I didn't-”

“Don't lie to me, Ella,” Delores cut her off sharply. She took a deep breath through a pinched mouth, settling herself in her chair and spreading her hands over the desk. “Now, I have to give Madelyn what she wants. And despite my best efforts to convince her that you are not what you appear, she wants you.”

Ella's brain was having trouble keeping up with what was going on. Madelyn had asked for her. She was going to be the wedding liaison for the Connor wedding. The room felt hot and tiny.

“So, get out of that maid outfit and put on something decent.” Delores looked Ella over as if she were sure Ella would fail at the task. “You are to be at the beck and call of Madelyn Connor for the remainder of her stay here.”

“Of course.” Hope and fear surged through Ella in equal parts. It was all happening so fast that she wasn't really sure of what was going on, but she wasn't about to complain. This could be her real chance to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch. She could be sure that this wedding put Blue Lake Inn and Resort on the map.

“Maria will take over your cleaning responsibilities, as I can't have guests seeing you working with the Connors and then taking out the garbage,” Delores said. “But, I still expect you to maintain all your other duties.”

“Of course. I'll be sure everything is perfect,” Ella promised, her voice shaking.

“You had better.” Delores's eyes narrowed in threat. “And Ella, if you screw this up. I will destroy you. You think life was unfair or hard before? It'll have been a dream compared to what I'll do to you if I even hear the whisper of dissatisfaction from the Connors. I want them to love our family, and right now, that unfortunately means you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Ella nodded. There was no way she was going to let anything mess this up. This was her chance to make the inn shine. It was everything she wanted.

“Good.” Delores picked up a fresh piece of paper and a pen. “Now get out of my sight.”

Ella didn't pause for a moment. She nearly ran to the door, excitement growing with every step. This was possibly the most terrifying and thrilling thing that could have happened. She walked on giddy steps, hurrying to her small room in the attic to change her clothes.

She couldn't wait to make sure that everything went well for the inn. She could make sure this wedding went off without a hitch and that everything was perfect. It was better than she could have hoped for. Yet, for all her excitement, the only person that she wanted to tell was Jace.





Chapter Seven


Ella knocked on the bridal suite door, hoping that her knock sounded more confident than she felt. The initial shock of excitement had quickly worn off as she changed. The dress pants she now wore didn't fit quite right and she was fairly certain that the blouse was so old that it was close to being back in style, but they were the only “nice” clothes that she owned. It had taken her nearly ten minutes of staring bleakly into her tiny closet wishing something new would show up before she had given up and put on what she had. Tomorrow, she would have to ask Allison if she could borrow something. Maybe one of Maria's daughters had something...