Page 10 of Falling for Them

“Well, I gotta get back to work,” Joel says, zipping up.“Oh hey, you’re my plus-one for the gala, okay?”

The words on my lips, the ones where I tell him it’s over and I hope we can still be friends, refuse to leave my mouth.I swallow them down and stutter, “The—the gala?”

“Yeah.The company gala.It’s in two weeks.Are you in?”

Four

Ella

Joel is barely looking at me, like he already knows my answer will beyes.Because of course it will be.The annual Tyler Analytics Charity Gala, usually just called the Tyler Gala, is the most exclusive event in San Esteban.It takes place every January.Guests come from all over the state, and there are usually more than a handful of A-list celebrities.

I didn’t think I was important enough to Joel to warrant an invitation.

“Ella?”he prompts.

“Sure,” I say, stunned.“I’m in.Um, what do I wear?”

“Something nice.”He’s already sitting at his desk again, the computer monitor lighting up his features.“Evening wear, you know.A dress.”

Great.Real helpful.But the thought of dolling myself up, of looking glamorous and walking in on Joel’s arm, out in the open, not hidden away like a secret?It appeals to me, not gonna deny it.Maybe it could even fix what’s wrong with us.

It won’t, but right now, in the moment, I like the thought.

“Yeah,” I say, grinning like an idiot.“It’s a date.”

But still, a date.Sex isn’t the end-all, be-all of a relationship.I can work with Joel on that, and I can work on myself, with being more outspoken about what I want, what I need.

If he’s willing to take me to this gala, and be out with me in the open, then maybe our relationship isn’t doomed.

I don’t have to break up with him.I don’t have to worry about losing my job and being unable to pay the debt I’ve been saddled with.

Maybe…maybe Joel really likes me.That would certainly change my attitude about this relationship.

“Look, really,” he says, waving a hand at me, “I need to work, sorry.”

“Oh!Right.”I’m standing in the middle of his office, in the place where we just fucked, like a statue.“I’ll…just get going then.Talk to you later?”

“Sure thing.”He flashes a smile at me.

“Thank you,” I say, “for inviting me to the gala.”

“Of course.”He doesn’t look up, already intent on the important something-or-other on the screen.

I leave his office and retrieve my cleaning cart.My heart’s soaring, because I will be going to the Tyler Gala!Assuming I can get that night off work.Mentally, I go through my schedules for Maids in Heaven and the pub, Bartleby’s.Normally I would be working here on a Saturday night, when the gala is taking place, but I’m supposed to have that night off, because of course they don’t want random maids wandering around when they’re having a fancy party.

Under other circumstances, I’d be asking my boss at Bartleby’s whether I can pick up an extra shift.

But now I have plans.A real freaking date.With my boyfriend.

I do a little skip as I move my cleaning cart down the hall toward the next office.

A date to the gala is awesome, but seriously, what am I going to wear?A dress, he said.Something nice.Like I have ballgowns stowed in my closet, right next to my spare maid uniform.Ha!

I shake my head at the ridiculousness of the idea, but at the same time, I’m smiling.

Because little Cinderella is going to the motherfucking ball.

Kingston