"I'm not even looking for a long-term relationship right now, and even I'm jealous," Alice said as she dragged Ella around the hotel to help customers. "He's like a literal knight in shining armour, galloping in to save the day."
"Galloping in? He didn't have a horse." Ella rolled her eyes.
"No, but you said he ran in, and I actually saw him run by in the lobby. He looked so terrified and determined. I want someone to come to save me like that." She sighed with her hand over her heart.
"Save you from what?"
"Loneliness?"
"Don't you have a date with Zeke coming up again?"
"Maybe."
"Wait... Are you serious about him?"
"Nope."
"You said that a bit too fast." Ella eyed her.
"Quit yapping and help me fix this room. Grab that end." She pointed at the other end of the sheet.
"You seem to work in these rooms a lot; are they not getting you to personally help with guests?"
"I'll have you know, I've helped plenty of guests since we started here, but when I end up switching someone's room for a specific view or whatever, Jenny asks me to fix the previous room up. In fact, this morning I had to give someone a full overview of the town and make arrangements for them for the next two weeks!"
"Working hard, then?"
"Of course! This is my floor, and it's always full of people looking for help."
"You know, if we need more staff, I can get Leon to hire more people. He actually offered to hire Charlie and Kyra."
"The four of us can be together again? But this isn't as close to their houses... I don't know if they'd come."
"It does pay better."
"True."
Ring, ring. Alice answered her phone. "We'll be right there." She hung up. "And you thought I didn't work as an actual concierge. Let's go." Alice hooked her arm through Ella's and dragged her away.
---
"You weren't kidding about them being demanding in this place..." Ella sighed. She had watched Alice deal with a customer for the last hour. They even roped her into helping them exercise at their gym.
"It's nothing we haven't done before." Alice nudged her elbow. "We're experienced at this; that's why they brought us in. Although, this place has way more amenities than our old hotel did. More work, but also more interesting. You haven't had to do much concierge work since coming here, have you?" Alice wiggled her eyebrows.
"Nope; I'm more like a housekeeper."
"More like a housewife." Alice laughed.
Ella gave her a light shove as they walked down the hall. Alice stumbled into someone. "Sorry!" They both apologized.
He turned around and smirked. "Oh look, twice in one day," Sebastian said.
"You..." Alice growled at him.
Ella gripped Alice's shoulder. "Calm down..."
"Actually, I was looking for someone to help me, so this is perfect."
"You want me to check you out early and get you a taxi out?" Alice asked. Her head tilted to the side as she smiled, tight-lipped.
"Aren't you a bundle of fun? No, of course, I don't want to check out. I just got here today, and I'll be here all week. That said, I'd like a personal concierge." He looked over her shoulder at Ella.
Ella shivered and looked away from him, her grip on Alice tightening.
"She's already taken, but I can help you out," Alice said.
"But I'd prefer—"
"She is a full-time personal concierge of someone, so she can't be someone else's personal concierge."
"Tch... Fine; you'll have to do."
"Alice... Don't," Ella whispered. "He's dangerous."
Alice glanced back at her with a dark glint in her eyes. "Well, so am I."
"Don't do anything stupid."
"What fun is that?" Alice rolled her eyes. "Now, what do you need?" she asked, turning back to Sebastian.
"Quite a few things," he replied. He glanced back at Ella before letting Alice lead him away, chatting his ear off.
"Ha... I need to get out of here." Figuring nobody would bother to complain to her, she headed out of the building for a walk.
I haven't spent much time in this area yet... It'd be best for a concierge to know all the best places around, but I don't feel like dealing with people right now. She sighed, looking at all the shops lining both sides of the street.
Ella kept walking until she happened upon a small, empty park. Parks had always felt like a safe place for her to sit and think while enjoying the nearby nature. She sat on one of the swings and looked up at the trees above her.
A cool breeze blew past, and she closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath.
A lot had happened recently, including many changes, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Ella? It's really you?"
A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
She slowly lowered her head until he came into view. "Nathan..." She swallowed and gripped the metal chains of the swing tighter.
"I can't believe it's you. It both feels like it's been a while and not long at the same time." He approached her and pointed at the swing next to hers. "Do you mind?"
"N-no..."
"Thanks." He sat down and looked up at the sky. "So, how have you been?"
Ella held her hands in her lap, covering the ring on her finger. "Fine, I guess."
"You don't sound fine."
"Just a lot of blasts from the past recently... I'm sorry about everything, by the way."
"I guess I am part of your past already." Nathan sighed. "You don't have to apologize again, but I have to know: have you found what you're looking for, yet?"
"What?" She finally looked at him.
"Someone who gives you the feeling you're looking for."
"I'm not sure."
"I see..." He nodded and glanced at her hands. "I know I probably don't have a shot after the talk we had, but I miss you so much. I always feel like you'll come walking back through my door one day, and get disappointed when you don't."
"I'm sorry..."
"Stop apologizing. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, just letting you know the extent of my feelings... and honestly, wondering if you've missed me at all."
"Of course, I have. With so much going on these days, I can't help but remember how comfortable things were with you. So yes, I've missed you, but I'm not looking to get back together or anything."
"Ha... Trust me, I know. You made it quite clear we didn't have a future together, though I can't help but wonder how it would've looked."
Ella thought about it for a moment. "Probably like a normal married couple, if I didn't have the habit of running away. I've been trying to work on that, but running into Sebastian has made it hard."
Nathan's eyes widened. They hadn't talked about him extensively, but he knew enough to know Sebastian being around meant trouble. "A-are you okay? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"
"Thankfully, he didn't have a chance to, since I have some awesome friends and..." Leon.
"I was afraid to hear of it, but you have a new man in your life, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"So let me ask again, does he give you that feeling we were missing?"
I'd rather he not know about it, but... it's too late, I guess. "I think so... It hasn't been that long, so it's hard to tell."
Nathan nodded. "The early spark you're hoping will last?"
"Somewhat, but it's a bit different. I don't know how to describe it."
"Well, I hope things work out with him, if he can give you that kind of expression."
"What expression?" She touched her face and pouted.
"One I don't know you've ever made when you thought of me..." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. As much as he loved her, and didn't want to admit it, he always felt the gap in her feelings for him. "If he can make you so content, and yet have this look of longing in your eyes, he must be special. It's probably worth it to stick this one out."
"What about you? How have you been? Have you..." she trailed off, not sure she even had the right to ask.
"No, I'm not seeing anyone yet, if that's what you were going to ask. And I'm still... recovering from my loss." He stole another glance at her. "But eventually, I'll be okay. I don't know how long it'll take, but someday I'll wake up and life won't hurt so much anymore."
It's probably useless to apologize again... She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for being a great boyfriend, and I wish you the best in the future. I know you'll make some woman super happy."
He touched his cheek where her kiss lingered, and swallowed hard. "Thank you."
"By the way, how did you notice me here?"
He pointed at the cafe across the street. "I was going to grab a coffee when I spotted you heading into the park."
"You could tell it was me from that far away?"
"I think I could spot you in any crowd. I wasn't going to come over, but it felt like something might be wrong if you're in a park in the middle of the day."
"I just wanted some time to think and to stay away from Sebastian."
"You should get a restraining order."
"As if those are helpful..." she sighed. "Only if he's caught doing something bad will they do anything about it."
"I suppose you're right. But can I at least suggest you avoid being alone if you're that afraid of him? By the way, I don't know if you've deleted my number or anything, but call me if you need to. I'll come running if you need my help... as your friend. We can be friends, right?"
"Are you sure you want to be? I wouldn't even blame you if you hated me, considering how I dealt with things."
"Hate you? Never... I love you, Ella, and you can't truly hate someone you love. You can get angry and annoyed, and may think you hate them, but if you love them, you can't hate them."
Ella's heart wrenched, and she felt tears welling up. "T-thank you..."
His hand plopped down on her head, and he stroked her hair. "It's okay, Ella. We may not end up being close friends, but we are still friends. Anyway..." He looked at his watch. "I have to go. Don't stay here too long. I'll see you around sometime."
"Bye..." Ella watched him walk away.
How many women would've killed to have someone great like him? I must really seem insane.
Ring, ring, ring. Ella's phone went off. "Hello?" she answered without looking.
"Hey, where are you?" Leon asked.
"Nearby park, why? Do you need me to do something?"
"Alice told me about the run-in, and I came home early, but you weren't here, so I got worried. Should I come to pick you up?"
"I'm only a few minutes away by foot, so no. I'm fine, Leon, just thinking."
"I'll be right there."
Click.
"Be right there?" Ella frowned as she stared at her phone for a moment. "Why would he come here? Ah, whatever." She sighed and stared up at the sky again.
A few minutes later, Leon came jogging into the park.
"What's the rush?" Ella asked.
"A... well..." He scratched the back of his head and sat down on the swing beside her. "I finished work, so I wanted to spend time with you."
"How'd you finish early? I thought all hot-shots like you had to work extra long hours all the time."
"No, not all the time, but we do get interrupted with work when we're supposed to be off." He looked around the park and up at the rusted metal of the creaking swing. "No one's here, but there's a school not too far. The feel of nature here is nice, but it looks like it needs some restoration. More of a Zeke job, but can I ask you to look into having this place fixed up?"
"Um, sure."
"You look skeptical, but I try to have things like this restored when I find out they haven't been taken care of." Especially if she planned on visiting the park, he'd prefer it be in good shape.
"Is this a form of charity?"
"It's my own money going into it for the betterment of society, so I guess it is." Leon shrugged. "So, how about we head home?" He stood in front of her and offered his hand.
She nodded and took his hand. He laced his fingers through hers as they walked back home.
"I'm not even looking for a long-term relationship right now, and even I'm jealous," Alice said as she dragged Ella around the hotel to help customers. "He's like a literal knight in shining armour, galloping in to save the day."
"Galloping in? He didn't have a horse." Ella rolled her eyes.
"No, but you said he ran in, and I actually saw him run by in the lobby. He looked so terrified and determined. I want someone to come to save me like that." She sighed with her hand over her heart.
"Save you from what?"
"Loneliness?"
"Don't you have a date with Zeke coming up again?"
"Maybe."
"Wait... Are you serious about him?"
"Nope."
"You said that a bit too fast." Ella eyed her.
"Quit yapping and help me fix this room. Grab that end." She pointed at the other end of the sheet.
"You seem to work in these rooms a lot; are they not getting you to personally help with guests?"
"I'll have you know, I've helped plenty of guests since we started here, but when I end up switching someone's room for a specific view or whatever, Jenny asks me to fix the previous room up. In fact, this morning I had to give someone a full overview of the town and make arrangements for them for the next two weeks!"
"Working hard, then?"
"Of course! This is my floor, and it's always full of people looking for help."
"You know, if we need more staff, I can get Leon to hire more people. He actually offered to hire Charlie and Kyra."
"The four of us can be together again? But this isn't as close to their houses... I don't know if they'd come."
"It does pay better."
"True."
Ring, ring. Alice answered her phone. "We'll be right there." She hung up. "And you thought I didn't work as an actual concierge. Let's go." Alice hooked her arm through Ella's and dragged her away.
---
"You weren't kidding about them being demanding in this place..." Ella sighed. She had watched Alice deal with a customer for the last hour. They even roped her into helping them exercise at their gym.
"It's nothing we haven't done before." Alice nudged her elbow. "We're experienced at this; that's why they brought us in. Although, this place has way more amenities than our old hotel did. More work, but also more interesting. You haven't had to do much concierge work since coming here, have you?" Alice wiggled her eyebrows.
"Nope; I'm more like a housekeeper."
"More like a housewife." Alice laughed.
Ella gave her a light shove as they walked down the hall. Alice stumbled into someone. "Sorry!" They both apologized.
He turned around and smirked. "Oh look, twice in one day," Sebastian said.
"You..." Alice growled at him.
Ella gripped Alice's shoulder. "Calm down..."
"Actually, I was looking for someone to help me, so this is perfect."
"You want me to check you out early and get you a taxi out?" Alice asked. Her head tilted to the side as she smiled, tight-lipped.
"Aren't you a bundle of fun? No, of course, I don't want to check out. I just got here today, and I'll be here all week. That said, I'd like a personal concierge." He looked over her shoulder at Ella.
Ella shivered and looked away from him, her grip on Alice tightening.
"She's already taken, but I can help you out," Alice said.
"But I'd prefer—"
"She is a full-time personal concierge of someone, so she can't be someone else's personal concierge."
"Tch... Fine; you'll have to do."
"Alice... Don't," Ella whispered. "He's dangerous."
Alice glanced back at her with a dark glint in her eyes. "Well, so am I."
"Don't do anything stupid."
"What fun is that?" Alice rolled her eyes. "Now, what do you need?" she asked, turning back to Sebastian.
"Quite a few things," he replied. He glanced back at Ella before letting Alice lead him away, chatting his ear off.
"Ha... I need to get out of here." Figuring nobody would bother to complain to her, she headed out of the building for a walk.
I haven't spent much time in this area yet... It'd be best for a concierge to know all the best places around, but I don't feel like dealing with people right now. She sighed, looking at all the shops lining both sides of the street.
Ella kept walking until she happened upon a small, empty park. Parks had always felt like a safe place for her to sit and think while enjoying the nearby nature. She sat on one of the swings and looked up at the trees above her.
A cool breeze blew past, and she closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath.
A lot had happened recently, including many changes, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Ella? It's really you?"
A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
She slowly lowered her head until he came into view. "Nathan..." She swallowed and gripped the metal chains of the swing tighter.
"I can't believe it's you. It both feels like it's been a while and not long at the same time." He approached her and pointed at the swing next to hers. "Do you mind?"
"N-no..."
"Thanks." He sat down and looked up at the sky. "So, how have you been?"
Ella held her hands in her lap, covering the ring on her finger. "Fine, I guess."
"You don't sound fine."
"Just a lot of blasts from the past recently... I'm sorry about everything, by the way."
"I guess I am part of your past already." Nathan sighed. "You don't have to apologize again, but I have to know: have you found what you're looking for, yet?"
"What?" She finally looked at him.
"Someone who gives you the feeling you're looking for."
"I'm not sure."
"I see..." He nodded and glanced at her hands. "I know I probably don't have a shot after the talk we had, but I miss you so much. I always feel like you'll come walking back through my door one day, and get disappointed when you don't."
"I'm sorry..."
"Stop apologizing. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, just letting you know the extent of my feelings... and honestly, wondering if you've missed me at all."
"Of course, I have. With so much going on these days, I can't help but remember how comfortable things were with you. So yes, I've missed you, but I'm not looking to get back together or anything."
"Ha... Trust me, I know. You made it quite clear we didn't have a future together, though I can't help but wonder how it would've looked."
Ella thought about it for a moment. "Probably like a normal married couple, if I didn't have the habit of running away. I've been trying to work on that, but running into Sebastian has made it hard."
Nathan's eyes widened. They hadn't talked about him extensively, but he knew enough to know Sebastian being around meant trouble. "A-are you okay? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"
"Thankfully, he didn't have a chance to, since I have some awesome friends and..." Leon.
"I was afraid to hear of it, but you have a new man in your life, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"So let me ask again, does he give you that feeling we were missing?"
I'd rather he not know about it, but... it's too late, I guess. "I think so... It hasn't been that long, so it's hard to tell."
Nathan nodded. "The early spark you're hoping will last?"
"Somewhat, but it's a bit different. I don't know how to describe it."
"Well, I hope things work out with him, if he can give you that kind of expression."
"What expression?" She touched her face and pouted.
"One I don't know you've ever made when you thought of me..." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. As much as he loved her, and didn't want to admit it, he always felt the gap in her feelings for him. "If he can make you so content, and yet have this look of longing in your eyes, he must be special. It's probably worth it to stick this one out."
"What about you? How have you been? Have you..." she trailed off, not sure she even had the right to ask.
"No, I'm not seeing anyone yet, if that's what you were going to ask. And I'm still... recovering from my loss." He stole another glance at her. "But eventually, I'll be okay. I don't know how long it'll take, but someday I'll wake up and life won't hurt so much anymore."
It's probably useless to apologize again... She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for being a great boyfriend, and I wish you the best in the future. I know you'll make some woman super happy."
He touched his cheek where her kiss lingered, and swallowed hard. "Thank you."
"By the way, how did you notice me here?"
He pointed at the cafe across the street. "I was going to grab a coffee when I spotted you heading into the park."
"You could tell it was me from that far away?"
"I think I could spot you in any crowd. I wasn't going to come over, but it felt like something might be wrong if you're in a park in the middle of the day."
"I just wanted some time to think and to stay away from Sebastian."
"You should get a restraining order."
"As if those are helpful..." she sighed. "Only if he's caught doing something bad will they do anything about it."
"I suppose you're right. But can I at least suggest you avoid being alone if you're that afraid of him? By the way, I don't know if you've deleted my number or anything, but call me if you need to. I'll come running if you need my help... as your friend. We can be friends, right?"
"Are you sure you want to be? I wouldn't even blame you if you hated me, considering how I dealt with things."
"Hate you? Never... I love you, Ella, and you can't truly hate someone you love. You can get angry and annoyed, and may think you hate them, but if you love them, you can't hate them."
Ella's heart wrenched, and she felt tears welling up. "T-thank you..."
His hand plopped down on her head, and he stroked her hair. "It's okay, Ella. We may not end up being close friends, but we are still friends. Anyway..." He looked at his watch. "I have to go. Don't stay here too long. I'll see you around sometime."
"Bye..." Ella watched him walk away.
How many women would've killed to have someone great like him? I must really seem insane.
Ring, ring, ring. Ella's phone went off. "Hello?" she answered without looking.
"Hey, where are you?" Leon asked.
"Nearby park, why? Do you need me to do something?"
"Alice told me about the run-in, and I came home early, but you weren't here, so I got worried. Should I come to pick you up?"
"I'm only a few minutes away by foot, so no. I'm fine, Leon, just thinking."
"I'll be right there."
Click.
"Be right there?" Ella frowned as she stared at her phone for a moment. "Why would he come here? Ah, whatever." She sighed and stared up at the sky again.
A few minutes later, Leon came jogging into the park.
"What's the rush?" Ella asked.
"A... well..." He scratched the back of his head and sat down on the swing beside her. "I finished work, so I wanted to spend time with you."
"How'd you finish early? I thought all hot-shots like you had to work extra long hours all the time."
"No, not all the time, but we do get interrupted with work when we're supposed to be off." He looked around the park and up at the rusted metal of the creaking swing. "No one's here, but there's a school not too far. The feel of nature here is nice, but it looks like it needs some restoration. More of a Zeke job, but can I ask you to look into having this place fixed up?"
"Um, sure."
"You look skeptical, but I try to have things like this restored when I find out they haven't been taken care of." Especially if she planned on visiting the park, he'd prefer it be in good shape.
"Is this a form of charity?"
"It's my own money going into it for the betterment of society, so I guess it is." Leon shrugged. "So, how about we head home?" He stood in front of her and offered his hand.
She nodded and took his hand. He laced his fingers through hers as they walked back home.
