ELLA WAS SUMMONED INTO MR. Bentmoore’s office the next day.
“Well, Miss Peterson, your training period has officially come to an end. I trust you have learned a lot with us.”
“Yes, Sir. I have.” She tilted her head and gave him a wry grin as they shared a laden look, one filled with deep understanding.
She was wearing the same clothes she had worn the day she had arrived to the Hotel Bentmoore, but the woman inside them had gone through a drastic change. Her eyes were free of all the self-loathing and shame they had been filled with before. Now her whole demeanor held strength, gentle confidence, and a vast wealth of knowledge.
“Mr. Bentmoore, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”
“It was nothing, Miss Peterson. It’s what we do here.”
“But you knew I was lying to you all along, and you still took me in.”
“You needed our help, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “I did indeed.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what are your plans now?”
Ella’s expression turned inward. “I think I’ll go back to the station, and ask for my old job back. I left it for the wrong reasons. I’m not going to let other people interfere with my plans and goals like that again.”
“And the producer you were involved with?”
She made a face. “Maybe I’ll try to work thinks out with him. Maybe I won’t. I haven’t decided yet…but whatever I decide, it will be my choice.”
“That’s good to hear. You’ve spoken to Mr. Cox already?”
“Yes, Sir.” Ella turned wistful as she remembered. Her last conversation with Mr. Cox, just an hour before, had been short and sweet.
“You’ve learned enough to have a strong foundation,” he’d said. “Now you need to build on it. Go back out in the real world, be the woman I know you can be. Make your mark—and remember that your submission can never be a sign of weakness. Give it to the right man, and it will only make you a stronger woman.”
Ella swallowed back threatening tears. “When can I come back?”
Mr. Cox had kissed her then, gently, holding her head still with both his hands so she couldn’t get away. When he had finally pulled away, he looked at her with an intensity in his eyes Ella had never seen before.
“Don’t come back,” he’d whispered.
He had walked out the door then, leaving Ella behind, stunned.
She thought maybe she understood why he had left her with those last parting words: he didn’t want her using the Hotel Bentmoore as a place to run away from her problems. He wanted her to be strong, and make it on her own.
At least, that’s what she hoped he had meant. The alternative was that he never wanted to see her again, and that idea was too painful to contemplate.
Mr. Bentmoore cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I have to bring this up, but—any thought of publishing that story about the Hotel Bentmoore…?”
“Won’t happen, Sir. Your secrets are safe with me.”
“I’m happy to hear that, Miss Peterson. Very, very happy.” He gave her a warm parting smile. “I’ll have someone show you to your car. Have a safe drive home.”
