Ella turned in her bed just as the bed side alarm went off,signaling that the time was five am. She sighed and buried her nose into the soft pillow,feeling too tired to get up from the bed.

She went to bed late last night because she was busy exploring the house, and what she found surprised her greatly. The house has an indoor pool,a gym room, two parlours,one large kitchen and several rooms at each floor. But what really stumped her was the out door pool,or should she call it a river?

The outdoor pool was divided into three parts. A smaller one for children, a medium one for anyone apart from children and a much larger one for many people,that is if he was throwing a party. The pool looked so beautiful a and captivating just like the house.

The house was,in one word, Magnificent.

Just like the owner. A little voice whispered in her head.

Shaking the thought off,she got out of bed and walked into the large en-suite bathroom. She did her business,brushed her teeth and washed her face before hurrying downstairs to the kitchen.

Her own room was located on the first floor while Ansela's room was located on the second floor as William's. Last night before Ansela went to bed,she had shown Ella her room and gave her an oversized T-shirt and shorts.

Ella had gone to bed after setting her alarm to five am,hoping she would finish cooking and hide out before any one got up.

Most especially William. She did not have any idea as to what he would say when they see each other,so to avoid any awkward encounter,she decided to get an early start and finish before he came down.

Ella checked the freezer and cupboards for the stuff they have at home and she was glad to see that, the freezer was well stocked up. Deciding that she would make Carbonara pasta and carrot and Zucchini muffins,she got out the ingredients and set to work.

She began to hum softly to herself as she worked,not realising that she was not alone anymore. She finished the pasta and moved to the oven to get out the now ready muffins from the oven. She bent over ,forgetting that she was not holding a napkin,she reached for the hot tray,only to jump back when it burnt her fingers.

"Ouch!" She yelped,while holding her fingers in front of her.

Ella's eyes widened in surprise, when William suddenly came from nowhere and reached for her injured hand. The pain became a distant memory when his strong but soft fingers wrapped around her wrist gently; he bent his head slightly to inspect her,now red,fingers.

"You could have used the kitchen towel,you know?" His voice sent shivers down her spine,and warmth began to spread in her lower region.

Ella cleared her throat and attempted to snatch her hand from his,but he held on firmly not letting her go.

"I- I am fine." Ella tried to snatch her hands away,and this time,his eyes met hers.

It felt as if all air had been sucked out of the room at the contact. Hazel eyes met dark ones and they locked together,each of them lost in the other one. Ella felt her breath quicken when he moved a little closer to her,so that their nose was almost touching.

She gulped when he moved closer still,so their foreheads were touching. Her body felt hot and cold at the same time at the contact,and even though her brain was sending an information to her mind,her body was not receiving it. Ella saw his mouth coming towards hers,her mind screamed at her to push him away but yet again,her body didn't receive the signal.

She closed her eyes and lifted her mouth for the kiss. Just as she felt his breath on her lips and prepared herself for the kiss, someone cleared their throat,shattering the moment.

William stepped away from her as if she burned him and hurried out of the kitchen after answering Ansela's good morning with his own.

Ella grabbed the nearest Kitchen towel, took the muffin tray out of the oven and moved to the kitchen sink to wash the plates without meeting Ansela's eyes.

"So..." Ansela jumped with her fist pumping in the air in excitement.  "I thought you said that you and my brother are just boss and maid hmm?"

Ella ignored her and continued to do the dishes.

Ansela reached for one hot muffin,but had to drop it back since it was still hot. "Ella?"

"Drop it Annie."

"Okay." Ansela shrugged. "If you won't tell me anything then you have to go shopping with me."

Ella placed the last plate in the drainer before facing Ansela,all the while wiping her hands on another kitchen towel.

"If I don't want to?"

"Then you are telling me what just happened here few minutes ago."

Ella groaned. "Fine. But I have to go home to get some of my clothes since I would stay here for three days,this week."

"You won't be needing it." Ansela picked a cool muffin and began to munch on it.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see." Ansela hopped off her stool. "Go and get ready,Ace would serve our food."

"Who is Ace?" Ella frowned.

As far as she knew,she saw only three people yesterday. She,Ansela and William.

Oh, and William's guest.

"That would be me." Another voice quipped.

Ella turned her gaze to the door,and the person standing at the door,dressed in a knee length satin gown and barefooted,  was the beautiful dark haired lady from last night.

"You?" Ella's gaze snapped to Ansela who was grinning at her. "Why are you smiling?"

"Ace told me what you said to her yesterday. How do you think my brother would react when I tell him that you thought that the Gardner was his lover?" Ansela was laughing now.

Ace joined in too. Ella smiled at the absurdity of it all. She had been jealous for no reason.

Huh? Wait a minute.

There's no way that, she would be jealous of the women William took to bed. In fact,it was not any of her business at all. William is her boss and she is his cook,simple.

"Ella?"

Ella jumped when Ansela tapped her shoulder. "What?" She snapped.

"Is someone grumpy because I interrupted their almost hot make out?" Ansela giggled at them.

"What?" Ace joined them with an excited look in her eyes. "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"Yes. They were as close as this," Ansela placed her palms in front of each other so that they were almost touching. "When I walked in. Now that I think of it,I should have waited for them to kiss before making my presence known."

"I want every juicy detail." Ace squeaked. "Ella,right? Tell me."

"Oh,I forgot that I left the shower tap on,excuse me." Ella half-walked,half-ran out of the kitchen.

"Such a flimsy excuse." Ace told Ansela who was still giggling.

"Flimsy indeed." She reached for another muffin. "Now that I know that they feel attracted to each other,my job has just been made easy."

"Good luck with that." Ace took a muffin for herself too. "I have a suggestion to make."

"What is that?"

When Ace finished telling Ansela about what she thought,the two of them were grinning like a cat that got two mice instead of milk.

~*~*~*~

William was seated in his office thinking about what almost happened this morning when someone knocked on his door.

He can't believe that he almost kissed Ella. That shouldn't have happened and even if he thought of it many times,he couldn't figure out why he almost did.

He didn't love her nor did he feel any like towards her,so why then did he almost kiss her?

William sighed. He told himself that playing around with Cassie's friend when he was in love with Cassie herself was a bad idea,which means that he would have to make sure that nothing of such sort would happen ever again.

"Will?"

William looked up to see Mandalena sitting on one of the chairs one the other side of the desk.

He frowned. "When did you get in?"

"Just now. I knocked but got no reply so I decided to enter." Mandalena crossed one leg over the other,her short pink skirt hiking up to expose one white fresh lap. "You were lost in thought when I came in,what happened?"

"Nothing." He adjusted his tie. "Why are you here?"

Mandalena tilted her head to one side,her lips pursed in anger. "Can't I come say hello to you again?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it." William sighed. "Let me rephrase that,what brings you here today?"

She smiled. "I came to see you. Are you busy?"

"No. Why?"

"I was thinking that we would eat out and catch up on old times."

William knew that he should decline the offer,because accepting would mean that he was egging her on. After all It was no secret that Mandalena had a crush on him,when they were younger.

He started to decline,but when the door opened and Ella,carrying a lunch basket with a napkin concealing the contents from view, walked in with his sister, he agreed to her offer.

"Yes,I would love to eat out with you." His eyes met Ella's and he saw something flash in them,but before he could place a name to it,it was gone.

"Mr Mckade. Miss." Ella nodded in greeting to them.

"Miss Milestone." William nodded politely. "Ansela."

His sister threw him a glare. William watched in bewilderment, when his sister grabbed Ella's arm and pulled her out of the office without a glance in Mandalena's direction.

"What just happened?" Mandalena inquired as she got up on her feet.

"Never mind that." He got up too. "Come, let's go."