Jamal pushed his chair back,got up,picked his glass cup which contained Blue Hawaii,before sauntering to the beach. His eyes picked the cruiser that was just moving out of the dock,at the far end.

The lights spilling from the deck,made everything clear. He could pick out the head of two people, and he didn't need any telling about who they were.

He knew them,since he himself was the one who led William to the excursion reception office. He also knew that the woman with him was Ella.

Jamal sipped his cold drink as if that would help wash away the burning jealousy he was feeling at the moment.

He wanted Ella.

He wanted her so badly that he would do anything,just got make her his. The truth is that he didn't even know where to start. Jamal knew that he had only himself to blame,because if he hadn't lied to Ella about this being his first time here,she would still be talking to him,and maybe he would be the one taking her on a boat dinner,not that other man.

But if Ella thinks that he would let her go that easily,then she had another thing coming. He,Jamal,had never loose anything to anyone ever since he was born. Which is why,there's no way he would let that man have Ella without a fight.

"Hey." Maddy stopped beside him with a smirk on her small face.

Maddy had been watching Ella and William discreetly ever since she saw them together at the lagoon and what she saw so far was not pleasing at all. If that Ella keeps getting closer to William and if they keep kissing like they did this morning,it means that she would loose William forever,which is why she must act fast.

In fact,she just found someone who would prove to be of great assistance. And the person is Jamal,which is why she was here to convince him.

"Hey." He replied, without taking his eyes off the cruiser,that looked tiny in the distance.

"I am Maddy,and since I hate beating around the Bush, I would state the reason why I am here." Maddy moved a little closer to him. "I know you want Ella,am I right?"

Jamal glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. The lady was pretty,he would give her that. She looked so thin that any strong wind would blow her off her feet. Her hair and eyes were her best assets. Her light green eyes made a man want to fall on his knees and her hair had a mixture of brown and pale blonde.

If he wasn't so into Ella,he might have considered taking her to bed.

"How do you know that?"

Maddy's upper lip lifted at the corner in a half smile. "I just know,Jamal." He gave her a startled look,which made her laugh. "Don't look so surprised, I know your name already."

"You sound like a stalker."

"I am not." She patted his arm. "Back to your attraction for Ella,I can make her yours forever."

Jamal's insides became lit with hope,but he didn't let it show on his face yet. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

"You don't have to." She shrugged. "But if you really want Ella for yourself,then you would."

"Let's say I agree,now. What would you do to make her come to me willingly?"

"Many things,believe me. And I am not sharing until you agree. The choice is yours."

Jamal scratched his head with his free hand. "Why do you want to help me?"

"I am not helping you,I am helping me." Maddy clenched her hands. "The man with her is my business,I want him for myself. That won't be possible if he's still with her."

"They are not dating."

"Not yet anyway." She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I know William all to well. He does not just organize private candlelight dinner for just anyone. Ella may not know it yet,bit William is into her as she is into him. They don't realise it yet, which is why we have to act fast before it's too late."

"I can still try my luck with Ella. I can win her back."

Maddy chuckled. "Yeah? Maybe you can,after William and her get all cosy. Oh,or maybe when she gets pregnant with his first baby. Or maybe---"

"Enough!"

Maddy gasped when she saw blood dripping down his right palm. The glass cup holding his cocktail was shattered by his bare hand.

"I don't want to hear about that bastard placing his hand on what's mine."

"William is not a bastard." She glared at him. "I don't have time for this bickering of yours,are you going to help me or not?"

Jamal stared at the place where he saw the cruiser last only to find it empty. He bared his teeth in anger,aching to punch someone badly. "Yes,I am in. What do we need to do?"

"We'll discuss that later. First let's get your plan cleaned, there we can start plotting  the plan A."

Jamal threw one last look at the sea before following her.

~*~*~*~*~

Ella flashed William a smile from across the table. Her insides fluttered when he gave her an answering one of his own.

Dinner was great so far. Ella couldn't understand half of what was written on the menu so William had ordered for the both of them. She found that she loved the French dishes,something named Baguette, soupe à l'oignon gratinée and croque monsieur.

She didn't expect it to be so delicious and refreshing but it was. He was currently pouring her a wine called Merlot. According to William,the wine was an old one and few people drink it nowadays, unlike back in the nineties. Since she was not a wine expert,she agreed with him.

Ella didn't know if this was a date or not. They kissed thrice,yes,but did that mean that they are now dating,like officially?

Golly! Not being experienced in the relationship area was a real pain in the butt. She thought sheepishly.

"Thank you." She told him,when he gave her the full glass cup.

William picked his own glass cup. "You are welcome. Let's make a toast to our friendship."

Ella clinked her glass with his. "To us and our friendship."

"To us." He replied. William lift the rim of the glass cup to his lips,his gaze never wandering from hers. "So Raffy,what's your most vivid childhood memory?"

She placed her cup on the table before leaning back in her chair. "I have so many,but the most interesting one is the day,huh, one of my many friends at the orphanage where I grew up,his name is Aiden, played a prank on of the sisters. He sneaked a frog into her pocket and the woman went berserk when she heard croaking in her pockets. God, it so was hilarious."

William chuckled at that. "Mine is even worse. It happened when mom was pregnant with Annie,I was about ten years old then. Mom was pregnant with Annie then." He sipped from his cup. "Kade and I were playing ball in the compound and I mistakenly kicked the ball to where mom was sitting on the verandah, I think mom must have kept it or something. When Kade went to mom,he asked her to give him the ball she was hiding under her clothes. Mom was shocked that day and even I. I remember teasing Kaden for that for a very long time."

William's insides melted at the sound of her silvery laugh. His hands hitched to hold her close to him and never let go. But then he knew that he must take things one at a time,so he won't scare her away.

"That's epic. Wait till I see Kaden and tease him mercilessly about this." Ella clasped her hands together as she leaned her elbows on the table,so that her chin rested on her hands. "My turn to ask a question."

"Are we playing a game of twenty questions?" He asked teasingly.

"Maybe." She grinned.

"Hit me then."

"Back in high school,were you the popular type,badass type or nerdy type?"

"Nerdy."

Ella let out a laugh. "Nerd? You? Why do I find that hard to believe? I can't imagine you wearing glasses and baggy clothes."

"You wound me."  He faked a hurt look. "I didn't wear glasses back in high school,nor did I wear baggy clothes. I was just more into books than parties and booze."

Ella giggled at the look on his face. "You must have gotten straight A's then?"

"Yes. But I got a C in my English in third grade. What about you?"

"I bounced between B,C and D. The sister's never complained though,so it didn't really matter."

"What about your parents? Did you ever meet them for once?"

Ella looked out to the silvery sea. "No. The word came out painfully. "The sisters said that they found me outside the orphanage home on a snowy day,I three months old then. That was all they told me."

William became angry with her parents,who ever they are. What type of parent would leave an infant out in the cold? What if the sister's didn't come out on time? What would have happened?

"I am sorry." He told her.

Ella smiled sadly at him. "Let's forget about all that. Tell me,what is something you were or are bad at? True fact,I didn't learn to tie my shoes until I was in high school."

William laughed. "I can imagine. I am really bad at cooking,I managed to set the pan on fire while making scrambled eggs."

"Wow,you really suck at it." She jeered playfully. "Poor baby. Don't worry,I am a better cook."

William was about to reply when the sailor announced that they had reached the dock.

"Come let's go." He helped her out of her chair. After a quick thank you to the sailor,he lead her down the stairs.

When they were safely on the sand,Ella tugged her hand from his. She removed her shoes,then stood up straight. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"What?"

William shook his head. "I wonder why ladies go through the trouble of wearing those high things when they would only feel uncomfortable in the end."

Ella began to move forward and was glad when he fell into step beside her. "that's like asking a man why he watches football."

"Right." He agreed.

They both fell silent. By the time they got to the stilts,the beach was deserted,it looked as if no one was there earlier,save for the chairs and tables that was still on the beach.

"I feel so tired." Ella complained as she was about to step on the stilts.

Out of reflex,William's arms shot out and caught her by the waist the same time her foot slipped. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips,when their eyes met. William wanted to kiss her again,right there, she must have realised it too because her lips parted in invitation.

Instead of just giving in and kissing her,he set her back on the stilts and only let her go when he was sure that she was balanced.

Ella avoided his gaze all the way to their villa. She was aware of him standing behind her while she unlocked her door. She turned to tell him goodnight,but once again this night,he surprised her by pulling her into his arms and placing a kiss on her forehead.

Feeling content,she lay her head on his chest with a sigh. "Thank you for dinner,I enjoyed it."

"I am glad that you did." He murmured. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"No. Why?"

"It's a surprise." He held her away from him so that he could see her face. "See you by eight tomorrow. I know a place where you would love to eat breakfast."

Ella yawned. "Okay. Good night."

"Night." After placing a chaste kiss on her lips,he released her before going into his own room.

Ella entered the villa with a smile playing on her lips. Anu was right. Speaking of Anu,she would drop by at the girl's place tomorrow.

When she went to bed that night,she dreamed of a certain person with dark hair and hazel eyes.

~*~*~*~

"See? I told you didn't I?" Maddy gave Jamal the I-told-you-so look.

Jamal clenched his teeth at the sight of William hugging Ella. It should be him that Ella is hugging not William.

"You still haven't told me what we would do."

Maddy smirked. "Now,that's a good boy. Plan A is...."

,-----------------------------------------------------

And so it begins.

This is just a quick and short message. I have entered my book "The millionaire and The florist" for the prestige awards competition, the squad writing awards,the rose awards and the golden pen awards. I need your votes,please vote for my story to win!!"

Thank you. BTW,it's really freezing here,bruhhhhh.

Thank you for listening to rant. As usual see you next page. *peeking from under hoodie and waving*