Chapter 4: The Worst Guys
1309 Words
The next two days felt endless. Maybe because I was counting down the hours to dinner with Adam, a meet-up I'd been looking forward to ever since we'd talked on the phone the same day I received his text.
Or maybe it had something to do with the tension hanging thick between Ethan and me. Since our first encounter on his first day, things had been stilted. Beyond the required work pleasantries, there was nothing. No warmth. Just cold professionalism.
I tried not to take it personally, convincing myself that he was simply drawing boundaries. That this was his way of keeping things strictly professional. So when Judy, his assistant, had called me earlier that morning asking me to come see him during lunch break, I couldn't shake the feeling something was off.
Sure, there was nothing inherently wrong with the CEO requesting a meeting. But after replaying the call a dozen times in my head, I still couldn't come up with a single reason he'd want to see me.
By 11:30, my stomach growled, reminding me it was time for lunch. I quickly grabbed my things, intending to check in with Ethan before meeting Em at our usual spot, a café that made the best sandwiches in town.
I stepped into the elevator and headed up to the top floor. It was the first time I'd come up since Robert had gotten hospitalised.The moment the elevator doors opened, I noticed the clear difference of the environment.
What was once a sterile, corporate waiting area had transformed into a surprisingly cozy lounge. It felt too relaxing, like a trap laid for nerves.
I knocked softly at the door, but there was no response. I knocked again, a little harder, then paused, wondering if I was disturbing a phone call. But the door wasn't locked, so I figured I might as well go in.
When I opened the door, I immediately wished I hadn't.
There was Ethan, standing next to an almost completely naked woman, her body draped over the desk, lips locked in a kiss that was clearly heading in a direction I had no business witnessing.
My heart sank, stammering and horrified. "I'm so sorry," I muttered, quickly looking away. "I didn't know you were, uh... occupied."
The woman, barely covered by a bra and a half-finished shirt, shot me a scathing look. "Maybe if you had a modicum of manners, you'd know you're supposed to knock before barging into someone's office," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest as she glared at me with a posh British accent that only seemed to make her rudeness sound sharper.
I froze for a moment, taken aback by her accusation. But then, the anger I had been suppressing all morning rushed to the surface. My voice came out sharp, cutting through the tension in the room.
"I did knock," I said, my gaze hardening as I lifted my chin, meeting her eyes squarely. "Perhaps if you'd been paying attention, you would have heard me."
Her expression faltered for just a moment, but then she scoffed and rolled her eyes, clearly unfazed. I didn't give her a chance to say anything more before I turned my attention to Ethan, who had started to smooth things over with her.
"Darling," he said, placing a hand on her arm. Darling? My stomach twisted at the word.
The words "two-timing jerk" screamed through my mind, and I could feel my pulse quickening. I couldn't believe I had ever thought there might be something between us.
I cleared my throat. "You called for me?"
"What- what do you mean?" He arched one annoyingly perfect brow, confused.
"Judy said you requested to see me," I responded, getting irritated by the minute.
"Eth, I've told you that woman is so incompetent," little miss Kate Middleton, chipped in, now looking prim and perfect as if she wasn't just the half naked disheveled woman I'd walked in on earlier.
He ran his hand across his face, jaw clenched. "She's still here only because I haven't found a replacement. I asked her to tell you to send in the report on the project we're currently working on."
I opened my mouth to speak, to say something. But then I realized there was nothing I could say that would make a difference. It was all so painfully clear now.
"Excuse me," I muttered, the words coming out colder than I intended, but I didn't care. I turned on my heel, not waiting for either of them to respond.
As I exited the office, the muffled sounds of their conversation followed me, but I was done listening. My feet moved quickly down the hallway, my heart pounding as my mind swirled with everything I had just seen and felt.
The position I found them in at the office, told me everything I needed to know.
I stepped into the elevator, feeling a mix of disgust, humiliation, and rage. My reflection stared back at me in the elevator doors, and for a moment, I didn't even recognize myself. How had I let him in? How had I let a man like that get under my skin?
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them away. No. Not now. Not for him.
I just needed to get out. Out of the building. Out of this goddamn story I'd walked into without meaning to.
***
After the whole roller coaster of emotions, I'd been subjected to all through the week, I needed a drink, desperately. Something to take off the edge and unwind for the night, while watching a series I'd been dragging out for months.
I stood in front of the wine section, overwhelmed by the endless rows of bottles. My indecisiveness, of course, was costing me more time than I'd planned to spend here, I groaned putting back a bottle to its place.
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I glanced at the screen. "Mum." Great.
"Well, thank the heavens I wasn't redirected to your voicemail. Your "work" seems to be taking a whole lot of your time these days," she scolded before I even had a chance to speak.
Mum hated my job. No matter how much I earned or how passionately I defended it, it never met her expectations. Sometimes, I wondered if Dad had felt the same way when they were still together.
I sighed. "Mum, my phone was in my purse."
"Fine. How are you? I hope you're not planning on spending the night behind your laptop again."
"No, Em and I are going out," I lied as a way to bring the conversation to an end. "We're leaving soon."
"Oh, that's alright. I'm glad you're finally learning to live a little."
"Yeah, sure."
"Well I just wanted to let you know that, we're hosting a family reunion this weekend, and so far, you've only come to two, there are a lot of family members that have been asking about you ."
The correct thing to say was, "nosy relatives still gossiping about how Eric took in the children of his mistress". I didn't blame them for their judgement. After all, their relationship started out as an affair.
"Mum, there are like a dozen holidays where you host one of these things. I think I deserve a pass."
"It would mean a lot to Eric and me. Especially Marisa."
I felt slight guilt at my cold response to her efforts.
"Fine," I relented. "Can't exactly say no, can I?"
"I'm looking forward to seeing you," she said, her voice brightening. "Eric's been trying to reach you. You should give him a call."
"Sure. I will." Not.
"Alright. Take care. I love you Olive."
Olive, I hated that she called me that. Dad used to call me that.
"Yeah. Me too."
The line went dead.
- Writer
