Whispers Between Us

Wrong Kind of Jealous

Lia avoided Ethan for three days.

Or at least, she tried to.

Unfortunately, avoiding your boss became difficult when your boss seemed to appear everywhere.

Every meeting.

Every hallway.

Every elevator.

Every moment of her day.

It was infuriating.

On the third day, Ethan finally noticed.

Actually, he had probably noticed on the first day.

But this was Ethan.

He liked waiting until people trapped themselves before speaking.

"Lia."

She looked up from her laptop.

"What?"

"Look at me."

"No."

A pause.

Then—

"Interesting."

Lia immediately regretted responding.

By lunchtime, Sophia was openly amused.

"You know he's noticed, right?"

"I don't care."

"You do."

"I don't."

Sophia smiled into her coffee.

"That's exactly what someone who cares would say."

The afternoon should have been normal.

It wasn't.

Because Ethan decided to make her life difficult.

Again.

"You're coming with me."

Lia didn't even look up.

"No."

"That wasn't a request."

"It should've been."

Ethan placed a folder on her desk.

"Conference room."

"What for?"

"A meeting."

Her suspicion grew instantly.

"What kind of meeting?"

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"The kind where you stop asking questions and follow me."

Twenty minutes later, Lia sat inside one of Blackwood Tower's largest conference rooms.

Executives filled every seat.

Investors occupied the rest.

The atmosphere felt serious.

Important.

Expensive.

Very expensive.

Then the doors opened.

And Victoria walked in.

Lia's stomach immediately sank.

Fantastic.

Exactly what she needed.

More opportunities to embarrass herself.

Victoria greeted Ethan with an easy smile.

"Sorry I'm late."

"You're not."

The familiarity bothered Lia more than it should have.

She hated that.

The meeting began.

Numbers.

Contracts.

Investments.

Business terms that made Lia's brain hurt.

She focused on taking notes.

Anything to avoid looking at Ethan and Victoria.

Anything to avoid thinking about why it bothered her.

Halfway through the meeting, an investor laughed.

"You two still aren't married?"

The room went silent.

Lia's pen froze.

Completely froze.

Across the table, Victoria laughed softly.

Several executives smiled.

Apparently this wasn't the first time someone had asked.

Lia suddenly became very interested in her notes.

Extremely interested.

Fascinated, even.

Then Ethan spoke.

"No."

Just one word.

Calm.

Simple.

Final.

The investor chuckled.

"Could've fooled me."

More laughter followed.

Lia forced herself to keep writing.

Even though she couldn't hear the sound of her pen anymore over the pounding of her heartbeat.

When the meeting finally ended, she escaped immediately.

Or tried to.

"Lia."

Of course.

Of course Ethan caught her.

Again.

She turned.

"What?"

Ethan studied her face.

Carefully.

The way he always did when he thought she wasn't being honest.

"You're upset."

"No."

"You are."

"No."

"You are."

Lia groaned.

"Do you have any other dialogue?"

For the first time all day, Ethan actually smiled.

A real smile.

Small.

Brief.

Dangerously attractive.

Lia's heart betrayed her instantly.

Again.

Before she could recover, another voice joined them.

"Am I interrupting?"

Victoria.

Perfect.

Just perfect.

Victoria looked between them.

Then smiled.

A knowing smile.

The kind adults used when they thought they understood something.

It made Lia nervous.

Very nervous.

"You two are close."

Lia nearly choked.

"We are not."

Victoria laughed.

Ethan remained suspiciously silent.

"Oh?" Victoria asked.

"He's my boss."

"And?"

"And that's it."

Victoria's smile somehow widened.

For reasons Lia couldn't understand.

Or maybe didn't want to.

A moment later, Victoria's phone rang.

She excused herself and stepped away.

The second she was gone, Lia relaxed.

Unfortunately, Ethan noticed that too.

"You don't like her."

Lia blinked.

"What?"

"You don't like Victoria."

"I do."

"No, you don't."

"I do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

The argument continued for nearly a minute.

Until Ethan finally leaned closer.

Just slightly.

Close enough that her pulse immediately sped up.

Close enough that she forgot what she was saying.

Then he spoke.

Quietly.

Calmly.

Confidently.

"You're jealous."

Lia's entire brain stopped working.

For a full three seconds.

Maybe four.

Then she exploded.

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!"

Half the hallway turned to look.

Ethan didn't even flinch.

The traitor.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

"There it is."

Lia wanted the floor to open and swallow her whole.

Because the worst part wasn't that Ethan had said it.

The worst part was that for the first time...

She wasn't completely sure he was wrong.