Twenty-Two | Eva
Twenty-Two
Eva
The day had been long and exhausting as I replayed my conversation with Ethan this morning over and over in my head. It felt like the past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions, from finding out about Cora to Ethan confessing that he wanted a relationship with me. I knew it was immature to walk away at breakfast this morning, but the thought that he wanted to keep me—us—a secret really got to me. I couldn’t put my finger on why it bothered me so much because it wasn’t like he was trying to hide me for no reason. From a legal standpoint, I clearly understood why he didn’t want to tell anyone about our relationship, given the nature of the current lawsuit against him.
Maybe it was that I hadn’t really had time to process his confession, or maybe it was that I was still trying to figure out my own feelings about all of it. I wasn’t lying when I told Ethan that I wanted to be with him, too, but I never stopped to think about what kind of implication that could have on my career. Starting at a new law firm and sleeping with your boss didn’t exactly scream professional, and the last thing I wanted was for anyone to question how I got the position I did.
It was almost five o’clock, and Ethan was still in his meeting with Brent and some woman he had brought with him. I assumed it was his girlfriend the way his eyes constantly wandered back to her when she would laugh or smile. My heart ached with the way he looked at her and how his love for her was on display for everyone to see. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had looked at me like that. Perhaps it was never, and at this rate, it didn’t seem like that would change any time soon.
I pulled my attention away from the meeting when my phone vibrated on my desk. I looked down to find a text message from Brittany. It was Thursday, which meant she wanted to get together for tacos and margaritas like we did every week. I wrinkled my nose at the thought and swiped my phone to unlock it, hoping that maybe she was sending a text to cancel instead.
Brittany: Tacos and margaritas tonight. I’ll meet you at your office in ten minutes.
I groaned and let my head fall back dramatically. It was too late to cancel now if she was meeting me in ten minutes. I sent a quick text back to her confirming that I would see her soon and tossed my phone back on my desk.
My phone vibrated again, and I felt a smidgen of excitement that she had changed her mind after all. Instead, it was a text from Lucy.
Lucy: I talked with Art, and I have a meeting with him on Monday. He spoke with Lance’s attorney, and they agreed to start with mediation to see if we can resolve this outside of court first.
Me: Jeremy. He spoke with Jeremy.
I watched for a few minutes as the dots bounced in the text message and then disappeared. Finally, her text came through.
Lucy: Sorry. I know how much you hate talking about him.
Me: I hate even more that he is representing Lance.
Lucy: Me too.
Me: When are you guys doing the mediation?
Lucy: Tuesday at 1:00 in Jeremy’s office.
Me: Seriously? Did he push to have it at his office?
Lucy: I didn’t ask how they came to an agreement. I’m just going where I’m told to go and praying that Art is as good as your boyfriend says that he is.
Me: He’s not my boyfriend.
Lucy: I’m not going to call him the other word. Gabi and Brit can keep that for themselves.
I raised my eyebrows, wondering what they were calling him behind my back.
Me: What do they call him?
The screen started bouncing with dots again, my foot tapping impatiently as I waited.
Lucy: Your f*&@ buddy. That’s the best I can do.
I rolled my eyes and let out a chuckle. Movement across the hall caught my eye and I found Brent getting up to shake Ethan’s hand as they all said their goodbyes.
“Hey, are you almost ready to go?” Brittany said as she popped into my office, startling me. Had it already been ten minutes?
“Yeah, just give me a second.” I sent a quick message back to Lucy, letting her know that I had to go, but we would talk this weekend. I turned off my computer and pulled my purse from the bottom drawer before getting up and walking over to Brittany, who was staring—no, gawking, at Ethan.
“Is that him ?” she whispered, her eyes wide as if she had just seen a million dollars.
“Yes,” I snapped, gently pushing her into the hallway as I pulled my door shut behind me. If we hurried, we could get out of there before Ethan walked out with Brent and the woman he was with.
“You dirty little liar,” she hissed, refusing to move as I tried to nudge her down the hallway.
“What did I lie about?” I asked with a high level of annoyance in my tone.
“You said he was attractive, but you failed to mention that he was panty-dropping gorgeous,” she scolded, still looking past me. “I can’t say that I blame you. I would jump on that every opportunity I had as well.”
“Okay, now you’re being ridiculous. Let’s go before they come out, or I’m not taking you for tacos,” I warned. I knew that was the keyword to get her ass moving.
“Fine.” She sighed heavily and turned to walk with me right as Ethan’s door opened and voices carried out.
Shit. We were so close to being able to get out before they saw us.
“Eva, it’s nice to see you again,” Brent said, stopping me in my tracks.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I turned around to look at him. I shot a quick warning glare at Brittany for her to be on her best behavior as I plastered on the professional smile I had mastered in my first year of law school.
“Brent, it’s nice to see you as well. How are you?”
“I’m well, thank you. This is my girlfriend, Chasity.” He wrapped a protective arm around her waist as she looked up and gave him a quick smile.
“You must be Eva,” she said before giving Ethan a smug smile. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I replied as we shook hands.
I looked up at Ethan, wondering what she meant and just how much she had heard about me. Ethan scrubbed a hand down the side of his neck as if attempting to wipe away the blush that was creeping up it.
“Well, we were just on our way out,” I said politely, smiling as I looked between the three of them. “Have a wonderful evening.”
I turned to walk away, thankful for the opportunity to get the hell out of there, when I felt a hand grab my arm and stop me.
“Sorry,” Chasity apologized. “I won’t keep you. However, Brent and I are having dinner tomorrow night at Zenkichi in Brooklyn and would love it if you and Ethan could join us.”
I looked past her over to Ethan and Brent, who both lowered their heads and avoided looking at me. What in the hell happened in that meeting, and why was this woman, who didn’t even know me, asking me to have dinner? I could feel the anxiety starting to build as I desperately tried to think of an excuse when suddenly, I was thankful that, for once, I had real plans.
“I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, I can’t make it. I have plans with my sisters for dinner and drinks tomorrow night.” I pulled my lips together in a sympathetic smile and slightly tilted my head to the side. I watched as Chasity’s face fell with disappointment. She glanced over her shoulder before turning back to me.
“Well, maybe another time,” she offered as she held her hands together in front of her.
I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, and she seemed to be a very sweet person. But not knowing what was said about me in that meeting, I had my walls up.
I nodded and was about to turn around to leave when Brittany decided to speak up.
“I actually just got a text message from Gabi that they have to cancel tomorrow night. Jackson is sick.” Her voice cracked at the end, and I could hear the lies as she spit them out. I narrowed my eyes at her as I clenched my jaw. She smirked before she continued, “I also have to cancel for tonight. I just found out that my grandmother is visiting from out of town.”
I shook my head and then arched an eyebrow at her. She was unbelievable.
“Your grandma is dead,” I bit out quietly, but the chuckle from Brent confirmed it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Well, we’re very spiritual, and we never say no to random visits. So, yeah, I gotta go.” She laughed nervously as my icy stare penetrated her soul. Or at least I hoped it did.
She turned on her heel and was down the hallway before I could stop her. I pulled in a calming breath before I turned back to face Chasity. Apparently, there was no way out of dinner with them tomorrow night after all.
“Well, then. I guess I’m free tomorrow night after all.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to smile.
“Actually, since your plans for tonight got canceled as well, did you want to have dinner tonight? Brent and I don’t have any plans, and we’re already in the city,” Chasity said excitedly.
“That’s not exactly true,” he said with a growl as he reached for her side and tickled her.
“Your plans can wait,” she teased with a giggle and shook her head before turning her attention back to me. “Men.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, forcing a smile out of me as well. Maybe dinner wouldn’t be so bad if I got to spend more time with Chasity and less time with Ethan. The last thing I wanted was for our awkwardness to ruin dinner—especially with a valued client of his.
“So, what do you say, Ethan? Dinner?” Brent asked with a heavy sigh.
“Sure. Why not?” He smiled, but it was the forced one that I had seen him use plenty of times during meetings that he didn’t want to be in. He pulled his office door closed behind him as we all walked out to the lobby.
Brent and Chasity walked ahead of us as I pulled back to walk with Ethan. I watched as they held hands and she leaned into him as they waited for the elevator to open.
“What the hell is going on?” I hissed quietly to Ethan.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” he whispered before he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me into the elevator.
I tried not to flinch and pull away from his touch, but I also didn’t trust myself not to read more into it than there was.
Fifteen minutes later, we were seated in a booth at a quiet, upscale restaurant that I had never been to before. I assumed this was the type of place that required a reservation, yet the woman at the hostess station didn’t question Brent as she smiled and led us to our table. My guess was that someone of his caliber didn’t require reservations and that they likely had an entire section reserved for when people like him came in. Or maybe that only happened in the steamy billionaire romance books I read.
I shifted in the booth, sliding closer to the wall to put more space between Ethan and me. There was something about being here with him, in the dimly lit room, that felt overly romantic. I wasn’t sure if we were here as friends – especially since I didn’t know Brent or Chasity at all, or if we were supposed to be here for a business meeting of some sort. I didn’t want to risk blurring the lines and letting on that anything had happened between us. Nor did I want Brent to think something was happening between me and Ethan since Ethan was right about needing to uphold his reputation.
After the waitress took our order, I leaned back and tried to relax. It was nerve-wracking not knowing what was going on and why I was there. It felt like everyone else was in on some secret that I had yet to find out about. A few minutes later, our glasses were filled with a wine that likely cost more than the monthly rent of my apartment. My fingers trembled slightly as I reached forward to grab mine at the same time that Ethan reached out to get it for me. I immediately felt the electricity the moment we touched and pulled my hand back. I heard him chuckle as he scooted the glass closer to me and shifted his position so that his leg was touching mine.
I started to pull away when I felt his hand reach down and touch my thigh, forcing me to freeze. What was he doing? Weren’t we supposed to be keeping things between us hidden? I looked up at him, my eyes searching his face for an answer. He smiled and winked before looking back at Brent and Chasity. I glanced over and found Brent leaning close to her ear, whispering something that made her giggle as she playfully swatted at him.
“They know about us,” Ethan whispered in my ear as he leaned into me. “Chasity was trying to give me advice earlier on how to fix things. I guess she figured it would be best for us to get together and do a double date.”
“But we’re not dating,” I said quietly. “And how do they know about us?”
“Brent and I talked recently. He knew something was off with me. I told him that we were dating but that it was complicated.”
I nodded my head, unsure of what to say.
“ Complicated is an understatement,” I said with frustration. Between our conversation this morning and being blindsided by this impromptu dinner, I was more agitated than anything.
“Besides, I thought you didn’t want to tell anyone about us?” I raised my eyebrows at him and gave him a pointed look.
“I hadn’t planned to tell anyone about us. But for whatever reason, people who know me well seem to be able to figure it out pretty quickly.”
He looked across the restaurant and avoided my look before he added, “My mom and Garrett know about us, too.”
“What?!” I shrieked rather loudly, the shock of the news hindering my ability to keep quiet. A few people at the tables near us turned to look at what the commotion was before returning to their conversations.
“Everything okay?” Brent asked cautiously, pulling away from Chasity. All eyes were on me now, making me extremely uncomfortable.
“Yes. I’m sorry about that. Ethan was just giving me an update that I hadn’t been expecting.” I tried to bite back the anger that was trying to force its way out. My face was flushed as I lifted the glass of wine to my lips and took a small sip. The last thing I needed tonight was to get drunk and ruin any future business with Brent for Ethan.
“So, Chasity, what do you do for a living?” I asked, hoping to change the subject and steer the attention away from me.
“I work for Ask Irene. It’s an advice column. Have you heard of it?” she asked as she popped a piece of bread into her mouth.
“I’ve heard of it, but I can’t say that I read it often. Sorry,” I said with an awkward laugh. My palms were starting to sweat from feeling so stressed out.
“Don’t be. I feel like people either read it religiously or have never heard of it. There isn’t much of an in-between.” She laughed.
“So, am I here for some sort of intervention?” I blurted out, looking between the three of them. “Are Ethan and I here for some expert advice? Or am I missing something?” There was a shrillness in my voice, and I hated how insecure I sounded.
What the fuck was wrong with me? Why did I ask that, and better yet, why wasn’t Ethan doing anything to stop me?
“No, nothing like that,” she assured me. She took a deep breath and then turned to Brent. “Hey, do you think you can go find the waiter and ask them to bring another bottle of wine?”
“You want me to go track down the waiter to request more wine when you still have a full glass?” He lifted a brow and stared at her with confusion written all over his face.
“Yes. And take Ethan with you, please.”
“Because this is a two-man job?”
“Exactly.” She gave him a quick nod, which was met with a head shake and a subtle eye roll before he scooted out of the booth. Ethan let out a very loud sigh and followed him.
After they were gone, she lifted her glass of wine and took a sip before turning to look at me.
“Whew, now that they’re gone, we can have real girl talk,” she said with a little giggle.
“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude earlier. Today has been an interesting day, to say the least. It just feels like this week has been a rollercoaster ride that I can’t seem to get off of,” I explained.
“No worries at all. I can imagine that it’s been stressful for you.”
I stayed quiet, unsure of what exactly Ethan had told them. The last thing I wanted to do was go blabbering about our personal business and ruin a relationship he had with a client. I nodded and looked away.
“I know that you don’t know me and that it probably feels really weird to talk to a complete stranger. I get it. I guess I just felt like I could relate to what you’re going through when Ethan was telling Brent what had happened.” She paused for a minute and waited for my reaction, but I didn’t bother having one. “With Cora—is that her name?”
“Yes. That’s her name,” I said.
“Brent and I haven’t been dating very long, so our relationship is pretty new. And now we’re suddenly dealing with his ex and a child that they have together. One that he didn’t know about until recently. It’s been so hard sorting through everything, and honestly, I’ve questioned whether I should walk away so he has one less thing to stress over.”
“You guys seem so happy together, though,” I said quietly.
“We are. I’ve never been happier. But there’s a child involved, and I could never stand in the way of his relationship with his daughter. I haven’t talked to him about any of this, so I would appreciate it if this stayed between us.” She blew out a heavy breath. “I don’t plan to leave him, so that’s not where I was going with this. I just wanted to let you know that I can understand what you might be feeling. Your relationship with Ethan is new and now there’s the possibility of him having a child with another woman. That is a hard thing to process. Especially since it can leave you feeling insecure and unsure of what your role is if there’s another woman and child in the picture.”
I watched as the guys walked through the restaurant, making their way back to the table.
“You’re not alone. That’s all I wanted to say,” she rushed to get the words out before they reached us. “And if you ever need it, feel free to reach out to Ask Irene if you want to talk more.” She gave me a quick wink and looked up as Brent slid back into the booth beside her.
“Where’s the wine?” she asked, her brows pulled together.
I felt the seat shift next to me as Ethan sat down beside me. He gave me an apologetic smile without saying anything.
“I thought you were just using the wine thing as a hint for us to leave,” Brent replied.
“I did.” She nodded her head in agreement. “But I also wanted you to get more wine.”
I laughed as Brent covered his face with his hands and shook his head. Even though our talk was rushed, I felt better knowing that I wasn’t alone in this after all. Here I had sat, studying them and assuming that they were the perfect couple who had everything all figured out, yet they were pretty much just like us. They were uncertain of everything other than their feelings for each other. I looked over at Ethan and met his eyes before reaching down and resting my hand on top of his. He turned his palm over, and for the first time, we held hands without worrying about who might see us.