Twenty-Eight | Ethan
Twenty-Eight
Ethan
My mom always said if I hadn’t become a lawyer, then I should have become a detective. Apparently, I’ve always had this special knack for finding out information that I wasn’t supposed to have. That knack was what led me to New York Presbyterian Hospital. I rushed to the emergency room lobby when I heard Eva’s voice carrying through the empty hall.
“She’s my sister! I need to be with her!” she cried hysterically.
“Ma’am, like I’ve already told you, she can’t have anyone with her right now. The doctor will come out to give you an update when they have one.”
I rounded the corner in time to wrap Eva in my arms as she turned to walk away. I looked her over as quickly as possible, searching her face when she looked up at me.
“Are you okay?” I asked with panic still rushing through me.
“Yes. I’m fine,” she said and shook her head. “Lucy is in the emergency room. They won’t let me back there with her.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure they’ll have an update for you soon,” I tried to reassure her as I led her away from the receptionist. “What the hell happened?”
We sat down in the empty chairs in the waiting area, and she folded her hands in her lap and looked down.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, and a tear slid down her face. “There was a loud noise and yelling. I rushed upstairs as fast as I could, but the door was locked. By the time I got it open, she was unconscious on the floor.”
“Did he hurt you?” I asked through clenched teeth. I was worried about Lucy, but I would also kill him if he laid a hand on Eva.
“No. I don’t think so. I wasn’t worried about me. I was just so focused on Lucy and making sure Jackson was okay.”
“Eva!” A woman screamed and came running toward us. “What the hell happened?!”
“Lance went after Lucy. I tried to get in the room, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop him,” she whispered, her voice shaky.
“What did the doctors say?”
“They won’t let me back. They said that they’ll update me, but who knows how long that will be,” Eva said as her leg bounced anxiously. “You should have seen how pale she was in the ambulance. I’ve never been so scared before in my life.”
I wrapped my arm tighter around Eva as the woman’s eyes filled with tears. She blotted at them before seeming to notice me.
“Hi, I’m Ethan,” I said, reaching over to shake the woman’s hand. I assumed this was her other sister, given how much they looked like each other.
“Ethan?” she confirmed, looking from me to Eva with raised eyebrows. “As in...”
“As in, the guy I work for ,” Eva said through clenched teeth.
“Right...” She chuckled and shook my hand before giving Eva a dramatic wink. “I’m Gabi, Eva’s other sister. The middle child, and therefore, obviously the coolest of the three of us.”
I laughed and watched as Eva rolled her eyes.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, pulling my hand back as I caught the look Eva was giving her sister.
“Well, I think I’m going to go find coffee. Anyone want some?”
“No, thank you,” I replied as Eva shook her head no.
Once we were alone again, I turned to face Eva and studied her face.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, reaching over to rub her knee.
“Yeah. I’m just worried about my sister.” She looked past me to the doors of the emergency room, looking to see if anyone would magically appear with an update.
“I know. I can only imagine how scared you are.”
We sat there in silence for a few minutes as I tried to comfort her the best way that I could. Suddenly, she turned to me, and her eyes went wide as if she remembered something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, messing with the buttons before handing it to me.
“What I was calling to tell you earlier was that I found out something about Cora. Something I think you need to know.” She pointed at the video that was paused on her phone and nodded.
I pressed play and waited for the video to start, my stomach already feeling in knots. Immediately, I noticed Kate sitting in a booth at a restaurant, laughing at something the other person had said. The camera moved slightly to the side, and I felt my blood pressure shoot through the roof as I saw Cora sitting next to her. No one else was in the video as they laughed and acted completely in love. When they leaned in for a kiss, I closed my eyes and pushed the phone away. I didn’t need to see that bullshit.
“See, they’re screwing you,” Eva said, followed by a heavy sigh.
“Just because they’re fucking doesn’t mean that they’re screwing me.” I could feel the tension building in my shoulders.
“Think about it,” Eva insisted, showing me the phone again. “Why would Cora want to have sex with you if she’s into women? They want something from you. That’s why they filed reports.”
I worked my jaw back and forth as I thought about it. She had a point. Cora had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want a relationship with me. Just sex. Kate... Well, Kate wasn’t anything I ever saw coming. I was completely thrown off when Regina pulled us in to talk to us about the complaint Kate had filed.
Someone walked out down the hallway, pulling our attention directly to them. I let out the breath I was holding when I saw that it was just the cleaning crew wheeling their supplies down the corridor. I wasn’t in the mood to try to deal with the Kate and Cora bullshit that had just landed in my lap, so I decided to change the subject.
“So, I heard that we have a new employee starting on Monday,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood, even though I knew it was near impossible given where we were and what had happened. The problem was that I didn’t have any other good news to talk about.
“Are you mad that I didn’t ask you before I recommended my sister for the job?” she asked nervously, chewing her nail.
“Honestly?” I asked, my eyebrows raised. I watched as the color drained from her face, and a look of worry washed over her beautiful face. “No, I’m not mad. I was a little blindsided by it, that’s all.”
She smiled, and her shoulders dropped as she relaxed a little.
“Do you think she’ll be a good fit for our office?” I asked. While I didn’t doubt that Eva was a good judge of character, I knew how easy it was for the lines to get blurred when you tried to have a professional relationship with your family. It took Garrett and me a few years before we were able to iron out that wrinkle at work.
“I really do,” she said and nodded. “Lucy is the youngest, but she’s also the most mature and independent. She’s a natural-born leader, never breaks the rules, and genuinely cares about the job she does. Unfortunately, it’s also been the reason that she’s stayed with Lance for so long. But you can’t blame her for wanting to try to make her marriage work when there is a child involved.”
I smiled, knowing what kind of personality she was talking about. My mother stayed in a bad marriage for years because she thought it was what would be best for me and my brother. I wish I could go back in time and convince her that she was worth so much more than she ever gave herself credit for.
“Well, then, I’m happy to have her work for us.”
“How did you hear about her getting the job anyway?” Eva asked, her brows pinched together.
“Regina called me before she brought her in for the interview. We discussed the struggle that she’s had with finding a personal assistant for Luis. She was worried that it would take weeks, if not months, before she could find someone qualified to replace Kate. Moving her to Luis’s department solved one problem but left her another. We agreed that if she felt like Lucy would be a good fit, she should go ahead and offer her the position. Obviously, we didn’t need to check in with you since you had recommended her.”
“Can I confess something?” She shifted in her seat, making sure she was still facing the doors to the emergency room.
“Sure,” I said.
“I hate the idea that Kate is still going to be working there.”
I sighed and pushed the air out forcefully.
“Yeah, me too. But it’s not like we can fire her. She would immediately turn on us and come back with a wrongful termination lawsuit.”
“How can she? New York is an At-Will state.”
“You don’t think she’ll use the recent sexual harassment claim as proof that she was terminated as a means of retaliation?”
Eva paused for a moment and then shook her head.
“You’re right. They would probably rule in her favor, too.”
“Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do. But unless we had proof that she wasn’t performing her job or violated one of the rules in the employee handbook, our hands are tied.”
“You’re right,” she muttered as we saw Gabi heading back.
“Where’s Jackson?” Gabi asked, sitting down beside Eva.
“He’s with Mom and Dad. They had just got home when everything happened. Lance took off and left Jackson crying for him in the front yard without looking back. If only he knew what a real monster his dad was,” Eva said, her hands starting to shake.
“Have you started a police report yet?” I asked, interrupting. My blood was boiling as my anger raged through me.
“I don’t know if my parents have or not. I came in the ambulance with Lucy.”
“I’ll check in with Mom and see if they’ve had a chance to,” Gabi offered, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.
“What’s Lance’s last name?” My voice was harder than usual, and the strain of getting the words out was evident.
“Why?” Eva asked at the same time her sister blurted out, “Conner.”
“Thank you,” I said with a warm smile as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I was already dialing the number that I needed when I looked up and found Eva watching me. “Be sure to get some food in you and drink some water. I’ll be back soon.” I nodded to Eva as I turned and walked away, the phone pressed to my ear.
“Nate—I need a favor.”