Chapter 14 Zoe
Chapter Fourteen
ZOE
I looked across my desk at Jana and bit back a laugh. We were on a conference call with another law firm, actually the same firm representing the idiot who’d punched Ethan, and Jana was making faces at the phone. I leaned forward and tapped the mute button.
“Stop it! You’re going to make us both laugh,” I hissed.
Jana rolled her eyes and brushed a lock of purple-streaked hair out of her eyes. “Why are you whispering? You muted the speaker.”
I shook my head and gave into the urge to laugh. “Point taken. Oh my God. Ted loves to hear himself talk. I swear he’s talked for about ten minutes on the same point.”
Jana gave the phone another eye roll. “That’s his thing. Yawn. He annoys the hell out of me. Why do so many people hire him?”
“Because he knows how to market,” I said with a shrug. “We could probably learn a thing or two from him.”
Now Jana glared at me. “No. We’re not plastering billboards with your picture all over the place. It’s so cheesy.” She paused and twirled a lock of hair around her finger, eyeing me thoughtfully. “On second thought, maybe we should. You’re totally hot. I bet we’d get a ton of new clients that way.”
I tossed a paper clip at her, which she deftly caught and promptly returned to my desk. “I’m plenty busy. I don’t need to work more anyway. You’re always on my case for working too much.”
She grinned. “True. But if we had more clients, you could hire more paralegals, instead of just me being your lonely paralegal slash receptionist. If we found some good ones, they could do all the grunt work and you could work less. Plus, you can’t tell me anymore you’re not hot.
Ethan Walsh, practically the hottest ticket in town, totally has it bad for you. ”
Just when I was about to mouth right back at her, Ted said my name, loudly enough I realized we’d probably lost track of the conversation. Fortunately with Ted, we could gloss over that pretty easy. I tapped the button to unmute the phone and jumped back into legal mode.
Later that day after a slew of meetings, Jana came into my office and plunked down in the chair across from me.
For days, every time I had a minute to think, my mind went straight to Ethan.
Just now, I looked across my desk and recalled he’d made me come right there on my desk with his wicked mouth and fingers.
I gave my head a little shake and focused on Jana.
“What’s up?” I asked as I hit send on an email and looked over at her.
“It’s the first time in three days we’ve had time to talk. Yesterday I wasn’t here and today’s been nuts. Fess up. What happened with Ethan? Don’t try to tell me nothing because I saw how you looked after he came out of here last week, and I might’ve seen a text from him on your phone earlier.”
My cheeks got hot. I wanted to be annoyed with her, but it was half-hearted. I latched onto the phone thing because it was an easy target. “Since when have you started snooping on my phone?”
“Since you left it sitting right in front of me while we were suffering through Ted’s monologue,” she retorted. “I didn’t see what it said, just his name. What did it say?”
Ethan had taken to texting me like crazy.
I didn’t know what to make of it, but I secretly liked it.
A lot. He alternated between asking about my day, wanting to know how I was doing and flirting so brazenly, it made me hot all over just from reading a text.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t dated. It’s just that it had been a while, and it had never been all that great.
I’d figured losing my virginity would be more like finally taking care of a chore I’d been blowing off.
I was entirely unprepared for the burning hot intimacy I’d experienced with him, and the fact it was seared into my body, heart and mind so deeply tiny reminders of him sent heat rolling through me all over again.
I gathered my nerve, shoved away my embarrassment and looked over at Jana.
She’d endured private and public humiliation over her unbeknownst-to-her affair, and she’d managed to pick up the scraps of her dignity and carry on just as boldly as before. I could handle being a little embarrassed about the fact I had no idea what to do about Ethan.
“We had sex. I have no idea what to do and he keeps texting me and telling me he wants to have dinner,” I blurted out in a run-on sentence without a single breath in between words.
Jana’s eyes widened. She watched me for a moment before her surprise melted into concern.
“Hey, don’t look so worried. It’s perfect.
You finally ditched your virginity, and he likes you.
I’d have considered it a win if you got it on with him once, but it sounds like he wants more than that.
Let me see the texts,” she said, wagging her fingers at me.
“I’m guessing you need some interpretation. ”
Relieved, I gladly handed my phone over. She knew the password, just as I knew hers, and promptly keyed it in. After a minute of scrolling through my texts, she looked up. Her blue eyes were wide and her mouth fell open.
“What? Why do you look like that? I don’t know what to do and he keeps texting and…”
Jana recovered and let out a whoop. “Zoe. He likes you. He really likes you. This is so awesome.” She actually teared up as she looked over at me.
“Oh my God. Why are you getting all emotional? You don’t even know if…
” My words floundered as a sense of confused panic scurried through me.
I felt buffeted by my emotions, which were all but flying loose as a leaf scuttles and spins in the wind.
I was used to feeling calm and in control, and I couldn’t find the center to hold onto when it came to Ethan.
She threw a glare at me. “I might’ve been stupid enough to have an affair I didn’t know I was having, but aside from that fiasco, it’s fair to say I’ve had more experience with men than you.
Trust me, guys don’t send texts like this if they don’t like you.
He’s texting you at least four or five times a day telling you boring shit about his day and asking all about yours.
He’s flirting and he keeps asking you to dinner.
Why the hell don’t you just go to dinner, instead of making excuses like you’ve been doing? ”
I opened my mouth to reply, but she held her hand up.
“Hang on. The reason I’m getting all emotional is because you’re fucking awesome.
You’re one of the nicest, smartest women I know.
I respect the hell out of you professionally and did long before you hired me.
You’re one of the few people from law school who didn’t look down their nose at me for being stupid about everything that went down.
Whether you want it or not, you deserve a guy who appreciates you for who you are.
I knew when Ethan came in to meet you that first time that he had a thing for you.
Maybe he has a rep as a player, but he’s not treating you like that.
That’s why I’m emotional. You deserve something other than a great career.
I don’t know what might happen with Ethan, but it’s off to a smoking start. ”
She slid my phone back across the desk to me. If I hadn’t caught it, it would’ve fallen to the floor. “Text him back right now and tell him yes to Friday.”
My jaw went slack as I stared at her. My belly clenched and my pulse shot off again.
Anxiety tightened my chest, and I didn’t know what the hell to do.
Part of me was elated at everything Jana said, yet I was also terrified.
I didn’t like feeling tossed about inside like this, and nothing seemed to help.
My boring life seemed so appealing compared to this emotional rollercoaster. I gave myself a shake.
“Jana, that Friday thing is like a thing. I can’t go to a friends thing with him,” I protested.
“Why not? It’s less intense than something one on one.”
I eyed her with my belly doing little flips just thinking about seeing Ethan again.
I wanted to say yes. Hell, it’s a miracle I hadn’t said yes to every time he’d asked.
It had been four days since I woke up beside him, and he’d reliably asked me to see him in some form every day since.
Even though it made me nervous, Jana had a point.
Seeing him in a group might be a little less nerve wracking.
She still had her wide blue eyes pinned to me with a brow arched. I could feel the silent dare.
“Fine. I’ll say yes to Friday.” I snagged my phone and opened the text.
“Why wait? See him tonight, so you can screw his brains out once more. You’ll be more relaxed that way,” Jana interjected with a sly grin.
I had to admit it was tempting. So, so tempting. But I didn’t know how much of Ethan I could handle, especially when I longed to see him again and got wet just thinking about it.
I glared at her. “Friday. I’m doing Friday.”
“No, you’re doing Ethan.”
I threw another paper clip at her and texted Ethan while Jana’s laugh followed her out of my office.
Ethan’s reply was swift.
Perfect. I’ll meet you at your place at 6. What about tonight?
I’m busy.
I’d never been great at manufactured excuses.
I could always be busy because there was always work to do in the evenings, poring over case law and preparing legal documents.
So my answer was true, although it left out the fact that my mind was stuck on an endless loop of Ethan when I wasn’t totally focused on something else.
If you hadn’t just told me you’d have dinner tomorrow, I’d think you were avoiding me.
Oh, he knew how to get under my skin.
I am NOT avoiding you!
Perfect. Then you won’t mind me stopping by your office in a few. On my way up right now. ;)