Fifteen | Ethan
Fifteen
Ethan
Saturday morning was busier than expected after I squeezed in running an extra mile to try to burn off some of the mounting frustration I was dealing with before I rushed to my mom’s. Having sex with Eva in my office last night was unexpected, and while it was mind-blowingly amazing, I knew that I couldn’t keep doing this. I was putting everything on the line and risking my career by messing around with her at work. The last thing I needed was to wind up in another situation like the one I was currently in with Cora.
I snuck in the front door of my mom’s house, glancing down at my watch to confirm that I was already fifteen minutes late. Mom had put together a brunch this morning for my birthday and informed Garrett and me that we would all be here, no matter how busy we claimed to be. My mother was a force to be reckoned with, and very few people got away with telling her no. My brother and I were no exceptions, which meant we knew we were expected to be there today, whether we wanted to or not.
While I technically stopped celebrating my birthday years ago, I found it hard to push back on my mom when she so desperately wanted to celebrate it. I had kept the tradition alive for my grandma, but now that she was gone, I didn’t really see why we needed to keep it going. But I also knew better than to push my mom into something, especially when she was still grieving the loss of her mother. It was a slight pain in my ass, but I would take it if it meant that my mother was happy.
“Hey, Ma,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. I leaned in and hugged her from the side before kissing her cheek and stepping away so she didn’t burn herself with the grease in the pan from the bacon. “Sorry I’m late. It’s been a busy morning.”
“Take your seat at the table. The food will be ready soon,” she replied, glancing over her shoulder. “Garrett, grab the girls and have them wash up. We’re eating as a family this morning, and I’m not about to serve cold food.”
Garrett mumbled something under his breath before pushing away from the table to go get the girls. Not that it was hard to find them. They were thirteen and fifteen, which meant they were likely sitting on the couch in the living room, glued to their phones—something my mother hated.
“Can I help with anything?” I offered my mother, feeling bad that she was going through all this work for me.
“Don’t be silly,” she scolded, “I’m not having you help with your birthday brunch.”
“While I appreciate the effort, I’m not a kid anymore. I can help and make things a little easier for you since you are going through all of this work for me.”
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to. Now sit down so we can eat.”
I nodded and pressed my lips together to keep from saying anything else. By the time my mother got the food plated and on the table, Garrett and the girls had taken their seats. My mother beamed as she smiled at her family, all seated around the table and ready to enjoy a meal together.
She sat down, and the sunlight pouring in from the small window above the sink caught her face. Before she could look away, I noticed faint circles under her eyes that she had tried to hide with makeup. I frowned as I worried about whether or not she was getting any sleep these days. She had been dealing with my grandmother’s estate for so long that I wasn’t sure she would ever be done with it. By the looks of it, it was really taking its toll on her.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked quietly as Garrett leaned in to scold the girls for having their phones at the table. There were heavy sighs as he took them and handed them to his wife before she put them in her purse. I smiled at my nieces and didn’t take it personally when all I got in return was a forced smile from Natasha. I didn’t bother to poke the bear, especially since I needed to talk to Garrett about the filing Natasha was supposed to be doing for us but wasn’t.
“I’m fine,” she said with a smile, though the words sounded forced.
She turned and smiled at the girls as she pulled a linen napkin from beside her plate and laid it on her lap. She waited a few minutes for everyone else to do the same before she reached her hands out to her sides to lead us in prayer. I closed my eyes and listened, feeling the cold, limp feel of Natasha’s hand in mine. I chuckled, earning a tight squeeze on my other hand from my mom in response.
Once the prayer was finished, the silence in the room was replaced by metal serving utensils scraping against the dishes as everyone began serving themselves. I couldn’t remember the last time I had stopped and enjoyed a meal with my family. Between Garrett and me, we always had something pressing to do that kept us from committing to anything. For me, it was usually long hours spent in the office, while for him, it was a constantly busy schedule of getting the girls to whatever extracurricular activity they were currently involved in.
Brunch flew by, and the next thing I knew, I was thanking everyone for the gifts as Garrett and his family rushed off to get to one of the girls’ sporting events. I helped my mom clean up, though she fought me every step of the way. I didn’t want to leave her alone in the empty house by herself, but I was also terrible company, with my mind constantly wandering to thoughts of Eva.
I knew I needed to reach out and talk to her about what happened last night, but the words were jumbled in my head. How could I tell her that I absolutely loved fucking her while also reminding her that we needed to stop? I was the world’s biggest hypocrite by saying one thing and then doing the complete opposite.
But with Eva, things were different. She wasn’t just some girl that I was fucking. She was someone who I was genuinely interested in, even if she was off limits. I knew we were breaking all the rules every time we crossed that line—especially at work, yet I couldn’t seem to stop.
And it wasn’t like it was just me who was feeling this connection between us. I could tell by the way her body reacted to my touch that she was just as caught up in this as I was. The problem was that I was the one who needed to say no and put an end to it, yet I couldn’t. She was like a drug, and I found myself constantly waiting for my next hit.
I thanked my mom for everything and was getting ready to head out when she leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at me. I knew that look. I hated that look. It was the look that said we were about to have a conversation I wasn’t going to like. I blew out a breath and sat down at the table, waiting for her to get on with it.
“What’s up, mom?”
“I’m worried about you,” she said quietly, studying me as if I had some horrendous illness showing on my face.
“Why are you worried about me?” I asked, completely clueless.
“You’re acting different lately. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is definitely different about you.”
“Nothing is different. I’m just busy with work, like always,” I groaned and leaned back against the wooden chair. I already knew the lecture that was seconds away from coming out of her about how I’m always working too hard and how I don’t enjoy life as much as I should.
“This isn’t about you being busy,” her voice trailed off as her features changed, the frown quickly replaced by a soft smile that played at her lips. It was as if something suddenly clicked inside her head, and she had the answer she was looking for. She smiled and touched her hand to her heart. “You’re in love.”
I pulled my head back, bewilderment splattered across my face.
“What?!” I exclaimed. “I think you’re more tired than you’re willing to admit because that’s just crazy.” I shook my head and felt myself getting irritated with the smile that was still plastered across her face.
“You can deny it if you want to,” she said, pushing away from the counter as she wagged a finger in the air at me. “But I know you better than anyone, and you, my dear, are in love.”
My mind immediately went to Eva, and I started to panic as I thought about how much control she had over me without even trying. She could ask for anything in the world, and I would find a way to give it to her. But to say that I was in love with her was absolutely ridiculous. We had barely known each other for a month, if you counted when we first met at the club—which I didn’t. It wasn’t like I had been trying to get to know her as I fucked her in the linen closet.
As I tried to justify that I couldn’t be feeling anything close to love for her, I thought back to when I was in her apartment, taking care of her while she was sick. That wasn’t love, though. That was just being a good boss. Or maybe even a good friend. Hell, it should be that I was being a good human being who was caring for another person when they needed it. That didn’t mean that I was in love with her... did it?
I stayed silent while my mom filled a kettle with water and then set it on the stove while I tried to process what I felt about Eva. Maybe I liked her more than I was willing to admit, and that was why I couldn’t stay away from her.
“So, I noticed that you have someone new working in Cora’s office,” my mom prodded, turning slightly to look at me over her shoulder. “What happened with Cora?”
“Ugh.” I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “You don’t want to know.”
“Oh, I’m sure I don’t. But I asked anyway, and given your reaction, I know I am right. That also leads me to believe that it’s the new girl working across the hall from you that has you acting this way.”
I didn’t have to ask what she meant by this way . It was clear as day in her sing-song tone as she said it.
“Eva,” I replied with a heavy sigh. “Her name is Eva.”
While I didn’t want to get into the nitty-gritty details with my mother, I knew she wasn’t going to stop until she got what she wanted from me. Telling her Eva’s name wasn’t much, but hopefully, it would keep her satisfied for a little while until I could get out of there and avoid her for a bit.
“That’s right. I remember her telling me that when I stopped by on Wednesday.”
I nodded and felt my lips pull into a tight smile as I tapped my knuckles against the table.
“She seems nice,” my mom said as she walked over and set a cup of tea down in front of me before taking a seat across the table. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a small sip as she waited for me to talk about her.
“She’s very nice. And smart. And overqualified for the work she’s doing there.” I laughed, thinking about how I still had yet to find time to train her.
“So, what’s the problem?” she asked.
“The problem is that I can’t be with her, yet I can’t stay away from her.” My eyes lowered and focused on the cup of tea before I raised it and took a sip.
“Because you work together?”
“That for starters.” I sighed. “A lot is happening right now, and I don’t want to risk jeopardizing my career by doing something stupid.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes while sipping our tea.
“You know, you’re not like your father,” she said suddenly, taking me by surprise.
I lifted my head and studied her, finding the hurt on her face that I had seen so much of when I was growing up. I reached over and gently squeezed her hand.
“I don’t know about that,” I blew out. “I’m currently in the middle of a sexual harassment lawsuit because I wasn’t smart enough to say no to Cora when she wanted to have sex in the boardroom. After that, she later tried to blackmail me to get a promotion that she wasn’t qualified for.”
My mom shook her head and covered her face with her hands before looking at me.
“Ethan, Ethan, Ethan,” she chided. “What am I going to do with you?”
I shrugged and felt myself smiling along with her as she let out a soft, light-hearted laugh.
“I don’t know.” I chuckled, enjoying the fact that she didn’t berate me for something I had done. Maybe she knew I had done enough of that myself and wanted to spare me this time.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. So, you got yourself into a bad situation at work—you know what you do when that happens?”
“Grab some peanut butter and make s’mores?” I suggested, grinning at the memories of my grandma.
“It works every time.” Her face lit up with happiness and I knew that she was having the same happy memories as me.
“But seriously,” she continued. “You’re a smart guy and you have an amazing legal team at work. I don’t doubt that you’ll find a way to work through this lawsuit. Own up to the mistakes you’ve made and learn from them. But at the end of the day, you’re still not your dad. I would never judge you for the choices you make as a single man, Ethan. But I think that you owe it to yourself to stop and think about what you want from life and whether that includes someone special.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. If only solving this problem was as easy as she made it sound.