Chapter 12 #2
For all Francine’s assurances that the fuss about his supposed engagement would die down soon, it hadn’t.
Ethan had been inundated with congratulatory texts and emails and had even seen a clip where he’d been featured on the news.
All of which made him wonder who was feeding outsiders the photos and images he knew had been faked.
But anytime he went to explain, an image of Christine’s pleading eyes crossed his mind, or the memory of his father’s need for a scandal-free election campaign surfaced.
He didn’t want to, but he had gone to see Lucinda on Saturday afternoon. She’d immediately burst into tears and promised that it had only been a moment’s weakness, and that she’d confess the truth this week, not this weekend as first discussed.
But the week was ticking along, and there was still no sign of a confession, which left him wondering how long it would take.
How long did he have to maintain this lie?
What if Ellie had found out? It had been hard enough to face people in church on Sunday knowing they all thought things about him that weren’t true.
Charlene hadn’t even talked to him, just given him a disgusted look, shaken her head, and walked away.
Was she that upset with him? Did she dislike Lucinda that much?
Or was it more that she’d thought his protestations to the contrary were the lie?
Whatever it was, she’d refused to take his calls or respond to his messages.
He sighed, tried to refocus on work.
Gordon Phillips knocked on the office door, then immediately entered without waiting for an answer. “Ah, Ethan. I wanted another look at the Larbow file. Have you got that handy?”
“Sure.” He found it and handed it to him. “Here you go.”
“Thanks. Good to see you’re not too busy planning your honeymoon just yet.”
“Honeymoon?” What the—? “Uh, no. I’m not thinking about that at all.”
“You should be.” Gordon winked.
Ugh. Gross. If Gordon wasn’t his boss, a comment like that might tip into an HR complaint. It wasn’t exactly professional.
“I know I congratulated you before, Ethan, but the partners and I were talking and feel like this engagement of yours is a real boon to the firm. You being married to Lucinda Steele will bring us into the attention of others of that wealth bracket, which can only be good. If you play your cards right, I think you’ll find people will be far more receptive to talks of partnership and the like.
So you’d better not do anything to mess this up. ”
How was he supposed to answer that? “You know I have always worked hard and would rather make partner based on my own merits than on any connections I may be perceived to have.”
“Perceived? When you’re the son of the opposition leader? I think you do yourself a disservice.”
Gordon’s phone rang, and he frowned. “Elton, again?” He exhaled and left, leaving Ethan feeling stickier than ever.
How could he get out of this? He had nothing left to say that wouldn’t be construed as a lie. He couldn’t wait for the day to end.
He was thankful when the clock hit six and he was free to go.
The office might advertise nine-to-five hours, but most partners and associates didn’t leave until six.
And since he was wanting to make partner, he needed to play by their terms. Apart from on Fridays, of course, when youth group responsibilities meant he had to leave early.
He’d collected his things and exited the building when his phone rang. Francine. He was sorely tempted to ignore it—his sister had done enough damage this past week—but the well-worn path of family obligation made him answer. “Yes?”
“Wow. Do you need to sound so blunt? Especially when I’m offering you an invitation.”
“An invitation to what?” he asked suspiciously.
“An invitation to the estate.”
He rolled his eyes. His sister insisting on calling her tiny farm an “estate” said a lot about her pretensions. “When?”
“This Saturday. I figured you might appreciate a break from the city. And look, okay, I feel bad about what’s happened, and I’m trying to make it up to you.”
Why did that comment raise his hackles? It felt like she was gas-lighting him. Making him feel guilty for a mess she had caused in the first place. Well, she and Lucinda. “I’m not really in a socialising kind of mood, just in case you couldn’t figure that.”
“Hey, there’s no need to be rude. But I do know you like the Southern Highlands, so this could be a good chance to escape.”
Hmm. It could be a good chance to escape.
And a good chance to somehow miraculously find Ellie and explain—or try to, anyway—just what had happened.
Surely she would be understanding. And if it meant he had to visit every single café over the weekend, then he would.
Which was probably exactly what he should’ve done last weekend, instead of allowing himself to get embroiled in a tangle of lies that seemed to be gathering and thickening like a dust storm where the truth was no longer in sight.
He didn’t want to be that man. He wanted to be honest and true, and he knew that if Ellie had been so unfortunate as to see his supposed engagement, then she’d want nothing more to do with him.
Which she’d be right to do. If the boot was on the other foot, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her either.
“Ethan? Are you still there?”
“Um, yeah. Okay. That sounds good. I can come down Saturday. Saturday afternoon,” he amended quickly. That’d give him time to scout out a few cafés on the way. Then he could try to visit as many of the others as he could on Sunday after church.
“Oh. Okay. I guess you’re still doing that youth group thing, aren’t you?”
“You know I want to be a youth pastor one day.”
“Please.” She scoffed. “You’d be wasted doing something like that.”
He didn’t have time for this argument again.
“Just make sure you’re here for Saturday night,” she pleaded.
“Why?”
“You don’t need to sound so suspicious. I thought you might appreciate a nice dinner. It’s my way of saying sorry.”
He frowned. His sister, like the rest of his family, rarely said sorry. Still, he was prepared to overlook the surprise. Maybe she was making an effort. He’d go with that, anyway. “Okay, well, thanks for thinking of me. It’ll be nice to breathe some fresh country air.”
“Without any of the horse dung you find on Macquarie Street,” she said. Where his law offices were, across from the state’s parliament.
“Give me something clean and clear, that’s all I’m asking. I’m still waiting for Lucinda to own up to the truth, by the way.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll say something soon. Maybe even this weekend!”
He sure hoped his sister didn’t mean that to sound like it did. “Don’t tell me you’ve invited Lucinda to stay as well?”
“Please. Would I do that to you?”
“Yes.”
“Ha. You’re funny. Just make sure you’re here by five. And wear something nice. After last Saturday’s harsh words, I need a chance for our family to feel normal again. Like we love each other.”
“That’d be nice,” he said softly.
“Then don’t be late.”
“I’ll be there. You know I’m a man of my word.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it. See you Saturday.”
“See you then.”
And hopefully he’d have a chance to finally find Ellie and explain things.