Chapter 27 Margot
Margot
“Emma? Is everything okay?”
I hear Garrett talking in a low, rushed voice in the background then Emma’s deep breath crackles through the phone like static.
“Everything’s fine,” she says, but the tension in her voice betrays her words. “I take it you’re with Ethan then…”
I freeze. How does she know that Ethan and I are together? Then my brain kicks back on, and I realize that it’s sort of obvious when I answered the phone like that after Garrett’s attempt to call Ethan.
Okay, so that’s not ideal, but it isn’t the end of the world either.
I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell Emma what’s going on with Ethan, and it looks like that moment might be right now.
The last time we had a similar conversation, Emma’s thoughts on the topic weren’t exactly positive.
After a solid year of trying to push Ethan and I together, suddenly she thought it was the worst idea ever.
Be careful with him. The words echo through my head, sending a new wave of panic coursing through me.
But I won’t lie to Emma.
Swallowing hard, I reply with an unexpected quiver in my voice. “Yes, Ethan’s here too.”
“Where are you guys?”
“In Aspen,” I admit.
I’m expecting a slew of follow up questions: What are you guys doing up there? Are you two dating? Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been going on?
Instead, Emma says in the opposite direction of the phone, “They’re at the cabin in Aspen.”
“Have her put my brother on the phone,” Garrett barks.
No one would ever accuse Garrett North of being too delicate, but his gruff tone still startles me. As CEO of True North, Garrett was a bit of a grump, but right now, he seems downright pissed.
The next words that the couple exchanges are quiet and muffled then Emma comes back on the line. “Margot, I’m going to put you guys on speakerphone so we can all talk. Can you do the same?” Her tone is that of a schoolteacher leading two children through a playground apology.
“Sure,” I say.
Honestly, I’m feeling anything but sure about what’s going on right now.
Ethan watches as I lower the phone between us and press the speaker button. On the other side of the line, there’s rustling and hushed voices laced with irritation.
In typical Garrett fashion, he wastes no time on pleasantries, launching straight into the conversation instead.
When he was the CEO of True North, this is exactly how every staff meeting would go.
No greetings, no small talk. Just Garrett marching into the room and announcing what the problem was then telling us all how to fix it.
Except he never sounded this angry before.
Garrett’s voice is harsh when he tells us, “The board of directors knows about your relationship.”
Wait… what?
Does Garrett know about our relationship?
Does Emma know?
Questions swirl through my mind, but it’s not until I circle back to Garrett’s words that my stomach swoops to my knees: the board knows.
That’s… not good.
Ethan’s jaw clenches. “How?”
“Some local magazine ran a story about it. The wife of one of the board members saw it and told her husband, but not before she shared the story all over his social media. Safe to say they all know by now.”
Ethan and I exchange a tense look.
How would some magazine know that Ethan and I are dating? And more importantly, why would they care?
The answer comes to me quickly enough. Ethan was Denver’s Most Eligible Bachelor—and now he’s not. The fact that he’s suddenly off the market must have made a decent fluff piece for their magazine.
“How bad is this?” Ethan finally asks.
“The board is pissed,” Garrett says plainly. “They’ve asked me to fly back for the board meeting.”
Ethan pushes a hand through this hair as he cusses under his breath. To my amazement though, his voice doesn’t betray his emotions at all. He sounds sure and steady when he says, “That seems like a bit of an overreaction. This isn’t the first time the CEO of the company has dated his assistant.”
“Exactly,” Garrett snaps. “That’s why they’re so worried.
I stepped down as CEO after Emma and I started dating.
Then I left the company that I worked very fucking hard to create to you.
I told the board that you were up for it.
I assured them that the company was in good hands.
And now, they’re worried that history is repeating itself.
They think you might not be up to the task because you’re too distracted by every piece of ass that walks into your office. ”
“Don’t,” Ethan warns at the same time as Emma snaps, “Garrett!”
My skin flushes with both embarrassment and rage. The line goes silent for a few seconds.
“Sorry, Margot.” Garrett’s voice softens slightly. “That’s meant as an insult to my brother, not you.”
“It’s fine,” I mumble, though I don’t love hearing Garrett insult Ethan either.
“Listen, this wouldn’t be so bad if you had followed protocol and disclosed your relationship to HR.”
“Like you did?” Ethan counters sharply.
Garrett sighs. “That’s irrelevant. It’s not about me anymore, brother.
It’s the board that you need to convince.
The fact that they were scheduled to vote on a big promotion for your girlfriend at this meeting isn’t going to help your case.
Emma and I are on our way to the airport now.
We’ll be back in Denver tomorrow. We can talk more then. ”
Ethan asks Garrett to send him the article while Emma asks me to stay on the line. I agree, taking the phone off from speaker and holding it up to my ear.
“You okay?” Emma asks.
“Yeah, just a little shocked.”
“Join the club,” she replies humorlessly.
So, it’s going to be that kind of conversation…
I glance at Ethan, who is perched on the edge of a chair with his elbows on his knees and his undivided attention on the screen of his phone as he scrolls through something. Presumably, the article that started this whole mess.
There’s a short path that leads to the river. I wander down it, looking for some privacy.
“Were you ever going to tell me about you and Ethan?” Emma asks.
“Of course I was. But the last time I tried, your reaction wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.”
“I warned you about him because I care about you, Margot. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Frustration rises in my chest. Everyone is talking about this as if it hardly even involves me.
Like they all know best, and I’m just over here on the sidelines waiting to be acknowledged.
Garrett and Emma, the board of directors, even this stupid magazine.
At the end of the day, this is between me, Ethan, and exactly no one else.
“No, Emma, you didn’t warn me,” The words come out like venom on my tongue.
“You spent an entire year not-so-subtly hinting that Ethan North would be a better match for me than my actual boyfriend. Then when I finally agreed, you made a cryptic comment about Ethan then rushed off the phone. No details, no context, nothing that would actually help me make a rational, informed decision.”
Emma’s tone is equally venomous when she replies, “Maybe you should ask Ethan for the details. I mean, has he even told you anything about his past? Do you know about Rachel? About Sophia?”
Rachel and Sophia? What does this have to do with them?
“I-I’ve met them,” is all I manage to say.
“So, you’re just okay with Ethan literally buying a house in Denver so his ex-wife can move there? You’re fine with him spending all this time with her?”
I stammer out a few syllables that make zero sense. How could they? None of this makes any sense at all.
Ethan was married?
To Rachel?
That can’t be right…
He never said a word about it.
Emma sighs. “You didn’t know.” It’s not a question. A long pause follows. “Look, I’m sorry, Margot. I shouldn’t have said anything, but at least you know now. Go talk to Ethan, okay? I’ll be home tomorrow. We’ll talk more then.”
I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything at all.
“Are you okay, Margot?” she asks, her voice softer now.
“I’m okay,” I lie.
There’s a sob lodged in my throat, threatening to break loose if I speak again. The tears are already spilling silently down my cheeks.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Emma says cautiously. She waits another second before hanging up.
My hands shake as I lower my phone to my side. The urge to throw it into the river rises inside of me, quelled only by my inability to move.
To speak.
To think.
To feel anything at all except the hollow spot in my chest, gutted clean by the thought of Ethan having an ex-wife. The thought of him lying to me about it while parading her around right in front of me.
Down the short path, Ethan’s eyes lift from the screen of his phone, connecting with mine. Instantly, he knows. My tears give everything away. He springs to his feet, hurrying down the path toward me in wide, steady strides.
He reaches out to wipe a tear from my cheek, and my shock turns to rage. Everything comes flooding back in—the sound of the rushing river at my side, the chill of the crisp mountain air, the warmth of his touch on my cheek.
But it doesn’t comfort me. It burns.
I pull away, my tears instantly washing away the heat of his touch.
“Margot.” My name is a question and a plea on his tongue.
It’s too much.
I march up the path, dirt crunching under my feet. Ethan says my name again, following a step behind.
“Please, Margot. Talk to me.”
I don’t slow down, making a beeline toward the cabin to pack my things and get the hell out of here. “No, Ethan. You had every opportunity to tell me about Rachel. You chose not to.”
“Let me explain,” he pleads.
I shake my head without sparing him a glance and keep walking.
Snippets of the night we stayed up assembling furniture together at that house invade my brain, uninvited and unwelcome. I helped him shop for her. Helped assemble her furniture. Nearly kissed him in her bed.
And he never said a single word. Not one word.