Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“About that—”
“He can’t stand that bitch. She showed up to talk about his brother, who’s a fucktard of epic proportions. But of course, she regrets letting go of her golden goose in Ethan, but he doesn’t regret leaving her behind. And I saw the spark between you two. I get you not wanting to pursue it while in the middle of a business deal, and he should feel the same, which I told him, but, and this is a big but, don’t shut the door. Not over that bitch.”
My heart is thundering, and somehow, I’m standing. “They aren’t—”
“No. Not at all. Never again. He really dodged a bullet, and he thanks God frequently for saving him.”
I sit back down. “I see.”
“I hope you do. You both have a lot going on in your heads, so I’m going to tell you what I told him. Get this deal done. That’s the professional thing to do. That’s what needs to come first. I’m sending him our changes. I’ll go back and forth with him. It might need to go to the board, and I have court tomorrow, so this is going to be tight, but we’ll make it happen. And Sofia, I like you. If you need to talk, call me. It’s not on the clock. It’s called friendship.”
“That would be weird. You’re his friend.”
“I don’t think it’s weird at all. I think it’s kind of special. Get some rest. You have a big adventure coming up. On second thought, don’t rest. Get to making plans. You have a lot of travel ahead of you.”
She disconnects, and I set my phone down. Ethan didn’t do what I thought he did, and I’m such a bitch for judging him without first asking questions. I pick up my phone to call him and set it back down. No. He has a meeting to attend. And Harper said we need to get the deal done before all else. It’s the professional thing to do. That means not interrupting his professional life. That means delivering on my promise to sign the contract. Harper told me to leave personal out of things right now, and for all I know that message came directly from Ethan through her.
I’m bound to silence and the vow to sign that contract, but after the deal is inked, I’m texting him.
Just one last text.
Chapter Eight
Ethan
My office for the day is the kitchen island of my New York City apartment.
A couple hours into my day, I’m dressed in a gray suit and matching gray silk tie, a freshly brewed cup of coffee steaming next to me atop the dark wood countertop. The entire place is decorated in brown tones, leather, and industrial style fixtures, that feel as “bachelor” as I did when I made the choice. There’s a change in the air now though and her name is Sofia. She’s on my mind. She’s always on my mind, this morning included, despite not one, but two meetings, with clients related to the European division of Dalton Enterprises. I’m about to dial another when my cellphone rings with Harper’s number. I answer on speaker phone. “Tell me Sofia signed the damn contract.”
“No, but she finally spoke to me and she’s letting me take over negotiations. We’ll get it done.”
The relief is real. I do not want whatever I did to piss Sofia off, to stand between her and the success of Zoey. For her. Hell, for all of us. I believe in her and her brand enough to believe we’re going big places with Moore’s.
“Damn good news,” I say, reaching for my mug and sipping. “I was starting to think I needed to hop on a plane and go get her back on track.”
“That would be a conflict of interest, considering your role on the board, and the present state of negotiations, but I’m sure that would have pleased her. She’s confused, Ethan, but she’s far from done with whatever it is that’s between the two of you.”
She’s more than confused or she wouldn’t have ran again, I think, but that’s between me and Sofia, not me and Harper. “What else?” I ask, moving us through the call.
“Walker Security wants to meet with you. Their man, Adam, can come to you or you can meet them at a bar named Trudy’s at eleven.”
“Have you met Adam?”
“No, but everyone over there is either a former elite operative or service member of some sort. They’re all top notch, highly skilled, and discreet.”
“In that case, just have him come here. I’m too busy to go track down some bar.”
“How soon?”
“Now. What do you know? What is this about?”
“They have information they say you’ll want. That’s all they wanted to tell me. I’m not the direct client.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Don’t be pessimistic, though your brother is involved, so maybe pessimism is realistic. Whatever the case, call me after. Talk soon.” She disconnects.