24. Evie

twenty-four

He dropped me just in front of the fridge. I waited for him to go but he didn”t. Not like I wanted him to.

With erratic breathing and a bit of a shaky hand, I took a bottle of water from the fridge. Then shut it. I could feel my cheek heat up. Why was I suddenly nervous?

As I stared at the bottle, I became increasingly aware of his breath on my neck. He was so close. I suddenly became hot.

Why was he still here? Was he waiting to carry me back? If he was then…

Hands stretched from my waist before he collected the bottle from me. My breath hitched when I felt his body pressed against mine. His other hand joined the bottle from my waist to my front.

He opened it… slowly. Was it slow or time just seemed to lose value. I was sure my heart would jump out of my chest when he pulled back then gave me the water.

“Drink.” Right. I was supposed to drink.

I downed the water, taking greedy gulps until the bottle was empty. The air was thick with tension. What now?

To go to my room or…

Or what, Evie.

Right. Was there even a need to contemplate anything?

“Look at me.” His voice floated through the silence— a low rumble that made me freeze.

One second, I was hot. The next I was freezing. Only he could make me this way.

“Look at me, Evie.”

I couldn”t disobey this time. When I looked into his eyes, they were filled with desire… dark desire.

The sight sent ripples through my core. I clenched my thighs to lessen the wave between them.

Fuck, I finally had sex and now it was all I craved.

His eyes flitted to my lips.

Did I crave him or the sex?

Suddenly his thumb shot out and softly, they landed on the corner of my lips. I couldn”t help my whimper.

He groaned as he wiped water off my lower lips.

An unfamiliar expression crossed his eyes when I licked my lips. He looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it.

My heart fell when he leaned to wrap an arm around the back of my knees and the other around my lower back. He carried me. I didn”t know what I expected.

Breathing lightly, I leaned against his chest, shutting my eyes to the sound of his heartbeat. A few seconds passed and I felt myself being put down. We were in front of my room.

“Good night.”

“Goodnight,” I breathed.

I entered my room, leaning against the door as I shut it. The small smile was permanent on my lips as I plopped onto my bed.

Deciding not to get ahead of myself, I found my phone under the pillow. I’d barely had time for it since I left his room in the morning.

Mrs. Thorne had gone, and Sophie had taken most of my time.

That was because I engaged in most of the exercises with her— drawing, coloring, arts— to get my mind off the ordeal of this morning.

I clicked on Instagram and the feed appeared on my screen.

I barely scrolled three posts when I saw the news. No, it was the image that caught my attention then the headline. Pictures of us on the red carpet where his hand was around my waist, and a stupid, misleading headline.

Everything I felt slowly seeped away, leaving fear. I quickly rushed to his room. I knocked once and pushed it open. He turned to me with a surprised expression and a towel wrapped around his waist.

“There’s trouble, Ethan,” I sniffed. It took a lot to stop the tears from flowing down my face.

I handed my phone to him.

I watched his brows furrow at me before his hands tentatively accepted the phone.

His icy blue eyes scanned the bright screen for a while before they widened in confusion.

Then, a flicker of fear flashed across his eyes.

“Shit.” His hand found its way to his hair.

I wrapped my arms tightly around myself. I should have known.

Famous billionaire technopreneur, Ethan Thorne, spotted with a jaw-dropping dark-haired lady, Evie Norman, at a children’s mental health advocacy fundraiser. Could this be the start of a new romance for the billionaire?

I should have known I wasn’t just messing around with my client or my father’s best friend.

I was also messing around with New York’s most successful technopreneur.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was strained. I heaved a breath.

“I”m scared.” My voice came out shaky.

“I’ll fix this, I promise.”

My mouth opened, but no words came out. The words were stuck.

“Good night.” He gave me my phone, which I accepted.

Without waiting for a reply, he turned his back on me.

My insides collapsed in confusion as I watched until I could no longer see him.

My eyes trained on nothing in particular as I returned to my room. Each step I took only worsened the hurt in my heart.

It was probably best this way, but it still hurt.

I’d allowed myself to walk into this trap. It was probably best that way.

After he had left for work earlier in the morning, it dawned on me. My stupidity, my mistake.

I couldn”t help the vivid images of Dad’s disappointed face that taunted me.

I”d been so engrossed in lust that I failed to see clearly. I’d stupidly put my career and all other things on the line.

Now, I”d gotten what I deserved. My face on every web page as a whore.

The thing about news is that it is subjective and easily interpreted. News about famous people was worse.

Without the confidence of a thick skin, you couldn’t withstand the criticisms of millions of people.

Heaven knows what Dad would think when he saw the news.

Fuck knows what would happen at the office tomorrow.

I fucked my way to the top. That’d be the topic for gossip.

I didn’t know if I could take that. Heck, I didn’t know if my potential recruiters at Everest Academy would take me seriously after this.

I reached my door with the draining energy of self-loathe. I hated what I’d done. I hated the situation I’d put myself in.

Most importantly, I hated that I betrayed my father’s trust.

I messed myself up. I messed up my dream.

What would happen if Everest Academy refused to pick me because of the scandal?

If there was one thing the school held in high regard, it was morals and principles. The little things counted.

Pushing past the door, I collapsed on the bed. Then, I took a glance at my phone’s screen.

Beautifully edited images of us— his hand on the small of my back as we walked the red carpet— filled my vision.

My eyes remained trained on it.

The media was perfect at ruining things. They were incredibly good at bringing something out of nothing and centering the whole world’s attention on it…

But I shouldn’t be bothered about the situation. I shouldn’t be confused about our situation.

It was nothing but a silly mistake, and if I had the chance to erase our crucial moments that led to this point, I would…

I should.

With that thought in mind, I shut my eyes and let the darkness circle me until I succumbed to it.

***

I woke up at 6 a.m. the following morning. It was time for work.

I undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the cold water hit my skin.

Cold water wasn’t my thing. In fact, I hated it, but it seemed a prerequisite for the possible scrutiny I’d face at work. A way to thicken my skin.

A fearful chill ran down my spine.

I didn’t know whether it was from the water or the anticipation of what was to come.

After a couple more minutes, I finished in the bathroom.

With my towel wrapped around myself, I moved to the mirror.

My reflection stared back at me— my hair was wet and messy. Face paler than usual.

Grabbing the small face towel from a side of the vanity, I wrapped it around my hair, a memory following the action.

It was a memory of me and mom. How she’d always wrap my hair for me after showering and we’d do some karaoke.

Mom liked singing. It was her second favorite thing to do for me after baking cookies. She never missed any opportunity to. So, each time I finished bathroom business, we’d sing along to any song… mostly Taylor Swift.

I smiled lightly. As a thirty-three-year-old woman, she loved Taylor Swift.

For someone battling with cancer, she had so much energy.

As I grew, I got to realize that her overly high energy around me was to avoid suspicions.

She knew there wasn’t hope for her despite treatment, so she wanted to keep the news from me for as long as possible.

Young, naive me would believe her.

I believed her facade despite the few times I heard her cry behind closed doors. Despite the few times I overheard her telling Dad she couldn’t do it anymore.

Shortly after, she started chemo. Even through chemo, she acted strong.

Till she took her last breath, she was strong for me… for Dad.

She’d want me to be the same now.

I didn’t think Mom would have wanted me to be unprofessionally involved with Ethan, but still, she’d advise me to be strong.

It was her superpower. She knew how to bring calm to the storm.

I had to be strong for her.

Slowly, I unwrapped the towel from around my head and found the hair dryer in the drawer.

I turned it on, keeping it at a distance from my scalp before I started blow drying.

I tried not to let my mind drift to anything that didn’t involve my routine. I tried not to let it drift to the negative.

Successful people like Ethan usually had a buffer for situations like this.

All this would be cleared in no time, and I could return to how things were.

Professional.

After a few minutes, my hair was completely dried. I decided to let it down today.

I made my way to the dresser, picked a smart black gown then returned to the mirror.

I glanced at the time before shrugging on the dress. Unlike most of my other dresses, this one”s zipper was at the side, which was good for me today. I wasn’t sure I could deal with the unnecessary frustration of trying to reach my back.

I found my shoes and wore them. A black pair of flats.

After grabbing a matching small black bag, I was ready.

When I glanced at my phone, it was a few minutes after seven. I decided it was time to leave my room.

I checked on Sophie before going to the stairs.

She was still asleep, which was rare. She was usually up before eight.

After a bit more assessing— which involved slightly touching her to gauge her temperature— I concluded that she was fine and left the room.

I met Lewis, as usual, waiting for me when I reached outside.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

Not in the mood to argue about my seemingly overestimated title, I climbed into the Mercedes.

The drive to the company was a blur.

“Thank you, Lewis.”

With a deep breath, I climbed out and walked to the entrance of the building. Maybe things wouldn’t even be that bad.

Everyone would be too busy with their tasks, and no one would have the time to judge me.

When I entered, I was met with the judgmental stare of the receptionist.

“Good morning.” I nodded as usual and headed to the elevator.

I was surprised when her chirpy voice responded. “Morning.”

The greeting even came with an extra drawl from the last syllable.

Entering the elevator, I eliminated negative reasoning.

I already collided with a body when I realized I wasn’t the only one in the elevator.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry. I— I didn’t see you.”

The person said nothing as I immediately followed her movement to pick up the contents that spilled out of her purse.

“It’s fine, Evie.” The voice was blank… monotonous.

Involuntarily, I paused and raised a brow. Like she noticed my pause, she raised her eyes to meet mine.

I was met with brown eyes, pale skin, and short brown hair that framed the side of her face.

I’d never seen her. But maybe I should get used to my newly found fame and understand that the world now knew my name.

“Umm….” I trailed, a bit nervous.

“Judy from marketing,” she smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Judy. I’m sorry once again and it seems you already know my name.”

We finally picked her items and rose to our full height.

“Don’t worry about it.” She faced the door. I did, too.

There was silence for a while until she spoke again.

“You’re the secretary.”

I nodded.

“You’re on the papers.”

I swallowed. Then nodded.

She shook her head with a stifled breath. “The media, they’d do anything for attention.”

Her words surprised me. She wasn’t judging. I didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t let it get to you.”

I was even more surprised.

These days, there weren’t many people that cared about you. All they wanted was to chase clout.

This stranger was different.

“Thank you.” That was the only thing I could breathe.

She turned to me with another smile. “It’s fine, Evie.”

The elevator dinged open. She walked out without looking back.

The silence was all I was left with as I waited for the car to arrive on my floor. Shortly after, I arrived.

The walk from his office to mine was the fastest I’d walked in my entire life.

I walked as if he could see me through his doors.

You’re right; I was avoiding him... And I intended to continue doing that, but I didn’t know how.

My chair was the first thing that called me when I entered. I immediately plopped down on the chair, still thinking of Judy.

Emma would have probably said the same thing Judy had said.

She probably hadn’t seen the news. Maybe she was swamped with tasks. The Emma I know would be constantly blowing up my phone for gist.

Sneaking a glance at my phone now felt like the right thing to do.

Ignoring the prick in my head at the slight thought that I should call my father was painful. Yet I did.

I didn’t have time to soliloquize when the door opened.

The hammering in my heart reduced when I noticed it was Gwen.

I waited for the frown to coat my face at her presence, but nothing came. Though she’d set me up, none of this was her fault.

“You look like you want me to drop dead.”

Uh uh.

I brushed the neat edges of my laptop. “No, I don’t, Gwen.”

Her gown was flair from below the waist and a bit cinched at the waist. Her makeup also was minimal— nude— matching the brown outfit.

“Why did the scarecrow win an award?”

I raised a brow. Gwen needed to know I wasn’t in the mood for games. “Gwen, I—”

“Because he was outstanding in his field.”

She breezed to my table with an air of pride. The dryness of her joke still hung in the air.

“Another one.” She held a finger up before taking her seat on the opposite side of the table.

“Why don’t scientists trust atoms?”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Why not let’s start with why I don’t trust you.

“Because they make up everything,” she grinned.

Hahaha. Just like you did.

“Gwen, now’s really not the time.” I shook my head, wondering if she’d seen the news.

She huffed. “You sound like you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not. I’m not mad, Gwen,” I sighed.

“Just overwhelmed,” she completed for me.

“Yea…”

My words stretched the silence. I wondered why she was here.

“But you do know if you want to date my brother, you’d have to—”

“Whoa, whoa. Gwen, please, slow down.”

After she told me she knew I was fucking her brother and I clarified that I wasn’t, she brushed the topic under the rug.

I’d been glad to be a bit free. But now I wasn’t so sure it was freedom.

She obviously was still carrying the narrative that I was interested in her brother.

Aren’t I?

“So you’re not?” Her eyes were wide and probing. Did her brother know she was here?

“I’m not.”

Even if I were interested in him, it wouldn’t work out. This media-ish situation was proof enough.

Plus, I wasn’t interested beyond lust, so…

“Are you sure?”

I met her narrowed gaze with mine.

Did she know something I didn”t?

“No, Gwen.”

She tilted her head with a smile, her voice reducing like she wanted to be serious.

“Sophie spoke. And no matter how Ethan denies it, I can see the hint of happiness in his eyes,” she breathed. “Evie, you restored two things that have been absent from his life for a long time.”

Yeah. I’m the therapist. That’s my job.

“I’m a therapist, Gwen.”

She softly cupped my hand on the table.

“My brother’s a dwib, and I know he’s going to fuck this up a couple of times, but I hope you can be patient to realize that he needs you as more than just a therapist.”

No. Gwen didn’t understand what was at stake. She didn’t even understand anything.

What we both needed was how to atone for our sins.

“I’m returning to Australia first thing tomorrow morning, Evie. Thank you for being a friend here.”