28. Gorgeous

Chapter 28

Gorgeous

Ethan

M y weekend trip with Leo and Libby had been absolutely perfect. So perfect that I wanted to spin around in my office chair and kick my feet, but I resisted. Not everyone appreciated such excitement on Monday mornings, especially not the man who just stepped off the elevator with a scowl on his face.

“Ryker, what a ball of sunshine you are this morning.” I took a sip of my coffee, trying to hide the smile on my face.

I’d worked for Ryker since I’d graduated college and decided to move to the city, and it had always been hard to get a smile out of him. These days, I had about a fifty-fifty chance thanks to the woman in his life, but today was not my day.

“My office. Now.” Was that a growl in his voice?

Either way, it had me straightening in my chair. “Am I in trouble?”

When he didn’t respond and walked down the hall toward his office, I jumped to my feet to follow him. There wasn’t a single thing I could think of that would piss him off so early on a Monday morning.

In his office, he was staring out his window, his hands shoved in his pockets. “Shut the door.”

“You’re really freaking me out right now. Are you going to fire me?” I shut the door and sat down in the chair across from his desk, wondering what the hell was going on.

“I need you to be honest with me.” He turned around, his eyes concerned. “How serious is it?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you referring to? Your glowing personality? I would say it’s at a critically low level.”

That got a lip twitch, but it was quickly gone. “You, Libby, and Leo.”

“Uh… what do you mean?” I didn’t know if he was referring to the three of us living together, our relationship, or something else. I definitely didn’t want to tell him about the three of us if Libby hadn’t talked to him yet.

And I knew she hadn’t because on the way to work, she’d told me she was going to tell him later that night.

“The three of you…” He pinched the bridge of his nose and started to pace the length of the wall of windows behind his desk. “You’re together.”

“Define together.”

“Damn it, Ethan! You know what I’m talking about.” He stopped in front of his desk and moved his computer screen around until I could see it. “You’re together. ”

“What the fuck?” I stood, leaning in to read the short article under a ridiculous headline about a love triangle with pictures of me, Libby, and Leo kissing. It was a lot to process, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “They think we’re gorgeous.”

“That’s all you got from that?!” His face was starting to turn red, and his eye twitched a few times. I had entered the danger zone.

While it was fun to push Ryker’s buttons, I knew where the line was, and I was kicking at it. I might have been his little sister’s best friend—and now boyfriend—but I was still his employee, and I liked my job.

I slowly took my seat and folded my hands in my lap. “That’s such an invasion of privacy.”

Libby was going to lose her shit when she saw the article and pictures. She was always worried about the image she put out into the world, and this would devastate her. The article hadn’t said anything bad about the two of us, but I was sure the internet trolls would be all over this.

Ryker sighed and sat down in his office chair like he’d just run a marathon. “I don’t know what to do here, Ethan.”

“There’s nothing you really can do. Unfortunately, Leo is sometimes in the spotlight, and he has a history. Libby and I were aware of that when we decided to give him a chance. I guess we didn’t think we’d end up being a breaking story so soon.” He stared at me, so I continued. “We’d all talked about telling you. Libby was going to tell you tonight.”

“She texted me and asked me if I wanted to go to dinner.” He picked up a pen and tapped it against his desk. “If Leo doesn’t get this cleaned up, I’m going to have to fire him.”

My stomach dropped. “Fire him? For being in a relationship with us?”

Ryker dropped the pen with a loud clunk. “No, because he runs a charitable foundation and the last thing it needs is a director who brings negative press. Donors and the parents of the kids we’re going to serve won’t care about his relationship status, but they will care that he is plastered all over the internet for it.”

I could understand that, but that didn’t mean firing him was the answer. “You asked me if things were serious… I can’t speak for Leo or Libby, but for me they are. I was unsure about him at first, but he has grown on me. And you know how I feel about your sister.”

“I do.” He was the most fidgety I’d ever seen him, and he stood again to pace in front of the window. “What I don’t understand is how you could want another man involved.”

“You have other men involved in your relationship.”

“That’s different. We were best friends already. This came out of nowhere.”

“He’s really trying, Ryker. He took us on dates, including taking Libby to a bookstore for a shopping spree. And this weekend, after Libby shared about camping in the backyard when you two were younger, he ordered an outdoor movie screen, and we had s’mores. He listens and he cares.”

Ryker stopped and turned toward me. “I don’t want to see her heartbroken…”

“She’s stronger than you give her credit for, and I don’t plan on breaking her heart.” I stood, knowing that Ryker probably needed some time to himself. “I’m going to go down and check on Libby and Leo, if that’s okay?”

Ryker nodded. “Thank you, Ethan. You might be a pain in the ass most of the time, but my life and Libby’s wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Was he trying to make me cry? “I knew you loved me.”

“Get out of my office.” He cracked a smile, and I took that as a win.

I stepped off the elevator on Libby’s floor, thankful that Ryker and Leo had set up the temporary office in the same building. The floor was quiet, which was to be expected since there were only currently three people working at the foundation.

Libby was in her office, her eyes already glossed over as she studied something on her computer screen. It had to be a rough adjustment going from reading about a duck and goose fighting over an egg which was really a soccer ball, to sitting at a desk in front of a computer most of the day.

“Hey.” I leaned against her door frame. “You have a few minutes?”

She jumped, her eyes darting to me. “Jesus, I didn’t even hear you.”

“You were really zoned out there.” I walked in and sat down in a chair across from her desk. “What are you working on?”

“Budget stuff. I have to present my operating budget for the academic side of things on Friday.” She scrunched her nose. “I thought when I agreed to help run this, I’d be more hands-on with the community.”

“That will come eventually… after you do all the hard work first.” I wasn’t quite sure how to bring up the news. She clearly hadn’t seen or heard about it yet. “Where are Leo and Carter? It’s quiet today.”

“Leo had an urgent meeting with his father, and Carter only comes in when there are meetings. He’s more of a contractor type of employee at the moment.” A smile broke out across her face. “You didn’t come down here for a quickie, did you?”

I cringed. “I wished that was the reason I was here…”

Her face fell. “What’s wrong?”

There was no easy way to tell her, so I spit it all out. “Someone took photos of the three of us kissing this weekend and there’s a gossip article online. It doesn’t name us.”

She looked taken aback and then turned to her computer, typing furiously, no doubt searching for the article. She gasped, her hand going over her mouth. “Ethan.”

“It’s not that bad. It even calls us gorgeous.” I stood, walking around the desk to comfort her.

The article she’d pulled up wasn’t the one with us, though. It was a new one that had been released not even ten minutes ago.

Leonardo Caponetti, Heir to Bella Grand Hotel Empire, Announces Engagement to Clara Accardo

The Caponetti family today announced the engagement of Leonardo Caponetti, youngest son of Lorenzo Caponetti, of the Bella Grand Hotel Group, to Clara Accardo, daughter of prominent business leader, Carlo Accardo.

The announcement comes after recent media speculation surrounding Mr. Caponetti’s personal life. In a statement, the Caponetti family said:

“We are delighted to share the news of Leonardo’s engagement to Clara Accardo. As he prepares to take on a larger role within the family business, we believe this union will provide stability and position Leonardo for future success. The Caponetti and Accardo families have enjoyed a longstanding relationship, and we look forward to welcoming Clara into our family.”

Mr. Caponetti and Ms. Accardo met through their families’ shared business interests and have been dating for the past eleven months.

“I am excited to take this next step with Clara,” said Mr. Caponetti. “She is a wonderful woman, and I look forward to building a life together as we continue our careers and commitment to philanthropic endeavors.”

Further details will be provided at a later date.

“This can’t be true.” I read the press release twice, trying to make sense of what I was reading.

Libby didn’t say anything and clicked back to the search engine, adding Clara Accardo to the search. A ton of pictures of Leo with a gorgeous woman came up and my stomach dropped.

Had we been a final fling before he was married?

“I should get back to work.” Libby’s voice was flat and emotionless.

“Libby…” I spun her chair around and knelt in front of her, taking her hands, which were shaking.

“We trusted him.” She shook her head, and her eyes filled with tears.

“I’ll wait here with you, and we can talk to him when he gets back.” I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I was struggling not to throw something across the room.

“I want to get back to work.” She blinked a few times and gave me a small smile. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

And just like that, I watched the walls go back up around her heart.

I reluctantly stood up, my heart breaking at what this was going to do to her, even if it was all a big misunderstanding. “Okay, I’ll give you some space. Text me if you need me before lunch.”

She swiveled back to her computer, her eyes already back on her screen. “Please shut the door on your way out.”

I did as she asked, my mind reeling as I walked to the elevator. How could Leo do this to us? To Libby? We’d let him into our lives and our hearts. And for what?

The elevator dinged, and as the doors slid open, I came face to face with the man himself. Leo looked like absolute shit with his hair a mess and his tie askew.

Good. He deserved to feel as awful as we did.

Before he could step off, I pushed my way in, forcing him back against the wall, and jabbed the button for my floor.

As soon as the doors closed, I rounded on him. “What the fuck, Leo? An engagement? Eleven months of dating?”

Leo’s eyes widened, and he fumbled for the emergency stop button. The elevator jerked to a halt. “Ethan, please. It’s not what you think-”

“Oh, really? Because it looks pretty damn clear to me. You’ve been lying to us this whole time!”

“No!” Leo ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. “I swear, I’m not engaged. My parents dropped this on me out of nowhere.”

“Out of nowhere? And you expect me to believe that? That an engagement to another person comes out of thin air?”

“Yes!” His voice cracked. “Because it’s the truth. My parents have been trying to get either me or Luca to marry Clara for years! Clara is a lesbian, for crying out loud!”

I studied his face, wanting so badly to see a lie there that would justify the anger and hurt coursing through me. But all I saw was desperation and sadness.

“Ryker is going to kill you.” I sighed and reached past him to restart the elevator. “You can’t let your parents dictate your life like this.”

Leo nodded, looking relieved that I was at least listening. “I know. I’m going to fix it.”

The elevator started moving again, and we rode in tense silence until it reached my floor. As I stepped out, I turned back to Leo. “I want to believe you, I really do. But this is a clusterfuck I don’t know how you’re going to fix, especially with Libby.”

The doors closed on his stricken face, and I headed to the front desk, my head and heart a mess.