“Jake and Cal?—”
I don’t wait for her to finish her sentence.
I push open the door, and Ethan glances up, half-rising out of his seat. “Natalie?”
“I think I messed up.” Seeing him knocks the air out of me, and I grip the edge of the small shelf next to the door. “I think I messed up big time.”
He’s by my side in an instant, and he’s not alone. Jake’s a step behind. “What happened?”
Both their voices are filled with concern.
They’re both gripping my arms as if to support me, and I try to shake them off. “I’m fine. I?—”
“Give her some breathing room, Jesus Christ.” Caleb pushes Jake away and forces Ethan’s hand from my wrist. “Sit. Want some water?”
I shake my head. “No, thanks.” My eyes flicker towards Ethan. “I think someone might have found out about us.”
Ethan’s expression doesn’t change, and neither does he say anything.
I give him a brief rundown of what happened, and my fingers dig into my arm as I do, something I do when my anxiety is spilling over. “I didn’t mean for anyone to overhear. I didn’t even know someone was inside, and?—”
“I don’t see the problem.” Ethan looks unfazed. “They were going to find out sooner or later. Especially when you started to show.”
My hand curls into a fist on my stomach, and I glare at him, fury bubbling up. “Ethan, this is my career you’re treating so nonchalantly. It’s not a good look for the CEO and the HR head to be together. It’s a conflict of interest, and you know it. If word gets out, then?—”
“One of you will have to leave,” Jake finishes grimly.
I meet Ethan’s gaze, and my heart sinks. Why is he so calm about this? Why doesn’t he care that everything I built is crumbling around me? He seems to be getting what he wants while my needs be damned.
“I’ll quit,” I say, coldly now. “You seem to finally have me cornered, Ethan. But if you think I will let my career go down the drain to play happy family with you, you can dream on. I’ll apply for another job, in this state or elsewhere. But I won’t let you do this to me.”
His eyes narrow fractionally. “You think I’m sabotaging you.”
I scoff, my heart aching, my throat thick with emotion. Idon’t want to believe it, but seeing how little he cares about the consequences that only I have to face, can he blame me for thinking along these lines?
I get to my feet. “I shouldn’t have come here. It’s obvious you don’t give a shit. I don’t know why I thought coming to you with my problem would mean anything.”
This time I catch the shift of emotion behind his eyes, and he straightens. “You?—”
Jake intervenes. “Don’t you think you’re being a little hasty here, Natalie? A resignation isn’t going to fix anything. Instead of going down that route, we could just narrow down whoever it was that overheard your conversation with Iris.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” Caleb adds. “There are already pictures of the two of you from that event you guys went to.”
Jake scoffs. “Ethan had those pulled as soon as they went into print.”
I go still, glancing at the silent man leaning against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest, and I ask, “Is that true?”
He doesn’t answer me, but Jake does. “Yeah. I was the one who contacted them. They only managed to get out one print of the magazine before I had them make the change. There are only a few copies of the ones with yours and Ethan’s pictures in them.”
Ethan just looks at me, his gaze intense and unreadable.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask him.
When he speaks, his voice is cool. “You seem so determined to believe the worst of me that I didn’t see the point.”
My lips part as I try to deny his words, but I find I can’t. “I?—”
Jake looks between the two of us, then moves to the door. “Come on, Caleb.”
