Chapter 42 Concentrate On The Campaign Rather Than The Situation
Oh, he minded. He really minded, and she was starting to get on his nerves. “What—-what are you doing here? Why are you wearing my clothes?”
"The rain soaked me. I did not have anything else to wear, so I borrowed this." She gave him a friendly smile. "Do you like macaroni?"
“No. I also want you to return home." He approached the stairs and turned to face her. “Why are you really here?”
"I was sent here by Mr. Queen. He asked me to give you some files." She motioned to the table, and Ezra's gaze met the stacked books.
“Were you at my parent’s house again?”
"Do not say it as if it is a bad thing. Your mother wanted to spend some time with me. I had to go. Your father said that the files are extremely important."
"And you brought it tonight, of all times?"
"I did not have a choice but to bring it tonight. I will be very busy tomorrow."
Ezra let out a sigh. He could not stand there and argue with her any longer. "When you are finished with— whatever you are doing in my kitchen, clean up the mess and find your way out. I like my kitchen to be spotless." He shook his head, walked up the stairs, and went to his room.
Ezra groaned a million times as he placed the bag on the chair. Her face was not what he wanted to see before going to bed. Her presence has now ruined his happiness. He sat on his bed, took off his shoes and clothes, and went to the bathroom. When he was finished, he went to his closet to look for his pajamas.
The rain continued to fall heavily and Ezra went to the kitchen to get some hot tea. As he approached the living room, he came to a halt when he noticed Heather seated on the couch, her legs wrapped in the blanket. Because of how vulnerable she appeared, he could not even yell at her.
"Would you mind some hot tea?" He was stupid to ask, but she was once important to him, and his parents would blame him if something happened to her. They might even make headlines if someone found out about it, and he valued his reputation too much to risk ruining it.
She gave a nod. "That would be wonderful. I have not tasted what you made in a long time."
Ezra did not respond as he walked to the kitchen. He was head over heels in love with her until she hurt him. How could she think he could forget and return to the way things were? He was only doing it because it was cold outside and he knew how good hot tea could make the body feel.
He went to the boiler and started it up. Then, from the upper cabinet, he took out the cocoa powder and milk. He remembered how much she enjoyed her tea. 3 sugar cubes. If there were no cubes, 2 teaspoons of sugar. He poured it all into a mug, made his own tea, and placed it on the tray then he carried it to her.
Ezra placed the tray on the table and took his own mug. “It is just as you like. Two teaspoons.”
“You remembered,” She smiled as she reached for the mug. "How thoughtful of you. Really.”
“Yeah.” As the rain washed through the transparent window, his gaze was drawn to it. "It does not seem that the rain will stop anytime soon. You should spend the night here. You can take the fourth room after mine. You should leave as soon as the rain stops." He turned around and walked away.
He returned to his room, shut the door, and stared out the window as he drank his tea, watching the rain fall. His thoughts wandered to Emma. He was curious as to what she was up to. Whether she was sleeping or not. If she was also watching the rain like he was. Then he was interrupted by a shattering sound.
Ezra closed his eyes for a moment and then left his room for the living room. “Don’t touch anything.” He uttered those words as soon as he noticed Heather in the kitchen and the broken mug. She was stooping right next to it, attempting to pick them up. He could see her sucking in air as she concentrated on her finger, and he knew she had hurt herself. He set his mug on the table and looked at her. “What were you doing?”
"Trying to clean the mug."
“Get up.” He moved away from her and went to the living room cabinet to get the first aid kit. “Why would you do that?”
"You made me tea, so I wanted to wash the mug.”
Well, so much for that. He wanted to say, but he let out a sigh instead. "Come on over here." He placed the first-aid kit on the table. When she approached him, he sat her down. “Show me.”
Heather showed her bleeding finger. “It is not deep. I am going to be fine."
He grabbed it. “Even though. You should still get it checked out before it becomes infected." He opened the first aid kit and grabbed a pair of gloves. He put them on first and cleaned her wound. He then applied ointment and plastered it. “You are good.” He released her hand, removed his gloves and began to pack the first aid kit.
Heather smiled. “Thank you. You have not changed, Ezra. You used to do this to me whenever I got a minor injury while cheerleading in high school, remember?"
He brushed the thoughts away, attempting not to recall them. Those memories brought nothing but pain. “Good night, Heather.”
Her face was saddened. “Good night.”
He entered the kitchen, reached for the broom, and cleaned up the mess. When he was finished, he made sure to clean his own mug and return it to where he had taken it.
Across town, Emma held a cup of tea in one hand and wrapped the other around her body as she leaned against the window, watching the same rain slide down the glass. She could not help but smile when she remembered what Ezra had said in the car. She was excited for their first outing together this Saturday.
She drank some more from the mug while daydreaming about it.
“When did you come back?” When Emma heard Phoebe's voice, she turned around. “You should have woken me up.” Phoebe sat down on the couch, her legs folded into the blanket and her back leaned.
"I did not want to wake you up. I am sure today has been stressful for you. You were responsible for picking up Zoe from school and caring for her. It was too much work, right?”
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “I am never having kids.”
Emma chuckled as she approached the couch. She took a seat next to Phoebe, who rested her head on Emma's shoulder. “It was indeed a rough day.”
“It was. How was today for you?”
Emma took a deep breath while resting her head on Phoebe's. "It was a nice day. It was nice to have my own office."
Phoebe jerked her head back and looked at her. “Really?” Her eyes were lit with excitement.
“Yes. It was amazing. How did you find your day? Were you able to go?”
Phoebe sighed and rested her head on Emma's shoulder once more. "I visited there."
Emma knew it was time to tell her friend. If she kept it in any longer, Phoebe would be mad at her. “I have something to tell you."
“What is it?” Phoebe didn't move from her position.
"I could not tell Ezra anything about Jones.”
Phoebe knew all too well. Her friend didn't have the guts but she still wanted her to try anyway.
Emma continued when she saw Phoebe not reacting. “I met Scar today, and it was overwhelming. But I promise to bring Jones up after the campaign tomorrow. I am going to tell Ezra everything."
"You do not have to do that any longer."
These words took Emma aback. She broke free from Phoebe. “What are you saying?”
Phoebe sighed as she quickly took Emma's cup of tea from her and drank it all, despite the fact that it was hot. She set the cup on the table and reclined on the couch. "One of his friends finally reached out to me and I saw him today. I was able to get some information from him. Jones was put in jail because he broke into a rich man’s house and stole. Also, it was not the first time he had done something like that."
"I can not believe it."
"Well, Emma, believe it. I guess Jones was not as innocent as he appeared when we were dating. He just hid it all behind his handsome face and gorgeous height. Damn, he was so hot.” She immediately shook her head, brushing the thoughts away. "Anyway, no one would have suspected him of being a thief. At least I didn’t.”
“I am so sorry, love.”
“At least, now we know he wasn’t in jail because of the car. Which means Ezra or Scott didn’t come for him.”
“What are your plans now?"
Phoebe sighed. “I am over this, Em.”
Emma gave her a look. “Over what? Him?” Phoebe nodded. “Already?”
"It was teenage love, after all. I need to mature and move on. Date more men. Date two men at once and live my best life."
“You mean…” she trailed off, trying to guess what Phoebe truly meant.
“Forgetting about Jones. I am not going to bail him out either, so do not tell Ezra. I don’t want to end up getting him out, and he starts to pursue me while I am trying to get a life. That could be a problem. Imagine people discovering that my boyfriend is a thief."
Emma wrapped her arms around herself, embarrassed. “I was also a thief.”
“Yours was different. You did not have much of a choice. Besides, it was only one time. Jones broke into the homes of wealthy people and stole from them. That is something I cannot overlook."
Emma sighed. What made her different from Jones? She was a fraud. She was forcing someone else's child on a wealthy man in order to make money. How was she any different?
Phoebe places her hand on Emma’s shoulder. "You should not think about it. Ezra will adore this child. She is special, and not everyone comes into contact with a special child. And before you say anything about him discovering the truth, he won't. I will make sure of it. So just put it out of your mind and concentrate on your campaign."
Emma thought about it. “You know what? You are right. That is exactly what I am going to do. Concentrate on my campaign." She took a deep breath and turned away from Phoebe, saying to herself. Concentrate on the campaign rather than the situation.