Ethan walked into Devry Media on Friday morning with an extra pep in his step. The night before had opened his eyes to something he hadn't felt in a long time. Something other than physical attraction, which had dictated his life for so long that when feelings pulled on him, he felt lightheaded.
He felt alive for the first time in his life. Even though the evening didn't end with Aria in his bed, he couldn't wait to see her again. Ethan couldn’t remember the last time he'd felt that way.
He made it to his office fifteen minutes early, catching Mrs. Shields walking away from his door with a worried look on her face. Ethan stopped, examining her nervous behavior. "Is everything okay, Mrs. Shields?"
She yelped—a little too jumpy for Ethan's liking—and clutched her folders to her chest. "Ethan—Mr. Devry. I was just looking for you, and I realized you hadn't made it in yet."
Ethan shifted his weight to the other foot and shoved one of his hands into his pocket. "Well, I'm here now. What was it you needed?"
She adjusted her glasses and fidgeted nervously. "Mrs. Cook wants to see you this morning."
Ethan was in too much of a good mood to question if that was the real reason she'd been snooping around his office door. "I'll be there shortly," he said.
She scurried away, looking over her shoulder on her way down the hallway. Ethan dropped off his things and went straight to Mrs. Cook's office. She sat at her desk, hunched over her notepad, scribbling away as Ethan knocked on her door.
She looked up and hurriedly cleaned her desk. "Come in."
Ethan walked inside, immediately feeling uncomfortable at the smile she gave him. "Mrs. Shields mentioned that you needed me? What is it?" he asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He wanted to text Aria and tell her he'd picked up a couple donuts for them, but Mrs. Cook hindered him from it.
"Take a seat, Ethan," she said gesturing toward the chair opposite of her desk. Ethan eyed her suspiciously, taking in the pleasant smile on her face that he couldn't recall the last time he'd witnessed. Maybe before his father retired and handed the business to him.
"How long is this going to take? I have to work on the big jewelry store downtown."
"Oh!" she said, interlacing her fingers on top of her desk. "How is that coming along?"
Ethan rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and stared. "Fine. What do you need to see me about?"
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wanted to speak with you about the expansion. I know your father wants you to move to Dallas, which I think is a grand idea."
Ethan pursed his lips, already knowing where she planned to take this conversation. "What about it?"
"I was curious to know who you planned to let run this office."
Ethan tilted his head to the side, watching the hopeful smile on her face, and the way she put on a completely different persona when she wanted something. "Well," he said, clearing his throat. "I can assure you it won't be you, Mrs. Cook. After you ran and told my father on me like a child, I can't imagine leaving the office for you to run into the ground."
The side of her mouth twitched, and she sighed loudly. "That's too bad. I'll just have to show your father these," she said, opening a folder on her desk and sliding it toward Ethan.
He glanced down at the pictures of Aria walking into his building the night before. "And what does this have to do with anything?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Nothing … or everything," she said, closing the folder. "It insinuates that Aria has been making visits to your home, which looks a lot like a secret relationship to me."
Ethan chuckled. "Aria is helping me on the new jewelry store," Ethan said. "And you're slowly demolishing your chances of keeping your job all together, Mrs. Cook. I'm sorry to say that I think you're outdated. Maybe you need to take an early retirement."
She shifted her gaze to her hands nervously. "Your father would never let you fire me."
Ethan stood slowly, straightening the cuffs of his button-down shirt, and smiled. "My father is a free man, and happy, I think your pull at this company is coming to an end." He walked toward the door but stopped. "And if you ever try to blackmail me, or use Mrs. Shields to get information, I'll fire you on the spot. Do you understand?"
Ethan noticed the blush travel across her cheeks all the way from the doorway. "See you later, Mrs. Cook." He pointed toward her opened email. "Looks like you have plenty to do today."
He left her staring daggers at him. The feeling of relief slid down his spine leaving her office. He took a sharp left and walked down to Aria's cubicle. He noticed someone stand beside her, and when she stood up, he recognized her friend Joan.
"Good morning," he said.
Aria turned and glanced up at him. He immediately recognized her hair was different, with two braids that curved around her hair and connected to a short ponytail. He liked it.
"Good morning," Aria said, jabbing her finger over toward Joan. "You remember Joan."
Ethan nodded. "I do. Nice to see you again."
He suddenly remembered Aria asking about the daycare for a friend, and his eyes dropped to Joan's flat stomach. Had it been a different friend? "You too," Joan said. "I was just dropping off Aria's final paycheck from the restaurant."
"So, you're officially finished with them?" he asked.
Aria looked relieved. "Finally," she mumbled. "It's such a relief. Did you get my email about the project?" she asked.
"I haven't been to my desk yet. Mrs. Cook needed me this morning."
Aria gave him a look, but Ethan brushed it off, not wanting to worry Aria. It'd taken pulling teeth to get her comfortable around him again. "So, Joan," he said. "One of my employees mentioned Aria asking about the daycare for a friend. Would that friend be you?"
Aria choked on the cup of coffee she took a sip of, while Joan stared at him wide-eyed. Had it been a secret? Maybe he should have mentioned to Aria first.
Joan stuttered for a moment but put her palm on her stomach and smiled. "You caught me. The cat’s out of the bag."
Aria stared down into her cup with huge eyes.
"Congratulations," Ethan answered. "I didn't mean to pry; I just thought a congratulations were in order. That's huge."
Joan chuckled. "That it is," she smiled.
Ethan knocked his knuckles against the top of the cubicle. "Well, duty calls," he said. "Nice to see you again, Joan. Aria, I'll email you back shortly."
He started down the hallway, noticing Seth staring at him from his small desk outside of Abe's office, but he quickly adjusted his gaze toward his laptop.
Weirdo.
Ethan turned the corner and caught a glimpse of Joan and Aria arguing. He hoped he hadn't started anything by mentioning it.
He pulled out his keys to get into his office when he realized the door was unlocked. He could have sworn he locked it but reluctantly shook it off and walked inside to start on the day.
However, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone watched him. He just didn't know if it was the pressure of Mrs. Cook watching Aria and himself or something else he seemed to look over.
Someone else plotted his demise.