by Meltem Y. K
CHAPTER 17
Ethan.
Yes, babe.
Are you free to talk?
For you? Always.
I can’t wait to tell you about my meeting with Dr. Thompson.
I am all ears. How did it go?
Better than I could have imagined. I now have my own office, phone, computer and even a window where I can watch the squirrels. No more shared office with fifteen other grad students.
Congratulations babe. I am very proud of you.
I want to give you the grand tour night. We have to make time for it.
Sure, I’d like to see your office.
How is your day going?
It’s going.
That bad? What’s the matter?
Oh, nothing out of the ordinary; just a bunch of pricks that I have to deal with. No worries, it’s all part of doing business.
You mean profit driven business?
Yes, very profit driven.
Are you in a meeting?
No, we decided to take a break, cool our heads then resume the negotiations in an hour; as it was we were not making any progress.
Okay, I hope you sort things out. I’ll see you tonight.
See you tonight, babe.
“Ethan, is everything okay?” Estelle asked her son, her keen eyes not missing the fact that Ethan’s mind was somewhere else.
“Yes, mom, Jayna is excited about her new office at the university and couldn’t wait to tell me about it.”
Estelle smiled, “Is that so? She’s started her PhD, hasn’t she?”
“Yes, she has,” Ethan said proudly. “Sorry about the disruption. We can get back to our little problem here.”
Estelle nodded gravely.
“I don’t think this meeting is going to resolve anything. Our differences are too great to overcome. I will not compromise integrity for maximum profits. This partnership would never work. We should just walk away before things get more complicated.”
Ethan trusted his mother’s business acumen completely. Estelle had built a business empire with a wide range of products and services using a combination of her superior intellect and unparalleled intuition – and a little help from the other side. She had spent the last thirty some years building her various businesses.
“Whatever you think is best, mom; that’s what we’ll do.”
“There is only one member of their team that I trust, Jonathan Wiles. They sent him to make the initial contact with me because he is the only decent one in that bunch. They know I put a lot of stock in decency in my dealings, hence their use of Jonathan to bring me to this meeting today. However, that’s as far as this deal will go. This project is too important to do with people whose ideals do not match ours. The GS Consortium’s only goal is maximum profits not Global Solutions as their name says. They sniff money in this venture, and that’s all they care about.”
Estelle brought her fingertips together forming a steeple and took a slow cleansing breath. She held it to the count of seven then slowly exhaled. It helped her clear her head and sharpen her focus.
Ethan watched his mother with pride. She was everything he could ask for in a mother: loving, nurturing, and sharp as a whip. Estelle was an attractive woman who looked half her age. The beauty of her soul reflected to her physical beauty on the outside, even on the Earth plane.
In her travels around the world, Estelle had been collecting vegetarian and vegan recipes for years. There was a time when she too was a meat eater, but she hadn’t touched meat in more than three decades. She had a vision: to bring these delicious dishes to the people in the western world.
Unfortunately, when people talked about vegetarianism in the west, they immediately thought of lettuce and tofu. Nothing could be further from the truth. There were millions of people who were vegetarians and never touched tofu.
Most people who wanted to go vegetarian didn’t have a clue how to do it. Their first instinct was to turn to meat substitutes, processed foods that were made to look and taste like meat.
Everyone knew the dangers of eating red meat, but most did not know how to stay away from it. Western people were raised to think meat and potatoes were healthy, tasty and a sign of wealth. If you could afford to eat meat regularly, then you would get all your nutrition and be healthy. This belief was ingrained in them for generations. In other parts of the world, even if people were not vegetarians due to religious reasons, they couldn’t afford to eat a lot of meat; meat was served on special occasions when the family splurged.
Most doctors recommended going vegetarian once a week. Estelle was founding her vision for this business venture based on this recommendation. She knew that most westerners, especially North Americans were not ready to go vegetarian seven days a week, but once a week was doable in their minds. She had done extensive research and discovered that if vegetarian food was readily available, tasted good and was also affordable, they would go for it.
Jonathan Wiles was a respected researcher and shared her views, but he worked for a consortium that did not share Estelle’s values.
“When we get back in that meeting room, we’ll tell them that we need to go back and re-evaluate some of their proposals. We will notify them later that we have decided to go solo on this project. Meanwhile, we need to fortify our security. They will do anything to get their hands on our business plans and recipes. What the fools refuse to understand is that I am not after starting up another fast food chain. There are enough of those already. Ours is a grass roots movement to teach people how to eat meatless one day a week. We are going to teach them how to be vegetarians for a day, not just switch to veggie burgers and soy products.”
“I agree with you mom. We might as well call it quits now. No sense in going any further with this.”
Estelle stood up; she was a picture of elegance in her black Chanel suit.
“Call Steve, tell him to be ready,” she said to Ethan. Their private jet would take them home shortly.
Ethan pulled out his cell and hit speed dial. He relayed the message to their pilot.
“Shall we go back in there?” he asked his mother.
“Yes, let’s get this over with.”
Mother and son walked back into the meeting room. The group from the GS Consortium was already there. They all rose from their seats when Estelle and Ethan walked into the room, eager to convince Estelle to do business their way.
Ethan held out the chair for is mother.
“Thank you, Ethan.” Estelle sat down, her back perfectly strait, exuding confidence and authority.
Jonathan Wiles looked at Estelle and smiled. The other three men cleared their throats.
The bitch thinks she can lord over us. You need a real man to teach you some manners. Fuck you bitch. Bradley Jones had a hard time keeping the contempt he felt towards Estelle off his face.
Having heard his menacing thoughts loudly and clearly, Estelle smiled calmly to them while she put her hand over Ethan’s to keep him in his seat. Ethan was ready to punch the guy’s lights out.
“Gentlemen, the long and the short of it is that we need to go back to our respective boards and rethink our positions. You have been very helpful in relating your consortium’s views to us. We tried to explain our position to you. At this point we need more than a few minutes break to further analyze your proposal.”
Estelle rose from her seat, “We will be in touch.”
Jones was defiant, “What do you mean you will be in touch?”
“This meeting is over, Mr. Jones.”
“You’re walking out on us?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Listen very carefully, Mr. Jones. I decide whom I will do business with or not. You have nothing that I need or want, least of all your attitude. I suggest you find yourselves another business partner.”
Jones went beet red. His two sidekicks were incredulous at the dressing down he had just received from Estelle. Jonathan Wiles was embarrassed. He hated to be humili
ated in front of his men.
I am resigning from the GS Consortium as soon as I am out of here, Wiles promised himself. I don’t need to be involved with a bunch of thugs.
Yeah, you got that right, Jonathan. I wish you had seen their true colors earlier. I will call you as soon as I am out of their presence. Too bad you can’t do telepathy.
Hearing his mother’s thoughts, Ethan gave her an imperceptible nod. We’ll take Jonathan Wiles if he wants to join us.
“Good day, gentlemen.”
Estelle and Ethan left the room without another look in Jones’ direction.
He sure is a prick, that Jones.
And that is the reason he will never be associated with us. He earned himself a permanent spot on my blacklist.
An hour later they were flying on board their private jet, having a light meal and discussing their strategy for the vegetarian restaurants and kitchens that they would be launching.
“Once we get this venture off the ground, I will be appointing you CEO.”
Ethan’s hand froze in midair holding a mini samosa, his mouth hanging open.
“You can eat your samosa,” Estelle said. “This shouldn’t come to you as a surprise. You are perfectly qualified for the job.”
Ethan managed to pop the mini samosa into his mouth and took his time chewing it. He needed to compose himself.
“Are you going to feed me to the sharks, mother?” he asked.
Estelle laughed, amused by Ethan’s question.
“Why would you say that, son? Age has nothing to do with the ability to do the job if you are qualified. I’ve been prepping you for this position since you were knee high to a grasshopper. You grew up in a vegetarian family who does not live on tofu, veggie burgers, carrots and celery sticks. The vegetarian lifestyle is natural to you. You are the perfect person to do the job. You will be putting your MBA to good use. I am even willing to assign Wendy to you as your Executive Assistant.”
This time it was Ethan who laughed.
“Now I know you are joking, mother. You wouldn’t give up Wendy for anybody, not even me.”
Estelle gave her baby, the youngest of her three children, an adoring smile. “That’s where you are wrong. I’ve had Wendy train her assistant to step into her shoes in my office. I am quite happy to let Wendy join the new venture with you to give you all the support you need.”
Ethan frowned and gave his mother a mean look.
“You wouldn’t.”
Estelle pretended she did not understand.
“I wouldn’t what, dear?”
“You wouldn’t be sending Wendy to baby sit me, would you, mother?”
“What an absurd idea.” Estelle did her best to look offended by her son’s suggestion.
“Wendy is too valuable an employee to be demoted to a baby sitter.”
“Aha, I knew it. You would never refer to Wendy as an employee. She is your right hand, second in command, eyes and ears, and now chaperon to your youngest off spring. Don’t deny it mother, that’s exactly what you had in mind.”
Estelle shook her head, continuing to look hurt.
“You are putting words in my mouth, Ethan, and I do not appreciate it.”
Ethan’s eyes bore into his mothers.
“If you truly trust me to do the job right, then I will take Wendy’s trainee to be my Executive Assistant; I would not rob you of Wendy.”
“Okay. You can have Simone instead of Wendy. You won’t have to ever feel that you are on your own, Ethan. I will be there for you if you need my help. You also have all the Masters to guide you. This is a mission that we have been assigned by the Masters, it isn’t just another business venture. That’s another reason that I can’t just put anyone in that position. This job was literally made for you, it’s a perfect fit.”
Ethan relaxed and helped himself to another samosa.
“Well, if you put it that way, mother, I accept your offer.”
Estelle was very pleased with Ethan’s acceptance of her offer. She was even glad that Ethan had decided to take Simone as his Executive Assistant. It was better for him to build a relationship with his own right hand person than take his mother’s.
Wendy had been with Estelle for nearly as long as she had been in business. Estelle had hired Wendy when she was still in high school. Wendy was a bright young girl who was eager to work to help her widowed mother put food on the table. Estelle had hired Wendy to help her watch the children while she worked at home. Soon Wendy was watching the kids and also helping Estelle with some administrative duties.
That was a lifetime ago. Estelle was raising her toddlers, two year old Jonathan and eleven month old Eve, and also hiring herself as a researcher to private companies. Her husband, Roy, was just finishing school at the time; money was tight.
Being a research Librarian employed by the city had given Estelle the idea of taking on private clients. She enjoyed the flexibility of setting her hours and the variety of topics she was asked to research, but she needed more clients and more commissions before she could quit her job. It was around that time that she had met an old lady who changed their lives irrevocably.
Roy was away on a business trip. He had just started working as an architect at a small firm. Wendy had come over to Estelle’s place after school to watch the children. Estelle had spent a couple of hours doing research at the Library. It was a cold day, and almost dusk. Estelle had walked out of the Library and was going to her car when she noticed an old lady in the parking lot. The woman was cold, she had only a light jacket on; she was also crying. She had a handkerchief to her eyes. Estelle’s heart went out to the woman; apparently no one else had noticed her distressed state. She didn’t want to intrude, but she also wanted to help her. Estelle had approached the old lady hoping not to scare her away.
“Could I possibly help you with anything?” she had asked with hesitation.
The woman had looked at Estelle and shook her head.
“I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”
“No trouble at all, what can I do for you? Do you need a ride somewhere?” Estelle had offered.
“I am not sure. I am confused. I don’t know where I am,” the woman had said.
Estelle knew there was a coffee shop nearby.
“Why don’t we go have a cup of tea? That might help you figure things out.”
The old lady had smiled, trusting this young woman to help her. They crossed the street and entered the coffee shop. Estelle had bought them each a hot soup and tea. The old lady had stopped crying. She was looking at Estelle with gratitude.
“I am probably keeping you away from your family.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that ma’am. If you are feeling a bit better, perhaps we can check your purse for an id. It might have your address on it, and I can drive you home.”
The lady had smiled and handed Estelle her purse. “Go ahead and look, dear,” she had said.
Estelle felt weird going through the woman’s purse, but she did find her address written on a piece of paper along with a phone number.
Estelle had called the number from the pay phone in the coffee shop. A man had answered on the first ring. It turned out that the lady had gone for a walk and not returned in several hours. Her family was frantically searching for her. Estelle assured the man that she would drive her home and did. Her son was waiting at the door of a splendid home. He thanked Estelle and offered to pay her for her trouble.
“I just helped your mother relax so she could calm down. It was a pleasure meeting her. There is no need to pay me for anything,” Estelle had said. “I am glad I was able help; to bring her back home safely.”
The old lady safely returned home, Estelle had left. When she arrived home she noticed a Turquoise ring on the passenger seat of her car. The old lady must have dropped it she thought, I will return it to her tomorrow. She took the ring and put it in her purse.
The next day when Wendy came after school to watch the kids, Estelle planned to dri
ve to the old lady’s house, return her ring, and then go to the Library to do her research.
Estelle was not known for panic attacks, but that day she had one.
As much as she drove around she could not find the house she had taken the old lady the day before. She drove up and down the same block several times, but could not locate the stately home she had so admired the night before. In its place was an empty lot.
She remembered very clearly the house next to it: it was blue with a wraparound porch. There it was; the blue house, but no stately home next to it.
First she thought she had taken a wrong turn, so she kept driving around, but at the end she had given up. It bothered her so much she could not get much work done at the Library either. So she had gone home in frustration. She could not possibly walk up to the blue house and ask what happened to the stately house next to them. They would think her crazy.
That night she had a dream. In her dream were the old lady and her son. They both had a bright light illuminating them. The old lady came close to Estelle and touched her hand; an electric current ran through her body.
“My dear Estelle, you have passed the test. You are a compassionate being. For that, I am rewarding you with a passage to the Astral world.”
Estelle had found herself holding hands with the old lady who no longer looked so old and helpless. She was as regal as a queen and wore beautiful jewels and a gown made of gold cloth. The man who had pretended to be her son held Estelle’s other hand. Together, they gave her a quick tour of the Astral plane and brought her back.
When Estelle finally found her voice she asked the old lady who she was.
“I had a name once, a very long time ago. Now, I am called the Divine Mother. I came to the Earth plane to find pure souls who would join me and other Astral beings on a mission to help humanity. You are such a soul. I offer you Astral training if you would join our mission.”
That had been Estelle’s introduction to the Astral world, having passed the first test that proved she was a compassionate soul. When everyone else had walked by and not even noticed a woman in distress, she had stopped and helped.
When Roy had returned from his business trip the next day, he was tired. Estelle had noticed that he was also a bit quieter than usual. He had played with the kids for a while then went to bed. Estelle had assumed he was having an early evening, but when she walked into her bedroom after putting the kids to bed that night, she had the second shock of her life in as many days.
Roy was not asleep as she had thought. He was in a trance, floating a foot above their bed, sitting in a meditative pose.
Estelle was shocked out of her wits. She had never known Roy to meditate, let alone levitate.
What was happening to them?
Was all of this real, or a figment of her imagination? Was she losing her mind from too much stress and not enough sleep?
A ball of light appeared in the semi-dark room. Slowly the light dimmed so that she could see the figure in the middle of it.
It was the Divine Mother.
She floated over to Roy and touched his forehead. Roy opened his eyes. To Estelle’s surprise, he did not freak out as she would have expected.
The Divine Mother spoke once again.
“My very dears, here I am as I promised to you. I will come every night and teach you new skills. You will soon join me in the Astral dimension.”
“What about our children?” Estelle had asked.
The Divine Mother smiled with great love.
“Your children will join us in due time. Until then, they will be watched by angels while you do your training.”
That night had marked the beginning of Estelle and Roy’s new path.
The next day, while having breakfast, they had told each other about their separate meetings with the Divine Mother. Estelle was happy that she wasn’t losing her mind as she had feared.
Roy had a similar meeting with the Divine Mother while away on business. He had seen the old lady in distress, this time she was being robbed by a couple of thugs. Roy had heard her cries and ran to help her. He had taken a few punches from the thugs, but didn’t give up. He fought back, even though people are advised to never fight, just hand over your purse or wallet. Roy could not watch a helpless old lady get robbed. He had acted without thinking.
When the thieves had turned on Roy and tried to beat him up for interfering with their mugging, the old lady had touched each one with a single finger and they collapsed to the ground, their life force being temporarily blocked. The Divine Mother had held Roy’s hand and relocated him to his hotel room.
Roy’s first reaction was that he had had one too many drinks and he was having a drunken experience.
The Divine Mother had assured him that this was not a dream, and invited him to join her on a spiritual mission.
Roy had read about such Avatars – highly evolved people - but never imagined that he would meet one himself, for the Divine Mother was exactly that, an Avatar. Years ago, Roy had come across a book written by a yogi in which he had read of many fantastic stories enlightened beings could do. He remembered that Avatar was a Sanskrit word meaning Descent of Divinity into flesh. Avatars could freely travel between Earth and the Astral plane. He wondered if that book was his preparation for meeting the Divine Mother now.
For the next seven years Roy and Estelle spent their days working and raising their young family, training with the Divine Mother and the other Lightworkers in the Astral plane at night. There were recruits from all over the world, from every conceivable walk of life. These people, including Roy and Estelle and their two young children, were the chosen ones – pure of spirit. They would raise Earth’s vibration and lay the foundation for the evolution that was about to happen.
Through the Divine Mother’s tutelage, Estelle and Roy had developed an array of extraordinary feats that included uncanny intuition, perfect health, heightened intellect, Astral travel at will and telepathic communication. They also looked decades younger than their age. Their cells continually renewed keeping them healthy and young.
One of the things that they had willingly given up as part of their new lifestyle was meat. They had soon learned to become vegetarians and nourish their bodies with plant based food sources. The Divine Mother had explained to them that eating the flesh of killed animals carried bad Karma. Their mission on Earth was to create an abundance of good Karma. Surprisingly, they did not miss eating meat once they discovered the joys of plant foods. After a few years of a vegetarian lifestyle, they could not imagine ever going back to the old way of eating.
Roy had gone on to become a successful architect and opened his own firm, specializing in green energy and designing housing projects that were environmentally friendly. He was well known and highly respected in his field.
Once Estelle had learned her way around the world of research, she was able to command hefty fees for her services. Being a wizard at research had also allowed her to make some very accurate forecasts about the economy and trends. Her intuition was also a handy tool in her line of work. Knowledge was power and through her various clients and their requests, Estelle had built a wealth of information that she used for her own investments. Everything she touched turned into gold.
The Divine Mother had promised her that as long as she gave back a good portion of her earnings and helped those in need, including the animal and plant kingdoms - for they too were the children of Mother Earth - she would continue to prosper. The Divine Mother also reminded her that although she was her own boss and an incredibly powerful woman in the Earth plane, she was a Lightworker first and her duty was to serve. As long as she abided by these rules, she would be helped and guided by the Masters.
One of the things Estelle had discovered through her research for her clients and then acted on that knowledge herself was to invest in the internet when the technology was in its infancy. Her intuition had paid off handsomely when Estelle had forecasted the burst of the dot-com bubble and sold
her stocks before the market crashed leaving her not only paper rich, but rich beyond her wildest dreams.
Estelle had made it to the big league. She was one of the self-made billionaires of her time, but she chose to live her life in privacy. She kept herself and her young family out of the media’s radar.
Estelle did not care to draw attention to herself personally or to her family. She wanted her children to grow in relative normalcy; enjoy their childhood in a safe environment. Roy had designed and built them a home that they staffed with people they trusted, fellow Lightworkers. They were employees, but very loyal since they were treated like part of the family.
Roy continued his green housing projects and always gave back to the communities where his company built. Roy and Estelle were known for their philanthropy and their helping hand to people with sound business ideas. They provided seed money, business acumen and helped in any way possible always with the option of them buying their share of the business back if that was what they chose. No one ever wanted them out of the picture as they were valuable business partners and mentors. Quietly and modestly their business interests continued to grow.
In the seventh year of their induction to the Astral plane and their work with the Divine Mother, they had a happy surprise. It was not intended, but received with great joy. Estelle was pregnant. By this time, Jonathan and Eve were nine and eight years old and participating in the Astral plane regularly. The family was delighted with the news, including their friends in the Astral plane. The Divine Mother had said that Estelle was carrying a special child, one that would be highly evolved. Estelle was not sure what this meant, but understood that they’d find out soon enough. Avatars did not waste words or make false prophecies.
When Ethan was born the family was overjoyed. He completed their happiness like they could never have imagined. He brought so much joy to them that they all wondered how they ever thought their happiness was complete. Baby Ethan was the apple of everyone’s eye.
Three weeks after his birth, Ethan had made his first shift to the Astral plane. The Divine Mother was delighted when he appeared in the middle of a Council meeting. Baby Ethan stole the show that day.
When Ethan reached the age of eleven, he had his first encounter with demons and fought them off successfully. Estelle and Roy were mortified. What if he got hurt, or heaven forbid lose his life. Estelle was inconsolable. This was her baby and he had no business being near demons. That was a job reserved for only the most highly trained Astral Warriors. Not even she or her husband was skilled enough to fight demons. How could their eleven -year old face demons and walk away unscathed?
That’s when the Divine Mother appeared and reminded Estelle that her son was special. The Masters would train Ethan and provide protection to him to make sure he did not get hurt - Estelle had to trust their judgment.
A year later when Ethan turned twelve, he had surprised the family once again with a new ability that had left them flabbergasted. As far as they knew, Ethan was the only living human who was not an Avatar, but could do this feat. It made both his parents proud, yet a bit apprehensive about what lay ahead for him. When a person was given a special ability, it meant that there would be a need for it; if not now then someday.
Estelle had no reservations about appointing Ethan to the position of CEO of their new venture. She would make sure that he received all the help and resources he needed to succeed. If the kid could kill demons at the age of eleven, there was no reason why he could not swim with the sharks of the business world. Estelle would watch his back, be his safety net against the sharks.
“What is it that you find so amusing?”
Estelle laughed. “What I find so amusing is that you killed a demon when you were only eleven years old, but when I said I would appoint you CEO, you thought I was feeding you to the sharks.”
“I heard you the first time, mother; I simply fail to see the humor in it.”
Ethan tried to keep his mind free of private thoughts. With a mother like Estelle, your thoughts were never private. She heard everything that went on in your head – as he did hers.
“No, not everything, my son; I give you your privacy when it’s called for. I don’t listen to your every thought,” Estelle said.
Mother, you really are pushing it. We don’t want the staff to hear everything.
Don’t worry Ethan, they know we are discussing business and keep away. They don’t want to be blamed for industrial espionage.
“So, when do I get to meet Simone?” Ethan asked.
“Whenever you want; I call a meeting this afternoon and hand the reins over to you.”
Ethan’s eyes popped open.
“Why are you giving me that look? We might as well do it,” Estelle said.
“You don’t waste time, do you?”
Estelle pulled out her cell phone and called; Wendy picked up at the first ring.
“Hi Wendy. How is it going?”
“Everything is just fine here, Estelle. How did your meeting go?”
“It didn’t. We won’t be doing any business with the Global Solutions Consortium, but we are definitely going ahead with this venture. I need you to call the team and also invite Simone to join us. I want everyone in the boardroom at two pm. That gives them enough time to come back from lunch, rearrange their schedules if they need to. Of course, you will also be there.”
“Got it.”
Estelle broke the connection and put her phone back in her purse.
“There, the wheels are set in motion. You will be appointed CEO at this afternoon’s meeting and Simone will be assigned to you as your Executive Assistant. I suggest you spend some time with her so that you two get to know one another. She needs to be able anticipate your needs. That’s what I call an efficient EA.”
Ethan nodded.
“Mother, how well do you know this Simone?”
“She’s been with us for a few years. Wendy has been grooming her to become an Executive Assistant for some time. I know Wendy wants to go part-time, but she hasn’t come out and said it yet.”
“So, you just listen to her thoughts anyway.” Ethan did not ask a question, but simply made a statement.
“I must admit the skill comes in handy more often than not. It doesn’t hurt to know what my right hand person wants. She’s worked for me since she was fifteen years old. She wants to go part-time and spend more time with Keith on their boat. I don’t blame her. I will speak to her about it today. I know there is more where Simone came from. Wendy learned to think a few steps ahead and prepare accordingly. She is great at anticipating my needs.”
Ethan laughed at his mother. “Are you sure she can’t hear your thoughts? Who knows, maybe it’s a skill that rubs off on people. She’s been around you for so long, she’s become like you.”
“Maybe, but that’s what makes her so valuable. She is also my closest friend. The truth is that I love having her around.”
“I know mother, I really like Wendy too. She is one of the few people who knows everything about us. That’s why I asked how well you know Simone? Is she a Lightworker by any chance?”
Estelle shook her head.
“No, she is not a Lightworker per say, but she is a pure soul. I wouldn’t let anyone who wasn’t pure work so closely with you. That is the reason we won’t be doing business with the GSC. In fact they worry me. They were very pissed off when we left. That jerk, Bradley Jones, is trouble.”
“You should have let me punch him. He deserved it,” Ethan said.
“Easy cowboy. You think I haven’t heard worse. Most men don’t like being told they are wrong by a woman. Even in this day and age, people still discriminate. Imagine that. Sometimes I don’t get it at all. Do these fools think I built an empire by making deals with the likes of him?”