by S R Nulton
The lady hummed in approval before moving on to talk to someone else. And that was the least dangerous thing said about him! That he might kill an employee because he wasn’t careful… it could open up investigations with several agencies that would cause him to shut down the forge while they look into his safety practices!
I glanced around the room, trying to see if JJ was still there and had been able to find someone who would listen to her poison. She wasn’t. Her lover was though.
“What is Cayden doing here?” I mumbled to myself.
“Trying to undermine your boss in the least obvious way possible, not that he’s all that good at being subtle,” Bloom said as she sidled up. “He keeps complimenting something and then putting on his ‘brotherly worry and disapproval’ face right before he makes Ethan sound like a hazard to himself and others. It’s actually quite brilliant. Fairly blunt, but brilliant. If he wanted to make it more effective, he should stick to two or three stories and avoid telling them to the same group of people.”
I was shocked. “That’s awful! Why is he so hateful toward his brother?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but whatever you have been doing, keep it up. Everyone who speaks with you goes out and tells about five other people what you said. It is actually backfiring on him and he doesn’t even realize it, all because he doesn’t believe that anyone notices how he and Ethan don’t actually interact. Seriously, he comes to his brother’s art exhibit, the same brother he helped destroy the marriage of, and doesn’t actually try to talk to the man? That is shady and everyone knows it. Everyone also knows that Cayden got JJ knocked up and still hasn’t married her. He actually laughs at the idea when it’s brought up.”
“Yes, well he’s never been good at being sneaky. He’s more of a brute force attacker. He liked the fight more than he likes winning.”
Before we could continue the conversation, the gallery owner started flipping the lights on and off, signaling the start of the auction.
“Alright, folks,” she began. “I just want to thank you for coming to this lovely artist showcase!” There was applause and then she started again. “Now this is the portion of the night you have been waiting for! Each artist has donated a piece that will be auctioned off and all proceeds will be sent to support the local children’s hospital. So, pull out your checkbooks and get ready to see some truly spectacular pieces!”
She was right about the art. All of the artists who had been invited to show their work were very much into charity work, so they kept their most beautiful work for the auction. Each piece was stunning, a masterpiece in their collections, but when Ethan’s came up last, I was shocked to my core.
He hadn’t shown it to me, wanting it to be a surprise. And it was.
The sculpture was abstract, but reminded me of a tropical flower. The whole thing had been enameled, a rare process for him to go through and all the more valuable because of it. Creamy white and brilliant gold gave way to a stunning blue-green shade and finally a pale pink at the edges.
“Okay folks, this is the last piece and it is from Ethan Black’s latest collection. The first in a series that will be sold in charity auctions for the rest of the year. And this one is called… ‘Grace’.”
Bloom gasped and I froze for a moment before turning to look at Ethan. He seemed a bit apprehensive, but met my gaze anyway and nodded ever so slightly.
As the audience began to bid, I kept my eyes locked with his and let my shock take over.
My middle name was Grace.
He had sculpted me.
CHAPTER 6: BREAKTIME
THE SCULPTURE WAS an absolute hit. It ended up going for upwards of $500,000 and the combined total from everything sold at the auction was $2.3 million. There were going to be some very happy hospital administrators and very relieved parents!
By the end of the night I’d made the decision not to talk to him about it. About any of the pieces in the series he was auctioning off. I was scared that they might all be based on me and I didn’t want to begin to think about why. That would open doors in my heart that had no right to be opened. I had just started to settle into my job. I didn’t want to endanger it by entertaining romantic thoughts about my boss.
Besides, artists used lots of people for subjects because they were inspiring. It didn’t automatically mean that they were attracted to all of them.
Things quieted down after that. I helped Bloom and Joy tear everything down and then went back to the hotel room for a fairly restless night.
I mean, how do you react when you discover that your boss finds you just as fascinating as you find him? Even if it was in a totally platonic way.
What made it harder was that I didn’t know how I really felt about him. I mean, I liked him. A lot. Ethan was a wonderful person and I’d known that for years, but I had always associated him with a big “Off Limits” sign. I had a feeling that it would take a bit for my brain to reclassify him, and I almost always let my brain have charge over my emotions. Getting caught up in what you feel is fine as long as you remember that your heart has a tendency to lie to you and that emotions aren’t truth.
I felt a little better when I got up the next day. Sleep always had the ability to calm me and make me more rational. Also, it is easier to view life as it actually is when you don’t have literal sparkles in your eyes because of your make-up. The gold mineral powder kept glinting in my vision the whole night before and gave all my memories a weird, magical halo.
“Morning,” Ethan said as I met him at the front of the hotel.
“Morning,” I replied, smiling. “How did you sleep?”
“Not bad. I’m looking forward to tomorrow though.”
I frowned and tried to think about what was going on the next day, but drew a blank. “Okay, I give, what’s tomorrow?”
He blinked. “My fun day. I thought you knew. After every show I take a day to myself and go do something completely unrelated to my business. Usually it is a beach day.” He paused for a moment. “Why don’t you come with me? You deserve a break too and I know you haven’t gotten down to the water yet.”
“Uh, sure. Sounds like fun.”
He smiled, the laugh lines drawing my attention to his unusual eyes. They were technically brown, but they looked more like orange in certain lights. I’d looked it up after meeting him and found out that they were actually amber, which was one of the rarest eye colors in the world. Making them more interesting was the dark ring that circled his iris, looking more black than dark brown. Secretly I’d always thought it appropriate that a man who worked so much with fire should have eyes that reflected his career.
The drive back to his home felt quick. There was no traffic and we both seemed to feel all talked out after the party, so we just enjoyed the views and some classical music. Ethan was very big into opera and orchestral pieces, at least while driving. His choices that day were all film scores and it made me grin to realize that the theme from “Pride and Prejudice” had made it into his mix.
When we got back to the house, we found a casserole on the stove from Rosa, still hot and ready to eat.
That was the first meal we ate together.
~
I was a little nervous about the beach day we had planned. JJ’s words were bothering me. I knew I wasn’t fat (anymore) but I wasn’t precisely thin either. My family had a tendency to carry extra weight on our abundant curves. Oh, and I had a fairly large bone structure. That isn’t a copout, by the way. It isn’t an excuse for weighing more. It is an excuse for having a larger dress size than most people. It’s an annoying fact, but my ancestors were known for big bones, bulky muscles, and easy weight gain to protect them from the winter cold. Not exactly helpful for someone living in California.
Anyway, I decided to play it safe and wear a one piece and some board shorts. Bikinis were hit and miss for me and I tried to avoid them unless I was in my backyard and looking to tan. Ethan had implied there would be activity though, so coverage meant less awkwar
d situations.
A knock at my door drew me away from my examination of the black and white striped bathing suit I was wearing. When I answered it, Ethan smiled and took a quick inventory of my outfit.
“You’ll want a sweater this morning. It’s still a little early in the year and pretty cold down there,” he told me.
I nodded and grabbed my grey pullover before following him out and closing my door.
“So, what are we up to today?” I asked, excited to see what he normally did on his days off. He was still quite the mystery and I’d always wanted to be a detective when I grew up.
“Well, I figured we check out the tide pools this morning and then go kayaking for a bit and barbeque lunch on the beach.”
I blinked. “Wow. I mean, sure that sounds awesome. Is this what you normally do?”
He nodded and led the way down to the water. “I go kayaking at least every other week and I also go out fishing. I like the solitude and the struggle against the water. It keeps me grounded, so to speak. Reminds me that some stuff just fights because it is in its nature, not because it actively wants to hurt you.”
His was so relaxed sounding when he talked about the water that I had to ask, “You really like the ocean, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I was raised right on the beach. It has been a constant in my world for most of my life. Really, any water is fine by me. I actually worked as a pearl hunter for a few years, both fresh and salt water, trying to get more familiar with them. The first pearl necklace I ever made was from pearls I found in the wild.”
I smirked as I heard the pride in his voice and began to understand him a little more. He’d always been praised for the necklaces he created, and he always seemed to use pearls, abalone shell, and other things that came from the water, which confused people. He only ever used gems when he was accenting something else, but everything else seemed to be nautical themed. It was an odd choice in an industry that specialized in rocks pulled from the earth and refined with fire. Now I knew why. It was how he had learned and what was in his blood, a connection to his youth and a part of him that he rarely shared with others.
It also made JJ’s choice to give his present to me even more heinous.
When we reached the beach, he proceeded to take me on a tour of the pools. He was an ocean enthusiast and had chosen to build his home where he did because of the proximity to the miniature habitats. I hadn’t looked at tide pools since I was in grade school, so I was having a blast. The company definitely helped though.
“Many varieties of sea star can lose a limb and regrow it and a few can regrow the disc, the center portion, from just one leg. They are so extraordinary!” He sounded like a little boy I’d met once who explained to me the name and job of every piece of construction equipment that he could remember. There was so much excitement and joy in his face and voice!
We climbed the rocks around the pools and examined the mollusks and fish and crabs in between discussing his favorite musical pieces that were inspired by the ocean for close to two hours. At that point, we noticed the tide starting to come in and decided that it was time to get out on the water.
Ethan got me set up with a life vest and made certain that it was properly snugged and I knew how to react if I fell into the water. He also informed me that he had lifeguard training, which included first aid certification that he renewed regularly.
“You’ll be safe with me,” he reminded me one more time before we headed out. And I somehow knew that I would, which unsettled me a bit. I’d never felt like that with a guy before, except for the short while before my father died.
I shook my head slightly and concentrated on what we were doing.
Now, I had been kayaking before, but never on the ocean. I was very glad that Ethan was with me, because I would never have been able to make it out past the surf otherwise, even taking off from the little dock he’d built just for that purpose. Then there was the fact that the tide was against us. It made me glad for his blacksmith muscles, because my puny arms would not have been able to push us beyond the breaks.
Even with his strength, it wasn’t a smooth ride. Once we were out there though, the view was magnificent.
The gentle rocking of the swells seemed to loosen something inside me. I turned my face to the sky and closed my eyes, just enjoying the warmth and quiet crashing echoing back from the shoreline.
We paddled up the coast a ways and then turned around to head back before we got to close to the town. A couple of times we were joined by others enjoying the water. None of our visitors were human, though. Once it was a pelican who eyed us disdainfully, as if we were scaring off his lunch. Another time we had a seal try and play with us. He kept circling and bobbing up the boat, nosing us and snuffling before slipping away to frolic in the water once again.
Once we got back, Ethan set up a little fire before going to the dock and catching a couple fish for us. He cleaned them and cooked them up for both of us, including some supplies that he’d hidden out there before he picked me up. Fresh fish on spinach salad with all the fixings and potatoes baked in the coals tasted amazing and the root beers he pulled out for both of us just made everything perfect.
“So,” he began, breaking the silence for the first time since we’d left the tide pools. I hadn’t actually noticed ‘til then, but words hadn’t really been necessary. “I probably should have asked you this yesterday, but how are you doing? After the whole JJ thing?”
I blinked and realized that he was talking about her haranguing me at the show. “Fine. I actually forgot all about it.” Seeing his incredulous look, I explained, “That wasn’t the worst she’s ever said to me.”
Ethan frowned. “It isn’t? What was the worst?”
I laughed. “Ah, that would be when she called me a talentless leech who destroyed everything I touched. She said it right after I was given some really bad news, so I wasn’t at my best and she took advantage of that. She does that a lot.”
He nodded. “She really does. I’ve noticed that it’s only with people who don’t dote on her.”
“That’s for sure. The fact is that she can’t stand not to be well thought of. No, it’s more than that, more like obsessed over. She has to be the only thing someone can concentrate on. And she often is. I think that’s why she leaked the video.”
“What?” He sat up straight and stared me down.
“You rarely came to the city or were at the parties she threw and attended, but it was right when your popularity began to take off. You’d just finished a commission for a big park in D.C. and all of a sudden everyone was asking about you. What inspired you. How you two met. What you were working on right then. Every other sentence was a question about you. At least half the people asked why you never came with JJ to any of the parties. Those were the worst because it was considered an open secret that she was cheating on you, but all of a sudden you were popular and respected, not someone that could be made into a shadowy bad guy. So, she spun it to make herself a victim.”
He grunted and added more fuel to our bonfire. “Why did you work for her so long if she was so awful to you?”
“Easy. My sisters had just been burned by a former employee who stole their client list and was poised to completely destroy them. JJ was their ticket to escaping bankruptcy. I’d been assigned to her for less than a week when she demanded I find a new party planner for a big dinner she was hosting. I offered my sisters’ and she bit, loving the idea of being the one to make nobodies big and being seen as altruistic.”
That seemed to shake him, like he’d never considered that angle before. “Then why did you quit? Did you not need her anymore?”
I snorted. “Please, by that time my sisters had a big enough client list to stop working for JJ completely, even if a lot of them were her cronies. No, at that point I was trying to keep her from exploding and taking all of you down with her. She had just been dropped from her agency and all the major fashion houses refused to work with her. Her veneer had crack
ed and all the poison underneath had gotten loose. She was spiraling and looking for a way to salvage her career. You were on your way up and she was on her way down.
“Honestly,” I sighed, “when I found out she’d used me to smear your name, I started looking for a way out of my contract. When I found out the company would no longer be supplying her with an assistant, I made sure to find her someone who could deal with her crap and I got the heck out of dodge. I was fine with the pay cut as long as I didn’t have to deal with her crazy anymore.”
He pulled out some s’mores makings and handed me a marshmallow and a repurposed wire hanger. “So you stayed for the same reason you quit? Because she was out of control?”
I nodded. “And hurting people. You in particular. It’s the same reason I agreed to work for you when Mr. Montgomery assigned me to you. I hate myself for not finding a way to warn you about JJ and the video, but I knew I couldn’t sit by and watch your father mess with your life. I finally had the chance to do something to prevent you from getting hurt, so I took the opportunity.”
That seemed to satisfy him and we quietly made our dessert, enjoying the beautiful day at the beach before smothering the fire and packing up.
I couldn’t help but hope he invited me to his next ‘Fun Day’.
~
Ethan watched Aggy as they made dinner together. They’d started doing that right after their beach day. He normally hated being around people, but she was restful somehow. She didn’t chatter or demand attention, she just… was.
Actually, they’d started doing quite a bit together. They drove to church every Sunday, ate most of their meals with one another, and spent most of their free time together too. He’d never sought anyone’s presence before, except possibly his family, so he was enjoying the new sensation.