by Nicki Night
“Shena.” Zoe climbed the stairs frantically, two steps at a time.
Shena was in her bedroom.
“Shena,” Zoe called again softly. “Hey. You okay?”
Shena was pacing back and forth, grabbing handfuls of her hair. Tears streamed down her face. Her words were clipped and erratic. She wasn’t making sense.
Zoe cautiously stepped into the room. “Wanna talk?”
“No! I don’t want to talk to anyone! I can’t. I don’t wanna,” Shena yelled and went back to her erratic speech.
“Come to my house. I could use your help.” Zoe hoped she would agree. Laura needed a break.
Shena stopped pacing. “Why. Who’s there?” she snapped.
“It will be just you and me, that’s it. I’ll make a nice salad. I know how much keeping your figure means to you.” Zoe laughed, hoping Shena would, too. “Come on. I could use the company. Please.”
Shena sat at the foot of the bed. For several moments, she remained silent. Zoe sighed in relief. Maybe she was going to be okay. Then suddenly, Shena burst into tears.
“Shena.” Zoe inched closer and put her arms around her sister’s shoulders. “Come with me.”
Zoe expected Shena to protest, as she was clearly irritated, but she didn’t. “Okay,” she said instead in a childlike voice. “I’m so tired.” Her voice was weak.
“I know. Pack a bag. We can stop for food along the way.” Zoe prayed they’d get to her house without incident. When Shena was in a bad way, her behavior became extreme. At times she was overly giddy; at others she was highly agitated and irrational.
Shena shook her head. While she packed belongings, Zoe went down to tell their mother that she would be taking Shena with her. The Blackwell office was closed for one more day. Zoe didn’t mind spending that time helping her mother and sister out. Plus, Shena liked being at Zoe’s house. Maybe that could help ease her mood swings. Perhaps she could get to the bottom of what was going on with Shena’s meds. With the way she was acting, Zoe was convinced that Shena hadn’t been taking them like she said she was.
Once they’d gotten everything together, Zoe asked Shena if she’d packed her medicine.
“No. I don’t have anymore. I don’t need them anyway.”
Zoe wanted to scold her sister, ask her what she was thinking. Instead, she sucked in a deep breath. There was no use going there now. Shena wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Zoe knew she’d have to make an appointment, go to the doctor with her sister and make sure she got a new prescription. She’d done it all before.
During the car ride back to Zoe’s, Shena said nothing. That gave Zoe space to think, and despite how much was on her mind, Ethan popped up.
She couldn’t stop thinking of him. This situation confirmed that continuing to see him wasn’t a good idea. What would happen once he got a glimpse into her reality? Would he still be so smitten?
At home, she and Shena ate the food they’d picked up along the way. Shena still said very little. A while later, she lay across the couch and slept like a rock.
Zoe covered her with a throw and headed to her room. In the bathroom, she looked in the mirror. She could see the weariness from lack of rest in her own eyes. She and Ethan hadn’t done much sleeping.
And her mind was back on him. Some thoughts made her core flutter, others scared her.
“What. Are. You. Doing?” she said aloud.
This all felt good. In fact it felt amazing and adventurous and forbidden and of course fun, but it had to stop. How long would they be able to hide their affair? Someone was bound to find out. He’d be in major trouble. It would embarrass his family. She’d be out of a job. Plain and simple. Despite how it felt—how she felt—despite how much fun they had and could potentially have, it was up to Zoe to shut it down.
She decided to tell him when he came to her branch this week. She even went over a few scenarios in her head. She wasn’t going to waste any time. The very next time he set foot in her branch, she was going to ask him to her office and explain why they couldn’t go on like this.
* * *
Zoe arrived at her office extra early on Thursday. Nervous energy coursed through her veins, putting her on edge. Although they’d texted one another, Zoe hadn’t laid eyes on Ethan since he had dropped her off at her place on Monday afternoon. A part of her couldn’t wait to see his gorgeous face. On the other hand, she just wanted to hurry and speak with him so they could both move on.
Instead of going in on Wednesday, she took an extra day off to visit the doctor’s office with Shena to make sure she was set up with the right medicine. She even went to the pharmacy with her to pick up her prescription and made her take the first pill right in front of her. With Shena taken care of without incident, and their mother getting some well-needed rest, there wasn’t much left to distract Zoe from thinking of Ethan. And he appeared in her thoughts constantly.
At her desk, she turned on her computer but failed to take in any of the information she scanned in her emails. She sat back and rubbed her temples. “Focus, girl.”
She went back to an email from one of the other branch managers who’d had to stay out another day due to home repairs from the storm. She tried to read a few more, but still unable to concentrate, she got up and paced.
She couldn’t eject Ethan from her thoughts, so she contemplated the words she would use to let him know they had to end this...this...whatever they were doing before Zoe got hurt.
She practiced letting him down easy, explaining why it made sense to call it quits. She’d even dressed more conservatively than she ever had since she started working at Blackwell: a basic black suit, a black-and-white blouse with a bow at the neck and practical black pumps. “Nothing to see here,” she joked, mimicking a police officer.
Zoe’s door was closed, but she could hear the chatter of her staff as they arrived for the workday. When Ethan came into the branch, he usually didn’t arrive before ten in the morning. She looked at the set of clocks on her wall depicting several time zones. The flat screen on her office wall, always tuned to her favorite financial news network, confirmed that it was just after nine o’clock. She had time.
The moment that thought left her mind she heard his voice.
Her body stiffened. He had arrived.
Three light taps at her door. Instead of answering, Zoe remained still. He tapped again.
“Zoe,” Ethan called through the door. His voice went right through her as always.
“One moment.” Zoe punched the air twice and huffed. Then she stood tall, straightened her suit jacket and swallowed. She took calculated steps to the door.
“Hey, Ethan,” she greeted as if all were cheery. “Come on in. I’m glad you’re here early. I need to talk to you.” She turned on her heel and headed toward her desk, wringing her hands.
“Cool.” Ethan closed the door behind him. She heard the lock click.
Before she could make it to her desk, Ethan caught up with her, took her by the arm and gently turned her around and kissed her. The kiss was wild and passionate. It felt forbidden.
“Mm. I’ve missed that,” he whispered.
The sweet way he spoke made her knees wobble. Before she could respond, he kissed her again. She welcomed the deep kiss without protest. He pulled her close to him, and Zoe thought she would melt from the heat of their bodies together.
When he softened back, she had to catch her breath. She touched her kiss-swollen lips. Ethan’s touch made her weak.
“Ethan.” She found her voice, scolding him with the way she said his name.
“Don’t worry, I locked your door.” He planted a series of pecks on her lips before letting her go. He sat in the chair across from her desk.
Zoe needed a few seconds to gather herself. This wasn’t going as she’d planned. Finally she sat. “Ethan,” she said evenly.
“Wa
it!” He held his hand up. “Do you know who Leah Cartwright is? What do you think about her?”
“Of course I know who she is. I think she’s amazing. Why?”
“Good. Would you like to meet her?”
“Wait. What?” Zoe was confused. “What are you talking about, Ethan?”
“I thought you would. She’s coming to the Barclays this weekend to speak and sign her new book. A friend dropped some VIP tickets in my lap. We can meet her backstage after the event.”
Zoe’s mouth dropped. She admired Leah Cartwright immensely. She had never been the fangirl type but Leah Cartwright was...different. She was Zoe’s favorite motivational speaker. Zoe had watched her talk show when it was still on the air and had read all of her books. She’d always wanted to attend one of Leah’s live appearances. When she’d heard that Leah was coming to New York, she’d wanted to attend but the tickets had cost hundreds of dollars. As much as Zoe loved Leah, she wasn’t willing to sell off stock to see her.
But what Ethan had offered was different. Not only would Zoe get to see her, she would be able to actually meet her. She was going to meet Leah Cartwright in the flesh!
“Wait!” Zoe held her hand up. She couldn’t let Ethan suck her in. She had to put a stop to this. “Ethan.”
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d like this. The opportunity came up and I thought of you, but if you don’t want to go, it’s fine. I’d still like to spend time with you this weekend. I have a few great places that I’d like to take you. All off the beaten path.”
Zoe sighed. She wanted to spend time with him both on and off the beaten path. That was the truth.
She really liked him. What if she truly fell for him and all of a sudden, they had to end it all? By then she’d be in too deep. It would hurt more later. If she cut ties now, she could put the weekend behind her and accept the fact that they would never be together.
But just like him, she really wanted more. Zoe closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Zoe?” Ethan looked concerned.
“What are we getting into here, Ethan?”
“Just having fun, remember? But I don’t want to push you.” The light in his eyes dimmed a little. “Think about the event this weekend. Let me know. Okay?”
Zoe watched him walk out of her office. She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.
Sixteen
Ethan was happy to get the call from Zoe about the Leah Cartwright event. There was something about Zoe; he didn’t understand it himself, but he wasn’t willing to just let it pass. Being with her felt good, even though he knew it was wrong.
He’d managed to keep his weekend with Zoe to himself so far and planned to keep things that way. That could present a problem down the line, but he wanted to see how far this could go. As long as he was careful, they would be fine.
Ethan’s driver maneuvered along the streets of Zoe’s neighborhood with ease now, but he knew that once they hit downtown Brooklyn, traffic would be a nightmare. He didn’t feel like being bothered with congested streets and lack of parking, so he’d ordered a car to take them to the event and bring them back. First, they would have dinner at a friend’s restaurant near Dumbo. It was an exclusive place off the beaten path. Ethan wasn’t worried about running into Carter. He had called him earlier in the day to gauge his whereabouts for the evening.
The driver pulled up in front of Zoe’s town house. Ethan stepped out, straightened his suit and walked to her door. After a few quick taps, the door opened, and Zoe filled the entrance with her gorgeous frame. She looked radiant in a touch more makeup than she normally wore to the office. Her hot pink lips were enticing. Her electric blue jumpsuit was stylish and the pink shoes and handbag finished her look in that well-put-together, unexpected way she always managed.
Ethan felt himself smile. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you. Let me get my jacket.”
Zoe went back in, grabbed her coat and met him back at the door in no time. He reached for her hand as they walked to the car. She looked around and hesitated before placing her hand in his.
“There’s no one around here we need to worry about,” he said, realizing she was nervous. Prior to this, they had spent all their time together indoors.
“I guess.” She shrugged.
Ethan stopped walking and faced her. “Thanks for coming. I’m glad you changed your mind. I promise this will be fun, and like I said, as soon as we’re no longer having fun, we’ll stop. No hard feelings.”
“Ethan.” Zoe paused. “What if the fun doesn’t stop or we end up taking things further?”
“Yeah.”
They stared at one another. Silence blossomed between them for a few long moments.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Okay?” Ethan finally said. “We’ll just shift our focus back to work. It will be our secret. No hard feelings. How hard could that be for two consenting adults?”
Zoe pressed her lips together. “Okay.” She shook her head as if she needed to confirm what her mouth had just said with an action.
“But let’s not think about that now. Let’s just focus on the fun part.”
Zoe nodded. “Okay,” she said again.
“All in?” Ethan asked.
“All in,” she replied.
At the exquisite French restaurant, Ethan greeted his friend Jacques. The host led them to a table overlooking the water.
“I forgot to ask,” Ethan said to Zoe. “How’s your family after the storm? Did they suffer any flooding or damage?”
He noticed that she looked away. A moment ticked by before she answered. “Fortunately—” she picked up her wineglass and sipped “—they’re fine. No floods. No outages.”
“Are you all close?”
“Yes. We’re a small bunch.”
Ethan changed the subject. Zoe didn’t seem enthusiastic about that conversation. The waiter returned with their appetizers.
“Ready to order your entrées or would you like a little more time?” The waiter’s French accent stitched his words together like a melody. Ethan smiled and listened carefully as Zoe placed her order. He wanted to know all about the things she liked.
“Ever been to Paris?” he asked her once the waiter left.
“No, but I like his accent.” Her spirits seemed to lift, evidently liking this conversation better than the one about family. “It’s on my bucket list. I want to set foot on the other six continents.”
“I see. Which ones haven’t you been to?”
“Outside of North America, I’ve only traveled to islands off the coast of South America. How many continents have you traveled to?”
“All but Antarctica.”
“If I were to leave one out, that would be the one. It’s probably too cold for my blood.” Zoe laughed.
Ethan smiled. He liked the sound of her laugh. “What other areas are on your bucket list?”
“Just about everywhere,” she admitted gamely. “London, Iceland, Scotland, Paris, Ethiopia, Italy, Greece, Tokyo, South Africa, Australia. You’re going to have to pay me more money so I can get to some of these places.”
“Ha!” Ethan leaned forward over the table. “I see where your bonus is going. If we win this competition with the other branches, we’ll both have more to travel with.”
“Speaking of which... I know we’re not supposed to talk about work, but I have this great idea of doing a series of information sessions that I think will be helpful for current and prospective clients and it could also help bring in more business.”
“Really?” He drew back. “Tell me more.”
Zoe explained her idea in more detail. Ethan simply shook his head while she explained.
“Wow! That’s brilliant.”
“I believe it will set us apart from competitors both inside and outside of the company and show how we p
lace a strong focus on service and value. The industry has changed so much.” Zoe took a sip of her wine. “Lost that personal touch. I think people would like that.”
Ethan pondered her idea. “I love it. Let’s get started on that first thing Monday. Outline what these events would look like. We can get on a management call with the rest of the team and begin rolling these out branch by branch across our territory and see how it works.”
“Don’t tell Carter,” she warned. “If this works, it will give us an advantage over the other regions and we’ll win for sure.”
“I like your thinking, Zoe.”
They talked more over dinner about ways to boost business, each idea giving them more energy. He loved how passionate she was about business. Zoe constantly confirmed her worth. He’d picked the best.
But as much as he loved talking shop with her, he eventually turned the conversation back to the two of them. They could talk about business Monday through Friday from nine to five. This time he had with her tonight was personal. That was what Ethan wanted for this night—to get personal with Zoe.
Their dinner was as delectable as Ethan had anticipated. The moment they finished, he paid the bill, gave the waiter a hefty tip and together, he and Zoe jumped back into their waiting car and headed over to the Barclays. Ethan held her hand in the car. He wanted to do much more than that but kept his cool. Memories of the explosive times they’d shared in his bed invaded his thoughts. There was more to Zoe than great sex and he wanted to explore those things, too.
When they arrived, he helped her out of the car but purposely let go of her hand as they walked past the long, winding lines leading up to the main entrance and headed over to the VIP doorway. They were greeted politely and ushered right inside. Zoe kept a cool expression on her face, but he could tell she was excited.
Inside the suite, Ethan greeted his colleague Colin, a tall, muscular, bald gentleman with stark blue eyes. He pulled Ethan into a bear hug as his greeting.
“Colin, this is Zoe Baldwin,” Ethan introduced them. “She runs the Garden City branch of Blackwell Wealth Management.”