“We can still see each other. You can come by the house and spend time with me there.”
“No, it’s ok. I’ll just see you Saturday night at the BBQ. If you’re still going.”
“Yes, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go together.”
“No I think I’d rather just meet you there.”
Ethan senses something is wrong. “Liv?”
“Sorry Ethan, I have another call, I have to go.” She hangs up before he can say anything else. Standing perfectly still, her heart squeezes in her chest. What did she just do?
Cursing, he digs his phone out of his pocket and sends her a text.
From Ethan: We must have been disconnected because I’m sure you know that hanging up on me would make me extremely angry. I’ll call you this evening so we can finish our conversation.
When he looks up, John is standing at his desk and looking at him perplexed. “What?” His tone is clipped.
“I’m going to be busy this weekend?” John asks curiously.
“Yes.” His mood is now impatient and angry.
“Ok.” This is news to him. “Where am I going to be?”
“You’re going to be staying at a hotel downtown Toronto for the weekend.” He’s purposely vague making John drag it out of him.
“Are you going to tell me why or are we going to keep playing this game?” John stares at him, not intimidated by his mood at all.
Glancing up at him, Ethan gathers up the papers he needs for his next meeting. “I have an appointment on Monday with someone from out of town but the only flight they could get comes in Friday afternoon. I need you to keep them entertained all weekend. I’ve got plans.”
“Ok. Who am I entertaining?” John is used to dealing with Ethan’s habit of being un-cooperative when he’s agitated, but he’s being particularly challenging today. A result he’s certain is due to the phone call he just finished.
Picking up his stuff, Ethan walks towards the door and says her name as he passes John. “Shannon Quinn.”
John stands frozen at the desk.
Ethan waits impatiently at the door. “Let’s go old man! We’re going to be late for our meeting.”
John rushes to his side, as he makes his way down the hall at a brisk pace. “Why is Shannon coming here for a meeting, Ethan?” He’s eager to know what’s really going on.
Ethan has been feeling terribly guilty for keeping his friend away from the woman he loves for so long. He certainly would not want word to get out that he has a soft spot for romance. If John insists on asking questions, he’ll dodge and deny in order protecting his reputation of being a hardened executive.
“Stop complaining. Miss Quinn is the legal counsel over seeing my case. It’s only appropriate that we meet in person at least once. You need to keep her happily entertained and out of my way until Monday.” Ethan stops walking and turns to face him. “Do you have a problem with that, John?”
John grins. “No sir!”
“Good, I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
John continues at his side as he resumes his walk to the boardroom. “Thank you Ethan.” He says discretely before they enter.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ignoring John’s smile he pushes the door open and steps inside.
Olivia has been on edge since receiving Ethan’s text. He hasn’t indicated what time he might be calling so every time her phone rings, her stomach fills with nervous anxiety. She needs to find a way to deal with him and quick, not to mention come up with an explanation for her behavior.
Her appetite has been off all day and she’s picking at a ham sandwich when he calls. Closing her eyes tightly, she gets control of her nervous stomach by the time she answers on the third ring.
“Hi.” She says nervously, not knowing if he’s still angry.
“Hi yourself. Is everything ok?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?” She asks calmly.
“You didn’t seem yourself this afternoon.” Ethan taps his pen repeated on the desk in a restive manner.
“Everything is fine.” She lies again, and he knows it.
“Can I explain to you about this weekend?” He desperately wants to tell her that John was not available because he arranged to have his girlfriend flown in for the weekend.
Her stomach begins to tighten and she struggles for a moment. “Ethan, there is really no need to explain. It’s none of my business what you do and who you do it with.”
“WHO? What do you mean?” Ethan leans back in his chair, troubled by her lies and bothered by her statement.
“We aren’t dating remember? We talked about that as part of our agreement.” She doesn’t mean for it to happen but her tone gets insolent. ” I’m pretty sure you were there.”
Ethan sits up in his chair. “Careful.” He warns.
Olivia looks to the ceiling and closes her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”
“What did you mean then?” He hears her sigh heavily through the phone.
“Just that, you don’t have to feel bad about not spending time with me. We agreed that sometimes we would get together and have sex. I have no other expectations from you other than that.” Her heart aches as she says it. Lies! All Lies! This isn’t what she wants.
Ethan puts his pen down and tries to massage the tension out of his neck. She probably should have stopped talking at that point but something spurs her on. “So, it’s ok if you want to go out with other girls. It’s perfectly acceptable under our current agreement.”
Ethan’s temper is starting to flare. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Well… you can if you want to.”
Ethan is beyond fed up with this agreement, and on the edge of losing his mind when there’s a knock on his office door. “Olivia, I have to go now, I think it’s best that we continue this discussion in person.”
“Ok. I’ll see you on Saturday for sure.” This time she waits for him to say goodbye before she hangs up.
Hannah peaks through the side window of Ethan’s office door and waits until he waves her in. She brings him a fresh pitcher of ice water with lemons as she does every day and places it on the corner of his desk.
“Thanks.” His voice is low and stressed and Hannah can’t resist trying to engage him in conversation. She has something on her mind.
“Girl trouble?” She asks, knowing full well that it is, compliments of her little chit chat last night.
Ethan sighs heavily. “How did you know?”
Hannah picks up the pitcher and pours him a glass. “Women’s intuition.”
Ethan opens up a little. “She’s acting strange today but I don’t know why.”
Hannah was hoping when she came in that she would have the opportunity to have this discussion with him. “She seemed alright last night.”
Ethan’s brow creases. “Last night?”
“Yes, I ran into her at Headwaters last night. She was having dinner with a very handsome man.”
It takes a moment to sink in, and then it occurs to him. The reason why she’s insistent that he date other women is that she’s obviously dating other men. The thought leaves him feeling a little shaken. Hannah stands at the side of his desk hoping to console him. “Ethan? Is everything ok?”
He rakes his fingers through his hair. “Yes, I’m fine. Will you excuse me please, Hannah. I have another conference call in a few minutes.”
Hannah is not disappointed. “Oh, of course.” She turns to leave, knowing that she’s planted a seed in his brain, and mistrust grows quickly.
“If you see John, please tell him I need him.”
“Yes I will. She closes the door behind her and turns to see John walking towards her. “He wants to see you.” She says softly.
John notes the nervous anxiety on her face. “I take it he’s not in a particularly good mood?”
She shakes her head no, and keeps walking, concealing her smile until she’s out of sight.
As Jo
hn opens the door, an object that’s launched across the room in anger, narrowly misses him. “Whoa! What the hell happened in the 20 minutes I was gone?”
“Call the gym and tell them I’m on the way down. Make sure there’s somebody ready to spar.“ Ethan makes his way into the washroom and changes into track pants and a t-shirt.
“You’re going for a few rounds of boxing… now?” John looks at his watch.
Ethan’s jaw is clenched tight and the vein in his forehead is jumping. “I need to punch something.” He slips on his black Converse high-tops and ties them tightly.
John raises an eyebrow. “Ok, I’ll have Parker sit in on the meeting and give you an update in the morning.” He pauses a moment. “Ethan… make sure you don’t say stuff like that when Miss Quinn is here.”
Ethan shoots him a look as he does up the zipper on his hoodie and then shoulders past him into the hallway, leaving him without any further explanation.
He’s almost at the gym when John catches up with him. “It’s your lucky day.”
“What’s going on?”
“There’s no one at the gym to spar with so you’re stuck with me.”
Ethan gives him a half a grin. “Are you sure you’re up to it? You’re kind of old.”
John throws his head back in laughter. “Well I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
Both men suit up and step into the ring. Moving around each other, they size each other up, but it’s Ethan that takes the first swing. John steps back and avoids the blow. Frustrated, Ethan steps in and tries again. This time John blocks and counters with a hard shot to Ethan’s stomach. Ethan pretends it was nothing, but the grunt he makes as the air is forced out of him tells a different story. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
John grins. “I’m just getting started, junior.”
Ethan is all youth and power and unleashes one punch after another in a relentless assault. Despite his age, John is fast and is able to block or avoid most of them. He counters a few good shots of his own and lands a quick jab on Ethan’s chin forcing his head to jerk back. Stepping back, he gives Ethan a moment to recover. Ethan opens and closes his jaw and twists his neck trying to realign everything. A heavy sweat now soaks his clothes and beads on his forehead under the protective headgear.
Ethan comes back at him hard swinging at him wildly with unrestrained power. John watches and responds. He continues the same attack repeatedly and within minutes, Ethan’s energy is spent. His arms, heavy and tired, slowing in their assault. Waiting for the perfect moment John delivers one powerful shot that sends Ethan to the floor. HARD.
Offering Ethan his hand, he pulls him to his feet. “You need to learn to harness that power. Boxing isn’t much different from soccer. You need to watch your opponent and get to know his habits then wait patiently for a well-placed shot. Hitting hard and fast only tires you out.”
Ethan says nothing. He’s been taken to the proverbial woodshed by a man 10 years his senior. He can’t deny that it was a well-taught lesson. Untying their gloves, they try to catch their breath and prepare to leave.
“So what pissed you off? Or did you suddenly find your stapler offensive?”
“Hannah said that Olivia was at the restaurant last night having dinner with another man.”
John looks surprised. “Are you sure? I would be careful believing anything Hannah says. She does have an ulterior motive after all.” He moves to the corner and picks up both water bottles, and tosses one to Ethan.
“What do you mean?” He squirts a generous amount of water in his mouth and then spits it out. John picks up a towel and wipes the sweat off his face before looking at him in disbelief. “You’re joking right? Hannah doesn’t want Olivia around. She wants you for herself.”
Ethan is surprised. “She does?”
John throws a towel at him. “Christ, how hard did I hit you?”
It’s late by the time Ethan showers and walks to his car. His shoulders tense, when he sees Eva Storm leaning against it, waiting. He sighs and makes a mental note to have a chat with security. She looks worried today, the kind and gentle expression morphed into a look of anguish and unrest. Unlocking the door with the remote, the blip echoes loudly through the empty space. Eva doesn’t wait for him to acknowledge her. She needs to tell him something. “What are you waiting for, child? You need to tell her.”
He knows that he should ignore her, but he engages her in conversation. Wrong thing to do with a stalker! “Tell who, what exactly?” He’s just plain curious now.
“The one whose fingerprints are on your soul. You must tell her, who you are.”
A cool breeze blows past them and makes him shudder. Nervously, he looks around for the source of the draft. Eerie! Swinging his bag off his shoulder, he opens the back door to Challenger and throws it in. When he turns to tell her that he thinks she’s bat shit crazy… Yup, VANISHED again.
Driving home to Dufferin County, he considers stopping at Olivia’s and straightening things out. His mind is racing in several different directions; it’s been such a strange day. Deciding that it’s best to wait until he’s not both mentally and physically exhausted, he drives home and finds Rachel sitting on the couch with a cup of tea.
She looks up when he comes in. “Hey.”
“Can’t sleep?” He puts his bag down on the floor.
She shakes her head no, looking lost and forlorn
“You and Scott still not seeing eye to eye on starting a family?”
Again, she shakes her head no. “I just wish I was as sure as he is that I’d make a good mother.”
Ethan sits beside her. “Well from what I’ve heard, every woman worries about that.”
“I guess.” She shrugs, taking a sip of tea and putting her mug down on the coffee table.
“I think you should trust Scott, Rach. He loves you very much and believes you would be a wonderful mother. I’ve only known you a short while but I see the way that you care for your friends. And really… the only prerequisite you need to raise a child is the ability to love. You certainly have that.”
His words are sincere and for the first time she doesn’t feel like motherhood is an impossibility. “Thank you Ethan. You’re right.” She relaxes a little and smiles. So, you’ve been working late every night. Tough week?”
“Brutal, actually.”
Rachel laughs. “Ha! You’re lucky you haven’t had to deal with Olivia this week. She has been absolutely impossible. I don’t know why but she isn’t eating. Something is bothering her.”
“No kidding. I talked to her today and she hung up on me.”
Rachel is shocked. “No way!” Then she giggles. “Part PMS, part starvation.”
Ethan suddenly feels agitated. “Someone told me that she was on a date with some guy last night.”
Rachel is shocked. “What? That’s not possible.”
“It’s true, she was seen at my restaurant having dinner with a man. A very good looking man apparently.” He finds it hard, even now, to think about it without feeling a jealous rage starting to brew.
Rachel is still a non-believer. ”Ethan, there are only two men, besides yourself, that Olivia would trust enough to go out with. So, it could only have been either Scott or Noah. And Scott was working late with you last night.” She pauses, feeling suspicious for a moment. “Wasn’t he?”
Ethan reassures her. “Yes, he was. So it was Noah then.” That doesn’t make him feel any better.
Rachel gives him a sympathetic smile. “Hey, trust me. She’s done with him.”
“I don’t get it, then why is she so determined to push me away?”
“She’s frightened.”
“Rachel, you have to tell me what this Sam guy did to her. Please.“ He begs.
Rachel sips her tea and thinks for a moment. “It’s not really my story to tell, Ethan. However, I think you should know. Olivia had just broken up with someone and feeling very vulnerable when Scott introduced her to Sam. He had just moved here from the cit
y and had joined the soccer team. They hit it off right away and Olivia fell fast and hard. Things seemed great and then I started noticing small marks and bruises on her arms and legs. One day she showed up with a split lip and black eye and a non-convincing story about falling.”
Ethan listens without interrupting and thinks about what he would do to this man if he ever crossed his path.
Rachel sighs. “I finally convinced her to leave him. She told him that night that she was breaking it off and… he snapped.”
She chokes back the tears trying to get the rest of the story out. Ethan passes her the box of tissue from the end table. “I found her the next day unconscious on her bed. He had hit her so hard that he split her head open. The mattress was so soaked with blood that I was afraid she was dead.” She wipes her nose with the tissue. “We got her to the hospital and they came out to tell us that it took fourteen stitches to close the gash on her skull and that they were keeping her in an induced coma until the swelling went down. Other than that, she had a lot of bruises and a fractured rib but they were confident she would be ok.“ Rachel’s tears start streaming down her cheek at an increased pace. Ethan’s heart becomes heavy and pained at her reaction, feeling guilty that he has caused her this upset. “It wasn’t until later that the doctor in the emergency department told me that there was overwhelming evidence that he had raped her.”
“Jesus Christ!” Ethan can’t focus his thoughts. His mind is racing in a million different directions. All different ways he’s going to hunt this bastard down and murder him.
She wipes her nose and tears with the back of her hand and takes a deep breath in. “To this day, she denies it.”
“What?” Ethan feels sick.
“She denies that he raped her. She says that it was consensual.”
“Why would she do that?” It’s an irrational thing to do and Ethan struggles to wrap his head around it.
“Scott thinks it’s because she can’t cope with it. Accepting that he raped her, I mean.”
Ethan blows out a deep breath. “Wow!” Pressing his hands to his temples he massages the twitching nerves.
Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series Page 28
