Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series

by Tricia Daniels

  Olivia grunts her annoyance. “First... he is NOT my boyfriend.” She ignores Rachel’s eye roll. “And second, I’m fairly certain that you would never walk into Scott’s office during the work day and let him lay you out on his desk.”

  Rachel stands in silence and then a slow wicked grin starts to curl at the edge of her lips. Olivia’s mouth drops. “Shut up! You did not.”

  A full-blown grin now rests on Rachel’s face and she snickers. “Laid out on it, bent over it…”

  Olivia holds her hand up in the air halting any further information from being shared. “Ew, I’m going to think about that every time I look at Scott now. Thanks for the visual.“ She walks away, afraid to hear any more. “Oh, by the way I can’t find my phone again. I think I might have left it at Ethan’s house, but I think I should stop by and see if it’s in his car while I’m downtown. I just wanted to let you know in case you are trying to reach me.”

  When she glances back over her shoulder Rachel is smiling and shaking her head. “Drive safely downtown in that car of yours. Especially if you have no way to call for help if it breaks down again. As soon as you find your cell, please text me and let me know you’re ok.”

  “Will do.”

  Getting back to her desk, she calls her client and arranges to take them out to lunch so she can explain the plan she has to fix their software problem. Then she dials Ethan’s cell number to find out if he’ll be available to see her afterwards. He doesn’t answer and she finds it odd that the call seems to get dropped without going to voicemail. She dials the number two more times with the same results and scowls.

  In the large empty foyer of Aurora technologies, Ethan’s phone buzzes to life on the corner of Hannah’s desk. Curious, she peeks at the screen to see Olivia’s name. Feeling jealous, she reaches over and hits the button, disconnecting it before the call can be directed to voicemail. She does the same thing the next two times, proud of her interception.

  It’s almost time to leave and Olivia wonders if Ethan is in an important meeting and has turned off the ringer or ignored her calls because he can’t be disturbed. Rachel sticks her head in Olivia’s office door. “Scott’s not there.” Rachel informs her. “He’s out with a client so he’s not sure if Ethan is even in the office today.”

  “Oh, ok. Can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?” She uses Rachel’s phone to send him a text. Surely he’ll check them when he’s done whatever it is that he’s doing. She tries not to have negative thoughts, reassuring herself several times that he’s at work and a very busy man.

  When Olivia’s text message comes through Hannah peeks around the corner to make sure no one is coming and then picks up the phone and deletes it. Then she quickly scrolls to the incoming calls and deletes the three calls from the call log. Grinning mischievously, she puts it back down beside her. Just a few moments later the hall way fills with people leaving the conference room and John stops by to collect Ethan’s phone. She frowns when Ethan walks straight past her, talking to one of the engineers without even acknowledging her.

  “We’re going to be out of the office for a lunch meeting. We’ll be back around 1:30.” John says. “Thanks for charging the phone.”

  She nods and sighs, her lack of eye contact a dismissal, as she reaches for the ringing phone. “Aurora Technologies.”

  “Can I speak with Ethan O’Connell, please.” Olivia says from a phone at her client’s office.

  When Hannah recognizes the voice on the other end of the phone, she leans forward to make sure that both John and Ethan are out of earshot.

  “I’m sorry he’s not available at the moment. Can I take a message for him?”

  Her voice echoes through Olivia’s ears like fingernails on a blackboard. “Uh, yes please. Can you let him know that Olivia James called? I’m trying to get a hold of him to tell him…”

  “I’ll let him know you called. Have a nice day.” She hangs up with no intention of giving Ethan the message.

  When Olivia hears the dial tone, anger pulses through her body making her twitch. Bitch! Digging her keys out of her purse, she heads to the underground parking. When she reaches the street level, she sits waiting to turn left and get back onto the highway towards home. Hannah has really rubbed her nerves. Annoyed and angry, she checks her rear view mirror to make sure no one is behind her and quickly changes lanes, turning right to head into the city.

  When Ethan and John return from lunch Ethan scoots down the hallway to his office, avoiding eye contact with Hannah. John stops to check in and taps his fingers on his desk to get her attention. “Are there any messages for Ethan?”

  Hannah shakes her head. “No. Nobody has been looking for him.” She says, quickly hiding the smirk starting to form on her lips.

  “Is Miss Quinn still in my office?”

  “Yes. She had a conference call so I ordered her in some lunch.”

  “Thank you, Hannah. I appreciate it.”

  When John opens his office door Shannon is sitting looking through her notes. “Hey.”

  Her face lights up when she sees him. “Hey!”

  His eyes look apologetic as he presses his lips together in a hard line. “I’m afraid it’s time.”

  Shannon frowns and takes a deep breath. “Ok, let’s get it over with.” Twisting her blonde hair, she clips it up on the top of her head, gathers her stuff, and follows him into Ethan’s office.

  Ethan stands when they enter and makes his way around the desk with his hand outreached. Shannon smiles as she shakes it. “It’s really nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. O’Connell.”

  “Please, no need to be so formal today. Call me Ethan. I trust that you had a pleasant weekend?”

  Her face turns pink as she glances quickly at John. “Yes, thank you.”

  He gestures towards the chairs. “Please, sit.”

  John pulls one of the chairs out for her and winks, trying to break her tension and reassure her.

  When Ethan settles in his chair, he leans back and waits for Shannon to speak.

  “We’re making some headway with the investigation.” She begins. “We’ve been able to find out that later in the evening Miss Keane showed up at Reese Wilson’s apartment expecting that he would take her in but left angry when he refused.”

  Ethan is confused. “He refused?”

  “Yes. She eventually ended up staying with her sister but later on that night... this is where it gets a little foggier... witnesses say that she was at McGuire’s bar at around 12am.”

  Ethan scowls. “I was still there at the time. I would have seen her.”

  “Apparently she wasn’t there for long. We think that she arrived, saw you and then left. The interesting thing is that her car stayed on the property until the next morning. We have a copy of the parking ticket that was issued.”

  “So, if she left… who did she leave with?” Ethan asks.

  “We know that it was NOT Reese Wilson. We have video evidence that he was at the gym on Park Street. Several of the regulars at the bar confirmed they saw her there, but nobody remembers seeing her leave with anyone. We’re trying to get permission to view any of the traffic videos and security footage from outside the bar.”

  Getting nervous, Shannon pulls out a folder from underneath her paperwork and glances over at John. “Ethan, there has been a new development that complicates things.” Standing, she walks to Ethan’s side of the desk, places a folder down in front of him, takes a deep breath and looks over at John. When she returns to her chair she’s too nervous to sit so she stands holding the chair back for support. Ethan senses her anxiety and looks over at John, noting that he too looks like he’d rather be anywhere but there. Picking up the folder, he reluctantly flips it open to read the documents inside.

  All the way up in the elevator Olivia is a bundle of nerves. She’s not sure how she’s going to manage keeping a civil tongue when she really just wants to poke Hannah in the eye when she sees her. When the doors open, Olivia takes a deep breath and
peeks out. There are plenty of people moving around in the foyer and one of them distracts Hannah. Chasing them down the hallway, she leaves the reception desk empty.

  Olivia quickly exits the elevator, blends in with the crowd and then darts down the hallway to the left unnoticed, heading towards Ethan’s office. Most of the offices down this corridor are in darkness so she doesn’t encounter anyone on the way. As she passes Scott’s office, she notices that he’s still not back yet and she shudders as she recalls her earlier conversation with Rachel.

  She can hear voices as she nears Ethan’s office and slows down as she approaches the door, wondering if she should interrupt or just wait until they’re done. When she’s almost at the door, she stops frozen when she hears the intense tone of the conversation. Ethan’s voice erupts loud and angry and she decides to stay out of sight but close enough so she can hear what he’s saying.

  “PREGNANT? What the fuck do you mean PREGNANT?” His voice echoes through the hall. Olivia hears a woman’s voice answer but she’s so calm and quiet that she’s barely audible.

  A strange unidentifiable feeling pulses through her body. This is definitely not a conversation she wants to interrupt. Doing a U-Turn, she heads back down the way she came. She only gets a few steps away when she stops, remembering that she needs her phone. Shit Shit Shit

  Turning back to the office, she stands at the edge of the doorway, hidden from view. She cringes as she hears the continuation of the conversation.

  “I’m telling you, there is absolutely no way that it’s mine.” Ethan insists. The woman says something else that Olivia can’t make out and Ethan screams at her.

  “Well then have it terminated. I’ll get a court order if I have to.”

  Shocked at his suggestion, Olivia clasps her hand over her mouth.

  The unfamiliar female voice grows a little stronger. “I’m afraid the pregnancy is too far along for that option, Ethan.”

  Ethan responds with a barrage of curse words. John’s muscles tense as he weighs his loyalties; torn between his friend, who also happens to be his employer and the woman he loves. Ethan’s words spew from his mouth like poison and having had just about enough of the way he’s speaking to Shannon, John gets up to close the office door before he confronts him. As he reaches for the handle and proceeds to swing it shut he catches Olivia’s reflection in the office door adjacent to them. He stops and leans his head out around the corner. He can tell from the look on her face that she’s overheard the conversation. Hesitating for a moment, not sure how to react, she gives him an embarrassed look as she steps into the doorway in front of him.

  Standing there, her attendance is still hidden from the others in the office. “Ethan.” John says trying to get his attention. When he doesn’t stop his loud ranting John yells at him angrily. “ETHAN!”

  Stunned at John’s tone, Ethan turns his attention to where he’s standing at the door.

  “I’m sorry.” John whispers to Olivia as he stands to the side revealing her in the doorway.

  Chapter 21

  The red angry flush on Ethan’s cheeks slowly drains leaving him looking pale. “Olivia? What are you doing here? Is everything ok?” Olivia looks between Ethan and Shannon, her legs feeling weak and her stomach churning, making her feel nauseous. Her heart is pounding so fast that she can’t process what she’s just heard, over the sound of the blood pumping through her ears. “Yes Everything is fine. I… I think I dropped my phone in your car again.” Olivia can’t breathe and starts to back up, nervously apologizing for interrupting. “I’m sorry. I’ll just get it another time.” Turning, she takes off down the hallway at an extremely quick pace, hoping that she doesn’t pass out from lack of oxygen before she reaches the elevators. Breathe…just breathe.

  Ethan puts his palm to his forehead and holds it a moment before raking it backwards through his hair. “Fuck!” He heads to the door. “Olivia! Wait!”

  John steps in front of him, halting his exit. “Ethan, you shouldn’t go after her when you’re this worked up. I’ll go.”

  Ethan shakes his head. “No, I’ll get her. You go and check my car for her phone.”

  Against his better judgment, John nods and backs off. “Ok, are you good?”

  Ethan hands John the key fob and tries to push past him through the doorway. Putting his hands on his chest, John stops him to verify his mind set. “ARE. YOU. GOOD?”

  “Yes!” Ethan’s tone is clipped and impatient.

  “Good. I’m not sure how much of that conversation she heard, but she’s obviously very upset.”

  Ethan glares at him and then shoulders past him into the hall. “Well, then get the hell out of my way so I can catch up to her.”

  Down the hallway Scott has just dropped his briefcase on the desk and is about to sit down when he sees Olivia whiz past his office door. He squints and rubs his eyes, wondering if he’s hallucinating. When he gets up to investigate and steps out into the hallway he collides with Ethan, who is almost running trying to catch up to her.

  “Whoa!” Scott says as they bounce off each other. “Was that Olivia? She looked upset.”

  “Yes.”

  “What the hell is going on?”

  Ethan pushes him to the side so he can continue. “I’ll fill you in later.”

  He almost catches up with her at the elevator. “Olivia, please wait.” He says in a commanding tone, watching the doors open as he approaches.

  Quickly getting inside, she frantically pushes the button to close the door. He reaches her just as the heavy metal doors start to close. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” He lunges the last few inches and grabs the edge of the door, forcing it to re-open.

  Swallowing hard, she looks up into his stormy eyes. Despite John’s efforts to calm him down he’s still agitated and watching her trying to close the elevator door only makes it worse. With the air thick with angry tension, he gives her an icy stare as he steps in towards her, forcing her to step back slowly and allowing him to enter. Turning to stand beside her as the door begins to close and she can see the rise and fall of his chest as he struggles to catch his breath. The last thing she sees as the doors start to close is Hannah on her feet watching in shock with her mouth wide open and holding the phone receiver several inches from her ear. Olivia glares at her, her expression clearly sending Hannah a very unladylike message.

  The elevator starts to descend and Ethan stands still beside her, taking his time to catch his breath and calm himself. The silence between them causes agonizing tension. Somewhere around the 15th floor he finally breaks the silence, barely turning to look at her. “How much did you hear?”

  Fidgeting uncomfortably, she fixes her gaze at the wall on the opposite side of the elevator. “From the part where you’re going to be a daddy.”

  Ethan squirms uncomfortably at the words. “And your first reaction was to run… without giving me a chance to explain?” He struggles to keep his voice calm.

  “No further explanation is required. It’s pretty clear.” Stepping forward, she pounds the button for the underground parking level.

  Ethan shakes his head and presses the button for the ground floor.

  “And I certainly wasn’t going to stick around and listen to you continue to bully and berate the woman who’s having your child!” She bites out at him, fuming at his behavior.

  Clenching his jaw harshly, the nerve at his temple starts to jump. “The woman who…” The door to the ground floor opens. “You’ve got the wrong idea, Olivia.” He tries to steer her out of the elevator but she puts on the brakes.

  “Let go of me.” She growls as she pulls her arm away from him. “My car is in the underground parking. I’m leaving.”

  Ethan takes a deep breath in, his nostrils flaring as he props his foot against the elevator door to stop it from closing and turns to her with a terrifying expression. She holds her breath as he grabs her by her elbow and yanks her roughly out of the elevator. “No you’re not! You’re going to wait here for John and give me
a chance to explain.” Stumbling, she tries to keep up with his long angry steps as he drags her through the lobby.

  “Ethan, please… slow down. People are starting to stare.” Fear starting to grow in the pit of her stomach, she grimaces at the pain in her arm from his insanely angry grip.

  It takes a moment for her words to reach him through the hazy cloud of anger. When he looks down at her he’s startled by the expression on her face. Glancing around at the people watching him nervously, he slows his steps and relaxes his grip on her arm. “Jesus… Olivia, I’m sorry.” He gently slides his hand from her elbow to her hand and grasps it, trying to intertwine their fingers. She protests, keeping her fingers stiff and straight in his hand refusing to give in to him as he leads her towards the small coffee shop in the corner of the lobby. He looks down at their hands, hers hard and inflexible in his. With a worried expression, he turns his gaze to meet the coolness in her eyes.

  Finding a table at the back of the room, he steers her towards it and pulls out one of the chairs for her. “We’ll wait here for John to come with your cell.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he texts him to let him know where they are. When he looks up, she’s standing, still appalled and shocked at the abhorrent way he spoke to the woman in his office. She feels a great deal of sympathy for that poor woman knowing she’s going to have a long difficult road ahead of her raising his child.

  “Sit down. I’m going to get us a coffee, then you’re going to hear me out.” When she doesn’t comply, he commands it of her. “SIT DOWN!” Glaring at him, she sits angrily against her will. Ethan starts towards the cashier and then stops to look at her. “And don’t even think about leaving.” He says watching her reaction.

  Olivia looks away, her anger getting the best of her as she struggles to understand how the same sweet man she spent time with last night can become the insensitive, fire-breathing dragon she just witnessed upstairs.