Page 42 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession
“Oh, no, I’ve got—”
“I know, you have Ethan, right? He would never let that happen.”
That’s so not what I was going to say.“Let what happen?”
“You know, he won't let you get snowed in with work. I know he works like a crazy person, but that’s a rule that applies only to him. He looks after everyone else.”
Um, I don’t know about that.“Why would he care?”He’s Zeus. His minions are there to serve him, not the other way round.
“What do you mean, why? He’s the CEO, he cares about the welfare of his employees.”
How do I tell Sabrina that her friend is an ass? And that right now he’s the last person I want to talk about?
“Yes, on a professional level he does, but he’s really not a big personality at work. I mean, you’re friends, so maybe you see a different side to him.”
“He can come across a certain way when you first meet him. I know I thought he was a little cold as well after I met him, but he’s really, really nice.” She wanders over to the water cooler in the corner of my office and pours herself a cup.
“Okay, PR officer.” She sounds like she really really wants me to like him. “I’ll try and keep that in mind the next time he’s barking orders.” I wonder if someone can be married and still have a tiny crush on someone else? “Sabrina, you know, it’s a little strange how much you like Ethan.”
She laughs. “What’s more bizarre is the way he and Jordan love each other.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, they keep it professional at work. But they're all over each other, like children in the house sometimes. Literally. It drives me crazy.”
Huh. I try to imagine Ethan being playful and fail. Then, I remember the toothless grin of the boy in the photo. I shrug. “Isn’t it weird, though, that I never met Ethan until Cancun?” I ask.
She tilts her head in consideration. “Honestly, I don’t know how that happened because he and Jordan are inseparable. Oh, yeah, you moved back to Dublin for a while last year so you missed our wedding reception.”
It was actually Clonmel, where my Nan lives, and it was well over a year ago, but I don’t correct her. Nan broke her hip eighteen months ago, and since she and her only son, my father, don’t speak, she had no family with her after she came out of surgery. As most of my work was virtual and online, I moved back to Clonmel for six months to help her out.
But that isn’t what has my attention. “You held a reception? You told me you and Jordan eloped, Sabrina.”I know they went to Vegas and came back married.
How am I just hearing she had a reception?
“We eloped yes, but we had a very small wedding reception, just before the honeymoon. Ethan was the best man and hosted it in his home. Sorry I didn’t tell you, it was just family. Nothing elaborate at all, and it only lasted a couple of hours, really. I know you would have wanted to attend, but I didn’t think it was worth flying back seven hours for.”
She brings out her phone and starts scrolling. “I think we took a few pictures.”
“Hold on, you held a wedding reception in Ethan’s home?”
“I told you, it was a small one. Besides his house is insanely big. I’m super jealous of his house. More so now the twins are coming.”
She finds the photos, and while it’s nice to see a blushing Sabrina and all our friends, I keep looking into the background. It looks like a canopy was put up in front of a lake with white swans swimming around and a lush, green field in the background.
“That’s his house?”
She nods. “There’s a lake on the estate. It’s breathtaking, babe, you should see it one day.” She nudges my arm, then continues, “You know, he officially lives in Connecticut, but it’s just under an hour’s commute to get to the office. Jordan thinks he’s crazy to not live in Manhattan. But since I’ve seen Ethan’s home, my penthouse has felt like a box, not a proper home. I’ve already told Jordan that I’ll move to Ethan’s when the babies come, but I think he knows I’m bluffing, so it’s gotten me nowhere.”
“You call your sprawling penthouse a box?” She’s ridiculous sometimes, I swear.
“We’re talking about a fifteen-thousand square-foot mansion on a ten-acre lot. How is my penthouse, not a freaking box compared to that?”
Wow. “Yes compared to that actually most homes would feel like a box. But isn't that a ridiculous amount of space for just one person?"
That’s just splurging. Wasteful.I feel a familial tightening in my gut. Why does one person need that much space? Or want to spend so much money on material possessions?
“Oh, it’s not just him—” Sabrina begins but is interrupted by someone coming into the room.