Page 20 of Breaking All The Rules

“On Tuesday, right before I left for the day.”

“And you haven’t seen him since?” Lucy asked.

“Obviously,” Gabi said as she snorted. “She’s been out sick, remember?”

“Yeah... about that,” I said slowly, their eyes glued to me. “Turns out that I wasn’t all that delirious and that he really did come over on Wednesday and spent the day here, taking care of me.”

“He what?” Gabi asked in disbelief.

“And then he stayed the night.”

Their eyes got even wider.

“But he slept on the couch,” I added quickly, making sure they didn’t get any ideas of us having sex while I was drunk with a fever. That was just gross.

“That’s crazy,” Gabi said, filling the silence that had fallen around us.

“You better be careful,” she warned, and I knew that she was talking about what happened with my ex.

“This isn’t anything like what happened with Jeremy,” I rushed to assure her. She stayed silent and watched me. “I swear, the only similarity is that they both happen to be lawyers.” I threw my hands up.

“You fell in love with Jeremy and didn’t see that you deserved so much better. You let him use you to get what he wanted,” Gabi said softly.

“I know,” I snapped, suddenly feeling irritated with the conversation. “There’s nothing to worry about because Ethan and I aren’t dating. Not only that, but I’ve grown a lot sinceJeremy and I broke up. I’ve learned how to be on my own, and I’m doing just fine by myself.”

An awkward silence spread between us.

“Why don’t we talk about Lucy?” I suggested, hoping that we could end this conversation before it got everyone pissed off at each other.

I sat in silence as Lucy and Gabi talked, filling me in on the details of what happened and what Lucy wanted to do. I made notes of the things I needed to look into for her and promised to help her find the best family law lawyer in Manhattan.

Eleven

Ethan

Having Kate and Eva out at the same time had been more stressful than I had imagined, so I was beyond ecstatic when they were both back in the office, and things felt like they were returning to normal. I was exhausted from spending the weekend at the office, working on stuff for Brent, and trying to get caught up in general. The last I’d heard from him, they were waiting for the results of a paternity test before moving forward with Watson Investments. If it turned out that the child was his, then that would impact the business deal with Karly.

I responded to the last few emails that had come in before pushing away from my desk and making my way to the board room for a meeting with Regina and Garrett. I walked into the room and felt the tension that was radiating off of them, adjusting my tie that suddenly felt too tight around my neck. They didn’t bother with smiling or standing to greet me. This wasn’t a meeting to discuss something good that had happened or to talk about the charity ball that we were supposed to be participating in. This was a meeting to discuss the problem that had been a thorn in my side for weeks. I took my seat and folded my hands on the table in front of me.

“Ethan,” Regina said, clearing her throat. “Thank you for meeting with us this morning. I know your schedule is very tight today.”

I nodded curtly and glanced over at Garrett. He was fidgeting with his pen, a nervous habit that I very clearly rememberedfrom our childhood after my parents split up after my father was caught cheating.

“What’s the update?” I asked, cutting straight to the chase.

“Cora is filing a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Regina said with a heavy sigh, pushing a stack of papers across the table to me. I reached over and took them.

“I’ll let you look over the paperwork when you have the time—and I need you tomakethe time. But long story short, she’s claiming that you forced her to have sex with you in the board room after hours in exchange for the raise she was given.” Regina leaned back in her chair and tapped her pen on the table.

I discreetly glanced around, looking at the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that surrounded the room, and recalled the night that Cora and I had stayed late to work on a case. The day had been long and exhausting, the frustration of the week overwhelming. Cora hadn’t worked for Roberts and Associates that long before she was assigned to help me with the case I was working on. She was eager to help, to say the least, but I didn’t have time to stop and question what her motives were before she was under the table, sucking my dick in an effort to help me relax.

Did I know better?

Fuck yeah, I did.

Was I thinking clearly?

Obviously not.

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