Page 24 of Breaking All The Rules

“Eva,” I pried, forcing her attention back to me when she refused to answer. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She worked her jaw back and forth. “I’m just really sick of wealthy men thinking that they can control women by throwing their money around to get what they want. Especially when there is a child involved.”

“In all fairness, you don’t even know Brent. You don’t know what kind of person he is.”

“He’s cocky and arrogant. That’s all I need to know.”

I raised an eyebrow at her as she looked away again and folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll gladly ask Regina to reconsider your position.”

I watched as she whipped her head around to glare at me, the heat of her anger radiating off her.

“You’re going to fire me because I don’t agree with you?”

“No, Eva. However, I do feel that if you’re unable to do the job that you were hired for because you’re unable to separate your personal feelings, then maybe we need to reconsider whether you’re the best fit for us. We work in corporate law, Eva, not family law. What Brent decides to do with Karly and any custody arrangements is none of our business. Our job is to guide him with the purchase of the company and move on. If you’re not able to do that, then you need to let me know now.”

Her nostrils flared as she exhaled, continuing to glare at me.

“I’m fully capable of doing my job,” she bit out.

“Good,” I said as I grabbed the check from the corner of the table after the waitress dropped it off. I glanced at it, then pulled a few twenties from my wallet and threw them on the table.

“Then let’s get back to work.” I stood up and walked out of the diner, unsure of whether she was coming behind me.

Fourteen

Eva

I had spent the rest of the week avoiding Ethan, even though I knew that I needed to apologize to him. The deal with Brent and Karly was really getting under my skin, and I knew that it was because of everything happening with my sister. The last update that I had from Lucy confirmed that Lance was picking up Jackson this afternoon and taking him for the weekend, while Lucy picked up a few shifts at the hospital where she worked as a receptionist. She assured me that they were trying to remain civil with each other, but Gabi had told me that it had been nothing but constant fighting.

My mind tried to separate what was happening with Lucy from what was happening with Brent, but all I could see was a rich man throwing around his money until he got what he wanted. For Brent, it was purchasing the company—which technically was Karly’s now, and taking it from her without worrying about how she would continue to take care of her daughter. With Lance, he had already met with one of the most aggressive family law lawyers in Manhattan who jumped at the opportunity to take his case. Money didn’t mean a damn thing to Lance, and he would pay whatever he needed to if it meant that he kept Lucy right where he wanted her.

It was almost five o’clock, and I watched as Kate packed up her stuff to leave for the day. Ethan was still in his office, head down as he read through the stack of papers on his desk. I felt bad for ruining his birthday lunch the other day and hated thatit had already taken me this long to apologize. My temper had always gotten the better of me, and it was worse when my family was involved.

I pushed away from my desk and pulled at the hem of my skirt, making sure it wasn’t stuck to my ass before walking over to his office. I tapped on the door, waiting for him to invite me in so I didn’t overstep any boundaries. He looked up, a brief look of happiness on his face that was immediately replaced with something that I couldn’t read. Maybe anger? Possibly frustration? It was hard to tell.

“Do you have a minute?” I asked, looking down the hallway as the last few people cleared out of their offices and waited in the lobby for the elevator.

“Sure,” he said as he dropped the piece of paper he was looking at and leaned back in his chair. He looked so confident and collected, which made me feel even more nervous and anxious.

“I wanted to apologize for the other day,” I said quietly, fidgeting with my fingers as I looked down. “I was out of line, and I didn’t mean to ruin lunch.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said coolly, then went back to the stack of papers on his desk.

I could feel my irritation growing at his lack of interest and the way he was blowing me off. I was genuinely trying to apologize, and he was acting like an ass about it. My foot tapped on the carpet as I stood in the doorway, staring at him.

“Is there something else that I can help you with?” he asked without looking up at me.

“You really have some nerve, you know that?” I blurted out angrily.

“Excuse me?” He let the paper fall from his hands as he stood up and leaned over the desk to look at me.

“I’m standing here, trying to apologize, but you barely even acknowledge me.” I folded my arms over my chest and straightened my spine.

“What exactly were you wanting from this?” He raised his brows. “You apologized. I said it was fine. Yet, you’re still not happy with it.” He stood upright and held his hands up in front of him. “Tell me what I’m missing here.”

“Nothing,” I said with an edge of irritation in my voice. “Just forget about it.”

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