Page 43 of Breaking All The Rules

“Sorry,” Chasity apologized. “I won’t keep you. However, Brent and I are having dinner tomorrow night at Zenkichi in Brooklyn and would love it if you and Ethan could join us.”

I looked past her over to Ethan and Brent, who both lowered their heads and avoided looking at me. What in the hell happened in that meeting, and why was this woman, who didn’t even know me, asking me to have dinner? I could feel the anxiety starting to build as I desperately tried to think of an excuse when suddenly, I was thankful that, for once, I had real plans.

“I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, I can’t make it. I have plans with my sisters for dinner and drinks tomorrow night.” I pulled my lips together in a sympathetic smile and slightly tilted my head to the side. I watched as Chasity’s face fell with disappointment. She glanced over her shoulder before turning back to me.

“Well, maybe another time,” she offered as she held her hands together in front of her.

I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, and she seemed to be a very sweet person. But not knowingwhatwas said about me in that meeting, I had my walls up.

I nodded and was about to turn around to leave when Brittany decided to speak up.

“I actually just got a text message from Gabi that they have to cancel tomorrow night. Jackson is sick.” Her voice cracked at the end, and I could hear the lies as she spit them out. I narrowed my eyes at her as I clenched my jaw. She smirked before she continued, “I also have to cancel for tonight. I just found out that my grandmother is visiting from out of town.”

I shook my head and then arched an eyebrow at her. She was unbelievable.

“Your grandma is dead,” I bit out quietly, but the chuckle from Brent confirmed it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Well, we’re very spiritual, and we never say no to random visits. So, yeah, I gotta go.” She laughed nervously as my icy stare penetrated her soul. Or at least I hoped it did.

She turned on her heel and was down the hallway before I could stop her. I pulled in a calming breath before I turned back to face Chasity. Apparently, there was no way out of dinner with them tomorrow night after all.

“Well, then. I guess I’m free tomorrow night after all.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to smile.

“Actually, since your plans for tonight got canceled as well, did you want to have dinner tonight? Brent and I don’t have any plans, and we’re already in the city,” Chasity said excitedly.

“That’s not exactly true,” he said with a growl as he reached for her side and tickled her.

“Your plans can wait,” she teased with a giggle and shook her head before turning her attention back to me. “Men.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, forcing a smile out of me as well. Maybe dinner wouldn’t be so bad if I got to spend more time with Chasity and less time with Ethan. The last thing I wanted was for our awkwardness to ruin dinner—especially with a valued client of his.

“So, what do you say, Ethan? Dinner?” Brent asked with a heavy sigh.

“Sure. Why not?” He smiled, but it was the forced one that I had seen him use plenty of times during meetings that he didn’t want to be in. He pulled his office door closed behind him as we all walked out to the lobby.

Brent and Chasity walked ahead of us as I pulled back to walk with Ethan. I watched as they held hands and she leaned into him as they waited for the elevator to open.

“What the hell is going on?” I hissed quietly to Ethan.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” he whispered before he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me into the elevator.

I tried not to flinch and pull away from his touch, but I also didn’t trust myself not to read more into it than there was.

Fifteen minutes later, we were seated in a booth at a quiet, upscale restaurant that I had never been to before. I assumed this was the type of place that required a reservation, yet the woman at the hostess station didn’t question Brent as she smiled and led us to our table. My guess was that someone of his caliber didn’t require reservations and that they likely had an entire section reserved for when people like him came in. Or maybe that only happened in the steamy billionaire romance books I read.

I shifted in the booth, sliding closer to the wall to put more space between Ethan and me. There was something about being here with him, in the dimly lit room, that felt overly romantic. I wasn’t sure if we were here as friends – especially since I didn’t know Brent or Chasity at all, or if we were supposed to be here for a business meeting of some sort. I didn’t want to risk blurring the lines and letting on that anything had happened between us. Nor did I want Brent to think something was happening between me and Ethan since Ethan was right about needing to uphold his reputation.

After the waitress took our order, I leaned back and tried to relax. It was nerve-wracking not knowing what was going on and why I was there. It felt like everyone else was in on some secret that I had yet to find out about. A few minutes later, our glasses were filled with a wine that likely cost more than the monthly rent of my apartment. My fingers trembled slightly as I reached forward to grab mine at the same time that Ethan reached out to get it for me. I immediately felt the electricity the moment we touched and pulled my hand back. I heard him chuckle as he scooted the glass closer to me and shifted his position so that his leg was touching mine.

I started to pull away when I felt his hand reach down and touch my thigh, forcing me to freeze. What was he doing? Weren’t we supposed to be keeping things between us hidden? I looked up at him, my eyes searching his face for an answer. He smiled and winked before looking back at Brent and Chasity. I glanced over and found Brent leaning close to her ear, whispering something that made her giggle as she playfully swatted at him.

“They know about us,” Ethan whispered in my ear as he leaned into me. “Chasity was trying to give me advice earlier on how to fix things. I guess she figured it would be best for us to get together and do a double date.”

“But we’re not dating,” I said quietly. “And how do they know about us?”

“Brent and I talked recently. He knew something was off with me. I told him that we were dating but that it was complicated.”

I nodded my head, unsure of what to say.

“Complicatedis an understatement,” I said with frustration. Between our conversation this morning and being blindsided by this impromptu dinner, I was more agitated than anything.

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