Chapter 15

Ava’s Pov

“We crossed a pretty significant line last night,” Ethan’s teasing words caused anxiety to flare up in my stomach. I shuffled around in the bed so that I was facing him.

My head hurt with the movement. Sammy was such a bad influence.

He grumbled at the sudden movement and loosened his grip. Apparently Ethan’s not a morning person either.

“I’m so sorry, you’re right. I crossed the line.” I grimaced guiltily, I didn’t want to be a homewrecker even if I found Sarah infuriatingly perfect. “I promise I won’t do anything to come between you and Sarah. This was all just a drunk mistake. I took advantage of you.”

Ethan’s brows furrowed, “Sarah? Why do you keep bringing her up? Did someone say something?”

“Well,” I stuttered a bit and sat up. Ethan followed suit; he was much more awake now. “No, but I saw her earring on your nightstand and there were those pictures of you two eating dinner recently on the news.”

I suddenly felt very silly bringing up what little evidence I gathered about their relationship to him. It sounded juvenile when I said it out loud.

Ethan’s face grew serious.

“The earring is my mother’s and the dinner was purely for a business transaction,” He explained.

I paused at the mention of his late mother, feeling even sillier for assuming that the earring had to belong to a girlfriend. I was definitely no Sherlock Holmes when it came to jumping to conclusions.

I apologized profusely for making so many assumptions.

“You’re being too serious.” Ethan shrugged, stretching in the bed we were sharing. “What happened to the wild girl from yesterday?”

I swallowed thickly as he continued to playfully lecture me on the dangers of over-drinking. Clips of me dancing in the foyer for Ethan and throwing myself at him flashed through my mind.

“I’d never taken care of a drunk girl like that,” He teased. “I feel like I deserve a prize for my bravery.”

My cheeks grew a deep shade of red. I looked away hoping it would hide my blush from him. He shook his head and ruffled my hair, deeming me ‘adorable’ as he rose from the mattress.

Despite his joking tone, I really did feel bad behaving in such a way the night before. I sat in bed, contemplating ways I could make it up to him.

I didn’t have many ways that I could show my sincerity, but there was one thing that I did well. I decided to do what I do best and headed to the pastry shop.

I spent the morning making an elaborate cake to show how genuine I was in my apologies. I didn’t want Ethan to think of me as some crazy party girl.

I left my waitress to set up the desserts in the cafeteria while I went up to Ethan’s office to deliver the gifts I had gathered for him.

I hoped he enjoyed everything. When I first entered, I presented the cake to Ethan at his desk. He rolled his eyes with a smile and pursed his lips.

“I never thought of you as someone who would go to clubs and drink, dance, and party with a bunch of strangers.” He commented. I pressed my lips in a thin line as he continued, “How was it that you danced last night?”

I shrugged to say that I didn’t remember.

“Show me,” He propped his head in the palm of his hand.

My eyes widened, surely he didn’t want me to recreate the image for him. He did.

Ethan crossed his arms and leaned back in his desk chair, silently commanding me to dance.

I tried to reenact the inebriated dances I displayed the night before, but my moves were choppy and uncoordinated as I turned around in tune with the music playing in my head.

Ethan burst into a laughing fit. Embarrassed, I halted and glared at him.

“Happy now?” I pouted.

“Very,” He grinned.

I tutted at him, then presented the large box that contained the suit.

“Be nice to me and I might give you this.” I couldn’t stay mad when all I wanted to do was make it up to him.

“What’s this?” He asked, sitting up straight,

I told him he’d have to open it to find out.

Ethan chuckled lightly as he unwrapped the gift. He paused, taking in the sight of the suit. I worried he might think it was too cheap and below him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t afford anything super nice,” I rushed out. “I had to settle for a reasonably priced brand.”

Ethan waved off my words. He told me no one had ever given him a gift before, and disappeared to try the suit on. I thought back to Sarah.

I remembered how she was buying a suit I thought Ethan would like best, and wondered who she was purchasing the suit for, if not for Ethan. Or, maybe she wanted to confess her feelings to Ethan with a suit and I beat her to it.

Ethan stepped out in his new suit. Though it was a cheaper style, he made it look expensive and professional. Like I said, he never looks bad in anything.

After delivering the lunch and gifts, I wanted to see how the company’s employees were enjoying their pastries. I went downstairs to aid my waitress with handing out the treats and interacting with them.

Many of the employees I spoke to were praising my desserts, making my stomach flutter with happiness. Baking was so much more enjoyable when everyone else enjoyed what you made as well.

I was handing out the last meals of afternoon tea when Silena, my old classmate, emerged from the crowd in the cafeteria.

“Ava,” She sneered. “I saw you getting into a luxury car yesterday.”

I shook my head, “So?”

“So you must be dating someone! How else is someone like you supposed to afford such a nice car?” Silena threw her hair over one shoulder, glaring at me.

I plainly told her that I had no clue what she was talking about, but she didn’t buy it.

“And you’re suddenly the manager of the shop next door,” She insisted. “How does a simple pastry chef become a manager in the span of a day?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but my waitress beat me to it.

“She’s good friends with Mr. Ethan Velasco!” She bragged on my behalf, “The shop was a gift to her.”

Silena jeered at the statement. A few of the colleagues who were surrounding her also rolled their eyes and mocked the very idea of Ethan being friends with me. They whispered rude things to each other.

“Ethan is the president of the Blue Moon Group,” Silena taunted with a scoff. “You’re dreaming if you think you’re his friend. You aren’t even qualified to work here, let alone be his ally in any way.”

Many of Ethan’s employees had gathered around Silena and I to see what the commotion was about. A large portion of them were swayed by her words and I could hear them mumbling their agreements with her. It was suspicious that I was suddenly moving up without any help.

I could tell that no one was on my side anymore as they sneered and slighted me. There was no way for me to convince them any differently, either. I couldn’t argue without revealing Ethan’s secrets.

Ethan wouldn’t want me to reveal that a humble pastry chef was his wife, and I doubted anyone would believe me if I told them the truth anyways. I bowed my head in submission.

Suddenly, the crowd of people began to split, allowing a person to walk through them. Ethan appeared in front of me, still wearing the suit I bought him.

Silena bombarded him with accusations.

“This girl is such a nuisance!” She cried out, “You can’t let the company associate with someone like her; she does nothing but make the company look bad. She’s a blemish on our faces!”

Ethan stared at her, his eyes stony and dark, as they often were when he was angry. He walked to stand beside me, looping his arm around my waist, and pulled me close to his side.

The crowd silenced as they watched him with bated breath.

“The restaurant was, in fact, a gift to Ava,” He announced loudly so that everyone could hear. “It was a wedding gift - not for my friend - but for my wife.”