Chapter 13
Fiona
Shock jolts through me.
“I’m alone, Ethan. What’s going on?” I ask, biting back on my irritation. Why is he yelling at me? I didn’t do anything to make him angry… did I?
“Come to Silverclaw, now,” he orders then hangs up. I stare at my black screen for a minute, a terrible twisting feeling taking over my gut. Something must’ve happened since I saw him earlier. Did he change his mind?
Ethan said he was a man of his word and seemed sincere while helping me this morning. However, I know nothing about the man, and while I want to believe he’s good, is he really?
I don’t know enough to answer that question, so with a sigh, I turn my car in the direction of Silverclaw Group and hope Ethan and I can resolve whatever problem popped up.
I deserve an award.
The Woman to Receive the Most Glares in One Day award.
The main receptionist of Silverclaw Law Firm glares at me. I don’t know who peed in her cornflakes this morning, but the glaring is getting old.
“Mrs. Aldridge.”
Turning, I find Madison behind me. She has her hands clasped behind her back.
“Come with me,” Madison says, so I follow her to the CEO’s private elevator. I notice the shock on the main receptionist’s face. I guess she doesn’t see many people go on the private elevator to Ethan’s office. Or maybe she just didn’t think I was important.
A common assumption.
As we enter the elevator, my nerves climb. I’m not the only one nervous, either. Madison fidgets next to me; her fingers tap on her thigh, and her eye twitches.
“This way.” Her tone has none of the arrogant venom from before, which is nice, but it also sets me on edge. Is Ethan so angry that Madison is nervous?
I silently follow, preparing myself. Is he angry at me or something else? Did he hear about the problem with Mr. Adair?
The door is thrown open before we can knock. My eyes widen at the enraged scowl on Ethan’s face, and before I can speak, he grabs my hand, pulls me inside, and shuts the door.
I stumble when he lets go of me and stalks over to his desk.
“What the hell?”
He ignores my outburst. Exasperated, I clench my fists and follow him across the room. I step up to his desk, not feeling comfortable enough to sit, and nearly jump out of my skin when he throws a picture down.
“What is this?”
Leaning forward, I freeze. It’s me and Chris in the coffee shop, except this picture is taken from an angle and it looks like we’re kissing.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” I tell Ethan, looking up. The heat in his eyes doesn’t lessen. “I was meeting a friend about a job. We didn’t kiss. I’m not sure who took this picture, but Chris was just wiping something off my face. Nothing else.”
My words come out rushed, and I have to pause to take a breath before I continue, “I didn’t kiss him. Actually, I pulled away from his touch, but… I guess someone still had a chance to take a picture that made us look bad. Who showed you—”
I don’t get the full question out when I remember Madison’s nervous behavior.
Clenching my jaw, I spin around and stalk out of the room. Her previous attitude makes it clear she has it out for me.
When she sees me, Madison jumps to her feet, but she’s not fast enough. I grab her by the wrist and drag her into Ethan’s office.
“You did this?” I ask, pointing at the image. “Was this your twisted ploy to get rid of me?”
She gulps, her eyes flickering between me and Ethan.
“You were kissing that man,” she lies, yanking her hand away. Immediately, she begins fidgeting. “You were all over him. You’re lucky I didn’t video it!”
“If it was such damning evidence, why not video it?”
She glances at Ethan again.
“I didn’t want to hurt his feelings more,” she says. I scoff.
“He’s a big boy. I’m sure he can handle a bit of bad news if it were true, but it’s not, is it, Madison?”
Her fingers tap against her thigh before she clutches them together. Her entire body stiffens like a board, and she gulps while shifting her eyes to the floor.
Ethan’s gaze sharpens into daggers, and if looks could kill, Madison would be bleeding out on the floor.
“Ethan, she’s lying… I-I didn’t want… she was- was…You don’t deserve Ethan!” She shouts in frustration. The use of his first name makes Ethan scowl even harder, and I quirk an eyebrow at her. She’d given herself away with that last statement, even if she hadn’t been stammering for another lie.
“You’re fired.”
Two words and the woman falls to her knees.
“Please, Eth—”
“Mr. Montgomery,” I say. Both of their gazes snap up in my direction- hers with an angry sneer and his with a smirk.
“M-Mr. Montgomery, please don’t fire me,” she pleads, looking back to him now.
Ethan turns to his desk, ignoring Madison, and presses a button.
“Please no!”
A few minutes later, a security officer enters the room.
“Escort her to claim her belongings. She no longer works here,” Ethan instructs. The man nods, and with a hand on Madison’s arm, he guides her out.
Silence consumes us for a moment, before I look up at Ethan again.
“I’m an honest person.”
“And I am not?” He questions. I swallow the frustration bubbling within and straighten up. I’m not weak and will not be taken advantage of.
“I don’t know, honestly,” I answer, which causes him to still. “Do you know how awful your law firm is?”
His eyes finally shift back to me, narrowing. He needs to know how his employees act. That is, if he isn’t already aware. My frustration, fear, and hurt surge to the surface.
“They thought you had abandoned me, so they didn’t want to handle my case!” I cry, overwhelmed. If Ethan can’t help, and if this doesn’t get taken care of, I’ll lose everything.
Ethan watches me as I drop into the chair in front of his desk. Instead of responding, Ethan pulls out his phone, taps the screen, and soon, the ringing of a call fills the room.
“This is Silverclaw Group, how may I help you?” A chipper woman asks.
“Direct me to Anthony Adair,” Ethan sates.
“I’m sorry. Mr. Adair is not—”
“This is Ethan Montgomery.”
“M-Mr. Montgomery. I’ll transfer you now,” she stammers.
Three rings later, Mr. Adair’s stuffy voice comes through the phone, “Mr. Montgomery! What a pleasure.” The happy tone is opposite of his disgusted one earlier.
“Two-faced rat,” I mutter. When Ethan raises an eyebrow, heat floods my cheeks, and I duck my head. He heard that?
“Mr. Adair, am I a liar?”
A choked stutter sounds through the phone, “N-No sir.”
“You’ll be covering Mrs. Aldridge’s case, and now you’ll do it at no cost,” Ethan orders.
“Yes, sir. I apologize for any inconven—”
“I am not who you should apologize to. She’s here with me,” Ethan cuts Mr. Adair off, and a sliver of satisfaction shoots through me.
“Mrs. Aldridge, I apologize for the confusion. I’ll resume working on your case immediat–”
Ethan ends the call, turns to me, and leans down. His hands land on the arms of the chair, confining me to the seat as he moves closer.
“I’m sorry for not believing you,” Ethan says softly. My heart stutters at the tender tone, and I look up. Sincerity rests in his eyes, and I want to have faith in him, but will he always listen to others before me?
I want to tell him it’s not okay, but I don’t bother. It will only make me feel more isolated than I already do.
“I—it’s all right,” I murmur, lowering my head.
With him not trusting me, it’s worse. I’m completely useless without him supporting me. Can I even win this case?
“How will Mr. Adair—”
Ethan’s lips find mine, his hand snaking around to cup the back of my neck and pull me toward him.
Tingles shoot through me and a soft, melting heat pools in my stomach. Yet, I pull away, catching my breath. “Someone will see us.”
Ethan’s eyebrow quirks up. “This entire floor is my office, so no one will know what we do here.”
With that, his lips are on mine again.
Ethan
The memory of Fiona’s breathy little moans from our kiss earlier distracts me, and I shake my head.
I can’t get her off my mind. Her small hands had gripped my arms as her soft lips parted. The way she gasped when I’d lifted her and sat her on my desk. The way she moaned when my fingers found her center.
The way she’d smelled like the best fucking thing in the world.
“The Lycan Administration will be contacting you s—”
“I told you to find the truth,” my wolf growls. “She’s not a woman who lies.”
“You’re too protective of her, wolf. Have you forgotten what happened before? We can’t trust so easily.”
“Alpha Montgomery, are we boring you?” The elder asks, centering my attention on him.
The other Alphas in the room observe me with either interest or displeasure.
“What happened?” Alpha Bronx, my strongest competitor and Alpha of the Iron Ridge Pack, teases.
“No,” I growl, straightening myself and focusing on the meeting.
My father’s words echo through my mind. Show competitors an ounce of weakness, and they’ll pounce.
