Of course not. Why would I want to get hurt? I didn't even ask to fall in love with him. It just happened. But I did ask to have sex with him, even knowing that it was wrong. Why? Because I thought the pleasure would be worth the price? Did I even stop to think about the price?
I'm a fool.
"When that happens, the two of you won't be able to work together," Ryker goes on. "You'll lose your job. Ethan will lose a good assistant. Who knows how that will affect his work and the company?"
I do. Ethan will keep working hard for the company. He isn't going to let anything get in his way. But do I really want him to do that without me by his side? Do I want to watch him succeed from afar?
"Hopefully, it's not too late. Ethan can be stubborn. He goes after what he wants, sometimes without caring about what he loses along the way, but he also knows when to give up. If you're smart, and I know you are, Miss Quinn..." Ryker looks into my eyes. "You know what to do."
He holds my gaze a moment more before he starts to walk away. I stay where I'm standing, unable to breathe, unable to move. His words feel like an iron ball chained to my foot keeping me in place, weighing me down so much I might just sink into the floor.
"Oh, and I don't think Ethan will be coming out of his room anytime soon," Ryker adds once he's a few feet away. "So please go to your room. Rest. Tomorrow, I might ask you to help me with something."
"Yes, sir," I mutter.
He heads over to the elevators. I walk slowly to my room. When I finally get inside, I sit on the floor by the bed. I take off the scarf around my neck and stare at it. Before I know it, tears fall on the wool.
Did I really think Ethan and I could keep doing this, traveling around the world and having sex? Did I think no one would find out? Did I think we'd just be able to get away with it?
I've known it was a mistake to sleep with Ethan from the start. Still, I did. And I kept doing it. Not just that. I let myself fall for him. I even started hoping that he'd fall for me. But that's not going to happen, is it? Not according to his brother.
Ethan is never going to allow himself to feel anything for you.
Of course not. He's my boss. He's the head of his family's company. To him, the company and the family always come first, which means he'll never do anything to cause them trouble.
I know. I've known it all along. That's why I tried to fight this feeling. That's why I tried not to hope. But I failed. Terribly.
I bury my face in my hands.
I've been naive, so naive. And I thought I was smart.
If you're smart, and I know you are, you know what to do.
Ryker's words echo inside my head. As bitter and painful as they are, I swallow them and wipe my tears away.
Because he's right.
I am smart. I do know what to do. And I am going to do it. I'm going to stop this madness right now, for Ethan's sake, mine and everyone's, before it's too late.
Enough messing around.
Chapter Twelve
Ethan
This is a fucking mess.
I slam the lid of my laptop shut and lean back on the couch. Then I rub my temples as I contemplate the current situation.
The acquisition of Odermatt Corp. is on hold, thanks to that fucking employee who disappeared with the company's program files, including Simone Odermatt's original code. No one knows where he is or what he's planning to do with the files. We don't even know if he did this all on his own or if he's working with someone, possibly another company. If it's the latter, we're screwed. There won't be any point in continuing with the acquisition. Odermatt Corp. might even shut down while another company rises because of their hard work. If that company turns out to be one of the handful that have been trying to bring down Hawthorne Holdings for the past several years - and I know some of them were interested in Odermatt Corp., too - the problem will be even bigger.
One of our major stakeholders, an elderly fellow named Reuben, called just to