Distorted (Laura Dunaway) - By Laura Dunaway Page 0,4

on me.

“So, Ethan, how’s Eve doing?” Casey asked him while looking at me.

“I’m not sure since we broke up months ago,” he answered politely.

Holding in my laughter, I took a long sip of my drink instead. I could tell that caught Casey off guard and she didn’t like it - at all. I resisted the urge to raise my glass to her in a mock toast.

“Oh, I didn’t know,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you seeing anyone new?”

Ethan turned his head to me and rolled his eyes, then looked back at her. “Not at the moment,” he replied, pulling me closer to him. Not expecting this, I choked a little on my drink and saw the amused look on Casey’s face.

“Are you okay, Aly?” Ethan asked, tapping on my back. Nodding, I finally stopped choking and set my glass down.

“I’m fine. Just swallowed the wrong way.”

Hearing a tsk-tsk sound coming from Casey, I looked over to her. “You need to be more careful, Aly. We wouldn’t want anything happening to you.”

Feeling my blood start to boil, I ignored her. For once, I didn’t want Paul over here for me. I wanted him here to take her away. I wasn’t sure how much longer my acting skills would last.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ethan asked me. I nodded and took a sip of water.

“I’m sure. Thank you.”

Ethan was so good to me and I knew I was very lucky to have him. While I’d suspected for some time that he had feelings for me, I never brought it up because I only thought of him as a friend. That was not a conversation I wanted to have.

“Good. Would you like me to get you another drink?” he asked. Considering that I’d already had three, I knew I shouldn’t have anymore, but glancing over at Casey, I nodded.

“Sure, that’d be great. Thank you,” I said. Ethan rose and walked to the bar, glancing back at me. I smiled and gave him a little wave. Of course, Casey didn’t miss any of it.

“I have the feeling someone might be getting some action tonight,” she said, taking a huge swallow of her drink.

“Oh really? You know, I usually don’t like hearing about people’s sex lives, Casey, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t share.”

Her eyes drew into a scowl. “I wasn’t referring to me, Aly. I was referring to you and Ethan.”

I felt my jaw drop. “Oh, Casey, you misunderstand things. Ethan and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends. Best friends as a matter of fact. Besides, I wouldn’t dream of dating someone I work with,” I said, lying through my teeth.

She lifted a brow in speculation, but didn’t say anymore. Ethan finally returned with my drink and sat back down next to me. I thanked him and took a long sip.

Good lord, I thought to myself, when would she leave?

As if on cue, Paul finally returned, apologizing profusely to Casey. “It’s about time you came back. I thought you’d forgotten about me,” she told him, pouting.

“Aww, babe, you know I could never forget about you. Thank you for being so patient with me. Are you ready to go home?” he asked her.

I felt my heart sink and wanted to crawl under the table and cry, but seeing Ethan’s sympathetic look made me lift my chin and sit up straight. It was time I gave up on any hope that Paul would ever see me as more than a friend. It was time to start dating and moving on.

Monday morning came and the office was buzzing about Saturday nights success. I was glowing with it as well, and I was eager to begin this new project. The Glendale project was set to begin this week and it couldn’t come too soon. Now that we had secured the last of the donations, the plans that had been sitting on the drawing boards could finally begin. Construction was being secured and as soon as we could move the residents into their temporary apartments, demolition would begin. My first assignment was to start getting ready for the groundbreaking ceremony. Invitations needed to be sent and Paul wanted the oldest resident of the neighborhood to be the one to cut the red ribbon, officially signifying that the project had begun.

I felt him come in the office before I actually saw him. My body was so in tune with that man.

“Aly,” Paul said happily, coming over to me. “Good morning, my lovely assistant. I am