Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 33 - Ethan

As they walked hand and hand into E&D half an hour later, Ethan was shocked and pleased as several of the members of his crew not only greeted him but included Jasmine in their greeting as well. Jasmine had clearly been just as surprised because her eyes widened, before she gave everyone a small smile and returned the greeting.

When they'd walked through the lobby, and headed towards his office, Ethan smiled when he saw Caden standing in their huge breakroom speaking with several members of the staff. At seeing the two of them, Caden had given him a nod, before winking at Jasmine. Ethan shook his head, and narrowed his eyes at his brother, which only caused Caden to laugh, before turning his attention back to the staff.

Once they arrived in his office, Ethan pulled one of his office chairs around his desk and placed it next to his so that he could keep Jasmine near him as he worked. Jasmine had shaken her head in amusement at the action, but once she'd sat down in the chair without a word, Ethan had kissed the top of her head, before reaching into the small fridge in the corner and pulling out two bottles of water for them. Placing one in front of Jasmine, he moved around her to sit at his desk. Before he could log onto the system, Melyssa knocked on his door, and said, "Good Morning E." And seeing Jasmine seated next to him, her smile widened as she said, "Hey Jasmine! It's great to see you again. Are you guys staying all day?" Returning the smile, Jasmine said, "Hey Melyssa! It's great to see you too." Smiling at the exchange, Ethan said, "I'm not planning to be here all day, unless it's absolutely necessary. Is there anything major that I need to handle?" Shaking her head, Melyssa stepped further into his office, and sitting in the empty chair in front of his desk, she said, "Nope. There's nothing major going on today, but you do need to review the contracts for the Burbank Corporation's landscaping job that we just landed. There are a few things that they'd like to change, and you are the only one that can sign off on the changes." Nodding his head, Ethan turned to his computer as he said, "Okay. Are they in my work folder." Nodding, Melyssa said, "Yes. I placed them there yesterday and told Mr. Burbank that you would be calling him by the end of the week." Pulling up the folder on his screen, Ethan said, "Okay, I have it right here. Thanks, Melyssa." Smiling, she said, "Sure thing."

Turning to Jasmine, Melyssa said, "Jasmine, would you like to take a walk on the property? I can show you some of the new flowers that just arrived. Some of them are pretty rare and expensive, but they're beautiful." When Ethan noticed the excitement on Jasmine's face, he knew that she wanted to see the flowers. During many of their talks over the past week since they'd gotten to know one another, Ethan had learned that Jasmine had a knowledge and love of flowers. Her mother, Bernadette, had an avid green thumb, and apparently Jasmine had inherited that gift from her mother.

The day that Jasmine had met his parents, and when she'd recognized the alliums that he'd planted for his mother, not only had Ethan been impressed, but his mother had been as well. Christine hadn't so much as glanced over at his mother's garden when she'd met her for the first time, which made Jasmine's knowledge and interest mean that much more to him. Ethan had come to learn that there were a great many things that he and Jasmine had in common, and the more time that he spent with her, the more things he discovered.

When Jasmine's eyes turned to meet his, and she said, "Is that okay babe?", Ethan wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless. Although she didn't need his permission, the fact that she thought to check in with him meant more than she could imagine. Smiling, he kissed her on the lips as he said, "Of course baby, go and see what E&D is all about. I'm going to stay here and be the Boss Baby that you called me earlier." When Jasmine laughed, he glanced up to see Melyssa smiling at their exchange. When Melyssa met Ethan's gaze, she gave him a small nod of approval.

Ethan had known that everyone that met Jasmine would love her, but he had to admit to liking the fact that he'd been right. Not only did receiving the acceptance from his friends, family and staff ease some of the stress and tension that he'd known she was feeling prior to their arrival, but it also reaffirmed what Ethan already knew, and that was that Jasmine was definitely the woman that he needed in his life. After another soft kiss to Jasmine's lips, Ethan watched as she and Melyssa left his office and headed to their greenhouses in the back of the building.