Kissing Mr. Bradley

Chapter 15

"Roses, you say?" Ethan asked. "Not bad at all."

It was after work hours. I had just gotten back from Strawberry Chateau Villa. The agents had gone home for the night except for the cleaners who were polishing the floors outside of Ethan's office.

Ethan clicked through a series of photos on his laptop. He was showing me the latest project he had been working on for quite some time. It was a rundown home he planned on polishing up and selling to potential buyers.

While looking through the photos, his mind became distracted by talks of the Black Tie Gala. The way Ethan described the event, I knew it was going to be a big deal and everything about it had to be perfect for him and his mother.

"Donna is a lovely woman," I commented as Ethan continued to work on his computer.

"My mother can be a bit hostile,'' he said. "Thank you again for checking out the venue for me."

Down below the Bradley & Sons building, the city life continued to live on with its flashing lights, honking taxicabs and the few pedestrians hurrying home for the night as they crossed one street to the next. I looked down at the noise and left the view for the much quieter scene inside Ethan's office where the lights were dimmed and it was just us.

"Speaking of venues," I started, biting my own tongue for what I was about to bring to the forefront of the conversation. "What about yours and Katherine's wedding venue? How's that going?"

Ethan stopped what he was doing, no longer driven by motivation to continue working after bringing up Katherine and his future wedding.

"My personal life is off limits, Ms. Hastings," he said. "Ask another question."

I figured if his personal life was off limits, it would be the total opposite when it came to his work life. We lived that one together. It was only fair of him to answer any question I had about the business.

I sat at the edge of his desk, making myself comfortable.

"I heard more distressing news about Bradley & Sons," I said. "It doesn't look too good for us, Ethan. Mr. Humphrey's business was targeted just last week. It's only a matter of time before..."

He shut his laptop. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear from the media," he reminded me. "You're intelligent enough to know that, Ms. Hastings."

"Saffron," I corrected him, a little annoyed that we were going back to being formal again. "And for the record, the media isn't all bad. Sometimes it's informative."

"Ha!" he exclaimed. "It's as informative as the comic digests in newspapers."

"You still read the newspaper?" I asked jokingly.

"I'm old fashioned," he said. "What are you? Twenty-three?"

"Thirty."

His brows raised. "You take care of yourself," he said. "You don't look a day over twenty-five."

I rolled my eyes. "Back to what I was saying."

"I talked to Mr. Humphrey an hour ago," he said with a sigh. "There was no mention of his information being leaked or a pending target on his back. He is the most well-respected man in business. I'm sure he would've told me if something was wrong or if someone was after him."

It was hard for me to believe Ethan's words.

"What is he not telling you?" I asked. "What are you not telling the rest of your agents?"

He stood from his desk, pushing the chair back. "What are you implying?" he asked. "That I'm hiding information from you?"

"What's going on?" I asked. "Don't you think I should know as your close confidant?"