“I had to fire her because she wouldn't take no for an answer. We had to call security to forcibly remove her from the building, and my lawyers had to set up a restraining order,” he replied. “It was a complete and total mess.”
She played with her drink straw, mulling over his words. When she looked back up, he could see she was starting to believe him.
“Thinking about it, I can actually see her doing that,” she said after a moment. “She seemed pretty possessive of you at the party. I mean, I met her for all of five minutes, but...”
She shrugged and took another sip of her drink. She wasn't even half done with it when the bartender arrived with their second round. This time, she just dropped them off at the table and bolted rather than waiting to see if they had an order.
“I called you. Or rather, I called the number on my phone for you,” he amended, picking up his new drink. “It went straight to voicemail, and I couldn't leave a message due to it being full.”
She frowned. “My voicemail had plenty of storage. I don't keep any messages.”
“I'm guessing that Janie changed the number,” he explained.
Laura's eyes widened as she figured out what had happened. He continued.
“I tried again later that day. That's when I started getting these text messages that said, 'Don't call me again' and 'back off creep.'”
Laura winced.
“I tried one more time that evening, and a guy answered.” Ethan took a sip of his drink. The bartender was skilled. These were perfectly balanced. “He read me a riot act and told me not to call his girlfriend anymore. He said the two of you were back together and you weren't interested in seeing me ever again.” He shrugged. “I stopped trying after that.”
Now it was her turn to stare at him. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open at what he had just told her.
“I didn't do any of that,” she told him. “I wasn't even seeing anyone. I was alone in my hotel room. I didn't have anyone to make that call.”
“I'm guessing it was Janie,” he replied. “Or rather, a friend of Janie's.”
She took a sip of her drink, nearly finishing it off. It was a big sip. “What about when I called you? When it said the line was disconnected?”
“The next day, Janie 'accidentally' dropped a lamp on my phone. The screen was completely destroyed,” he said. “Being my secretary, I asked her to take care of it. She got me a new phone and a new number. I didn't think anything of it at the time.”
“She didn't want me calling you and exposing what she did,” Laura said, shaking her head slowly. She flopped back in her seat and took a moment to marvel at the evil genius that was Janie.
“She certainly thought of everything,” he agreed. He was going to need another drink at the rate he was going. She on the other hand, had barely touched hers.
“So, you're telling me that all of the anger between us was just a big misunderstanding?” she asked, incredulous. “That I thought you were the biggest douche in the history of douches for no reason?”
“Hey, I thought you were a horrible cheater, so I guess we're even,” he replied. He raised his glass for a toast. “To not being a douche. Or a cheater.”
She chuckled and clinked her glass against his before taking a sip.
“Is it bad that I want to murder your secretary right now?” she asked, evaluating it in her hand as a murder weapon.
“You and me both,” he agreed. He raised his glass again, tipping it toward her. “To murder.”
She clinked their glasses with a chuckle, and they both sipped. The animosity between them was completely gone. The natural connection he'd experienced with her that first night was back, and it felt amazing. He had been right to think that they had chemistry. When she didn't think he hated her guts, they were a match made in heaven.
“I think I can handle you being around for a couple of weeks,” she said, smiling over her glass at him. “Suddenly, it doesn't seem so terrible.”
He smiled. This day was now going so much better. “Do you know any good places to go climbing around here?” he asked, lowering his voice and making it very clear he had more planned than just climbing over rocks. “I need a guide.”
Her smile faltered, the light fading from her face. She set the rest of her drink down without finishing it.
“I can't,” she replied. She opened her mouth to say more, but her phone started to go off. She pulled it from her pocket and silenced it. “I actually need to go. That was my alarm to go pick up my brother and sister. School ends in ten minutes.”
He wasn't going to give up that easily. Not after all this.
“Dinner, then.” It wasn't a question. It was a statement.