“Father?”
“Maybe now isn’t a good time,” Ambrose said, his voice sounding strained.
I could not possibly agree more,Ethan thought.
But what he said was: “Probably not. There’s a lot going on here.”
“Will you be back in on Monday then, Ethan?” His father’s voice still sounded a little ruffled, but Ethan could tell he was trying to put a professional face on it – as always. His father might be extending him some unexpected leniency, but it was still clear: business came first. “Swynford is back on board, and I’d like for you to lead the project. You deserve it. You put a lot of work into that presentation – and in the end, Swynford found the whole thing quite amusing. So, no harm, no foul. What do you say?”
Ethandidactually appreciate the gesture – and, if circumstances had been different, he would’ve accepted in a heartbeat.
But things had changed.Hehad changed.
His mate was here. His new life was here.Hewas here – a new version of himself, a better version of himself, that he had barely begun to get to know.
He couldn’t let all of that go.
“Sorry, Dad,” he said, the word coming to him with difficulty. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I can’t do it.”
“Son?” his father said, his shock evident in his voice, and Ethan realized that it was probably the first time he’d ever defied him.
Ethan smiled. “I’m on indefinite leave,” he said. “Emphasis onindefinite. I don’t think I’m coming back.”
He paused, then hastily clarified, “To work! I’ll come back and visit, of course. But it’s just not me. Not anymore.”
He decided to leave out the part about becoming a receptionist at a veterinary clinic out in the boonies. Best to take this one step at a time.
There was a very,verylong pause on the other end.
“And what’s brought this on?” his father asked at last, in measured tones.
He thought about beating around the bush, but in the end, he decided that it would be best to be honest. His father would appreciate it.
“I’ve met her,” he said, dropping his voice – but then he realized that Janie had left the room, presumably disgusted at her grandmother being all weird at Ethan’s dad, and so he raised his voice again. “I’ve met my mate.”
The pause was even longer this time.
“Eula?!” his father finally blurted. “Son,no.”
“No! Not Eula!” he yelped. “Her name’s Chloe!Shit, Dad, don’t scare me like that.”
“Oh, thank God,” Ambrose muttered.
“Ol’ Eula’s the catch of the day, you know,” Eula called out, and Ethan didn’t need to be able to see her in order to know that she was winking saucily. “You’re missing out.”
Ambrose sighed.
“Okay, son,” he said. “I tried to protect you from all that fated mate stuff in order to help keep you focused on what needed doing here, because I’d seen the most hard-nosed people go soft when they found their mate. But if this is truly what makes you happy…”
“It is, Dad,” he said, smiling.
Ambrose muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, before putting on a more professional tone. “I’ll hand off your work to Dennis, then.”
“Sounds good to me,” Ethan said amiably. And it did sound good. He knew that Dennis would jump at the opportunity. He alwayshadbeen snapping at Ethan’s heels – but then, maybe one day Dennis would find his own mate, and start to re-think his life plans himself.
In the meantime, who knew what would happen? Maybe Dennis would do an even better job with the Swynford project than Ethan would have.
Don’t go too far,the pegasus muttered darkly. It had never liked Dennis.
