This conversation matters more.
I thumb the side button on my phone, silencing the ringer, then slip the phone back into my pocket. “I’ll call him back,” I mumble, mostly to myself. “Where was I?”
“You were saying that you’ve actually been…?” Margot replies.
“Right.” I hold her gaze, unflinching and determined to get through this conversation, as rough as it might be for both of us.
But once again, we’re interrupted. This time, it’s Margot’s phone that starts vibrating on the table beside her. She reaches for the phone and reads the name off the screen. “It’s Emma.” Her brows pull together even tighter, a small crease forming between them. She frowns, looking up at me. “I should probably answer. Maybe something is wrong.”
I nod because she’s right: something must be wrong.
27
Margot
“Emma? Is everything okay?”
I hear Garrett talking in a low, rushed voice in the background then Emma’s deep breath crackles through the phone like static.
“Everything’s fine,” she says, but the tension in her voice betrays her words. “I take it you’re with Ethan then…”
I freeze. How does she know that Ethan and I are together? Then my brain kicks back on, and I realize that it’s sort of obvious when I answered the phone like that after Garrett’s attempt to call Ethan.
Okay, so that’s not ideal, but it isn’t the end of the world either.
I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell Emma what’s going on with Ethan, and it looks like that moment might be right now.
The last time we had a similar conversation, Emma’s thoughts on the topic weren’t exactly positive. After a solid year of trying to push Ethan and I together, suddenly she thought it was the worst idea ever.Be careful with him.The words echo through my head, sending a new wave of panic coursing through me.
But I won’t lie to Emma.
Swallowing hard, I reply with an unexpected quiver in my voice. “Yes, Ethan’s here too.”
“Where are you guys?”
“In Aspen,” I admit.
I’m expecting a slew of follow up questions: What are you guys doing up there? Are you two dating? Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been going on?
Instead, Emma says in the opposite direction of the phone, “They’re at the cabin in Aspen.”
“Have her put my brother on the phone,” Garrett barks.
No one would ever accuse Garrett North of being too delicate, but his gruff tone still startles me. As CEO of True North, Garrett was a bit of a grump, but right now, he seems downright pissed.
The next words that the couple exchanges are quiet and muffled then Emma comes back on the line. “Margot, I’m going to put you guys on speakerphone so we can all talk. Can you do the same?” Her tone is that of a schoolteacher leading two children through a playground apology.
“Sure,” I say.
Honestly, I’m feeling anything but sure about what’s going on right now.
Ethan watches as I lower the phone between us and press the speaker button. On the other side of the line, there’s rustling and hushed voices laced with irritation.
In typical Garrett fashion, he wastes no time on pleasantries, launching straight into the conversation instead. When he was the CEO of True North, this is exactly how every staff meeting would go. No greetings, no small talk. Just Garrett marching into the room and announcing what the problem was then telling us all how to fix it.
Except he never sounded this angry before.
Garrett’s voice is harsh when he tells us, “The board of directors knows about your relationship.”