LOGIN~~ETHEL~~ Keanu's eyes hardened as he looked at me like he was seeing something he hadn't noticed before. I couldn't speak, but I knew my silence was doing all the talking. That yes, I'd fallen in love with him. The realization I'd kept to myself for the past few days was now laid bare in front of him, and I had no idea what he was going to do with it. The silence that settled was so deafening that I could hear the ticking of the quartz clock on the wall and my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. "Do you remember the first time we fucked in my office?" Keanu finally spoke, making me flinch at the deliberate crudeness of his words. I waited for him to continue, more scared of what anyone had to say than I'd ever been in my life. "After I returned from the washroom, you were the first one to bring it up that this needed to be strictly casual," he said, taking a step forward while I resisted the urge to take one back. "So what was that? Some
~~ETHEL~~I sat in the living room with a cup of coffee I had barely touched, staring at the dark liquid like it held answers. Keanu had said to get some rest, but I could barely bring myself to do that when I went up to the bedroom.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the explosion, Maura's hands shoving me backward, and Keanu's desperate voice shouting my name. Sleep wasn't an option.Neither was calling Maya. She'd be busy at work, and though I knew she would come running if I told her, the last thing I wanted was to interrupt her day with my spiral.So I sat in the living room and stared at nothing in particular as I waited for Keanu to return, wondering whether he was with Maura right now. The sound of the door opening made me jump.Keanu walked in, and I stood immediately, setting the cup on the coffee table."You're back," I said. "Were you able to figure things out about what happened on the site?"He didn't answer. He didn't even seem to hear me.Instead, he crossed th
~~KEANU~~The silence that followed thrummed with tension. I impatiently watched Maura's hands shake as she set the phone down on the blanket, her eyes filling with even more tears. Her mouth opened and closed several times before any words came out."I swear I didn't want to deceive—""Cut to the chase and do not waste my time."She swallowed before she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "Weeks ago, when I found out Martell Corporation was financing a renewable energy project and that Solberg was one of the companies bidding for it, I had no doubt we were going to lose because you would find out I was part of that company and you would want nothing to do with us."I remembered my shock when she turned out to be the project manager. I had let the procurement team handle it, and I'd gone in blind."And then, three weeks ago, your mother contacted me. She told me..." Maura paused. "She told me that you haven't been able to move on from me. That you're not over me. And that y
~~KEANU~~ I fucking hated the smell of hospitals. I'd hated it since the day I had to come to collect my father's body from the morgue. That acrid scent of disinfectant was supposed to smell clean. But all it did was cover up the scent of death and despair. I didn't want to be here. But Edwards was right. Maura might have seen something before the blast. And I needed to know what. Knocking twice, I pushed the door open. Maura was lying in her bed, a white bandage wrapped around her head like a crown. The moment she saw me, she sat up and winced at the sudden movement. Then her face brightened with the kind of smile that used to make my chest warm years ago. Now it just made me tired. "You came to see me," she said softly. "I thought you wouldn't." I stepped inside, letting the door close behind me. "How are you feeling?" "I'm okay." She touched the bandage gingerly, then let out a weak laugh. "Just a concussion, according to the doctor. Though I have to say, this ugly headband i
~~KEANU~~I couldn't get it out of my head.I'd been on the phone with a Japanese businessman after barely paying attention to Maura's explanation of inverter placement, when the world had tilted sideways.The deafening crack of an explosion, and then I'd turned to see smoke and dust billowing from the storage area. My phone had almost clattered to the ground.I don't remember crossing the distance. One moment I was standing near the perimeter, the next I was in the smoke, shouting her name, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them."Ethel! ETHEL!"Nothing. Just smoke and dust and the ringing in my ears and the visceral, consuming terror that I was too late. I'd found her on the ground, disoriented but otherwise unharmed, and the relief had been so intense I'd barely been able to breathe.But it was the terror that stayed with me now, hours later, as Edwards drove us back to the site. The only thing that had ever come close to that feeling was finding my
~~ETHEL~~I stared at Keanu as I waited for an explanation that would make sense of it. "Was it something to do with the construction materials?""Don't worry about that right now." His voice was even. "We're all safe. That's what matters."I knew him well enough to know he was giving me a diplomatic non-answer. But I could see he had his own doubts and suspicions, things he didn't think I should deal with. And maybe he was right. It was best if I didn't.We stepped out into the hallway, where Edwards was waiting with his usual stoic expression. Before Keanu could say anything, another doctor approached, this one older with silver hair and wire-rimmed glasses."Mr. Martell?""Yes.""Miss Callahan is awake. She has a concussion and required a few stitches for the cut on her forehead, but she's stable. She would like to see you."I felt the tightness in my chest again as I watched the struggle on Keanu's face."Can I see her?" I asked before Keanu could respond.The doctor look
~~KEANU~~Ethel's comeback hung over the table several seconds after she'd said it.Sharon was still coughing into her napkin to hide her laugh. My mother sat perfectly still, staring at Ethel like she'd just discovered a new species.It took a lot to render Catherine Martell speechless, but Ethel
~~ETHEL~~The day of the party arrived like it couldn't wait.Maya had arrived at my flat two hours before Keanu was due to pick me up, armed with a makeup bag the size of a small suitcase. Her energy suggested she'd been looking forward to this more than I had."Stop moving," she muttered, hoverin
~~ETHEL~~Many hours later, I drifted out of a blissful sleep with dreams of myself floating through gorgeous clouds littered with a million stars.Stretching, it took me a moment to realize I wasn't in the arms that had wrapped around me and cuddled me to sleep.Sitting up, every muscle in my body
~~KEANU~~ "...and we will utilize targeted ads to get to our target market which will save on cost by a whole lot as well as generate a lot of revenue as has been projected." The younger man sitting across my desk—Thomas—rambled on with his pitch while I scanned through the report, assessing the







