chapter 11

Michael jumped up the second the restroom door started to swing open.

Maureen came out looking really pale and a little shaky on her feet. Both brothers were on her in a flash, Michael grabbing her arm gently, while Ethan shoved a bottle of water into her hand like it might fix everything.

"Sit down," Michael said.

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You almost vomited your intestines"

"I just got nauseous for a second. It's gone now." She took the chair Ethan pulled out for her, mostly so they'd stop hovering. "Can you guys please stop looking at me like that?"

"No," Michael said.

"Absolutely not," Ethan agreed right away.

She sipped the water a few times and waited for them to relax. They didn't. The two of them just stood there with the same worried faces, and even though it was kind of annoying, it was also the nicest thing she'd felt in a long time.

"Ethan." She looked up at him. "Weren't you supposed to be in Singapore?"

His face lit up. "Finally, a question that doesn't involve calling a doctor." He flopped into the chair across from her. "Also, you still haven't properly thanked me for the birthday stuff."

Maureen laughed. "There it is."

"There what is?"

"The real reason you came back."

He put a hand over his heart. "That hurts." Then he grinned. "But yeah, since you mentioned it — did you love it or did you love it?"

She remembered the café, all the tables cleared out just for her, and that crazy light show Ethan must have set up without telling anyone. A warm feeling spread through her. "It was beautiful," she said. "Totally over the top, but really beautiful."

"I like 'magnificent' better."

"You would."

"Hey, I own the place. I can decorate it any way I want."

Michael groaned. "You sound like a twelve-year-old."

"You're just mad nobody threw you a party."

"I'm mad because we actually have work to talk about." Michael checked his watch and stood up straighter. The whole mood in the room changed. "The American Companies Conference is next week."

Ethan slumped back in his chair. "And here we go."

"It's a big deal. Pretty much every important company in the country will be there, and this year there's even a diplomatic spot up for grabs — someone to represent American businesses internationally. The board wants us prepared." Michael looked straight at Maureen. "I want Ashford Group at the top of that room."

"We will be," she said.

"Good. There are some strong competitors this year." He paused a little too long. "Vance Group got an invitation too."

The warm feeling disappeared.

Maureen froze. Her fingers squeezed the water bottle so hard it made a little cracking noise. Ethan shut his eyes for a second and mumbled something. Michael realized his mistake a beat too late.

"I'm not going," Maureen said calmly.

Michael frowned. "Maureen...."

"I said I'm not going."

"No." Ethan jumped in, all the playfulness gone from his voice. "You don't get to do that."

She looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Why do you have to be the one who stays home and hides? He ended the marriage. He made his choice. So why are you the one still paying for it?"

The question hit her harder than she thought it would. She didn't have a good answer, and that said more than she wanted to admit.

"Ethan's right," Michael said quietly.

Ethan pointed at him without breaking eye contact with Maureen. "Everybody remember he just said that."

"Don't push your luck."

Maureen let out a slow breath. "Even if I kind of agree with you, and I'm not saying I do, there's still a problem." She put the water bottle on the table. "The second I walk into that conference as COO of Ashford Group, Damien's going to find out who I really am. I can't control that."

The room got quiet in a whole different way now.

"You don't want him finding out," Michael said carefully.

"Not like this. Not because I got stuck in a room with him and had no choice." She glanced down at her hands, then back up. "For the first time since I left, I finally feel like I'm the one making decisions. I don't want to give that back to him yet."

Neither brother argued. They got it, and she could tell from their faces.

"The board expects you to be there," Michael said after a minute. "Dad expects you there. You can't just disappear again."

"I know." She rubbed her temple. "I know."

The three of them sat there, nobody had any ideas.

Then a knock on the door cut through the quiet.

A young woman walked in with a neat stack of files. "Mr. Ashford, these need your signature before the end of the day."

"Leave them on the desk," Michael said, barely looking at her.

She set the files down, turning towards the trio. And that's when all three of them saw it at the same time.

She was about the same height as Maureen. Similar build. Dark hair that went past her shoulders, loose like Maureen's.

The woman noticed them staring and stopped. "Did I do something wrong?"

No one answered. Michael's eyes went back and forth between her and his sister. Ethan sat completely still, the way he did when an idea was coming together in his head.

The woman shifted on her feet. "Should I come back later?"

"What's your name?" Maureen asked. She had stood up without even realizing it.

"Rachel."

"How long have you been with us, Rachel?"

"Almost two years."

Maureen looked at her, and something changed in her face. The sad look that had been there all morning faded away, replaced by something sharper and more interesting.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Tell me something. How do you feel about fancy formal events?"

Rachel blinked. "I... I think I can handle them."

"Good." Maureen smiled. "Because I have a proposition for you."

She let the pause hang there for a second, just long enough to matter.

"How would you like to be me for one night?"