Chapter 109
Grace woke up feeling warm all over. It took a moment before she realized she was in bed. She scrambled out, dashing into the bathroom to rinse her face.
The red marks on her neck caught her eye. She leaned closer to the mirror and tried scrubbing them, but they wouldn’t come off.
“Guess even fancy houses aren’t safe from mosquitoes,” she thought.
A new toothbrush was neatly placed by the sink. She quickly brushed her teeth and headed downstairs.
The clock read 6:00 am, but breakfast was already laid out. Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his phone pressed to his ear. Grace kept her distance, planning to let Susie know she was leaving when Susie called out to her.
“Ms. Lambert, you should have breakfast before you go. Mr. Henderson’s orders.”
Grace felt a sudden warmth spread through her. Ethan might come across as cold on the outside, but deep down, he was all heart.
“Did he already eat?” Grace asked.
“Nope. He said he’d wait for you,” Susie answered.
Grace sat at the table, figuring it would be a while before he was ready. But the moment she settled in, Ethan hung up the phone. He wheeled himself over and began eating his breakfast without saying a word.
Grace wanted to wish him a good morning, but he didn’t seem like he was in the mood for conversation. Her hand, raised in greeting, slowly fell back to her lap.
She couldn’t tell if her eyes were deceiving her, but his ears were bright red. It didn’t make any sense. He was always so composed with his pale skin, looking almost as if he’d stepped out of a classic painting. So why in the world were his ears so flushed?
Grace pushed the thought aside and focused on her food, eating quickly until Susie’s voice cut in. “Ms. Lambert, what’s that on your neck?”
Ethan paused, his fork suspended in mid-air. After a moment, he calmly resumed slicing his bread.
Grace ran her fingers over the marks, barely registering them. “No idea. Must’ve been a swarm of mosquitoes last night.”
Susie handed her a small bottle of cream. “You should put some of this on the marks.”
“Thanks,” Grace replied, applying a little of the cream.
Once she finished her breakfast, she started to head out, only to find Ethan getting ready to leave too.
They were both headed to the office, so making a scene about avoiding him would’ve seemed unnecessary. She stayed by the door until he caught up, then quietly took the handles of his wheelchair.
When they reached the car, Grace started toward the driver’s side, but as she leaned in, she noticed Tim was already there. With no other choice, she slid into the back seat.
The car rolled to a stop in Henderson Group’s underground parking garage, and Grace was the first to get out. She started moving toward Ethan’s door, but Tim beat her to it. His tone was clipped as he said, “Ms. Lambert, you go ahead.”
So, they were keeping their distance from her to avoid sending the wrong message. She caught on and made her way up alone. Tim had never been fond of her, and she wasn’t about to let his attitude bother her.
Grace had barely stepped off the elevator when she spotted Yancey. He had dark circles under his eyes and let out a mocking, cold snort as soon as he saw her.
What a joke, she thought. She brushed him off and went straight to her desk.
It didn’t take long for Yancey to give in. He walked over and tapped her desk.
“Liam’s in the hospital after breaking his leg during a street race at midnight. Mrs. Lambert says you’re coming with me to check on him,” he said.
What was wrong with Liam this time? Racing in the middle of the night? He definitely got what he deserved.
Grace fumed inwardly, but a trace of irrational concern for her reckless brother still lingered. Liam wasn’t all bad. Maybe she didn’t need to be so hard on him.
“Not happening. I don’t need the rumors. I’ll go alone,” she said.
Yancey closed the gap between them, catching a faint, natural scent that clung to her. Unlike most women, Grace never drenched herself in perfume. Her scent was something else entirely.
He inhaled before he could stop himself, feeling like it might be hard to get enough. Grace was halfway to deciding whether to smack him when the sound of a wheelchair rolling her way stopped her.
The two looked almost like they were tangled up from Ethan’s angle.
Feeling Ethan’s gaze, Yancey leaned in closer, his face just a hair’s breadth from Grace’s. She scowled, ready to push him away, but his words froze her. “You spent last night at Palm Bay?”
Grace’s spine stiffened. How the hell did he know? He must have had her tailed! “You got people to follow me?” she demanded.
Yancey’s face contorted as he seized her wrist. “You really think I did that?”
He hadn’t set up any surveillance. He had just been unlucky enough to see her riding with Ethan-a sight that had knocked the wind out of him. Against his better judgment, he had followed, watching the car take Grace straight to Palm Bay. Grace had always despised Ethan and would never have set foot in Palm Bay. But she had and even stayed the entire night.
Yancey had sat in his car until morning, and now, his keen eyes landed on the marks around her neck. Like a scalded cat, he clawed at her collar.
“What are these, Grace? What the hell did you two get up to?” She jerked back, her hands instinctively shielding her neck.
Yancey trembled with rage, his face turning an ugly shade of red. “Did you sleep with him? Why do you have to be such a bitch? Are you that fucking desperate?”
Grace slapped him hard across the face, her fingers leaving a flaming imprint on his cheek.
At that moment, Ethan’s wheelchair rolled to a halt behind them. He pretended not to be watching, though he was positioned perfectly to see everything.