Chapter 110
Yancey was mortified. His throat tightened as if a hand had wrapped around it, and a wave of frustration hit him like a punch.
There was no denying it. Those were hickeys. Grace had been at Ethan’s villa all night, and now this? It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.
He should be furious, but right now, all he could feel was panic. His lips trembled, and his breathing became shallow and erratic.
Grace pressed a hand to her neck, her voice flat. “They’re just mosquito bites. Why are you freaking out over nothing?”
She looked genuinely confused as if she had no idea what was setting him off.
“Oh, come on! Who the hell do you think you’re fooling?” Yancey snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
He could’ve bought her story if he had never been with a woman. But did she honestly think he wouldn’t recognize hickeys after all the times he had slept with Alice? The marks were still faintly pink, meaning the guy had not even kissed that hard!
Yancey snapped his head toward Ethan, shooting him a glare, but Ethan just sat there, as calm as ever. The sight made Yancey’s vision blur. “Ethan…”
Ethan glanced up, his face unreadable. “What?”
Yancey’s voice caught, his teeth pressing down on his lip. He couldn’t bring himself to confront Ethan. Instead, he turned to Grace. “You’ve got no shame, Grace. None!”
Her patience snapped. “Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with you? I told you—they’re just mosquito bites! A perverted mind sees filth in everything!”
Then, it hit her. Yancey actually thought she and Ethan had hooked up? Oh, for crying out loud…
Just then, a soft chuckle sliced through the tension. It was light but somehow incredibly pleasant to hear.
Grace froze, realizing it was Ethan. He was usually serious, but now, his eyes were slightly squinted in amusement.
And then he spoke. “Yeah. You’re right. A perverted mind sees filth in everything.”
Grace felt a sudden wave of embarrassment, especially when her gaze met Ethan’s and she caught the faint hint of amusement in his eyes. The awkwardness quickly spiraled into mortification as Yancey seemed certain she was involved with Ethan.
Without a word, Ethan wheeled himself toward his office. It wasn’t until the door clicked shut behind him that the rest of the top-floor employees felt brave enough to eavesdrop again.
Yancey had already been seething over the way the two had looked at each other, and now that Ethan was out of the picture, he completely lost it.
“Grace! You really think I don’t see what’s going on? You’re such a bitch!”
Nobody in the room realized the man Yancey was accusing was their CEO. All they heard was him throwing around accusations of Grace cheating.
Grace wasn’t interested in wasting any more energy on him and simply sat at her desk. “Unless you’ve got something else to say, get out. I have work to do.”
Her icy tone hit him like a slap, and panic spread across Yancey’s face. Without thinking, he lunged forward, trying to kiss her.
Grace recoiled, so quickly she nearly toppled over. She managed to steady herself, grabbed the nearest file, and swung it at him.
“Yancey, if you’re losing it, go get checked out! Don’t bring your meltdown in here!” she snapped.
The file smacked him hard in the face, leaving his cheek throbbing and his eyes starting to water.