“I heard you boys did a good job on the panel at the conference the other day,” Ethan’s mom, Lydia, said as she sat gracefully at the end of the large dining table. A feast fit for a king’s court was spread before them.
She had baked a ham and made stuffed fish, basmati rice infused with fresh herbs, and roasted green beans. Since their children had become adults, Bill had been trying to encourage her to allow someone else to cook for them, but she enjoyed it too much to put it in someone else’s hands—especially when it came to cooking for her family.
Bill sat on the opposite end of the table. Between them, their son Lincoln, his wife, Britney, and their two young children, Ava and Logan, occupied one side while Ethan, Carter and their younger sister, Ivy, sat on the other. Even though Ivy was just two years younger than Ethan, they still emphasized the word little when they spoke of their younger sister.
Carter had invited his woman of the month—a curvy lawyer named Edison Wells, with honey-colored hair and skin the color of a blanched almond. To everyone else’s surprise, this was the second family dinner that Edison had attended.
Today was one of their family Sunday dinners. Once their children had graduated from college and become adults, Bill and Lydia had declared a family day rather than see less of them. Despite their schedules, the entire family came together for dinner on the first Sunday of every month. Until now, Carter had never brought the same “friend” to dinner twice. Everyone around the table was especially tickled.
“Who mentioned that? Was it Dad?” Carter teased his mother regarding her comment about them doing well at the conference. “I’m glad you told us, Ma. Otherwise we may have never known.” He chuckled. “You know Dad isn’t one to dole out too much praise.”
Bill was known for being stern and didn’t shell out compliments often, lest his boys become complacent. He was different with his daughter, Ivy. He complimented her and his lovely wife every chance he got.
“Yeah,” Lincoln added. “Dad can be stingy with the accolades.”
Each sibling laughed except Ethan. He simply placed a forkful of his mother’s delicious salmon in his mouth. Bill’s lack of acknowledgment was something for his brothers to tease their dad about on a regular basis. It touched Ethan differently. For him, the subject wasn’t so light. Ethan wanted his dad’s approval. He wasn’t needy at all, but his father’s affirmation was extremely important to him.
“Okay, okay.” Bill wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Let’s not make this Tease Bill Sunday. You’re all doing a wonderful job. Okay. Is that better?”
“Bill!” Lydia admonished. She turned to her sons with a smile. “You know your father means well. He’s just set in his ways and wants you to continue to reach high. Right, Bill?”
Bill playfully lifted a brow. “Could be.”
Lincoln and Carter teased their father a bit more, and he dismissively waved his hand at their banter. Light laughter flitted around the table. Ethan still hadn’t joined in any of the jokes.
“Yeah, but it would be nice to hear something affirming from you every now and then.” Ethan’s expression was stoic. His tone even.
The laughter subsided. Lydia sighed. Bill cleared his throat and the other siblings said nothing.
“Dad. It’s just good to know when we have the big man’s approval,” Lincoln added in what appeared to be an attempt to break the thickening silence.
“I see.” Bill’s tone was flat.
“Okay, family. It’s time for dessert. I made a pecan pie,” Lydia announced. She stood and clasped her hands together.
“Yes! I guess I’ll have to run that extra mile tomorrow morning,” Ivy said. “I’m having a piece of this pie.”
“I get the first slice. I’m the oldest.” Lincoln raised his hand.
“I’m the youngest,” Ivy challenged.
“No!” Logan, Lincoln’s son, wagged his little finger. “Ava’s the youngest.” He pointed to his four-year-old sister and then jabbed his own chest. “And then me!” he said and giggled.
Laughter rose around the table again.
“He has a point,” Britney said. “And since I’m their mom and I have to feed them, I should get my piece first along with them.”
“Yeah, right!” Carter called out.
“Ha! Nice try, Brit,” Ivy said.
“Didn’t work, huh?” Britney shrugged and grinned.
Ethan laughed that time but was still a bit affected by the jokes around Bill withholding praise from his boys. He understood his father, but his way never sat well with Ethan. Then again, his situation with his father was different.
“Dessert is served,” Lydia announced, placing the pie on the table.
“You only made one!” Ivy frowned. “What’re the rest of them going to have?”
“Girl! I don’t know where you put all this food.” Lydia plopped back into her seat and sniffed. “Metabolism must be on one thousand.”
“Yeah. She burns a lot of calories running—” Carter paused for effect “—her mouth!” He looked at his niece and nephew with a cheesy smile, then threw his head back and howled. The two children snickered.
Ivy tossed a napkin at him. “If that’s the case, you should be the smallest person in the room but then again—” she turned to the kids “—how would his body hold up that huge head of his?”
Ava and Logan covered their mouths with their little hands and giggled harder.
Ivy winked at them and blew an air kiss to her brother. Carter acted as if he caught it. “Which one of you want this kiss from auntie?” he asked.
“Meeee!” both kids yelled, raising their hands.
“Ivy, we need another one,” Carter said.
She kissed her hand and together she and Carter tossed the imaginary kisses at the kids, who pretended to catch them and slap them on their cheeks. The sweet moment elicited more than a few awws.
Together, the family dug into the pecan pie. Moans of pleasure rolled around the table as they ate. Once dessert was finished, everyone helped clear the table. The women took to the sitting room and the men headed toward the sliding doors to go onto the deck for their usual after-dinner boy talk.
Bill slowed, gently tugging Ethan’s arm. Ethan turned and looked into his father’s face. Bill looked pensive.
“What’s up, Pop?”
Bill looked around Ethan to make sure his other sons had made it out onto the deck. “I’ve been meaning to speak to you about something. Come.”
Ethan followed his father into the study.
“I noticed how you touched Zoe’s back at the conference the other day,” Bill began. “The gesture seemed rather...familiar.”
Ethan shifted on his feet. He’d only thought about the possible implications of placing his hand on Zoe’s back after it was done. His intention had just been to rescue Zoe from a guy who was making her uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and continued to listen.
“You’re not involved with this woman, are you?” Bill’s eyes narrowed.
“No!” Ethan said quickly. “No, Dad.”
Bill sighed. “I don’t have to remind you about the situation we dealt with before.”
“No, Dad, I wouldn’t put our company in jeopardy.”
Bill looked disappointed. That bothered Ethan.
“It took a long time for us to overcome that situation. We have to continue to do the right thing by our employees.” Bill raised his hands. “If you’re involved with her in any way, it needs to stop immediately. If you’re not, you have to be careful that your familiarity with this woman isn’t misconstrued as any kind of inappropriate behavior.”
Ethan felt a heavy sigh coming. He held his breath, not wanting to appear exasperated. He understood Bill’s concern, and Ethan’s feelings for Zoe made all of this much more complicated.
That sexual harassment claim had almost ruined Blackwell’s reputation. Five years before, one of the male managers made a joke in poor judgment and a number of inappropriate comments that made several female team members uncomfortable. One brave woman filed a claim. The management at Blackwell responded immediately, launching an investigation, holding forums and ensuring that employees understood the company’s strong stance against harassment. In the end the man apologized to all the women at the firm and was let go. However, due to the media exposure, the incident still caused a stain on the financial giant. It took a few years to clear their name.
“We’re in the middle of a very critical expansion,” Bill continued. “A problem like this could ruin everything. There’s too much at stake here, our growth, our reputation, the culture we’ve worked so hard to rebuild.” He placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “And possibly your chances at a promotion, son.”
That last comment felt like a punch to Ethan’s gut.
“I trust that you’re capable of making good decisions. I can trust you in this, right?” Bill looked directly into Ethan’s eyes.
Ethan swallowed. Of course he didn’t intend to cause any problems. “Yes, Dad. Of course you can trust me.”
Bill patted Ethan’s shoulder and nodded. “Good.” The two men stood facing one another for several moments. Finally, Bill sighed and nodded. “Good,” he said, as if he had more to say but had settled on repeating himself. “Let’s go outside.”
Ethan followed him through the sliding doors onto the deck for their usual conversation, cigars and scotch. Bill sparked the stone firepit to take the slight autumn chill out of the air.
It took a while for Ethan’s tight disposition from their conversation to dissipate. After a while, he loosened up enough to enjoy sitting with his dad and brothers, talking about everything and nothing all the same. Sharp opinions on who would make it to the bowl game clashed. Ethan and Carter talked about how well their office expansions were doing and teased each other about what they would ask for when the other brother lost their personal bet.
When the sun had fully descended with a spectacular show of colors, Bill headed inside to watch TV with the ladies. Lincoln said his goodbyes, noting the need for him and Britney to get the kids home and into bed, leaving Ethan and Carter out on the porch, alone.
“You okay, bro?”
Carter’s question caught Ethan off guard. “Me? Yeah. I’m fine.”
Silence settled between them as they sipped from their glasses and puffed their cigars.
“If I tell you something,” Carter said at last, “you have to promise to keep it to yourself.”
Ethan looked at his brother with concern. “Of course. What’s up?”
Carter took in a deep breath. “I don’t know if I want to stay with the company.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “I’m assuming you haven’t said anything to Dad about this.”
“Nope! You saw how unhappy he was when Lincoln decided to leave to do his own thing.”
“Yes. He dreams of having his sons take over the business. What is it that you want to do instead?”
“I don’t know. Just something different. I don’t plan on leaving yet. I just know this is not what I want to do forever. It’s been on my mind a lot lately.”
The quiet of the night took over once again. After a while, Carter continued. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a phase.” He paused again. “Me wanting to leave doesn’t mean I don’t plan on beating you in this challenge,” he said after a while.
“Aw. Your confidence is admirable.” Ethan patted Carter’s shoulder. “I hope you don’t feel too bad when you lose.” Both men laughed. Ethan needed that laugh.
“Anyway,” Carter interrupted. “How are you doing?” He shifted in his chair and put his foot up on the ottoman. “I noticed you seemed a bit tight during dinner and when you and Dad finally came out onto the deck. You always get a little...you know...quiet when we talk about some of Dad’s ways. Why does it bother you so much?”
Ethan was always ready for a good round of jokes but had never liked that his father didn’t believe it was necessary to share his approval of his boys. He understood Bill’s sternness and he loved his parents immensely, but he also knew something about them that his siblings didn’t. He’d been warned never to tell a soul. Ethan and his siblings were close, and they had always shared everything—except this one secret. And it was because of this secret that Ethan desired Bill’s approval the most.
“I don’t know, man,” he finally responded. “It’s just important to me, I guess. It’s hard for me to make light of.”
“It’s important to me, too, but despite that, we know how proud he is of us whether he says it or not.”
“Of course. But it would still be nice to hear that directly from him.”
“True.” Carter nodded and sipped his scotch.
“Let’s get to the subject on the forefront of everyone’s mind.” A Cheshire grin spread across Ethan’s face. He looked back at the door to make sure no one was approaching. “So Edison made it to a second family dinner. Is she on her way to being my new sister-in-law?”
“Whoa, whoa. Been there... Well, almost,” Carter said of the wedding that hadn’t actually happened. “Not sure about going back. Edison and I are friends just having a good time. That’s all.”
“Cool. Just enjoying each other’s company, huh?”
“Till the wheels blow off.”
Ethan chuckled. “Uh-huh.” Since the disastrous end to Carter’s engagement a few years ago, he’d taken to running from love like he was being chased by a wild animal. He hadn’t dated seriously in years and it wasn’t due to a lack of options. However, it was nice to see him enjoying one woman’s company even if it was short-lived.
Their conversation reminded Ethan about Zoe. He enjoyed her company a lot, too. He knew he shouldn’t but Ethan wished for more time like that with her. The conversation never dulled. Even their periods of silence were comfortable. He cleared his throat. She penetrated his thoughts way too often. Maybe he needed to find someone else’s company to enjoy so he could take his focus off Zoe. He couldn’t be with her anyway.
He leaned toward Carter as if he had a grand secret to tell and asked, “Does your friend have a friend?”
“Ha! She has plenty of friends, but you wouldn’t be interested.”
Ethan reared his head back. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Carter tossed him a skeptical stare.
Ethan held his hands up. “What?”
“One word... Zoe.”
Ethan looked back at the door again. “What? Zoe! She’s my employee,” he said incredulously.
“And that doesn’t seem to stop you from being sweet on her.”
“Wh-what?” he stammered.
“You can fake it with your team, but I know you too well, brother. You’ve been sweet on her since the day she stepped into your office for her first interview. Not that you’ve done anything wrong,” Carter assured him. “And before you ask, no, there aren’t any rumors sliding around that I know of. I just know you. I see it as clear as a sunny day. It’s in your eyes when you speak about her. The way you smile at the mention of her name. It’s evident in the way you try to avoid her when everyone is around. You can fool them, boy, but you can’t fool me.”
Ethan closed his gaping mouth. There was nothing to say. He was close to all his siblings, but the tie between him and Carter was even more unbreakable. Now his father was suspicious, too. He thought back to their earlier conversation. Bill was right. There was too much at stake. Aside from his possible promotion, Ethan would hate to be the cause of something terrible happening to Blackwell’s reputation at such a critical time. He needed to be more careful around Zoe.
“Yet she’s untouchable,” he said.
“It doesn’t help that she’s gorgeous.” Carter smirked, looked out over the massive yard and took another sip of his drink.
Ethan chuckled before taking a sip of his own scotch. He sighed. What more could he say? Zoe was working her way into his system beyond his control. And she was totally off-limits.