Chapter 154

Janet’s eyes went as wide as saucers and her hands flew to cover her mouth. “Are you saying Brandon’s gay?!” she gasped breathlessly.

She was so curious about this juicy piece of gossip that her eyes lit up excitedly. She plopped down next to Ethan on the sofa and tugged at his sleeve incessantly. “How’d you know? Who told you? You can’t just start a rumor like this, Ethan. Brandon’s the president of a big group and can’t be trifled with.”

Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, his head pounding painfully. He held the woman’s hands to stop her from pulling his sleeves and pulled her into his arms. “Brandon said it himself. Don’t tell anyone.”

“Really? I had no idea! He didn’t seem gay at all.” Janet still couldn’t completely believe this news. She shook her head in disbelief, but she was relieved that she didn’t have to fret over what had happened last night.

So it turned out that her boss was gay.

“Brandon also told me that he only takes care of you because he thinks highly of you. He doesn’t have feelings for you. So you can relax now,” Ethan explained helplessly, sighing in secret.

Janet was still in shock. She looked up at the man and saw the complicated emotions surging in his eyes. Suspicion crept into her heart.

Brandon was the president of a big and powerful group. How could someone like Ethan have met with him so easily?

Did Ethan make up this story just to set her mind at ease?

“Wait a minute, Ethan. You’d better not be lying to me. If Brandon’s really gay, why would he tell someone like you? He would at the very most have just told you that he’s not interested in me. Why would he come out to you?” As Janet spoke, she became more and more suspicious.

Ethan had anticipated such a reaction and was prepared. “I asked him directly if he was hitting on my wife or not. He denied it firmly. Maybe he wanted to clarify this misunderstanding completely so as not to cause unnecessary trouble, so he told me his little secret. Besides, if he really is straight, why would he lie to me about his sexuality?”

What he said made sense, but somehow Janet still felt that something was off.

And a woman’s intuition was always right. Thinking of how Brandon had treated her before, Janet really couldn’t believe that he was gay.

Of course, she might’ve been misled by her first impression of him. Besides, she didn’t have any gay friends. She didn’t know much about them or have the slightest clue as to how they behaved.

“Hey, aren’t you happy that Brandon has no feelings for you? What reason would I have to lie to you about him being gay?” Ethan locked eyes with her seriously.

Biting her lower lip, Janet hesitated slightly. Yes, it was true, but her gut told her that something strange was afoot, although she couldn’t tell what exactly.

‘Forget it, Janet. You should be relieved that Brandon has no feelings for you. Besides, Ethan is good to you. That’s more than enough. Just let it be,’ Janet told herself.

“I know you wouldn’t lie to me, it’s just… It feels so unbelievable. It’s only natural for someone who hears such groundbreaking news to try to confirm it. But now that you’ve explained everything, I believe you.” As she spoke, she slipped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Then she raised her head and looked at him with her smiling eyes.

“Okay. Good.” Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the back of her head gently. When his eyes fell on her slightly opened lips, he felt a sudden urge.

“I wanna kiss you.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. Then he stuck out the tip of his tongue and danced with hers.

*******

The design drafts Janet submitted a few days prior was approved.

Before the end of Friday, she received an email from the company. She and her other two colleagues were selected to be the next intermediate designers. In other words, she was promoted without a hitch.

“Wow! You should treat us to a meal in celebration!” Gerda wiggled her eyebrows at Janet playfully.

Several colleagues who were close to Janet also cheered and congratulated her.

Janet beamed at them happily. “Of course! All of you should come.”

Everyone was excited to hear her invitation. They laughed and proposed, “How about tonight? It’s a Friday after all. Plus, we don’t have to work tomorrow. We can party all night long!”

“Okay! What’re you guys in the mood for? I’ll book a table in advance,” Janet asked softly with a gentle smile on her face.

She had never had a meal with her colleagues before. In fact, she had never seen them after work. It was a good chance for her to get to know them more.