Mid-Thirties Slightly Hot Mess Female Seeking Billionaire: Chapter 26

Ethan

‘I‘m fine, Ethan.’ Sarah squeals in my arms, as I take her out to the street.

‘Stop squirming,” I say, looking down into her pale, panicked face.

My heart is racing as I stare at the blood on the side of her temple. I really hope that she doesn’t have a concussion. I really hope that she hasn’t seriously injured herself. My driver pulls up about a minute later, and Sarah looks at me in confusion.

‘Wait, what? How?’

‘I alerted him.’ I smile at her.

She doesn’t know that I have a button that I press that immediately alerts him to come to the front.

‘How did you do that? Was it magic?’

‘Would you believe me if I said that it was?’ I ask, and she rolls her eyes. I laugh slightly.

My driver jumps out and heads over to us. ‘Is everything okay, Mr. Rosser?’ There’s a concerned look on his face.

‘She hit her head,” I nod. ‘We’re going to take her to the emergency room.’

‘Yes, sir.’ He says, opening the back door.

I place her down onto the back seat, close the door behind me, and then walk over to the other side and slide in.

She’s sitting up now and glaring at me. ‘This is really too much, I’m fine.’

‘You’re not fine. You fell and you hit your head and it’s bleeding.’

‘It’s just a little wound.’ She touches the side of her head, and looks down at her fingers at the deep red blood. ‘Ew.’ She makes a face. ‘It’s really bleeding, huh?’

‘That’s what I said,” I say, shifting over to her.

She glares at me and closes her eyes. I grab her hand and squeeze.

‘Don’t close your eyes.’

‘What? You’re so bossy.’

‘Sarah, listen to me. I don’t want you to close your eyes, because if you did get a concussion, I don’t want anything bad happening.’

‘Bad like what?’ She says, an attitude in her voice.

‘I don’t know, like you going into a coma or something.’

‘It’s not that serious, dude.’

‘Well, I hope not, but better safe than sorry.’

‘You do not have to take me to the hospital, you really-‘

‘I do,” I say. ‘I’m not just going to let you go to sleep and possibly not wake up tomorrow.’

‘Would you care?’ She asks, and I stare at her for a couple of seconds.

‘What do you think?’

‘I mean, I guess you’d be disappointed because you never got to see me pole dancing.’

‘I don’t give a fuck about you pole dancing,” I say as the car starts moving.

‘Okay, well, tell me this.’

‘Yes?’ I ask her.

‘Were you hoping for a lap dance?’

My lips twitch slightly as I stare at her face. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think you were hoping for a lap dance. I think that you were hoping that you were going to get laid tonight.’

‘Weren’t you hoping for the same thing?’ I ask her, chuckling slightly.

‘No, I already told you that that wasn’t going to happen.’

‘I know that’s what you said, but you were on a pole.’ I stare at her. ‘In a very skimpy outfit.’ I lick my lips. ‘And let’s just say I think something may have gone down after you made your twenty grand.’

‘So you totally came to have sex with me tonight. Is that the only reason you came?’

‘I didn’t actually come though, did I?’ I wink at her, and she groans.

‘You’re disgusting.’

‘I don’t think I’m disgusting, and I don’t think you think I’m disgusting. I mean…’ I pause.

‘What?’ She says.

‘Nothing. You’re still recovering, I don’t want to get you all angry and upset.’

‘I’m not angry and I’m not upset. I think you should just say it as it is.’

‘What do you want me to say, Sarah? Do you want me to say that I find you very attractive? Do you want me to say that I think you’ve got a mouth on you? Do you want me to say that I don’t think you’re the best dancer in the world, and that you should not quit your day job to take up stripping.’

‘So what, you don’t think I’m a good stripper?’ She glares at me.

‘I mean, I do not know how to answer that without you getting mad.’

Her lips tremble slightly. ‘Fine, you don’t have to answer that.’

‘I mean, I’d love to see you strip, and I don’t care if you’re good or not,” I say. ‘I like you naked either way.’

‘You just want me to be naked, period.’

‘Am I a bad person if I say yes, I do like to have you naked? It’s been more than five times now, so maybe we can do away with that rule.’

‘Maybe I don’t want to do away with that rule.’ She says. ‘Maybe I am fine with it. Maybe I don’t want to sleep with you more than five times.’

‘I don’t think that’s quite true.’

‘Why, because you’re so irresistible.’

‘I don’t know, am I irresistible?’ I run a finger down her arm, and she giggles slightly.

‘You’re totally resistible, Ethan. Trust me.’

‘Ah, shucks,” I say, laughing.

The car stops and I look out and see that we’ve arrived at the emergency room.

‘Good. Wait here. Stay where you are.’

‘I can get out by myself.’

‘No.’ I’m stern now. ‘Stay where you are. I’m going to get a wheelchair, and I will push you in.’

‘I do not need to be pushed in, Ethan, I-‘

‘Please, Sarah.’ I say softly. ‘Let me take care of you, at least until we make sure you’re okay.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ She says. ‘Thank you for caring, but-‘

‘But nothing,” I say as I jump out of the car and rush to the interior of the building. ‘I need a wheelchair, stat, my…’ I pause, not knowing what to call her. ‘I just need a wheelchair.’

One of the nurses points to the corner of the room, and I grab a wheelchair and hurry back out. Sarah is still sitting in the backseat, thankfully. I open the door and reach in to pick her up.

‘Please, you do not need to do this. It’s so embarrassing.’ She says, though I can tell she’s slightly nervous. Her eyes seem like they’re tired, and she gives me a look. ‘Do you think I’m okay?’

‘I hope so,” I say. ‘I really hope so.’

I lift her up and put her into the wheelchair, and then I rush her in.

‘She needs to be seen immediately,” I say, ignoring the sounds of crying and howls of pain from the other people.

‘What seems to be the issue?’ The nurse behind the counter says.

‘She fell hard, cracked her head. I’m nervous that she has a concussion.’

The nurse stares down at Sarah and her skimpy outfit and makes a face.

‘What was going on?’

‘Does it matter what was going on?’ I glare at her. ‘I’m Ethan Rosser, CEO of Rosser International.’

‘Okay, and?’ She says, rolling her eyes.

‘And I’m a trustee of the hospital. Last year, I donated fifteen million.’

She bites down on her lower lip. ‘We can get you into a room. I’ll call one of the doctors to come and see you.’

‘Sounds good. Which room?’

She lets out a deep sigh. ‘Follow me.’

I push Sarah in the wheelchair behind her, and then we enter a room.

‘I’ll be right back.’ The nurse says.

Sarah looks at me and shakes her head. ‘You didn’t have to pull strings to get me taken care of right away. I know this is an emergency room. I know they most probably have more important cases that they have to deal with, and-‘

‘This is one of the perks of being rich,” I say. ‘You get taken care of faster.’

‘But that’s not fair.’ She says. ‘It’s-‘

‘I know it’s not fair, it fucking sucks and I feel bad about it, but we don’t know how badly you hit your head, Sarah. I’m not going to sit there waiting with everyone else when I know I can get you to the front of the line.’ I take a deep breath. ‘I’m worried, okay? I just need to make sure you’re okay.’

She stares at me for a couple of seconds and nods. My phone starts ringing and I look at it. It’s my mom. I try not to roll my eyes as I put it back in my pocket.

‘You can answer that.’ She says.

‘No, I need to watch over for you. I need to-‘

‘Please, take the call.’ She shakes her head. ‘I’m sure a doctor will be in here soon.’

‘Okay, I’ll be right back.’

I step out of the room and call my mom back.

‘Hey, mom, what’s going on?’ I ask her. I know my voice is gruff, but I can’t help it. If she’s asking me for more money or to go on some sort of trip, I will lose it.

‘Hey, Ethan, I’m so sorry to disturb you.’ She stops, and I pause, because my mom has never been sorry about anything.

‘What’s going on, mom? Is everything okay? Are you okay?’

For a few minutes, I worry that she’s going to tell me that she has cancer or something. I lean against the wall. This is the last thing that I need. I can feel my heart trembling slightly as I wait for her to answer.

‘Your dad hasn’t been home in three days.’ Her voice is nervous. ‘I’m worried about him. I’ve been calling and calling, and now it’s just going to voicemail.’

‘What do you mean he hasn’t been home in three days? Do you know where he was going? Do you-‘

‘I don’t know. I’m so sorry to disturb you, Ethan. I know that you’re busy, I know that you’ve got other things to worry about, but I’m nervous. He’s never not called before.’

‘Have you tried to figure out where he could be located? Have you tracked his GPS?’

‘What are you talking about?’

Like on his phone, have you done Find My Phone? I know you have iPhones, I got them for you.’

‘I don’t even know what that is, Ethan.’

I can tell that she’s emotionally spent.

‘Okay, let me see what’s going on.’ I say. ‘I’ll call you back.’

‘Okay. Is everything okay with you?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Where are you? There’s a lot of noise in the background.’

‘I’m at the emergency room.’

‘Oh my gosh, Ethan, what’s going on? Why didn’t you call me?’ She starts getting loud.

‘Mom, I’m okay. A friend of mine is here.’

‘Not Jackson?’ She says.

‘No, a female friend.’

There’s a long silence on the phone.

‘A female friend?’ She says. ‘Like a girlfriend?’

‘No, no, she’s not my girlfriend, she… I’ll call you back, mom, okay?’

I hang up before she can say anything else, and I just stare at the phone. Who is Sarah to me? She’s not my girlfriend, I’m not looking for a girlfriend, but she’s no longer just my employee, she’s no longer just the nerdy woman that works for me. I feel more for her than that, and it’s not just because we slept together. I have feelings for her, I’m worried about her, I’m concerned about her, and I get jealous when she flirts with other men. I don’t know what it means, and I don’t have time to think about it. I quickly call my granddad and wait for it to go to voicemail. I’m pretty certain he’s in bed already. Surprisingly, he answers the phone.

‘Ethan, what’s going on?’

‘Have you heard from dad?’ I ask, knowing that he’ll be straightforward with me.

‘Your mom called?’

‘Yeah, mom called. She’s nervous. She hasn’t heard from him.’

‘Your dad’s not doing well.’ He says with a sigh.

‘What’s going on?’

‘You’re going to be a brother.’

‘What?’

‘You’re going to be a brother.’

‘But mom can’t get pregnant, she…’ And then it dawns on me what he’s saying. ‘He cheated again?’

My granddad sighs. ‘I don’t know what we did wrong. I don’t know how I could have made this any different, but yeah, he’s not in a good place. He doesn’t know how to tell your mom.

‘Fuckin’ A. Sorry.’ I say quickly. I hate swearing in front of my grandparents.

‘I understand, Ethan. Can you come over? Can you speak to him?’

‘No, not right now.’

‘Oh.’ He sounds surprised. ‘Late night at work?’

‘No, something more important than that. I’ll be there tomorrow though.’

I hang up and just stare at the phone for a couple of seconds. I am quite literally in disbelief. I’m too old to have a new sibling born. My dad is too old to be a dad again. He wasn’t even a good dad to me.

‘Fuck it.’ I say, as I head back towards the room.

I’m grateful to see a doctor there with Sarah. He looks up at me and nods.

‘Mr. Rosser?’

‘Yes?’ I say. ‘How is she?’

‘So far, it looks good. It looks like not too much damage.’

‘She’s bleeding though.’

‘A slight cut by the ear.’ He says. ‘We’ll run some more tests and check everything, and I want to make sure that you don’t have a bad headache tomorrow, but I think you should be okay.’

He looks at me. ‘Will you be able to ensure that she’s not alone tonight?’

‘Of course.’ .

‘No.’ Sarah says. ‘I’m fine, I can be by myself.’

‘No, I will be with you.’ I stare at her.

‘No, Ethan, you-‘

‘I will be with you. You can’t be alone.’

I can go to Isabel’s. I can go to-‘

‘Sarah.’ I cut her off, and she sighs.

‘Fine.’

‘I want to make sure you’re okay.’

‘Fine.’ She says, and looks down, exhausted, and suddenly I realized just how young she looks, and how beautiful, and how vulnerable, and my heart constricts, because I feel something that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before in my life, and I don’t even want to question what it is.

About an hour later, we’re leaving the hospital, and my driver takes us back to her place.

‘You sure you don’t want to go to mine?’

‘I’m sure.’ She says. ‘I know my place is small, but-‘

‘It’s fine, I like it.’ We get into her apartment and she yawns.

‘I’m sorry, I’m just really tired right now.’

‘It’s okay. You can go to sleep, and I’ll just do some work, and when you wake up in the morning, we’ll grab breakfast, and I’ll make sure that you’re okay.’

‘It’s very sweet of you to be here.’ She says softly. Thank you. You really didn’t have to stay.’

‘I know, but I wanted to, Sarah. I really wanted to.’

She heads to her bedroom and lies down, and I pace back and forth along the corridor for a couple of minutes, gripping my phone, thinking about calling my dad and speaking to him, asking him how he could cheat on mom and not use protection, but I’m spent. I don’t really know what to say.

I head towards Sarah’s bedroom to see if she wants something to drink or eat, but she’s already fast asleep. I go over and take a seat on the mattress and look down at her. She looks so innocent, so sweet. I watch her stomach rise and fall. I’m grateful that she’s okay. I’m grateful to be here with her. I’m grateful to feel something other than lust for business. She’s awakened something in me that I didn’t even realize had been asleep.

As I sit there and stare at her sleeping, I remember a time when I was seven years old, when my parents had been fighting and my dad had stormed out in the middle of the night. I’d been in bed reading a book, and when he’d left, I’d been thankful that the shouting would stop. I remember waking up at about five o’clock in the morning, and creeping along the corridor to my mom’s room, and just standing outside the door listening to her crying for what felt like hours. I remember feeling so alone and cold as I watched her, and then eventually, she fell asleep. I opened the doors and I crept inside, and I remember I watched her sleeping, because I wanted to make sure she was still alive, I wanted to make sure that nothing would ever happen to her.

And as she lay there, I remember her whispering my name in her sleep. ‘I love you, my darling Ethan. I will never leave, because I love you.’

And I remember then how I felt. How I felt guilty and sad, but how I loved her, how I realized she loved me more than life itself, how I realized that I didn’t blame her for being weak anymore. I remember creeping into her bed and waking up hours later to her kissing me and hugging me close.

‘I love you.’ She’d said. ‘I’ll always have you, my darling.’ And I felt warm and protected, and like I never wanted to let her go.

‘Ethan.’ Sarah mumbles in her sleep, and I freeze. ‘Oh, Ethan.’ She says, and she’s smiling now. I wonder what she’s thinking about. ‘You’re not so bad, Ethan.’ She says, and my heart surges.

I stand up and I walk towards the door, I’m going to go and sleep on the couch, but then I stop. I turn back around and walk towards the bed, and I take my shoes off and lie down next to her. I need to be near her, just to make sure she’s okay, that if she needs something, I’ll hear her. I lie back down and stare up at the ceiling and wonder what all these emotions mean. I wonder if my mom knows that my dad has gotten someone else pregnant. I wonder if it will break her yet again. I wonder if Sarah knows that we have something that makes me uncomfortable, but also alive for the very first time. I turn to the side and put my arm around her softly, and then before I know it, I’m falling asleep.

A few hours later, I wake up, and Sarah’s still sleeping, but she’s fully embraced by me. She moans slightly as my hand moves from her stomach, and I realize that she’s enjoying the warmth of my body against hers. I realize that she means something real to me, she’s worming her way into my heart, and that scares me. I’m not sure what to think or what to do. I don’t want to think about it, it’s an uncomfortable feeling, and yet, as I close my eyes to fall asleep again, I know that it’s the best feeling I’ve had in a really long time. It’s a peaceful, sweet, loving feeling, and I never want to let it go, I never want it to leave me.