Revealing Ethan Thompson Mystery Woman 2

Chapter 9

The drive back to his office was a quiet one. Ethan had his head slanted to the side, one hand perched on his jaw as he reminisced the events of the day. 

His phone rang just when they drove into the underground parking lot of the company. 

Ethan sighed upon seeing the caller. His grandfather must have realized he had not gone on the scheduled blind date.

He contemplated ending the call but decided against it, it would only make things worse.

"You rascal!!" Grandmaster Thompson's voice resounded from the speaker. Ethan had to move the phone away from his ear for a while before putting it back

"At this rate, you'll blow up my eardrum," the car stopped.

He knew his grandpa would not let him off easily, not after he had missed a blind date. Again.

"That would be so much better, you unfilial grandson," Grandmaster Thomson wasn't having it easy with him, not after the article he just read.

"What is it you want this time?" Ethan asked, already exhausted from the call with him, "If this is about the blind date, then I'm sorry, I won't be going." Caleb opened the door for him and he stepped out.

He started towards the elevator designed for him alone. 

He stepped into it, "If this was about the blind date, it would have been better. How could I know about such crucial information about my blood from the media? My grandson has a girlfriend and he hasn't bothered to introduce her to me," disappointment seeped out of Grand Master Thompson's voice as he lamented.

Confusion spread over Ethan's face. 

Was this a new trick his grandpa was playing on him? Was it possible he had a girlfriend and was not aware of it?

"What are you on about Grandpa?" "You rascal, you still want to deny it?" 

The elevator rings, stopping at the top floor.

Ethan got out of the elevator together with Caleb.

"Sir," Caleb called, adjusting his glasses, "you need to see this," he handed an iPad over to him. 

Ethan holds the phone to his ear with one hand while the other hand holds the iPad.

His brows furrowed slightly as he read the headlines of the article.

"Grandpa, I think there's been a misunde…"

"I don't care what it is, bring her home for dinner,"

"I won't be home for dinner." Ethan quickly excused himself, "I mean, she won't be around," since his grandfather wasn't going to allow him to explain himself on his stand over this article, he could as well use it as an excuse.

"Then come with her next weekend." Before he could say any other word, his grandpa ended the call.

Settling on the chair behind his table, Ethan scrolled down on the iPad, stopping briefly at the photo attached to the article.

The photo was captured when Ethan and Ava were stepping out of the restaurant. His hand held hers; his face was perfectly captured; Ava's face, however, wasn't; she had turned at that moment.

He placed the iPad on the table with a little thud.

Who would have thought that a paparazzi was on him? He was glad Ava's face and identity were unknown, but who knew if this person had more photos of them together?

"I'll see to it that not a trace of this article is on the internet," said Caleb as he retrieved the iPad from the table.

Though Ethan wasn't in the entertainment industry, he was a well-known public figure. The name Ethan Thompson rang a bell in everyone's ear, whether offline or online.

"No," Caleb, who was about to take his leave, paused, turning to meet Ethan's gaze with a curious expression.

"Get the name of the publisher." 

The article may be anonymously published but there was no way he wasn't going to find them.

"Alright, sir," Caleb bowed slightly in respect, and then he walked out of the office.

Ethan got up from his chair and moved to the ceiling-to-floor window, staring into the busy city. He held onto the little paper Ava had written her number.

He had not expected that their little encounter would cause such a commotion for him. Everyone was curious; the internet was buzzing, wondering who this lucky woman was.

.

.

Ava sat on her bed, eyes focused on the screen as she scrolled down. The post was made over forty minutes ago.

She was grateful her face wasn't captured, if it had been, all her plans would have gone down the drain.

She didn't know how to feel about being in the spotlight. But it didn't matter much since her identity wasn't revealed. 

As she read both the positive and negative comments about her online, she couldn't ignore the sounds of crying she heard from the sitting room. 

Keeping her phone by the side, she stepped to the door. 

A small smirk endowed her face as she heard Harper's voice.

Harper was back. Of course, the blind date has been ruined automatically by the article.

Ava didn't want to miss this chance of seeing Harper in her worst state so she stepped out quickly.

She stood in a corner, eyes pinned on the mother and daughter.

"How is this possible, Mom? Ethan is single; he has never had any rumors about having a woman. What should I do now?" Tears ran down Harper's cheeks.

"As you rightly said, it's a rumor," "but he held her hands," 

Olivia pulled Harper away and cupped her face, "I'll do anything to make sure you get Ethan. Trust me. You don't have to worry about some baseless rumors." She said with conviction.

"But who is she? How did she manage to get so close to him? Ethan has never been seen with any girl," Harper gritted her teeth as the image of the girl with Ethan resurfaced in her mind.

She felt so much hatred towards the girl although she was yet to meet her. She wanted to be the one next to Ethan.

Ava didn't wait to hear what Olivia had to say. She returned to her room.

The satisfaction she felt was unmatched. 

Though Harper and Olivia are in the dark about the girl's identity now, they won't remain in the dark forever.

She couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out she was the girl. 

That she was Ethan Thompson's mystery woman. 

.

.

Ava sat in front of her mirror the next evening, various thoughts ran through her head as she stared at her reflection. The day went by so quickly.

If things had gone the way she had once wished for, she would have worked down the aisle and got married to the man she had loved most.

She had met with a lawyer and had discussed the best way to get back her shares. Thankfully, the lawyer made her realize that the shares had not been fully passed on to Henry yet.

They needed to get married before the transfer of shares could be fully executed. Now the ball was in her court and she vowed to play it as far away from the goal as possible.

It was good news to her and she had quickly shared it with Lila.

That was settled. Now all that was left was Ethan. She had her eyes glued to her phone in expectation of a call or text from him, but there was nothing.

However, Ava didn't lose hope, she remained pessimistic. 

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She turned to the door, wondering who could be at the door at this hour.

Before she could invite the person in, the door opened, and Harper stuck her head in; then she opened the door widely and stepped in, "Can I come in?"

"You are already in," Ava spoke nonchalantly. 

Harper closed the door behind her and stepped in reluctantly to sit on the bed which was close to Ava. She hates coming into Ava's room because it wasn't well furnished. 

The room didn't meet her standards. But she had to have this discussion with Ava, so here she was, seated on the edge of her bed.

With a fake smile perched on her face, she said, "Are you nervous?" 

"No," Ava replied calmly. 

She was puzzled at the fact that Harper was in her room, but her facial expression didn't reveal anything.

"That's good. I want to be like you when I get married to Ethan." 

Ava did glance in her direction briefly without a word, "But I don't think I'll ever be as brave as you are," upon noticing that Ava didn't say anything in response, she kept speaking,

"You did the right thing. Deciding to give the company to Henry is the best decision you could ever make." 

Ava smirked, "is it now?" Harper nodded, not noticing the mockery in Ava's voice. "Immediately you get married, everything will be in its rightful place. The wedding will go well tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

After saying this, Harper stood to leave, she couldn't stay for another moment.

As she reached for the doorknob, Ava's voice stopped her, "Harper," she paused and continued, "thank you for everything. I've prepared a special gift for you tomorrow at my wedding."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I believe you'll like it."

"Good then, I have something to look forward to," Harper stepped

out immediately.

As Ava watched her leave, her face contoured into a sly smile, and she said to herself, "Just wait. I'll make sure tomorrow is memorable."