Chapter 4 - The Scars We Carry
Ten minutes later, I stood in my private upstairs office overlooking the glowing dining room.
I had changed out of the ruined shirt into a soft ivory cashmere sweater I kept in my office wardrobe for late-night inventory shifts.
Ethan walked in carrying two mugs of hot peppermint tea, setting one down on my glass desk before pulling up a chair beside mine.
"You should have let me call the police, Maya," Ethan said gently, reaching across the desk to cover my hand with his.
"A police report would just turn this into tabloid gossip, Ethan," I sighed, leaning my head back against the leather executive chair.
"Our restaurant group is launching an initial public offering next spring. The last thing we need is viral footage of high school nonsense distracting investors."
Ethan looked at me, his dark eyes filled with fierce protectiveness.
"She called you a charity case."
"She’s been calling me that since I was fourteen," I said with a faint, bitter chuckle.
I looked down at my hands, remembering the blistered skin from scrubbing grease traps at fifteen while Lauren drove a brand-new convertible to homecoming.
"My mom used to clean Lauren's parents' house on weekends," I whispered, the old memories resurfacing with sharp clarity.
"One Saturday, Lauren invited her popular friends over while my mom was on her knees waxing the hallway floor. Lauren dropped a bowl of potato chips on the floor right in front of them and laughed, telling my mom she missed a spot."
Ethan's grip tightened around my fingers, his jaw clenching with suppressed fury.
"Did your mom tell anyone?"
"My mom needed the eighty dollars to buy my winter coat, Ethan," I said, looking up into his eyes.
"She smiled, picked up the chips, and apologized. That was the day I promised myself I would build a life where nobody could ever humiliate my family again."
Ethan stood up, walked behind my chair, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, resting his chin against my head.
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"You built that life, Maya," he whispered against my ear.
"And tomorrow morning, Pierce Wealth Management is going to find out what happens when their senior broker attacks the woman who holds their financial future in her hands."
