“You won’t see a picture. We’ve been very private about things, though we’ve been out together. Just not my usual spots and not often.”
“Do we know who she is?” his father asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, are you going to tell me or do I have to drink before I bean you over the head?”
He laughed, then turned to his father. “It’s Nora.”
“Nora Jones?” his father asked, sitting up straighter. “Your new executive assistant.”
“That’s the only Nora I know,” he said.
“That’s not wise, Ethan,” his father warned. “You know better.”
“Let me explain.”
“Please do,” his mother said. “Because your father is going to take some calming down, but I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. This is out of character for you.”
“See, it is. And I’m struggling. I hate to say this and I know it will stay between us. Or I hope.”
“Of course. Right, Mitchell?” she asked sarcastically.
“Yes, Janet,” his father said, the sarcasm matching. That was the thing about his parents, even when they weren’t always polite, they were supportive.
“Two months ago I was in the casino on a Saturday night. I saw a woman at the bar and went to chat with her. We hit it off, had a great time. I could tell she was indifferent though.”
“You couldn’t win her over, could you?” his mother asked, grinning. “I do love seeing my boys’ egos take a knock now and again.”
“Yeah, well, it’s getting kicked some lately. I joked about going to my room with her.”
“Things a mother doesn’t need to hear,” she scolded.
“Sorry. I’m being transparent. I thought for sure she’d say no way, and she said she was going to but yes slipped out instead. In the middle of the night she snuck out and left the island. I never saw her again. Had nothing but her first name.”
“You could have gotten more and you know it,” his father said. “Or didn’t you want Eli to know it happened?”
“That. And maybe my ego got tweaked just like Mom said. I know how it looks and it’s not something I do often, but I really enjoyed being around her that night. I can’t explain it. I planned on getting her number and making something more of it. Or trying.”
“But you didn’t? Or was it Nora?” his mother asked, her jaw dropping. “That’s the only reason I can see you explaining this to us.”
“It was her. It was her first night here. She’d come a day before she was supposed to meet her father. She’s changed so much from when she was a kid. Not just her appearance but her confidence. Having Norris as a father couldn’t have been easy.”
“Which doesn’t explain everything. Or it does, but I want the facts,” his father said.
His father wasn’t happy, but he was being open-minded... for the moment.
“I didn’t see her again. She comes to the office to meet him. She knew who I was, she thought I remembered her and then said it was crazy for her to think that. She just wanted to be someone else for the night. It gave her confidence that I was talking to her, something she admitted she needed to prove she’d changed when her father would start in like he always had. She always seems to have her shit together, but every once in a while she slips and I see Norris is the one person who might trigger that.”
“Why come back here if that is how he was going to be?” his mother asked.
“We’ll get into that another time. You were there that day, Dad. She played it off as we were strangers. You asked what she did when Norris said she was looking for employment, then Blair took over like she always does.”
“So you were trapped?”
He snorted and drained his glass. “Not trapped. I could have shut it down after Blair talked to her, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t.”
“You wanted answers more than you wanted an employee,” his mother said. “I know your pride. It was about that.”
