Chapter 6
"I'm going to get some air," Theresa said before quickly leaving Ethan's office. She barely made it down the hall when Gwen's voice stopped her.
"Theresa, wait!"
"Here we go," Theresa said to herself. Turning around, she addressed Gwen in a normal tone. "What do you want, Gwen?"
"I just want to make sure that you and I reach an understanding before we start working together," Gwen said.
"Yeah, about that, why the hell would you want to be a personal assistant? Your father is Jonathon Hotchkiss—all you have to do is call him and you'd have a great job complete with a hefty paycheck," Theresa said.
"Please, do you honestly think this is about money?" Gwen asked with a roll of her eyes. "Like you said, Theresa, my father is Jonathon Hotchkiss, money is not an issue in my life. My reasons for becoming Ethan's personal assistant go beyond money," she explained.
"Oh really? Well then enlighten me and tell me why you really wanted this job because I, unlike Ethan, have a hard time believing that you would have a problem with sitting on your ass all day doing absolutely nothing," Theresa said coldly.
"Did you think that I wouldn't figure out your plan?" Gwen asked with a glare.
"What plan?" Theresa asked confused.
"You think I don't know that you hired Ethan as vice president just so that you could work closer with him? I'm not stupid, Theresa."
"Apparently you are, because for some reason you think Ethan is worth destroying my marriage and family," Theresa said looking at Gwen as though she were crazy. "I am a married woman, Gwen, and on top of that I am a devoted mother and I would never ruin that for anyone, especially Ethan."
"Save the speech, Theresa. I know you're just trying to get me to believe you're over Ethan so that I'll let my guard down, but that is not going to happen. I know that you made Alistair promote Ethan as vice president just so that you could have him in your clutches."
"I made Alistair hire Ethan? Newsflash, Gwen, no one makes Alistair do anything. I didn't know about Ethan's promotion, but if I did, you can bet that there would have been no promotion in the first place," Theresa said, her eyes flashing with anger.
"I'm not buying it," Gwen said angrily. "You and I are going to set some ground rules about your working relationship with my husband, and we'll start right now."
"Ground rules!? I'll give you ground rules!" Theresa exclaimed before being cut off by the ringing of her cell phone.
Turning away from Gwen, Theresa answered her phone. Gwen watched as Theresa conversed with the person on her cell phone. A minute later, Theresa hung up.
"I've got to go," Theresa said as she tried to push past Gwen. Gwen, however, wouldn't let her and grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking away.
"We're not done," she said in a threatening tone.
"Yes we are," Theresa said angrily as she pulled her arm out of Gwen's grasp. "You want to work for Ethan, then that's fine. Just remember that Ethan works for me and I don't intend to take any crap from either of you," she said before turning and walking away.
Meanwhile…
"Vice president, huh?" Fox said as he watched Ethan. "I guess after all that ass kissing, you finally made it up the social ladder," he said with a smirk.
"It had nothing to do with 'ass kissing' as you so eloquently put it," Ethan said with a glare. "It was about hard work, something you'd know absolutely nothing about." Fox simply rolled his eyes, not giving Ethan the satisfaction of responding to his comment.
"So, half bro, how has life been treating you these last five years?" he asked as he took a seat on the chair in front Ethan's desk. Ethan went to sit behind his desk before responding.
"Why bother asking? You and I both know that you don't care," he replied.
"That's very true, but I figured I'd ask anyway, I could use a good laugh," he replied with a smirk.
"Go to hell, Fox," Ethan replied angrily.
"Is that any way to talk to your new boss?" Fox asked with a smile.
"What do you want, Fox?" Ethan asked with a sigh, wanting Fox to leave as quickly as possible.
"Only one thing—I want you to stay away from Theresa," Fox said seriously.
"Excuse me?" Ethan asked indignantly.
"You heard me. Theresa and I haven't even been here for 24 hours and already you haven't been able to keep your eyes off her," Fox said.
"What, are you getting a little intimidated?" Ethan asked with a haughty smirk.
"By you? Don't flatter yourself, Ethan," Fox said with a roll of his eyes. "My marriage to Theresa is as solid as a rock, I have no doubts of where her heart lies and that's with me," he said as he rose from his chair and began to walk around the office.
"If that's true, then what does it matter how close I am with Theresa?" Ethan asked.
"It matters because you are a fool and you and Gwen will no doubt bring a load of unnecessary problems into both of our lives," he replied.
"Sorry to break it to you, Fox, but as vice president, Theresa and I will be working very closely together," Ethan said smugly.
"Correction, Theresa, you, and I will be working very closely together, not to mention your newly hired wife," Fox said. He saw Ethan grimace at the mention of Gwen. "What's the matter, Ethan? Trouble in paradise?" he asked with a smile.
"My marriage to Gwen is none of your business," Ethan said stoutly.
"You're right, it isn't, and quite frankly I could care less about it. My concern is my family and that includes your relationship with my wife; I intend to make sure that relationship is strictly business."
"Theresa and I have a long history, one that you'd never understand. If I decide to be friends or anything else with her, I will, and you can't stop me," Ethan replied.
"Maybe he can't, but I can," Theresa said from the doorway. "You and I will never be anything more than business associates, Ethan, don't forget that," she said in a tone that left no room for arguments just as Gwen entered the room.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked, looking at Theresa accusingly.
"Nothing," Theresa said before turning to Fox. "Sheridan just called, she said that she and Beth just returned home with the twins and she's at the cottage," she explained.
"All right, then let's go," Fox said as he took Theresa's hand in his.
"I don't think we finished with our discussion, Fox," Ethan said, stopping Fox and Theresa from leaving his office.
"I believe you did," Theresa said coldly. "You and Gwen are now working for Fox and I, remember that and you'll both do fine," she said before walking out of the office with Fox.
"Can you believe the nerve of that bitch!" Gwen exclaimed after Theresa and Fox left. But Ethan hadn't heard her. He was still staring at the door, wondering if the strong, determined woman that just walked out of his office was the same girl that he used to, and still did, love with all of his heart.
"I swear I'll kill him for this! I can't believe he did this!" Theresa exclaimed as she and Fox breezed into Sheridan's cottage. She was still angry and seething over the fact that Alistair hired Ethan as vice president.
"Baby, calm down," Fox said, barely hiding his smile. He almost felt sorry for Alistair, knowing that Theresa would give him the lashing of his life when she got the chance.
"Calm down!? Do you know how unbelievably irritating it's going to be to work with Gwen? God, it's like being poked with a thousand needles!" Fox couldn't stop the laugh that erupted from him at Theresa's comment. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!"
"I'm sorry, Resa," Fox said, though he didn't remove the smile from his face.
"Why are you so calm about this? You hate, Ethan, why aren't you as angry as me?" she asked. She noticed the dark look that came across his face at the mention of Ethan.
"Believe me, I'm angry," Fox said seriously. "And I'd like to let Grandfather know how angry I am, but the bottom line is that you and I both know that we aren't going to get him to change his mind," Fox said. He watched as the fire in Theresa's eyes died down.
"I don't know why I put up with that man," she said with a sigh.
"Because, if you were honest to yourself, you'd admit that you care about him, probably even love him, just like he does for you," Fox said with a smile.
"Please, Alistair cares about nothing but the Crane name and money," Theresa said, knowing that her statement wasn't true.
"You know that's not true," Fox said.
"Maybe not, but I refuse to compliment him after what he did," she said with a childish pout.
"Fine, we'll be angry at the big bad wolf together, okay?" he asked with a smile.
"Good," Theresa replied with a smile as she reached up to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too," Fox said as he wrapped his arm around her.
"Where is everyone?" Theresa asked as she finally noticed the empty cottage.
"I don't know," Fox said as he looked around the cottage. He and Theresa both looked to the door to see a maid enter.
"Excuse me, do you know where Sheridan is?" Theresa asked the maid.
"Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald is at the Crane mansion. I just came by to fix up the cottage," she replied.
"Thank you," Fox said before he and Theresa headed over to the mansion. They entered the mansion to see Ivy and Rebecca sitting in the living room.
"What are you doing here?" Theresa asked, knowing that Eve had kicked both of them out of the mansion right before she and Julian got married.
"Not that it's any of your business, but we're here to see Ethan and Gwen," Rebecca replied rudely.
"After all, my son did just get promoted to vice president of Crane Industries," Ivy added with a self-satisfied smile.
"And let me guess, you're here to congratulate him?" Theresa asked in an uninterested tone.
"If you must know, yes," Ivy replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Well I'm CEO of Crane Industries, why don't I get a 'congratulations' from you?" Fox asked in an indifferent tone. "Oh that's right, I'm not Ethan," he added.
"You're right, you aren't Ethan, and you never will be," Ivy said coldly. Fox, in spite of himself, flinched at Ivy's harsh words. He knew Ivy hated him, and he wasn't too fond of her either, but her words still stung him. Instead of letting Ivy see how much her words hurt him, Fox immediately put on a cold expression.
"You're right, I'll never be him. I guess I should consider myself blessed that you had no part in my life; it'd mean I'd have to have other feelings for you besides hatred," he said icily.
Ivy gasped at Fox's words; they hit her like a bucket full of ice. Both Theresa and Rebecca looked at Fox, shocked that he actually said those words to Ivy. Before Ivy could say anything, Julian and Sheridan entered the living room with Jessica and Justin in their stroller.
"Hello," Sheridan said happily, not noticing the tension in the room. "How was your day?" she asked Fox and Theresa.
"It was great," Theresa replied, seeing that Fox was still glaring at Ivy. "How were the twins, did they give you any trouble?" she asked as she bent down and gave Jessica and Justin a kiss on their foreheads.
"No, they were perfect," Sheridan replied with a smile. At the mention of his children, Fox turned away from Ivy and went to see them. He bent down and also gave them each a kiss.
"Thanks again for watching them," Fox said to Sheridan.
"It was my pleasure. Beth and I loved being with them; they just so adorable," she gushed.
"Yes, they truly are. In fact I was just telling Sheridan how I would love to take them to the park and get to know my lovely grandchildren," Julian said.
"You?" Theresa asked surprised. "I don't know if that such a good idea," she said, knowing Julian barely knew how to take care of one child, let alone two.
"It's okay, I'll go with him," Fox said. "I need to get some air anyway," he said as he glanced at Ivy.
"All right, then," Theresa replied. "I'll wait for you guys," she said.
"Okay," Fox said as he bent down and gave Theresa a kiss on the cheeks. "We'll be back in about an hour," he said before leaving the mansion with Julian and the children.
"I've got to get home and start making dinner, so I'll talk to you later," Sheridan said as gave Theresa a hug.
"All right, thanks again, Sheridan," Theresa said.
"No problem, I'll see you later," Sheridan said before leaving the mansion. Theresa turned around to see Rebecca and Ivy glaring at her.
"Are you happy now? You officially ruined my relationship with my second son," Ivy said accusingly.
"I didn't do a damn thing," Theresa said with rolling her eyes. "You did that yourself. Now if you'll excuse, I'm going to go find Whitney," she said before turning and heading upstairs. She found Whitney reading a magazine in her room.
"Hey Whit, what's up?" Theresa said as she took as seat beside Whitney on her bed.
"Hey Resa," Whitney said excitedly. "I was just waiting for my mom to come home, we're supposed to go out tonight," Whitney replied.
"That sounds like fun," Theresa said.
"It should be. Anyway, how was your day?" Whitney asked.
"Ugh! You would not believe what happened," Theresa said before she started to tell Whitney of the Ethan/Gwen situation.
"So both Ethan and Gwen are working at Crane Industries?" Whitney asked ten minutes later, after Theresa finished the story.
"Yes, unfortunately, Fox and I are stuck working with both of them," Theresa confirmed.
"Working with who?" Pilar asked as she walked into Whitney's room.
"Mama? What are you doing here?" Theresa asked as she made room for Pilar on the bed.
"I stopped by the cottage to see Sheridan and she said that you were her," Pilar explained as she gave Theresa and Whitney a kiss on the forehead. "Now who are you and Fox stuck working with?" she asked.
"Ethan and Gwen," Theresa replied with a groan.
"How?" Pilar asked confused. Ethan, she was sure could be explained, but she didn't understand how Gwen fit into Crane Industries.
"To make a long story short, Alistair hired Ethan as vice president of Crane Industries and Ethan, in turn, hired Gwen as his personal assistant," she explained.
"Ohh," Pilar said. "Why would Gwen want to be a personal assistant?" she asked confused.
"To keep an eye on me—she thinks that I'll use this as an opportunity to go after Ethan" Theresa said while rolling her eyes. "As if he's worth it," she added under her breath.
"Mija, if you don't mind me asking, what caused these hostile feelings you have for Ethan? Whitney told me that he said hurtful things to you before you left, but she made it seem as though you were still in pain over losing Ethan; it didn't sound like you were angry with him."
"She's right," Whitney said thoughtfully. "I mean, I went to visit you two weeks after you left and you were still heartbroken over Ethan's rejection, but I visited a month later and you can barely stand hearing his name, let alone loving him. What happened to you in that time?"
"It's really not something I like talking about," Theresa said with a sigh as she lay down on the bed.
"Well you don't have much of a choice," Whitney said with a smile. "Come on, you can tell us," she encouraged.
"It happened after I had been living with Fox for about a month…"
***********
Theresa sat on her bed, thinking about her life with Ethan. She still hadn't been able to forget him and although his words hurt her, she still couldn't stop loving him. Fox stood at her doorway, unnoticed. He had been watching her closely since she moved in with him and she just seemed to be slipping deeper and deeper into a life of sadness.
"You know, Theresa, when I asked you to move in here with me, it wasn't so that you could have a room and bed to stay in and mope over Ethan," Fox said as he lay down beside her on the bed.
"I know, I know," Theresa said with a sigh. "I know I'm not exactly the most fun person to be with right now, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, I know that you're in pain. But come on Theresa, sitting here and moping over Ethan isn't going to help you."
"How am I supposed to move on when I still love him? Not only that, but I can't just get over him because I still believe that he loves me, despite what he said. What do I do?" she asked, looking at Fox like he held all the answers.
"Call him," Fox said as he reached over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand.
"What?" Theresa asked in surprise.
"Call him," Fox repeated. "I don't know why, but you still love Ethan. And until you call him and find out what's really in his heart and get some form of closure, you aren't going to get better. I personally don't think that Ethan deserves you, but I refuse to sit by and watch as one of my best friends cries herself to sleep every night," he said as he started to dial Ethan's phone number. "Here," he said as he thrust the phone at Theresa just as Ethan answered.
"Ethan Winthrop," Ethan said into the phone.
"Eth—Ethan?" Theresa asked quietly.
"Theresa?" Ethan asked, shocked to hear the voice he hadn't heard in a month.
"Yes, Ethan, it's me," Theresa replied.
"Theresa, where have you been? What happened to you?" Ethan asked without thinking. Suddenly remembering his pain at Theresa's lies, Ethan's tone changed. "Why are you calling me?" he asked coldly.
"I—I wanted to see how you were doing," Theresa stuttered, put off by the tone of Ethan's voice.
"I was fine until your phone call," Ethan said icily.
"You don't mean that," Theresa said as tears started to form in her eyes.
"Yes I do," Ethan lied. "I don't know why you persist on coming into my life, Theresa, but it's getting quite annoying," he said in an uninterested tone.
"Why are you being so mean?" she asked quietly.
"Why should I be kind to someone who's told so many lies to me?" Ethan asked rudely.
"Ethan, please, let's talk about this. I know you still love me, I know it!" she said as Fox looked at her sympathetically.
"There is nothing to talk about, Theresa. You and I are through and as far as I'm concerned, leaving Harmony was the best thing you could have done," he said, not wanting Theresa to know how right she was.
"Ethan, please, don't say that. Don't say something you'll regret later," she pleaded.
"I won't have regrets, I'm sure of that," Ethan lied. "I deserve better, someone like Gwen; it's as simple as that," he said, wanting to add salt to Theresa's wounds.
"Better?" Theresa exclaimed. "Gwen will never be better than me, Ethan! But you're right, you do deserve her, and she deserves you! You could have had a good thing with me, but you missed it. I hope you live to regret this day, Ethan Winthrop!" she said angrily before slamming the phone on the receiver.
"So, I'm guessing that didn't go well," Fox said slowly as he watched Theresa stare angrily at the phone. Not knowing what to do, Fox put his arms around her shoulder and was surprised when Theresa broke down in tears. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, trying to calm her down.
"He was so mean, Fox. I know I hurt him, but he was so unnaturally cruel," Theresa said through tears.
"He doesn't deserve you," Fox said as he ran his hands up and down her arms. "At least you know now that he's not worth it."
"It still hurt," Theresa said as she continued to cry into Fox's shoulder.
"It's okay," Fox said in a soothing voice. "I'll help you through it," he said before covering himself and Theresa with a blanket and holding her as she cried herself to sleep.
***********
"After that night, I could feel nothing but hostility toward Ethan," Theresa said as she finished her story.
"What a bastard," Whitney said angrily as she replayed the story in her head.
"Yeah, but I got over it," Theresa said off handedly. "He's Gwen problem now," she added with a laugh.
"I almost pity her," Whitney joked. Pilar and Theresa laughed at her comment. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" she asked.
"Because I didn't want to believe it for a while; I didn't want to believe that Ethan could easily cast me out of his life the way that he did. And after a while, it just made me too angry to think about his words," Theresa replied.
"I'm sorry," Whitney said sympathetically.
"Don't worry about it—it's over and done with," Theresa replied with a wave of her hand. "I'm going to go downstairs and wait for Fox; I want to get the children home soon so that I can give them a bath," Theresa said as she rose from the bed.
"We'll join you," Whitney said as she and Pilar rose from the bed and headed downstairs with Theresa. Upon reaching the living room, they saw Ivy and Rebecca talking and drinking with Ethan and Gwen.
"Look what the cat dragged in," Rebecca said as Theresa entered with Whitney and Pilar.
"I'll let that slide since I know how bitter menopausal women can be," Theresa replied with a smirk.
"That wasn't necessary, Theresa," Ethan said sternly. Theresa glared at Ethan, but refrained from saying anything as Fox and Julian walked into the living room.
"Did you guys have fun?" she asked as she gave Fox a light kiss.
"Yes, it was extremely entertaining," Julian replied. "Those two are absolutely adorable. I think they get their looks from me," he said with a smile.
"God, I hope not," Fox joked. "You want to get going?" he asked Theresa.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Theresa said just as the phone rang.
"Julian Crane," Julian said into the speakerphone.
"Julian, let me speak to Fox and Theresa," Alistair said, not wasting time on pleasantries.
"Nice to hear from you too, Father," Julian said sarcastically as Fox and Theresa headed to the phone.
"Grandfather," Fox said in acknowledgement.
"Fox, my boy, how did you like my choice for vice president?" Alistair asked in an amused tone.
"I don't know about him, but I'll tell you what I think," Theresa said, preparing to give Alistair a piece of her mind.
"No need to, Theresa. I can guess what your opinion is," Alistair said in an exhausted tone, knowing that Theresa wouldn't be happy with him.
"I bet you can," Theresa said angrily. "What the hell were you thinking?" she asked, shocking everyone in the room except Fox and Whitney. No one ever talked to Alistair that way; it was just an unspoken rule. The same residents got another shock at Alistair's response.
"You know how I love to push your buttons," he replied with a laugh, obviously enjoying himself.
"Damn it Alistair! This is not funny!" Theresa said.
"All right, Theresa," Alistair said after calming down. "I didn't want to hire, Ethan, because I knew how you and Fox felt about him, but I had no choice. I needed someone and Ethan was one of the top employers. Now unless you can think of a better choice, Ethan stays," he said.
"Fine," Theresa said in a deflated tone as she took a seat by the phone.
"Now that that's done, how are my great-grandchildren?" Alistair asked genuinely.
"They're fine," Theresa said, unconsciously turning to Jessica and Justin. "I'm sure they miss you, though," she added.
"Tell them that I miss them too," Alistair said, surprising everyone in the room except Fox and Whitney, who had seen Alistair interact with the twins on numerous occasions.
"I will," Theresa said. "Did you need to speak with Fox and I about something else?" she asked.
"There is an upcoming case I want you and Fox to work on with Ethan, but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow morning at work," Alistair replied. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said before hanging up.
"Goodbye to you too, Alistair," Theresa muttered sarcastically after Alistair hung up.
"Since when did you and Alistair become such buddies?" Gwen asked with a hint of jealousy.
"What business is it of yours?" Theresa asked with a glare.
"Theresa, Gwen was just asking, you don't have to be rude," Ethan said, coming to Gwen's defense.
"Well maybe you should tell your wife to mind her own business and stay out of mine," Theresa said as she rose from her chair.
"Theresa—" Ethan started.
"Ethan, that's enough," Fox said, interrupting Ethan. "Theresa has a right to say whatever she wants without having you cut in and telling her how to act. You take care of your wife and let me take care of mine," he said while glaring at Ethan. He noticed Ethan involuntarily flinch when Fox referred to Theresa as his wife.
"I wouldn't brag about the fact that Theresa is your wife, Fox," Rebecca cut in. "It's not exactly something to be proud about," she added with a smile.
"And I suppose being the town whore is?" Fox asked with a raised eyebrow.
"How dare you!" Rebecca exclaimed. "I do not sleep with just anyone, I—"
"That's right, Rebecca," Fox interrupted while snapping his fingers as if he had just realized something. "You only whore yourself to men with large bank accounts," he said with a large smile.
"Why you little bastard," Rebecca said angrily.
"Oh shut up, Rebecca, you know it's the truth," Theresa said as she walked past Rebecca and headed toward the living room entryway. "And before you start another one of your name calling games, save it—Fox and I have more important things to do than sit here and listen to you," she said after she noticed that Rebecca was about to say something.
"You two have got some nerve to come in here and start insulting my mother," Gwen said angrily as she got in Theresa's face.
"Newsflash, Gwen, your mother started insulting us. Now I suggest to get out of my face," Theresa said coolly, not appreciating seeing Gwen's glaring face so close to her.
"Or what?" Gwen taunted. "What the hell are you going to do to me?"
"I'll tell you what I'll do," Theresa started before Pilar cut her off.
"Theresa, that's enough; you know better than to stoop down to her level. Let's hurry up and get out of here," she said in a stern voice.
"Fine," Theresa said, while still glaring at Gwen.
"Fox, you want to get her while I take the twins?" Pilar asked, seeing that Theresa was still looking at Gwen.
"Sure, Pilar," Fox said as he made his way over to Theresa and started to pull her away. "Let's go, baby," he said.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Theresa," Ethan said sheepishly.
"You'll see us tomorrow morning," Fox said coldly. "You're working with Theresa and myself, I'd remember that if I were you," he said in a warning tone. Without waiting for a response, Fox turned and left the mansion with Theresa, Pilar, and the twins, leaving an angry and jealous Ethan behind him.
TBC…
Sorry that this part wasn't that interesting, I'll try harder for the next chapter! Please leave feedback!!!