CHAPTER 76: INTEREST

The drive back to the hotel was a blur and before she could realize, she was inside her room crashing face first into the bed.

Aria sat to the side, looking at her mentally exhausted friend.

"So," she started, "how did it go?"

Lillian didn’t move. Her face was still buried in the pillows, voice muffled.

"I think my brain melted."

Aria raised a brow, leaning forward on the chair. "That bad?"

Finally, Lillian rolled over, staring at the ceiling with tired eyes. "It wasn’t bad, just sitting in front of just Google’s representatives was terrifying. And the whole time I had to look like I wasn’t terrified of making one wrong move."

Aria tilted her head. "But you didn’t make one, right?"

A weak smile tugged at Lillian’s lips. "No. I held my ground. Adjusted when I had to. But... Amelia Rhodes .... It felt like she could see right through me."

Aria extended her hand towards Lillian’s head and gently patted it, "there there, I’m sure Ethan would be proud."

Lillian’s eyes moved from the ceiling to her friend who was babying her and as much as she knew she’d regret asking, she couldn’t help herself and the words just came out,

"Do you think so?"

Aria stopped patting her head for a moment, before a grin appeared on her face, making Lillian instantly regret asking.

"Do I think so?" Aria repeated slowly, drawing out every word like she’d just been handed a treasure. She leaned in closer, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh, Lillian Hayes... are you fishing for Ethan’s approval right now?"

Blood rushed to Lillian’s cheeks and she immediately turned red. She shot up, snatching the pillow and hurling it at Aria’s face. "I am not! I was just—asking!"

Aria caught the pillow, laughing so hard she nearly fell off the bed. "Uh-huh. Just asking, sure."

"I don’t," Lillian said, trying to convince Aria, but that only worked to make her grin wider.

"Mm-hmm." Aria tucked the pillow under her arm. "Well, for the record, yes—I think he’ll be proud. Actually, I think he already is. But now I’m starting to wonder if someone wants him to say it out loud."

Lillian groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Why do I even talk to you?"

"Because I’m your only friend," Aria said sweetly, "now then, get up and go take a bath, you stink."

"No I don’t," Lillian threw another pillow at Aria, who also caught it.

_______

Meanwhile, Ethan leaned back on the work desk, a satisfied smile on his face.

If there was any doubt about his decision, it was completely gone at this point. Midas had outdone herself and he was proud.

Though, there was another obstacle coming her way and as much as he wanted to prevent it, he was sure this was something Midas needed to face.

Although, this time around, it could be a lot worse thanks to Nathaniel’s involvement, that could be fixed by making the playing field even.

As if on cue, his phone suddenly rang and Athena informed, {it’s Irina.}

"Put her through," he said with a smile.

There was silence on the other end when the call connected, but Ethan knew she was there.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Romanova," he spoke with a smile, "I’m guessing this is not a call to check on my well being."

He knew that information about him being hospitalized would somehow reach her, after all, with their deal, she definitely had eyes planted on him.

Eyes he’d have to blind soon.

"My contacts found the ones you’re looking for, Ethan Carter," she said, "and I must say, you’re really jumping in dangerous waters."

"That’s why I have you," he replied with a chuckle, "you wouldn’t leave such an important piece to drown in those waters would you?"

There was another round of silence on the other end before Irina also chuckled, "you’re bold Carter, but you’re right, it’d be a waste to just leave you to the wolves with your capabilities."

"Now then," she went back to topic, "what do you want us to do with the two? Keep them in costody?"

"No," Ethan shook his head, "just have your men keep them in sights for now, they’ll be important real soon."

"I see," she nodded in the other end.

"Oh and as thanks, " Ethan spoke up, "Athena would you send it to her?"

Before Irina could ask, the laptop by her side let out a ding and her eyes immediately widened when she opened the ridiculously huge file she received.

"This.."

"Is all your brothers’ contacts," Ethan continued her words, "their allies, off shore accounts, backers and every single scandal they’re keeping buried, it should take you a while to go through all that."

"Y- you’re..." She was at loss for words. With this much information, she could deal a blow to her brothers that it’d take them a while to recover from.

A while that’ll allow her to bridge the gap due to the years of advantage they had over her, and overtake them.

"I told you," Ethan said, "I’m a valuable partner to have."

Irina’s lips curved into the faintest smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "Valuable, yes. Dangerous, more so."

"I’ll take that as a compliment," Ethan replied with a small chuckle.

"You should." She leaned back in her chair, scanning the first few lines of the dossier. "But remember, Carter... once you step into my world, there’s no stepping back. You’ll make enemies who will never forgive you."

"Then it’s a good thing I don’t believe in forgiveness." His tone carried no hesitation.

Silence stretched again before Irina exhaled softly, almost amused. "Fine. We’ll keep your two targets under watch. But know this, your favor outweighs mine and I’ll be sure to repay in kind."

"You’ve given me power and advantage I craved, and I’ll remember it. But if you ever think of crossing me..."

Ethan smiled faintly, even though she couldn’t see it. "If I want to cross you, you wouldn’t even see it coming."

The line went dead.

Ethan placed the phone down on the desk and turned his gaze to the city lights bleeding through the hotel window. His mind ticked forward.

Lillian had passed the test he gave her, Irina had been handed the leverage she craved, and Nathaniel’s game pieces were falling but by bit.

The board was shifting exactly as he wanted.

"Now," Ethan murmured to himself, "let’s start properly dealing with you, Nathaniel."

________

Back in Michael’s penthouse, Irina put the phone down, a smile on her face. Ethan Carter really was interested.

And none of his discovered past should have made it so.

An MIT graduate, a genius for his age. He didn’t have any jobs since graduation, mostly due to him not interested in applying, save for being a high school teacher.

His genius was being wasted.

But finding out that he was the Owner and CEO of OmniTech Corp made sense to Irina, but that was not what made him interesting.

To her, the fact that he clearly knew who she was and what she was capable of and still remain unafraid made him interesting.

Irina leaned back into the leather chair, crossing her legs as her eyes lingered on the endless columns of data Ethan had just gifted her.

Each sub folder was an advantage against her brothers, each file, each video was a way to bring them down.

But it wasn’t the file that kept her smiling.

It was him.

Ethan Carter.

Men who knew her name usually flinched, bowed, or attempted to flatter. He did none of those things. He had spoken as if they were equals.

"Interesting," she repeated to herself.

Her mind replayed his words. If I want to cross you, you wouldn’t even see it coming. There was no arrogance there, she knew that he genuinely believed it. And more dangerous still, Irina found herself believing it too.

That in itself was... rare.

Oddly enough, she found herself liking this attitude and it awoke some dangerous feelings that she knew both her and Ethan wasn’t ready to face yet.

"I want him," She suddenly let out, words that caused Michael, who just walked in, to freeze in shock.

"Who are you talking about?" He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Turning to him, she calmly responded with, "Ethan Carter."

’Him again?’ Michael’s fists clenched but quickly unclenched again as he sighed.

Yes, the kid was annoying and yes, he didn’t like him, but the kid’s confidence in himself was clearly backed by his capabilities.

And for as long as he had known Irina, she hadn’t been attracted to anyone, so maybe this was a good thing....

"Nope, definitely not," Michael let out loudly.

Irina arched a brow at his sudden outburst, amused. "Nope? That’s your grand argument?"

"One," Michael raised a finger, "you’re insane and that kid seems like it too, so you’d just end up killing each other."

"Wait, it’s not like I’m interested in him like that—" she wanted to explain but was quickly cut off.

"Regardless," Michael said, "and two, we barely know anything about this kid, so whatever interest in him you’ve awakened, I’m against it."

Irina’s eyes twitched in Irritation, there were times Michael was completely respectful towards her but the few times he was, he acted like a big brother and she didn’t like it at all1.

Michael pushed off the doorway and walked toward her desk, planting both hands firmly on the surface as he leaned in. "You’ve survived this long because you don’t let your guard down. Don’t start now — not with him."

Irina’s smirk deepened, though there was a glint of something unreadable in her eyes. "You speak as if we’re already dating."

"You want him," Michael shot back bluntly.

Irina let out a low laugh. "My interest in Ethan Carter is not something to make news of, dear Michael. Don’t forget, if anyone’s playing games here, it’s me."

"Besides," she added, "I only want to possess him, not be romantically involved with him."

yes she did