Page 31 of Chasing Hope

‘Then why didn’t you?’

‘I hadn’t seen you in a week. Is it too much to ask my grandson to spend some time with me on his day off?’ Martha said, her eyes wet with tears.

‘You are such a dick.’ Hope coughed at the worddick. But she made sure Ethan heard her.

‘I liked you better when you were a silent companion.’ Ethan shot her an irate glare in the rearview mirror. His foot crushed the accelerator and the car drove like a dream.

What was the matter with him? Sick bastard. He cursed himself. Indisputably, he was slowly losing all his human sentiments. His grandma had sacrificed so much for him and this is how he paid her back. Disgusted with himself, Ethan set out to make things right between them. He cleared his throat and started with an apology.

‘I’m sorry, Grandma. It was wrong of me to behave in a disrespectful manner. I know the church means everything to you and I must respect that. Your faith and beliefs are your own to govern. But you were out of line by putting me in that situation and discussing my personal business with others.’

Martha sighed and her features shifted. ‘You are right, Ethan. I’m not at liberty to disclose your troubles. Father Pinto is my childhood friend and I just thought it would be nice to share some of my concerns with someone who really cared.’

Ethan understood where she came from. Maybe she found solace in expressing her feelings. And who the hell was he to stop her from doing that? Perhaps Father Pinto was to her what Aarav was to him. A pillar of support.

‘I love you, son, and nothing is ever going to change that.’ Martha reached out to palm his hand, her soft face glowing with affection. Feeling grateful, Ethan exhaled all the bitterness cramping his inside. The air in the car felt lighter.

‘I love you too, Grandma. I’m sorry I’ve been self-centred lately.’ His mouth kicked up in a smile as an idea struck him to get back on her good grace. ‘Why don’t I take you out to lunch?’

‘That’s a great idea,’ Hope announced, bouncing in her seat. ‘There’s this new pet-friendly place that has opened up on Carter Road. I’ve heard they make a mean chicken steak.’ Phoenix’s ears picked up and he wagged his tail enthusiastically. ‘What say Phoenix, you in for a fancy treat? Let’s put a dent in your daddy’s pocket.’ Hope’s smile was contagious. Fuck, how he craved a taste of that provocative mouth. Ethan shifted uncomfortably as his hard-on made an ungentlemanly lurch in his pants.

‘I don’t recall extending the invitation to you.’ Ethan delayed letting loose his smile.

‘Puhlease, I’m doing Aunt Martha and Phoenix a favour. There’s no denying I’m much better company than you are.’ Phoenix licked her face, agreeing with her statement. Traitor. Ethan grimaced at the smitten look on the brat’s face. Hope had him eating out of her palm. Both literally and figuratively.

‘Sweetheart, it would be a pleasure to dine with you. This meal is a long time coming.’ Clearly outnumbered, the corners of his mouth turned up. Frankly, he was looking forward to spending more time with Hope. And this was as good an excuse as any, without her suspecting something untoward. From hating her guts to craving her body, Ethan had come a long way.

He still couldn’t believe he shared with her his deepest, darkest secret. Something so personal to him that it had ripped his heart and soul out.He had shown her all his cards.Plunged into the darkness for so long, she breezed in and lit up his entire world. Why did it feel like she had entered his life to heal his wounds and lift him? A nervous tick pinched his heart. Most importantly, how would she react once she learned the truth? In a manner of speaking he had been lying to her, keeping his other identity a secret. Serves him right for getting entangled with her. Of all the women in the world, he had to go and fall for the one woman who liked him as much as one would a rotten egg. Ethan ground his jaw as the persisting scent of roses rested in the air. Destiny had a twisted sense of humour.

Chapter Nineteen

‘Sir, we have a problem that’s causing our ad space to tank.’ Andrew, their marketing head, said. ‘For some reason Josh India is poaching our ad sponsors one by one.’ Josh India stood in the number-two position. First Up News still took the top spot as the top broadcasting network in India. Ethan and his team slogged their asses off to make sure it stayed that way. Pride filled in him as he watched his team hard at work. Over the years, Ethan invested his sweat and blood to prove himself. In Brian’s absence, now more than ever he needed to do a flawless job of running the show.

Taken after Brian, his mentor, the need to constantly think ahead drove Ethan to deliver his best – all day, every day. Despite being on a holiday, Brian scheduled a daily Zoom meeting at 11pm sharp to discuss the day’s operations. Last night’s conversation was fun. The man had had enough of his wife’s antics. So much so that he was ready to leave her back on one of the Caribbean islands. Ethan smiled at Brian’s reference to his wife as a lice in his hair. They had laughed like a bunch of nutbags when the realisation hit Brian that he was bald.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Ethan needed to resolve the prevailing issues, so at today’s meeting with Brian he had positive notes to share.

Ethan leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands over the glass table. He checked the time on his Rolex. He had about an hour before he had to go live. After receiving the quarterly report from the finance department, he called for an emergency meeting.

‘As you all know, I watch the numbers closely. Although there isn’t a significant drop and we are still making clean profits, we can’t afford to have drop-outs.’ A round of nods passed through the members. ‘We need—’

‘Sir, we need to change our tactics,’ Ayushman, an intern, intervened. Ethan’s forehead creased. New to the industry, Ayushman had yet to learn the ropes. His eagerness to climb the ladder made him do, and say stupid things. ‘I have a brilliant idea.’ Ethan’s cheeks dimpled.

‘Shoot.’ Ethan leaned back in his chair, an amused expression crossed his face. He needed to mentally prepare himself for the guy’s so-called brilliant idea. Generally, Ethan wasn’t too quick to judge someone. When new candidates joined his firm, Ethan was more than happy to take them under his wing and teach them the ways around the industry.

‘Our competition is not other news channels. In fact, daily soaps are our main competition. That is where we need to up our game. We need to get creative with our content. The audience needs flair and drama. For the next story that comes in, we need to spice it up and serve it to the public on a platter.’

‘At the cost of whose reputation?’ Ethan’s voice had a stony edge.

‘Who cares? As long as our profits are skyrocketing?’ The guy had to be an ass about everything. Ethan smothered a sigh. Someone needed to knock the chip off his shoulder. Ethan took the insurmountable task upon himself. What kind of a boss would he be if he couldn’t take one for the team?

An electric buzz surrounded the conference table. Every other member in the room swore by Ethan’s ethics.

Ethan stood up and sauntered towards the guy. ‘Listen up closely ‘cause I’m not going to repeat myself. Our news is not driven by the TRPs. Here at FUN we deliver honest news. We do not fabricate a story that is misleading. If you want to continue to work at FUN, I strongly advise you to gather some integrity. We are a clean news channel that’s known for its insightful and investigative reporting.’

‘Point noted, sir,’ Ayushman said, grinning. The guy was as sharp as a tack, but a bit rough around the edges.

‘Good.’ Ethan patted his shoulder, glad he had made his stance clear. He’d train the guy. With a little extra effort Ayushman would be a great asset to his team. Ethan unbuttoned his coat and returned to his seat at the head of the table.

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