Eve sat stunned on her stool. She scowled at the white and gray counter, making a high-pitched noncommittal noise in response to Ethen’s comment. She could not keep the blush from growing on her cheeks. She liked that he wanted to see her again, though she knew she shouldn’t. The two of them had been stalked and followed for the last few hours and it all could have been avoided had he just refused to see her again like he had originally planned. The thought of never seeing him again made her feel a solemn despair deep in her gut. Her, more logical and reasonable self, reprimanded her internally, knowing how selfish and ridiculous that was.

She could have told Mr. Hartley that her source was backing out. As long as they could verify the flash drives’ authenticity (which she knew they could), they could still run the story. There was a slim chance that Mr. Hartley wouldn’t run the story, but it was slim. This was the kind of story that would sell, it was bigger than itself. Even if Mr. Hartley hadn’t gone for it, she could have leaked the story online with Iris’ help. It was true that she would probably be in even more danger if that was the case, but it seemed to Eve that she would never not be in danger again and she was beginning to wonder if she even thrived on it. If she did take the story to the internet herself, then at least she would not be putting a single father and his son in danger as well.

Despite all this, and despite her more reasonable self, she was immensely happy that he had agreed to see her again. She tried to remind herself how little she trusted him, but it became less convincing after he had chosen to warn her of the tail instead of just leaving her. There is no telling what could have happened if he didn’t meet her at the diner. It was likely that if she had left alone, without meeting with him, she might have been run off the road and left for dead. They needed Ethen, they definitely didn’t need her. She was at best a loose end, he was their ticket to everything. They could threaten him and get a lot out of him, all they could get out of Eve was silence and that was never a guarantee. The only thing Eve trusted aside from Iris was her own instincts, and they were telling her that Ethen could be trusted. The two remained in an uncomfortable silence while Ethen poured them glasses of wine, both wanting to say something but unable to form the words. Eve could not read the label, but she was certain that it was more expensive wine than she had ever dreamed of tasting in her life. Even if she had been able to read the label it would not have meant anything to her.

“Thank you,” she said taking the glass Ethen passed to her. She almost felt guilty drinking it, knowing that she would not be able to tell the difference between this glass and the eight-dollar wine she bought on clearance at the grocery store. “My editor wants to know what Melcor has on you,” Eve said after taking a sip. She knew that it was not the greatest segue, but she hadn’t known what else to say and could not suffer a moment more of silence.

“I figured as much.” Ethen nodded savoring a sip of his wine. He drank like he was wealthy with a sophisticated air he raised the glass to his lips, breathing in the aroma before sipping. She half expected him to spit his sip out as if he were at a wine tasting, a practice she did not understand as much as she found revolting.

Eve was not one for beating around the bush and they had ended up having to waste most of the evening evading their stalkers. She didn’t want to waste any more time by being gentle about it. The bottom line was that she needed to know what they had on him. Officially, she needed to know because her editor insisted. Unofficially, she had a deep-rooted need to know what it was. She could see herself decades from now, awake in bed at three in the morning unable to sleep, haunted by the not knowing. Not knowing was easily her greatest fear. Despite her past and being in harm’s way more times than she could count, it wasn’t that fear that kept her up at night.

“Is there any way the story can be published without it?” asked Ethen. His distress was palpable. Whatever Melcor had on him was bad and he did not want anyone to know about it.

“My editor is holding pretty firm.” Eve was just as curious as Mr. Hartley, both professionally and personally. She also knew how much more compelling the story would be with that piece of information. It would make the story be about a person, a person that readers would recognize, instead of about a faceless corporation. People love sad stories but even more so, they love stories about people who have made their own way and pulled themselves out of the mud. This would be just that. Besides, if Ethen claims that the information they have on him is false is true, Eve did not see the harm that could come from him sharing it. A thousand false claims had probably been made about him already, what was one more?

“I can’t do it.” Ethen put his glass down with force. It clinked against the marble loudly and Eve was surprised it didn’t break. “I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Eve jumped from the force of it. For the first time, she had been alone with him, she was scared. Tempers scared her. She didn’t know how soon it would be until the anger was redirected on to her. Ethen didn’t seem to notice her flinch and was still holding the wine glass stem with white knuckles.

“Can you at least tell me why?” Eve leaned on the counter top, moving in closer to Ethen. She may have been scared, but that had never stopped her before. In fact, it fueled her. Eve had been distracted by her attraction to Ethen, but his outburst had pulled her back to the reality of the situation between them. He was a source, nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s not even real. Why does it matter?” he said with frustration. He had turned away from her at this point and rubbed his palms against his eyes as though he was talking to a child who couldn’t grasp a simple concept.

“If it’s not real then why won’t you tell us?” Eve replied with just as much frustration. Both she and Ethen had hot tempers and they were colliding. She did not take kindly to feeling as though he was talking down to her. Eve had worked hard her whole life to prove herself to people who had thought she was incapable of accomplishing anything worthwhile.

“Because it’s an ‘us’ I’m telling!” he shouted. Eve flinched from him as she whipped around to face her. Her arm reflexively lifting to block what she thought was an inevitable blow. Ethen paused in response to this action, his face frozen in shock. Taking a breath, he continued, more calmly this time. “If I say what they have on me, half the people who read your story won’t believe that it’s false. They will go to their graves thinking I’m guilty of what Melcor has on me. If the right people believe it strongly enough, then I can kiss everything I have goodbye.”

“We can prove that it’s been falsified,” Eve replied softly. She had quelled her frustration and spoke in as even a tone she could muster. “If the people who matter are so easily swayed by false information then you put your faith in the wrong people.” He snorted at this comment, a dark, satirical response.

“It doesn’t matter. People won’t care; you of all people should know that. No one cares about the real truth, only the most entertaining one.” His face was dark as he said this. He didn’t respond to her second point, though she knew he wasn’t exactly in charge of who he put his faith in. In business, when you got to the level of success that Ethen was at, the less power and control you seemed to have over who you were required to put your trust in. Even if you didn’t trust someone, you had to pretend.

Eve couldn’t argue with him on his other point. It was true that more often than not, whistleblower stories like this one would result in more trouble for the whistleblower than anyone else. In this case, it would be even more so. Ethen was the perfect target for tabloid journalists to drag through the mud with smiles on their faces and money lining their pockets. He might very well be ruined by whatever they had on him. Eve was torn between thinking him a selfish coward for not going forward with the story and thinking that he was right not to. The story was far bigger than him. It would change lives, politics, quite literally the fabric of the nation would shift once the story was released. Eve bitterly wondered why he thought he was so important as to be exempt, why he would jeopardize the very story they were attempting to break? What gave him the right? She thought. On the other hand, she commended him for sticking to his own scruples. She knew that he had a son to think about, and it was likely that he was thinking about his son more than himself when he refused to share what it was that Melcor had on him.

“I can try to convince him to run it anyway.” Eve paused. She sighed deeply, not wanting to give up that easily, but knowing that she should not push him any further. Her mind wandering back to the harsh sound of his glass slamming against the cool marble, he had already been pushed far enough. “I need you to promise me something, though,” She added. Ethen’s anger had been replaced with sadness as he mulled over the nature of people. He leaned against the counter, lazily circling his finger around his wine glass. It emitted no noise, though Eve had always wondered how one made music doing that same motion.

“What’s that?” he asked, adding a soft hum at the end of his question. He paused his hand and looked up at her. She was one again compelled into feeling like he was trustworthy. His sad eyes made him look like a puppy left on the side of the road. Eve felt herself falling once again into his trap, though she did not know if he was setting it intentionally or not.

“If I do everything in my power to break this story without the blackmail Melcor has on you, and I mean everything—” Eve made a large gesture with her hands, “—and my editor still won’t publish the story, will you promise to give me what I need to nail these guys?” She wanted desperately to break this story. Eve felt that public opinion of Ethen was not nearly as important as taking down a corporation that seemed to have every powerful man and woman in the country in their back pocket. Though she was once again feeling an inappropriate fondness for Ethen, she still believed that he was much less important than he thought he was. His reputation did not matter, even without it, he and his son would be set for more than one lifetime. If Ethen and his son had to, they could easily move and change their names. Running from the past was easy if you were committed enough. They had more resources at their fingertips than she ever had and she had managed to do just that.

Ethen thought this over for a moment before nodding. “As long as you promise that you will do anything you can to get it out there without it.” Eve nodded enthusiastically, though she did not feel as though she won anything. She didn’t know Ethen enough to know if she could trust his word or not, his promise meant little to nothing. “Then I promise I will tell you what they have on me so that we can take them down.” It wasn’t exactly what Eve had wanted, but it was something. Eve supposed for a moment that there was not much for them to discuss about the story if he would not yet share that part of it with her. She yearned to know it but knew that part of their conversation was at a close. As this thought crossed her mind she shifted in her seat, feeling suddenly out of place, as though she was somewhere that she shouldn’t be. Even though Ethen had invited her in, she felt like an intruder. She looked around the grand house. The kitchen alone was larger than the entire house she grew up in and her apartment now combined. She felt very small in such a large place. She spent most of her life on the wrong side of the tracks so to speak. Her childhood was spent in a trailer, which was a generous description. Her young adulthood in a slightly nicer trailer and most of her adulthood in crammed studio apartments. Space was not something she was used to.

“I suppose I should be going.” Eve slid off of the stool and picked up her bag. She was always surprised by the weight of her bag. She didn’t know why this was, as the things she kept inside remained the same, but every time she lifted it, she expected it to be much lighter than it was.

“You haven’t even finished your wine,” Ethen exclaimed, gesturing to the half full glass on the counter. He hadn’t finished his either, the deep red liquid sitting still at the bottom of his glass. Ethen’s entire glass was stained red from the wine having sloshed around during his violent slamming of it. “That’s a couple hundred-dollar glass, at least. You can’t just waste it.” He shrugged with a smile on his face, though this sounded almost like bragging, it didn’t come off this way when Ethen said it. He was only making an excuse to have her stay and was attempting to make it sound as compelling as he could. Eve’s assumption about the class of the wine he had poured for them was confirmed by his statement. Eve usually hated when people teased her and to be honest, she wasn’t entirely sure if he was teasing her or not. The only person she could tolerate in her life was Iris. But now she found herself wanting to burst out in laughter at the non-joke. Eve didn’t know if this laughter was from relief that the tension had been broken between them, or just that he made her feel like a giddy teenager.

“This tastes no different to me than clearance rack wine does, but I guess I can finish it.” She laughed, moving to sit at the island again. She knew exactly why she didn’t want to leave but didn’t want to admit it to herself. Eve had been desperate to get out of better situations than this, but something about Ethen beckoned her in. Everything about him was enticing to her. Before she could take her seat, Ethen shook his head and picked up her glass. “Where are you going?” Eve asked laughing. Ethen was walking backward from the kitchen, beckoning her to follow him. He led her from the kitchen to the living room.

A sleek gray couch was the focal point of the room. Green plants seemed to sprout from every corner of the space. Instead of a television, there was a large white projector screen against the wall opposite the couch. Eve wondered how much of the design was Ethen’s and how much was a professional decorator. Judging by his simple jeans and T-shirt, Eve guessed it was a professional job. At his core, he seemed far simpler than the opulence of the space around them, despite how comfortable he seemed in it. Eve felt almost sad for him as she sat on the couch, an emotion she had never expected to feel for the likes of Ethen James. For all intents and purposes, he had everything a person could want. Why should she feel bad for him?

Ethen smiled as he handed the glass of wine back to her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something almost stilted about Ethen’s life. He had more money than any one person would need in a thousand lifetimes, but instead of being freed by it, he seemed almost trapped. Like he was unable to be himself because of it and all the expectations that came from having it. Eve looked around the room, taking a sip of her wine. There was not a single family photo or personalized item in sight. She thought of her own apartment, though she did not have any family photos up either, there were more than enough of her and Iris to satisfy. Iris was her real family anyway. It wasn’t even that there were not family photos, but nothing in the space seemed to reflect Ethen, only the money that lined his pockets.

“Why do you need such a heavily secured front door?” Eve asked, unable to stop the reporter inside from asking blunt and strange questions. She knew the basic reason why, security obviously, but it was beyond that. The door he had went beyond paranoia. Eve could tell that Ethen was incredibly paranoid, but she wondered if it was justified.

“My son lives here with me, Jeremy. Having as much as we do, you make enemies and some of them are willing to do terrible things,” he replied without hesitation. The lack of hesitation lent itself to his paranoia being justified. After the afternoon that she and Ethen had, Eve deduced that anyone would feel a little uneasy.

“Was there a specific incident?” Eve wanted to stop herself from being a reporter, but could not keep the questions from leaving her mouth. She needed to know things, she loved to know things. It was in her very bones, this desperate urge to uncover truths that were previously unknown to the world.

“Is this part of the interview? Are we on the record, Miss Bridge?” Ethen asked. Eve blushed, but Ethen was laughing. She was chagrinned, knowing that she had been in full-on reporter mode.

“I’m sorry, it’s a hard habit to break,” she said with a sheepish shrug. It was not lost on her that he had evaded the question instead of answering it. She could safely assume that there was an incident that prompted the installation of such a precaution. Ethen seemed to be far more private than he let on. In articles and interviews about him, he seemed as though he was an open book, but speaking with him for even a short period of time proved the opposite was true. He had no intentions of sharing anything he did not want to. Reflecting on the interview she had read, it was a wonder that she hadn’t noticed it before. He was an expert at redirecting the conversations to where he wanted them to go.

“It’s okay. I understand.” He sighed. “We are our work.” He said it with a sigh, as though he thought this might be a bad thing.

Eve took pause at the phrase. It struck her how true his words were. She silently sipped her wine, turning the phrase in her mind. She had no life outside of her work, save for Iris. Eve ran late to work because she was busy doing work. If there was anyone who was his or her work, it would be her. She had been scared for her life since she was a child, she couldn’t remember a time when she wasn’t scared for her life. Due to her apparent lack of self preservation she had chosen a profession that didn’t make her any safer.

“I wish I could have security as good as this.” Eve ran her finger against the rim of her glass, making it sing. She grinned, surprised that she had made the sound. She had never been able to do it before. She suddenly felt very small in the large room curled up on the edge of the couch. Eve didn’t like that she constantly felt small in Ethen’s presence and it wasn’t just the size of his house that made her feel that way.

“I imagine that you would need it. I read your articles before I went to you, every one of them,” Ethen said, turning his head to face Eve. “I chose you because I knew that you would publish the truth, no matter what. I didn’t want to go to the wrong person and have them be frightened or threatened into turning the drives back over to Melcor. After I read your work, I knew that you were the only person I could trust to do that.”

“Thank you.” His words meant more to her than he could know. She loved her job. It gave her the opportunity to share stories that needed to be told and helped better people’s lives in the process. Eve brought justice to people who deserved it. She thought of herself as a vigilante in a way, a Robin Hood, except her loot was information. She had needed someone like her when she was younger, someone to tell the truth. When she was in hiding, fearing for her life every day with Iris, she had decided that she would become that person for someone else. “I hope I can do your story justice.”

“I have no doubt that you can, but it’s not my story,” he responded. Eve looked at him, tilting her head to the side. “This story belongs to everyone.” He shrugged again. “My story is far duller than what you’ll write, I’m sure.”

Ethen smiled at Eve and she once again felt her heart flutter. Over the course of their conversation, Eve could see each expression that had brought on his small wrinkles. As he smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkled. Somehow the lines made him more attractive. It was as though he came to life in those moments. When his face was blank or sullen, it reminded her of how his house was decorated. It looks like a mask like it wasn’t really him. When he smiled this mask dropped and she could see the real Ethen come through.

“I highly doubt that your story is dull,” Eve responded with a scoff. She didn’t for a second believe that his story wasn’t terribly interesting. She knew that he likely believed that his story was dull, he wasn’t one for saying something that he didn’t believe.

“I’m just a young divorcé with a preteen son that hates me half the time. Can’t get more typical than that.” He shrugged and gave her another heart melting grin. She couldn’t imagine anyone hating him, even though she knew there was a list much longer than just his son of people who didn’t like him.

“Not many single dads are also the owners of billion-dollar corporations who also happen to have information that will change the landscape of who is powerful in America,” Eve said with a cheeky grin in return. She felt herself leaning in towards him as they spoke. Subtly and subconsciously closing the gap between them.

“What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.” Ethen laughed a big booming laugh. His countenance changed abruptly. “Do you really think that this story will be that big?”

“How deeply did you look into the information that you gathered?” Eve reminded herself to ask him how he had gotten the information in the first place. She was surprised that he didn’t realize the ramifications of the information that he had uncovered. Unless he hadn’t looked into the information except to have removed the blackmail they had on him.

“I got it verified but aside from that I did not look very deeply.” He admitted. She thought that it was incredible that he hadn’t looked at the files. Eve could have never let information like that slip through her fingers without seeing it first. The idea that he had gathered all that information at great risk to himself, but didn’t actually know what any of it was astounded her.

“It’s going to change the world,” Eve replied. It sounded like a dramatic statement, but the number of powerful people included in the blackmail documents was astronomical. Even though much of the blackmail was faked, these pillars of society still bent to the will of the Melcor Corporation and gave them what they wanted. As for the blackmail that proved to be real, just releasing one piece of it would be enough to rock the foundation of the country for a few months at least. It exposed everyone who was anyone of something.

“Good. The world could use some changing.” Ethen sighed deeply and sipped his wine once more. He seemed to be deeply troubled about the way the world was. He had made more than one comment like that over the span of the evening. Eve wondered what made his outlook so bitter. She realized that her outlook was much the same, and with her past, it was completely understandable why she’d feel that way. But Ethen? On the surface, he seemed to have it all, a handsome billionaire. What could cause someone in his position to think anything in the world needed changing?

“Tell me about your son,” Eve asked. Ethen lit up at once. His son was so out of the public eye that she assumed that he didn’t often get the chance to talk about him. Though she had no personal experience in the area, she could imagine that talking about your child would be one of the greatest joys in the world. His face broke into the widest smile of the night and Eve actually felt herself leaning in towards him. She had noticed that the space between them was slowly becoming less and less as they spoke.

“Jeremy’s amazing. He might actually be the coolest kid in the world.” Ethen smiled to himself. “It feels like yesterday I was dropping him off at preschool and he’s about to start high school. I can hardly believe it.” Ethen busted out with laughter. “God, he hates me so much.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Eve did not know how to respond. His laughter seemed to contradict the statement.

“He does. He won’t forever, but he does right now. The other day he wore his headphones throughout our entire dinner and refused to speak to me.” Ethen continued to smile while Eve was horrified. “It sounds terrible, but it’s just what having a kid is. They love you, then they hate you for a bit, but they love you again not long afterward.”

“That’s good, I suppose.” Eve was still not sure how to reply. She had not been close with either of her parents, and she didn’t remember very much of her childhood. As far as she could tell, that was for the best. What she did remember was never good. She would get snippets every once in a while: her mother hacking from smoking cigarettes that she piled on the TV tray, her father coming home from work screaming at the pair of them about whatever new thing they had done wrong that day, the strike of a belt against her bare flesh. The idea that Jeremy had done something so bold as to refuse to speak with his father was unheard of to her. She couldn’t even imagine a world in which that would be alright. It warmed her to think that Jeremy must have felt so comfortable and safe with his father that he could do that.

“I don’t know if it’s good or bad that his mother is out of the picture…” Ethen trailed off, glancing at Eve from the corner of his eyes. He seemed to be testing the waters, unsure if he should go on. It was as though he wasn’t even sure why he had said anything like it had just escaped his mouth without meaning to.

“You can go on,” she replied after he was silent for a couple of moments.

“Sorry, I don’t normally talk about her. Our relationship was not very healthy; all we did was fight and argue. I wanted to provide a better life for her and Jeremy, but every time I saved something substantial she would spend it all on useless things. She wasted so much in those first few years that we almost went bankrupt.

“It wasn’t long before it became clear that I would never succeed if we were together, but I loved her. I really did. We had been together since we were fourteen. I loved the life that I pictured we would have and the son that we made together. After a while, I guess she didn’t love me anymore and left Jeremy and me without a trace. I hired a private detective to track her down, but I figured that if she wanted to leave I should let her go.” Eve’s heart broke for the man sitting next to her on the couch. A twinge of jealousy tugged at her gut, but she pushed it away. It was not fair for her to feel that way as she could see the pain that his ex-wife had caused him by leaving. She couldn’t help but think of her brother. Eve wondered if Ethen knew that Charlie had left her like his wife had left him. If he did, then how did he justify Charlie leaving her? Maybe he thought of it the same way, that he had no other choice but to leave her. Maybe Charlie had even been the one to help him come to the conclusion that it was for the best. It could have been the way he helped himself get over the guilt she hoped he felt from leaving her.

“I’m so sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say, part of her wanted to ask about her brother, but that would give away far more about her than she wanted to. He still didn’t even know her real last name and had no idea that they were related. She didn’t want to get into it either. Ethen might want to share with her, but she still wasn’t sure she was ready to share with him. Although Eve was a writer by trade, she had little talent in the way of talking. She always seemed to say the worst thing at the worst time and had no sage advice to offer or words of comfort to give.

“I’m sorry. To be honest, I don’t know why I told you all of that.” He turned so his entire body was facing Eve. He crossed one leg on the couch so he could sit sideways. The space between them was no longer existent, his leg brushed up against hers.

“I can have that effect on people,” Eve said, making a lame joke. She smiled at him. She did tend to get people talking, it was one of the reasons why she wanted to become a reporter. People told her things they had never told anyone else, she didn’t know why. It was both a blessing and a curse.

“You certainly have had an effect on me.” The intensity of Ethen’s gaze made Eve want to squirm in her seat, but it also excited her in a way. Her heart beat quickly against her chest. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Ethen’s gaze roamed over her body, he bit his lip as he looked her up and down. She blushed, looking away. Ethen reached out his hand and gently turned her face toward his. “Can I kiss you?” he asked breathily. They were inches from one another. Their lips brushed against one another.

Eve sighed and leaned her forehead on his, but shook her head no. “I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. Her eyes were closed as she kept her forehead leaning against Ethen’s. Their lips were nearly touching. Her lips wanted to crash onto his more than anything, but she couldn’t. Her guarded nature prevented her from doing things like this and at the end of the day, they were complete strangers. “We barely know each other.” Eve didn’t even think to tack on the rest of the reasons why she shouldn’t kiss him and there was a multitude.

“Don’t be sorry,” Ethen replied, pulling away. “What if we got to know each other better?” he asked with a mischievous smile.

“What do you have in mind?” Eve asked, desperately wanting to know him better. She hoped that getting to know one another better might even allow her to forget the other reasons for not kissing him. As she took in the hungry look in his eyes as they continued to roam over her the reasons were beginning to seem less and less important.

“It’s a surprise.” Ethen smiled so widely that Eve didn’t have the heart to tell him just how much she hated surprises. She had no idea why she felt such a draw towards Ethen, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to question it. She liked the feeling. It wasn’t one she had felt for a long time if she had ever experienced it at all. There were a million ethical and personal reasons why she should stay as far away from him as possible. She could risk her entire story by becoming involved with him. He was her source. He was her brothers best friend. He might be hiding something terrible. She hated surprises, but right now it appeared as though Ethen James was the biggest surprise of them all.