Ethan choked on air with shock. His hold on Janet slacked as he covered his mouth and coughed violently. He was flushed and out of breath by the time he recovered, and even his ears were burning.
Sean was just as startled by Janet's question that he lost control of the steering wheel. The car swerved to the side of the road and almost ran into a tree before he finally got it back on track. Sean thumped his fist against his chest and bit his lips in an effort to compose himself.
"Where in the world did you get that idea?" Ethan asked, his face a mask of disbelief.
It was Janet's turn to blush. By all accounts, she was still a conservative and rather pure woman, and this topic was throwing her out of her comfort zone.
She lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers nervously. "When you said you were going to see Brandon, you made it sound like you two are very close. And remember the big fight we had over Christopher? Shortly after, he was transferred to Snape. I heard that Brandon was behind it, but what reason could he possibly have to do that all of a sudden?"
Ethan let out a short, helpless sigh. "Have you ever considered that it might all be just coincidence?" "Oh, please. There can't be so many coincidences happening around me in such a short span of time. Brandon has also helped me numerous times in the company. I only told him a few words regarding that incident with Hannah, and he took care of it right away. Is that still a coincidence?" Janet was turning frantic. The more she said the words out loud, the more convinced she was of her presumptions. "Besides, you said so yourself that Brandon isn't into women, so there's no way he's doing these things because he likes me. So why would he go to such lengths for my sake?"
When she put it this way, Ethan had to admit that she made a lot of sense. He floundered for a moment, unable to come up with anything to refute her claims with.
Sean glanced at them through the rearview mirror and snickered under his breath. He silently praised Janet for her wild imagination.
"You've misunderstood everything. It's not what you think." Ethan closed his eyes and rubbed his nose. He racked his brains for a reasonable explanation, all to no avail.
Worse, Janet thought he was being nonchalant about the matter.
"Well, why don't you make it clear to me, then?" she demanded. "Not to mention that you and Brandon were holed up in the men's bathroom earlier. You were right there when he went inside, weren't you? You stayed there for minutes on end!"
What the hell had they been doing?
Thoughts of the two men locked in an embrace had already been swirling in Janet's head, and she couldn't bear to think any further into the possibilities.
Ethan blinked at her, both impressed and appalled at her creativity. "I didn't see Brandon," he said, following it up with a silent curse at Garrett.
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