After I Stopped Loving Him (Isabella and Ethan) novel Chapter 333

He figured a bouquet would be the perfect way to congratulate her. Ethan picked out a bunch of bright, fresh roses, then swung by the big department store to grab all kinds of snacks. He thought about that day in his office, the snacks he’d set out for her. She’d teased him about preparing them for Natalie. He never told her the truth, so how did she know? It made him realize something. From now on, anything meant for Natalie would stay with Natalie. He didn’t want to risk upsetting her. She was definitely jealous, even if she’d never say it out loud.

When Ethan got upstairs, he spotted Jesse sitting outside Isabella’s little office, shirtless and waiting. Jesse hadn’t even gone inside.

“What happened?” Ethan asked, glancing at the half-open door. “Did they lock you out?”

Only Isabella and Laura were in the studio, eyes glued to the data on their screens. The other editors were off for the weekend, except for one chief editor who was with a production team on set.

“They’re asleep in there,” Jesse said, his voice soft with worry for Laura. He’d knocked, but no one answered. So he’d opened the door and found the two of them passed out at their desks, sleeping soundly. The air conditioning was still going, even though May was already getting pretty warm. Afraid Laura might get cold, Jesse had taken off his shirt and gently draped it over her. Now he was waiting for someone to bring him another one.

“They worked all night, no wonder they crashed. But why’d you take your shirt off?” Ethan asked.

“If you were that tired, you should’ve gone home,” Ethan said, his voice gentle. “Sleeping at your desk can’t be comfortable. Your office is pretty tiny, too. You should think about getting a bigger place, maybe with its own room for resting. That way, you’d have somewhere to really relax when you need a break.”

Isabella groaned. “I’m broke, remember? If I had as much money as you, trust me, I’d already have a bigger office.”

She was just getting started, and everything so far had been expenses, not profit. At least her first series did well enough to make a little money. If the next ones did just as well, she could actually see some decent earnings by the end of the year. Still, nothing was guaranteed. No one could ever predict which show would end up being a hit. Sometimes the project everyone was excited about would flop as soon as it went live.