The Insurmountable Rise Of Ethan Watson

CHAPTER 2

Ethan pushed the door slightly and he could hear Melissa's sobs coming from inside the room.

He walked into the room to where Melissa was sitting and tried wiping her tears off but she flinched. He tried again and she said, "Why did you let everyone taunt you like that?" 

"Why didn't you allow me to put them in their place?"

"How dare they speak to you like that in my presence and who does Jason think he is?"Melissa babbled amidst tears and Ethan sat beside her.

"I couldn't allow you to get in trouble with your parents on their special day. I don't want to be the reason for a squabble among you, that's why I stopped you from defending me", Ethan said as she leaned into his chest.

Melissa suddenly shifted from him and started checking his body frantically for injuries or any trauma as she remembered that Ethan had been forced to stand in front of the dartboard.

"Are you okay?"She questioned as she creased her brows in worry.

"I'm perfectly fine. Dad is good at darts, hopefully, we'll get to play together sometime". He responded trying to lighten the mood.

But she only looked sad and he continued, "I'll go job hunting tomorrow so I can secure a job and be able to take care of you as my Queen. You should lighten up, Queens don't usually look this gloomy."

Melissa blushed lightly as he wiped her tears and she resolved, "You need to be careful for me. Okay?"

"Okay, Mel. I promise. Now, c'mon, let's change out of these clothes and shower together", he teased her, and she ran into the bathroom shyly and locked the door so he wouldn't come in after her.

He laughed heartily. She was his. The only person who could turn his gloomy days into his happiest days. Ethan felt like a lucky man.

They showered separately and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Ethan woke up early in the morning to a call from his father-in-law, Eric. “Hello? Good morning sir” he said bowing in his room like Eric could see him”.

“Well, for a lazy broke man, you sure do sleep a lot, but that's alright. I have good news for you, my son” Eric quipped.

Hearing Eric Graham call him, Ethan Christopher, his son was a dream come true for him.

“Yes sir, please go ahead sir, I can hear you” he urged, feeling his heart flutter at the new development.

Maybe his years of obedience and working hard to impress his father-in-law had started paying off.

“So, an opening just came up in the subsidiary pharmacy company that I'm working on, and it's for the position of an assistant manager. I know you've been trying to take care of my daughter in your little capacity while job hunting tirelessly.” Eric paused for a brief second before continuing.

“As a form of support and a little gift from me to you, considering that I haven't given you a wedding gift all these years, I'd like you to assume the role of the assistant manager where the project is ongoing."

Ethan got out of bed and did a victory dance silently, careful enough not to wake or disturb Melissa.

"Thank you, sir. Oh, this will change a lot of things for me and Melissa. We can finally start a family. Thank you so much, sir." Ethan replied frantically like a child that was just handed a candy bar.

"Meet me in my study in a few minutes. Let's finalize this deal so you can be on your way to inspect the project before 6:30am so you can avoid the heavy traffic. One more thing, don't inform Melissa about this yet, at least until you've checked the site where the project is ongoing and everything is finalized.” Eric asked politely while waiting for a response from Ethan.

"I'll join you in the study in 10 minutes, sir. It's almost 6 am and I need to freshen up and get ready so I can be on my way to the site immediately after I leave the study." Ethan was trying to suppress a squeak as he replied eagerly.

"Get going then", Eric said before disconnecting the call.

Ethan selected his best outfit which was a black faded trouser and a white shirt. He knew his outfit looked too serious for an inspection but he wanted to make a good first impression. He quickly showered and got prepared and was in the study with Eric in no time.

"Seeing as there's no time to waste, I've informed my manager that you'll be coming in today, so he could help you get familiar with the surroundings and the workers," Eric informed him.

"Okay, sir. Sir, you mentioned a contract that I'll need to sign before I get going." Ethan reminded Eric, hoping that Eric meant what he said about the contract and that he wasn't pulling a prank on him.

"Oh, yes. Thank you for the reminder. Here you go, sign here, here, and here and it becomes official on paper, then I'll take it to court to get an official approval and agreement between you and me." Eric said, sliding the document over to Ethan.

Ethan looked at the heading of the document and saw "contract agreement" as the heading and he didn't bother reading it before he signed because this was a dream come true.

A day before, he wasn't sure if he'll be able to land a job anytime soon but here he was becoming an assistant manager at a reputable pharmaceutical company today. Things could only get better.

After signing the documents, he handed them back to Eric grinning from ear to ear, and then Eric stood up to give Ethan a congratulatory handshake.

"Congratulations Ethan, I know you would make me proud in the company"

"Thank you, Sir," Ethan said, stretching both his hands to shake Eric but his phone fell and he picked it up to see that the phone was still manageable so he didn't mind.

Eric, however, said, "Drop your phone on the table before you leave, you won't be needing it anymore as my assistant manager can't be using a scrap phone."

Eric picked up his phone, dialed a number, and said, "The new assistant manager is on his way to you, get him a new phone before he gets there so I'll be able to communicate with him."

Ethan's eyes bulged. He couldn't believe his ears. His story was changing after all his years of suffering.

"I've just informed my manager to get you a new device, you should get going so you won't be late on your first day. You can use the Ferrari Portofino in the garage so you'll get there in no time" Eric instructed Ethan.

"I promise I won't let you down, sir". Ethan said before exiting the study and rushing to find the car. He located it and got in.

The car felt sleek and smooth and Ethan thought to himself, "I will finally be able to afford to take care of my Queen, Melissa."

Ethan drove off and got to a secluded area where the road was bumpy and he drove as carefully as he could so as not to damage the car.

Then a truck came out of nowhere and in Ethan's attempt to avoid crashing into the truck, he swerved and swerved and ended up crashing into a tree trunk and instantly became unconscious.