Damn it, Jacob.
Ethan turned his chair away from the glass wall and back to his desk. “Okay,” he said. “Let me see what I can do.”
He hung up, thinking quickly. Clearly, there needed to be a shift in his priorities. Delegate some tasks at Global Strategies and let Alex know he might need some time to look into the family business. It shouldn’t be that difficult. The Lloyds Development was solid, with a good balance sheet and strong cash flow. He just needed to establish systems so that it would run without him, then check on it every quarter or so to make sure the company was on the right track. The family would be taken care of regardless of who was nominally in charge at TLD.
Meanwhile, he also needed to get in touch with Pattington. He was the owner of a large PI firm on retainer with the Lloyds to handle everything the family needed, and they paid a premium for both excellent service and absolute discretion. Pattington would be able to locate Jacob. His brother liked money and the kind of lifestyle it afforded him. It wouldn’t be long before he accessed his accounts or used his credit cards, and Pattington was excellent at locating missing people and hidden information. If it hadn’t been for his efforts fifteen years earlier, Ethan himself might have been one of those who were cleared by law but guilty in everyone’s eyes.
Feeling more optimistic now, Ethan returned to the bedroom, then stopped short when he saw only a rumpled sheet on the empty bed. Had Kerri gone to the bathroom? He scanned the master suite.
No. Her clothes were missing…along with her shoes.
Who wore stilettos to the bathroom in the middle of the night?
He let out a vicious curse. Of all the… He’d turned away for fifteen minutes, and she’d run.
Again.
His mind sorted the night’s events. He’d noticed the way she’d refused to speak about her family, evading his gentle probing questions like an eel. Not even her career, which she must’ve worked very hard at, seemed to hold much emotional appeal to her—she’d spoken casually of leaving her job. And Ethan didn’t buy the idea that she’d left because she’d gotten tired of the hours. People who climbed as far as she had didn’t quit without a good reason or a better and more lucrative position waiting for them.
From what little he’d been able to piece together, she kept everyone and everything at arm’s length, except possibly for Natalie. And she was very good at not revealing personal information. Which, when he thought about it, was really kind of amazing. What woman didn’t like to talk about herself?
Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, concentrating on his breathing for a few moments. He needed to calm down and think. First point: it would be a mistake to go after her. If her MO was to stay aloof—which she’d apparently perfected over the years—he would have to come up with a targeted plan to neutralize it. Unlike the last time, he didn’t have to leave on business. And he knew exactly where to find her come morning.
Chapter Five
Kerri got up early, still feeling the time difference. Her plan to sleep the morning away was clearly not going to work, so she ordered room service, stepped into the shower and washed until her skin was red from the hot water. Her thoughts kept returning to Ethan, her body still throbbing from their lovemaking the night before.
Well, she’d been deprived for a while. Of course she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Keep telling yourself that.
She wrapped a towel around her head and scowled as she shrugged into a robe and left the bathroom. Now with the light of the day glaring in her face, sneaking out seemed a little juvenile. She should’ve said, “Hey, thanks for a great time. Catch you on the flip side,” or some such and walked out, head held high.
If she were in his shoes, she would be pissed.
Still, what was done was done. Hopefully Ethan would be cool about the situation. She’d apologize, of course, even though she hated to. Apologies sort of undermined the whole “establish control” thing, but there weren’t a lot of other options. Pretending that she hadn’t done anything wrong or that it didn’t matter would be worse.
She should man up, so to speak, and just get it over with.
Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen. One of her far-flung family—actually, the only one who could be calling: her second cousin.
She stuck her Bluetooth headset into her ear. “Hey, Justin.”
“Hey, Kerri!” The voice was familiar and warm. “How come you didn’t call when you checked in?”
“Sorry. Kind of a hectic day.” An understatement.
“Congratulations on ditching the PIs.”
“Thank you for not hiring the best.”
“You’re welcome. But you know, I can only keep your secret for so long.”
“You promised.” Justin was the only member of the family who had known Kerri’s whereabouts. They’d run into each other in Hong Kong a year after she started working for Goldreich. At her behest he’d kept her secret, but on one condition: she had to stay in touch and let him know she was okay. The situation had put him at odds with the rest of the family, but he really hadn’t had a choice. Kerri would simply have disappeared again if he’d told anyone.
“It’s not that. Eventually, Barron’s going to get tired of waiting and decide to do it himself. Once he gets involved, that’s it. He’s going to fire the PIs I got and hire his own.”
Kerri’s mouth tightened. When Barron had decided he wanted his granddaughter back in his life and demanded to know where she was, no one in the family could help him. Only Justin had known, and he’d never broken his promise. So Barron had ordered Justin to locate Kerri. Sympathizing with Kerri but unable to directly defy the family patriarch, Justin’s solution had been to hire mediocre PIs and kept her informed of what they were up to. That was the only reason she’d been able to leave Hong Kong before Barron had descended upon Goldreich with his entourage.
She really hadn’t needed her grandfather marching into her office and causing a scene. Even if she hadn’t actually been there, and no matter what he might have intended. Everywhere he went, people fell to their knees to please him. He was the Barron Sterling, and there were people in her office who would have handed her over to him hogtied if they thought they could score some points.
She still didn’t know why she should have to see him. What good could come of it? Their reunion would only open old wounds, and it was better if they each pretended the other didn’t exist.
Still, none of this was Justin’s fault. “Hmm. Might have to start hanging out with some shady characters. Maybe get a fake identity.” It was only half a joke.
“You’ve been watching too much TV. I thought your job kept you busy.”
“It did, till I was more or less forced to quit.” She shook her head. “Barron doesn’t get to decide when and where we can be a family. He had his chance.”
“Give him another. He’s getting old, and losing his daughter really affected him. Don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”
“Losing Mom affected a lot of people.” Kerri tapped the cap on her facial lotion. “Justin, really, I’ve given it a lot of thought. I’m not sure if I care.” Barron only wanted her back so he could fill the void left by his daughter Renée’s death. It had nothing to do with how he felt about Kerri. If Renée hadn’t passed away, Barron might have never noticed his only grandchild was missing. Why would he? He was the one eager to send her off to boarding school in Europe as soon as she’d turned three.
Brisk knocking dragged her out of her morose thoughts. Maybe her mood would perk up after a nice, healthy, doctor-approved breakfast. Dinner last night had been her final indulgence. It was home-cooked Italian after all.
“Hold on a sec.” She opened the door, and her mouth fell open at the sight of a hard-eyed Ethan. A blue silk shirt and black trousers with creases sharp as a cutlass’s blade enhanced the aura of danger around him. The rolled up sleeves revealed his powerful forearms, and a black jacket hung from one hooked index finger. His shoulder-
width stance reminded her of a pirate standing on the rolling deck of his ship, about to close with the enemy.
She pulled her bathrobe tighter and unconsciously touched the thick white towel wrapped around her head like a turban. “Gotta go,” she whispered into the headset. “We can talk more later.”
She ended the call and looked at Ethan. “Hey… What are you doing here?” What timing. She wasn’t even dressed.
“Thought we’d have a little talk,” he said.
Her fingers dug deeper into the soft terrycloth. She was painfully aware of her naked body underneath. This was far worse than meeting him in the teeny top and skirt at the airport. “About…?”
“Venture a guess.” His jaw jutted out, a pugilist before a fight.
She debated, then decided there was no point in trying to make him go away. He’d just force himself inside. Besides, she did owe him an apology.
Putting the headset into the robe’s pocket, she stepped aside. “Come on in.”
The door closed behind him with a soft click. She crossed her arms and moved into the living room, her bare feet quiet on the carpet. “Have you eaten? I ordered breakfast.”
“So did I. It’s on its way up.”
“Oh.”
“I tend to be more civilized when I’m not hungry.”
Well then. She wouldn’t deny him his food. She rested a hip against the TV stand and watched him. “Before we begin, I just want to say I’m—”
There was another knock. With a sigh, she opened the door and let the uniformed server push a huge table-cart in. The only thing she’d ordered was a plate of fruit and yogurt, plus a pot of fresh coffee. The mountain of scrambled eggs, giant pile of bacon and sausages, and four slices of whole-wheat toast were all for Ethan.
“Enjoy your breakfast,” the bellboy said.
“Don’t you need me to sign something?” she said.
“It’s been taken care of, Ms. Wilson.”
She glanced at Ethan as the bellboy left. What did he want? “Ethan, about la—“
He pulled out a chair for her. “Sit.”
She planted her butt in the seat and watched him take the chair across from her. Something about the way he moved…just the act of walking around a table seemed like performance art.
He put a small mound of eggs and cheese on her plate. “Here.”
“No thanks.”
“Allergic?”
“Just not in the mood.”
“Humor me.” His tone was clipped with displeasure.
“Fine.” She poured coffee for both of them. She hesitated at the bowl of sugar. She usually used four cubes, but she was supposed to cut back on sweets too. God, her doctor had forbidden all the joys in her life—except sex…and that probably only because she’d never discussed the topic with him. She watched Ethan spread a thick layer of strawberry jam on his toast with a pang of envy. “Anyway, I…” She mentally fortified herself. “Thank you for the great evening. I had a really good time.”
The knife paused briefly. “Why did you leave?”
“Because…” She shrugged, slightly undermined at his reasonable tone and neutral choice of words. “It seemed like the right time for me to go.”
“I never said you had to go.”
“You seemed occupied.”
“So, what? Not even a goodbye?”
She nodded. “Look, that was totally my fault. I should’ve said something, and I apologize.”
He watched her eat, his gaze steady and thoughtful.
She pushed the eggs to the side of her plate, then speared a grape. Her stomach churned, and the bitter coffee wasn’t helping.
“You mentioned that you aren’t working right now,” he said finally.
She nodded, glad for the shift in topic to something impersonal. “I’m thinking about going to California to see about getting a job.” If she hadn’t promised to stick around until Natalie’s return, she would’ve taken the first available flight out of Dulles.
“That where your family is?”
“No.” When he merely continued to look at her, she added, “I’m…not planning on visiting them.”
Something flickered in his eyes, then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “The economy out there isn’t that great. And it’s no financial center.”
“I can do stuff other than i-banking.” Did he think investment banking was the only thing she was qualified for?
There was a bit of jam on a corner of his mouth. He licked it, and she drew in a breath. That talented tongue had traced its way up and down her body several times the previous night, stopping to explore at various strategic points along the way. She was sure he’d used it to inscribe words on her clit…in fact, the pleasure had gone on so long he might have been transcribing the entire unabridged Arabian Ni—
“So what do you think?” He was looking at her expectantly.
She blinked. “About…?”
He sipped his coffee, squinted at her a little. “Have you been listening?”
Oh god, how humiliating. She never daydreamed in the middle of a conversation, and certainly not because she was fantasizing about the other person’s tongue. “I’m just a bit surprised,” she said, trying to wing her way through it. “Could you just take me through it again, just to make sure I understand exactly what you’re trying to say?”
His mouth curved into a knowing smile.
Damn it.
“How about if I just summarize? I need somebody with a good head for finance and an eye for detail.”
“Okay.”
“I want to hire you.”
Hire her? “What? You haven’t even seen my résumé.”
“Don’t need to. Natalie said you’re brilliant at what you do. That’s enough for me.”
She put her fork down. “Ethan…I don’t know.” It was one thing to sleep with a guy, quite another to work for him. Work was a commitment.
“Before you decide, you should know there are other conditions of the job. Some nice and unusual benefits.”
“Such as?”
“For example, your pay.” He named a figure that momentarily stunned her.
“Do I get medical and dental?” she asked.
“Of course. And how about 401k while we’re at it?”
Her head spun. She’d been certain he’d come to confront her about sneaking out like a thief, not offer her a job! “Uh…what will my responsibilities entail?”
“You’ll be going over some family business. My family, to be exact. The Lloyds Development.”
“I thought you were working at Global Strategies.”
“I am. That’s why I need you. I don’t have the time or energy to devote my full attention to TLD, and it’s important I become familiar with it ASAP.”
“You said it was your family business.”
“Right.”
“But you don’t know much about it?”
“I know the basic outlines of the business, of course, what we’re involved with and so on. But I don’t work there and I’m not part of management.”
“That’s kind of hard to believe. Not that I don’t think you’re telling the truth, but most people wouldn’t be able to stay away.”
“As long as the company’s doing well and continues to provide for the people who depend on it, I don’t care who gets the credit for running it.”
He gave her a small friendly smile, but it sent shivers up her back the way a shark’s fin cutting through dark water would. A man who didn’t care who took the credit so long as he got what he wanted was ten times more dangerous than one whose ego couldn’t take not being number one. No manipulation would shake someone like Ethan from his course of action until he achieved the desired outcome.
“Who would I report to?”
“Me. And only me.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “Where would I work?”
“TLD has a fully furnished corporate penthouse in Northern Virginia, so you won’t have to waste time looking for a place y
ou’d only be leasing for a few months. It’s not a bad perk.”
She shook her head, unable to follow his train of thought. “You don’t actually work at the company, but you want me to report to you, and not to the other executives?”
“Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I presume you want me to sleep with you, too?”
“I do, but that has nothing to do with the job.” He steepled his hands and leaned back in his chair in that particular boneless way he had. “I want you, period.”
Steady, Kerri, steady. “And you’ll leave when you get bored?”
“Just like you will, I’m sure. Stay together until we find somebody else we’d rather be with.” He gave her a gleaming smile. “But until then, we’ll be totally exclusive, no fooling around with anybody else. I don’t like to share.”
“Neither do I.”
He watched her over his fingers. “Look, it’s a great deal. Your housing’s fully paid for. If you want, I’ll even toss in housekeeping and groceries.”
She considered. She couldn’t believe what he was proposing. “How bad is this job anyway, that you’re offering me so much?” she asked.
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
“It’s your family business. You must know something.”
“Look, I’ve never been involved in it. It was my older brother Jacob’s job, and he’s currently”—Ethan’s mouth tightened briefly—“unavailable to continue, so I have to deal with it. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to leave Global Strategies right at the moment.”
“I see.”
She wasn’t too worried about the job itself. She had yet to find the corporate position that she couldn’t handle, and it’d keep her mind occupied, might even provide some challenge. Plus, she was going stir-crazy without anything to keep her busy. And wouldn’t it annoy Barron to know she was working for one of Sterling & Wilson’s rivals?
But a no-strings-attached temporary arrangement with a guy who made her wet with just a look was something else. She was sure this wasn’t going to end up being one hundred percent work.
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