by Lee, Nadia
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.�
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“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 you’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.
“I need to think about it,” she said.
“I understand.” Ethan glanced at his watch. “I’ll give you a minute.”
“A minute?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Not really a difficult decision, is it? Just a yes or a no.”
A one-page employment contract and a pen appeared next to her plate of fruit. The document was in surprisingly plain English and matched everything Ethan had said—minus the sex part of course—plus a fairly standard non-disclosure clause. At the bottom of the sheet was Ethan’s signature, dated today. It only needed hers to become valid.
He rose and came over to her seat. One large hand rested on the back of her chair and another on the table, the same “you aren’t going anywhere until you give me the answer I want, lady” move he’d used the night before. The blood in her veins warmed and surged. If he pulled back just a little and bent his head, he could kiss her mouth. That seemed like a delicious option, and she angled her head just so, letting her lips part slightly in invitation.
He didn’t even flicker an eyelash. No, he wouldn’t kiss her no matter how blatant the signal…not unless she gave him what he wanted.
Did she want to completely sever their connection?
Manageable or not, he wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture in her life. He’d be a temporary arrangement—a fling. After her doctor’s orders had rendered virtually all of life’s other pleasures off-limits, surely she could indulge a little. Barron would have no idea where she was. No one in her family—not even Justin—knew about Natalie, and given Kerri’s education and work background, they would assume she’d pursue opportunities in banking.
Most importantly, she wouldn’t be in Virginia long enough for Barron to find her. TLD couldn’t be that complicated, certainly not compared to the kind of international conglomerates she was used to dealing with. It wouldn’t take more than a few weeks to go through their books. And in the meantime, Ethan would most likely prove to be just like every other man she’d dated: interesting at first but increasingly boring as the affair went on. Why would he be any different?
Yes, why would he? Except for the fact that he’s the only man who can make your pulse race with jus
t a look?
“Time’s up,” he said. He hadn’t even glanced at his watch.
His eyes were locked on hers. In the morning, they seemed darker—more gray than silver-blue—and more introspective.
Whenever she went with her feelings, she started to long for things she couldn’t have and acted foolishly to reach for them. Whenever her brain got involved, she ran.
Right now, she didn’t want to run. Not yet.
“All right,” she murmured.
* * *
Elation flooded Ethan’s body. Women with as many options as Kerri tended to be both particular and difficult to snare.
But she was going to be worth it, both professionally and personally.
She didn’t seem to notice, but men admired her. He’d seen the way they’d checked her out at the airport. That was one of the reasons why he’d decided to take her to the penthouse instead of out to a restaurant. He’d wanted her all to himself. Thank god for cooking classes—and grandma.
All right. But it would be a mistake to let his feelings show on his face. Not just yet.
“Sign,” he said.
She scrawled her name and dated it in silence. He smiled, folded the contract and stuck it into his pocket.
Feelings were one thing, but there was no reason to deny himself.
He dipped his head and covered her rosy mouth with his. The soft scent of her shampoo teased him, even with the towel around her head, and he pulled it off, letting her wet hair down.
He loved her face freshly scrubbed, without the mask of makeup. The morning sun filtered through the gauzy curtains, adding an otherworldly glow to her soft skin, her cheeks delicately flushed. Her fingers dug into his forearm, leaving small half-moon marks on him.
He wrapped her wet, clean hair around his hand and deepened the kiss, pressing further inside, not allowing her brain to kick in. Her tongue brushed against his, then rubbed more aggressively. Then she sucked his tongue as though she was going down on him, and his cock hardened until it pressed against his trousers achingly.
Before he lost his mind and took her right there on the floor, he pulled away, his breathing rough and fast. “Get dressed and pack. I’ll help you move in.”