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.