“Absolutely not,” Ethan said. “But Meredith, you don’t have the experience.”
“I know that!” she said. “I didn’t say I’d do it all by myself. There’s a whole board full of advisors, right? And you and Gavin can help when you have free time. Kerri, too.”
Kerri’s attention had started to wander, but now it snapped back. What?
“She helped you find out what’s wrong with the company, so she can help me make it profitable again. She has the experience, right? And she’s smart too.”
Ethan raised a hand, palm up. “Meredith, hold on. Kerri’s—”
“My position is temporary,” Kerri said quickly. Leaving her fate up to a couple of emotional siblings would not be a good move. This was her life.
“So?” Meredith turned to Kerri. “Don’t you want a permanent job?”
“I do, actually, but not in Houston.”
“What’s wrong with Houston?”
“Just…not where I want to be right now.”
“Fine. You can live in Virginia and advise me over Skype or something. You don’t have to move to do this job. This is the twenty-first century.”
Meredith thought there was more to Kerri and Ethan’s relationship than actually existed. But the only thing they’d ever discussed was when their relationship would end, not how they wanted to make it permanent. And it’d be unimaginably wrong for her to become Meredith’s advisor, because when you came down to it, Jacob was correct. When Kerri had first taken the job with Ethan, she hadn’t quite realized the enormous conflict of interest it would create. She’d thought it’d be a small way to pay Barron back for making her leave her old job.
But things were more complicated now, especially since Jacob had made the accusation, and the company wasn’t doing well. If it didn’t come out of the hole as quickly as the family wanted, they’d suspect she was sabotaging TLD or something.
Her own family had rejected her for being born and taking away their males. What would the Lloyds do if they thought she’d sabotaged their company?
She shook her head. “It’s not that simple. Meredith, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re going to be better off with someone who can be with you in person in Houston…and for a long time at that. The executive team is going to need some continuity, and I’m just not going to be able to give the results you want in the timeline you want.”
*
Ethan clenched his jaw. Meredith was talking about a job, but he knew Kerri was talking about their relationship. Clearly, she was still thinking of their deal as being good only for the short term.
It was as though the temporary nature of their relationship was some kind of lifeboat she was clinging to. But why? Their chemistry in bed had only gotten stronger, and they’d spent enough time together now that it was clear they had common interests, similar senses of humor. All the elements were in place, and yet she apparently had no faith that they’d stay that way.
She would never go to Houston, where the Sterlings and Wilsons lived. Ethan knew that her family was anathema to her. He’d brought her to the party to show her that she could be included in his family instead.
What a mistake. Everything had backfired spectacularly: Gavin had been rude, then Jacob had showed up and, as usual, been an outright asshole. And then Meredith had to start talking about a job—in Houston! It was like the universe was conspiring against him.
“No one’s going to fire you for not being able to help me turn the company around fast enough,” Meredith said. “I can’t do it alone.”
Kerri rubbed the back of her neck. “Let me think about it.” But Ethan knew there was nothing for her to think about. “And if I can’t do it, I’ll give you some other possible candidates for the job,” she added.
Bitterness gripped his heart. Ethan could see what was going to happen. Kerri would go home, contact a few highly qualified people—any of whom would do a spectacularly competent job at TLD—and send the list to Meredith with her regrets.
Would she do the same with him? Bye-bye, Ethan. Oh by the way, here is a list of possible replacement girlfriends. I think you’ll find that they’re all quite attractive.
Being good in business required one to be a realist. And Ethan was very good. Hard as it was to acknowledge, he’d fallen for a woman who wanted a definite out in her relationship with him. He’d had a glimmer of hope after the fiasco of her birthday party, but maybe the emotion had all been on one side: his.
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE PARTY WOUND DOWN QUICKLY. After the scene in the front yard, no one was in the mood to be cheery, and some people had long drives home.
“Jacob,” one woman said disgustedly as she left. “Plop him down in a candy store and five minutes later all the kids would be crying.”
Ethan was quiet on the way home. He was leaning in his seat, but there was tension in the way he gripped the steering wheel, the flatness of his mouth.
Kerri wished she could read his mind. Should she tell him about her family? Jacob had already made the ugly accusation—so maybe it was too late—but she had nothing to be ashamed of. She’d done her best for The Lloyds Development. Though Jacob had called her the enemy, she’d never considered Ethan or his family her enemies. People who mattered to Ethan mattered to her, too. How could she make him see that?