Business as Usual (10 page)

When
I was done I ordered bacon, fruit, juice, croissants, and waffles from room
service, then opened the bedroom door to remove the “do not disturb” sign from
our suite...but not before scanning the living room for Ethan.

He
lay spread-eagled on the sofa, fast-asleep.
Nude
. I had yet to decide
whether it was obnoxious or sexy.
Even angry, I leaned toward the latter
.
Ethan had obviously crawled in drunk as a skunk, his clothes from the night
before strewn all over the floor. I followed the trail, collecting the items
one by one before dropping them into a basket that would be taken to the
cleaners. There was also a half empty bottle of vodka tipped over on the
countertop. I wiped the spillage from the floor, brewed a pot of coffee, then
moved to cover Ethan with a blanket I found in the linen closet. I stood over
the sofa, bedspread in hand, gazing down at his ridiculously handsome physique,
muscular, strong and sizeable in all the right places. Suddenly, his eyes sprang
open. Hot with embarrassment and startled out of my senses, I dropped the
blanket to the floor as he pulled me down.

He
groaned as I sunk into his embrace, settling my toweled body between his thighs
as his hands moved sensuously up and down my spine. I quietly traced the lines
of his strong angular jaw with my fingertips and snuggled close, relishing his
warmth and the smell of his manly flesh, enjoying the quiet between us. The
faint smell of liquor was still on his breath as I nuzzled my nose into his
neck and closed my eyes. When Danny held me in his arms it felt rehearsed, like
a staged romance. With Ethan it was different.
Familiar
. The only thing
that felt staged about our relationship was our marriage. Everything else felt
right. Why didn’t I see it before?

Warm
lips pressed against my forehead as I settled in… thinking about my
inexplicable attraction to this man and the dangerous game we were playing. His
hands slipped under my bath towel and squeezed my backside firmly as I
straddled him. I had Ethan right where I wanted him, inching close, my thigh
chaining his leg to the bed.

“Get off,” he demanded, trying to sound firm as
he pushed me away.

“Why?”

“We can’t do this,” Ethan continued, clearly
struggling to resist.

He let my legs drop to the sofa cushion as he
moved aside. I sat up.

“You can’t keep doing this to me!” I snapped.

Ethan lowered his head. “You’re attracted to
me, I’m attracted to you… I get it. But I want more.”

What
he wanted was a real marriage…
Stubborn bastard
. Ever hear of casual
sex? Why couldn’t Ethan understand how difficult it was to accept a marriage
that had been patched together in a boardroom? By our fathers, no less…

“Fine, forget it!” I griped, removing myself
from the sofa.

I rolled the towel around my body, physically
and emotionally spent as Ethan gathered the blanket from the floor and bunched
it together on his lap. I removed the “Do not disturb” sign from the door of
our hotel suite, recalling why I had gone into the living room in the first
place, wishing the diversion had never taken place. I was so over him!

Room
service arrived a few minutes later. I answered the door dressed in a summery
floral dress, as I pulled the tray inside and ushered the server away after
handing him a tip. I then laid the spread on the table then piled my plate with
bacon, cheese, and croissants before disappearing into the bedroom again. A
half hour later, I heard plates clinking softly, then the sound of the morning
news on television, the volume slowly rising until it was just right. I closed
my laptop, sat my food aside, and opened the door. Ethan looked up as I
strolled to the kitchenette and poured us both a cup of coffee, delivering them
to the dining table where he read the paper and watched TV. I was used to
making breakfast at home growing up in the house alone with my dad. We’d have
breakfast together, even if he didn’t come home for dinner. I continued to
prepare breakfast every morning ever since.

Ethan
was shirtless, dressed in the navy blue slacks he’d worn the night before, his
hair a sexy disheveled mess, dark rings encircling drowsy eyes.

He accepted the coffee, his fingers covering
mine in the transition as he muttered a quiet, “Thank you,” eyes focused on the
news.

I took a sip of coffee and stole a glance at
Ethan from over the rim of my mug. He finally sat his newspaper down then
turned the television off.

“We need a mediator,” he said, a thoughtful
expression in his eyes.

“You mean a marriage counselor? Jeez, Ethan
we’ve been married less than a week and we’re already in trouble.”

“And who do you think your father will blame
for our failure? Certainly, not me.”

Ethan blew the surface of his coffee before
taking a sip.

“We should have the marriage annulled and call
it a day,” I whispered.

He smiled.

“The judge would never agree. We’ve already
consummated the marriage.”

“Why are you so intent on making this
difficult?” I pleaded.

“Because your father’s empire will collapse if
we disappoint.”

I met Ethan’s steely gaze. It was the most
serious I had seen him look.

“Is that a threat?”

He shook his head slowly. “I’m not interested
in business, Elizabeth…I only want what was promised to me.”

I sat my cup down.

I don’t understand.”

Ethan clutched the coffee cup and saucer in his
hands as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. His soft dark hair
glistened in the light like it had been coated in a slick of black oil.

“I took
great
offense to your criticism
of my skills as an architect and businessman, as well as your observations about
China yesterday…” Ethan’s face darkened as he spoke. “Then it occurred to me
that perhaps, your father shared even less than I originally thought about our
families, my past, and our futures.”

“Is there something you want to tell me?” I asked
Ethan sweetly, growing tired of his protracted explanation.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered, leaning in. “I want
to fix on our relationship and I’m willing to put in the work if you are.”

Ethan’s face brightened, the tone of his voice
shifting considerably. He sat his coffee down and lifted a flower from a vase
at the center of the table, and placed it before me.  

“Care to join me for dinner tonight?”

I was held captive by his mesmerizing,
enigmatic gaze.

“I got time to burn,” I answered coolly. What
do you have in mind?”

“Dinner…a night on the town… I
dunno
, I’ll figure something out.”

I slid my hand over his. “Should I wear
something special?”

Ethan held my gaze for a moment then withdrew
his hand from my grasp. “Wear whatever you want,” he said, rising from the
table.

If
Ethan wasn’t interested in doing business with me or my father, then what was
he doing here and why was he so interested in the hotel and Byron Energy? Where
did I fit into his plans? I was looking forward to our date and finally getting
some answers.

I
ordered a navy blue Herve Leger bandage dress with cap sleeves through
Adriana’s web site and had it hand delivered to my hotel suite. The Herve Leger
dress was probably one of the sexiest dresses I had ever seen. It left nothing
to imagination as it clung to every curve of my body. I pulled my hair back,
twisting it into an elegant up-do, then carefully applied my makeup until it
was just right…perfect for a night on the town.

Ethan was out, as he had been for most of the
day. At eight, feeling impatient I assumed it would be a late dinner, if at
all, when a knock drew me away from the landscape windows and my view of the
bustling nightlife below.

“You’re late,” I said, flinging the door open.

“
I’m sorry
. I’m here for dinner with Mrs.
Elizabeth Yu. Is she available?”

I sighed, folding my arms across my chest.
“I’ll have to check my schedule, seems I already have a date. He was supposed
to be here at seven. But I’m starting to think he’s a bit of a jerk.”

Ethan extended an elbow. After a pause, I
finally accepted, linking my arm into his as he pulled me out the door. We went
downstairs to an extravagant five-star Italian restaurant near the hotel lobby.
An entire section lit by candles had been made private, just for us. I was surprised
by the amount of planning and effort Ethan had invested in our date. We sat
down and ordered a glass of white wine by candlelight as we awaited our meals,
soft romantic music playing in the background.

“This is nice,” I finally said. “Thank you, it
was very sweet of you.”

Thick dark lashes lowered, a mass of dark shiny
hair fanned across Ethan’s forehead as he looked down, fingers grazing the stem
of his wine glass. His mouth, full and plump, curled into a tiny smile. “Being
married, I figured we should at least go on our first date. A proper start,
right?”

“Makes sense to me. So how
is
married
life?” I took a sip of wine and slid my fingers over his, hands surprisingly
rough. Ethan’s gaze swept across my face as he quietly drew his hand away, a
golden shade of candlelight flickering in his eyes.

“We haven’t ripped each other apart despite
everything that’s happened, so I guess that’s a good thing.”

 “I’m sure you’ve thought about it.”

The
look he gave me said otherwise. The waiter arrived, placing warm slices of
bread between us and chilled plates for our salad. With a wave from Ethan, he
refilled our wine glasses with Chardonnay.

“So… what’s his name?” Ethan asked, eyes
turning mysteriously dark.

“Come again?”

“Your boyfriend?”

“My
ex
-boyfriend,” I corrected.

 He took a breath as if bracing himself
for information he didn’t want to hear.

“What happened?”

“You.”

“He read the paper?” Ethan asked.

“I’m breaking up with him.”

“Why?”

“It’s unfair to continue our relationship under
the circumstances.”

“You told me you love him.”

“I do. Just not enough. Not the way he deserves
to be loved and I don’t want to hurt him. How could a woman who calls herself
deeply in love with a man, marry someone else? Even under false pretenses?”

Ethan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Exactly. Real love is something you fight for,
not something you give up for money. If I was truly in love with Danny, I never
would have married you.”

“So why did you?”

“To help my father.”

“Your father is a powerful man.”

“Ergo, he doesn’t need my help?”

The
waiter arrived with dinner and set our plates before us. Ethan stuck his fork
into a pile of spaghetti covered in parmesan and sauce, twirling it around
before he finally took a bite.

“Was marrying for business reasons a ‘progressive
American woman’ thing?”

I picked at my lasagna before finally lifting
my eyes to meet his brooding gaze.

“We’ll call it a progressive
Elizabeth
,
thing.”

“Progressive until you’re standing in front of
your father, always at his beck and call, his go to man… what are exactly are
you trying to prove?”

I shoveled two more scoops of lasagna into my
mouth.

“You don’t understand.”

Ethan’s eyes burrowed into mine…“I understand
completely. I have a father too.”

“But he didn’t ask you to marry someone against
your will.
Or did he?”

“I make my own choices and so do you,” Ethan
answered.

“Fair enough.” I threw my fork down. “I’m
full.”

“Care to walk it
off?”               

I
couldn’t eat thinking about everything we talked about so Ethan summoned the check.
We went for a stroll along the Strip, where hot neon flashing lights blinked
manically around us and large architectural wonders dominated the sky. Ethan
shoved his hands into his pockets, not daring to hold mine as he had done
before. He stared ahead, oblivious of the chaos and nightlife surrounding us.

“A nickel for your thoughts,” I said, nudging
him with my elbow.

“How about a cool billion?”

“My pockets aren’t deep enough. Not sure if my
father’s are either. Times have changed.”

“Not as much as you think.”

He tugged my arm, pulling me close.

“No man will ever mean as much to you as your
father, will he?”

We stopped mid-sidewalk, facing each other. I
stood on my toes and leaned as close as I could to Ethan’s face. “It’s hard to
explain.”