His Revenge Series

Chapter 4

The door opened and Peter came back in, moving to stand beside his boss.

“She insists on seeing you,” he murmured for Ethan’s ears only. “Says she won’t leave until she has spoken with you.”

Ethan smiled. How so like her, he thought.

Aloud, he said. “Where is she now?”

“I brought her up. She’s waiting in Laura’s office.”

“Offer her some iced tea and tell her I’ll see her when I can.”

Peter nodded and slipped out again and Ethan turned his attention back to the meeting.

Ethan dismissed his staff an hour later, then asked Laura to send Erin in. He took his seat, an impressive leather swivel designed in tandem with the massive desk to intimidate and leaned back, waiting.

A minute later the door opened, admitting Laura and the woman who had wreaked havoc on his relationship.

He watched, with an inscrutable expression as she matched towards his desk, his eyes sweeping over the tailored blue suit with its short skirt, that showed off long shapely legs and curves that had probably turned many heads; and up to the face that had been the object of vengeful thoughts many a time.

Right now, those brown eyes were glaring at him, mouth set in a furious line.

“You!” she snarled, her eyes flashing brown fury. “I knew you were behind this. How dare you -”

“That will be all, Laura.” Ethan cut in, dismissing his assistant who watched the scene in wide eyed fascination. She flushed and hurried out, shutting the door behind her, while Erin looked even more furious at being so rudely interrupted.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Ethan asked, his voice hard and cold. He deliberately let his gaze run over her from head to toe, his look insulting and he had the satisfaction of seeing her bristle at the rudeness of the action. “It has been a while, Ms. Gosling.”

Erin slammed the palms of her hand down on the table, shaking with the force of her fury.

“You bastard!” she hissed at him, leaning close to look him in the eye. “You filthy good for nothing asshole! What the hell do you think you’re playing at?”

“I will advise you to watch how you hurl those insults, Erin,” his voice was still devoid of any emotion whatsoever and that obviously irritated her more, if the snarl she let loose was any indication. “This is my office, my property and I do not take kindly to verbal insults.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” she raged, balling her fists. “If you think for one f*****g minute that I or my family are going to sit back and watch you take away our hard earned source of income, then you have another think coming, Ethan Lachlan. I don’t care who the hell you are, but you will lay off my family or -”

“Or what?” He cut in, his tone silky and calm, though to Erin, he looked like a predator about to devour his prey.

“I will fight you with everything I’ve got.” she shouted at him. “Your silly scheme will never work. For god’s sake, this is the most childish display of retribution I have ever seen. Are you mad? Is that it? Is that why you’re trying to hurt my family?”

He chuckled and leaned forward. “Sit down, Erin.”

The command took her by surprise, shocking her enough that she complied without thinking about it. He leaned back and formed a steeple with the tips of his fingers while his eyes bored into hers.

“Good,” he said when she was seated. “Now listen carefully, because I will not repeat myself. Five years ago, you called me an opportunist and manipulated things to go your way. Now I will strip you of every inch of dignity you possess, everything you hold dear until you come begging for mercy. Buying those shares was the first step, Erin, I have barely begun my quest to completely humiliate and make you regret ever uttering those words.”

Ethan paused and watched her reaction. She had gone completely white and looked as though a gust of wind would knock her over.

Good. He thought, reaching into the top drawer of his desk and pulling out an iphone. He slid it across the table and she stared at it in confusion.

“Keep that with you. I will be in contact soon. Good day, Ms. Gosling.”

She just kept staring at him till color flooded back to her face. She rose with a snarl, picking the phone and hurling it at his head. Ethan ducked just in time and the device hit the wall behind him, breaking into two.

“If you think you can blackmail me or succeed in your ridiculous plan, then you are less the man I think you are,” she glared at him in disdain, while shaking with fury. “If you do anything to harm my family, then I will personally murder you. Stay away from me.”

She turned and stalked out of his office, slamming the door with enough force to c***k a window.

CHAPTER FOUR

“I think we should put off the wedding.”

Erin paused mid-stride and turned to stare at Nicky. “What?”

Nicky shifted from her perch on the sofa and met her cousin’s gaze.

“I think we should put off the wedding,” she repeated in hushed tones, face scrunched in worry. “With your dad in the hospital and this thing with Ethan -”

“No!” Erin’s voice was firm as she crossed the room to the sofa where her cousin sat.

She grasped Nicky’s shoulders and gave her a firm shake, determination glinting in her eyes. “The wedding will go on as planned. If we put it off, you can be damned sure that bastard will think he has won and I’ll be damned before I let that happen.”

That was the last thing Erin wanted. For Ethan Lachlan to think that he had succeeded in throwing the family into a panic. Her jaw set as she recalled the scene at his office yesterday and once more her blood boiled at the memory of that arrogant bastard throwing those words at her. She let go of Nicky and returned to the French doors that led to the balcony and stared out through the pouring rain at the Chicago skyline.

He was such a hypocrite! If he wanted Nicky, he should have fought for her all those years ago, rather than let his damned pride get in the way and then wait five years before carrying out some warped vendetta against her family.

Her lips curled in derision at the thought. Ethan Lachlan was a coward, nothing more, more less.

“Why target the hotel?” Nicky moved to stand beside Erin. “Your father had nothing to do with our break up, so why is Ethan doing this. I don’t understand his motives for doing this, Erin, it’s all so confusing.”

“He is insane, that’s why,” Erin replied. “A mad man who needs to be locked up in a padded cell and have the key thrown away. Men like him don’t need a logical reason for doing the stupid things they do sometimes, it’s just pure madness and misplaced testosterone driving him.”

She resumed her pacing, her mind going through a million possibilities, searching for a solution to this irritating problem. One thing was certain though, she had to find a way to get those shares back even if it meant stooping to the same sleazy, underhanded level Ethan had used to acquire them in the first place.

“I should go and talk to him,” Nicky said. “I could try and reason with him somehow. What do you think?”

A memory of Ethan’s insults rose up in Erin’s mind and she shuddered. Heaven only knew what he would do to Nicky if she went to him. She wouldn’t put it past him to humiliate her cousin in the same way he had attempted to humiliate her.

“That’s not a good idea, Nicks.” Erin replied, raking a hand through her disheveled hair, the limp brown locks flopping over her forehead in an untidy disarray.

She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and cringed.

Crap! Erin thought, wincing once more. She looked a mess in the worn, white dressing gown over equally well-worn pajamas and fluffy, pink flip flops. Face bare of any form of makeup, and hair flying every which way.

She eyed Nicky’s reflection and sighed. In glaring contrast, Nicky looked perfect in tan pants and a white silk blouse, blonde hair expertly cut in a sleek bob that framed her beautiful, oval face.

Right now, that face was scowling at her in confusion.

“Why?” Nicky asked, folding her arms across her chest, expression defiant. “I’m the one he wants to punish, so I should talk to him at least.”

“Trust me, Nicks, that would be a very bad idea.” Erin turned from the mirror and faced her cousin. “You know how Ethan tried to blackmail me. What makes you think he’ll go any easier on you?”

Nicky bit her lip and turned away, shoulders tense. Finally she sighed.

“I don’t know.” she admitted in defeat. “But I have to do something, this is my fault after all.”

Erin’s phone beeped, cutting off her reply. She strode to the coffee table and picked up the phone, reading the text message.

“Ah damn!” she swore, checking her watch. Nine forty five a.m.

The message was from her father’s secretary, reminding her of the emergency board meeting in fifteen minutes. Erin had completely forgotten about it, completely preoccupied by the crises with Ethan. As it were, she could barely squeeze in a shower and a few minutes to get dressed before heading down to the conference room.

“What is it?” Nicky asked, watching Erin scramble about in panic.

Erin paused on her way to the bathroom and shot Nicky a quick look. “I have to hustle or I’ll be late for the board meeting.”

Ten minutes later her hair a damp mess, she reached into her closet and grabbed the first outfit she could find.

****

Ethan studied the faces of the people gathered around the conference table and smiled to himself at the discomfort and hostility clearly written on their faces.

His gaze moved to the three empty seats at the opposite end of table and he checked his watch, his brows drawing together in a frown. Ten minutes past ten, and there was still no sign of the formidable Ms. Gosling.

How ironic that the same woman who had raked him over hot coals for arriving late for dinner all those years ago was now the very same woman guilty of the same offense. He leaned back against his chair and wondered what excuse little Miss Snob would give for coming late.

A lover, perhaps? An image of Erin, lying spreadeagled on his bed, that pale skin flushed with lust as she stared up at him in longing, came into his mind and he felt a stirring in his groin.

Ethan shook his head to clear the image.

Erin Gosling was not the sort of woman he took to his bed, for one thing, she was far too curvy for his tastes. He liked his women slim, elegant and well endowed, not full figured little snobs, with nothing better to do than break up relationships.