THE LLOYDS DEVELOPMENT HEADQUARTERS IN HOUSTON was housed in a modern skyscraper that shimmered in the Texas heat. The family had started the business here, but now only the members directly involved in running the company stayed in the city, while the rest lived wherever they wanted.
Gavin went through the cool and airy lobby to the executive floor at the very top of the building. A well-groomed receptionist looked up from a wrap-around desk. “May I help you, sir?”
“I’m here for the board meeting.”
She studied him for a moment then said, “Mr. Gavin Lloyd?”
Gavin nodded. It wasn’t a particularly difficult guess. Even though Jacob was the better-looking one, both of them displayed their Italian heritage, whereas Ethan was a blond carbon copy of their father.
“This way, please,” she said, and led him into a hall.
The conference room had bagels, donuts, cubed melon and pineapples, smoked salmon and various types of cheese, plus coffee, tea and three types of fruit juice. Gavin felt the skin between his eyebrows tighten. Did anybody have any idea how bad of a shape the company was in?
He helped himself to a cup of coffee and a few slices of the salmon. He was the first one in and had ample time to settle down in his seat, designated as such with a name-plate.
Soon TLD executives in good suits and even better shoes started filing in. A few came by to say hello, but he barely acknowledged them. Instead, he pretended to be checking something on his tablet and observed the executives surreptitiously.
All of them had the right degrees, background and connections. They all played golf at the same country club—one he knew that Jacob belonged to. Their young, nubile wives played tennis whenever Catherine was in the mood. They spoke a bit too loudly, their manners somewhat exaggerated, like actors uncertain on their stage.
Jacob , what the hell were you thinking? These men looked as expensive as a diamond necklace, but far less bright. Gavin wouldn’t have hired them to run a copier, much less a multi-million dollar company.
Ethan arrived soon after everyone had taken their seats. The chest and shoulders he’d developed during his bodybuilding years mandated that he have all his suits custom-tailored. That size, plus the serious expression on his face, gave him quite a bit of presence as he took the seat at the head of the table. He was accompanied by a gorgeous redhead with knife-like eyes and an unfriendly mouth. The woman sat down on his right.
Interesting.
Gavin settled back and let his older brother and his…whatever…run the show.
* * *
Amandine fidgeted in her chair, a cup of hot chocolate steaming on the table in front of her. The café wasn’t crowded at this time of the day. The morning rush had passed, and the lunch crowd wouldn’t show for at least another hour. She fingered an earring, then dropped her hand with a sigh. Why was she so nervous? She just needed to talk to Pete face-to-face. And better to do it sooner rather than later. Hopefully he wasn’t still mad about the possibility of her divorcing Gavin.
Pete came in, right on time, dressed in a dark charcoal suit. His suits weren’t tailored—probably didn’t make enough to do that yet—but she smiled to see how he was emulating Gavin in so many ways. She knew it was her younger brother’s life goal to have the same money and success as her husband.
He got the largest-sized cappuccino and joined her. “You look good.”
“Thanks.” She’d taken care that morning, putting on a peach-colored Chanel raw silk sheath dress and matching sandals. The café was close to the firm, and there was no telling who might have come in. “So do you.”
Pete stared into his drink, then at hers, then out the café window. Finally his gaze settled on her face. “Hey, look… I’m sorry. I’ve been a total jackass.”
Well . That was unexpected . “Don’t worry about it. You were probably just shocked.”
“I was. I thought…” He chewed his lower lip, looking at her from under furrowed eyebrows. “Aren’t you happy with Gavin?”
“I love him so much that there are times my heart aches. But…it’s not that simple.”
“I’m listening.”
“He doesn’t love me. Not the way I need to be loved.”
Pete closed his eyes. “Jesus.” He took a couple of big gulps of his drink. “You’re still hung up on that fantasy you have about Mom and Dad, aren’t you?”
“I know you didn’t like Dad, but he loved Mom.”
“He loved the fact that he had a woman willing to put up with his bullshit. Telling her ‘I love you’ was a small price to pay.”
“Pete!”
“C’mon, Amandine. I know guys who use that line with every single girl they meet. For some weird reason, women just fall apart when a man says the L-word. But those guys…” He swore. “They don’t love the women they’re saying I love you to. Once they’re done playing in the girls’ panties, they’re outta there. Gone.” He snapped his fingers.
“Good god.”
“You’re lucky because you’ve never met an asshole like that. And maybe a little naïve.” Pete finished his cappuccino. “It’s easy to tell a woman you love her, but the follow-through is tougher. You gotta provide for her, make sure she never lacks anything, that she’s happy, cared for… It’s hard, and that’s why men—well, the ones who are worth a damn, anyway—won’t make that kind of commitment lightly.”
Amandine blinked. Of all the things she’d expected Pete to say, this wasn’t one of them. When had her little brother matured so much?
“If things between me and Gavin don’t work out, is it going to be bad for you at the firm?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Could be awkward. But if you’re really unhappy with Gavin, I’ll deal.”
“I’m sorry. I know you really want to live in L.A.”
“It is what it is. I’ll find a way.”
She rested her elbows on the table. “Why here? Most finance guys want to be in New York City. And a job offer from Sterling & Wilson is nothing to scoff at.” From what she’d overheard, Barron Sterling didn’t hire idiots, or even average performers.
“Well.” Pete shifted, crossing his legs. “There’s the beach.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You haven’t been surfing since college.”
“The weather’s great.”
“Which you never take advantage of since you’re always working.” She pinned him with the “don’t bullshit your older sister” stare.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh…a woman” —he coughed into his hand— “might be involved.”
“Ah.” A woman? He probably meant women . She sat back, not at all interested in hearing about her brother’s sex life.
L.A. had loads of hot women, many of them aspiring actresses. No wonder her brother loved the city. She polished off the whipped cream floating on the top of her hot chocolate. “Believe me, I hope things work out between me and Gavin more than anyone. I appreciate your concern and advice, Pete.”
“Not a problem. Let’s do lunch next time. I found this great Italian place that has killer garlic toast.”
“That sounds delicious. But don’t you eat at your desk?”
He gave her a charming grin. “I can always make time for my sister.”
* * *
After her three o’clock snack, Amandine walked down the hall to the studio. She was carrying the sketch of Gavin she’d done in Thailand, intending to recreate it life-size on canvas.
Color will be a challenge , she thought. The details of the room, the light and so on were a little fuzzy. But the work didn’t need to reflect objective reality. If that were the case, she could’ve just snapped a photo. This was about her memory of her husband, her impressions and feelings.
And most importantly, her hopes.
Amandine entered the studio and stopped, staring at the unfinished work on the easel. Dark colors covered what few streaks of dull red and yellow she’d started out with. There was something stark and sorrowful about the piece. She normally finished every painting she started, but her insides grew cold at the idea of finishing this one.
The painting was something she’d worked on during a particularly difficult period in her life, and her misery had poured out onto the canvas. It seemed crazy to try to finish it now, when she felt so much more hopeful.
She took it down and turned it against the wall. Then she rooted around in the built-in storage unit, searching for a suitably sized blank canvas.
Ah-ha! Her lips lifted. Perfect . Carefully, she pulled the sheet out.
“Hey! Don’t move anything big yourself.”
She looked over a shoulder and there was Gavin, dressed in another of his classic European suits. The gorgeously tailored silk molded to his broad shoulders and strong lines. Her breath caught as her body tingled with memories of the previous night.
“It’s not heavy,” she managed to say in a normal tone of voice.
“Still.” He strode over and took the canvas from her. “You could lose your balance.”
She sighed inwardly. “I’m pregnant, not drunk.”
“Where’s Brooke?”
“In the office, trying to sort out my art supplies and other stuff from Thailand.”
“Since I’m here, let me help you.”
She stepped back. It was easier than arguing with him. He set up her easel with the blank canvas. “What are you going to paint this time?”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a secret.”
“A secret? Now I really want to know.”
“It’s kind of a private work.”
“Will I be able to see it?”
“Mmm… Not sure.”
“Are you worried I’m going to hang it in my office?”
She choked. “No. Trust me, you don’t want to see me working on it.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Why not?”
“Because…” She grasped for a good comparison. “Art is like hot dogs.”
There was a pause. “Hot dogs.”
“Yes. Everyone likes the end-product, but nobody wants to know what goes into making one.”
“I’ve…never heard it put quite like that before.”
“Clearly, whoever you talked to were not artistes ,” she said primly, settling on her stool. “So how was the meeting?”
He took an armchair by the glass walls. It had been put there by an interior designer who thought people would need a comfortable chair to appreciate Amandine’s artwork. But she hated having people around when she painted, and made a mental note to get rid of the thing.
“Bad,” he said, his expression dark.
“How bad?”
“Very. You want to know the sordid details?”
“Well, sure. It’s a family matter, right?”
“It’s just that you’ve never really been interested.”
“I was, but I didn’t want to bug you since you were always so busy. But if you’ve got the time, I want to know more.”
Gavin scratched the tip of his nose. “It started out bad, and then got really nasty. The company’s in trouble, and it looks like someone’s been embezzling funds.”
“Wow. So once Ethan took over he started finding problems?”
“He brought in someone else to do the detective work. But he made some of the presentation.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s busy, isn’t he?”
“Yes, but I don’t like who he hired.”
She blinked. Gavin had good instincts about things like this, but she imagined Ethan did too. Ethan helped lead a multinational conglomerate, and she couldn’t imagine how he could do that if he was a poor judge of character. “Why not? Who did he hire?”
“Some woman named Kerri Wilson. Her background is impeccable from what I’ve been able to piece together so far. Yale undergrad, Wharton MBA. Was a VP at Goldreich Stanley.”
“Is that a big deal?”
“Yeah. It’s one of the biggest and most prestigious investment banks out there. Anyway, she was able to figure out that Jacob’s been lying to everyone all this time, most likely with the collusion of his executives.”
“Wow. That’s great.” Amandine flushed. “I mean, it’s terrible Jacob lied, but great she discovered that problem.”
Gavin narrowed his eyes. “It’s too convenient.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s extremely difficult to find competent help for this stuff. People with her qualifications don’t just pop out of nowhere when you need them. Somebody like Kerri Wilson? Easier to win a lottery.”
“Don’t be cynical.”
“I’m not the only one who thought so. Another executive said the same thing—albeit without any tact—and got chewed out in front of the entire board.”
Amandine winced. “Ouch. Ethan can be mean.”
Gavin shook his head. “Not Ethan. The Wilson woman.”
“Wow.” Amandine couldn’t believe the woman’s guts. No way she could’ve done it if she’d been in Kerri’s shoes. On the other hand, Kerri had the academic might of Yale and Wharton behind her, not to mention that fancy investment bank on her résumé.
“Don’t be so wowed. It’s not just the timing that I don’t care for. Something about her feels off…like she has something to hide.”
“Really? Ethan must’ve vetted Kerri before hiring her.”
Gavin snorted. “Yeah. In bed.”
Amandine rolled her eyes. “Come on.”
“I know my brother. Trust me, they’re sleeping together.”
“Oh my god.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to do my own vetting.” Cynicism twisted his lips into an unpleasant smile. “The situation at TLD is really bad. Everyone who’s been relying on the quarterly payments from the company better have a contingency plan ready, because they won’t get another penny for a long, long time. There’s that embezzlement too, although it’s just speculation at this point. But given how much cash the company has managed to lose… We need to do a really thorough audit before we can be certain.”
“That’s awful. Who do you think could’ve done it?”
“I don’t know. It could be anybody on the board…including Catherine.”
“No way. She would never. What did she say when Ethan announced all this?”
“She wasn’t there.”
Amandine gasped. “She wasn’t?”
“Nope.”
“But the company is her baby. She’s so possessive about it.”
“I have no clue why she didn’t come, but she didn’t. I’m sure she’ll get the meeting minutes via email. Don’t worry. She’ll land on her feet.”
“How about the other people? What about the workers?”
“Some of them will lose their jobs, I imagine, but there are funds set aside to help. If not, I can cover the cost of the severance packages so they can weather the storm a bit better. As for the family, I’m setting up a trust fund.” He nodded to himself, but there was a small frown on his forehead.
“What’s wrong?” Setting up and managing funds was what Gavin did for a living.
“It’s just getting them to accept the money. They know they need it, but the damn Lloyd pride. They might reject it just out of ego.”
“Oh.”
“They want to feel like they’re self-supporting, whether they’re making money from investments or something else. Meredith in particular will be difficult. Too stubborn for her own good. But it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, I’ll make sure everyone’s taken care of. There’s no reason for them to suffer because of Jacob’s screw-up, and I have plenty for everyone, even Uncle Tony.”
“Have you spoken with Ethan?” she asked. “If you present the idea together, it might be easier to convince the family.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to. He’s better with words anyway. I’m pretty sure he’s going to put a decent amount of seed money into the fund himself. He can afford it.”
Amandine nodded. Gavin and Ethan had gone off on their own without getting involved in the family business. And they had both done better than Jacob, the oldest, who’d had a thriving business handed to him. That had to rankle.
She went to Gavin, propped a hip on the armrest and put her hands on his shoulders. They felt like rocks. “I’m sorry.”
He put a hand over hers. “Don’t be. I’m happy to be able to take care of my family. It’s my duty and privilege.”
His words melted her. They weren’t just some motto that had been drilled into him. He’d always put top priority on his family, no matter what. He was already super busy, and now it looked like he was going to have to take care of several members of the Lloyds too. Gavin always made everything look easy to outsiders, but the reality was that he worked tremendously hard at a very difficult job. If it were easy, everyone would be doing what he did.
She went still, not even breathing. She couldn’t believe how foolish and hypocritical she’d been all this time.
Gavin had always said family was important to him, and he was doing what he could for them. She’d mouthed the same words, but hadn’t actually done anything. Her first worry when she’d heard about Jacob’s bigamy wasn’t that it would shock her mother-in-law, or that Catherine would be in need of comfort, but what she would do if her cousin tried to take Gavin back. Amandine hadn’t worried about Catherine even once.
Shame knotted her belly, and she swallowed. “Gavin, do you mind if I go to Houston tomorrow?”
“For what?”
“I want to visit Catherine. See how she’s doing. It must be pretty bad if she didn’t even show up at the board meeting.”
“If you want, sure. Take Brooke with you.” Gavin squeezed her hand. “But don’t be surprised if Catherine doesn’t want to see you. She hasn’t been answering phone calls or returning emails.”
“If she turns me away, she turns me away. But I have to try.”
Gavin nodded in support. “If that’s what you want.”
* * *
On his way to the office for a late afternoon meeting, Gavin pulled out his phone and dialed Pattington’s personal number. Unpleasant tasks were best taken care of quickly.
He reached voice mail. Hmm . Out of the country?
He called the main number for the PI’s firm, and the male receptionist confirmed that yes, Mr. Pattington was currently out of the country, but somebody else would be more than happy to help a member of the Lloyd family.
“Can you find out who this woman is? She calls herself Kerri Wilson, which may or may not be an alias. No, I’m not asking for a complete background check, just an ID. I’m sending you a photo right now. Great. Text me what you find.” Then Gavin sent the man two pictures of Kerri Wilson that he had surreptitiously taken at the TLD board meeting. Her pissing contest with the CFO had given him the perfect opportunity.
Several hours later, he got a reply.
There aren’t many recent photos , but we’re reasonably sure she’s Barron Sterling’s granddaughter . Her full legal name is Kerri Jacqueline Wilson .
