Swearing, she got up. She didn’t want to ruin the day by thinking about her family. She padded outside, feet bare against the hardwood floor, and heard Ethan in his study.
“Oh yes, we will definitely discuss the matter.”
His tone held an edge sharp enough to draw blood. She pitied whoever was on the other side of the conversation.
He ended the call and turned around, a dangerous expression on his face. “Hey.” The harshness vanished instantly, replaced by warmth. It was amazing how well he could compartmentalize his life and emotions.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine.” He smiled.
“Who was that?”
“An executive at TLD. I reviewed the documents you sent me, and you’re right. The company’s not doing well. Actually, it’s worse than I expected after your verbal report.”
She nodded sympathetically. What was there to say? “I’m sure it’ll get sorted out.”
“Don’t think it’s going to just happen. I’ll have to fix it.”
“I thought you didn’t manage the company.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why not let somebody else handle it?”
“Jacob—who’s supposed to be in charge—is gone. It’s left a big hole in the hierarchy.”
And a big scandal for the family to deal with.
“And things are a mess over at TLD,” Ethan continued. “The company provides for a lot of people—the employees, of course, our family…and quite a few of them need the money to make ends meet.”
The Lloyds’ definition of “make ends meet” was probably different from the general population’s. People in social circles as high as theirs tended to have exorbitant expenses. She’d seen how much her grandfather spent on fuel for his private jet alone.
“I can’t believe Jacob let it get this bad. He always said he didn’t want me meddling in the company, too many cooks and all that. But this is…damn it.”
“Where is he now?”
“Who knows? With some stripper.” Ethan clenched his hands. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he punched the wall or something, but he remained remarkably controlled. “He married this pole-hugger.”
She’d hoped her cousin had been mistaken—or at least the situation wasn’t as bad as he had said—but apparently it was just that bad. Actually worse, since no one had known TLD had been doing so poorly under Jacob’s management. “Does your family know how bad it is?”
“I’m not sure. That was Simon Caldwell on the phone. He’s the highest ranking executive after Jacob.”
“I know,” she said gently.
“Right, of course. Well, he acted like everything was peachy, except for the fact that Jacob was gone.”
“Why would he do that? He must’ve known that if you looked at the books you’d find out how bad things are.”
Ethan took a few restless steps, confined by the small room. “I don’t know. Maybe they were hoping I’d be too busy to bother.”
“Or too bitter to bother, if you and Jacob don’t get along.” Kerri knew first-hand how things could fester, silently or otherwise, in a family.
“I suppose.” Ethan pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “Bottom line, it doesn’t matter who screwed up or how I feel about it. I have to fix the situation. I can’t let my family suffer because of personal issues with Jacob.”
An unfamiliar lump started to form in her throat, and she swallowed before it could get any bigger. “You love your family.”
He gave her an odd look. “Well of course.”