“We’ll make a permanent decision soon, but until we have a new team in, I’ll be in charge.” Ethan stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Kerri and I have other appointments.”
As they left the headquarters together, Kerri’s tension returned, greater than before. Earlier he’d thought it was nervousness, but now that the meeting was over he realized something else was winding her up and wondered what it could be. She was practically hunched over as they walked to the car.
They went to a small seafood and steak bistro not too far from the headquarters. It was a bit early for lunch, but then they’d had an early breakfast.
The place was a popular place for him and his brother to eat whenever they were in Houston. It was intimate with a bright ambiance of white, sandy yellow and glass-top tables. A greyhound-slim hostess in a starched white button-down shirt and a black denim skirt took them to a booth in the back. Rather than take the opposite side of the booth like every other man she’d ever met would have, Ethan slid in next to her, his big body crowding her a bit.
“Well, that went well,” Kerri said, picking up the menu.
“You were incredible.”
She gave him a brief smile. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. And it was easy to deal with Simon knowing you had my back.”
Her words were light, but there was something in her tone that said she didn’t always have people she could depend on. Is that why she was so wary? She had to be strong on her own to take care of herself? Ethan’s chest tightened. “Of course. Always.”
He held out a hand, and she took it with a small pleased grin. He finally gave into the urge that had been hammering at him since the meeting, leaned over and kissed her. The taste of coffee and Kerri sharpened his hunger.
An awkward clearing of throat broke the moment. “Excuse me. Um…” The young waitress was looking near them rather than at them, her cheeks slightly pink. “Are you, ah…”
“I’ll have a steak salad,” Kerri said quickly.
“Cheeseburger with fries, Caesar salad, dressing on the side.”
As soon as the waitress scribbled their order and disappeared, Gavin showed up. Unlike Ethan, Gavin hadn’t actually been forbidden from getting involved in the family business, though he’d stayed away anyway. Nobody liked fighting with Jacob.
A busboy placed a basket of warm bread on the table. Gavin slid onto the opposite bench and grabbed a piece.
“Please excuse my brother’s poor manners,” Ethan said.
“What?” Gavin said.
“You haven’t even said hello.”
“What?” he said again. “We got introduced at the meeting.”
Kerri nodded and fiddled with a piece of whole-wheat raisin roll, all the while eying a plate of warm butter. Poor woman. Leaving the butter on the table would be as cruel as waving a bottle of whiskey in front of a recovering alcoholic. Ethan signaled their waitress to take it away.
“Hey,” Gavin protested.
“I’m on a diet,” Ethan said.
“Lemme guess. No dairy products this month.” He looked at Kerri and tilted his head toward Ethan. “Typical bodybuilder. Always on some kind of weird eating plan.”
“Hey, that was years ago.”
“Then why no butter all of a sudden?”
“Don’t want to end up like Uncle Tony, do you?”
“Yeah, you’ve got a point.” Gavin called the waitress over and ordered a burger with fries. When she left he said, “By the way, I would’ve appreciated a heads up before you guys dropped that bombshell.”
“I told you a few days ago.”
“I didn’t realize you meant this bad. If TLD weren’t ours, I’d short it.”
“There was no time to discuss anything in detail before the meeting,” Ethan said.
Gavin picked up another large slice of bread and nodded. “We’re too damn busy.”