Ethan stared at the brief message. So Pattington had come through. The man apparently never slept, which was why Ethan hired him time and time again.
Any other message could have waited until morning, but he wanted to know what kind of people had hurt Kerri so much. And he also wanted to know if there were any other secrets he should know about, so as to avoid future blunders.
He pulled away from the warmth and softness that he now associated with Kerri. Thankfully, she was generally a heavy sleeper. He pulled the sheet up over her shoulders, then put on a robe, went to his study and opened his laptop. Pattington’s file was already in his inbox.
Ethan opened it. The first page stole his breath away.
What the…
Gavin had been right. Kerri was indeed Barron Sterling’s granddaughter…and now his sole heir, as her mother, Renée Sterling Wilson had passed away a few months back.
Christ. Kerri was worth more than most of Ethan’s friends and acquaintances…even more than Ethan himself. So why did she work the way she did? Was she aware of the kind of money she had?
He shook his head at the ridiculousness of the last question. Of course she was. No one that smart and that good at finance could have failed to understand the situation. Everyone knew how much Barron Sterling was worth.
Pattington had to be mistaken…except Ethan didn’t hire people who made mistakes.
Yet the Kerri he knew was nothing like what was on the first page of the file.
He went through the rest, which focused on her academic pedigree and work history. Those matched what she’d told him.
Ethan googled “Barron Sterling’s granddaughter”. There was hardly any information available, not even a recent photo. Most might think the woman was fanatical about her privacy or maybe she’d joined a convent. But that wasn’t true at all. There hadn’t been anything because she’d been in Hong Kong for years in self-imposed exile, and the media had no idea.
And her family connections explained why she hadn’t wanted to go to the charity ball. Barron Sterling had been invited, along with his brother Duke and his great nephew.
Why hadn’t she told him who her family was? Well, that was pretty obvious. Clearly, she was worried that if she revealed the truth he would jump to wrong conclusions.
Gavin had apparently decided Kerri must be spying for Sterling & Wilson, and Gavin wasn’t stupid. Ethan sat back and looked at the ceiling, going back over his time with Kerri, searching for anything that seemed odd or out of place.
After five minutes, he sat forward again. No. No way. She was avoiding her family because of her unbearable past. It was unthinkable that she’d approach them for any reason.
He rubbed his chest as he recalled the devastated expression on her face on her birthday. He would never let Kerri experience such crippling pain ever again. If that meant that her family would never get to her, so be it. The fact that they were wealthy and connected made it more challenging, but that was fine. In fact, he relished the opportunity to get back at them. And if Gavin did anything stupid and rash, Ethan would make sure he paid as well.
He’d never let anyone hurt her ever again.
Chapter Twenty
THAT SATURDAY, KERRI and Ethan rode in his Aston Martin in companionable silence, watching the scenery pass by. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to be with him, whether they were talking or not. She’d never felt that way about anybody before.
When he turned into a well-to-do suburban neighborhood in Maryland, Kerri finally looked over and asked, “Where exactly are we going?”
“My mother’s. There’s a house party.”
It took a moment to process. “What? Oh my god, stop the car!”
“Why?” he asked, his voice mild.
“I can’t go to your mother’s party!”
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any photographers. It’s just the family.”
“But I’m not invited.”
“You’re my date.”
“I didn’t bring anything for her! Not even a bottle of wine or flowers.”
“Taken care of.”