“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.
Chapter Nineteen
HOUSTON WAS JUST AS HOT and sprawling as Amandine remembered. She’d been there once, when Jacob and Catherine had gotten married. They’d decided to have the ceremony in the city they would call home.
How things had changed since then.
A uniformed driver was waiting for Amandine and Brooke at the airport. “To Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Lloyd’s residence?” he asked, apparently briefed on her itinerary.
The reference to Catherine as “Mrs. Jacob Lloyd” sounded discordant to Amandine. She hadn’t thought of her cousin that way for weeks now.
“Yes,” Brooke said, her gaze on Amandine’s face.
Bigger than Gavin and Amandine’s home in L.A., the mansion boasted ten bedrooms and twelve baths, plus a giant pool, a nine-hole golf course and indoor and outdoor tennis courts. The latter had been an addition. Catherine was a superb tennis player, and she occasionally invited her friends over for a friendly match.