Ethan stared at the man sitting across from him, struggling to contain his anger and the urge to permanently wipe off the self-satisfied smirk from the editor’s florid face.
The fool sat there, mercifully oblivious to the murderous thoughts running through his mind, chattering away about client privacy and some other bullshit, causing Ethan’s mood- already bad from the encounter with Erin this morning- to deteriorate rapidly till his jaw was clenched tight enough to crush teeth and it took all his self restraint to stop himself from lunging across the gleaming desk and smashing in that meaty face.
He had to give the man some credit, though. Despite the threat of legal action for defamation of character, the sleazebag still clung to the bit of information that Ethan wanted – the identity of person who had leaked the story and the photos.
Still, he was not deterred. There were other ways to get the information he wanted, after all he hadn’t taken his company to the level it was now without picking up a few tricks along the way. That was one reason he had decided to have the meeting in his office, knowing the opulent décor would aid his intimidation.
“Craig.” he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk, fingertips forming a steeple as he leveled a glare at his guest. “You do realize just how precarious your situation is right this moment?”
The editor squirmed under the piercing gaze.
Good. The more uncomfortable the man was, the easier it would be to get what he wanted.
The look on Craig’s face was of someone who had just sucked a lemon.
“Look Mr. Lachlan,” he began, arms spread in a gesture of helplessness. “Even if I want to tell you my source, I’m bound by the rules. What I can tell you however, is that the pictures were emailed to one of my reporters along with the story and I deemed it authentic enough to run it.”
“Interesting,” Ethan drawled, his tone laced with sarcasm. “And just how did you deem it authentic enough? Did you call the parties involved – like say Ms. Gosling or myself – for a confirmation?”
The weasel had the guts to smirk and Ethan almost lunged. “Well, I could hardly do that now, could I?” Craig said, leaning back in his own seat, arms crossed over a portly stomach straining the buttons of his dark gray shirt.
Ethan rose, unfolding his length from the chair in slow deliberate movements. A flash of panic crossed the editor’s face as he came around the massive desk, casually allowing his fingers to trail over the smooth surface. Ethan stopped just shy of the editor’s seat and leaned against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. Craig seemed to visibly shrink back, attempting to put as much space between them as possible.
“Let’s get something straight, Craig,” Ethan said, his tone pleasant though laced with a hint of intimidation. “I value my privacy as does Miss Gosling and your article” He stressed the word with enough contempt. “Is a serious invasion of that privacy. Trust me when I say I don’t deal lightly with those who take me for granted – as you have done up till this very moment. I can make your worthless life even more miserable than it already is, and you don’t want that. So I am being lenient here and giving you one last chance to -”
“Y-you can’t threaten me!” Craig’s voice was high-pitched, giving away just how scared he was at that moment despite the attempt at bravado. “This is -”
“I wasn’t finished!” Ethan cut in, his voice cold, expression hard and unforgiving. He unfolded his arms and leaned closer, allowing the man to see the determination in his gaze. “You will give me your source, or by God, I will have your sleazy excuse of a newspaper run to the ground by tomorrow morning. Then we’ll see how you can afford that little red Ferrari and the mistress in Hillton when you have the IRS and your wife chasing you down like a pack of hungry wolves.”
Craig paled, eyes bulging out of their sockets at Ethan’s words. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack there and then and Ethan idly wondered of he should call for an ambulance.
“Y-y-you c-can’t do that.” Craig gasped.
It was Ethan’s turn to smirk. “Try me.”
He could almost see the wheels turning in the editor’s head as he mentally weighed his options.
“Well,” Craig coughed, adjusting his bulk on the seat, a resigned look on his florid face. “Since you put it that way. She gave her name as Lilian Putney and claimed to be a close friend of Ms. Gosling and really seemed to know a lot about her too. Stuff like how the head honcho is currently in the hospital following a heart attack last week, the breakup with the ex-boyfriend -”
Ethan went still at those words, the information crashing into his brain like a ton of bricks.
Henry Gosling was in the hospital? When the hell had that happened and why was he just hearing of it?
“Hold on a moment,” he held up a hand to still the flow of words still spewing from the editor’s mouth. “Henry Gosling is in the hospital?”
“Yeah.” Craig nodded eagerly. “The family kept that bit away from the press, and I wouldn’t have known about it until Ms. Putney mentioned it. Even told us the hospital he was in and when we checked it out, the info was right. Well, that was proof enough for me so I -”
“Do be quiet for a moment?” Ethan snapped, rubbing at the throbbing ache in his temples. Now he understood the reason Erin had seemed so tense and exhausted. He needed to find out something. “When did he have the heart attack?”
“A couple days ago. Maybe Monday. He’s at Lancaster hospital, due for a surgery today.”
That confirmed his suspicion that his takeover bid had probably caused the man to end up in the hospital. He passed a hand over his face, suddenly feeling a heel.
Ah hell! This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He thought for a minute, then made his decision. He looked down at Craig, discovering the man looking up at him with a puzzled expression.
“You will print a retraction Craig.” Ethan told him, straightening to his full height. “I want it published in the papers tomorrow morning or there will be dire consequences. Have I made myself clear?”
“A retraction?” Craig exclaimed with a look of horror. “Are you fucking serious? That’s like saying our newspaper is untrustworthy… I can’t do that!”
“If I don’t see an article in the paper tomorrow morning saying your previous story was a bag of lies, I will end your career, Craig.”
The words were laced with enough venom to turn Craig a shade of green.
“You have my word on that,” Ethan continued. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”
Ethan reached across the desk and depressed a red button. “Laura?” He spoke through the intercom. “See to it that Mr. Delaney is shown out.”
“Yes Ethan.” Laura’s voice crackled over the intercom.
He nodded and bid the editor a good day, pausing to grab his jacket and strode out.
*****
“Would you care to explain what this is?” Victoria held up the offending newspaper, while leveling a disapproving look at her daughter. Her voice echoed in the deserted corridor, a clear sign that she was upset. Erin knew her mother seldom spoke loud unless she was angry.
“It’s a newspaper, Mum.” Erin replied with a weary sigh, leaning against the white wall.
She looked towards Nicky for help, but her cousin and Kim had retreated to a safe distance. So much for support.
“Don’t get smart with me, young lady,” Victoria snapped, green eyes sparking in anger. “I know it’s a newspaper. What I want to know is why on earth your name is on the front page of this… this rag.”
“I don’t know,” Erin raked a hand through her hair, dislodging strands from the ponytail. Her body ached in every spot and she wished she were anywhere else but here. “I was just as stunned when I saw it this morning, believe me.”
“What will your father think when he sees this? And who are these men they claim you were cavorting about with last night? Is one of them the man with whom you had dinner?”
The word ‘cavorting’ caused a small smile to cross Erin’s face. Her mother could be so old fashioned sometimes, using words best suited for the Victorian era. She would have made an excellent duchess.
“Mum, I wasn’t cavorting with anyone. And the article is wrong about what happened last night. Sure, I had dinner with To… with someone, but I certainly was not flirting with two guys. Quite the opposite in fact.”
The ding of the elevator doors opening distracted them. Since Erin was facing the elevator, she was the first to see the man who stepped off the elevator. She watched Todd walk towards them, dressed in blue scrubs.
His face was unreadable when he came up to her. “Hello again, Erin.”
“Hey.” Erin murmured, feeling self conscious. She wasn’t sure if Todd had seen the article or not for one thing. She could also feel her mother’s eyes watching the exchange, which coupled with that of Nicky and Kim, served to make her uncomfortable.
“I tried calling last night to make sure you got home safe,” Todd said, fiddling with the stethoscope hanging from his neck. “You didn’t pick up, so I thought maybe you were upset at me for leaving you on your own. Left a message on your voicemail.”
Erin frowned, wondering when he had called and why she hadn’t heard the phone ring.
“No, I am certainly not upset.” She opened her purse and dug out the phone. Sure enough, there were a couple of missed calls, a few from her mum but others from Todd’s number. Ah hell! She must have been asleep when he called, and in all the distraction of the day, she’d hardly checked her voice mail.
“I’m so sorry, but I didn’t hear my phone ring. I was probably sleeping when you called.”
He grinned and swept a hand through his already ruffled hair. “Wow! That’s a relief. I was worried I’d ruined things with you. So are we still on for Saturday?”
Erin surmised he hadn’t seen the paper yet if he was still asking for another date. “Umm… have you seen the paper?”
To her complete surprise, he chuckled and nodded.
“Ah that. Yeah, a friend showed it to me this morning. But I didn’t take it seriously, had a few laughs over it in fact.” At her astonished expression, the smile slipped from his face to be replaced by an uncertain look. “Is there a problem?”
Erin opened her mouth to assure him that there was no problem, but her mother cut in.
“Of course there is a problem.” Victoria snapped. “My daughter’s face is splashed over the paper for all the world to see, claiming some preposterous lies and you just laughed about it?”
“Mum -” Erin began, but her mother rounded in on her.
“I assume this is the man you had dinner with last night? And he is also the one in the picture too. Who is the other man then?”
“That would be me.” An amused voice announced from behind them.
Erin gasped and spun around, shocked to see Ethan striding towards them, a smile playing across his lips. How the hell had he come up without making some sort of noise?
“And you are?” Victoria asked, sizing him up with her eyes, mouth set in a thin line of displeasure. Her gaze slid from Ethan to Todd who looked on in surprise, then over to Erin.
Ethan stopped beside Erin, his proximity setting her pulse racing in anxiety. Of all the miserable things to happen again today!
“What are you doing here Ethan? This is a private ward.”
He barely glanced her way, his attention moving from her mother, then to Todd; resting briefly on Nicky and finally settling on Kim. His eyes narrowed at her but he didn’t speak to her, turning back to Victoria, a charming smile on his face.
“Ethan Lachlan.” He held out his hand to her mother, who hesitated for a moment then shook his hand. “I’m -”
“Leaving now.” Erin broke in, her teeth gritted in frustration. She stepped forward and grabbed his upper arm, feeling the muscles ripple underneath her fingers. She stifled the images of that arm wrapped around her earlier and tugged him away. “Excuse me mum, I just need to deal with this.”
Mercifully, Ethan allowed himself to be pulled away. Erin was thankful for that because she doubted she’d have been able to get him to budge otherwise. She led him down the corridor, into an empty room she had spied earlier while coming off the elevator.
Shutting the door for much needed privacy, Erin leaned against it and glared at Ethan. “How the hell did you come here?
He grinned. “I used the stairs.”
She folded her arms over her breasts and huffed. “That’s not what I meant, Ethan. How did you know to come here?”
“I have my sources.” His expression morphed to fury and he took a step towards her. “You, have some explaining to do.”
It hit Erin just then that dragging him into a room was probably not the brightest idea she’d had. Certainly not after today’s fiasco.
“Why didn’t you tell me your father had a heart attack?”
She gaped at him, feeling her own anger build at his words. He was angry because she had not told him about the heart attack? That was rich, coming from the very man who had put her father in this condition in the first place.
“Are you freaking serious? You’re really asking me that?”
“Yes.”
Erin took a deep, calming breath. She needed to stay focused or her anger would get the better of her. Right now, all she wanted was to throw him out and put him out of her mind.
“Well, that’s a funny question, Ethan.” She forced out through clenched teeth. “One I’m not going to lower myself to respond to, because it’s none if your damn business.”
“As a member of the board and a major shareholder, I believe I have a right to know when the president is incapable of running the company. You and your family have kept that information under wraps and that’s a breach of the rules.”
Erin saw red. “Why you bastard. How dare you?”
With a snarl, she pushed off the door and launched herself at Ethan, intending to inflict bodily harm. Her palm connected with his cheek, the sound resounding in the empty room. The force of the hit turned his head sideways, the red imprint of her fingers vivid against his skin.
“You vile, hateful man.” Erin hissed, her breath choppy from the force of her emotions. “My father is in here because of that stunt you pulled, and you dare accuse us of breaking the rules?”
She watched his jaw work, probably testing the condition of his cheek. Erin hoped the hit had broken something even though she knew that was unlikely. He rubbed at the spot, an unfathomable look in his eyes.
“I hope you go to hell, Ethan,” she continued, more in control with her temper now. The hit had taken the edge off her fury and it gave her no small satisfaction to see the mark on his cheek.
“Don’t ever try that again.” The cold fury in his voice caused her to take a step back. “I can tolerate a number of things but I will not take that, certainly not from you.”
In spite of the cold shiver that ran down her spine, Erin lifted her chin. “I am not afraid of you Ethan. I’ll hit you again if you ever speak of my family in that way again. Be warned.”
She turned and stomped to the door. Her hand was on the handle when his next words stopped her in her tracks.
“You forget, Erin, that I currently hold all the cards in this game.”
Frowning, she turned to stare at him. “What game are you talking about?”
He moved close till he stood toe to toe with her. So close she could see every pore in his face.
“My game.” Ethan said softly. “And right now, I’ve just moved to phase two.”