The Billionaire's Deception (The Blank Check Series Book 5)

by Jeannette Winters

  “Hello. You wanted to speak to the manager?”

  Ethan turned around to find a man standing there. “I did. And you are?”

  “John.”

  “Thanks John, but I asked for the manager,” Ethan said firmly.

  “I am the manager,” John stated.

  “You? Where’s Kollette?” Ethan asked. He was positive this was the hotel she was working at.

  “Ms. Sommers is no longer working here. Now you wanted to talk to me about a room. We unfortunately don’t have”

  “Yeah I know. No rooms. What do you mean she’s not working here? What happened? Did she get fired?” he asked.

  “Sir, I can’t discuss Ms. Sommers with you. But if you have any questions regarding the hotel, I’d be happy to assist.”

  This made no sense. It was just a week ago and Kollette was the manager here. Hell, she was working for her father. Was it possible that Ralph Sommers was so pissed at Kollette’s error in West Virginia that he fired his own daughter? That would be really fucked up, but Ethan had seen firsthand how business can come before family.

  “Do you know how to reach her?” Ethan asked, but knowing he was wasting his breath.

  “Sir again, I can’t”

  “How about Mr. Sommers. Do you have his number?” Ethan asked.

  “Sir, I cannot give you”

  “Fucking useless,” he said and stormed out of the hotel.

  He’d come all this way to see her, and no one had a clue where she was. He called the valet over and they brought him his car. It shouldn’t be that hard to find her father, but that didn’t mean he’d divulge any information either. Ethan hated having to do it, but he had to make a call and ask for a favor. One that he needed to be kept quiet.

  Turning on his cell, he dialed the number. “Ethan, I thought you were on vacation?”

  “Sal, I need a favor. And I need you to keep quiet about it.”

  “Business?” Sal asked.

  “No.” He didn’t want to give too much information, but Sal was going to need something to go on.

  “I can’t make any promises until I know what you need,” Sal said.

  Lawson Steel did things by the law. Sal was out to make sure no one messed with them. But this was a grey area he was asking him to cross in to and Ethan wasn’t so sure he’d help.

  “I need a number and the whereabouts of a woman.”

  “That’s not what I’m here for,” Sal said.

  “But it’s what I need. Her name is Kollette Sommers. She’s the daughter of”

  “Ralph Sommers,” Sal said.

  That was surprising, because he didn’t think Sal followed business like that. Hell, even Ethan hadn’t heard of him before. Right now, he didn’t care how Sal knew him, he just wanted to find Kollette. “Good. So you know who I’m looking for. Can you get me her cell number? Or where she lives?”

  “Why?” Sal asked.

  He knew Sal wasn’t going to help him unless he was forthcoming. “We spent a few days together, but I said something stupid and…fucked it up. I want to talk to her. Apologize.” That was more honest than he’d thought he’d be with Sal. But hopefully enough for Sal to agree.

  “I can tell you the hotel she works at,” Sal said.

  “You mean worked at. I just left there. Some asshole John is now the manager,” Ethan snarled.

  “Kollette doesn’t manage it any longer? Since when?” Sal asked.

  “How the hell do I know Sal? I’m calling you to help so I can get those answers.” Now he was snapping at Sal. Ethan had no idea why he was so damn angry. All he knew was he needed to see her again. Until that happened, he was only going to get more frustrated.

  “Let me make a few calls and I’ll call you back.”

  “Okay,” Ethan said. “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Ethan, what exactly happened between you two?” Sal asked.

  Not as much as I’d have liked. “Nothing for you to worry about Sal. I didn’t hurt her. She’s not running or hiding from me. Hell, she doesn’t even know I’m looking for her.”

  “And all you want to do is talk to her?” Sal asked.

  “For a start, yeah. The rest, well… I guess I won’t know until after I talk to her.” Not that he was going to do anything foolish like ask her to marry him or anything, but he wasn’t opposed to asking her out on a date. A real date. That is if she even speaks to me.

  “I’ll call you right back. But I’m not promising you’ll have a number,” Sal said.

  Ethan sat in his car waiting for Sal’s call. It made no sense to drive anywhere because he had no direction to go in yet. It didn’t take long for his phone to ring. It came through as an unknown, blocked number. Had Sal reached out to Kollette for him and she was calling him back. He couldn’t take the chance and miss her call. He had to answer it.

  “Hello, this is Ethan.” Normally he’d answer by his last name, but he never had given it to her.

  “It’s Falciano here.”

  Damn it. He shouldn’t have answered the phone.

  “I’m waiting for an important call and can’t chat right now. I’m also on vacation, so whatever you want, call one of my brothers.”

  “I’m the call you’re waiting for,” Falciano said.

  “I doubt it,” Ethan snapped.

  “You wanted information on Kollette, correct?”

  Shit Sal. What the hell are you fucking doing calling Falciano. He works for the Hendersons. It’s like he couldn’t escape them, not even when it came to his personal life. “Sal shouldn’t have bothered you with this. I can get the information I need on my own.”

  “Actually I’m the one with some questions. Why are you looking for her?” Falciano asked.

  “It’s none of your business.” Ethan was going to knock Sal on his ass for this. One damn favor and this is what he gets.

  “I believe it is.”

  “And why is that?” Ethan asked.

  “She’s my sister,” Falciano replied.

  He couldn’t believe it. Connor Falciano was Kollette’s step-brother. Fuck! She had mentioned him but by first name only. Ethan was trying like hell to distance himself from anything to do with the Hendersons and the harder he tried, the tighter the link became.

  “Sorry. She mentioned a brother Connor, but I didn’t put you two together,” Ethan stated.

  “Now you know. So I ask again, what the fuck do you want with my sister?” Falciano barked.

  “To talk to her. And actually, I’m worried. Did you know she’s no longer the manager at the hotel?” Ethan asked.

  “No. When did that happen?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. We were together about a week ago, and she was still the manager then. I need to talk to her, find out what happened.”

  “If you’re so close to my sister, then why don’t you have her number?” Falciano asked.

  “Where we were staying, there was no need or use for cell phones. When she left, she was in a rush to get back to Miami and I didn’t ask for it.” He didn’t need to tell Connor about their argument. Hopefully if he called his sister, Kollette didn’t share it either.

  “Ethan, I’m not sure what exactly is going on with your two, but before I give you her number, I need to talk to my step-father and find out what the hell happened. It makes no sense that she’s not the manager any longer.”

  He had to agree, but her employment status wasn’t his first thought. Yet he understood why her brother would be concerned. It obviously was out of character for her.

  “Falciano, I need to know. I have to talk to her,” he said firmly.

  “I’ll call you back within the hour. But if she doesn’t want to speak to you, I expect you to respect that. If not, you’re going to answer to me, understood?”

  Ethan wasn’t afraid of Falciano. But right now he was holding the cards. “Got it.”

  Kollette paced the floor. She had no idea why Ethan wanted to see her so badly, but she knew it wasn’t a good sign. She’d had a st
ressful week and adding more to it wasn’t what she was looking for. But if he had gone through all this effort to find her, she might as well listen to what he had to say.

  She looked at her watch. He was supposed to be there almost an hour ago. What could be keeping him? Kollette was tempted to call and see if maybe he’d changed his mind. It actually would be a relief if he had, because her nerves were getting the better of her. Since when did she get jittery?

  Maybe when I stopped being able to predict what was coming next.

  Somehow her life had just been turned upside down in only two weeks. Nothing was the same and she had realized it as soon as she’d returned to the hotel. Something was different and it wasn’t the building. It was her and she couldn’t figure out how to get back to who she was before her trip.

  It was most evident when she met with her father. Granted he was thrilled to see her back home safe and sound, but it didn’t take long for him to dive right into business mode. She wasn’t as quick to do so and he noticed it too. So when he started asking a bunch of questions about the Potters place, she assumed it was because he was trying to figure out what had changed her. But the more she had spoken about it, the deeper she got into the details, she noticed a change in her father as well. He wasn’t seeing the Potters as anything more than his next huge expansion.

  She practically begged and pleaded with him to drop it. That they didn’t need the Potters place. That she could go and find someplace more suitable for his luxury rustic lodge. Kollette normally would’ve been so supportive of whatever decision her father made. Not this one. She tried explaining to him what that place meant to the Potters. She even told him how Mabel spent hours teaching her how to cook. But it fell on deaf ears. His answer was he’d make it worth it to them to leave. Eventually she had to stop talking, because all it seemed to do was make him want it even more.

  Kollette loved her father, but when Ralph Sommers had his mind set on something, there was no reasoning with him. Even if she had the type of money it would take to block his new conquest, she couldn’t go against her father. Kollette was stuck in the middle, between people she cared about, and no matter what, someone was going to lose. She couldn’t be part of what he was about to do.

  Even now, she couldn’t believe what she’d done. It had been a snap decision. She walked into her father’s office and handed him her resignation. Kollette wasn’t sure what she had expected him to do, maybe reconsider what he was doing and think of Kollette’s feelings first. Instead, he hugged her, told her how much he loved her, and that his door was always open. She could come back anytime if she wanted.

  She could’ve stayed living at the hotel, it wasn’t like her father was putting her out on the street. But she needed a vacation, a real one, where she could think. Kollette had no idea what she was going to do now. Going to work for one of her father’s competitors wasn’t going to happen either. It’s like she had the world at her fingertips, she just didn’t know what she wanted to grab. There were things she knew she could cross off the list, cooking being one of them.

  Don’t think about cooking.

  It was only going to make her sad all over again. Mabel was never going to forgive her. Neither was Roy.

  And Ethan will hate me forever.

  It was very possible he’d caught wind of her father’s plans and wanted to come and confront her about them. If that was the case, Ethan was wasting his time. There was nothing she could do.

  I’m as helpless in this as the Potters are.

  There was a knock on the door and she sucked in her breath. He was here. Kollette thought she was ready for whatever was about to come. Not so much right now. But she might as well open the door and get this over with. Then Ethan could go back to whatever he was doing and she could as well.

  Holding her breath, she slowly opened the door. Ethan wasn’t standing there with the hard look that he had the last time she’d seen him. Instead he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

  “Ethan, what…what is this?” she asked

  He held them out to her, “A peace offering? I’m here to tell you that I’m sorry.”

  Kollette couldn’t bring herself to take them. Sadly, right now she didn’t trust anything. Things weren’t left on a good note, and accepting flowers really wasn’t going to resolve anything. Instead she said, “I don’t think you want to give those to me.” Even if he was here to apologize for what happened at the cabin, he was going to change his mind after what she had to say.

  Ethan didn’t pull the flowers back. “I wouldn’t have brought them if I didn’t. Now are you going to invite me in, or are we going to do this where everyone can hear?”

  She took the flowers and stepped aside. “Thank you. They are beautiful.” It had been a long time since anyone brought her flowers. And usually they were a huge and overdone trying to impress her with some grand gesture. This wasn’t the case. These were simple, yet delicate. More her taste. “Why don’t we go sit on the back balcony?” She didn’t want to have the conversation in her hotel room, and the balcony still provided them some privacy.

  “Sounds good.”

  He followed her outside, but once there she realized how high they were. If things went sour, it was a long way down.

  Stop it Kollette. He’s not here to hurt you.

  She sat down in one of the rocking chairs and asked, “Ethan, why are you here?”

  “I didn’t like the way things ended the last time we saw each other. I thought maybe we could talk. Or maybe I talk, and you listen?” he said.

  Kollette was okay with that. The more she talked, the deeper in trouble she seemed to get herself lately. “Okay. I’m all ears.” Ethan got back up and started pacing as though he also didn’t know what to say. “Or we can just sit and enjoy the view.”

  “That would be easier, but wouldn’t fix anything.” He sat back down. “I was an ass Kollette. I jumped all over you for doing your job, and I had no right to.”

  “Of course you did. You love Roy and Mabel. You were thinking of them,” she said.

  “You’re supposed to be listening,” he said. Kollette raised a finger to her lips. He continued. “I know all about business and what it takes to be successful. At no point did you lie to the Potters or to me. And I have a feeling if any of us had asked, you’d have been forthcoming.”

  She wanted to believe she would. Honestly, she didn’t know. Things weren’t so easy when you’re caught between doing your job and people you care about. Where does the loyalty start and stop? If she had been working for anyone other than her father, things would’ve been so much easier.

  “I hadn’t asked you any questions because I didn’t want to answer any myself as to why I was there. I had gone there to get away from everything, and finding you there had changed the feel of the place. I was already dealing with shit at work changing, I ended up taking it out on you.”

  “Ethan, you really weren’t that horrible. Your eyes may have gone red a few times,” she said teasingly trying to lighten the mood. “But then again, it might have just been the reflection from the fireplace.”

  “You really don’t want to talk about this do you?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I’d rather spend this time getting to know each other. Maybe start over?” She extended her hand, “Hi. I’m Kollette Sommers, currently unemployed and loving it.”

  “I’m Ethan Lawson, gainfully employed, and on vacation.”

  “Very nice to meet you. You’re not in law enforcement or anything are you?” she asked.

  He cocked a brow. “Why? Are you about to tell me you’re thinking about doing something illegal?”

  She laughed. “Sorry, but I’m a rule follower. Actually I was asking because you found me through my brother.”

  “That was by accident,” he said.

  “Can I go back to listening, and you can finish explaining that?” she asked.

  Ethan chuckled. “If you want to talk about your brother, we can. I’d rather talk about u
s. Like, do you have any plans tonight?”

  “No.”

  “Would you like to go to dinner with me?” he asked.

  “I’d like that very much,” she smiled.

  “Good. I know this place that has the best seafood. Oh… I should’ve asked if you like seafood first.”

  “Are we talking lobster?”

  “We are,” he replied.

  She licked her lips, “My mouth is watering already.”

  “I suggest not doing that,” he said.

  “Doing what?”

  He leaned over so that he was only inches away from her. “Lick those lips again and we won’t be having lobster tonight,” he warned playfully.

  Although she was tempted to test whether or not he would follow through, the look in his eyes said he wasn’t really joking.

  “Maybe we better talk about this later because I haven’t even had lunch yet, and lobster is sounding really good,” she smiled innocently.

  Ethan leaned back in the rocker and said, “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  I hope you do.

  Even though she was enjoying how comfortable they were together right now, she needed to be upfront with him. They got past it once, but she didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

  “Ethan, before you go, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said.

  “Can it wait till dinner?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Actually, you might not want to have dinner with me after this. It has to do with the Potters.”

  Ethan sat back and said, “I’m listening.”

  This was hard. Part of her felt like she was betraying her father. “I was sent to do research but as you know, I ended up at the wrong place. I was supposed to be at Potters Peak.”

  “I know the place.”

  “My father was looking to purchase it and make it an upscale mountain resort.”

  “I assumed as much based on what I know of your father’s business. Has he decided to move forward with his plan?” Ethan asked.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “That’s good for Potters Peak,” he said.