“Funny, but I need you here. I need you to charm Hank while I take care of this. I’ll owe you.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, but I promise I’ll make this up to you. Like I told you, he’s big on family. It’s not just me meeting him. It’s my family, you and me, meeting his family.”
“You need someone with you. I’ll get in touch with Rich. Can you at least tell me about the situation?”
“I need you here. And, I had already called Rich. I don’t know if he’s right for this particular problem. What about someone else from the company? You were just talking about how much your sister wants to take on a bigger role. What about her? Think of it as a chance for on the job training.”
Amy thought it over for a minute. If she were going to spend a significant amount of time playing the role of Ethan’s wife, she’d need Callie to take on some of her workload. It was a logical move, and yet she couldn’t help but wonder if Ethan were playing some angle. “Ok,” she finally said, “but if you try anything, I’m filing for divorce.” She thought about the prospect of spending a day with Hank while pretending to be Ethan’s wife. She didn’t want to dwell on the fact that she was letting Ethan have his way. “So tell me something about his family.”
“He has two sons. One, Charlie, is a few years older than us. He lives out in Oregon with his wife. He’s not really in the picture. The other son, Logan, well, you’ll meet him soon enough. He’s a few years younger, probably about your sister’s age. He’s a bit of a wild child. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hank sends him out to meet us.”
“You both own private jets. I think either of you could afford to hire a driver.”
“Of course we could, but it’s not about that. He wants his son to pick us up.”
“Well, here’s something I should know before talking with Hank: why don’t either of the sons want to take the helm of Hank’s company?”
“Like I said, Charlie is off doing his own thing, and Logan isn’t exactly the kind of guy you want running a multibillion dollar organization. He’s too unreliable. I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to be the boss, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“Here I was worrying about you trying to sleep in my bed tonight, and now it feels like you’re prepping me for a first date with someone’s son.”
“I trust you to keep him at bay. I’ll try to get back in tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest.”
“You know what kind of position you’re putting me in, right?”
“I assure you, it’s not the position I had in mind.”
Amy slapped Ethan lightly on the cheek. “Just because I’m your wife doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that.”
Ethan rubbed his cheek as he watched Amy get off the plane. He wasn’t going to tell her, but he wanted more than anything to wrap his arm around her and walk her down to the tarmac. Plus he wanted to see her face when she saw what he had packed her. On second thought, maybe it would be best if he were safely out of reach when she opened up her luggage. Best not to risk another slap.
Chapter 6
When Amy disembarked from the plane, she found an SUV waiting for her on the tarmac. A handsome man with broad shoulders leaned against it and looked at her while she walked toward him. He was wearing cowboy boots and jeans. He had an amused look on his face as he watched the members of Ethan’s crew transport the luggage to the back of the SUV. If he were the chauffeur, he certainly didn’t look like one. Was this the son she had been warned about?
When Amy reached him, he held out his hand and grinned. Amy was surprised by how white his teeth were. “Logan Harris,” he said. “You must be the wife.”
“My name is Amy,” Amy replied, “but you can always call me Mrs. Cole.”
“Amy will do fine,” he said, looking over her shoulder to see if Ethan was following behind. “Where’s your man?”
“My man has a crisis back on the East Coast. He’s waiting for the plane to refuel, and then he’s heading out as soon as possible.” It was rather rude of Ethan not to at least come out of the plane with her, but he seemed genuinely concerned about whatever his crisis was. “He’ll be back as soon as possible.”
Logan looked at Amy before turning to get in the SUV. “He can take all the time he wants,” he replied. “I won’t complain.”