The Billionaire's Marriage Contract(3)

“Not even the handsome and charming ones?”

“They’re all handsome and charming. That’s what gets them into so much trouble.” This was doubly true for Ethan. He was exceptionally handsome, and exceptionally rich. Over the past few years, he had also developed quite a talent for getting himself into trouble. He had been Haven’s best client for half a decade.

Ethan laughed. “I seem to remember you breaking that rule once before, but, unfortunately, this is business. Meet me at nine for dinner. It will be worth your time.”

“I have dinner plans already with someone I like much more than I like you.”

“Drinks at seven.”

“One drink.”

“And a proposal,” Ethan replied. “I’ll send a driver to pick you up at six-thirty. See you soon.”

Amy hung up the phone. “Callie,” she yelled. “Call Violet and push to eight-thirty. And let everyone know I’m calling a staff meeting for nine tomorrow morning. I have a feeling we’re going to need all hands on deck for this one.”

Amy looked through the open door to her office, and realized that Callie was still in the conference room on the Whitman call. Thankfully, no one had heard her talking to someone who wasn’t there. Amy walked out of her office and grabbed a pad of paper to handwrite a note. Meeting Cole at 7. Will be home as soon as possible.

She felt a nervous excitement deep in her stomach as she headed for the elevator. She felt slightly off balance, like the Earth had shifted beneath her. It had been so long since she had seen Ethan, and she had missed their back and forth. She had to go home and get ready; she wasn’t going to wear a pantsuit to drinks with Ethan Cole. No, she would need to find something much better than that.





Chapter 2

Ethan Cole sat at the bar and looked at his reflection in the mirror as he reached into his briefcase. He studied the lines on his face. He wasn’t getting any younger, he thought. He wondered if the stress of his job was starting to get to him. For over a decade, he had been the toast of the tech world, but he wondered if the world was finally catching up with him. By the time he fished the small box out of the bottom of the leather briefcase, he had gone from looking at his forehead to inspecting the small lines that were starting to form next to his eyes. As he spun the box around in his fingers, he turned to look toward the door. No sign of Amy yet. He let out a little sigh of relief and turned back around. He motioned to the bartender.

“Ready for a drink?” the bartender asked.

“Just let me know when the attractive brunette comes in through the front door.”

“Believe it or not, we have many attractive brunettes come through that door.”

“You’ll know when she walks in. Light brown hair, even lighter green eyes, a pale complexion, and a smile that, well, if you ever see it, consider yourself a lucky man.”

“You got it boss,” the bartender said.

Ethan opened the box and gazed down at the ring inside. “This is just a business deal,” he whispered to himself. “Don’t try to make it anything more than that.” He pulled the ring out of the box and inspected it in the dim light. It had been in his family for two generations and was the only keepsake he had left of the grandmother who had raised him. He looked at the sapphire set in the center of the ring. It was barely half a carat, but it was worth more to him than almost anything in the world.

As Ethan began to think back, the bartender pointed to the door. “I think your friend is here,” he said.

Ethan put the ring back in the box and slid it into the bottom of his briefcase. He gazed back toward the door to catch a glimpse of Amy as she looked around the dining room. She was as stunning as ever, and Ethan felt his pulse jump as he looked at her. Here goes, he thought. Ethan looked down at the napkin he had placed on the bar, rereading the note on it one more time before placing it back in his pocket. He turned back to the bartender. “I’m ready for that drink.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. “Her drinks are on me, too.”

***

It took Amy almost a minute to spot Ethan at the back corner of the bar. She was surprised it had taken her so long. Even across a dimly lit room, he had a brightness to him, an inner light that had a tendency to make him the center of attention. By the way he had positioned himself at the bar, Amy could tell he wasn’t interested in gaining anyone’s attention but hers. She made eye contact with him for a moment. As soon as he saw her, he turned away and slid something into his pocket. Amy waved off the hostess and began to make her way over to him.