She’d been stunning. Confident and sexy. And charming as fuck. She’d had my dad in the palm of her hand after just a few words. Her performance had been utter perfection.
I liked perfection. I demanded it, but so rarely was it achieved. But Everly in that insane red dress? She’d been perfect.
In fact, she’d turned an evening that would normally have been a drudgery into a fairly enjoyable experience.
Some of that was the look on Svetlana’s face when she’d seen who I was with. She’d remembered Everly, all right. I’d never bothered with revenge before—I was too busy for that nonsense—but Svetlana had crossed a line when she’d targeted my father. Waltzing around the ballroom with Everly on my arm had been worth every second of the hassle it had taken to get her there.
Now I just had to figure out how to break it to my dad that the woman he’d met in Hawaii was not who he thought.
There was a knock on my door and I glanced at the time. My brother, Ethan, was due to come over this morning. He understood our father better than I did. I figured he could help me determine the best course of action for the current dilemma.
Ethan looked like a slimmer version of me, with the same thick dark hair and blue eyes. He and his partner, Grant, liked to run marathons, and they both had a lean runner’s build. Ethan and I were often mistaken for twins, although he was two years older. He was a talented architect, and Grant worked as a software engineer.
“Morning,” he said with a grin when I opened the door. “Please tell me you have more coffee.”
“Sure.”
I stepped aside so he could come in and closed the door while he went straight for the kitchen.
“Sorry about last night.” He got a mug out of the cupboard and poured himself a cup. “Grant had a work thing and I really needed to be there. How did it go? Was Dad glowing?”
“You could say that.” I picked up my mug and took a sip. “His speech was good.”
“Of course it was.” He leaned against the counter and cradled the mug in his hands. “Did you talk to him much or was it the usual mingling?”
“Mingling.” Or rather, wandering around with my hand temptingly close to my assistant’s ass. And I was pretty sure she hadn’t been wearing panties. Fuck, why was I thinking about that? Ethan was eying me over his mug. “What?”
“He hasn’t talked to you yet, has he?” he asked.
“Talked to me about what?”
Ethan blew out a breath. “Dad’s having some… financial issues.”
“What sort of financial issues?”
“I don’t know all the specifics, but he had some real estate deals go bad. He lost a lot of money. And by that, I mean all his money.”
My forehead tightened. “All his money? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, I guess he still has some. But I’m not kidding, Shep, he took a huge hit. He sold his building to absorb some of the loss, but I’m not sure if it was enough.”
“His building? He lives there.”
“Until the deal closes,” he said. “He was hoping to work something out with the buyer, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen.”
“What about his resorts? His other properties?”
“Like I said, I don’t know specifics. I’m assuming at this point it’s just his personal assets that are in jeopardy. Everything else is owned by the corporation. But Shep, if the board finds out about this, they could replace him.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Why am I just hearing about this now?”
“Come on, you aren’t surprised he kept this from you.”
“I’m very surprised. If he’d come to me sooner, I might have been able to prevent this.”
Ethan shrugged and took a careful sip of his coffee. “You know Dad. Life’s a picnic until his pride gets involved. I’m sure he didn’t want to admit it. He probably hoped he could fix things and you’d never have to know.”
That was probably true. But he still should have told me. “Dad has more than just financial problems.”
“What’s going on?”
I shook my head because I still couldn’t quite believe it. “He met a woman on Maui a few weeks ago. He said he went to clear his head. Considering he’s apparently broke, a trip to Hawaii is a questionable choice at best, but that’s not the worst of it.”
“The worst is?”
“Her name is Svetlana Genov, and I sent her to Maui because I broke up with her.”
Ethan stared at me, open-mouthed. I kept my face blank, but it took some effort. Seeing it had been like something out of a horror movie, but somehow telling my brother was worse.
“You’re kidding, right? You suddenly developed a sense of humor and you’re trying it out on me.”
“Not kidding in the least. She was with him last night.”
“Does he know who she is?”
“No. And to answer your next few questions, yes, she knew who he was. Yes, I’m certain she’s doing it on purpose. No, I don’t know whether she’s trying to get back at me, or if she’s just that shameless of a gold-digger. Probably a combination of both. But she’s good, Ethan. She plays the part of the sweet, caring woman masterfully. I’m not surprised she’s been able to pull one on Dad.”
Ethan started laughing so hard he had to put his mug down, and he still sloshed coffee onto the counter.
I scowled, grabbing a paper towel to wipe up the mess. “I fail to see the humor in this.”
“Really? Because it’s pretty funny.”
“No, it’s not funny. It’s infuriating. And Jesus, Ethan, it’s gross. Dad’s… and I was… God, I can’t even say it.”
“Maybe they aren’t sleeping together.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If you meet her, you’ll see the improbability of that statement. Even you’d be tempted.”
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at me. “Right.”
“I’m not kidding. At first glance, Svetlana is exquisite. It’s not until you get to know her that you realize she’s a hussy.”
“Hussy?”
I waved off his question, wondering where I’d picked up that word. “Never mind. The problem is, Svetlana is either after a way back to me, or she wants his money.”
“Well, she’s not going to get either, so what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that our father is dating my ex.”
“Right, I get it, and I’m with you, it’s cringey as hell. But honestly, what harm can she really do? Obviously, you’re not interested in her. If her plan is to get back into your life, doing it by dating Dad is just plain stupid. If you’re all she wants, she’s going to figure out her mistake pretty quickly and move on. And if it’s Dad’s money she’s after… well, he doesn’t have any, so she’s out of luck there, too.”
His logic seemed reasonable, but I still didn’t like it. “True.”
“And I take it she’s young?”
I nodded.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. When has Dad ever had a relationship with a younger woman that lasted more than a few months? Never. He’ll get bored, or he’ll realize she’s evil. Then he’ll wallow in sorrow for a few weeks before declaring he needs a hobby. He’ll probably just take up skydiving or something.”