A Calculated Seduction(43)
“I am different, Dulcy.”
“Really? So you always check out your lover’s background and friends?”
He clenched his jaw tighter, but didn’t argue. She knew she was right.
“What I want to know is why you think you would get your hands on my money?”
“I’m not interested in your money,” he said from behind clenched teeth. “I have enough of my own.”
“Oh, really. So when your uncle finally got you to come back to work with him, it was out of the goodness of your heart.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I don’t? Why don’t you explain it to me?”
He snapped his teeth together and refused to answer her. Pain and anger vibrated through her. She’d been such a fool.
“After years of ignoring his requests, he sets up a special fund, just for you. I’ve seen it, you know. If you have so much money and have no interest in accumulating more, why the hell did he have to pay you to come back?”
“Special fund?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Ethan. I’ve seen the discrepancies in the accounts. What do you think I am, stupid?”
“I thought—”
“Really, you could have fooled me.”
“Dulcy,” he said, his voice warning her she was stepping on his delicate corporate toes. “I didn’t get paid to come back. I did it as a favor to my uncle.”
“Why would he need you? The company was running just fine without you.”
“He needed some help with an internal matter.”
“One I’m not privy to? Please, sell that bone to another dog.” She pushed past him and returned to the bedroom. She had to get out of there. If she didn’t, she might just hit him.
He followed right behind her, practically nipping at her heels. “Dulcy, let me explain.”
“Explain?” She didn’t look up as she rummaged around the room searching for her clothes. All she wanted to do was go home, eat chocolate and cry.
“It wasn’t like that at all.” His voice sounded desperate, but when she looked at him, he bore the same unemotional expression. No hint of loss or anger.
“Truthfully, I’m really amazed by your performance. Did you think I would sign over all my money to you?”
“That isn’t why I started to romance you.”
“Really.” She threw her dress and hose on the bed in disgust. “Tell me. Tell me why you came to work with your uncle after all these years. Tell me exactly why you did started romancing me.”
His jaw tightened and his face flushed red. Embarrassment, anger? She’d bet the latter.
“I did not romance you for any other reason than I wanted you. ”
“Oh, yeah, that’s believable. I’m sure every man in the throes of passion gets a detailed report on his lover and her friends.”
She couldn’t keep the sarcasm or the hurt out of her voice. His face softened a little and she weakened before she bolstered herself.
“I am not some little airhead idiot. I know why you came back, I know why you slept with me. Money. Greed. You’ re a gold digger. ”
“That’s a ridiculous statement. I have more money than I know what to do with.”
“So, if you don’t need money, why else would you prostitute yourself with me?”
His eyes narrowed and darkened to almost black. His hands fisted at his sides. A little sliver of worry slid through her. She’d definitely awakened the tiger.
“I came back to investigate the embezzling you and your boyfriend, Anderson, are doing.”
Shock held her silent. He thought she was embezzling?
“And why would I do that? I have no more need for money than you do.”
“Because you love Anderson,” he spat out. “You’d do anything to help him maintain his lifestyle. Without his daddy’s money, he must be hurting.”
“You think Pete and I are sleeping together?” She laughed, realizing it sounded a bit hysterical. “For your information, I’m not embezzling. And I’m not in love with Pete. I thought I was in love with you, but, as I can see, I was sadly mistaken.”
His eyes widened and he stepped forward. She inched back, not wanting him to touch her. If he did, she would surely shatter into a thousand pieces.
She grabbed her dress off the bed and stalked to the bathroom. She turned in the doorway and looked at him. He was so beautiful it hurt. “And for your information, I love Pete, but like a brother. My gay brother.”