Risk Taker by Sonia Stanizzo

Chapter 15

Leaving Chloe’s house, Holly drew in a deep breath of fresh morning air. In a stranger’s eye, she was someone living on the streets who could be a risk to Ethan. It wouldn’t surprise Holly if Chloe accused her of being a gold digger. She was angrier at herself for letting her life come to this than at Chloe. She had every right to be protective of her brother.

Holly needed to stop relying on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep and fend for herself at least for another month until she went back home. Sure, she’d landed a temporary job, and hopefully be paid soon so she’d be able to afford to stay somewhere. She knew once Jacinta was back, it was bye-bye Holly.

With her nerves calmed, guilt surfaced. She really shouldn’t have spoken to Chloe like that after she’d opened up her home for her to stay with no questions asked. Turning to go back in and apologise, she came face to face with Ethan.

They both spoke at once.

“Holly—”

“I’m sorry—”

Ethan gestured for Holly to speak. “I’m sorry I spoke to Chloe like that. It was rude. I need to apologise.”

“Chloe wanted to apologise to you for talking behind your back. I told her you might need some space.”

“She has nothing to be sorry for.”

“And neither do you.” Ethan placed his hands on her shoulders and a tingling sensation shot down her spine.

“She has every right to wonder what my story is and ask questions. And so do you.” Ethan and his family had been too generous for her not to explain her circumstances. It didn’t mean it would be easy to open up. She dropped her head to look at her feet.

He placed a finger under her chin and tilted it, so their eyes met. God she could stare into the green depths all day.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. If you do, I promise I won’t judge. Believe me, my life hasn’t always been the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.”

From the look on his face, she believed him.

“Come on, let’s get to work,” she said. “I’ll tell you all about it in the car.”

* * *

Ethan kept quiet and waited for Holly to gather her thoughts. Morning traffic was light and they’d be at the studio in no time so he took the long way.

Weak sunlight peeked through an overcast sky, casting the mix of old and new buildings into shadows. As they drove past Circular Quay, the white sales of the Opera House came into view, brightening a dreary looking day.

Finally, she said, “have you heard of Ainsworth Hotels?”

“I’ve stayed in a few of them around the world.”

“That’s my family’s business.”

“Oh, right,” he said, trying to cover his surprise. A family business was usually a restaurant, a farm or even a caravan park. Ainsworth Hotels was an empire. Why the hell was she looking at derelict hostels to spend the night?

“And you’re not part of the business,” he stated. Because if she was, she wouldn’t be living like a homeless person.

She shook her head and glanced out the passenger side window with her elbow propped on the doorframe, biting her fingernail. “I worked there for a few years. I left five months ago. The position’s still mine when I go back.”

“And that pissed them off?”

She gave a quick, sharp laugh. “My parents don’t get pissed off. That’s too common an emotion. Disappointed is the better word. I’d already embarrassed them by failing university two years in a row. How could I put such shame on the family? I’d failed because I had no interest in doing a business degree. I wanted to do a makeup course but they disregarded my idea. That was a hobby, not a career. So, they made up a position for me as a personal assistant to the Chief Financial Officer that didn’t require a degree and still presented as something important to the outside world.”

“If you wanted to be a makeup artist, what made you take the job?” Ethan’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. What was wrong with her parents? Why would they not let her follow her own career path?

“Oliver. Family commitment.” At her short answer, Ethan gave her a quick glance. Her face had drained of colour. He waited for Holly to elaborate.

There was still time before they needed to be at work. Ethan wanted to give her his full attention and pulled the car into a quiet street. The offices weren’t opened yet and the cafés only had a few morning walkers stopping in for a coffee. He turned the ignition off, unclipped the seatbelt and swivelled in the seat. “What happened?”

She stared out the windshield, fidgeting again with her fingers. He reached out and laced their fingers together and held tight. He hoped she felt the support through his touch.

She turned to face him and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Oliver’s the son of my parents’ closest friends and I fell madly in love with him. We dated for over a year, then got engaged. My parents adored him. He’s smart, polite and never gave anyone a moment of trouble. I loved him for those reasons too. He was sexy and treated me like a queen. He ticked a lot of boxes.”

The urge to strangle this guy was already strong and Holly hadn’t even told him the whole story. He’d bet it wouldn’t end well.

“He graduated university with some fancy degree and my parents were quick to offer him a position as Chief Financial Officer with one condition.”

She turned away from him and stared out of the windscreen. A man and his toddler walked by holding hands, stopping to peer through the window of a dark book shop. Two women dressed in active wear sat on a bench seat chatting animatedly, their dogs lying by their feet.

“I was to be his personal assistant. So, I agreed, and convinced myself working with Oliver would be better than a job in makeup and I could help boost his career.” She gave a mirthless laugh.

“One night I got a text from an unknown number. The message included photos of Oliver at a party in one of the penthouse suites at Ainsworth hotels.” She took a deep breath. “The photo showed a woman straddling his lap, her dress bunched around her waist and his head buried in her boobs. This anonymous messenger also added a video of him boasting to the same woman how his future in-laws didn’t know how he was spending their money.”

“Shit, Holly, what a bastard. What’d you do?”

“I confronted him. He told me it only happened one time. He’d made a mistake, and he loved me. Even shed a couple of tears to add to his performance. When I refused to take him back, he begged me not to tell my parents about the money because he was worried about his job. It wasn’t me he was crying over. The threat of losing his career scared him.”

“Tell me they fired his dirty arse?” Ethan’s jaw clenched.

“When I told them he cheated on me, they assumed he did it because of something I’d done and couldn’t understand why I was so upset. When I mentioned the money and suggested he should be fired because he was stealing, they didn’t believe me. Refused to watch the video. They accused me of being spiteful because of his indiscretions. They wouldn’t even think about transferring me to another department either. Made me promise not to spread around my crazy gossip. He was a valuable employee and it would ruin his reputation and their friendship with his parents.”

She pulled her hands free to rub her eyes. “I told them making me work for him would ruin their relationship with me. They said I was being overly dramatic and gave me six months to ‘get over’ it. If I took leave, I wasn’t to use the family name to get hired in any profession in their field. Couldn’t have an Ainsworth working for another hotel.” She lifted her feet onto the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“They didn’t believe I’d actually do it. Thought I valued their lifestyle over my self-respect. Said I couldn’t take care of myself without their name and money. When I had my bags packed, I left everything of value behind, because it only came from working with them. Their parting words were how much I disappointed them. Why couldn’t I be more like my sister Ruth, who was taking over the hotel world? They made it clear I’d lose the shares in the company, which I’m to receive when I turn thirty if I wasn’t back in six months.” She blew out a breath. “They cared more about what it would look like for them and didn’t give a fuck about my heartbreak.”

“So, you ended up in Sydney and wanted to prove them wrong,” Ethan said, anger at what she’d been through simmering in his gut.

She snorted. “I ended up in Sydney, but they were right—I accomplished nothing. The only job I could get was waitressing. I quit because I couldn’t put up with Carlo’s—my boss--wandering hands. I was low on money and had nowhere to stay. The night we met, I was on my way home with my tail tucked between my legs.”

“Thank Christ you stumbled onto the set. You have a job now. You don’t have to go back to that.” Back to a family who put a business before their daughter. What kind of people were they? Ones who Holly was better off without.

“A job that’s only temporary, then I’m back where I started … nowhere. Besides, I only have one more month before I need to start work for the hotels again.”

“With Oliver,” he gritted.

Holly dropped her head and nodded.

“If makeup’s the career you want, my mother can help. She’s impressed with your work and will recommend you to others. You’ll get more work in no time, and you don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”

“How’s that fending for myself? I can’t keep accepting help or charity.”

“It’s not charity. How many people get jobs because of who they know? Your dickhead ex included.”

“Anyway, I have to go back. Every Ainsworth has worked for the hotels. It’s a family obligation.”

“You’re not happy there. Why put yourself through it? Who cares if there’s one less Ainsworth?”

“My parents do, or they wouldn’t have threatened my inheritance.” She nibbled her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her plump mouth.

“Can they do that?”

She nodded.

Wow, Ethan couldn’t believe what her parents were putting her through.

Rain fell and drummed on the car’s roof. The windows fogged up, making it look like they’d been doing more than talking. He’d give anything to kiss her again. Touch her again. He leaned forward and toyed with a lock of silky, honey brown hair resting on her shoulder. She shivered.

Not able to wait another moment, his hands cupped the back of her head, bringing their faces closer. And just when he was about to claim her lips, her hand splayed on his chest, pushing him away. A groan of frustration caught in his throat.

“Stop, Ethan, we can’t do this.” She frowned at the uncertainty of her own words.

He slumped back in his seat.

“You get close and put your hands on me and I forget that this is wrong,” Holly said. “I know you said you have some kind of arrangement with Victoria, I don’t want to get involved with that.”

“It’s over.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“After dropping you off at Chloe’s last night, I went to see her and told her we’re over.”

“How’d she take that?”

Not as good as he’d hoped. “She wants us to get some photos leaked of us not getting along. Says it’ll be good for publicity.”

“Wow. I didn’t know celebrity’s lives were so complicated.”

“You have no idea. Now that I’ve become a little less complicated, tell me I can kiss you. I’ve been dying to all morning.”

“Then you’d better hurry up. We don’t have all day.”

He slid as close to her as the console in the car allowed, and she released a quick intake of breath as he placed his hand on her hip. Trailing his fingers along the waistband of her jeans, he grabbed the denim, tugging her closer.

This time, when his mouth neared hers, she didn’t stop him.

* * *

Maybe Holly needed to add she wasn’t after a commitment or any involvement with men. But when he asked to kiss her, she wanted it more than anything. And, oh wow! The man could kiss. He had a God given talent. When their mouths connected, every rotten memory about Oliver and her parents disappeared, and Ethan consumed her mind and body.

The kiss was better than the last one and if they got any hotter, she’d combust into flames. Her skin was already heating up, so she shrugged out of her jacket, careful not to sever their connection. Their lips were sealed so tight, there was nothing that could tear them apart.

That was until Ethan’s hand slid under her top and cupped her breast. She broke away with a gasp and when his thumb grazed over a peaked nipple, she bit her bottom lip to stop herself groaning.

Ethan Doyle was doing all these good things to her and her body wanted it. Her mind on the other hand kept telling her this was a mistake. She’d known the man for two days. She’d had enough of bad relationships. But this wasn’t going to turn into a relationship because she was leaving in a month. She didn’t know what this was. If Ethan was bad, he was doing a damn good job of it. Because now his mouth covered her breast, and he was doing something wicked with his tongue. She wiggled in her seat, wet with need. Wanting his body pressed against hers. Skin on skin. As she tried to manoeuvre herself, her knee smashed into the gearstick between them, crying out in pain.

Ethan raised his head, his eyes slightly unfocused. “Are you okay?”

“Just banged my knee.” The impact slammed her back to reality.

He made to reach for her again and it took all her strength to pull away.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

Yes. She had a hot guy doing wonderful things to her body and she put a stop to it. Was she crazy?

“We need to stop,” her voice came out in a husky whisper.

He slumped back in the seat and blew out a ragged breath. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. I didn’t mean for us to put on a public display.”

When she frowned, he nodded his head toward the windscreen. Morning traffic had picked up and cars drove past them and pedestrians walked by.

Public display is right. Thankfully the blow to her knee stopped her from doing something stupid like shimmying onto Ethan’s lap.

They stared out the window and took deep breaths. The rain had eased to a drizzle and their heavy breathing quietened down. The muffled noise of commuters on their way to work filled the interior of the car.

Two weeks. While she worked on set, how was Holly supposed to keep her hands to herself? Did she want to? No, but she at least had to try. Why was that again? She’d never done a casual fling. Didn’t people say it was good to try things at least once?

“What are we doing?” she asked, rubbing her hands over her knees. “I mean, you’ve broken up with Victoria… what does that mean for us?”

He propped an arm on the window frame and rubbed a finger over his mouth. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a commitment. My work takes me all over the world. Relationships rarely work in my industry. I hope you understand.” He glanced at her with a hopeful expression. “Maybe we can have fun while you’re here.”

“After Oliver, I’m not ready for anything serious. I’ve never done this casual… casual…” She waved a hand between them. Kissing was the easy part. Taking it further, she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it.

“Sex?” Ethan provided.

God. The word rolled off his tongue like silk, sending goose bumps over her skin.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She’d done plenty of dirty things to Ethan in her mind. Could she do it for real and for only a few weeks?

“We both know where this is heading. We can’t keep our hands off each other. I want you to be sure this is what you want. I promise I won’t touch you again. Not unless you ask me.” A playful smirk twitched at his full mouth.

Okay, great. No pressure.

“Just remember. I’ll make it the best time of your life.”

She laughed, “Conceited much?”

“Stating the facts.” He grinned.

Oh, she had no doubt it would be one hell of a ride. Her decision was already half made in his favour.

“Come on, let’s get to work. I don’t want to be late.”