The Billionaire's Deception (The Blank Check Series Book 5) Read online

  The Billionaire’s Deception

  Jeannette Winters

  An original work of Jeannette Winters, 2020.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Jeannette Winters

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Also by Jeannette Winters

  By Jeannette Winters & Lena Lane

  Jeannette Winters

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  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my brother Frank. You taught me to live in the moment and to find joy in all there is in it. Lessons that I will carry with me always. Love you.

  To my readers who continue to inspire me with endless messages and kind words. Always make time for romance.

  Also want to thank Jade at https://meetcutecreative.com/ for a beautiful cover!

  The Billionaire’s Deception

  Ethan Lawson was delivering more new prospects to Lawson Steel than his brothers could keep up with. His workdays were long and hard and he wasn’t the type to slow down, but a vacation, that was a different story. What could go wrong by his going off the radar for a few weeks?

  Kollette Sommers' father was the owner of one of the most prominent hotel chains. Yet that didn’t mean she hadn’t earned her position as a hotel manager. Getting others to believe it, though, seemed to be the hardest part of her job. When Kollette’s father tells her he’s thinking about expanding the business in an entirely different direction, she jumps at the chance to go undercover and do the research.

  This wasn’t Ethan’s first commune with nature, but this definitely wasn’t like anything he’d expected. He’d been told only one other guest was staying at the rustic lodge. No one mentioned how sweet, innocent, gorgeous, and very needy she was. No amount of fresh air was going to diminish the primal need building within him.

  Packing his bags and heading back to New York would mean leaving Kollette alone and defenseless. Yet if he stayed, who was going to protect her from him? The call of the wild could be a strong force, and if the passion between them was any indication, neither of them was winning this battle.

  1

  Were they still running a business? Ethan wasn’t so sure. At least he couldn’t tell by his brothers so called dedication of late. Lawson Steel wasn’t losing any ground, but they weren’t making any either. Normally he’d address it in the conference room, openly. That would require people to actually show up to the office.

  This morning brought him to his breaking point. First Seth blew him off for their meeting at eight. When he finally reached his brother, Seth gave him the excuse he’d taken Charlene away to some chocolate convention in Vegas. That was great, but they weren’t in the chocolate business. And Ethan would’ve appreciated a phone call in advance, cancelling. Then Dylan didn’t show either. At least he sent an email notifying them that his baby was sick and Sofia didn’t get any sleep last night so he was going to work from home. He doubted Dylan was going to get anything done with a sick baby. Gareth was still in Tabiq building his own business and although he said he was still a member of Lawson Steel, he wasn’t an active one. That left Jordan who was still MIA. Last he’d heard, Jordan had taken some girl to a hockey game. Since he wasn’t answering his phone, he assumed that meant he scored better than his team.

  Even with all his aggravation from earlier, he still was unsure as to what he was going to do. That was until now. This was the final straw. Ethan looked at his watch as he sat waiting for his brother to show up. Charles demanded punctuality. In business, it was everything. Late meant you didn’t value the other person’s time. And since Ethan knew what was behind Charles’ tardiness, it only pissed him off even more. If Charles didn’t show up soon, Ethan was leaving.

  Before Ethan could act on that, Charles entered the office and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was”

  “I know, meeting with Shaun. What do the Hendersons want now?” Shaun was the Henderson he was concerned about the least, but Ethan didn’t trust any of them. The business world knew the Hendersons had a reputation of always getting what they want. What made Charles think they weren’t the same on a personal level? Cousins or not, they are not to be trusted.

  As of late, their long lost cousins were making more and more appearances. It was the unannounced ones that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He still had a lot of questions as to what the hell Dean had been doing meeting with Seth a few months ago. It wasn’t because Ethan hadn’t asked, but the fact that Seth and Charles were so tightlipped over it, was uncommon. The only response he received was it was a private matter. Lawson Steel was a family business. It had been for almost two hundred years. And as far as Ethan knew, he was still family, still part owner of the company. It was his right to know what was going on. Or at least that was his opinion.

  Charles sat down in his large leather seat across from Ethan and said, “He was in the city on business.”

  “I didn’t think he was just out for a drive. Did he say what type of business?” It wasn’t any of his business, but the saying ignorance is bliss was foolish. All it did was leave you open to get blindsided.

  “He was meeting up with Connor.”

  “Connor Falciano? Isn’t he a friend of Sal’s?” Seth had introduced him as such in passing.

  “He works for the Hendersons now.”

  Fucking figures. “And Connor is in New York?

  “The Hendersons have opened an office here,” Charles said.

  “Since when?” Ethan asked. And why? They worked out of Boston?”

  “I assume it was a recent development as this was the first I heard of it as well.”

  “You’re not concerned about that?”

  Charles arched a brow. “Should I be?”

  “I would think the fact they made such a move without even discussing it with any of us should be a red flag. Then again, what do they do that isn’t one?”

  “Ethan, they are not our competition. Maybe if they were, I’d feel differently,” Charles stated.

  To Ethan that was the problem. If they were competition, he and his brothers would be prepared. But the Hendersons did business differently. They were known for being a hammer and crushing what they wanted. Lawson Steel wasn’t fragile and the Hendersons would have o
ne hell of a fight if they thought they could take them down. He might not trust them, but Ethan didn’t believe they were after their company. That only made him question even more why the Hendersons were putting an office in the city.

  He could tell when Charles was hiding something and right now, it didn’t appear as though he was. If anything, Charles seemed actually in a really good mood for it being a Monday morning. So he asked, “Is that why Shaun stopped by? To inform you of their new office?”

  Charles shook his head. “No. He was dropping off invitations for a birthday party.”

  Great. Now we’re expected to attend their shit too? Does this end? Holidays were one thing, but birthday parties, were a bit much. Hell, Ethan turned thirty-one last week and only his sisters-in-law seemed to have remembered.

  “Hand delivering them? Doesn’t that seem a bit…odd to you?” Ethan asked.

  Charles shook his head. “He didn’t want them to get ruined.”

  “I’m sure the US postal service can handle delivering a card,” Ethan said sarcastically. It was a lame excuse and Charles didn’t even seem to question it. “Next you’ll be telling me they wanted to save on postage.”

  Charles chuckled. “Not quite. These are special. His son Tyler has handmade them all. My secretary was actually walking around to drop them all off. It had slipped my mind that you were waiting in my office otherwise I’d have kept yours with me.”

  Forgot me. Nice. It was only making what he’d called this meeting for easier to say. But that could wait a few more minutes. Not that he wanted to hear more about the Hendersons, but Tyler was a special young man. Shaun and Morgan had come as a family to the Lawson Thanksgiving gathering. It was the first time Ethan had gotten to spend time with anyone autistic before. He had sat down at the table trying to keep up with Tyler as he built a fortress out of Legos. What Ethan found most interesting was how detailed Tyler was in making sure everything was perfect, and that Tyler even had stopped working on his and corrected Ethan’s structure to be sound. Funny, since building skyscrapers was supposed to be what Lawsons did best. Maybe just not with Legos.

  “It must be a birthday for someone very special for Tyler to have made the invitations.”

  “It’s his. Shaun said Tyler wanted all his family there,” Charles said.

  And that now includes us. Anyone else and Ethan would’ve blown it off without a second thought. Seeing how Shaun was with Tyler was touching. He’d heard that Shaun adopted him when he married Tyler’s mother Morgan. Not something he would’ve expected from a Henderson, but he had to admit, Ethan respected Shaun for his actions. He might still be an asshole in business, but he was a good father.

  Charles continued and said, “It appears you made an impression on Tyler.”

  “Me? Why do you say that?” he asked.

  “Shaun said you’re the only one who has their name on the card.”

  “I don’t get it. I didn’t do anything but sit and play with him for an hour.” It wasn’t something their father had ever done with them. The only time they had seen him was when he wanted to talk about the business. Charles actually spent the most time with their father. Ethan wasn’t jealous about that at all.

  “That’s all it takes sometimes to develop a bond. Guess you’re more of a natural with kids than you thought.”

  He had no plans of having any children. He saw what the family life was doing to his brothers. Not saying they weren’t any fun any longer, but he couldn’t recall the last time they all went out to a bar after work and just shot the shit. There was always at least one that had to get home to a sick kid or some promise they had made to their wife. Ethan didn’t want to be tied down. Not even to his job.

  Ethan laughed. “It’s Legos, that’s it. I wouldn’t call that a nurturing touch.” He quickly changed the subject, because the last thing he needed was Charles telling him how being a father had changed his life. Ethan could see that for himself. “So when is this birthday party taking place?”

  “Next month.”

  “Good. I should be back by then,” Ethan stated. By the look on his face, Charles picked up on that. “That’s why I wanted to meet with you. I’m taking a vacation.”

  “Did I miss something, because I don’t recall you talking about this before.”

  “A last minute decision,” Ethan stated.

  Charles peered at him before asking, “And who is coving your work while you’re gone?”

  “No one. I’ll pick up where I left off when I get back,” he stated firmly.

  “A month?”

  “My being here right now is a waste of my time and you know it,” Ethan snarled. The last few leads he’d brought to his brothers fell through and it pissed him off. Nailing large customers like those weren’t easy. It took long hours and a hell of a lot of negotiation. His fuse was running short and he didn’t want to say or do anything they all might regret later. Taking a break wasn’t just for his sake, but what was best for the company. The best for our family. “The last three prospects fell through.” Glaring at Charles he added, “It wasn’t due to lack of effort on my part.”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  “And yet I’m still clueless as to what had gone wrong.” This was the perfect time for Charles to divulge what Seth was doing with Dean. Ethan waited, and Charles said nothing. “If there isn’t anything else, I’ve got some packing to do.”

  “Ethan, just because there has been a few issues lately, that doesn’t mean you’re not needed here.”

  “Don’t worry Charles, I know my value. A year or two ago, I wasn’t sure I could keep up with the demand. Now I’m delivering more than the others can keep up with. Maybe if they spent more time worrying about Lawson Steel and less about whatever the hell was going on with the Hendersons, they would be able to handle their workload.” It was out on the table. Ethan couldn’t be any clearer than that.

  Charles rested his elbows on his desk and responded, “Ethan, things have changed. It was foolish of any of us to think that things could remain the same. After learning what our ancestors had done and how it affected so many, there was no going back. Not accepting the Hendersons as family doesn’t change the fact that they are. Honestly, I’m not sure they like it any more than we do. But if any of us are going to move forward, we have to learn from the past.”

  Charles was right about one thing, Ethan didn’t like it. For years he’d thought Charles was the one who didn’t adapt to change very well and that he was the easy going guy. Was he being stubborn by not welcoming them with open arms? Apparently so by the way Charles was talking.

  “There is a huge difference for acknowledging our relations and us becoming buddies.”

  Charles nodded. “Why don’t you take this time off and get to know them better?”

  Ethan choked back his laughter. “You’re joking right?”

  “No,” Charles replied straight faced.

  “Charles, I’m taking a month off and going off the grid. The only thing that I’m going to be thinking about is”

  “You hate it here that much?” Charles cut in.

  “Lawson Steel is in my blood. I’m not leaving the company. I just need a break. From what I figure, there isn’t a better time than now.”

  “I know things…aren’t running as smoothly as before. There are a lot of factors that are contributing to that.” Charles said. “Maybe we’ll be back on track when you return.”

  “I sure as hell hope so Charles. I’m not about to bust my ass to bring another client in just so Seth screws it up. And don’t waste your breath defending him.”

  Charles leaned back in his leather chair and crossed his arms. “I don’t take sides with my brothers. As far as the business side of it, Seth presented the facts and I agreed, that deal wasn’t in our best interest.”

  Raising a brow, he asked, “Since when was making money not in our best interest?”

  “We didn’t need Sheen’s money. It was dirty.”

  “And you know this
how?” he asked. “Because when we met, there we no indication of anything illegal going on.”

  “Sal did some additional digging. Once it was confirmed, we backed out of the deal.”

  “With the kind of money Sheen was throwing into this deal, I can’t picture him just walking away,” Ethan stated. “What made him change his mind? And don’t try telling me Sheen was intimidated by the Lawson name.”

  Charles hesitated for a moment, then said, “He realized that the Lawsons had backing that he wasn’t prepared to take on as well.”

  “You mean the Hendersons?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s why Dean was here?”

  “It was more their brother-in-law Bennett. He and Sal were actually the ones who met with Sheen, and not your brother Seth.”

  “I still don’t understand why the Hendersons were involved in the first place.” Everything seemed to link them closer and closer. Was there any part of their lives the Hendersons didn’t touch?

  “Bennett and Sheen had crossed paths years before when Bennett was still in the Marines. What actually took place, I’m not sure, but let’s just say, the US Government has their eyes on him. And we don’t want any connection to people like that.”

  “At least that’s something we can agree on.”

  “I should’ve told you all this before,” Charles stated.

  Yes you should’ve. Did this fix things? No, but it made it slightly better. It didn’t change the fact his efforts over the past few months had been for nothing. He needed time away from work and there wasn’t any better time than the present. Before leaving he asked, “Charles, is there anything else you want to tell me?”