Chapter 3

It was four in the morning when the car stopped outside Ethan Mercer's house.

The driver got out to unload my suitcase.

“You can leave it here,” I said.

He hesitated. “Ms. Bennett, Mr. Cole told me to make sure I saw you go inside.”

My hand went still on the car door.

Of course. Nathan couldn't even be bothered to pretend. He really was afraid I'd run, afraid his deal wouldn't go through.

I didn't make things harder for the driver.

“Don't worry,” I said, and stepped out.

It was late fall. The wind cut through my thin dress, raising goose bumps over my bare calves.

The driver set my suitcase beside me. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to stand there and watch.

“I'll be going, then, Ms. Bennett.”

His taillights soon disappeared into the predawn darkness.

Alone outside a stranger's house, I didn't know what to do next.

Nathan had decided I should be sent here. He probably hadn't thought about what would happen afterward. Or hadn't seen any reason to think about it for me.

I took out my phone to request a ride.

I'd just unlocked it when headlights swept across the drive behind me. A black sedan approached, and I instinctively moved aside.

It stopped. A tall man climbed out, his black suit jacket draped over one arm. He looked reserved and tired, as though he'd just come from a business dinner.

I'd seen him before.

Ethan Mercer. The one man in the business who could genuinely make things difficult for Nathan.

Their companies had fought over projects and outmaneuvered each other for deals. Everyone in the industry knew Cole and Mercer meant trouble in the same room.

But I barely knew Ethan. We'd met only a few times.

He didn't recognize me immediately. His gaze stayed on my face for several seconds, a slight frown appearing as he searched his memory.

“Claire… Bennett?”

I nodded. “Mr. Mercer. Nathan said you wanted to see me.”

He glanced at the suitcase. His frown deepened, as if I'd just informed him of a problem he didn't want.

After a moment, he swore under his breath.

“He actually sent you.”

I stared at him.

Ethan had already looked away. There was none of the interest Nathan had described. Nothing like a man finally getting the woman he'd wanted. If anything, he looked irritated.

For the first time, I realized something wasn't what I'd thought.

“Mr. Mercer.”

He stopped walking.

“That project,” I said. “Were you really going to trade it for me?”

He was quiet for a moment, as though he'd only just remembered the exchange.

“You've misunderstood.”

I froze.

He glanced at me. “I'm not interested in you.”

That one sentence left me standing motionless.

I should have been relieved. Instead, somehow, I felt even more humiliated. Nathan had given me to a man who didn't even want me.

“Then why did you…”

“It was an offhand remark,” Ethan said evenly. “I didn't think he'd agree.”

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

He seemed to notice my confusion, but he made no effort to spare my feelings.

“Olivia didn't believe Nathan was serious about marrying her. Too many women around him. So I tested him for her.”

I stood there without speaking for a long time.

That was it, then.

Ethan hadn't offered the Westside project because he wanted me. He hadn't even expected me to come. He'd only wanted to see whether Nathan would get rid of a woman he'd kept for four years for Olivia's sake.

And Nathan had agreed. Easily. Without the slightest hesitation.

Now they could all stop worrying. Nathan really did care about Olivia. Enough to hand over a woman who'd spent four years with him.

My chest felt strangely hollow.

Everything that had happened to me tonight had been a way to prove his love for someone else.