Chapter Two

"In this crazy world of choices I've only got a few...Either you're coming with me, or I'm coming with you

'Cause I finally found, I finally found you...You never have to worry if what I say is true...Girl, I've been looking for you

And when I saw you I knew that I finally found...I finally found you"

                                 —Enrique Iglesias

                                     Finally Found You

Ethan's POV

I looked closely at the woman that was threatening me with shock, disbelief and amusement clear in my eyes. In all of my thirty one years of living no one has even done so much as look at me in the eyes, not to talk of attempting to blackmail me. It took everything I had in me not to laugh at the absurdity of the entire situation.

Snapping back to reality, I returned my eyes to look at her again. She was pretty enough I guess, if you swung for a cute, sweet, pickett white fences and three kids kind of image but having dated several of the world's most beautiful women she definitely wasn't anything special. Her figure on the on the other hand was something a man could spend hours dreaming of. She had full hips topped with curves that could make even the most decent man have indecent thoughts and God her ass...no Ethan focus.

I raised my eyes from her body to look at her face. Her full lips looked red and swollen as if she had been kissed non-stop for a long period of time. Her straight nose rested high on her little face nostrils flaring in self assurance or was it fear? I couldn't tell. My eyes finally met hers in a deadlock and I was taken aback

Her eyes were two different shades of blue. One eye reminiscent of the sea and the other the color of midnight. Her eyes which stared at me head-on seemed to house pain, a pain that one had to have been hurt severally to express it so clearly. Her eyes seemed to able to pierce through my external facade and see the dark broken man that I was underneath...I felt naked and I for one didn't like it. There has only ever been one person who looked at me in such manner.

"Baby, are you done?"

"I like you, so will you be my friend?"

"Let's be friends forever."

"My code name is Lin James and yours is Carter"

No! There was absolutely no way she was her. I refuse to believe it. Why would be here in the first place? Her name! I have to know what her name is.

"What did you say your name was?" I asked her in a calm voice, completely masking my current feelings.

"Lindsey... Lindsey James." She whispered

I felt like I had been hit hard in my solar plexus at the mention of her name. It was her! The one I had spent countless days searching for and tormented my dreams every night was here, right in front of me without me even knowing it. I reached up to my neck to clutch at the locket I wore everyday trying to process my feelings.

The locket was a parting gift she had given in tears, promising me that we'd definitely meet again. I never thought that she'd make good on that promise as she never turned up again until now, it was as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth. I had given up any hope of ever finding her, but here she was, demanding money from me which didn't even make sense because she was supposed to be a heiress.

I put those questions aside and reached out to grab her hand, drawing her close to me. I needed to touch her, needed to reassure myself that she was real and wasn't some cruel joke that my imagination was playing on me.

Her hands felt rough to the touch, as if she she had only ever subjected them to rough work. I felt outraged at the fact that she was forced to do such degrading menial jobs. I decided to  pretend I didn't know who she was until I knew more about her situation.  Why was she here asking for money? Where was was the money that was supposed to have rightfully been passed to her? I had to get to the bottom of this immediately.

Clearing my throat I asked her in a deep voice

"So what do you want me to do for you Miss James?"

"No Mr Carter, the question is what I can do for you." She replied, not taking her eyes of from mine for even a second

"And that would be?..." I asked her while raising my hand slowly behind her back to let her hair graze the back of my palm without her knowledge.

Her hair was longer than I remember granted it had me been twenty three long years since I had last seen her and her glorious chestnut hair was now a full shade of blonde. I wonder why she dyed it could it be on a whim or was there something else? Whatever it was I intend to get to the bottom of it.

"Why, a chance for you to save your engagement with miss Nicole of course." She replied me with a straight face. If I wasn't touching her I wouldn't have known that she was trembling. She was scared and she should be, my name wasn't Ethan Carter for nothing.

"Hmm, I guess you would be doing me a massive favour then Miss James" I replied her in a bored manner trying my hardest not to laugh at her expression.

She looked like she had been steamrolled at my statement but she collected her self and reverted back to her poker face. It kind of surprised me at how quickly she was able to do that, the little girl I remember was never able to hide her feelings. If she was hurt it looked like she had a dark cloud hanging over her head and if she was happy... the sun was nothing compared to her eyes as they shone as they had been polished. What had happened to her?

"Well Mr Carter I'm sure your board of directors wouldn't approve of pictures of you plastered all over the television, now would they?"

"Did you forget that I'm the CEO miss James? I founded the company from scratch to what it is now so I believe that I can whatever the hell I want but coming back to you did you know that  black mail is punishable by four years with a fine of up to ten thousand dollars? And that's just one of the lesser offences that you committed last night...