Brandon (Members From Money Book 19)

by Katie Dowe

  “Have you applied for college?”

  “Yes, sir. Leanne called in some favors and I am going to Cal Tech in January.”

  “Good.” He eyed the boy. “Am I going to have trouble from you?”

  “No, sir – I mean Brandon.”

  “Excellent. Now my wife insists on having the family over on Christmas Day and that includes you.”

  “Thank you, sir -Brandon.”

  “Leanne tells me that you are an expert on devices.”

  “I am.”

  “Let’s prove it.”

  *****

  “Thank you for seeing me.” The man who sat across from her looked a far cry from the one who had faced her almost two years ago in this very restaurant when she had told him she was pregnant with his child. This Wayne looked haggard and unsure of himself. His clothes still looked stylish but they did not fit him well as if he had lost weight. His expression was haunted and he kept looking around as if someone was after him. It was Christmas Eve and she had given her staff the time off until January 2nd. He had called her when she was in the middle of talking to the sales staff and she had agreed to meet him for a few minutes.

  “What do you want, Wayne?” she asked him coolly.

  He stared at her and felt regret pure and simple going through him. She was wearing a chic olive green sweater over stylish black pants. Her hair was loose around her face and her makeup even though it was minimal made her face glow. She was exquisite and he had made a gigantic mistake. “I have to apologize for the way I behaved that time-”

  “When I told you I was carrying your child?”

  He nodded. “It’s funny how things turned out,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I thought I would be this big shot lawyer with the perfect family and it turned out to be so wrong. I should have married you-”

  “I am glad you did not,” she said interrupting him. “I am glad you did not acknowledge me when I told you about Yasmin. If you had I would have lost out on the best man I know. I would have lost out on the love of my life and I shudder to think of that. I have no regrets, Wayne, and now I want you to go and find yourself and your own life. I am sorry about your marriage, but it is not the end of the world, you can find love and this time make sure it is something you want to do with your whole heart.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then looked down into his cup of black coffee. “I have lost my job and my wife even though I had lost her long before now. She cannot have children.”

  She looked at him sharply. “You are not getting-”

  “She belongs to you and your husband. I would never dream of causing trouble. I just want to let you know that. She is a beautiful child much like her mother.”

  “Thank you.” She inclined her head regally. “Will you be okay?” she asked him suddenly.

  “I am going to Texas to set up shop there. I am leaving after the holidays.”

  “I wish you all the best.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I have to go.”

  “Take care.” He watched her go and saw the number of admiring looks she got as she made her way out of the restaurant. He drank down his cold coffee and sat there for a moment before he left.

  *****

  “You should have told me, baby,” Brandon said grimly as he watched his wife getting dressed. She had not told him last night as they had been busy with wrapping presents and humoring their daughter as she insisted on putting more bulbs on the already crowded tree.

  “And you would have told me not to go and see him.” Yanique met his eyes in the full length mirror in their bedroom. It was painted a soft blue with grey trimmings and the bathroom was a match. Their bed stood on a raised dais and the carpet was a soft dove grey that she had picked out herself. The place had a lived in look even though they had only been there for three days. She adjusted the shimmering green gown and passed her hands over her hips. It was a Romano’s original and was incredibly beautiful. “I feel sorry for him.”

  “I don’t.” He came up behind her and lifting his hands he secured the dazzling emerald necklace around her neck. She put her hand up and touched the fiery stones, her eyes meeting his in the mirror. “You are going to have to take those out.” He indicated the diamonds she was wearing in her lobes. “I have the matching earrings here.”

  She turned to face him and took them out, handing them to him and taking the dangling emeralds from him to secure in her lobes. “What do you think?”

  “They were made for you.” He fingered the earrings absently. “What did he want?”

  “He wanted to say goodbye.”

  “And?”

  “And he told me his marriage was over, but I already knew that and so do you.”

  “Serves him right,” Brandon muttered. “He married her for his own advancement.”

  “I know. Do you know what I told him?” she asked as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

  “What?”

  “I told him that I thank God that it turned out the way it did because then I would not have met the love of my life and the best man I know,” she whispered softly.

  He stared down at her and felt the shudder. “I like that answer,” he murmured huskily. He tipped her chin up and examined her perfectly made up face. “You are my life, I hope you know that.”

  “And you are mine.” She rested her head on his dark blue sweater clad chest and closed her eyes. “I am where I want to be.”

  *****

  “Thank you for inviting me,” Lori whispered as she gazed around the stunning elegance of the living room. Yanique had remained friends with her even though the girl was very intimidated by the fact that she was Mrs. Brandon Reynolds.

  “You are welcome.” Yanique linked her hand with hers. “Why don’t you join Mama over by the fire? I need to go and see about something.”

  She had glimpsed David looking uncomfortable in one corner. She walked over to him and took his hand. “I know that there is no one here in your age group and I am sorry for that. I want you to know that you are family and I want you to feel at home.” She looked up as her daughter came running over in her beautiful lavender dress with white stockings and black shoes. Her hair was caught up in a ponytail with matching ribbons.

  “Mommy, I want to show David my toys!” she said as she took David’s hand.

  “Honey, I am sure David-”

  “I would love to see them,” he said looking down at the girl with a gentle expression on his handsome face. “If that’s okay with you.” He looked at Yanique.

  “Of course.”

  He picked Yasmin up and the little girl wrapped her hands around his neck and chattered nonstop as they made their way over to the pile of gifts.

  “I have a feeling that I am being replaced,” her husband said softly behind her.

  Yanique turned to face him and touched his jaw briefly. “Never, but I think our daughter is in love.”

  “I think it’s his eyes,” Brandon said in amusement.

  “Maybe. I much prefer dark blue myself,” she said with a wide smile.

  “I would certainly hope so.” He caught her around the waist and pulled her in.

  “Break it up you two, there are guests here,” Leanne called out. Just then the dinner bell rang and they went into the dining room. The nanny came and took Blaine away for his nap and Yasmin was placed in her high chair where she insisted that David sit next to her.

  Yanique looked around the table and smiled in extreme happiness. “I want us to say grace,” she said suddenly causing them to stare at her. “I want to thank God for my family and for friends and additional family members.” Her gaze touched on David and he smiled at her. “I want to say this to my husband in front of all of you that I am the most fortunate woman in the world.” She reached for his hand. “I want to thank God for our two beautiful children: Yasmin and Blaine.”

  “Thanks, Mommy!” the little girl piped up causing them to laugh.

  “I want to give thanks for my
wonderful life.”

  “Hear! Hear!” the others chorused and then they ate.

  *****

  Later that night as she was there curled up in his arms, her body still flushed from the intense lovemaking, Yanique silently thanked God for a love that encompassed her and filled her up!

  “I love you,” she whispered in his chest.

  “I love you more,” he told her hoarsely as he pulled her up to him. “You will never have to wonder if I do.”

  “I know.” She kissed him softly on the lips. “I was thinking that we could go to Dubai in January and take the children.”

  “I have always wanted to go.”

  “Then it’s settled.”

  “I feel like a princess in a fairytale,” she murmured.

  “More like the queen, my queen,” he whispered as he wrapped his hands around her waist. “And this is real, baby, I promise you.”

  The end... but wait:

  The One

  You know when he's the one for you...

  A heartfelt romance by Ellie Etienne of African American Club.

  Smart and ambitious Nicole Richards is in a rut.

  With a good job on paper, the reality is her boss doesn’t think she - a young black woman - is capable of producing any worthwhile ideas.

  However when she gets assigned grunt-work for a new client, billionaire beer-brewer Max Daniels, she finds herself in a much different predicament than she expected.

  She and Max hit it off really well.

  Too well really, considering Nicole has a boyfriend!

  But when Nicole’s boss lets Max’s ad campaign bomb, and Nicole and her boyfriend mutually end thing, things change for her and Max.

  Can this newfound relationship thrive business dramas unfolding around them?

  Or will their relationship end up losing its fizz before it’s barely begun?

  Find out in this sizzling hot, high-stakes romance by respected black female author Ellie Etienne.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll need your own billionaire to brew something up with.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 1

  “Come on, let it go,” coaxed Fred, topping up Nicole’s glass of wine.

  Nicole sighed and shrugged, trying to do as he said. It did nobody any favors to bring work home, especially when she couldn’t be productive.

  “Here, have a bite of this. It’s an experiment. If it works well, I’m thinking of pitching it as an appetizer.”

  Nicole grinned. Food always made her feel better. She was blessed with magical metabolism and she thought that swimming laps was fun, so it was rarely a problem.

  “Wow,” said Nicole, savoring the bite of stuffed mushroom that exploded in her mouth in flavors she could barely identify.

  “Fred Rivers, you are a genius,” declared Nicole, and she meant it. She really did believe so.

  “Nicole Richards, you are a wonderful taste tester and guinea pig,” teased Fred.

  Nicole grinned, finally relaxing and taking a sip of her wine. Of course it was excellent. It was paired beautifully with the food on the table. You’d have to go to a top notch restaurant to get food as good. Nicole knew how lucky she was to have Fred, especially since she couldn’t cook worth a damn.

  Fred was a chef at an upscale restaurant that was popular among, the way Nicole saw it, the pretentious. Luckily for the pretentious folks, Fred was a wonderful chef, and a creative one.

  Before he pitched any ideas to the executive chef, Fred tried everything out on Nicole. She considered herself extremely lucky.

  Her boyfriend was wonderful.

  If only she could say the same about work, thought Nicole, feeling the gloom that had begun to recede make its way back to its customary place over her head, settling down for a nice, long time.

  It sucked, really, because Nicole knew she was wonderful at her job. She had always wanted to go into advertising. She was creative, she had an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and all kinds of random facts, she was extremely well-read, and she was wonderful with people.

  She was perfect for the field. Nicole had absolutely no doubts about that. She never had.

  Presumably, her boss had seen all those things in her, as well. Or maybe he had just seen the petite frame, the large brown eyes, the short, straight dark hair, the curves in all the right places. Whatever the reason, he had hired her, and now she felt like she was stuck in purgatory.

  Just one more year, she told herself, as she always did when the gloom snuck up on her. In one more year, she would be twenty-seven and she could quit with four years’ experience at one of the top advertising firms in the state. She could quit and have her pick of jobs.

  Boy, she couldn’t wait for that day.

  But until that day came, there was no point brooding about her asshole boss who thought that her only asset was being presentable and sweet-talking annoyed clients into thinking his old-fashioned, dated ideas still made sense.

  Sometimes, Nicole felt guilty about that. She could usually charm clients into signing on, but she knew that they deserved so much better than what Derek Anderson gave them. Derek Anderson might be a useful figurehead, with his years of experience, but in practical terms, he was obsolete. Someday, she would tell him that.

  Someday.

  “Nicole, you look like thunder,” said Fred, his voice making his annoyance clear.

  She came back to herself, and hoped that this time, she’d stay there.

  “Sorry. It was a bad day at work.”

  Fred looked frustrated. With his light brown skin, tight curls and gorgeous smile, he was enough to make a girl’s heart pound. Nicole did like knowing that everybody who saw them together thought they were beautiful. She liked knowing that women who saw them together were envious of her. Sure, it was a little petty, but who didn’t indulge in that?

  But even Fred was getting frustrated with how much her work affected her. Cheerful, sunny Fred was beginning to get annoyed with her.

  That wouldn’t do.

  “And it’s over. I know, I should let it go. I’m learning, all right? I’ll get better. Tell me about your day. Is that sous chef doing better? Has he sliced anybody’s fingers off yet?”

  Nicole sat back and gave Fred all of her attention now, as he told her about the disasters of the inept sous chef who was, unfortunately, the proprietor’s nephew. He dreamed of being a top chef. That made him Fred’s headache.

  Instead of brooding about it, Fred turned it all into a funny story that they could laugh about over dinner, thought Nicole, her face breaking into a huge grin as he launched into his funny descriptions.

  Really, she was lucky.

  If only she didn’t have to go to work tomorrow, she thought as Fred went to get dessert. Even if dessert was fried ice cream, one of her biggest sinful favorites and one Fred made only to cheer her up because he detested it, she couldn’t quite make herself feel better.

  “Stay with me tonight,” said Fred.

  Nicole leaned across the table and looked into his eyes. She could see the need, the affection – she could see it all there. She liked being with Fred, and she liked his condo with its balcony that was perfect for breakfast and coffee.

  But she shook her head.

  “I can’t. I’ve got an early day tomorrow. I want to get a good workout in before I go to work. Heaven knows I’ll need the rush,” said Nicole, with real regret.

  Fred sighed. He couldn’t claim to be surprised.

  “Shall I call a cab for you, then?”

  Nicole shook her head.

  “No, I drove. I’ve only had one glass of wine, I can drive. No, don’t tell me you’ll run me home. You had a long day, too.”

  When
she got up, intending to help him clear and wash up, he pulled her into his arms for a soft, sweet, kiss – it was a persuasive kiss, trying to tempt her into staying.

  It almost succeeded. But not quite.

  Nicole disentangled herself carefully, with a regretful smile.

  “I really must go, Fred.”

  Fred pulled her close for one more kiss, even longer, even sweeter. Nicole almost decided that work wasn’t worth it.

  But almost wasn’t enough. In twenty minutes, she had helped him with the dishes and was in her car, driving home.

  Fred was on the verge of asking her to move in with him. Nicole knew that he was planning something.

  She felt the wind whipping through her hair and relished how it felt in her short bob. Messy hair was a small price to pay for that exhilaration.

  Nicole wasn’t sure if she planned to say yes, or no.

  Fred and she had been dating for about six months. Six months was a long time, nowadays. People were all in such a big hurry to get somewhere and go places, even when it came to relationships.

  They had clicked the very first time they’d run into each other. Nicole usually turned down advances because she had always focused on work. Work had always been more important to her. But Fred’s charming manner and easy laughter had worn down all resistance. She had found herself having coffee with him, then dinner and drinks, and before she knew it, she had fallen willingly into his arms.

  Over the last few months, Nicole had gotten disconcertingly close to taking Fred for granted. That was an unforgivable sin in her book. Taking somebody for granted meant that you didn’t appreciate them the way you should.

  Still, she found herself wondering if she was ready to be charmed into his condo, and sharing closet space. That was a big commitment – one she had never made before.

  Nicole always thought things through before she made a decision. She considered it one of her best traits.

  When she got home and parked, she found herself strangely reluctant to go upstairs to her apartment. Once she was home, there would be no distractions. She would have to think about work. There was no way out.