Erik was about to deny that Sylvie was the answer to his happiness, but what if Logan was right? Sylvie had already gotten under his skin. She made him think about things that no other woman had ever placed on his brain.
He wouldn’t say that he was in love with her, or even falling in love with her. It just made him want to peel back every layer of her until he got to the real core. He couldn’t remember the last time he wanted to know a woman beyond the bedroom. Yeah, Sylvia Elaine Gates was different and he was beyond intrigued.
Logan’s hand on his shoulder broke into his thoughts. “You all right?”
Erik nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this.” He stalked to the door, ready to tell his side of the story to the world.
Chapter 13
Yvonne Jordan felt tortured every time she saw a replay of the interview she and Simon did that morning. The last thing she wanted was for her sons to be humiliated by their father. She’d tried to shelter them for years. But seeing Simon carted off in handcuffs forced her to choose between her husband and her kids.
Yvonne thought she’d made the right decision. Simon told her that Erik was being influenced by his enemies on the board and couldn’t see past his own ambitions. She didn’t totally buy that, because her oldest son loved playing with chemicals. Yvonne smiled. Erik didn’t want to hurt Simon, but Simon was making it his business to hurt their son. He’d already cut Logan out of their lives because he didn’t live and bleed Jordan Industries. She rose from the empty dining room table and walked over to the painting LJ had sent her years ago. Over Simon’s objections, she’d hung the painting her son made of her from her modeling days. He’d made her look like ebony Mona Lisa, dressed in Egyptian royal garb. She loved that portrait so much and was extremely proud of her son’s success in the art world. It puzzled her why Simon was so against Logan chasing his dreams.
Yvonne snorted as she crossed the room. It was simple: Dreams that didn’t match his were deemed wasteful and stupid. He’d even put an end to Yvonne’s dreams when they’d started to outgrow his. Her modeling career had been about to take off after Logan was born, but Simon refused to allow another company to hire his wife for ad campaigns—whether it was for clothes or items unrelated to makeup.
When she’d relented and decided that she’d be the face of Jordan cosmetics, Simon dropped her lipstick line and claimed the company was moving in a different direction. Then he told his wife her only job would be focusing on the family.
And, feeling trapped, she followed Simon’s plan for her. Family and the house became her main focus. She pretended that she didn’t know about her husband’s other women. She thought everything would be fine as long as no one knew what a lying dog Simon was.
Yvonne couldn’t play the victim, though. Because she’d had a lover of her own. Well, two. But she did a much better job of hiding them than Simon did with his.
Things were different now and Yvonne needed to put her family together before it was too late.
“Mrs. Jordan,” Tabitha, the family housekeeper, said.
Yvonne turned around and smiled at the comely woman. “I’m sorry, Tabitha, what did you say?”
“Mr. Jordan said that he won’t be home for dinner and that you can send the staff home if you’d like.”
“That’s fine. Maybe I should have my sons over for dinner.”
“It’s been a while since they’ve been here. What do you want Chef to prepare?”
“Turkey meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, and cabbage. The boys have always loved that. I just hope they will accept my invitation.”
Tabitha placed her hand on Yvonne’s shoulder. “I’m sure they will. Families have their squabbles, but you guys will work it out.”
“I hope so. I’m going to go into the garden and cut some flowers.”
“You don’t have to . . .”
“I just need some air,” Yvonne said. “And I love to cut my own roses.”
Tabitha nodded and headed for the kitchen. Yvonne grabbed her gardening shears and her cell phone. When she got outside, Yvonne dialed Erik’s number. When the phone went to voicemail, she was upset.
Had she ignored her sons so much that she was now getting the same treatment? It would be fitting, because she had taken Simon’s side without question. She cut a few roses and slipped them in her woven basket. When she walked into the house, Yvonne set the basket of roses on the end table and touched her breast.
It wasn’t as if she could feel the cancer there, but she felt regret. She’d hurt her sons and been a fool for her husband. But no more.
She crossed over to the portrait Logan had painted of her. Smiling, she looked at the image. Logan had turned her into an Egyptian goddess with a big smile. In the red background, there were images of her sons. It had been one of the first LJ originals that put him on the map. She’d asked Simon to use Logan’s art on the new line of makeup. He’d refused, and when she’d suggested that Logan meet with his father, her husband told her he wanted nothing to do with it.
She pulled her phone out of her apron pocket and called Erik again. Still no answer. Yvonne closed her eyes and a few tears fell from underneath her lids. Had she alienated her kids and now they weren’t going to be there when she needed them most?
* * *
Logan smiled as a reporter asked him about his latest collection that was going to be displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in England.
“I have a whole new collection that I created exclusively for the museum. It’s my most personal collection and I’m excited to share it with the world.”
Erik tried not to yawn, but he was over this press conference. But he was happy that the questions had been directed to Logan. It was amazing to him that so many people didn’t know that LJ the artist was related to the Jordan family. Olivia and LJ had done a great job keeping those family ties secret. Erik couldn’t be mad that they didn’t want to be associated with a family who didn’t celebrate the fact that he was a damned genius.
“Erik,” a reporter called out. “Does this new direction with your brother mean that you’re moving the company closer to being all about family?”
“It means that it is a new day at Jordan Industries. We’re going to be more transparent with our investors and stockholders. We’re going to continue to celebrate black women and their beauty with new lines of makeup and skin care products. Not only that, but we’re providing places in our company for qualified women to become leaders. So, let me be clear: Jordan Industries is stepping into the twenty-first century with a new direction.”
“Does your father have a role in this new direction?” a reporter called out.
“He does not.” Erik waved his hand. “And we’re done because we have work to do. Thank you for your time today.”
Erik and Logan turned to leave the podium and Ingrid began telling the media that she had kits available for them about the new line, and a copy of Erik’s initial remarks.
“Mom called a couple of times,” Erik said, once they were out of earshot of the media.
“Think she was watching the press conference and wanted to tell us what a good job we did?” Logan laughed. “Are you going to call her back?”
“Seems like the right thing to do, right?”
He shrugged. “She might be rethinking what she did with Dad this morning.”
Erik reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone and dialed his mother.
“Erik, I’m so glad you called me back,” Yvonne said, forgoing a hello.
“What’s going on, Ma?”
“Are you and Logan together? I want you two to come over for dinner tonight.”
Erik snorted. “Seriously? You and Dad went on television to tell the world that I’m not shit, and you think I want to break bread with you?”
“Erik, I need to see my sons and I didn’t know your father was going to use the interview to . . . I’m sorry, Erik. But I really need to see you and Logan. I want my family to come together sooner rather than later. Chef i
s making your favorites.”
Logan took the phone from Erik’s hand as he noticed the scowl on his brother’s face. “Ma, is everything all right? Really? And Simon isn’t going to be there? We’ll be there. What time?”
Erik waved his hands as if he was landing a plane. “No.”
“All right, seven. We’ll be there.” Logan ended the call and handed it back to Erik. “We’re having dinner with Ma and you’re going to like it.”
“Is our father going to be there?”
“Nope, and we do need to hear why Ma is on his side so hard.”
Erik folded his arms across his chest. “It’s been that way our whole life. Why do you think something is going to change now?”
Logan shrugged. “Because. Look, man, she’s our mother and we need to have at least one parent we talk to. When’s the last time that Ma asked us over for dinner?”
Erik rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He was about to say something else when Sylvie walked toward him. She was working those black jeans as if they were a second skin. And speaking of work, she looked as if she’d been doing a lot of it. Her hair was a bit out of place and there were sweat stains across her chest. Still, she looked delicious.
“Hey, guys.” She stopped in front of Erik. Her smile nearly blew him away.
“How’s it going?” Erik asked as he stroked her cheek.
“Very well. Do you want to see what we’ve gotten done in the executive suite?”
“I’d love to, but I have some things to take care of right now. What do you say to a cup of Kona later?”
“Totally say yes. And just FYI, that coffee you have in the break room is pure trash.” Sylvie thrust her hip into his then took off down the hall.
Logan didn’t hide his amusement as he watched the banter between Sylvie and his brother. “There’s something happening here,” he sang off key.
“Shut up.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t invite her for dinner. Ma would’ve been shock to see you with a woman who isn’t a model.”
“You know I never take girlfriends home.”
Logan raised his right eyebrow. “Did you say the G-word? Are you calling her your girlfriend? Damn, she is magical.”
“I didn’t say she was my girlfriend and I’m not doing this with you.”
Logan doubled over in laughter. “The last time I saw you act like this about a woman was . . . never.”
“Get out of here and go make some art or something.” Much to Erik’s dismay, Logan followed him into his office. “I got work to do and I don’t have time to go back and forth with you.”
“Here’s the deal. I know if I walk out that door, you’re going to come up with every excuse in the world as to why you aren’t going to dinner.”
Erik tilted his head to the side. “Didn’t I say I was going to be there?”
“You have a lot of your father in you. You say things that you don’t mean.”
“That was low.” Erik took a seat at his desk and noticed that the chair was different. “What the hell? This is not my chair.” He leapt up as if he’d sat on a pillow of thorns.
“You’re really tripping over a chair? You know you have issues, right?”
“This is Dad’s old chair. I thought I threw this shit away.” Erik pressed the intercom button on his phone and called out to his assistant.
“Yes, sir?”
“Who brought this damned chair into my office?”
“I think Sylvia did, but it was . . . Hey, Sylvia, I think you need to talk to Mr. Jordan.”
“I thought he was busy,” he heard her say.
“Please send her in,” Erik bellowed.
A few moments later, Sylvie walked into the office with her hand on her hip. “Is there a problem?”
“Why is this chair here?” he asked coldly.
She furrowed her eyebrows. “So you can sit down. I’m having your other chair refitted to match the color scheme that we’re going to do in here. What’s the problem?”
“On that note, I’m going to the snack machine,” Logan said as he rose to his feet. Sylvie shrugged as she and Erik watched Logan walk out the door.
“Again,” she began. “Is there a problem?”
Erik dropped his head, realizing how ridiculous he would sound if her told her why he hated that chair. “I’m sorry. This is an old chair that I thought I’d gotten rid of and . . . Forget about it.”
Sylvie walked over to the chair and ran her hand across the back. “This is a piece of classic furniture. I thought I was doing you a favor when I saved it from the garbage pile.” She smiled wistfully. “My dad had a chair like this. Always made me think he was the boss of everything.”
Erik rolled his eyes. The chair did belong to his father, and he didn’t have fond memories of him like Sylvie had of her father. “It was going to be trashed for a reason.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“This was my father’s chair and I want it gone. End of story.”
Sylvie threw her hands up. “Say no more, I’ll have it removed. But I do need access to your office tomorrow.”
“And I’m going to need access to your lips tonight.” Erik crossed over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He didn’t care about the sweat, the mussed hair or bare lips. He needed to kiss this woman more than he needed to breathe.
“I guess I can make that happen. Tonight.” Sylvie wiggled out of his embrace. “But right now, I have to get to work.”
“One more thing,” he said as she started for the door. “I guess I need to give you a key to my place so you can get in and out when I’m not there.”
“Umm, yeah, I guess.”
“And if you ever get tired and need a place to sleep, you know the direction to my bedroom.”
Before Sylvie could reply, Ingrid appeared in the doorway. “Am I interrupting something here?” She shot a cold look in Sylvie’s direction.
“No, come in,” Erik said. “Sylvie, make sure you get that key from me before you leave.”
She smiled, then nodded. “Will do.”
As Sylvie sauntered out of the office, Ingrid turned to Erik. “What’s that all about?”
He shrugged. “My business.”
“With all the eyes on this company right now, the last thing we need is another scandal.”
“I don’t need you to police what I do.”
Ingrid raised her eyebrow. “So, there is something going on with you and Sylvia Gates?”
“Ingrid, I know you didn’t come in here to question me about our interior designer.”
She folded her arms and shook her head. “Actually, I came with good news. The announcement about LJ’s line is trending on all the social media sites, and the beauty bloggers are losing their minds about this.” She turned her smartphone around to him. Erik grinned as he looked at the picture of him and Logan, which had been shared nearly a million times.
“Maybe we ought to look into doing a men’s line,” Erik mused.
“These comments are hilarious.”
“I’m sure Olivia is going to have something to say about this one,” Erik said as he pointed to one talking about what the commenter would do to a naked Logan.
“Well, look at what they think about you,” Ingrid quipped as she pointed to another comment a woman made about letting him lie on her chest to get over his daddy issue.
“Social media makes everyone so bold and over-the-top.”
“And buyers.” Ingrid pulled up another file on her phone. “The preorders are through the roof.”
“This is a good thing. Maybe this line is what we need to get back in the black.”
“Hopefully. We should plan a launch party.”
“Yes. And make it exclusive. But let’s capitalize on this social media interest and run some sort of contest.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I’ll get my social media crew on it right now. Do you want to meet this evening and see what we came up with?”
Erik shook
his head. “I have plans, but first thing in the morning, we can have a breakfast meeting.”
“Plans with Sylvia?”
“Though it’s not your business, I’m having dinner with my mother. Ingrid, why are you so invested in my personal life?”
She laughed nervously. “I’m not. Like I said, I’m trying to make sure that we don’t get hit with another controversy. What do you really know about Miss Gates?”
Erik placed his finger to his lips. He knew a lot about Sylvie. She tasted like honey. Her smile made his dick throb. She had the most amazing lips he’d ever tasted.
“What do you know about her that you think I should know?” he finally said.
“Would you be offended if I did some research? I mean, Simon hired her, and who knows why she took the job?”
Erik silently counted to ten before responding. Of course Ingrid didn’t know that he and Sylvie had a connection before he found out that she’d be working on the remodel of the Jordan Industries headquarters. Erik was 100 percent sure that Sylvie wasn’t going to be a problem.
“If that will make you feel better. Go for it.”
“All right. And I want you to know that this is for the company and nothing else.”
“I trust you’re doing it for the good of Jordan Industries and nothing else. Now, I’m going to the lab to make the palettes happen.” Erik left the office and went where he was most comfortable.
Granted, he took the CEO mantle because the board thought a Jordan still needed to run the company. But he wasn’t going to give up working in the lab. Especially when he had a new inspiration. Sylvie. She made him see colors and want to make every woman feel as soft as Sylvie did. If he could bottle everything about her, he would, and probably keep it for himself. Smiling, he walked into the lab and looked at the people who were his coworkers a few weeks ago.
“Aww, look, the boss man decided to visit us today,” Derrick Coleman said. He was one of the head chemists.
“Keep it up,” Erik said as he reached for a lab coat and protective eyewear. “You know I can fire you now.”
“Then who’s going to help you make this new line that everyone is talking about?”
The two men shook gloved hands and Erik prepared his workspace. “We got this, and we have to make it the most successful thing that we’ve ever done.”
Tempted at Midnight Page 13