Tempted at Midnight

by Cheris Hodges

  Olivia took a sip of the champagne. “Oh, this is good. Keep telling the story.”

  “He had the nerve to tell me not to harass Amanda.”

  Olivia lowered her glass. “And you didn’t slap the hell out of him? Okay, that’s some growth right there.”

  “I saw that cow once, and she was the one trying to make me feel some kind of way. He then went on to tell me that I’m going to be alone forever because I don’t know what’s important. You know, a few months ago, I’d be crying or breaking glasses on my patio.”

  Olivia nodded. “I know. And I would’ve been in Europe, so no one would’ve been here to reel you in. Now, this newfound devil-may-care attitude—does it have anything to do with a certain man named Erik?”

  “I’ll give him ten percent of the credit for this. But at the end of the day, I have to accept that I’ve moved on from disappointment. There’s no need for me to think of what could’ve been with a man who went out of his way to hurt me time and time again. When I needed him most, he didn’t even stand by my side.” Sylvie walked over to the sofa and set the bottle of champagne on the table. “I almost let him kill the romantic in me.”

  “Thank goodness you didn’t. And I love you, but we are not having some corny double wedding because we fell in love with brothers.”

  Sylvie held her hand up. “Pause. Who said I was in love?”

  Olivia drained her glass, then grabbed the bottle for a refill. “Girl, we are not in Egypt and stop living in denial.”

  “Do I like him a lot? Yes. But I’m not ready to use the other L word. Thank you.”

  “Hmm,” Olivia said before taking another sip of her champagne. “What brand of bubbly is this? Because clearly it is magical.”

  “Can you stop being overly dramatic?”

  “As soon as you stop acting like you don’t love Erik Jordan. It’s time to woman up even more, and let that man know how you feel.”

  “Well, I do have another reason to celebrate.”

  Olivia raised her eyebrow, then took a seat on the sofa. “Spill it, sister.”

  “Remember the Sweet Spot in Brooklyn?”

  “Yes. What about them?”

  “They are expanding into London, and guess who she wants to decorate the place?”

  Olivia screamed, leapt to her feet, and danced around the table as if she’d been the one who’d gotten the job. “This is so awesome! Please tell me her shop is going to be near our favorite princess.”

  “Clearly, she’s a duchess, and I don’t know where it’s going to be, but she said she’s going to pay for travel and housing while I’m there.”

  “What does Erik think?”

  Sylvie poured herself a glass of champagne and took a big sip. “I haven’t told him yet.”

  “Oh.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing, but things are so new with you two, I’m just wondering if—”

  “Hold up. You know I’m not putting my career on hold for any man. No matter how much . . . He’ll understand. Unlike someone else I know, he admires my drive.”

  “As he should. Every man should admire women who make their own way without begging for a handout.” She snapped her fingers. “And if I can be honest, you gave Stephen way too much of your time when he wanted to control everything about you.”

  “My bad. We all make mistakes. Need I remind you of Damien Crosland? Look how long you allowed him to talk you out of starting your own business.”

  “Ugh. Don’t remind me of all the frogs I had to kiss before I found my prince.”

  Sylvie tipped her glass to Olivia. “On to bigger and better things.”

  “Thank God for the Jordan brothers. But I would’ve never thought that you and Erik would fit so well.”

  “I’m glad you had the good sense not to play matchmaker.”

  Olivia waved her hand. “To be honest with you, I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Erik because LJ was so estranged from his parents. He and Erik would talk on the phone when we traveled, but it wasn’t until we came to Atlanta this time that I got a chance to see another side of him. But if he hurts you, brother-in-law or not, I’m going to kick his ass.”

  Sylvie leaned in and kissed Olivia on the cheek. “That’s why I love you.”

  Chapter 21

  Erik heard his mother screaming when he turned the doorknob. Logan brushed past his brother and dashed to the sitting room, where he heard the voices coming from. Yvonne was beating her fists against Simon’s chest.

  “Of all the women in Atlanta, you slept with that whore! You made a baby with that bitch and lied.”

  Simon grabbed her wrists. “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.”

  Yvonne brought her knee up to his groin. Simon doubled over as Logan rushed over to his mother.

  “What in the hell is going on here?” he demanded, looking from his mother to his father.

  Yvonne pointed her finger at Simon. “Y’all better get this motherfucker out of my house.”

  “Your house?” Simon panted as he stood up. “You don’t own shit around here. This is my house, and thanks to that Judas, I can’t go one hundred yards away from this house.”

  “Why didn’t you go live with that bitch?!” Yvonne spat. “How could you do this to me?”

  Erik held his hand up. “What’s going on here?”

  Simon rolled his eyes at his son. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with. This is grown-people business and you need to mind yours.”

  “No!” Logan snapped. “This goddamn family has been built on secrets, lies, and unrealistic expectations. What is this all about?”

  Simon snorted. “The day I answer to you two is—”

  “Your father fucked Helen Graham, that knock-off wannabe model who he replaced me with, and made a baby with her. A child who is grown now. A child he’s been supporting all of these years without telling me about it. Oh, and let’s not forget that he was taking care of that rancid bitch since she left the company. Is there anything that I’m missing?”

  “Where is the child?” Erik asked.

  Simon walked over to the bar in the corner and poured himself a glass of scotch. He took a big sip and looked over at his sons. “Where all of my children should be. She works for the company and has shown me more loyalty than either of you!” Simon slammed his glass on the wooden bar, cracking the bottom of it.

  “You have humiliated me for the last time, Simon Jordan. You are going to pay for your crimes one way or another. I don’t want to be in this house. I’m leaving.” Yvonne started for the door, then she stopped and crossed over to Simon. She picked up the glass and tossed the contents in his face. “Bastard.” Yvonne stormed out of the house.

  Simon grabbed another glass and filled it with more scotch. “Why don’t the two of you follow your mama and get the hell out of my face.”

  Erik gave his father a slow once-over. “So, that’s why you did it? You were stealing to take care of your other family? You spent all these years lying to us about what it takes to be a real man and you were nothing but a sack of shit.”

  “Don’t you stand there in judgment of me! Your mother isn’t perfect and being married to her was just one step below hell. But I took care of my family.”

  “Yeah. If lying and stealing is what you call taking care of your family, then you did a great job, Simon.” Logan sneered at his father, then dashed out of the house.

  Simon sipped his drink and looked at Erik over the rim of his glass. “What?”

  “Who is your child?”

  “Guess I should tell you since you have a hard time keeping your pants zipped around pretty women. Ingrid is your sister.”

  “Does she know?”

  Simon shrugged and took another sip of his drink. “I don’t know what her mother told her. But I wasn’t going to let my child suffer. Think what you want about me, but I took care of all of you. Even your crazy mother. See, y’all think she is some kind of saint. But that woman abandoned
me long before Helen and I—”

  Erik held up his hand. “I don’t care to hear your story, Dad. That’s my mother and I’m always going to have her back. Especially now.” Erik started for the door, ignoring his father’s ranting. Now he had to wonder if he should be the one to tell Ingrid the truth.

  It made sense, his father hiring her when she had very little experience. Granted, she was good at her job, but looking at her résumé, she shouldn’t have been running the PR department for Jordan Industries.

  Was he supposed to keep her on staff? Would his mother see it as another betrayal if he did? But he couldn’t hold Ingrid accountable for what his father did, and letting her go now would be the dumbest move of his short tenure as CEO. But he had to do right by his mother, because it was clear that Simon hadn’t.

  “Erik!” Logan called out when he spotted his brother on the porch.

  “Yeah?”

  “What did you and that son of a bitch talk about?”

  Erik rubbed his hand across his face. “Dad has a daughter. And it’s Ingrid.”

  “Damn. Didn’t you—”

  “Hell no! This puts me in a tough spot. Am I supposed to fire her because of an accident of birth? Maybe I should just walk away from all of this drama.”

  “And do what? You have always loved this company and what it stands for. You like making the products and seeing the reaction of women finding makeup that matches their skin tone and makes them feel beautiful.”

  “Why did you hate it so much?”

  Logan shrugged. “Because it made Ma so sad. She’d act like everything was all right, but when she saw the commercials or the ads in magazines, she’d cry. I’d ask her what was wrong and she would always say nothing. That’s why I started drawing pretty pictures of her. Simon knew what he was doing when he slept with Ma’s replacement. I guess he didn’t want to divorce Ma because of the bad publicity and the fact that this was supposed to be a family company.”

  Erik rubbed the back of his neck. “How did I miss Ma’s pain?”

  “Because she did a good job of hiding it from everyone. I was just around more. Not saying you did anything wrong. Dad took you under his wing for a reason.”

  “Where did Ma go?”

  Logan shrugged. “Called her and she won’t answer the phone.”

  “We need to find her.” Erik pulled out his phone and sent Sylvie a text.

  Rain check on dinner, please. Logan and I have to find my mother.

  Tucking his phone in his pocket, he told Logan to get in the car.

  * * *

  Sylvie was about to pop her second bottle of champagne when her phone vibrated. “Ooh,” she muttered as she read the text.

  “Is it time for me to leave because Mr. Lover Man is coming over?” Olivia quipped.

  “Erik said he’s out looking for his mother.”

  Olivia stroked her forehead and reached for her phone. “I haven’t gotten anything from Logan.”

  Sylvie set the bottle in the middle of the bar. “Do you think he’s lying?”

  Olivia grabbed the bottle of champagne and popped the cork. “Yeah, because his brother’s girlfriend, who happens to be his girlfriend’s best friend, wouldn’t tell her.”

  “Well, why hasn’t Logan texted you yet?”

  “We didn’t have plans. I mean, he’ll get home when he gets home. But that’s our relationship. What I need you to stop doing is judging Erik by the mistakes of others.”

  Sylvie sighed. “You’re right. I hope they find their mother. I wonder what’s going on.”

  “That’s a good question. One thing I know for sure is that Logan is highly protective of his mother. If this has something to do with their father, then I hope that man has some security to keep Logan’s hands from around his throat.”

  Sylvie watched as Olivia poured the golden liquid in her flute, and silently prayed that Erik and Logan would be all right.

  “So, what do we do next?” Sylvie asked as she fingered the rim of her glass.

  “Wait and see what happens next.”

  Sylvie pushed her flute to the side. “Shouldn’t we be sober?”

  Olivia took a swig of her champagne and shrugged. “This is my first family trauma. We’re in this together, sis.”

  Are you sure this is what you want to deal with? a voice inside Sylvie’s head asked. She was going to put the champagne aside for sure.

  * * *

  It wasn’t until Sylvie heard a banging at the door that she realized that they’d fallen asleep on the sofa in the den while listening to Whitney Houston’s greatest hits.

  Sylvie rubbed her forehead and slowly rose from the sofa. Looking out of the front door, she was initially confused when she saw Logan standing there. Seconds later, she saw Erik and opened the door.

  “Hey. Is everything all right?” she asked as she ushered the men inside.

  Logan laughed. “Are you drunk, and does that mean Olivia is as well?”

  “I’m not drunk, and Olivia is in the den. But are you guys all right?”

  Erik crossed over to Sylvie and pulled her into his arms. “This has been one hell of a night. Whatever you and Olivia have been drinking, I hope you have some to share.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think champagne seems appropriate, but I have some vodka or some rum.”

  Logan headed for the den, where Olivia had been snoozing. “Water. That’s all we need.”

  Alone in the living room, Erik and Sylvie stood there looking at each other in silence. She felt as if she could feel the pain flowing though his body. “Babe, what happened?”

  “My father is an even bigger fraud than I ever knew. My mother took off and we don’t know where she is. Given her current condition, I don’t want her out there roaming around, emotional and sick.”

  Sylvie took his hands in hers. “I wish I knew what to say.”

  He pulled her closer to his chest. “I wish I knew where my mother was.” Erik kissed her forehead.

  “Want some coffee or something?”

  “Coffee would be nice. If Ma does decide to call back, I want to be able to meet her wherever she is.”

  Sylvie nodded. “We all could use some coffee,” she said.

  “So, tell me about this job that has you all excited.” They walked into the kitchen and Erik took a seat at the breakfast nook while Sylvie crossed over to the coffeemaker.

  “Are you sure you want to hear about that?”

  “Yes, make me smile,” he said.

  She filled the coffeemaker with the Dancing Goats coffee grounds. “Well, if you really want to smile, then let me share some of these pastries with you.” She pulled a pink box from the top of the refrigerator and set it in front of Erik. He opened the box and smiled at the fritters.

  “Smells good.”

  “There’s apple, peach, and pecan.”

  “What’s your favorite?”

  She shrugged. “All of them. The Sweet Spot is one of the best bakeries in America and soon the world.”

  “Oh really?”

  Sylvie nodded, then told him how this was the first business she’d done interior design for and how the owner credited her for a turnaround in her business. “She sends me a care package every month.”

  Erik picked up a pecan fritter and took a bite. “This is delicious.”

  “Now they’re opening a location in London, and I’m going to design the place for them.”

  Erik set his treat on a napkin Sylvie had sitting by the box. “So, that means you’re going to London?”

  “Not until I finish things at JI, but yes.”

  He nodded but kept silent. Sylvie wondered if this was the part where she was supposed to ask him if he wanted her to stay. But would she be prepared for the answer? Suppose he said yes?

  She rounded the counter and sat beside him. “The timing sucks, doesn’t it.”

  He patted her knee as he finished his fritter. “No, you go ahead and do your thing. You have a business to run, and if you didn’t go
you’d be missing out on a huge opportunity.”

  “Oh.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Sylvie did want him to at least have some sort of reaction to her leaving. He made it seem as if he didn’t care at all.

  * * *

  Erik wanted to tell Sylvie to stay. But he also didn’t want Sylvie caught up in the family drama that he was dealing with. He hadn’t even told her the whole story, and he didn’t know how. It still didn’t make sense to him.

  “Well,” Sylvie began, breaking the silence that had engulfed them, “I’d better get this coffee.”

  “I’m really happy for you,” he said as she crossed over to the coffeemaker.

  “Thanks. And just because I’m finishing up the project at JI early, it doesn’t mean that I rushed it.”

  “I know. You and your crew have been working ahead of schedule, and that’s a good thing. Don’t want to monopolize all of your time, you know.”

  She sighed, then grabbed two coffee mugs and filled them. Erik knew it was time to shut up.

  “Cream or sugar?” Her voice was cold and he knew why. He even offended himself by his last statement.

  “I’ll take it black.” He could’ve sworn that she rolled her eyes at him as she slid the mug over to him.

  “I’m going to check on Logan and Olivia.” As she walked out of the kitchen, Erik could’ve sworn that he felt the temperature drop forty degrees. He sipped his coffee and pulled out his cell phone, hoping that his mother would answer when he called her this time.

  Voicemail again.

  Sticking his phone in his pocket, Erik headed into the den, where all conversation stopped and Sylvie rose to her feet.

  “I’ll be back with the coffee.” She brushed by Erik without giving him a glance. Olivia pointed at him.

  “What did you do to her?” Olivia asked through a series of hiccups.

  Erik shrugged.

  Logan shook his head. “Yeah, I was afraid this would happen. Olivia, let them handle it, all right?”

  “You’re just saying that because he’s your brother. But Olivia, I mean, Sylvia, uh, Sylvie is my best friend and closer to me than my own sister.”

  Logan patted her knee. “You’re an only child, babe.”

  “Oh yeah,” she said, then laid her head on Logan’s shoulder. She pointed her finger at Erik. “But she was happy before you got here. What did you do?”