Need You Now

by Yahrah St. John

  “It’s what has to be done.”

  “Then why did you never do it?” Kayla returned, a little too harshly for her liking.

  “Because I was a fool,” Byron admitted to his daughter. “I didn’t want to admit that I could be wrong. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”

  “You weren’t wrong, Daddy. This is a family business,” Kayla persisted.

  “One that could go bankrupt due to the bad decisions I made in the past. Kay, if you want to save Adams Cosmetics, we’re going to have to do what needs to be done and sell some of our shares.”

  “I can’t let you do this. You and Mama started this company. How does Mama feel about this?” Kayla inquired. She doubted her mother would be happy to hear that they could be losing a part of the business it had taken them a lifetime to build. Not to mention the long working days and late nights they’d endured during the early days to make the company a success.

  “She has given me carte blanche to do whatever is necessary.”

  Kayla shook her head in resignation. “I just can’t believe it’s come down to this, selling off our shares for the almighty dollar.”

  “It will keep the company solvent. More than that, it will give you the much-needed capital to invest in the new fragrance line Shane has created, as well as expand our skincare line. These are all projects you’ve wanted to do for a very long time, but didn’t have the finances.”

  Kayla respected her father’s opinion and knew he was right, but it hurt all the same. “Okay.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You’ve convinced me. Now what?”

  “Now what?” her father asked, stroking her cheek. “Once the company is back on its feet, it can finally allow you to have a personal life and give your mother and me our first grandchild.”

  “Children!” Kayla huffed and pushed back her chair. “Where did that come from?” She took another sip of her coffee.

  “It’s about time you started working on a family, old girl.” Her father patted her shoulder. “You’re not getting any younger.”

  Kayla’s mouth upturned. “Thanks a lot, Dad.” She knew she was getting up there in years. At thirty-four years old, she was no spring chicken in the female reproductive world. Until now, she’d never really thought about having a child. She’d always been so focused on her career. Sure, there had been a number of men with whom she’d had casual affairs, but none of them had held a candle to her first crush, Ethan Graham.

  She knew it was silly that she compared the men she’d dated to Ethan, but compare she had. Ever since he’d returned from boarding school at the ripe age of fifteen and picked her up when she’d fallen off her pony at nine years old and kissed her knee, she’d been infatuated. And as she got older, it only grew stronger. How could she forget those six-pack abs in swim shorts and those muscular arms as they swum in her family’s pool? Ayden Turner, her ex-boyfriend, had tried but failed to live up to Ethan’s dark good looks and rippled physique.

  She’d seen Ethan in the years since and had effectively kept him at a distance. She’d had to. She’d made a fool of herself when she’d come on to him when she was seventeen and he’d turned her down flat. And since then, he’d dated a string of beauties and wealthy socialites, so even if she would have approached him again, he was too full of himself to even notice. So she focused on her career.

  “I didn’t mean that how it sounded.” Her father spoke at her silence. “You know you have always been the light of my life, Kayla, and I only want what’s best for you.”

  “I know that, Daddy. And maybe one day your wish will come true.”

  “I’ve put together a great list of potential investors,” Michael said when he called another meeting of the executive committee of Adams Cosmetics on Thursday morning, “and quietly started putting the word out that we’re looking for capital.”

  Kayla perused the names on the list and was startled to see Ethan Graham’s name. “Ethan Graham,” she said aloud, shocked. That’s the last name she’d expected to see. Hadn’t she just been thinking about him this morning?

  “Of course,” Shane said. “I gave Michael his name. Ethan is a former family friend and he might be willing to lend a hand.”

  “You know Daddy’s not going to like this idea,” Kayla responded. Actually, she knew how she felt. She hated the idea. She didn’t want arrogant Ethan Graham to have any part of the family business.

  Shane’s brow furrowed. “Well, Dad isn’t running this company, you are. Whatever beef he had with Ethan’s father should never have translated outside of business. Ethan used to be practically one of the family.”

  “Well, he’s not now.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, Kayla realized how juvenile she must have sounded. Shane and Courtney were both looking at her strangely.

  “What do you have against Ethan?” Shane asked. “He’s a brilliant businessman.”

  “Oh, leave her alone,” Courtney said, seeing how flushed Kayla’s mahogany skin was becoming. She may have been a few years younger, but even she had seen the monumental crush Kayla had had on Ethan back in the day. Trust her brother, being a man, not to notice.

  “Have you thought about how many shares you’re all going to put on the market?” Michael inquired, breaking into the sibling conversation.

  “What do you mean you all?” Kayla inquired. “I imagined the shares would be minimal.” She wanted to keep as many as possible.

  “The shares have to be significant in order to get an investor interested. I spoke with your father this morning and he and your mother, Shane and Courtney will sell 12.5 shares each and you would retain 25 percent as president.”

  Why hadn’t her father told her about this decision at breakfast? “What about you two?” Kayla looked at Shane. “This hardly seems fair.”

  “We know how much Adams Cosmetics means to you,” Shane responded. “And we’re fine with the arrangement.”

  Kayla pondered Shane’s words. “Okay, I can accept that, but that would potentially give a single investor 37.5 percent interest of Adams Cosmetics.”

  “True, but think of the reward,” Michael responded. “Or the shares could be divided among several investors.”

  “Money isn’t everything,” Kayla returned.

  “Since when?” Courtney asked. She’d seen the financials. Now was not the time to play it safe.

  “Fine.” Kayla’s mouth went into a grim line. She hated this, but she didn’t have much choice; she was in the minority.

  “How are you coming with raising funds?” Ethan asked Daniel later that afternoon.

  “Slowly,” Daniel replied. “Because Adams Cosmetics is a private company, their financial statements aren’t public record, so the bank is hesitant to lend funds.”

  “Continue to work on it. If necessary, I’ll place a call to the head of finance. If they want to keep Graham International as a customer, they will back this venture.”

  “Sure thing,” Daniel said on his way out.

  It left Ethan time alone to peruse a dossier on the Adams family. Over the past several years Graham International had expanded into several overseas markets, which had taken Ethan out of the country. He needed to catch up on what the Adamses were up to.

  The youngest, Courtney Adams, was spokeswoman for the Adams Cosmetics line. But she was also a force to be reckoned with. She had a degree in marketing and finance. Yet there was an impetuous streak in her. When she’d run off with her boyfriend to Vegas for a quickie marriage when she was eighteen, Byron had reined in his hotheaded daughter and had the marriage annulled.

  Shane Adams might be the middle child, but he was by no means overshadowed by the eldest or youngest. Shane was a brilliant chemist—he had been classically trained in Paris and was now vice president. He’d revolutionized Adams Cosmetics with the development of the skincare line when he was only twenty-five. Ethan was sure that with proper funding, the new fragrance line he was developing would be a success.

  And finally there was Kayla
Adams, CEO. Gone was the awkward young girl with long gangly legs. The Kayla he saw in the photo was breathtakingly beautiful. Kayla had matured into a cool, sophisticated businesswoman.

  He turned the page and focused on her accomplishments. Poised and driven to succeed at all costs, Kayla had started working at Adams Cosmetics when she was fifteen and never left. She became CEO of Adams Cosmetics at twenty-nine when Byron stepped down. Her decision-making skills were said to be exemplary, which would be both an asset and a curse.

  Kayla wasn’t going to give up control of Adams Cosmetics easily. That’s why Ethan had to be ruthless and insist they sign over additional shares. Right now they were only offering 37.5 percent to investors, but that was not going to do. Graham International must have controlling interest in Adams Cosmetics. It was the only way.

  Chapter 2

  “Are we attending the Tyler Perry movie premiere this evening?” Courtney asked her big sister Saturday morning as they prepared to square off in a game of tennis on the family estate. The Adams family estate was equipped with a pool, basketball and tennis court as well as a stable for the horses that Kayla used to ride during championships.

  The sisters had dressed for battle, Kayla in a pink-and-gray tennis dress that hit her thigh while Courtney wore a purple tank top and tennis skirt. Both wore their hair in unsophisticated ponytails.

  “Of course,” Kayla returned, stretching her arms behind her. “We have to present a united front to the world. Just because word is out that Adams Cosmetics is in trouble doesn’t mean we are going to slink off into a corner somewhere.”

  “I never thought we were,” Courtney responded. “We’re fighters. So when is the limo picking us up?” As spokes-woman for Adams Cosmetics, Courtney attended every public function.

  “Six p.m.” Kayla picked up her racket from the ground and headed to her side of the court.

  “Oh, I’ll be ready.”

  “Are you ready to lose, little sis?” Kayla yelled over the court. “Because I’m about to give you a spanking.”

  “Those are big words for someone who’s five years older than me.” Courtney laughed as she removed her jacket and tossed it on the green.

  “Oh, I’m going to make you eat those words.” Kayla chuckled. She gave an overhead serve and sent the tennis ball flying in the air.

  They played a hearty game before coming to a deuce.

  “You realize once I serve, I have the advantage?” Courtney yelled over the net.

  “Enough talk, Courtney. Let’s get on with it,” Kayla responded. Courtney served the ball and Kayla hit it with such force that Courtney had to go flying to reach it. But she still missed the point. “Whatcha gotta say about that?” Kayla teased as she did a victory dance.

  “Oh, shut up,” Courtney said. “Can we just agree to disagree?” she asked, walking toward the net.

  “Sure.” Kayla smiled back at her sister. “If you’ll agree I’m the better player.”

  “Like hell I will.”

  “Then we’ll have to have a rematch.” Kayla ruffled Courtney’s hair with her hands. “Now come on, I’m starved and it looks like Victor put out a great spread.” As a longtime employee, Victor was like a member of the Adams family and always took care of them. He’d put out a platter of sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit and a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade in the gazebo next to the tennis court.

  “And I’m ready for it,” Courtney said as they strolled toward the gazebo.

  Once there, they piled up their crystal plates with sandwiches, salad and fruit and sat down to the table.

  “You’re very quiet,” Courtney remarked.

  “I’m not happy about having to bring outside investors into Adams Cosmetics,” Kayla said, and then put up her hand. “And before you start enumerating the reasons why this is the right thing to do, don’t. I know what’s at stake, but I’m still disappointed that I couldn’t prevent this from happening.”

  “You’ve done everything in your power, Kayla, to preserve Daddy’s vision, but even you aren’t Superwoman.”

  Kayla gave a halfhearted smile. “Since when? When you were little you believed I could do anything.” She could easily remember Courtney following her around like a puppy dog and being annoyed that her little sister wanted to hang around her teenage friends.

  Courtney laid her hands over her hips. “And I still do. There isn’t anything you can’t do when you put your mind to it, Kayla, and that’s why I know you’re going to make this work.”

  “Thanks, doll.” Kayla patted her hand and then proceeded to take a big bite of the chicken salad on croissant that Victor had made for them.

  “No matter who the investor is?” Courtney asked, and placed a forkful of pasta salad in her mouth.

  Kayla wiped her mouth with the nearby napkin. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Ethan Graham?” The name landed like a missile in the air.

  “What about him?” Kayla looked down.

  “Oh, nothing.” Courtney shrugged. “It just seemed like back in the day, you may have had a thing for the man.”

  Kayla laughed nervously. “That’s utterly ridiculous.”

  “Is it?” Courtney asked, twisting open the cap on her water bottle and taking a generous sip. “The man is handsome as sin. Are you blind?”

  Kayla inhaled sharply just thinking about him. Was it obvious even to her sister that she’d once had feelings for Ethan that had gone unrequited?

  “No, I’m not blind…” Kayla responded. She remembered every detail about the man, even if it had been a year or so since she’d seen him. Who could forget those smoldering dark eyes of his or that broad expanse of shoulders? She sure couldn’t. She had fantasies about what it would be like to have his arms wrapped around her.

  “But I feel there is a ‘but’ coming in there,” Courtney finished her sentence.

  “I don’t feel that Graham International is the right fit for us,” Kayla replied. “They have their hands in so many markets—clothing, perfume, leather goods. Their cosmetics division is small.”

  “Which is why Ethan will jump at the chance of being part of Adams Cosmetics. Why are you so against this, Kayla?”

  “I’m not, but there are tons of investors out there. Why does it have to be Ethan?”

  “Because he’ll have not only a monetary investment but a personal stake, as well. I doubt Ethan wants the company to fail.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Kayla asked. “Look at the way Dad treats him. He’s always thought that the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.”

  “That’s because of what happened with Dad and Ethan’s father. It doesn’t mean Ethan is as ruthless as his old man.”

  “Courtney, you are so naive. Ethan Graham is exactly his father’s son, how else do you think he grew Graham International? He has to be as cutthroat as Carter Graham ever was, if not worse.”

  “Everything is coming along nicely,” Daniel told Ethan later that morning after a late lunch and game of racquetball. They were sitting in Ethan’s study and discussing his strategy.

  “So you’ve put the word out to potential investors that Adams Cosmetics is mine?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes,” Daniel stated. “I got my hands on their short list. I will make some confidential calls and advise you are prepared to match any offer an investor may make for shares in AC.”

  “Good.” Ethan nodded. “And the bank?”

  “Still on the fence.”

  “Then it’s time I place a call to Perry Lee,” Ethan said, rising from the sofa and walking toward his desk.

  “You’re going to call Perry on a Saturday?” Daniel asked.

  “Why not?” Ethan asked. “My banker should always be ready for the unexpected.” Once he’d called Perry and asked him to wire a quarter of a million dollars to Monte Carlo for a poker game he was playing. Perry had thought he was out of his mind, but when Ethan had doubled the money and wired back the cash, Perry had learned to never underestimate him.

&
nbsp; Daniel shrugged.

  Ethan dialed Perry’s personal cell phone number. “Perry, it’s Ethan.”

  Daniel listened to snippets of the conversation and knew that Ethan would soon go for the jugular.

  “We need to discuss this Adams Cosmetics deal…hmm…yes, I understand I am asking for a large sum…The bank is concerned about the risks…Have you ever known Graham International to default on a loan…Then there should be no problem with you getting this deal approved…Well, if you don’t think you can handle it…Then perhaps I should start looking at other banks…Great, I look forward to hearing from you. Please do tell Annette I said hello and enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

  Daniel watched Ethan walk back to the couch with a smug expression. “Now that’s how you get things done.”

  “A threat here, a threat there…”

  “Perry just needed an incentive to get the job done.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, why is this so important to you?”

  “If not for my father, there would never have been an Adams Cosmetics. Carter refused to compromise and so our fathers went their separate ways. We should have all been one great big happy family. The times I spent with the Adams family were some of the best of my life. There was room for everyone at the top, but my father was too pig-headed to see that.”

  “And now you’re trying to make things right?” Daniel inquired. “It sounds altruistic, but I think there’s more to it than that, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking for majority interest.”

  Ethan rubbed his jaw. “Well, yes, I will get something out of this arrangement.”

  “When are you going to make your move?”

  “Soon. In the meantime I need to get ready for the Tyler Perry premiere this evening.” He was sure a certain statuesque beauty would be present for the festivities.

  Kayla stared back at her reflection in the pedestal mirror in her room. She was Daddy’s girl and looked just like him, while Shane and Courtney were the spitting image of their fair-skinned mother. She looked darn good in a one-shoulder black charmeuse gown that ruched tightly at her waist and had a front slit from floor to thigh. The silky fabric clung to her every curve. No one was going to miss seeing her this evening. Was it a little over the top for her? Yes. Courtney was usually the provocateur, while Kayla dressed more conservatively. So why was she pulling out all the stops tonight? Kayla told herself she was dressing this way for her own benefit, but in the back of her mind, she knew she was dressing this way because a certain someone was sure to attend tonight’s event and she wanted to show him what he could have had.