Be My Valentine: The McClendon Holiday Series, Book 3

by Sean D. Young

  “You don’t want to admit it, but that’s okay. Yes, I want to meet. When, where and what time?” Renee asked.

  Patrice was a stickler for having every detail planned out, but her sister Renee had her beat. “Why don’t we say tonight, seven o’clock, my apartment?”

  “I’ll see you there.”

  She hung up the phone and left her place, heading for the shop.

  * * * * *

  Jacques had just walked into the boutique when his phone buzzed.

  “This is Jacques,” he said as he walked through the building, waving at Fantasia and Nikki on his way to the lab.

  “Jacques, Roger Fields here.”

  Jacques was surprised to hear Roger’s voice. He was curious as to what he wanted. “Roger, what can I do for you?”

  “I wondered if I could have a minute to talk to you.”

  “About?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about possibly coming back to Fairchild.”

  “Roger, I think we have a bad connection. Did you just say come back to Fairchild?”

  “Yes, you heard me correctly, Jacques. We want you back. We really need you and of course we would compensate you handsomely.”

  Jacques had no intention of going back to the company that found him guilty before they had the evidence to prove him innocent. There would be no way that he could ever trust them again as his employer.

  He had gotten so buried in his own thoughts he hadn’t realized that he didn’t answer Roger.

  “Listen, Jacques. Why don’t you think about it and give me a call next week. I’d love to sit down with you and talk about you taking your place at Fairchild.”

  “Thanks for calling, Roger. I will take what you’ve said into consideration and give you a call.”

  Before Roger could say good-bye Jacques had disconnected the call. Conversation forgotten, Jacques wanted to get into his lab and see if he could work some magic. He felt different and he knew it was because of Patrice. She was a wonderful lover and knew just how to satisfy him. He couldn’t get enough of being inside her and wanted to do it again. When he had the chance, he was going to do it again. He walked into the lab, removed his coat and donned the stark white lab coat.

  Pulling his tiny notebook from his jacket pocket, he sat down to go over his notes first before touching anything. He flipped the page over to scan other notes that he’d written a couple years prior. This one he needed to add a vanilla absolute in it instead of using an essential oil. Even though the two are very similar, absolutes sometimes tend to carry a more true to nature fragrance than essential oils. Vanilla absolute warms floral scents, it invites sensuality, and relaxes inhibitions, which was Jacques’s desired result.

  Scanning the word vanilla, it reminded him how good Patrice smelled last night. The vanilla scent on her skin was sweet, rich and warm. It seemed to stay on the body longer because this morning, even though they had made love most of the night and when they’d awakened, that scent was still on her skin.

  He got up and pulled out all of Patrice’s supplies that she used in creating aromatherapy products and found a small vial of it. The vanilla was concentrated, highly strong and aromatic. It was the oil mixture extracted from plants. With a scent so strong he would have to dilute it.

  Jacques wanting to try the additional ingredient and if he got lucky, he might be able to have more than one for Patrice to try. He gathered all his supplies and set out to make a new fragrance.

  * * * * *

  Patrice finally arrived at work and was ready to get started. She had a large to-do list that should have been completed this morning including ordering products that she didn’t create herself for the spa and also the must-haves for the seaweed facials, warm body wraps and massages. But first, she wanted to talk to Jacques about having dinner with her and her sister. It would be a working meeting that she didn’t want to do without him. She understood his role as perfumer was to create the scent. But since he’d been doing this type of work for years, he was better trained in this area.

  She brushed her pants and adjusted the sleeves of her blouse before going into the lab. She didn’t want to disturb him, but it was the only time in the day that she had to tell him.

  “Jacques,” she called out, walking over to him.

  Spinning around on the stool, Jacques greeted her with a kiss.

  He went to grab Patrice around the waist and she pushed him back. “Oh no, my brotha, you are not going to be ravishing me in here,” she said with a laugh.

  “Ravishing you? Is that what you felt I did to you last night?”

  “I would say so,” she responded.

  Jacques gave her a wicked grin before pulling her to him once again. “Maybe, I should do it again tonight then.”

  “Speaking of tonight, I’ve invited my sister Renee over so we can talk packaging and marketing for the fragrance. I hoped you could be there to help out.”

  “Babe, I don’t do that kind of thing. I just make the perfume that goes into the bottle.”

  “I know that,” Patrice said, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “I thought it would be a good time for you to meet my sister.”

  “I’m meeting all of your sisters? Don’t you have four of them?”

  “Three,” she corrected him. “But this will only be my sister Renee. She’s the one in marketing.”

  “What time should I be there?”

  “Seven o’clock.”

  Jacques kissed her lips. “I’ll be there on time and once we get rid of your sister, I’ll ravish you.”

  Patrice didn’t stop herself from giggling this time. It seemed the nerd had a sense of humor. “I’m going to leave now before you get us both in trouble,” Patrice said.

  “Hold up, I thought you were the boss, missy,” he said.

  “Yeah, but I don’t want anyone coming back here seeing the boss with her legs spread or her ass in the air. That’s not professional and I run a professional organization.”

  “I’m with you, babe,” Jacques said in a serious tone.

  Patrice loved all the attention he was giving her, but she had to be really careful because she wanted to be taken seriously in the industry. She didn’t want to seem like a groupie or a woman so desperate that she didn’t care how she acted in her own place of business.

  “See you later. I’m going to my office if you need me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Patrice never pretended to be a good cook. The only two people she knew who could throw down in the kitchen were her sister Faith and her mother. If she hosted a dinner party, she’d call one of them. She contacted her mother to let her know that she was having a meeting at her place about the fragrance. Patrice had promised her that she would keep her in the loop on everything regarding the creation of the scent. Myra gladly agreed to help her with dinner since she had to be there too.

  The only thing Patrice was concerned about with both her mother and her sister being at the same table as Jacques was if Renee were to blurt out that they were seeing each other. She didn’t want her mother to give her a lecture about business and pleasure. That went out the window the first time he kissed her.

  Since she didn’t have a formal dining room, Patrice wanted to do more to her kitchen table than throw a couple of place mats on it, so she pulled out a beautifully decorative table cloth, brought down the wine glasses, and got a bottle of red and white just in case. She then made sure that she’d printed all the examples she could to show Renee to get some feedback. All that was left to do now was wait for her guests to arrive.

  Myra showed up wearing a blue jeans pants suit with rhinestones on the tips of the collar. Patrice loved the way her mother looked in her outfit. “Hi Mom,” Patrice said, opening the door for her.

  “Treecie, do me a favor baby, take this pan,” Myra said, handing the warm aluminum foiled tray to
her.

  “Thank you,” she said turning around.

  “Where are you going?” Patrice asked.

  “Back down to the car. There is one more container. Faith is bringing up the other.”

  “Faith? Mom, what is…” Patrice didn’t finish her sentence because her sister was walking down the hall carrying another foil-covered pan of food.

  See, we can’t do nothing small, Lawd. Patrice shook her head, but it didn’t make sense to get mad about it. She knew what this was, either Renee or her mother told everyone else in the family that Jacques was going to be in the meeting.

  “Hey Treecie,” Faith said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, before taking the dish into the house.

  “Is there anything else in the car, Faith?”

  “No, I think Mom went to get the last one,” Faith said, placing the pan on the stove.

  Patrice watched her sister take off her coat and walk toward her bedroom. She waited until Faith got halfway down the hall. “So, you’re staying?”

  Faith whipped around. “Of course. I’m going to serve the meal.”

  Patrice threw her head back and laughed before meeting Faith’s eyes. “You know I’ve got your number, girlie.”

  “What are you talking about?” Faith said.

  Patrice didn’t care about the innocent expression her sister was giving her. She pulled her into her arms. “It’s okay, sissy, you can stay.”

  “Let me put my coat down so I can get things setup in the kitchen,” Faith said with a grin.

  “You don’t have to serve the food.”

  Faith touched Patrice’s hand. “No, I want to do it,” she said, continuing to the room to put her coat down.

  As Patrice came back to the front of the apartment, she saw Myra struggling with a huge box. She ran over to her, removing it from her hands. “Mom, let’s see what you have in here,” she said, sitting it down on the counter.

  There were enough sweets in the container to feed a small army. Myra had cherry cheesecake, pound cake, 7-Up cake and a chocolate cake. “Mom, this is not a McClendon Holiday party, so why all the food?”

  “I don’t know what kind of desserts Jacques likes, so I made a couple of things. I’ve got a sweet potato pie at home, but decided not to bring it.”

  Patrice rolled her eyes. “Is Jenn bringing the twins?” Since everyone else had come, it was only natural for her to believe that all the McClendon’s were going to show up at her apartment.

  Myra shrugged just as Faith returned to the kitchen. “Yes, she’s coming.”

  Her mother laid her hand on her shoulder. “You okay with that, Treecie?”

  Do I have a choice? “I’m cool with it, Mom. I just want to let you know up front that this is a business meeting not a dinner party.”

  “I know that, Treecie,” Myra said, moving over to the stove to help Faith.

  Patrice opened her mouth to respond, but the intercom buzzed. Renee had arrived, so Patrice gave access to the building, but when she opened the door she was surprised to see Jacques standing next to her sister.

  Jacques stepped back to allow Renee to enter first and then he followed.

  “Do you guys know each other?” Patrice asked Jacques and Renee.

  Renee glanced at Jacques. “No, I’ve never met him before, but he knew who I was.”

  Jacques stepped closer to Patrice, giving her a hug. “Yes, I saw her standing at the main door downstairs. When she turned her head, she reminded me of you so I assumed she was your sister.”

  She could see how he could come to that conclusion because they had the same caramel-colored skin and sparkling brown eyes, but her sister was taller than Patrice’s average five-foot-seven height.

  “Renee,” Myra called out from the kitchen. “Get in here, girl, and help us.”

  Renee gave Patrice a terrified look as she mouthed the words, “Who invited her?”

  Patrice pointed to herself.

  “You know you’re in trouble right?” Renee said, moving past Patrice, walking straight into the kitchen.

  Despite her telling herself that everything would be okay with Jacques meeting most or all of her family members at one time, she just couldn’t help but be a bit nervous. Now she understood why her sister Jennifer was so nervous for Patrice to meet her now husband Simeon. Patrice had always been hard on the men her sisters dated. Even Michael, Faith’s fiancé, whom she’d known since they were kids, still Patrice gave a hard time. Experiencing it for herself didn’t feel good at all.

  Patrice turned to face Jacques.

  “Looks like you have an interesting family, babe,” he said, grabbing Patrice’s hand pulling her closer.

  “Yes, and this isn’t even half of them, but they’re harmless. Actually, they are some of the best people I know.”

  “Are they here for the meeting or to interrogate me?” Jacques asked.

  “Both.”

  Jacques lifted his eyes in understanding. “Oh, okay. I can handle them. Bring it on,” he said, gesturing with his hands.

  Patrice giggled. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  Jacques leaned closer to her. “I told you I ain’t scared.”

  “Can I get you a glass of wine while we wait for the meal to be served?”

  “No, I think I’ll just have a seat on the sofa,” Jacques said.

  “Before you go sit, let me introduce you to my mother and my other sister,” Patrice said, leading him into the kitchen.

  “Mom, I want you to be Jacques Germain.”

  Myra picked up a clean dishcloth and wiped her hands off before turning around. “Hi Jacques,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. McClendon,” Jacques said in return.

  “And this is my oldest sister, Faith,” Patrice said, making her final introduction.

  “Faith, glad to meet you as well. Patrice told me that you own a boutique.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, ladies, I’ll get out of your way so that you can finish preparing for dinner,” Jacques said.

  Patrice watched him walk away all the while praying that everything would go well with the meeting and their relationship after it was over.

  * * * * *

  For some reason seeing Patrice’s mother in the kitchen made Jacques think about his own mother. He wasn’t one for revisiting the past often, but he did have a flashback to a time when his mother Amelia used to prepare big meals for their family. But those times were long gone now and he had to live for today. He was happy to see Patrice’s family had an interest in who she was working with. It seemed to him and from everything she’d told him about the McClendon’s that they were very supportive of one another. He needed to introduce his sister to Patrice as soon as he possibly could. He’d be very interested in what Cecilia thought of her.

  “Jacques, we’re ready to eat now,” Patrice said.

  Jacques walked into the kitchen and took an empty seat. “Where is everybody else?” he asked. There was so much food on the counters and the table there was enough for a small crowd.

  “I think the only people missing are my dad and my sister Jennifer,” Renee said, scooting her chair under the table.

  “Wow, this is a lot of food for just us,” Jacques responded.

  Patrice sat next to him and leaned close. “My mother doesn’t know how to cook for a few people,” she told him, looking at her mother.

  Myra shook her head before placing the wooden bowl with the salad greens on the table. “Well, I can’t lie. I just love to cook and I wanted your first meal with us to be special, Jacques.”

  Jacques glanced over at Patrice. “If I’d known that we were bringing our siblings to the meeting I would have asked Cecilia to come.” He was a bit nervous once he looked into the eyes
of the women who surrounded him at the table. At least if his sister was there, he’d have a family member on his side present.

  “Why don’t we have a dinner party at my house soon and that way the whole family could be there and your sister too?” Myra suggested.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Everyone was seated at the table and Myra reached over to grab Faith’s hand and everyone else did the same. Jacques watched them all bow their heads and Myra said a quick prayer. In the end everyone said amen.

  “Would you like some salad?” Renee asked Jacques. She lifted the salad bowl and allowed him to take a portion.

  “Thank you, yes,” he said, taking the tongs and filling his salad plate.

  “So Jacques, where do your parents live?” Myra asked.

  “My parents are deceased.”

  “I’m sorry,” everyone else said in unison.

  “Yes, it’s just me and Cee Cee up here. Our grandmother lives with her husband in Florida.”

  Being hit with one question after the other didn’t bother Jacques at all. But the time had gone by so fast. Before he knew it they were done with dinner and no one said a word about the fragrance. He wondered if this was Patrice’s way of introducing him to her family. Whichever it was, he was happy that he met them.

  “Would you like for me to help clean up?” Jacques offered.

  “No, sweetheart, we’ve got it,” Myra said.

  “Why don’t we sit down in the living area and discuss the branding for the fragrance,” Renee said.

  Patrice stood. “You guys go on in, I’ll be there shortly, I’d like to help clear the table,” she said, picking up the now empty plates.

  “No, Treecie, I’ve got it,” Faith assured her.

  Jacques followed Renee to the other room and sat. He didn’t want to talk about anything without Patrice being present.

  * * * * *

  Patrice was excited because they would be able to get an idea for a prototype of the fragrance bottle. She hoped that Renee could see her vision and help her to bring it to fruition. Picking up the last empty platter from the table, she placed it on the counter in the kitchen. Patrice cleaned her hands with a clean dishtowel then joined Jacques and her sister in the living room.