Yahrah John - Need You Now

Ethan placed the decanter on a side table and walked toward her. Kayla stood up ramrod straight. She refused to be bullied by Ethan and was determined to stand up to him even though butterflies were jumping around in her stomach at his nearness. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

“No, I don’t imagine you need me just yet.” Ethan’s fierce brown eyes focused on hers, and Kayla found she couldn’t turn away from his piercing gaze that was drenched with hunger. “But you want me.”

Kayla swallowed hard.

“Oh, yes.” He watched Kayla nervously look downward. “You want me, but you’re afraid to show it. That’s all right. I have no problem going after what I want.” Ethan grabbed Kayla by the shoulders, and his mouth slammed down on hers, stealing her breath and fracturing her thoughts into a million pieces. Before she knew what was happening, he had her up against the bookshelves and was pressing his body against her. He cupped the back of her head as his mouth kissed her with fervor.

is the author of nine books and numerous short stories. A graduate of Hyde Park Career Academy, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northwestern University.

Her books have garnered four-star ratings from RT Book Reviews, Rawsistaz Reviewers, Romance in Color and numerous book clubs. A member of Romance Writers of America, St. John is an avid reader of all genres. She enjoys the arts, cooking, traveling, basketball and adventure sports, but her true passion remains writing.

St. John lives in sunny Orlando, the City Beautiful.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedicated to my 2 ndmother, Asilee Mitchell, for imparting wisdom, comfort and care when I needed a friend.

Dear Reader,

I came up with the idea for Need You Now by watching The Young and the Restless. I loved the fact that the characters fought for their family business, a cosmetics company…and so an idea was born. Kayla, Shane and Courtney Adams would fight corporate raider Ethan Graham to save Adams Cosmetics. I’d stir the pot by having Ethan and Kayla form a marriage of convenience.

Stay tuned for more exciting drama in the second book of the Adams Family trilogy featuring Shane Adams and saucy perfumier Gabrielle Burton.

Spoiler alert: I introduced rival company Jax Cosmetics—owned by Andrew Jackson—in Need You Now. He will play a major role in the second and third books.

Feel free to visit my website, www.yahrahstjohn.com, for the latest updates. Contact me via email at Yahrah@yahrahstjohn.com, become a fan on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, twitter.com/yahrahstjohn.

Best wishes,

Yahrah St. John

This hasn’t been an easy year physically, so I would be

remiss if I didn’t thank the people who’ve encouraged

me to keep writing in the face of life’s big obstacles.

Thank you to my Dad Austin Mitchell for being a

rock of strength, Beatrice Astwood for her warmth

and support and Demetrea Bishop, who is truly part

of my family. And of course, I have to thank my girls

Tonya Conway, Dimitra Astwood, Therolyn Rodgers

and Tiffany Griffin—You keep me grounded! And my

special friends: Bhushan Sukrham and Kiara Ashanti.

Lots of love to my readers for all their support.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

“Adams Cosmetics is in trouble,” Michael Cartwright said during an emergency Monday-morning meeting with the executive members of the board. As CFO, he was privy to the finances and knew what dire straits the company was in.

Present were Kayla Adams, Shane Adams and Courtney Adams, along with several high-level executives.

“How bad is it?” Kayla asked, tossing her silky mane of curls over her shoulder.

“We’ve lost revenue in the past consecutive six quarters,” Michael answered. “Blame it on the economy or consumers just spending less at Christmas, but we’ve seen a drop-off the past year.”

“What about our reserves?” Kayla suggested.

“We’ve already been dipping into those for well over a year to keep the company afloat. Add the lost revenue and we’re going to have to start laying off staff,” Michael replied.

Kayla shook her head. “I refuse to do that. The employees of Adams Cosmetics are like members of the family. There has to be another way.”

“Investors,” her brother, Shane, said.

Michael nodded in agreement. “We can contact your parents on their cruise. I’m sure given the situation the company is in, they would agree to part with shares.”

“Absolutely not!” Kayla stood up resolutely, walked to the conference-room window and folded her arms across her chest. “This company has been privately owned for over twenty years.” Not to mention how it would look to her parents to know that their eldest child had lost a company it had taken their entire lifetime to build. Kayla just couldn’t let it happen.

“Kayla, we’re running out of options,” her baby sister, Courtney, spoke up in a low, firm voice. She may have been the youngest and considered the prettiest, but she also had a degree in marketing and finance from Duke University.

“What about the new fragrance line you’re developing?” Kayla threw out to Shane. He was the head chemist at Adams Cosmetics and was not only brilliant but handsome, as well. “That’s sure to be a winner.”

“Kayla, do you have any idea what it would cost to launch a new line?” Michael replied.

“Of course I do,” she whipped back. “I’m not a novice, Michael.” She’d been CEO for the past five years since her father retired. She was one of the youngest CEOs in the business and proud of it. She’d gotten her master’s in business administration from Harvard and had studied Adams Cosmetics from the ground up.

When she was little, her father, Byron Adams, would bring her into the office with him. She loved cosmetics and loved the idea that just a little bit of makeup could transform a woman from an ugly duckling into a swan. Even though she wore very little makeup herself, having been blessed with exceptional mahogany skin from her father, she’d made it her life’s work to know every intricate detail of each line and how they came into existence.

Michael smiled despite her tone. Kayla had a razor-sharp tongue that would test the best of men. “I recognize that, Kayla,” he returned calmly. “But it’s going to cost millions for the kind of campaign we would need to launch Shane’s line, which quite frankly the company doesn’t have.”

“Michael is right,” Shane agreed.

“Whose side are you on?”

“This company’s,” Shane returned and turned his hazel eyes on his sister. The rest of the executive members might kowtow to his big sister, but he was not one of them. “Everyone, can you give Kayla and me a moment alone?”

“Try not to break anything,” Courtney whispered to her older brother on her way out the double doors of the conference room. She was used to them fighting like cats and dogs, and she was in no mood to be peacemaker.

“Never fear.” Shane stood up and buttoned his Italian suit. “Kayla doesn’t scare me.”

Once the doors had closed, Kayla wasted no time laying into Shane. “How dare you?” she whispered angrily, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re supposed to back me up.”