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Lost Without You
Yahrah St. John
Rivals in Business. Partners in Love?As the creative genius behind Georgia’s most fabled cosmetics dynasty, Shane Adams has a legacy to live up to. The freewheeling Atlanta bachelor also knows how to romance a woman, wining and dining the city’s most eligible beauties. Only Gabrielle Burton seems immune to his legendary charms. Which makes Shane vow to seduce his stunning rival, whose sweet desire is like a lingering perfume…The hunky Adams Cosmetics VP has always held Gabby spellbound. But the workaholic parfumier never thought she could attract the sexy playboy’s attention. Until she undergoes a major makeover. Suddenly she’s on everyone’s A list…including Shane’s. As intrigue swirls around the company, is the sensual scent of passion leading Gabby and Shane to love?Kimani Hotties It’s All About Our Men
Rivals in business. Partners in love?
As the creative genius behind Georgia’s most fabled cosmetics dynasty, Shane Adams has a legacy to live up to. The freewheeling Atlanta bachelor also knows how to romance a woman, wining and dining the city’s most eligible beauties. Only Gabrielle Burton seems immune to his legendary charms. Yet Shane has never been able to forget his stunning rival, whose sweet desire is like a lingering perfume.…
The hunky Adams Cosmetics VP has always held Gabby spellbound. But the workaholic perfumer never thought she could attract the sexy playboy’s attention. Until she undergoes a major makeover. Suddenly she’s on everyone’s A-list…including Shane’s. As intrigue swirls around the company, is the sensual scent of passion leading Gabby and Shane to love?
Gabrielle was breathless and just a tad bit giddy as they danced.
Shane guided her easily around the dance floor to the mid-tempo jazz tune. He bent down to rest his head lightly against the side of her face, and she could feel his breath against her cheek.
A slow song came on and Shane slowed the tempo. Shane closed the gap between them until they were chest-to-chest and hip-to-hip. When he ground his hips against hers, Gabrielle thought she might faint. Her cheeks became warm, and she could feel liquid heat, unlike she’d ever felt before, pooling in the lower half of her body. There was no mistaking that Shane Adams knew exactly what turned her on.
And when his hands reached out to caress her face, Gabrielle couldn’t help but look up into his hazel eyes. She understood what she saw there: lust, plain and simple. But she never expected him to act on it. So she was surprised when Shane leaned down to brush his lips gently across hers. It was the softest of kisses, but it sent a shiver running up her spine all the same. She didn’t—couldn’t—stop him when he deepened the kiss.
YAHRAH ST. JOHN
is the author of ten 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.
Lost Without
You
Yahrah St. John
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader,
Lost Without You continues the Adams saga introduced previously in Need You Now, but will focus on Shane Adams and Gabrielle Burton. When I originally conceived the book, it started out as a makeover story: Gabrielle as the prudish chemist and Shane as the gorgeous bachelor. It quickly evolved into more, with the epic rivalry between Adams Cosmetics and Jax Cosmetics as the backdrop.
Since fragrance played a big role, I realized a great conflict would be to have the fragrance stolen and have Gabrielle appear to be the culprit.
Remember the spoiler alert I gave you about Andrew Jackson of Jax Cosmetics? He is back in a major way as the villain of Lost Without You. So you can only imagine what will happen when his estranged son, real-estate mogul Jasper Jackson, falls in love with sexy spokesmodel, Courtney Adams. Stay tuned for the final chapter of the An Adams Affair trilogy, Formula for Passion, coming September 2012.
Visit my website at www.yahrahstjohn.com for the latest updates or contact me via email at Yahrah@yahrahstjohn.com.
Warm regards,
Yahrah St. John
I couldn’t have reached my goal of publishing
my 10th book without the love and support of all my family, friends and readers. Thank you for continuing to allow me to do what I love, and that’s bringing you stories of love, passion, drama and intrigue. I hope to bring you more great books in the future as
I challenge myself to reach new heights as an author.
Dedicated to my Dad, Austin Mitchell, for believing
I could reach my goal of seeing my 10th book in print.
Contents
Chapter 1 (#u83736725-bcb4-552a-9a37-1084d4f3fbe4)
Chapter 2 (#u73e59dcb-3cdd-5d59-a0d4-95d627f7aad7)
Chapter 3 (#u645302b8-8285-5404-9489-3ad63b48b5e5)
Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1
“Thanks to Hypnotic and the backing of Graham International, Adams Cosmetics is back in the black!” Kayla Graham announced during a midweek board meeting in early March at the Adams Cosmetics corporate office in Atlanta. “The holiday sales numbers are in and the outlook is promising. We are beating our competition, Jax Cosmetics, in every division from cosmetics to skin care to fragrance.”
“Was there ever any doubt?” Shane asked.
Kayla smiled at her brother’s confidence. “Of course not, we—” she pointed to the other family members present: her husband, Ethan Graham, and younger sister Courtney “—know how talented you are.”
Shane had graduated at the top of his class at the Fashion Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science degree in cosmetics and fragrance marketing. He’d then gone to perfumery school in Paris before apprenticing at the Fragonard perfumery in Grasse, France.
Kayla knew her brother was well trained to bring Adams Cosmetics into the twenty-first century, but he needed help. He’d already been spearheading developing new products for the past six years, but they couldn’t continue to rely solely on him. Otherwise, he would burn out.
“Thank you,” Shane replied. “Andrew Jackson must be spinning on those alligator heels of his.”
Andrew Jackson owned Jax Cosmetics, their main competitor. Theirs was a bitter rivalry that spanned back to the days when their father, Byron, and mother, Elizabeth, went to college together. Their mother used to date Andrew, and when she chose Byron over Andrew, the feud began.
“We need to capitalize on the momentum Hypnotic is bringing,” Ethan Graham said as he joined the conversation. He was happy to see that Adams Cosmetics was finally starting to break even. It would make his board of directors very happy, considering they hadn’t been pleased when he’d decided to purchase Adams Cosmetics last year for his company, Graham International. He hadn’t cared, though, because thanks to his acquisition, he’d fallen in love with Kayla and she was expecting their first child, a son, in a few months.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Shane returned. “I’m working on the next fragrance.”
“How’s it coming along?” Courtney inquired.
Shane rubbed his goatee thoughtfully. “It’s coming.” Truth be told, he was having a hard time coming up with just the right notes to finish the fragrance on top of all his other work.
“We don’t mean to pressure you.” Kayla could see the tense look on Shane’s face. “But we’re hot now.”
“I’m well aware of that fact.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Courtney asked. She wasn’t good with chemistry, but she had a degree in marketing and finance.
“I have a solution,” Ethan stated.
Kayla turned and looked at her husband. They’d discussed his solution at length over the past several days. She’d hoped that Shane would have better news about his progress, but since he didn’t, they didn’t have much choice but to proceed with Ethan’s suggestion. Kayla held her breath and braced herself for the blowup she knew was about to come.
“Oh, yeah?” Shane swiveled around in his chair to face Ethan. “What’s that?”
“We bring in another head chemist.”
Shane jumped to his feet. “What the hell did you just say?”
Ethan held up his hand. “Shane, listen. This would help to ease the load on your shoulders.” He knew this decision would be met with hostility, much as his decision last year to remove Courtney as the Adams spokesmodel had. Hiring his ex-girlfriend, Noelle Warner, as her replacement had proved disastrous and had nearly destroyed his marriage and cost him his child. This time, he’d consulted Kayla, and she’d been in agreement that giving Shane some relief was in the best interest of the company.
“I don’t need to ease my load,” Shane replied harshly. “I had been running the cosmetics and fragrance lab for six years before Graham International ever came along.”
“Shane, this is in no way a condemnation of your work,” Kayla responded. “Everyone needs help every now and then.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“Yet, you haven’t come up with a new fragrance even though you’ve been working on it for several months,” Ethan returned.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I have created several new lipsticks, shadows and nail polishes for the cosmetics division in that same time.” He didn’t appreciate Ethan honing in on his territory. Just because he’d learned to get along with his brother-in-law did not mean he’d forgotten how Ethan had come to own half of Adams Cosmetics.
Ethan sighed. “Of course we’ve noticed what a great job you’ve done with cosmetics, but I also think giving you some help is needed. We all want to see Adams Cosmetics thrive and expand, and that can’t happen if you’re being stretched too thin.”
Shane turned to his sister. “Are you in agreement with this?”
Kayla hated when Shane’s hazel eyes pierced hers. Sometimes it was as if he could see right through her. She reached across the table and grasped Ethan’s hand in hers. Last year, they had made a pact to run the company as equals and share in the decision making. “Yes, we are.”
Shane rose and shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. I’ve been outvoted. Why is that always the case with you, Ethan?”
Ethan was about to speak, but Kayla touched his arm.
“Shane, please don’t be angry with us.”
“And may I ask whom you’ve chosen as my counterpart?”
“Shane, we would never choose someone without your input. You’re the one who has to work with them on a day-to-day basis. It’s your lab.”
“How gracious of you,” Shane replied sarcastically.
“But we do have a candidate in mind,” Ethan added.
“Enough with the suspense,” Courtney said with a sigh. She’d been silent for long enough. “Just spit it out.”
“Gabrielle Burton.”
* * *
Shane paced the laboratory floor. Of all the names he’d expected to hear, Gabrielle Burton was not one of them. She was an excellent chemist, but she was also his archrival. They’d gone to perfumery school together and no matter the forum, the five-foot-six brunette had always competed against him.
Once near the end of the term, they’d competed to see who created the best fragrance. Their peers had to vote on their favorite scent. Shane and Gabrielle had tied for first place, but Gabrielle had insisted on a recount as she was sure she’d win, because her fragrance was better, she’d taunted. She’d been wrong. A recount had discovered one missing vote, giving Shane the win. What surprised him the most was that she’d merely shook his hand and told him she’d beat him the next time.
She’d been an annoyance, to say the least, and had rubbed Shane the wrong way from day one. If he said the sky was blue, she would say it was green, if only to be obstinate. Shane highly doubted Gabrielle Burton would accept having to answer to him in the lab. He’d heard she’d stayed in Paris to work for L’Oréal, but that wouldn’t stop her from going after this position.
This was definitely going to be interesting.
* * *
“Gabby, are you sure you want to leave Paris?” Mariah asked as she watched her dear friend and roommate pack her suitcases that evening. They’d met ten years ago when Gabrielle was lost on the Paris subway. With some free time on her hands, Mariah had graciously agreed to show her the way. Born and raised in South Africa, Mariah had been a struggling model back then, but now was one of the most sought-after models. With Mariah always on the road, it hadn’t made sense for her to pay for her own place, and so they’d moved in together. A decade later, they were still the best of friends.
“Yes, I think it’s finally time I go back to the States,” Gabrielle said, exiting her closet with several handfuls of clothes. “I can’t run from my past forever.”
Ten years ago, she had come to Paris for perfumery school and had never gone back to the United States. She had never faced down the fact that she’d lost her brother, Seth, in a tragic drowning accident when she was fifteen. She’d insisted on accompanying Seth on a boating trip with his friends. Then the weather turned treacherous when they were on their way back to shore, and Gabrielle had fallen overboard. Seth had jumped in to save her. And he had; he just hadn’t been able to save himself.
Their family had never recovered from the loss. Although they’d never said it, Gabrielle knew her parents blamed her for losing their only son, and having her around only seemed to add to her parents’ grief. So as soon as she could, Gabrielle had hightailed it out of Atlanta, come to Paris and stayed.
She’d graduated top of her class in perfumery school and had been immediately hired by L’Oréal. Although she was an excellent chemist, she’d recently been overlooked for a promotion. Gabrielle supposed she didn’t have the look or pizzazz they wanted in their top-chemist position, and so she’d begun to realize it was time for a change. She hoped that a new opportunity with Adams Cosmetics would give her the creative boost she needed.
Of course, the position meant she would have to work closely with Shane Adams, and that caused Gabrielle to take a deep, calming breath. The knowledge that she would be going to work for her father’s employer’s direct competition was not lost on her. Not many people knew that her father, James Burton, had started out as an assistant at Jax Cosmetics. He had moved up the ranks and was now an executive. When she was younger, he used to sneak her and Seth into the labs at night, and it was there that she developed her interest in chemistry.
And the fact that she and Shane had been like oil and water in perfumery school made the position even more of a challenge. But despite their rivalry and her personal conflict, Gabrielle was sure they could overcome their differences. They were both professionals, after all.
“Okay, so you’re interviewing, but why are you packing?” Mariah asked. “You haven’t even been offered the position.”
“That’s irrelevant, because I will be.”
“You’re that sure of yourself?”
