Page 34 of Logan (The Valeur Billionaires #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

LOGAN

“ H ey, Dad, how are you doing?” I ask as I enter his study, shutting the door behind me. This will be a quick visit because I want to go see Sloane and check if she’s okay after what happened at the office this morning.

I was so sure she was just trying to get out of the presentation after spending the night with another man. I didn’t think she was actually sick, and I acted like a total jerk. The way I treated her is unforgivable.

James reported he dropped her off at home, but she refused to go to the doctor and fuck, I’m worried. I want to see her and make sure she’s alright. I want to hold her until she feels better.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since I returned from London, and now the memory of her pale, stricken face in that conference room haunts me .

“I’m fine, you know, the usual,” Dad replies, waving a dismissive hand from his armchair. “How did the board meeting go?”

I shrug, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Same as always.”

“Georgina said it’s hard to reach you.” He peers at me over his reading glasses.

“Georgina?” I reply, trying not to show him how much hearing that name shakes me. My heart pounds. “When did you talk to Georgina?”

“Oh, she just called to give her congratulations on the deal. Nice girl. She said she’s been trying to reach you for a while, and you must be busy.”

Yeah. Busy not answering that extortionist witch. I clench my jaw and take a seat across from him. “What else did she say?”

“She asked me to tell you to return her calls because it’s important.” He shrugs.

“Important?” I echo, my mind racing.

“Yes. She said she’s worried that you’re working too hard. That you need to make more time to spend at home. I told her it’s fine, that you always come visit and update me. And here you are.” He smiles at me.

“That’s what she said? That I need to make more time to spend with you? In those exact words?” I lean forward, elbows on my knees.

“Yes, something like that. Is something wrong?” He frowns, finally picking up on my agitation.

“No, everything’s fine. I’ll get back to her.”

I update him on the latest details of the deal, trying to keep my tone even. He, as usual, doesn’t agree with all my decisions, especially my idea to invest in biotech. Which leads to arguments and friction, both of us getting more heated.

“I’m running Valeur Technologies,” I remind him again, my voice rising. “That means I get the final say. That is unless you want to appoint someone else in my place.” I cross my arms over my chest. The threat is usually enough to make him back down.

Dad’s dream is for his children to continue running the company.

When Cora decided she wasn’t interested in going that route, it broke his heart.

Now he’s even more determined that Liam, Lucas, and I continue down the path he mapped out for us.

But this time, he keeps arguing, so I leave the house later than I wanted, slamming the door behind me.

I get into the car and pull out my phone. I’ve been dodging all of Georgina’s calls until now, but I was na?ve to think a woman like her would give up that easily. Her hint was sharp and clear.

“I see my message got through to you,” she purrs when she answers, the smug smile in her voice coming through loud and clear.

“Calling my dad is a new low,” I grit out, gripping the phone tighter.

“You didn’t get back to me. I had no choice.”

“What do you want, Georgina?” I snap, losing patience.

“What do you think I want? Money.”

“I gave you ten million.” I blink, a headache throbbing behind my eyes.

“And it’s gone,” she says flatly.

I huff out a breath. “You blew through ten million in a year?”

“I have a lifestyle to maintain. Don’t pretend you spend less than me. You love your fancy cars more than anything. I know you.”

“I don’t get it. You come from a wealthy family. Why do you need to risk extorting money from me?” I try to keep my voice steady, but my control is slipping.

She falls silent. The only sound is her breathing on the other end of the line.

“Georgina?” I pull the phone away for a second to see if the call disconnected, then press it back to my ear.

“Dad lost the money. We have nothing.” Her voice is so quiet I almost don’t hear her.

What? They’re one of the richest families I know, probably more so than the Valeurs. I blink, trying to process this new information. “How can that be?”

“He made some failed investments and then tried to recoup the amounts and fell for some Ponzi scheme. Lost it all. Our entire existence now is spent trying to hide what happened.” She sighs, and for a moment, she sounds tired, defeated.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe you should adjust your lifestyle to the new situation.” I try to keep the judgment out of my tone, but I’m not sure I succeed.

“You think?” She laughs bitterly. “I’m not going to live like one of those common folk, running around like rats from place to place. For fuck’s sake, they even ride the bus with other people. It’s appalling.” Disgust drips from every word.

Sloane sits next to me on the bus, her thigh touching mine, as she chats and tells me about her life, her eyes sparkling with animation. Her hair brushes my shoulder as she leans in to point at something out the window .

I push the memory away. “Nothing will happen if you go out and work for a living. I work too.”

“Why would I do that when I have you?” She giggles, the sound grating on my nerves. “Or do you no longer care if I publish what I have on you? What would Daddy Dearest say?”

I want to reach through the phone and wrap my hands around her neck, to cut off her airflow until she turns blue—until that smug tone is silenced forever.

I take a deep breath, forcing down the rage. “How much do you need?”

“Meet me at the restaurant, the usual place, in an hour, and we’ll talk.” Her voice is sickeningly sweet again.

“Why do we need to meet?”

“Just show up.” She hangs up before I can argue further.

I bite my lower lip hard enough to taste blood and exhale. I can’t let her affect me like this, I need to remember what’s important, to protect my parents, my family.

At seven o’clock sharp, I park in front of Georgina’s favorite restaurant. Pain radiates from the base of my neck upward, and I know within an hour, I’ll have a debilitating headache. Apparently, threats and extortion don’t do wonders for my stress levels. Who would’ve thought?

I take a deep breath before striding into the restaurant. I’m sure Georgina hasn’t arrived yet. She’s always late. I’ve spent enough time with her to know she won’t be the one waiting for me. She’ll make sure I wait for her.

The hostess at the door takes my name and ushers me to our table, placed at the heart of the restaurant. Georgina’s absence is as expected as her taste for the dramatic.

I settle into my seat and survey the room. It figures that Georgina would pick a spot that’s as much a stage as a place to dine. This hotspot brims with the city’s elite, all eager for a side of spectacle with their supper.

I lean back and rub the bridge of my nose.

Twenty minutes later, Georgina appears, and as usual, she draws attention from everyone present. Heads turn.

There’s no doubt she’s stunning, dressed in an eye-catching silver evening gown. I stand and lean in to kiss her cheek, but she turns her head and kisses me on the lips.

I grab her shoulders and push her away from me. “What are you doing?”

“You used to love kissing me.”

“I also used to think you loved me, but you only love money.”

“I still love you.”

I shake my head. “You said it’s impossible to love me.”

“Well, I said those words out of anger. Don’t hold it against me. We were good together, we can still be good together.”

I sit back down without waiting for her to sit first.

“We were never good together.” I look into her blue eyes. How did I ever buy this act? How blind was I? I can smell the lie from a mile away now. Or maybe I never bought it, but it was convenient and easy to ignore everything .

She sits across from me, her face wearing a fake smile. “Don’t be like that, Logan.”

“Like what?” I lean forward. “What do you mean by ‘ that ’? Someone who realized your performances are just that, performances? When you told me you never loved me, that was the only time you ever told me the truth.”

She blinks, and her expression shifts from wheedling to hard. I think she’s understanding I’m not going to fall for the trap a second time.

“I want a million a month.”

I snort. “A million a month? Are you insane?”

“I need to live.”

“I think most people can live on smaller amounts.”

“Maybe. But why should I?” She twists her mouth into a smile.

Yeah. Why indeed? Why would she change her lifestyle when I’m agreeing to all this extortion?

And the funniest part is, I don’t even care.

I don’t care if she reveals to the world what she knows.

But after Mom’s accident, Dad changed. He shut down.

And I’m not sure if he, or Valeur Industries, could withstand the explosion that would come with the exposure.

I don’t think I want to test that theory.

“Fine. You’ll get your million.”

Her smile widens, but it vanishes immediately as I stand.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re done here.”

“You’re not eating with me?”

“I’ve lost my appetite. But feel free to order whatever you want. You have a million dollars now, after all.” I leave the restaurant, but not before collecting my takeout order from the entrance and paying for it.

I park next to Sloane’s apartment building, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white, the leather creaking under my fingers.

It was a bad idea to come here, and at night, no less.

I should just keep driving, press the gas pedal to the floor and let the miles erase this momentary lapse in judgment.

But damn it, I just want to hold her and take care of her until she recovers, until the color returns to her cheeks and the light to her eyes.