Page 43 of Logan (The Valeur Billionaires #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

LOGAN

I step off the company plane after spending a grueling day in Dallas, my legs stiff and my back aching from hours of tense negotiations.

I roll my shoulders, trying to ease the knots of tension, as I stride to the sleek black car already waiting for me.

Dad will be pleased. I stopped that fucking weasel Thomas from wriggling out of the deal he signed, but the victory feels hollow.

I’m going on forty-eight hours with a measly two hours of sleep snatched between endless meetings and two cross-country flights.

My head throbs, feeling like it’s about to explode.

I glance at my watch as I slide into the cool leather backseat, the faint scent of lemon and leather polish doing little to soothe my frayed nerves.

I switch on my phone. I need to cancel the rest of my meetings for today and go home to collapse face-first into bed, to let blessed oblivion take me for a few precious hours.

I sigh at the thought. The work will only pile up in my absence, a teetering mountain of urgent demands and looming deadlines. I already canceled all my morning meetings to take this last-minute trip, and those issues aren’t going anywhere.

I also have a daunting stack of unread emails waiting for my attention, no doubt multiplying like digital rabbits during the time I was in the air.

My phone beeps.

Liam

Need to see you as soon as you land.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, and ask the driver to take me to the office instead.

I step into the elevator and press the button for the executive floor, my finger hovering for a long moment over the number that would take me to her.

There’s nothing I want more than to go to her right now, to drink in the sight of her, to assure myself that the memory of her warm and willing beneath me wasn’t just a fever dream.

The last thing I wanted was to rush off to Dallas after what happened between us, to leave her with nothing but a lingering ache between her thighs. But I couldn’t ask Dad to send someone else in my stead because I wanted to stay tangled in bed with a girl I had no business touching.

It’s ridiculous. He would never understand.

But maybe, just maybe, I can manufacture an excuse to summon her to my office today, to steal a private moment, to see if the electricity still crackles between us the way it did that night...

Lost in heated thoughts, I barely notice when the elevator glides to a smooth stop. I stride out and make a beeline for my office.

I slip inside and shut the door, dropping my leather suitcase in the corner before slumping into my chair with a weary groan. I scrub my hands over my face, my stubble rasping against my palms. How the hell am I going to survive this day on no sleep and a ton of pent-up frustration?

I hit the intercom button.

“Emily?”

“Yes, Mr. Valeur?” I hear the faint clack of her manicured nails on the keyboard.

“Please bring me a triple shot espresso. The strongest we have.”

“Right away, Mr. Valeur.”

I disconnect without another word.

“Right away, Mr. Valeur.” The sardonic mockery in the familiar voice jerks my head up, and I find Liam lounging in my doorway.

“Does she call you that in bed, too? ‘Oh yes, Mr. Valeur, harder’?” He puts on a breathy falsetto, batting his eyelashes.

I fix him with a withering glare. “I don’t fuck my secretaries, and you damn well know it.”

“Yeah, I do. You’re too much of a tight-ass to do something that scandalous.

Too busy being the perfect manager to dip your pen in the company ink.

” He smirks. “But speaking of scandalous... There was an incident while you were away. Something I need to talk to you about. I need you in the conference room. Now. ”

He sounds serious. My full attention snaps to him. “What is it?”

“Just come.”

I follow him down the hallway, surprise flickering through me when I spot Lucas lounging in one of the leather chairs.

“Lucas? What are you doing here?”

“The issue involves Valeur Enterprises, so I called him,” Liam says, closing the door behind us.

“Sounds serious.” I take a seat, noting the tension crackling between my brothers.

Liam pulls out his phone, fiddling with it for a moment. “Just...watch this.” He places the device on the desk and hits play, the tinny speaker not quite masking the unmistakable sounds now filling the room.

Sloane’s breathy moans, the erotic slap of flesh on flesh, my guttural groans... I lunge for the phone, stabbing at the screen until the recording stops. I stare at Liam as I try to process what I just witnessed.

“What...? What the fuck is this?”

“That lovely little video was anonymously emailed to me and a few other Valeur execs, late last night. Recognize the decor? Among other things?”

Oh God. Oh, fucking hell. Ice slides through my veins even as hot shame crawls up the back of my neck. This can’t be happening.

“Who sent it?” I demand. Who filmed it? We were alone, I made sure...

Liam shakes his head. “No clue. I tried calling you, but you were out of reach on that flight. I had no choice but to start damage control on my own.”

“Damage control?” The words emerge strangled, horror mounting as the reality of the situation crashes over me. “What did you do, Liam?”

“The only thing I could do to protect the company. I called Sloane into my office this morning for a meeting about the video.”

“Jesus, Liam, tell me you didn’t?—”

“Yeah, you probably recognized her. She was at the apartment in London the day you arrived. She’s our top employee.

The last thing I wanted was to fire her, but if the video leaks, we’ll be in all the headlines.

That deal you went to save with Thomas? You think he’ll stay with us when he sees something like this? ”

“What did you do, Liam?” I say in a low voice. My stomach aches.

“For now, I suspended her from the company until we decide what to do. She refused to say who the man in the video is, even though it’s clear it’s another employee.”

I sink into the chair and rest my head on the desk.

He doesn’t know. I glance at Lucas, who sits there quietly. Why is he silent?

“Fuck.” Why didn’t she tell him it was me?

My stomach churns, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. I did this. I destroyed her career, her reputation for a few moments of stolen bliss. And now she’s suffering for my lack of control, my reckless selfishness.

Beautiful, brilliant Sloane. So brave, so loyal. Sacrificing herself to protect me when I’m the one who put her in this untenable position. I can’t let her pay for my sins. I won’t. Even if it means putting my neck on the chopping block.

“Yeah. I asked her who it was with her. If she would just say who it is, perhaps I could do something?—”

“It was me.” Lucas jumps to his feet.

I stare at him, shock paralyzing me for a moment before I grab his arm and drag him out into the hallway. “What the hell are you doing?”

He meets my eyes. “I know it’s you in that video, Logan. I know why you did it, and I know you’re about to fall on your sword. But I’m not letting you.”

“Lucas, you can’t?—”

“I can and I will.” His voice softens. “Let me take the fall for this one. I’m already the playboy, remember? Dad already thinks the worst of me. And I’m not letting you throw everything away when I can easily take the hit.”

“This isn’t your mess to clean up,” I argue.

“No, it’s family business. And contrary to popular belief, I know how to handle those.” Lucas’s signature smirk returns, but his eyes remain serious. “Besides, what’s one more scandal to add to my reputation? At least this time it’ll be for something that actually matters.”

I stare at him for a long moment. “Why?”

“Because you’re my brother,” Lucas says. “And because for once in my life, I want to protect something real instead of just pretending not to care. I can give the vultures something to write about. Better they focus on the family playboy than the the bright clean CEO, don’t you think?”

“You’re a CEO too. And I’m not letting you do this.” I stride back in.

“It wasn’t Lucas.” I look at Liam straight in the eye. “It’s me in the video.”

Liam’s eyes widen, his mouth dropping open in a rare moment of unguarded shock. He blinks at me for a long, charged moment .

“Don’t you have anything witty to say?” I rasp, a humorless half-smile tugging at my lips. “Not even ‘what the fuck were you thinking, you asshole?’”

“I don’t?—”

My secretary knocks on the door. We wait in deafening silence for her to set the coffee cup down and leave.

“Should I bring you coffee, too, Mr. Valeur?” She turns to Liam and Lucas.

“No!” They yelp together, and she almost jumps back. “Sorry. No, thank you,” Liam adds.

She exits, and Liam turns his gaze back to me.

“You had sex with a company employee? On her office desk? Fucking hell, Logan!” He runs a hand through his hair, gets up from the chair and starts pacing the room.

“You’re supposed to be the serious one between us.

What do I do now? I can’t report that it’s you in the footage. The board will demand you resign.”

“Tell them.”

“What?”

“Tell them the truth. Let them fire me. I did this, and I’ll face the consequences, whatever they are.”

Liam plops back into his seat. “You can’t be serious.” He turns to Lucas. “Tell him,”

Lucas shrugs.

“If they want to fire me, despite all the excellent work I do, let them fire me. The company will go to you, and we’ve already agreed you’re the better manager between us.”

“We both know that’s not true. You’re an excellent manager. Dad appointed you?—”

“Dad appointed me because he wants to prove something, not because he thinks I deserve it. ”

Liam looks at me, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?” Lucas joins in.

“Doesn’t matter now. Just do what you have to do. Report me.”

“No way, Logan. I can’t.” Liam buries his head in his hands. “I don’t want to manage without you. You’re a brilliant manager, and I like it like this—when the pressure isn’t on me. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Neither do I.” I rub the bridge of my nose again.

The only days I didn’t have a headache were when I spent time with Sloane in London.

Maybe I need to understand the messages the universe is throwing at me and let them fire me, even if it costs me my relationship with Dad.

Even if it costs me the company and my life’s work.

“London.” Liam straightens.

“What?”

“It’s because of London, right? You didn’t leave the apartment like I asked, did you? You slept with her. It all makes sense to me now.”

I groan. “What makes sense? Nothing makes sense. I’ve ruined everything, and she probably hates me now.”

“Ruined everything?” Liam tilts his head. “What’s between you two? Is it serious?”

“I don’t know.” I bite my lip. “We didn’t even have time to talk because I had to get on a flight. Yesterday was the first time we saw each other since London.”

“You fucked without talking? Well, that sounds good.” Liam grins.

“Sounds more like something I would do,” Lucas says .

I narrow my eyes. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

Lucas raises his hands in the air. “Sensitive much?”

“I’ve ruined her career.” My voice breaks. “I’ve ruined my career, the company. I don’t know what to do.”

“I suggest you go talk to Sloane first. If you care about her, you need to talk to her. She was stunned when I showed her the video, and even though she was shocked, at no point did she give you away. That says something.”

Fuck. “Yeah. You’re right. What am I even doing here? I need to talk to her.” I stand and exit the office, tell my secretary to cancel the rest of my day, and race to the car.

For the first time in my life, I’m chasing something that matters more than the almighty bottom line.

I just pray I’m not too late.