The Elliotts: Mixing Business with Pleasure: Billionaire's Proposition / Taking Care of Business / Cause for Scandal

Tia rolled her eyes. “We don’t need no more aggression. There’s fights every day.”

“Any more aggression,” Erika automatically corrected. “And there are fights every day.”

“That’s what I said,” Tia said.

Gannon made an amused choking sound.

“Don’t say no right away. But I’d like you to consider pink,” Erika said.

“Pink?” Gannon echoed in a combination of disbelief and distaste.

“Put your macho attitude aside for a moment if you can,” Erika said.

Tia shook her head. “I can’t do pink. The guys would never stop making fun of me. And they would be impossible in the classroom.”

“Studies indicate that students perform better in a classroom painted pink. Not only do they perform better but they’re happier.”

Silence followed.

Gannon gave Erika a considering glance and rubbed his finger over his mouth. Erika told herself to look away from his mouth. Away.

He looked at Tia. “I think you should do some research on how color affects mood and write a very short article. With Miss Layven’s approval, Home-Style can print your short article within the classroom redo feature. You choose the redo, within reason, based on your research and you get a writing credit.”

Tia dropped her jaw. “Me? Write an article for HomeStyle? Have my name in the magazine? I can’t wait to tell my friends.”

Erika couldn’t help smiling at Tia’s excitement.

“Omigod,” Tia said. “I mean, it would be much more sweet to be in Pulse or Snap or Charisma,” she said, listing EPH’s most successful magazines. “But this is cool, too.” She shook her head in disbelief. “My name in a national magazine.”

“You’ll need to do your research,” Erika said.

“I will,” Tia agreed.

“And Miss Layven will edit your article. You need to be prepared for rewrites,” Gannon said.

“That’s okay. I can do that,” she said, nodding as the car pulled in front of her apartment building. She looked from Gannon to Erika, then back at Gannon. She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Thank you so much, Mr. Elliott! I won’t disappoint you.”

She turned to Erika and threw her arms around her. “Miss Layven, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Surprised at Tia’s emotional display, Erika hesitated a half second before she returned the teen’s embrace. Her heart twisted with an odd emotion. “I know you’re going to do an awesome job, Tia.”

“Yes, I will,” Tia said and pulled back, pointing her index finger at Erika. “You can count on me.”

Gannon opened the car door and slid out so Tia could climb out of the car. “Bye!” she said and darted for the front door of the apartment.

Erika and Gannon waited until she was safely inside, then Gannon got back into the car and gave Erika’s address to the driver.

Her emotions swinging in several different directions at once, Erika didn’t say anything for a long moment. A big part of her wished Gannon hadn’t been so charming, so generous tonight. It would have been easier for her to not like him. His suggestion to allow Tia to write an article, however, felt like an arrow to her Achilles’ heel. In an effort to keep from throwing herself at him, she put her purse on the bench seat between them. She needed a barrier. A steel wall would be best.

She swallowed over a knot of emotion in her throat. “That was brilliant and generous. Thank you. For Tia. For me. For HomeStyle …”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now you owe me.”

Five

You owe me.

Erika’s heart stuttered and she felt her mouth go bone-dry. “Uh, owe you?”

“Yep,” he said with a sexy grin playing around the edges of his mouth. “Payback’s hell. I want you to play volleyball on Saturday afternoon.”

The lascivious thought racing through Erika’s mind came to a dead stop. “Volleyball? Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “I know you have athletic ability and you’re tall. The family holds a friendly little game where employees from the magazines play each other. We need another woman on the Pulse team. We’re only allowed one nonfamily stand-in and I have a hard time finding a female with the right height.”

Erika didn’t know whether to be amused, insulted or peeved. “Is this why you took Tia and me for hot chocolate and promised her that story? That was pretty low.”

“Two minutes ago it was brilliant and generous.”

“That was before I found out you wanted payment.”

“It’s not that bad a payment. Think about it. What’s the worst that can happen? You sit on a bench for the afternoon.”

“Why would I be sitting on a bench?”

“Well, you’d be an alternate, of course,” he said.

“Excuse me? I played volleyball in college.”

“That’s why I chose you.”

“To sit on the bench?”

“The guys get a little bloodthirsty,” he explained. “It’s all in fun, but I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

She shook her head. “So I’m supposed to be the token nonplaying female? If the rest of the female members of your family knew this, they would fry you,” Erika said. “Can you imagine what Finola and Bridget would say?”

“Bridget’s on Finola’s team, so I can’t ask her. It puts me in a bad spot. Besides it’s Snap against Pulse this time.” He sighed. “Do you remember Athena Wain-right?”

Erika vaguely remembered the extremely tall, middle-aged copy editor for Pulse. “Yes, why?”

“She moved to Idaho. I need a backup player and I’m surrounded by pygmies.”

She studied him, seeing the exasperation mar his handsome face. “I don’t remember your being this competitive with your family.”

His green gaze turned dark with an edge of sensuality. “When you and I were involved, I didn’t want to waste time talking about volleyball games with my family.”

Erika felt a quick rush of heat and resisted the urge to lower her window for a cold breeze. “One condition,” she told him.