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11
Tiara stared up at the home that the security guard dropped her off at. She knew some gated communities were serious about their security, but this one took it to a whole new level. She was positive they were going to ask her for both a blood and a urine sample before letting her on the site.
She didn’t know whether she was impressed that Jordan had a background check done on her already or pissed off that Jordan had a background check done at all.
She started at the older silver-haired lady that opened the front door as the security vehicle drove away.
If this was the housekeeper than Jordan was on a whole different level of money than what she ever thought. If the housekeeper wore designer jeans and pearls and looked like she just stepped out of the pages of a magazine, then there was no hope for Tiara. But she had seen the level that Jordan took his own grooming. Even when he called himself being casual when he lounged around the hotel suite, he always occupied it at a higher level of casual than her PJs with the weed smoking cows. It was just another subtle reminder that he came from money. A whole lot of money.
Tiara was as high maintenance as the next girl who loved to get her hair and nails done, but this lady was taking it to a whole new level. The level that screamed I was born into money, I had a platinum teething ring and was given stocks in Fortune 500 companies as a reward for good grades.
Tiara’s mouth dropped open further when she got a good look at the house that she was standing in front of. It was gorgeous. It was huge. She was going to break something just looking at it, and whatever it was it was going to cost more than she made in a lifetime. If she ever had any doubt that Jordan had money it was put to rest by the sight of the home he bought and had renovated. She slowly climbed the steps up to the entryway where the older lady stood in the doorway.
“You must be Tiara,” the woman greeted her warmly, holding out her hand with her palm down and the back of her hand up. Tiara wasn’t sure if she was supposed to shake it or kiss it like this woman was royalty or something.
She opted to give her a weak shake. She figured she couldn’t afford to break this woman any more than she could anything in the house.
“Yes—yes, I am Tiara Lawson,” she managed to stutter. She had no idea where the fearless female who stood strong in the face of danger went. She guessed she could be intimidated by a very obvious show of money. This wasn’t the same when she met Jordan’s friends and their spouses. Nope, this was flat out, shove it in your face warning sign that she was playing way outside of her price range.
“Eek,” escaped from her as she was forcefully pulled into a back-breaking embrace. Wow, this skinny little lady had some strength in her. “Please…let…go.” She mumbled while trying to draw in some air.
“Oh sorry,” the woman gave a very girlish giggle. “My kids are always telling me that not everyone appreciates my hugging enthusiasm.” She released Tiara’s body, but still managed to retain her hand, pulling her into the foyer.
Tiara’s breath caught as the strange woman grabbed and squeezed her hand. Fuck she was strong, flitted through her head as she was tugged into the foyer of the house. Her breath rushed out of her, not because of a killer grip, but because she was stunned by the beauty of the place. Large windows high up in the walls above the door which let in the glowing light of the setting sun. If that wasn’t enough the light reflected off the large chandelier with the teardrop crystals hanging from it. It made the whole place glow an amazing golden light. The winding staircase that led up to another level was lined by wood that shone in the light. Even the hardwood floors reflected the light.
There were basically four directions she could have gone from the foyer. Off to the left, she caught a glimpse of a formal living room. To the right were a set of French glass doors that were shut and beyond it was dark so she couldn’t see into the room beyond. The woman pulled her down a hallway next to the staircase leading her deeper into the house.
Her eyes bulged as she came out into a combination family room kitchen that appeared to run the length of the back of the house. The kitchen had a large island that would be a chef’s dream for preparing meals. Countertops and cabinets ran along the length of two of the walls of the kitchen. She imagined the meals that she could cook up with her mothers and sisters in this large space. There was plenty of room for them to create their famous holiday or even Sunday dinners without bumping into each other.
Now she was really pissed off at Jordan for teasing her with a glimpse of her dream kitchen. She was ready to pick up one of the ceramic knives she saw on the counter and stab him right in the stomach with it. The anger was strong in her, and it didn’t help that this woman wouldn’t let go of her.
“Now we can get comfortable with a cup of coffee, and you can tell me all about yourself.” The lady said as she gestured for Tiara to take a seat on one side of the counter that made up the breakfast bar. She watched the woman reach up to pull two coffee mugs out of one of the cabinets and poured them a cup of coffee from the fanciest coffee machine that Tiara had ever seen. She seemed familiar, but Tiara knew she had never met her before.
“Who are you?” she took a sip of the coffee before adding cream and sugar that the woman was offering her, to the drink.
“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself. I just got so excited when Brad mentioned to his mother that Jordan had brought a date to the charity event that Kamiya’s foundation was hosting. Then imagine my excitement when I found out that he bought a house.” This woman was kind of exhausting. She was bouncing around like a bunny on crack. “Not an apartment or a condo, but an actual ‘I own land and have a mortgage, house.’” She rounded the counter to the side that Tiara had taken a seat on and grabbed her in another bone crushing hug. “Well not that he has a mortgage on this place. I am so proud of how successful my son has become even though he refused to join the family business.”
“Son?” Tiara squeaked out as she pried herself out of the hug. Now that she mentioned it, she could see the resemblance to Pamela Conway. The same creamy skin tone and sure was pretty sure that the beautiful silver mane had been just as dark as Pamela’s at one point in her life.
“Yes, Jordan is my son. But you must call him Christopher. He only allows family and his really close friends to call him Jordan. He is my youngest son. The stubborn one.” Mrs. Lehman rambled on.
“No, I have always called him Jordan. It wasn’t until today that I found out his first name was Christopher.” She looked around at anything but Jordan’s mom, “Hell it wasn’t until today that I found out his last name.” she mumbled.
“Really dear? He lets you call him Jordan?” Mrs. Lehmann took a step back and looked at Tiara. It took everything in her not to fidget under the woman’s scrutiny. After a few minutes of intense staring, Mrs. Lehmann must have reached some conclusion because she gave a firm nod and went back to sipping her coffee.
“I am Jolene Lehmann, Jordan’s mother.” The woman finally introduced herself. “I honestly came over to discover who was the woman who managed to bulldoze herself through the walls my son built around his heart.” She gave Tiara a penetrating stare. Tiara could see where Jordan got the ability to look at people as if he was peering into the depth of their soul. She was staring at the source wrapped up in a package of sophistication that couldn’t hide the high level of intelligence. She was looking into the eyes of a thug. A matriarch that any woman with a lick of sense wouldn’t tangle with.
Jolene Lehmann might give off the aura of a sweet little lady, but Tiara had the feeling that she wasn’t afraid to play dirty if the situation called for it.
With a start, Tiara realized she recognized that name. “Jolene Lehmann, the model who created Joy Sky cosmetics?”
“Yes, dear that was me.” Jolene gave a brief nod as she sipped her coffee.
“Oh Fuck, I need to get out of here,” Tiara slapped a hand over her mouth. Her mother would kill her to find out that she used such language in the presence of an elder.
“Why dear?”
“Look Mrs. Lehmann….” Only to be interrupted by her.
