Dear Reader,
When readers are asked why they read romance, the reason I hear most often is the family-themed miniseries. Iâve created a few over the years: the Coles, the Blackstones, the Whitfields and the Eatons. But now there is a new family waiting to take center stageâthe Wainwrights.
Romance readers first met Jordan Wainwright in Man of Fate from The Best Men series, and got another glimpse of him in the online read Man of Fame.
When I introduced Jordan Wainwright in Man of Fate, I wanted to know why a man born of privilege would walk away from his familyâs real estate empire and a prize position with a prestigious New York City law firm to champion the little guy in a community undergoing gentrification. These questions are answered in Because of You, when family secrets surface and rivals must face the truth before it destroys everything they have worked for.
In Because of You we see a very different Jordan, who works hard, plays hard and loves even harder. He is a man who is used to getting what he wants, and when he meets Aziza Fleming, he knows he must have her. Set against the backdrop of the fast-paced, glamorous and edgy chic of Manhattan, the sizzling passion between Jordan and Aziza promises forever.
Look for the Wainwright Legacy to continue with Super Bowl champion quarterback Brandt Wainwright in Here I Am, in early 2011.
Yours in romance,
Rochelle Alers
âMr. Humphries?â
Raymond Humphries opened his eyes but didnât bother to turn around when he heard his personal secretaryâs voice. A hint of a smile tilted the corners of his mouth. Minerva Jackson, or Min, as he affectionately referred to her whenever they werenât in the presence of others, was the love of his life and the keeper of all his business and a few personal secrets.
âWhat is it, Minerva?â
âMr. Ennis is here to see you.â
Raymond swiveled in the leather executive chair. The same supple leather also covered the love seat, sofa and chairs next to the mahogany table in an alcove he used for small, intimate meetings. A larger conference room was set up on the first floor of the town house that housed the offices of RLH Realty, Ltd. The three-story structure was one of nearly a hundred buildings RLH owned and managed throughout Harlem. A reporter had dubbed him the âEmperor of Harlem Real Estate,â a sobriquet Raymond modestly accepted.
His large, penetrating dark eyes met a light brown pair that changed color with her mercurial moods. And lately Minâs moods had veered from syrupy sweet to unbridled rage. Maybe, Raymond thought, it was time he let her goâwith a generous severance package of course. He would continue to spend time with her, but only away from the office.
âSend him in. And hold my calls.â
Minervaâs full lips parted when she stared at her boss. Raymond Humphries was only her boss at the office. In the bedroom she was boss. He was rapidly approaching his seventy-fifth birthday, yet he looked twenty years younger. His wasnât tall, only an inch above her five-eight height, but his slim physique and ramrod-straight posture gave him the appearance of being much taller. His personal barber cut his graying hair to camouflage the thinning strands on the crown, and Raymond had a standing weekly appointment for a full body massage and a monthly European facial; the features heâd inherited from his beautiful mother made him almost too pretty for a man. His skin, the color of polished rosewood, was clear and virtually wrinkle-free. The exception were the lines around his eyes when he smiled.
He was the only man sheâd known who, once he had begun a regimen, he didnât vary from it. The year heâd celebrated his sixtieth birthday, heâd begun tennis lessons. Raymond had quickly become addicted to the game, installing an indoor court on the lower level of the brownstone. Minerva cursed the times when he left her bed before dawn to go into the office to practice with his coach.
âBut Mrs. Humphries said she will call you back at ten.â
âTell her Iâll call her back.â That said, Raymond swiveled again, rudely and unceremoniously dismissing his secretary.
âIf you say so,â Minerva drawled sarcastically.
âGet out, Minerva!â
The fastidiously dressed middle-aged woman with a flawless café au lait complexion and stylishly coiffed, chemically straightened hair turned on her heels and stomped out of the office of the man who in the past month had changed in front of her eyes like a snake shedding its skin. Even after a snake shed his skin for a new one heâd still retain the behavior of a reptile. However, it wasnât the same with Raymond Humphries. He may have looked the same, but Raymond had changed. Most of the time he was curt to the point of rudeness, short-tempered and exceedingly condescending. Perhaps, she mused, it was time to move onâto get another job.