Tell Me Something Good Read online

  “Th-thank you,” she replied. She gazed back at him then glanced away quickly.

  He cleared his throat. “So tell me the truth—how hard is it to deal with my grandmother? Has she shared any of the dark family secrets?”

  “She was a bit hesitant.” Lyrissa’s full mouth lifted at the corners. “But I think she’s okay with it now. Just how dark are those secrets?”

  The mere suggestion of a smile made her even lovelier Heat seared his skin with force. Just a gentle curve of her lips could arouse him. Women had done far more to get his attention and he’d barely noticed. Yet here he was on fire aching to touch her satin skin with his fingertips. He stood mesmerized by the way her mouth moved when she talked. “What?”

  “I assured Mrs. St. Denis that I’ll be very discreet. I’m only interested in the history related to the artwork. Lyrissa stared at him curiously. “Are you okay with it?”

  Noel took a deep steadying breath. He was making a fool of himself. “Sure, sure. Just don’t expose all the family skeletons to the world.”

  “And have to face your grandmother? Shelton Taylor doesn’t pay me enough,” she said with an amused expression.

  “I have a feeling you could hold your own.” Noel smiled “I’m not willing to test that particular theory. Beside: you’ve only known me a few days.”

  “I can already tell just from watching you,” Noel replied. “So you’ve got your eye on me, huh? Sounds like you’re suspicious like your grandmother.” Lyrissa tilted her head to one side. A tendril of hair brushed her cheek, and she tucked it back in place.

  Noel watched the movement, wishing he’d been the one to comb his fingers in her hair. He cleared his throat and looked away. “I just meant...”

  “It’s okay. I’m used to scrutiny. After all, we’re dealing with valuable family heirlooms.” She smiled at him. “You should be cautious. Anyway, I’m trying not to get Mrs. St. Denis too irritated with me.”

  “A good idea. No sense grabbing a tigress by the tail.” Lyrissa laughed and the musical sound rippled over him like a refreshing summer shower. He enjoyed the way her eyes lit up when she was amused. The intimacy of their shared joke was intoxicating. He moved closer again. Her delicate floral scent pulled at him.

  “Cashmere Bouquet body powder.” He inhaled deeply. “I haven’t smelled that in years. I didn’t know they still made it”

  “Are you saying I’m out of date?” Lyrissa raised an eyebrow.

  “No way. It reminds me of my first love. Shana Travis was the belle of St. Francis Nursery School.” Noel laughed. “So why didn’t you marry that wonderful little diva?” “She tossed me aside like a dirty diaper. A pint-sized player turned her head.” Noel affected a pained expression and placed a hand over his heart

  “Silly girl, to let a St. Denis slip from her fingers.” Lyrissa stared at him with an inscrutable expression. “Of course, Travis isn’t a name in the Creole social register.” Noel’s gut tightened. He’d learned early about who was and wasn’t acceptable to his family. His battles about choosing his friends, male and female, had begun early. He remembered Rasheeka, a beautiful little girl the color of teakwood. Lyrissa had hit a tender spot. His smile stretched his face tight

  “At four it wasn’t exactly a tragic love story.” He pushed away the memory.

  Richard walked up. “Well, good morning. Noel, intro-duce us.”

  “Lyrissa Rideau, this is my father, Richard St. Denis Lyrissa is with Taylor Gallery.” Noel took a step back as hi: father reached out and took Lyrissa’s hand.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you.” Richard made the simple statement sound like a grand compliment.

  “Hello. Nice meeting you, too,” Lyrissa said. She glanced between them but said no more.

  “I know, we look more like brothers than father and son,” Noel said blandly. He waited for Lyrissa to fall for the legendary Richard St. Denis charm.

  “You’re taller,” she replied. Her eyes widened. “I didn’t’ mean—what I’m saying is—”

  Richard blinked as though he’d been thumped on the forehead, but quickly rallied. He cleared his throat. “No no, dear. Think nothing of it. So Noel has made an impression.”

  “You could say that,” Lyrissa tossed back with a sideways glance at Noel.

  Noel gazed at her expecting to see a flirtatious sparkle in her brown eyes. Instead he sensed dislike, even con tempt, underlying her reply. He was puzzled. It had never been difficult for him to get female attention. In fact, it was often a downright nuisance. Lyrissa seemed under whelmed by his charm. Strange and intriguing, h thought. Normally he would have been relieved. Instead desire to pursue her sent a prickle of heat down his back

  “If you’ll excuse me, I should get back to work.” Lyrissa wore a cool smile that was not aimed at either of them. She went upstairs and disappeared unceremoniously.

  “Lucky you,” Richard said with a wink.

  Noel headed back to the breakfast room. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Richard followed close behind. “Most of those academic types are twice as old and ten times uglier. You’ve got one luscious female right under foot.”

  “She’s a professional here to do a job, Dad.” Noel tried to block the image of her hips swaying as she walked. He failed. That bothersome heat wave came back.

  “Whatever, the point is, you hit the jackpot. Use it to your advantage. You’ve got art, she’s into art.”

  “You’ve got a dirty mind, Dad,” Noel said.

  “Then you got it honest.” Richard grabbed his arm and stopped him. “I watched you watch her, son. I know that look”

  Noel did something he hadn’t done since he was twelve when asked about a girl. He blushed and tugged at his shirt collar. “What look?”

  “You’re hot for Ms. Rideau, and I don’t blame you one bit. Go for it, boy!” Richard slapped his shoulder.

  “Cut it out,” Noel grumbled. “I don’t try to jump every beautiful woman in sight.”

  “You have an appreciation for the finer things in life. It’s in your blood. Especially when it comes to women.” Richard sighed with satisfaction.

  Noel shrugged. “She’s attractive, but—”

  “You said beautiful.” Richard grinned at him.

  “The point is I don’t spend my days chasing women. Not when the company is in such a sad state.”

  “You inherited your mother’s skill at criticizing me in a most concise way.” Richard scowled and went back to the breakfast room. Noel reluctantly followed.

  “I was wondering where you both went for so long.” Miss Georgina wore reading glasses as she scanned a section of the Times Picayune.

  “I met Ms. Rideau. Lovely young thing.” Richard settled back in his chair at the table.

  Miss Georgina looked at him sharply. “Stay away from her.”

  “Relax, Mother. She didn’t warm up to me.” Richard poured more coffee into his cup from a ceramic pot.

  “I’m not worried about that,” Miss Georgina shot at him. “She’s not interested in an aging Casanova.”

  “Wait a minute!” Richard was the picture of wounded male pride.

  “She’d cut you down to size, then quit. It would be fun to watch. But we’d lose time finding another appraiser.” Miss Georgina went back to reading.

  “You underestimate me, Mother. But it’s a moot point.” Richard grinned at Noel. “I wouldn’t stand in the way of my own son.”

  Miss Georgina dropped the newspaper and stared at Noel. “What is he talking about, Noel?”

  “Nothing,” Noel put in quickly. “As usual, Dad has an overactive imagination.” He could have added that Richard also had an overactive libido.

  “If you say so.” Richard let a lift of one dark eyebrow punctuate his statement.

  “I hope you’re not going to be such a fool, Noel Phillip.” Miss Georgina frowned at him.

  Irritation made the hair on Noel’s neck stand up. “I can make my own choices.”

 
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Miss Georgina tossed her linen napkin on the table.

  Noel let out a long sigh of exasperation. “Why the hell are we even discussing this?”

  “Watch your language, young man,” Miss Georgina warned.

  “I’m sorry.” Noel waved a hand in the air. “Look, there is nothing, I mean nothing going on between Lyrissa and me.” He gave his father a stony look that only brought a careless shrug.

  “I should hope not.” Miss Georgina appeared satisfied with his declaration.

  Noel was now irritated for another reason. His grand-mother and parents held onto the old prejudices about social station. They had always tried to control his choice of friends and romantic interests. He knew well what his grandmother’s simple response meant. Still, he did not want to bring up an old battle. Older and wiser, he pushed back the urge to return fire.

  “My full attention is on the company,” Noel said in a tight voice.

  He tried to convince himself more than his grand-mother. Falling for Lyrissa—or anyone—wasn’t in his five- year plan. Falling in love wasn’t smart at all. Flirting, yes. A hot, short, and sweet love affair, definitely. Love—hell, no. Then the memory of her perfume came back with a vengeance.

  “Exactly. Which is where yours should have been for the past ten years, Richard.” Miss Georgina did a precise pivot to focus her criticism on her son. “If you hadn’t left Tremé Corporation to traipse off—”

  Richard puffed out his chest. “I’m one of the best amateur golfers in my group.”

  “Traveling all over the countryside to hit a little white ball isn’t something to brag about.” Miss Georgina glared at him. “You wouldn’t be so smug if that fat trust fund dried up.”

  “What does that mean?” Richard glanced anxiously at Noel, then his mother.

  “Most of it comes from company value, and that value is dropping like a rock,” Miss Georgina said in a low yet sharp tone.

  “Hold on,” Noel broke in. “Grandmother, things aren’t quite that bad. Profits have leveled off and I see evidence of a slide downward. But we haven’t reached a critical point.”

  “Yet,” Miss Georgina said. “I’m old, not stupid. We haven’t kept pace with the competition. Willie stubbornly resisted changes to our marketing strategy for five years. He completely missed the mark on taking advantage of the Internet.”

  “What?” Richard looked at his mother as though she were from another planet. “How do you know all this?”

  “I read the annual company reports, the Times Picayune business section, and the Wall Street Journal. So should you.” Miss Georgina gazed at her son.

  “Profits are rising,” Noel said. “With hard work and the right strategy, Tremé Corporation will survive.”

  Miss Georgina looked out the window at the flowers blooming in an explosion of color. “Your grandfather literally worked to death for that place. He did it for his children.”

  “You would have made a dynamite CEO, Grand-mother,” Noel said. “Grandfather didn’t mind telling every-one you helped make the company as much as he did.”

  Raymond and Georgina St. Denis were married for al-most fifty years. For all his hard edges, Noel would give anything to find that kind of partnership with a woman.

  Yet watching his parents had bred skepticism. Lyrissa’s crystal clear laugh echoed in a corner of his mind. His grandmother’s voice brought him back.

  “But we’re talking about the present. More important, I’m talking about the future.”

  “And as usual, blaming me,” Richard said, a note of complaint in his voice. “Willie ran the company, for God’s sake.”

  “Exactly. Where were you? You’ve never lived up to your potential,” Miss Georgina said.

  “I’ve been hearing that since I was ten years old.”

  “It’s still true.” Miss Georgina poked his forearm with a finger. “You and Willie would have balanced each other well. He’s too rigid, and frankly, not a people person.” “She means most people detest him.” Richard chuckled. “While you spend too much time charming people and not enough working.” Miss Georgina pressed on.

  “I’m not interested in real estate or insurance.” Richard waved a piece of toast in the air. “I was bored out of my mind at that office.”

  “There you have it,” Miss Georgina said dryly. “A childish need to be amused every day.”

  “Just because I didn’t find actuary stats and collecting rent exhilarating—”

  Noel intervened to head off the same argument he’d been witnessing since childhood. “Let’s not beat a dead horse,” he quoted his grandfather.

  Miss Georgina glared at Richard for a few seconds more, then nodded and looked out the window again. Richard tapped a teaspoon on the side of his coffee cup. Noel hated being a referee, but increasingly he found himself in that role.

  “Dad was very unhappy at the company. It was bound to affect his performance as a manager.” Noel did not flinch when his grandmother squinted at him.

  “An understatement of monumental proportions,” Richard cut in.

  “Uncle Willie did a lot for the company. The employees respect him a great deal,” Noel added, frowning at his father.

  “Of course they do,” Miss Georgina said.

  “I have a ‘but’ to add, Grandmother.” Noel sat back against the chair cushion. “He doesn’t accept suggestions easily. Uncle Willie gets insulted easily and considers input a criticism of his leadership.”

  “Ha!” Richard mimicked Miss Georgina. “What did I say?”

  “Will you two stop?” Noel glanced between them. He felt like a school principal between two angry children.

  “You’re right,” Miss Georgina said. “The question is what do we do now?”

  “I’m considering several options. But we need to move fast, before we lose the confidence of our creditors,” Noel said.

  “What do you have in mind?” Richard leaned toward him.

  “Raising capital would help. I’m looking at several properties we can sell. One of the warehouses in Chalmette, for instance.”

  “Good idea, Noel,” Richard said. “It’s in a prime area and almost half empty.” He smiled at the surprised look his mother gave him. “Yes, Mother, I do keep up with some aspects of the company.”

  “There’s one more thing. Our family art collection is probably worth quite a bit. Of course, with it spread out all over the place, who knows?”

  Miss Georgina’s mild expression of approval changed into a frown. “I thought you only wanted to use its value to raise the value of the company and attract venture capital. If we sell the collection, you’ll have the entire city thinking we’re in the poorhouse!”

  “Mother is right, son. That kind of thing carries the stench of desperation. Talk about spooking our creditors.” Richard shook his head with vigor. “Besides, it’s the St. Denis and Rohas family legacy, for God’s sake!”

  “That art has been in the family for generations,” Miss Georgina said.

  “And in dusty attics for most of the last twenty-five years or more,” Noel added.

  “He has a point, Mother. I’m sure our relatives wouldn’t mind raising extra cash.” Richard rubbed his chin.

  “It could mean a difference in the future of our company,” Noel said quietly. “We can be selective in what we sell.”

  “Some of our dear relatives will scream bloody murder,” Richard warned. He spread butter on another piece of toast.

  “I’ll ask Lyrissa to prepare a report in time for the next board meeting,” Noel said. “I’m sure they’ll see reason once I explain our situation.”

  “Strange, you have time to attend to such details, being such a busy executive.” Richard’s dark eyes twinkled.

  Miss Georgina stared at him. “I’m sure your administrative assistant can deal with that, Noel.”

  “Attention to detail is what I’m paid for,” Noel said mildly and stood. “Speaking of which, I’ll take care of it right now.”


  “I can do it. You have a full day at the office,” Miss Georgina said stiffly.

  “Noel would prefer to handle Ms. Rideau, Mother.” Richard smirked at him.

  “Finish your breakfast” Noel ignored his dig and smiled at his grandmother. “I’m on my way out, so I might as well speak to her.” He patted her arm. He could feel her stony gaze as he walked away.

  Chapter 6

  Lyrissa darted down the hall. She just had time to step into the library before Noel appeared. His grandmother’s voice stopped him, giving her more time. Miss Georgina’s voice rang out as Lyrissa gently pushed the sliding doors together.

  “You said you had a meeting in thirty minutes. You’ll be late,” Mrs. St. Denis said.

  “No, I won’t. Relax and have a nice day, sweetheart,” Noel replied.

  “Come on, Mother. I’ll drive you to that United Way meeting,” Richard said.

  “Perfect,” Lyrissa whispered, and closed the doors together with a thump.

  She passed through the study hardly glancing at the bookcases. Her real goal was the room beyond. The walls were painted a rich earth green. Near the ceiling was a border of wallpaper with a thick pattern of vines with deep red flowers. The pattern was repeated in the draperies on three windows, one of which faced the street. Three display cases held eighteenth century documents. A will dated 1806 listed the bequests of one Don Jose Nicholas Rohas.

  “I leave to Eufrosina Hisnard, my faithful servant, a certain parcel of land measuring sixty arpents.” Lyrissa read the florid handwriting aloud. She easily translated it from French to English. Her grandmother had insisted she learn the language. Lyrissa had complained loud and often that it was useless. Time had proved Mama Grace right. French had been the official language in Louisiana for most of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Business and legal documents were recorded in French.

  Lyrissa moved on and read another document brown with age. She looked around the room until her gaze settled on a portrait of two small children. It was lovely, but her interest was in the wall safe the painting concealed. Lyrissa’s fingers itched with the desire to get at its contents. Miss Georgina had told her there were more family papers locked inside. Excellent signposts along the trail Lyrissa would follow in her quest. She wrestled with the urge to try her hand at safe cracking.