Tell Me Something Good (10 page)

“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.

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.

“Don’t be impatient and make a dumb move,”
Lyrissa mumbled.

“I hate to disturb you again.”

Lyrissa started. The mellow male voice close
to her ear wrapped around her like a sultry breeze, warm and steamy
as only summer in New Orleans can be. She could feel his body heat
through the fabric of her blouse. His breath brushed against her
neck. “Disturb” was the right word. She felt disoriented and
off-balance. What was he doing to her? A tickle of lust went
through her pelvis and traveled up to circle both breasts. Lyrissa
pictured herself pressed to him. Their bodies would meld together
as he gripped her hips with strong hands.

“I don’t understand,” Lyrissa said
calmly.

“I keep interrupting your work.” Noel pointed
to her notepad.

That voice combined with the smile sent a
thrill through her. No wonder women for miles around came running
when he appeared. Lyrissa went rigid. He could just fold up his
little magic act. She wasn’t going to be duped.

“I thought you’d left for the office,” she
blurted out. “Don’t let me delay you.” Lyrissa groaned silently.
You might as well wear an “I’m-guilty” sign on your
chest.

“I wanted to talk to you. Taking a look at
the family jewels, I see.”

“I couldn’t resist. I hope you don’t mind.”
Lyrissa re-covered and flashed a charming smile.

“Not at all. Go anywhere you like. In fact,
there are even more documents at our offices downtown.”

“Actually, it might be a good idea to give
them a quick look. If only to rule out that any of them has to do
with the collection.” Lyrissa’s heart sped up at the plum that
seemed to just drop in her lap.

“No problem. Let me know when you’re ready.
For the documents, I mean,” he added with a smile that could melt
the Arctic Circle.

“Right. I’ll just finish up checking off the
items on your list.” Lyrissa started past him when he stopped her
with a touch on her arm.

“Wait, I wanted to ask if you could give me a
report with a complete listing in, say, three weeks. We have a
board meeting then.”

Lyrissa worked to clear her head. The weight
of his hand on her arm was a powerful distraction. “I, er, should
be able to give you at least a list by then.”

“Great. Then I’d better let you finish.” Noel
turned to leave, and then faced her again. “In fact, let’s make an
appointment right now.”

“What?” Lyrissa stared at him.

“You can come to my office. I’U help you get
started with your research. I’ll even bring the papers here to my
office. Having them all together will make your job easier.”
Lyrissa knew trouble when it was staring her in the face. “Just
have your assistant set it up and I’ll—”

“No, I’ll handle it personally. I know what
you need.” Noel smiled at her.

She suppressed a shiver at his words. She
lifted her chin and assumed a reserved, all business posture. “I’ll
call your office to make the arrangements, then.” She made a wide
circle around him and went back to the study.

“I look forward to it.” Noel offered his hand
to her. Lyrissa steeled herself not to react as she took it. Her
body didn’t obey. His velvety skin sent a finger of heat up her
arm. She pulled free of his firm grasp.

“Goodbye,” she said.

“Goodbye,” he replied and left.

“Keep your eyes on the prize,” she whispered.
“And off his fine body.”

Noel went to the conference room without
stopping at his office. His cousin Carlton was on the second agenda
item by the time he sat down. As usual, Carlton droned on about
insurance rates. The five top managers appeared to pay avid
attention to him. One of them was Julie Duval. Julie’s mother and
Noel’s mother had been best friends since high school.

“Over here,” Julie whispered and spun the
swivel chair next to her out

“Morning,” Noel said and nodded to the
others.

Julie leaned close until their shoulders
touched. “You haven’t missed much.”

Carlton stopped talking and looked at his
watch pointedly. “I decided it was best to start.”

“Good, go on.” Noel nodded to him.

He stared at Noel for several seconds. To
avoid a scene, Noel pretended not to notice. Carlton took up where
he’d left off. His monotone voice went on with dry details about
the industry. After a few seconds Noel’s thoughts wandered back to
a vision of beauty in rose.

Lyrissa Rideau looked more tempting each time
they met. Not even a business suit could disguise her lush figure.
He imagined her slender fingers stroking him. All she had to do was
glance his way and he ached to feel her touch. She must have
noticed. How could she not? Noel was sure he’d worn the expression
of a horny teenager. That wasn’t him at all. He was used to being
in the driver’s seat. Aside from the usual fleeting crush, Noel had
breezed along love’s highway without even a fender bender. He’d
slowed down occasionally for a liaison. But overall, Noel kept
right on going... until Lyrissa. Now he found himself applying the
brakes and circling the block. Not that she cared, from what he
could tell.

Far from being annoyed, Noel was intrigued.
She had a depth to her that he wanted to explore. Hell, tell the
truth. You want to dive in head first! The lusty image raised his
temperature by ten degrees at least. His cousin’s voice was an
unwelcome interruption. Noel swam out of a sensual fog.

“What did you say?”

“Maybe I should start over,” Carlton said, an
edge to his voice.

“Not at all. And I agree with Paul. We
shouldn’t go be-fore the commission for a rate increase.” Noel sat
up straighten

“I’m not sure about that, given our current
state.” Carl-ton drummed his fingers on the wood surface.

“We decided in the meeting last week,” Noel
said, careful to keep his voice level. “The figures don’t add
up.”

“My breakdown clearly indicates a rate
increase is essential. I sent a copy to you and the board.” Carlton
looked at him, resentment stamped on his wide face.

Noel counted to five before he spoke. “The
Insurance Commission has turned down every other request this
year.” The commission served as the regulatory entity over
insurance companies in the state.

“I’ve studied those requests. I think we can
succeed where they failed.”

“The commissioners are up for re-election.
They’re not going to raise rates,” Noel explained in a measured,
calm manner.

“The election is eleven months away. They
won’t play politics this early. Look this over. The commission
meets again in August.” Carlton passed blue folders around the
table.

“Carlton—” Noel began.

“You’ve seen the information on pages one
through five. The updated figures begin on page six,” Carlton cut
him off.

Noel read the section Carlton had directed
them to, and then skimmed ahead to another section. “What’s new in
here?”

“Excuse me?” Carlton grimaced at him.

The other men exchanged glances. One by one
they eased back in their chairs. Obviously they intended to get out
of the line of fire. Julie kept her eyes on Noel as though waiting
for her cue.

“From what I see, you’re making the same
arguments the other companies made. More house fires because of a
cold winter. Legislation that made our costs bump up, etc., etc. I
don’t see anything different.”

“The difference is, we’re a minority company
providing coverage to a vulnerable population,” Carlton said.

“So what? Most of the commissioners are
conservative. They oppose special contracts for minorities and
affirmative action.” Noel wanted to shake him for being so dense.
“We talked about this before.”

“That’s your theory. Three of the
commissioners are more attuned to the needs of the people,” Carlton
answered.

“Figure in the cost of our attorney to help
plus the staff time, and it’s not worth it” Noel’s reservoir of
patience was running low.

“I don’t think so.” Carlton’s small eyes
narrowed.

“We can’t afford to waste resources. We need
to in-crease income,” Noel said curtly, hoping his tone would close
the subject.

“Which is what a rate increase will do,”
Carlton replied sharply.

“Not if we don’t get it.” Noel glared back at
him.

“Are you implying that I’m the reason our
cash flow is down?” Carlton puffed like an overheated engine.

Noel refused to rise to the bait. “I’m saying
we could make better use of our time. I have several strategies in
mind.” Noel slapped the folder before him closed.

“I thought we worked as a team, that you
considered ideas other than your own.” Carlton wore a stiff mask of
suppressed anger.

“I did consider all the information and made
a decision. Now, let’s move on.”

“My father and I think—” Carlton began.

“Julie, what about the warehouse on St.
Peter?” Noel cut him off short.

Carlton gripped his Mont Blanc pen but said
no more. The meeting went on for another hour. They were winding
down on the last subject for discussion when Miss Georgina came in
with Lyrissa. She introduced her to everyone. She glanced at Noel
with no more recognition than she had for the other men. For their
part, the managers became animated as they greeted her. Andre
Wilkins, his youngest manager, jumped to his feet and held out a
chair for Lyrissa.

“Here you go, ma’am. I’ll get you both a cup
of coffee,” he said with a smarmy expression. He stood with his
hand still on the back of her chair.

“I’ll take herbal tea, if you have it.”
Lyrissa beamed at him.

“No problem. I brought my own. It’s in the
kitchen.” Andre grinned back. “I’ll have my secretary get us both a
cup.” He went to a phone on a side table.

The brazen kid was leering down the front of
her blouse the entire time he was talking. Noel felt an
overpowering urge to slam him back into his seat Instead, he ground
his teeth as Lyrissa laughed at something else Andre said. Noel
wondered what the hell was so damned amusing.

“Maybe you can finish business now,” Noel cut
in. The young man cleared his throat and took his seat.

Lyrissa sat in a chair lining the wall.

“What are we discussing?” Miss Georgina
asked.

“Grandmother, you should be at home,
resting,” Carl-ton said with an indulgent expression.

“I’ve been resting for months.” Miss Georgina
placed her cane on the chair next to her. “I’m not so feeble I
can’t listen.”