Tell Me Something Good (13 page)

“I’m starving myself. Where do you want to
go?” Julie fell in step with them.

“We were going to grab something and discuss
the collection.” Noel pointedly did not extend an invitation.

“We?” Julie said.

Noel stopped with a hand under Lyrissa’s
right elbow. “Yes, Lyrissa and I are going out to lunch.”

Lyrissa glanced from him back to Julie. It
was her turn. Julie plastered on a smile. Had to admire the woman
for self-control, Lyrissa mused.

“I’d be interested in hearing about the
collection. Besides, it would save time if I talked to you over
lunch about the warehouse lease agreement. I need to take care of
it today.”

“Fine,” Noel said with a curt nod.

Julie’s smile took on a feline quality when
she looked at Lyrissa. “I hate to bore you with dry business.”

“Not at all.” Lyrissa had no intention of
being gracious and backing out now.

Julie switched tactics. “You must have a
pretty busy schedule with school and a job.”

“Not so busy I can’t have lunch,” Lyrissa
smiled back. “How nice.” Julie looked as though she’d swallowed a
bug.

Noel’s eyes flickered irritation when he
looked at Julie. “Okay, let’s get going.”

Noel drove. His Infiniti was parked in a
public lot adjacent to the office building. Lyrissa graciously
stepped back and allowed Julie to join him in front. Julie clenched
her jaw at the gesture, but said nothing. Noel looked at Lyrissa
before they both got in the car. The trip along the narrow streets
in downtown New Orleans was tense.

“So Julie, where did you finish school?”
Lyrissa asked in a chatty tone as though there was no undercurrent.
“Spelman,” was the short reply.

“Wow, great school. I stayed right here at
home. Saved money you know.” Lyrissa sighed. “Dillard U. grad
here.” “I see.” Julie’s voice was flat. She sat straight in the
leather seat without looking left or right.

“And Noel is a Harvard man.” Lyrissa looked
up at the rearview mirror.

Noel’s brown eyes danced with silent
messages. “Yes, but only for my MBA.”

“That’s right, Howard for undergrad, wasn’t
it? I’d love to visit that campus one of these days.”

Lyrissa gabbed on about nothing in
particular. Her empty small talk flowed almost non-stop. Noel put
in a few single sentence contributions. Julie spoke when forced to
by a direct question. When they got to the restaurant fifteen
minutes later, Noel looked drained.

As they’d expected, the place was already
filling up. Still they managed to get a table next to the window. A
slender young woman dressed in a crisp white shirt and black pants
appeared with menus.

“Here /all go. Lemme get you somethin’ ta
drink.” She smiled at them warmly.

“Iced tea,” Julie barked in a raspy
voice.

“Same for me.” Noel eyed Julie worriedly, as
though looking at a boiling volcano.

“Diet cola. Gots to have my fizz.” Lyrissa
smiled at the waitress who smiled back.

“Got ya, bay. I’ll be right back” The woman
darted gracefully around tables.

“We’re going to be seeing each other at the
office,” Julie said to Lyrissa, forcing the words out like sour
seeds. She arranged her round face into a smile. “Do you mind if I
call you Lyrissa?”

“Of course not,” Lyrissa answered in a
“Let’s-be-pals* manner.

Lyrissa had to appreciate Julie’s effort. It
was obvious the woman wanted to strangle her and claim Noel over
Lyrissa’s dead body. She took time to study her. Julie was;
attractive, no doubt about it. Her skin was the color o dark cream
with a hint of tan. Her long hair was a hone; brown, darker in some
places than others. She had a habit of tucking it back in place
behind her ears. Perfect mating material for a St. Denis.

“Good. So tell me about the inventory.” Julie
glanced at Noel and Lyrissa expectantly.

“The family art is all over the place,” Noel
explained. “To get a real picture of the total worth, we’ve got to
track it all down.” He broke off when the waitress appeared.

Lyrissa spoke up once the woman left. “Mrs.
St. Denis can point us in the right direction.”

“Directions,” Noel corrected and scowled.
“Like I said, there are things spread all over.”

“Sounds like a huge job, Lyrissa. More work
than you can do in a few weeks of your summer break.” Julie took a
small sip of iced tea.

Lyrissa smiled. “Art historians are used to
playing detective. Besides, Mrs. St. Denis will probably make it
easy. She remembers a lot about who has what.”

“I wouldn’t count on her memory. It’s not
what it used to be. Don’t tell her I said so.” Noel grunted.

“No promises. I might need the leverage later
on,” Lyrissa teased. “So behave yourself.”

Julie tapped the table with her knife a few
times before she spoke. “Anyway, where will you start?”

“I drafted a revised list of the scattered
pieces after checking my grandfather’s will and talking to my
grand-mother.” Noel took a long brown envelope from a pocket in his
jacket. “Here’s a photocopy.”

Lyrissa took it from him and extracted a
single legal-sized sheet. Her hands shook as she scanned the yellow
lined page. There were forty-five items. Most of the descriptions
were vague. A few were labeled simply “painting.” Some were
described by dimension but none had the artist listed next to it.
Still Lyrissa’s pulse raced at the thought that she was so close to
her prize.

“You’re excited about this—it’s in your
eyes,” Noel said, breaking into her thoughts.

“I love old houses and dusty rooms with
hidden treasures. Of course, most people call it junk.” Lyrissa
laughed.

“Art can bring in big bucks these days,”
Julie said in a thoughtful voice. “And if we could sell the
collection ...” She leaned toward Noel.

“I didn’t suggest we sell the entire
collection, just certain pieces. That’s where Lyrissa comes in. She
can set a value and help us make the decision.” Noel nodded at
Lyrissa.

“One valuable item could be a nice shot in
the arm.” Julie spoke to Noel as though Lyrissa had vanished. “We
could go ahead with the renovations on the Basin Street
property.”

“No, any money from the art would be for
long-term projects. I want us to take our time. Some of the works
might be too important to our family historically.” Noel shook his
head.

“Y’all ready to order?” The waitress stood
with her pen poised.

They made quick work of selecting their
entrees. The talk turned to everyday things like local politics and
news. Lyrissa watched Noel and Julie, two shining examples of the
Talented Tenth’s descendants carrying on the torch— except that
they were the unique New Orleans Creole version. Suddenly Lyrissa
had a familiar feeling. She was on the outside looking in. Her
plain off-the-rack-clearance- sale dress was in sharp contrast to
the Nicole Tracy suit Julie wore. Lyrissa resisted the urge to
stare at herself. There was nothing wrong with the way she
looked.

.. Don’t you think, Lyrissa?” Julie’s finely
arched eye-brows lifted.

“What was that?” Lyrissa blinked back to the
conversation.

“Instead of Noel, maybe I could help you.”
Julie wore a calculating expression. “His hands are full working
with Carlton right now.”

“You’re not exactly free, either. You’ve got
two major projects going, plus training a new employee. You can’t
spare the time,” Noel said, a true manager assessing
re-sources.

“I’m almost through with the Richardson sale.
That’s the most time consuming. I’ll be free in a matter of a few
days.” Julie waved a manicured hand.

“Thanks, but it’s really not necessary.” Noel
did not budge from his position.

Lyrissa decided to rub it in. “Besides, no
need to tie up two valuable top-level executives.”

Noel nodded. “Good point. Anyway, this is a
special family project that Grandmother expects me to handle.”

“Fine,” Julie said curtly. “I don’t see why
our food isn’t here yet. Did they go out on Lake Ponchartrain to
catch the damn fish? Waitress!”

The rest of lunch was strained, to say the
least. Noel looked like a worm trying to get off the hook. He made
every effort to be solicitous toward Julie. To his credit, he
didn’t give up. He was the perfect Creole gentleman.

Still, Lyrissa heard him let out a soft hiss
of relief when they arrived back at the office and Julie finally
left them.

“That was fun,” Lyrissa said in a low voice.
She watched Julie stride off, back rigid.

“Very funny. Now I’ll spend weeks ducking
razor sharp icicles aimed at my head.” He headed for his
office.

Lyrissa bit back a belly laugh as she
followed him. “But Julie seems like such a sweetheart.”

He guided her into his office and shut the
door. Noel stood within tantalizing reach. Lyrissa could feel him
even though they did not touch. Just a whisper of fragrant air was
between them. He smelled of hardwood, mint, and spice. She searched
her memory to name the cologne. That bothersome tickle between her
thighs surged again. Resistance to the moment was like swimming
against a strong current. She was getting in too deep with each
second.

“You don’t like Julie, do you?” His deep
voice washed over her.

Lyrissa fought hard to control her breathing.
She imagined his skin was the same even light brown all over.
Muscles would ripple each time he reached for her or moved against
her body. Her voice sounded scratchy when she did speak.

“The feeling is mutual.” She tried to step
back. Her but-tocks bumped against the solid wood door.

“You went out of your way to set Julie off.
Why?”

She turned her head, hoping to deflect some
of his animal power. “I’ve had to take crap from girls like her all
my life.”

“It’s more than that, but I’ll let it go for
now.”

“How big of you,” Lyrissa replied, gaze still
averted.

She felt rather than saw the smile. Despite a
tiny voice warning her not to, she looked at him. The tip of his
nose brushed hers when she turned her head.

“Why are you trying so hard not to like me?”
he said.

His voice was barely above a whisper. He
looked at her as though searching for a due in her eyes or in the
shape of her face. His gaze traveled from her forehead down her
neck. Lyrissa gasped as she watched him stop at the neck-line of
her blouse. He looked for all the world as though he was
contemplating unbuttoning it. For a crazy moment time seemed
suspended. If he reached out, she’d let him. Then the phone on his
assistant’s desk outside rang. The magic bubble popped and she came
back to her senses. Lyrissa slid sideways away from him. Her escape
wasn’t graceful, but it worked. Added distance cleared her head a
bit more.

“It’s not as hard as you think,” she
wisecracked. Still she stumbled over to the carafe and poured
herself a glass of water. She drank deeply to soothe her tight, dry
throat.

Eddie knocked, and then came in. Lyrissa kept
her back to them as a bid for time to rally. She was sure the
X-rated fantasies he inspired were written all over her face.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Ellis Singleton is
on line three,” she announced. “Hi, Lyrissa. You sure had your work
cut out for you. So did /all get a good start?”

Lyrissa turned around. “We—”

Noel’s gaze trapped her as though she were a
butterfly caught in a silken net. The glass in her hand shook.
Lyrissa wanted to shout that he was wrong, that she didn’t feel
anything when he was near. Yet she could read the truth in his
smoky eyes. She’d wanted him to touch her and he knew it

“Yes, we sure have,” Noel finished for her.
“And it will get better as we go along.”

Noel flipped through the pad of notes.
“Anything else? I’ll look over the lease purchase agreement on the
Stinson Street warehouse later. I’m sure Val did a thorough job.”
Andre pulled papers from a folder. “Yes, but I thought you wanted
to talk about the construction plans.”

“No need for that. I’ve been over them
twice.” Noel tapped his pen on the table. He glanced at his
watch.

“Noel, I think we should at least discuss the
alternative floor plans today,” Julie pressed. “There are
advantages and disadvantages to both. Now, I think—”

“I say we go with floor plan two,” Noel broke
in. “We don’t want the building to be cramped with cubicles.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Andre added.
“One of the larger businesses could move in. We’d actually get
more, in terms of income.”

“Right. The Dauphine Street building can be
used for small struggling businesses.” Noel nodded. “Well, that’s
settled.”

“We could at least discuss our report for the
board meeting,” Julie said, with an edge to her voice.

Noel stood. “It’s almost twelve. I say we
pick this up in the morning, when we’re all fresh.”

“I feel like we just ran the fifty-yard dash
through this agenda.” Julie’s shapely brows drew together.

“We covered everything, right?” Noel glanced
at Andre, who lifted a shoulder without answering.

“We skimmed the surface on most of the
items,” Julie replied.

“You have questions? Andre?” Noel asked.

“No, I’m okay. See you later at the
warehouse, Noel.” Andre gathered up his folders and left

Julie spoke as soon as the door clicked shut
behind him. “I have color schemes we can review over lunch. That’s
not too taxing, is it?”

“We can do it later.” Nod glanced at his
Movado watch again. He looked up to find Julie staring at him
hard.

“You’ve got an appointment for lunch, then,”
she said.

“Yes. Look, you’ve got such great taste. Pick
out three of your top choices and we’ll go from there.” Noel came
around the desk and walked her to the door.