by Emery, Lynn
“We should talk about this dinner party, not to mention the board meeting.” Lyrissa tilted her head back to allow his kisses to progress.
“We talked about the collection too long already,” Noel said, his voice muffled against her flesh.
She pulled away. “Time is getting tight.” The dinner party was in one week and the board meeting would be the following Monday.
Noel sighed dramatically and let go of her arm with reluctance. “If you insist.”
She left the sofa and retrieved her notes from the table near his front door. “You were right in thinking the collection has been undervalued all these years. You folks really should bring all the pieces together.”
“What fun. Some of my loving relatives are grumbling about possession being nine-tenths of the law.” Noel wore a sour expression.
“Nothing like warm family unity, huh?”
“Most didn’t even know they had part of the collection,” Noel said.
“It happens in the best of families. The thing is we’re talking a substantial asset for your company.” Lyrissa showed him her preliminary appraisal.
“Why is there a question mark next to this painting?” Noel pointed to the listing of “Sunday Stroll on the Tremé Faubourg.”
“Vic thinks it’s a reproduction. I’ll have to authenticate it first.” Lyrissa’s hand shook only a little as she uttered the words. Noel seemed not to notice.
He nodded and read on to the total figure. “Whoa!” “Yes, you’re reading that right. I estimate it’s worth 1.8 million dollars.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes were wide with amazement. “Noel, I found a Degas and Tunica Indian pottery, more than even I expected. In fact, I’m going to consult one of my professors. This might be conservative.”
“My God,” he whispered. “Wait until they see this.”
Lyrissa pressed her mouth closed. The total figure would jump if the true value of the painting were added. She estimated it could add as much as $95,000. For a crazy moment she considered telling him. With the priceless items they already had, maybe one painting wouldn’t make such a huge difference. They could still work through their feelings for each other and she could get the painting. Her fledgling hope crashed when he spoke.
“Close to two million. What if that painting is real?” Noel’s eyes glittered with delight. “We could really attract investors.”
She looked at him as he contemplated the big time deals he could make. “What were you saying about your relatives?” she asked in a cryptic tone.
His dark brows drew together, the delight gone from his eyes. “Damn!”
“They’ll hold on even tighter now. But at least the most valuable pieces are with Mrs. St. Denis and Augustin.” “We need every one of those items,” Noel said in a hard voice. He paced the floor in front of the fireplace.
“For purposes of commerce,” Lyrissa added coldly. She dropped the list onto the table.
Noel stopped pacing and looked at her. “No, not just as a business asset. Some of the top corporations have art as part of their holdings.”
“Oh yeah, you really want to be like them. Strip miners, polluters, and destroyers of rainforest.” She folded her arms.
“You know I’d never operate like that, don’t you?” he said softly.
Lyrissa couldn’t help but look into his brown eyes. They conjured up the image of warm pralines, dark and sweet. He was asking her to believe in him, to think the best of his motivations. His face was tantalizingly close. She breathed in his cologne, a tangy, warm scent that tickled her nose. To seal her fate, he leaned forward and planted a kiss between her eyes.
“I didn’t say you would. But...” Lyrissa lost her train of thought when his lips found hers. He wasn’t playing fair! But then, she was holding back information, so who was the real culprit? His tongue in her mouth, hot and insistent, cut off the rise of conflicting emotions. Craving took over, the need to wrap herself around him once more. Noel drew away to stare into her eyes again.
“Enough about business.” He buried his fingers in her hair.
“But the report—” Lyrissa said as she closed her eyes.
“Later,” he whispered and kissed her harder.
“We’re supposed to take it slow, remember?” Lyrissa didn’t stop his hands from roaming over her body.
“Vaguely,” he said hoarsely. Noel stroked her breasts through the pink fabric of her blouse.
“Listen to me, mister. Oh!” She gasped when his tongue flickered across the tender spot between her breasts.
“I’m going to be a bad, bad boy,” he whispered as he slipped a hand beneath her bottom and squeezed.
Lyrissa went limp when he rubbed the inside of her thigh. His fingers inched up until he stroked her mound through the fabric of her matte jersey slacks. She lay back and caressed his hands as they moved over her body.
“I want you.” Noel buried his face against her breasts and gently rubbed his cheek against them.
Lyrissa said nothing but held him tight. She closed her eyes against the world outside and reality. He moaned when she put both her arms around him. “What do you want from me, Noel?”
“Everything. I want to make love to you until we’re both wringing wet and exhausted. But I want us to be together, heart and soul.” Noel raised his face to gaze at her.
Lyrissa was lost in his sensuous eyes that flashed golden with passion. She wanted everything, too. Most of all she wanted to believe him. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.
“Tell me what you want from me.” Noel put his head back on her breasts with a soft sigh.
“More time,” she murmured.
Several beats passed before he answered. “You’ve got it. I ask just one thing.”
Her pulse sounded like rushing water in her ears at that sultry, deep voice. She wanted to tear at his clothes and tell him to forget what she’d said. The time was right. Instead, she held on. “What?” she whispered.
“Give us a chance. Don’t use my family or yours as a reason not to be with me. Concentrate on us.” Noel caressed her breast until the nipple peaked through the fabric.
“You’re not playing fair.” Lyrissa lost the fight. Arching her back, she almost cried out when he sat back.
“That’s not what I promised.” He looked at her with a lusty grin, his hand still caressing the aching flesh.
With a strangled groan she opened the buttons to reveal more skin. Noel obliged her silent request by running his tongue over the mounds above the lacy pink bra. He deftly opened the front hook. His large fingers pushed aside the cups and his mouth closed over her aching nipple. Lyrissa shuddered with pleasure as he sucked gently. She cried out when his tongue ran over the swollen peak. The rough surface against the tender flesh sent shock waves down to her toes. Without conscious thought, Lyrissa stroked his erection stretched tight against his pants. Noel gasped her name and slid his hand under the waistband of her slacks. An insistent jangle intruded.
“You’d better answer the phone.”
“Voice mail,” he mumbled without taking his mouth from her breast. The phone stopped ringing as if at his command.
“Noel, we really shouldn’t” Lyrissa took a deep breath and tugged her bra back in place. “Not yet. Please,” she pleaded, not sure she could stop if he insisted.
With one last nip of her flesh, Noel sat back. “I’m going to give you the time you asked for. I want us both to be sure.”
“I-I’d better go.”
He twisted a lock of her hair around one forefinger. “Okay,” he relented.
They held hands during the ride to her house. Her mind swirled with “what-if” scenarios, ways to sort through the situation. There was a dizzying twist of complications and implications of what they’d shared tonight.
Noel seemed to read her mind. He squeezed her hand several times as though to reassure her. Jazz played softly. The muted light from the dashboard lit his beautiful profile. Lyrissa wished she could make th
e rest of the world go away for a little longer. As if to answer her, they turned onto Erato Avenue and her house came into view. There would be no fantasy solution. Noel pulled into her drive and walked her to the front door.
“Lyrissa,” he said and brushed his lips across her face.
She cupped his face with both hands. “Noel St. Denis.”
“Remember, think about us.”
Lyrissa nodded. He kissed her one last time. Noel held onto her hand as he walked away until they both let go. With one last wave, he drove away. She watched the red taillights until they disappeared.
“Think about us,” she whispered. Lyrissa knew she would think of little else.
Chapter 13
“Well, this should be a barrel of laughs,” Augustin muttered.
“It might not be so bad.” Vic looked around at the grim faces. “Then again...”
“Oh, sure, as much fun as that delightful dinner party last week.” Cousin Augustin made a sour face.
“God! I’d rather have a root canal than suffer through that ordeal again.” Noel’s third cousin, Harold St. Denis, winced.
Noel watched them all, ears attuned to each whispered comment. The boardroom was packed for this meeting. Family members that usually wore weary expressions seemed alert today. They sat or stood around the long mahogany oval table. Groups of two and three formed, broke up, and reformed. Carlton cast stony glances at Noel from time to time. The seventeen people present were dressed impeccably, as usual. Some held fine china cups filled with dark Louisiana coffee. A platter of beignets sat on a credenza with the large silver coffee pot, napkins, and a pile of fresh fruit. It was eight-thirty in the morning. The earlier-than-normal meeting had been his grandmother’s idea. She’d suggested with graveyard humor that they might as well get the execution over with early. The dinner party had been a big bust in terms of creating family unity. Noel had not even been able to spend much time with Lyrissa as consolation. He’d been too busy trying to butter up quarrelsome kinfolk. At least they’d learned just how much lobbying Carlton had done. They would not be blind-sided in this meeting. It was something, though not much.
“We’ll get started in a moment,” Noel said. “Miss Rideau will be here with her report. I’ll present it, but she’ll answer any questions you might have.”
“I hope we’re going to talk about more than art,” his gruff Uncle Laurence burst out. “This company needs more than doo-dads to support it!”
“I’d say the St. Denis Collection is a lot more than that, Mr. Rohas,” Julie said in a respectful tone. “I’ve seen each piece, and—”
“Let’s wait until everyone has settled down,” Noel put in.
“Fine. I suppose you want her to take center stage here, too?” Julie whispered the last sentence.
“What does that mean?” Noel frowned.
“You know damn well what it means,” she hissed.
“Not here, not now,” he said sharply. Noel tried to feel sorry for her. Yet he felt stifled by her possessiveness. “When?” Julie pressed closer to him.
Noel glanced around in time to see his father and aunt watching them intently. He maneuvered her away from Vic and Augustin. Fortunately, the others were too distracted to notice Julie’s dramatic performance.
“Later,” he said.
“After the meeting? Today?” She searched his face with a desperate expression.
“Yes. Now please, Julie. We’ve got enough to deal with right now.” Noel put a sense of urgency in his tone.
Julie looked over his shoulder and then into his eyes again. She smiled. “I’ll be right by your side, Noel.”
“Good. I know I can count on you.”
He turned in time to see Lyrissa standing in the door. Her expression went hard as she looked at his hand still on Julie’s arm. There was no time to explain or say anything.
Carlton chose that moment to clear his throat loudly. “Maybe we should get started,” he said.
“Let’s get down to it, for God’s sake,” Uncle Laurence rumbled. He walked to his chair with a rolling gait caused by arthritis in both hips. The other board members took seats around the table.
Miss Georgina stood in the open door leading to the executive offices, which were down a short private hall. She was dressed in an emerald green Carole Little business suit. There was a black-and-white silk kerchief in one breast pocket. Gold button earrings gleamed in the fluorescent lighting. Her silver gray hair was swept up in a French roll.
“Good morning, everyone. Laurence, I’m glad you’re here.” She fixed a baleful stare on the seventy-year-old curmudgeon.
“Morning, Georgina. You’re looking hale and hearty for somebody supposed to be down for the count,” Laurence said with a grunt. He tossed a glare at Carlton, who blinked hard.
She gave a composed laugh. “The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.”
“Ahem, Grandmother’s trademark sense of humor,” Carlton said with a watery smile. “As I was saying, we’re here to discuss proposals to address the viability of this company”
Carlton’s father marched over to stand beside him. “My son has a solid grasp on the road we need to take.”
“Careful we don’t end up going off a cliff, Willie,” Richard said with a lopsided grin. He sat down next to Noel.
“Dad, please.” Noel eyed his father. “We’re here to work together.”
“Not if we’re on the wrong track,” William said. He glared at Richard for a moment before going on. “My son has a proposal that makes sense.”
“Sounds reasonable,” a distant cousin said.
“Then get to it,” Uncle Laurence added. “Don’t waste time shilly-shallying around.”
Augustin raised a hand. “Ah, excuse me.”
“Yes, Augustin,” Miss Georgina said with a nod.
“Shouldn’t we at least hear details of what we’re sup-porting?”
“I thought that’s what we came here for. I don’t like being rushed at this hour of the morning,” Vic said.
“I was simply making a general opening statement,” William said tightly.
“We got the message.” Augustin had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
Noel moved to shift the group into a more positive direction. “We can get started now. I believe we both have solid ideas to put on the table—right, Carlton?”
“For the most part,” Carlton said with a cool smile.
As chairman, Uncle Laurence officially opened the meeting. For the next half-hour they reviewed a report of operating expenses and net profits. Eddie passed out manila folders as he spoke. Noel made it a point to keep his expression blank. He could feel glances from other members of the board. Lyrissa sat across from him. She stared down at a folder before her. The gray skirt, matching jacket, and crisp white blouse she wore fit her curves very well. Other women would have looked straitlaced in such an outfit. Not Lyrissa. Her business suit gave a hint of the sensual woman beneath the functional clothes. When she used one hand to brush her hair in place, heat shot through Noel’s midsection. He smiled at the memory of the way she tasted.
Richard leaned close to him. “Keep your mind on business, son. William and Carlton are up to something.”
Noel adjusted his tie and looked around the room. Several pairs of dark St. Denis eyes stared at him. Julie watched Lyrissa closely. His father was right; he needed to keep his mind on the present. Still, there was no place Lyrissa could sit that wouldn’t light a fire inside him. He’d just have to focus, even with her so close.
Carlton leaned forward, both elbows on the table. “As I said, my proposal makes good business sense. Jack Castle, a top consultant in this area, endorses it. We could see a six percent rise in profit within the first quarter after my plan is implemented.” Carlton wore a confident expression.
“I like it,” Aunt Aline said promptly. “Well, this was relatively painless, as dry board meetings go. Very impressive, Carlton.”
“Not bad,” Uncle Laurence grumb
led.
“Are we following Robert’s Rules of Order?” Augustin asked, an innocent expression on his face.
William’s eyes narrowed. “You know we are.”
Augustin raised his hand like a schoolboy. “I ask to be recognized, then.”
“Of course,” Uncle Laurence said.
“Let’s hear from the expert on art,” Cousin Augustin said, his gaze on Noel.
“Let me conclude first,” Carlton said quickly.
“You’re not through yet?” Vic blurted out.
“I just wanted to point out that I did include the St. Denis art collection as an asset in my proposal.” Carlton tapped his copy of the report.
“May I give information to the board?” Julie spoke up.
“Of course,” Carlton said before anyone could object.
“I can name quite a few Fortune 500 corporations that list art in their asset reports. That’s not really an issue.” Julie’s voice was neutral.
“Miss Rideau’s appraisal confirms what I suspected.” Noel nodded to Lyrissa. “The—”
“And I think we can leverage the value of the collection even more,” Julie cut in with force.
Aunt Aline cast a cool glance at Lyrissa. Her expression softened when she looked at Julie. “You have something in mind, dear?”
Julie smiled tightly. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I even mentioned it to Noel a couple of weeks ago. I think you could display the art and sell limited edition prints, and even reproductions of some of the sculptures. Also, I’ve made some contacts with Sotheby’s in New York. A few of the pieces could be auctioned for a considerable amount.” Julie looked at Lyrissa as she talked.
Cousin Harold nodded his approval. “Which could increase income while we hold onto the art. Clever girl.”
“I even have an idea to sell the reproductions on a major national shopping channel.” Julie smiled in triumph as she gazed at Lyrissa.
“I think we should hear Miss Rideau’s report. She’s a sharp cookie.” Vic winked at Lyrissa.
“We can read it later,” Julie snapped impatiently. “The point is the collection is valuable.”
Uncle Laurence nodded. “Not exactly news. Just needed a reliable dollar figure.”