by Lori Leger
He hesitated a split second before answering. “Of course I’m not.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I believe you’re lying.”
“Look, Angelique, I’m not with anyone. I don’t have the time to start anything new right now.”
She tapped his chin with her long manicured nail. “I think you’re keeping something from me, monsieur beau.”
“Do you want to dance or not?” he asked, getting rather annoyed with her.
“Okay, cher, we’ll dance, but you know I don’t like it when people keep things from me.”
Red snorted. “People keep things from you? It wouldn’t have anything to do with that hot temper of yours, would it?”
“Moi? Me? Je connais pas. I don’t know. I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.”
Red cocked his head to one side. “Let me refresh your memory. How about the girl you attacked in the ladies room because I danced with her a full month after we broke off our relationship? Does that ring any bells?”
Angelique’s brow furrowed. “Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of my life? I only pulled out a small patch of hair, and that putaine had a headful. Besides—” she said, fluffing her own hair, “—I saw her two months later, and her bald patch was filling in nicely.”
“I’m surprised she let you close enough to see,” he said, snorting.
“It was tricky. I had to sneak up on her from behind and tap on her shoulder. When she turned around and saw it was me, she screamed like she’d seen a gros betaille, and ran in the opposite direction.”
“Hmph...I can’t imagine why.” He gave her a stern look of warning. “I’m telling you now, Angel, if you ever pull anything like that in any of my places again, I will ban your ass. Do you understand me?”
She sulked, but remained silent.
“Answer me, Angelique.”
“Oui! Yes, I understand! Just dance one more with me, Red.”
Red complied, praying that Angelique would be gone by tomorrow night. The last thing he wanted was for her to be anywhere in the same vicinity as Tiffany.
<><><>
Drake LeBlanc sat at his desk in his Houston high rise apartment trying to shake off his insomnia induced exhaustion with more coffee. Damn, but he’d give anything for a full night of restful sleep. He’d decided Tiffany was right about him needing a career change, but suspected his job was just the first in a long line of changes he needed to be happy.
His life, as it existed now, bored the hell out of him. Everything from the fancy restaurants and take-out food he survived on, to the company he kept. Finding the necessary diversions of the female persuasion without saddling himself with a wife and children was proving more difficult. After the display of mind numbing lack of feeling he’d seen from his parents, the last thing he wanted was to get tied down to someone permanently and pump out a couple more children to keep the cycle going. But the endless parade of gorgeous, shallow, model-thin women he usually found sexually gratifying, had become increasingly unsatisfactory as of late.
Examining the contents of the file Dan had delivered to him first thing this morning, he saw Scott McAllister’s life laid neatly before him on the glossy surface of his desk. So far, he hadn’t seen a damn thing out of line with the man. He was valedictorian of his high school class, graduated with top honors from Louisiana State University, with a bachelor’s in Business, worked himself through the Master’s program and had several successful businesses in and around the Lafayette area since then, just as he’d said. The man was a self-made millionaire and Drake was thoroughly impressed with his credentials.
Even more impressive, in Drake’s opinion, was the character references that Dan had collected. Everyone, without fail, said the same thing about Scott ‘Red’ McAllister. The man was hard-working, fair, honest, and possessed a level of integrity that most men strive for, but few actually attain. Although he didn’t go looking for fights, he obviously didn’t back down from any. The one item on the sheet that jumped out at him was the fact that even the two people he’d managed to alienate over the years called him incorruptible. Apparently they’d tried to hold back services, demanding kickbacks, and McAllister had come out swinging—exposing them both for their dishonesty, and causing serious repercussions for both men. It had resulted in one board member resigning his position, and another dropping out of a re-election campaign. This guy was the polar opposite of Tanner Collins, and Drake figured Tiffany could do a hell of a lot worse. A bachelor with no children, he had no serious relationships to speak of, so he was definitely free to start up something with Tiffany when she was ready.
He held up a snapshot of the man in question and wondered if he was looking at a picture of his future brother-in-law. He hoped Tiffany could find a way to be happy now that she’d finally had enough of their parent’s interference. They’d practically sold her at birth to the Collins family and no matter how hard he’d tried to convince them that pushing her to marry Tanner was unfair to her, they’d turned a deaf ear to his reasoning. Thankful that she’d finally found the strength to stand up to them, he’d do what he could to support her.
Drake picked up the phone and dialed his father’s mobile number. “Hey Dad,” he said after his father answered the phone.
“Drake!” The voice of Daniel Drake LeBlanc boomed over the phone. “How are you, Son?”
“I’m good, and how about you?”
“Oh, can’t complain. You hardly ever call, so I know there must be something on your mind. Out with it.”
“It’s about Tiffany breaking it off with Tanner.”
Daniel groaned. “Your mother called hotter than a habanero coated in cayenne pepper. She insists she’ll never be able to hold her head up in her circle, and wants me to talk some sense into her.”
“Well, don’t even try. She’s done with that piece of crap. You do know that, right? That he’s not fit to lick the soles of her shoes?”
“I know Tanner doesn’t have the spic and span persona that your sister admires in people, but she’s living in a dream world. Let’s face it, Son. Good husbands aren’t that plentiful, and she’s not getting any younger. If she’s going to make a match, she needs to get on the ball.”
“You know, Dad. You and mother have only missed the age of arranged marriages by a century and a half.”
“That’s not funny, Drake.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. So, tell me, how’d your arranged marriage work out for you?” He heard his father’s growl of disapproval.
“Your mother and I look at our marriage as a business arrangement. Marriage for any other reason is pure foolishness.”
Drake shook his head, amazed at his father’s stubbornness. “I’ve heard all this before, but the fact is, Tiffany doesn’t love Tanner. Hell, I don’t think she even likes him. I know I can’t tolerate the son of a bitch. He’s weak willed and arrogant, and those two qualities don’t make for a good husband or father of your future grandchildren. Wouldn’t you rather see her with a decent man? Wouldn’t you want your grandchildren to have a better role model?”
“Women don’t have the luxury of waiting as long as we can to have children. Her biological clock is ticking away as we speak.”
“You should have thought of that before you coerced her into wasting five years with a man, and I use that term loosely, who wasn’t suited to her. Besides, you act like she’s a shriveled up old maid, when she could easily pass as a teenager to someone who didn’t know her.”
“Our families have known each other for years. She could tr...”
“You know, Dad,” Drake interrupted. “That horse you’re beating? It died a good while back, so you might want to bury the damn thing any day now.”
“Is that what passes for parental respect at that fancy ivy league college?”
“If respect is what you’re after you’d better start showing your daughter some support,” Drake drawled. “At this rate, grandchildren won’t do you a bit of good
because I doubt she’d bring them around.” For the first time in the conversation, his father answered with dead silence. “Dad, are you still there?” Finally, he heard his father’s tentative reply.
“She wouldn’t do that, would she?”
Drake rubbed his jaw in frustration. “Hell, I wouldn’t blame her if she never set foot in Texas again. You do know that mother and Tanner both expected her to walk away from her career after marriage. Do you have any idea how insane that is?”
“Your mother had strange ideas about women who work.”
“Hell, the only thing mother ever worked at was spending your money. Even then if Melinda hadn’t been around, we wouldn’t have gotten a ‘hello, how are you’, much less three square meals a day. Tiff and I knew early on that, as mothers go, ours sucked…bad.”
His father gave a loud harrumph. “That woman never did have any kind of maternal instinct. She wasn’t any better of a wife than she was a mother. The bed was a desolate place with your mother in it.”
Drake cringed to himself. “I sure as hell don’t need to hear any of that.” His father chuckled, as Drake continued. “So, do you think you could stay off of Tiffany’s ass about this, dad? You know, if you do, she may find someone on her own who’s more suited to her. God knows she deserves to be happy.”
“All right son, I’ll speak to you mother, as much as it pains me to do so.”
Drake grinned in triumph. “Trust me, you won’t be sorry.”
Once the phone call with his father ended, he dialed his sister’s home number. She answered on the third ring, sounding slightly winded.
“Hey Sis, how’s it going?”
“Hey Drake, I just came in from my run.”
“How far?”
“Um, three and a half miles. It helps me deal with Tanner calling twenty times a day telling me I need to reconsider. I’m sure he has mother and dad’s blessings.”
“Not anymore, Tiff. I spoke to dad and he’s going to tell mom to lay off.”
“No kidding? If that’s true you get the brother of the year award.”
“Just for that?” Drake said, laughing. “I thought I’d at least have to whip Tanner’s ass to be deserving of that honor.”
“That would get you brother of the decade.”
“Hm…don’t tempt me, Sis. I’ve wanted to do that for years.”
“Now, you sound like Red.”
“Ah, McAllister, your rescuer. Why would you say that?”
“Red broke Tanner’s nose at a wedding a while back.”
Tanner snorted. “I knew I liked him. What was his motivation?”
“Oh, there was some old history there, but Tanner putting the moves on Annie, Red’s youngest sister, was the last straw.”
“Any chance his sister welcomed Tanner’s attention?” Tiffany’s sudden burst of laughter surprised him.
“If you knew Annie at all you wouldn’t be asking that,” she snorted. “Besides, Red walked in just in time to see her slap him and call him a jerk. She’s a scrappy little thing.”
Drake chuckled softly. “Well if anybody would know scrappy, it’s you. I can still see you kicking Randy Johnson’s ass when I was in first grade.”
“Hey, that big bully had no right picking on you. He left you alone after that, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, but he was never quite the same after that incident—I think you did permanent damage to his psyche.”
Tiffany laughed. “The male ego is such a delicate thing.”
Drake smiled at the sound he hadn’t heard near enough lately. “Damn, it’s good to hear you laugh. You know, I’ve been keeping track.”
“Of what?”
“Your laughter, it’s been at least three years since I’ve heard it or seen you smile like you really meant it.” He heard her take a deep breath and release it slowly.
“I feel like I can breathe again. I wish I could see you little brother. Why don’t you come for a visit?”
“I’m working on something right now, but I plan on wrapping up a couple of pending cases in the next two weeks.”
“When’s the last time you took any time off?”
“I went skiing in Colorado...last year sometime.”
“Was that the time you sprained your wrist?”
“Yeah.”
“That was three years ago, Drake.”
“Oh, I know. I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.”
“That was before the ski trip.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, hell. I guess it’s been awhile.”
“I’m holding you to Christmas, you know. Your butt had better be here. We’ve both been invited to Red’s ranch, and his entire family will be there.”
“I will. So, are you falling for this Scott McAllister? Because if you are, I think you should let me meet him first.”
“We’re good friends, for right now, anyway. I’m not saying that I couldn’t have some feelings for him in the future, but I need to be by myself for awhile.”
Not if Red has his way. “Whatever you say, Sis. Hey, I need to let you go, but I promise I’ll be there for Christmas.”
“Please plan to come back for New Year’s Eve,” she pleaded. “You could be my date for the opening of Red’s new club.”
“Maybe I will,” he told her. “I love you Tiff.”
“Love you too.”
Drake hung up the phone feeling lighter in his chest. Maybe it was the fact that he’d just helped someone other than his own firm to screw someone over.
“Maybe it is time for a change,” he murmured.
<><><>
Around noon on Saturday, Tiffany’s nerves finally snapped at the incessant ringing of her telephone. For two hours straight, she’d answered Tanner’s calls by picking up the receiver and slamming it down immediately, hoping he’d get the message. Fed up with him, she picked it up and growled into the mouthpiece. “Don’t make me put a hit out on you, jack ass!” The answering deep chuckle told her she missed her mark.
“Your ex been bothering you this morning?”
She dropped onto her couch. “Sorry about that Red. I just assumed it was him again. He’s been calling since ten a.m.”
“Maybe you should get your number changed.”
“Why should I go through that kind of trouble? It’s time Tanner learns he can’t always get his way.”
“Listen to you going all ‘girl power’ on me. I’m so proud.”
“I’m sure. What’s up, McAllister?” she said, checking her watch.
“I called to find out if you need a lift to my club tonight.”
“That depends on how long it takes my hair stylist,” she said. “Can I let you know when I get back?”
“Absolutely.”
They disconnected and Tiffany picked up her purse to leave for her 12:15 hair appointment. Stopping in front of the mirror, she took one last look at herself as a blonde. “Good riddance,” she said, closing the door behind her.
<><><>
Drake LeBlanc parked his white Denali pick-up next to Tiffany’s convertible. He unfolded his six foot two inch frame from the front seat, threw his bag over his shoulder, and made his way to his sister’s front door. He rang the bell, humming along to the classic rock ballad blaring from a sound system inside her house.
He waited with bated breath, anticipating Tiffany’s reaction to seeing him, and wasn’t disappointed. She squealed with delight and threw her arms around him.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here!” She said, breathless from excitement.
After a prolonged hug, he set her away from him to get a good look at her. “I couldn’t stay away one more day, Tiff.”
“Do you have a good reason for shocking the hell out of me, or is it just a by-product of your twisted sense of humor?”
“Well,” he drawled, “I wanted to surprise you, but I think it just backfired on me. Look at your hair!” Drake touched the soft brown curls and gave a nod of approval. “That’s the Tiffany I know and love.”
She patted her soft curls and beamed up at him. “Thanks little brother.”
“Okay, seeing as how I’m nearly a foot taller than you are, do you think you could stop with the ‘little brother’ thing?”
“No way; you may be bigger, but I’m older and you’ll always be ‘little brother’ to me, so get over it,” she said, pulling him inside.
“Nice place you got here, sis. Aren’t you glad you have such a smart brother to talk you into hanging onto it?”
“Every once in a while he proves his worth,” Tiffany said. “How long can you stay?”
“This is a one night only appearance, so you’d better appreciate the trouble I went to for your sake.”
She gave him another hug. “God, I needed to see you. Oh hold on,” she said, picking up the phone. “I need to call Red and tell him not to pick me up.”
“Hold up! I’m not stopping you from a date, am I?”
“No, I was just catching a ride with him to his club tonight in Lafayette. But, I can go there anytime,” she said with a wave of her hand.
“I’d like to go too, but I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“Then we’ll drive over together,” Tiffany suggested. “It’ll give us more time to visit.”
Tiffany called Red to let him know she wouldn’t need a ride to the club. She asked for the address and told him she’d be there around eight, with her brother. After ending the call, she stared up at Drake. “Are you sure you’re up to this? After a two and a half hour drive, I hate to make you ride for another hour or so.”
Drake brushed off her concern. “It’s not a problem, I just hope I can find someone to dance with besides my sister. That would be pathetic.”
“I’m kind of surprised you didn’t bring along one of your chick-ees from the model of the month club.”
“Come on, now, they weren’t all models,” he murmured.
“Every last one of them looked anemic and like they’d scratch my eyes out for one bite of my steak and baked potato.”
“Oh please, quit exaggerating,” he snorted.