by E. C. Land
Wisely, Brittney does as I tell her to and backs away from me. “I’ll call you after my appointment. We can discuss everything then.” She all but purrs.
“Great, bring the signed papers with you,” I say, pivoting to face her.
Brittney doesn’t say another word as she smiles and comes close enough to try to kiss me. I barely turn my cheek to her before she makes contact. Pulling away, she smiles in an attempt to be seductive, though it does nothing for me.
I follow after her, making sure she leaves the house and locking the door behind her. Checking the time again, I sigh in frustration. Brittney wasted too much of my time this morning by coming here. Worse, she gave me a damn headache with that cheap perfume she wore. If I had time, I’d spray the house down with Febreze to get the smell out.
Reaching into my pocket, I snag my keys and pull them out on the way to my car. I stop at the backdoor to lock up—not that we really need to. Security is always around. No one is allowed in the house without any of us here.
I get behind the wheel and start the car, the radio playing “Feel Invincible” by Skillet. Turning the stereo up, I block out the events of this morning, needing to calm my thoughts. I pull out of the driveway, heading in the direction of Félix’s office. It’s not a long drive, and I find a parking spot right next to his.
With my mind clear, I hop out of the car, tucking my keys back in the pocket of my charcoal-gray slacks. I walk to the front entrance, nodding to Liam—one of the men who work for us—as I pass.
Outside my brother’s office, I suck in a breath, preparing for this meeting. I don’t need my brother seeing me frustrated. The last thing I need is him questioning me about everything going on. Yes, he might know I screwed up nearly two months ago, but it’s still my business to deal with—on my own time. Right now, it needs to be all about work.
Knocking on Félix’s door, I don’t bother waiting for him to answer—I never do. “Morning.” I grin, trying to hide my irritation.
“Morning,” Félix grunts from behind his desk. “Glad you could join us.”
“Hey, I’m on time,” I say, glancing down at my watch. “Besides, I had an unwanted guest show up at the house.” I don’t miss the way my brother’s eyes flash with annoyance.
Switching my focus from him, I look at Madelaine and grin. “Morning, sister-in-law.” I’m surprised she’s not sitting behind her desk near the bookshelves. But when I see the radiant woman next to her, my grin falters. She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s also my new dancer.
Corentina
“Rémy, I’d like you to meet Corentina,” Madelaine says, standing from her seat.
Corentina follows suit, reaching out to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Rémy.” She’s a beautiful woman with chocolate brown hair. It’s voluminous and comes down in loose waves that frame her face perfectly. Her eyes are as light as the Gulf of Mexico sea, a unique mixture of green and blue.
Clearing my throat, I take her hand. “Glad you were able to join us.”
“Thank you again for giving me the chance to work at Diamond Dancers. I’m excited to start.”
“Well, you have Madelaine to thank for that. I can’t say no to my favorite sister-in-law.” I smirk.
“I’m your only sister-in-law.” Madelaine giggles, joining my brother as he approaches us. “We were just discussing going out to dinner tonight. Why don’t you join us?”
“Sounds good to me.” I nod, going over my to-do list in my head for the day. “I’ll have to cut out right after and go to Diamond Dancers.”
“That’s good. I wanted to take Corentina over to show her around after, anyway,” Madelaine announces. “So, it all works out.”
See, this is why we all love Madelaine so much. Not only does she adore my brother, but she’s one step ahead of the game—always. I just wish I could find a woman like her and not one I detest with everything I have.
Chapter Three
Corentina
I don’t know what I expected him to look like, but with his sandy blond hair and fitted suit, he took my breath away for a moment. In a way, he gives me the feeling he’s the type of man who demands attention from everyone in the room. His eyes are kind, but everything else about him isn’t. His facial expression is gruff, and the way he carries himself is authoritative. It’s no wonder he’s the type of man who owns a business like this. Show business isn’t for pussies.
Rémy left shortly after, and he went over something with Félix, but Madelaine decided to take me out and show me around New Orleans a bit. She told me she was using it as an excuse to get out of the office. She says how she mostly only sees the same four walls every day, but the weather was too beautiful not to play hooky for a bit. I didn’t disagree with her. It’s not too hot, not too cold. The humidity is doable, and the sun is out. What more can you ask for?
“So, are you a dancer as well?” I ask, trying to make some small talk.
She cracks up laughing. “Who, me?” She turns her head as if I’ve asked her something ridiculous.
“Yeah, I mean, you have the body for it. Plus, you’re gorgeous.” Madelaine has the brightest red hair I’ve ever seen. She’s got this edgy appearance to her with her tattoos and her dark style of clothes. Most women in establishments like theirs would be in dresses and heels, but not her. She’s wearing a shredded KISS T-shirt that hangs off her shoulder, with a pair of cut-up denim jeans and a pair of combat boots. She’s a badass, and it’s what makes me like her.
“Aw, you’re adorable. No, I’m not a dancer. I handle the behind the scenes stuff for the guys. Arranging shit, keeping them in line when it comes to accounting. You know my husband spends over a thousand dollars a month on coffee. I couldn’t figure it out, but he told me he buys breakfast for the dancers on the weekends.”
“Wow, that’s so sweet.” Most of the places I’ve been at make you fend for yourself.
Madelaine nods. “Yeah, he’s a real keeper. He doesn’t have much to do with Diamond Dancers since that’s Rémy’s thing, but he likes to make sure you’re all taken care of. Rémy used to do it, but it slipped his mind a couple times, so Félix picked it up. He just never thought to tell my cheap ass about it.” Madelaine throws her head back and cackles.
“That’s very lovely. It’s hard to find employers that view their dancers as people. Most think we’re replaceable.” I don’t realize what I’ve said until I catch the shocked expression crossing Madelaine’s features.
“Are most people really like that?” Her question catches me off guard, but I nod.
“Yeah, most even threaten you with the fact there’s a constant guillotine over your head. Its rope is constantly being shredded, but it’ll come crashing down when someone better comes along. It’s cut-throat out there.” It’s tiring, exhausting, terrifying, but I don’t tell any of this to Madelaine.
“Well, you don’t have a guillotine over your head here. We treat the dancers like they’re family, and we take care of our own.” I sigh in relief at hearing Madelaine’s words. A club like this is a rarity in the world.
“I’m starting to see that. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. We’re all very grateful you’re here. Your name comes with an amazing reputation and you know not only your talent, but your fanbase. I’ve recently started new advertising campaigns for Rémy. Billboards, Facebook ads, Radio ads, ads on websites, everything. We’re even planning a huge VIP party for your opening night, and tickets have almost sold out.” Madelaine sure knows how to make me feel good about myself. It’s crazy, considering she isn’t my family. Yet the one person who is has no problem tearing me down, pointing out what she thinks I’m doing wrong. Even the thought of Ursula makes my stomach churn and nervousness spread across my limbs.
Madelaine and I spend the rest of the day walking around the city, and around six, she gets a call. I presume it’s from Félix since she reminds us we have dinner plans. We hop in her town car and her driver takes us to the restaurant we’re meetin
g the men at. We both walk in through the doors, and the hostess takes us back to a private area. It’s secluded from everyone else, and the view overlooking the city is breathtaking.
“Evening, Corentina,” Félix says, standing to shake my hand.
I smile and take his hand, but there’s something I have to get off my chest. “Good evening. Please, call me Cor or Cora. Corentina is only for professional or legal purposes, plus it’s a mouthful.” I add a laugh at the end, and he nods.
“Noted,” Félix says.
“Evening,” Rémy says, standing to shake my hand. His cool blue eyes lock with mine, and I don’t know how to describe the feeling rushing through me. It’s like he’s knocking the air out from my body.
I swallow and smile. “Good evening.”
Thank goodness for Madelaine. “Come on, let’s sit down and get our order in. I’m starved.”
“Did you not eat today?” Félix questions his wife with a grumble.
“We ate, just didn’t overeat. I took Cora to all the touristy places. We had small plates since we knew we were having dinner. I plan on diving straight into the lobster, so I saved room,” Madelaine says with a giggle and a wink.
Félix shakes his head, and Rémy looks over at me. “Let me guess, she took you to Cafe Beignet?”
“She did, and they were marvelous. Madelaine took me to a couple places, but the Olde NOLA Cookery was hands down my favorite. It was a great way to get a taste of the New Orleans culture and lifestyle,” I tell Rémy.
“Ooo, yay! We’ll have to do it again. It was nice to get out of the office, but I love New Orleans. It’s a great city,” Madelaine adds.
“Yes,” I nod, “and the people are so friendly here. Not every city has friendly people. It’s nice.”
“Where will you take her next, Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo?” Rémy teases Madelaine, but little does he know I’d love that. I’m a big fan of going to museums, not that I’ve been able to go to many.
“As a matter of fact, I might,” Madelaine counters.
A man in all black comes up to us, and as he approaches the table, he puts his hands behind his back. “May I start you off with drinks?”
“Two vodkas on the rocks and one of your finest cabernet sauvignon, please,” Félix says, then looks over at me. “Apologies, do you like red wine, Cora?”
I nod. “I love any wine.”
Madelaine giggles from beside me. “Yes, she has the type of energy I like.”
“Very well. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your drinks,” the server tells us as he walks off.
“Cora, is your manager not joining us this evening? We extended an invitation to her as well, but I don’t see her here,” Madelaine says, eyes fixated on me.
“I actually have something to—” I start off, but I’m quickly interrupted.
“Apologies for being late. I’m not quite used to the city traffic,” Ursula says as she pulls the chair out between her and Félix. She takes a seat and quickly smiles brightly at both of the men. God, I know what she’s about to do. She always does this whenever we meet the men behind the business. In this case, I’m pretty certain Rémy is the man in charge, but it appears like his brother is a big supporter of the club.
Madelaine turns to look at me. “What is it you were going to say, Cora?”
I part my lips, but Ursula turns to look at me and gives me the nastiest glare. It’s a silent warning, one where she wants me to keep my mouth shut.
Clearing my throat, I tell her a bit of the truth. “It’s nothing we can’t discuss later.”
“Okay.” Madelaine picks up easily on the new tension in the room, and I watch as her eyes lock onto Ursula.
“You must be Rémy, I heard rumors about how handsome you are,” Ursula says to Félix.
He laughs. “Well, thank you for the compliment, but I’m Félix. This is my brother, Rémy.” Félix motions with his head toward Rémy, who’s sitting across from him.
Ursula makes a show of gasping when she sees him, which only makes me roll my eyes. “Wow. You both are very . . . good looking.” Ursula rakes her eyes over Rémy, and it makes me frustrated. I want to throttle her, tell her to shut up and get out of here, but we’re in front of my new employers.
The server comes back out and sets our drinks down on the table. I grab my glass of wine the second it’s down and take a sip, praying it’ll take the edge off slightly. Madelaine picks up her glass, but the moment my sister speaks, her eyes instantly focus on her.
“What’s your secret?” Ursula asks Félix.
“I’m sorry?” He doesn’t understand what she’s saying.
“To having such toned muscles. Your shirt might be fitted, but I’m very certain you’re the type of man who has no problem picking up a woman and . . .”
Madelaine dumps her whole glass of wine on Ursula’s white, flowy dress. My sister shrieks, and Madelaine holds up her left hand with the massive ring. “I don’t know if you’re blind or just downright stupid. My name is Madelaine DeLancy, and your flirting with my husband is over with.”
Ursula’s face turns beet red. “Madelaine, I’m so—”
Madelaine holds up a finger and wags it at Ursula. “No. You,” she pauses to look my sister up and down, “you can call me Mrs. DeLancy. Now, I suddenly don’t think it’s best you stay for this business meeting. I’ll make sure to have my assistant call you if we ever require you for something.” Madelaine’s tone goes stone cold, and Ursula swallows hard. She rises from her chair and makes her way out of the private dining area.
Rémy grabs onto the bottle of wine and pours his sister-in-law a new drink.
“I was going to tell you earlier, but Ursula is no longer my manager. We dissolved our contract,” I say to Madelaine, and she smiles brightly.
“Good, because I was about to kill her,” Madelaine says, and everyone at the table cracks up laughing.
Chapter Four
Rémy
Over the past week, I’ve made myself as scarce as possible. In fact, I visited Olivia and Finn in Corpus Christi to avoid the headache that’s becoming Brittney. The other night while out to dinner with my family and Corentina, who’s asked us to call her Cora, the insufferable woman kept blowing up my phone.
I spoke to Félix about it, telling him I needed a break—hence why I’d gone to my sister’s. I spent two days with her, enjoying the beach. Finn gave Olivia and I time alone while he went to work at the office. Normally, he doesn’t let my sister out of his sight. Not after he nearly lost her. That’d been a very bad day for all of us—the thought of what we could’ve lost at the hands of Finn’s sadistic, psycho brother.
After talking to Olivia, I’m calmer than I’ve been in weeks. She helps level out my emotions when I need her. It’s what makes her my partner in crime. To say Olivia wasn’t happy when I told her about Brittney and the shitty situation she’s created would be an understatement.
When I finally got home, I worked from my house instead of going to Diamond Dancers. I spoke with my manager and Tristan to make sure everything was running smoothly. Tristan and I both run Diamond Dancers, but he’s got his own side of things, and I’ve got mine. I handle the legit side of the business. Tristan deals with the brothels, taking care of the “call girls” as he likes to call them.
Our father used to have a slew of brothels all over New Orleans. When Félix killed him and took over, he changed things up with us at his side. We gave the girls a choice to work for us. Considering how sick and twisted our father was, more than half the girls were either runaways he’d snatched up off the streets or kidnapped from their homes.
The girls who didn’t want to work for us, we helped get off the drugs our nefarious father had pumped into their systems. We’re not monsters like him. Our mom was better than that. She’d been a respectable woman who never should’ve been with the man she married.
My cell vibrating on my desk draws my attention from the spreadsheet I’ve been staring at but not really see
ing the numbers. Blinking, I shake my head slightly to clear my head. I pick up my phone and glance down. It’s Julian, my manager, calling me.
Swiping a finger across the screen, I answer, “Hey, Julian, what’s wrong?”
He never calls me unless it’s an actual emergency.
“Sorry, Rémy. I know you said you wanted to work from home for a few days, but we need you here,” he grumbles. “We have a situation only you’re going to be able to handle.”
Shit. “What’s going on?” I demand, standing from behind my desk and heading for the door.
“Brittney’s here,” he rumbles, causing my blood to boil.
Damnit. Why can’t the woman just leave me the hell alone? “I’m on my way.”
Pulling the phone from my ear, I disconnect the call and shove the damn thing in my pocket. Walking quickly down the hallway, I snag my keys at the front door. This isn’t what I wanted to do tonight. I didn’t want to go to Diamond Dancers because not only will I now have to deal with Brittney, but I’ll see Corentina too.
Leaving my house, I stomp down the porch stairs and to the car. I climb in behind the wheel and start the engine. As soon as I put it in drive, I slam on the gas. I make the thirty-minute drive in twenty. Parking in my spot, I get out and head for the entrance of the club. Simon—one of my bouncers—nods and opens the door for me.
Julian’s waiting for me when I step inside. “Tristan’s in your office with Brittney. I didn’t know what else to do with her. She was causing a scene with the waitresses. For some reason, she was telling them they needed to listen to her.”
“I’ll handle this. Thank you,” I grumble and head for my office. Julian might not know Brittney’s my “wife”, but I’ve warned him she’s nuts. I told him if she ever tried anything to get her the hell out of the club ASAP.
Heading to my office, I nod at my regular clientele and smile at my waitresses. I find if I respect my staff, they’ll do their jobs with pride and not screw up. Or, I should say, the ones who actually want to work here will do what they’re supposed to do.
