by Emery, Lynn
Carlton grimaced. “These figures aren’t conclusive. I’m sure there’s a good explanation.”
“God, I hope so. I can’t afford more problems. The board will blame me for this, too.” Noel frowned and raked a hand through his hair.
“I delegated a lot of work to Andre and Keisha. Maybe that was a mistake. I’ll look into this for you, Noel. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I’m sure we can straighten this all out,” Carlton said in a rush as he sprang from his chair.
Noel looked up at him. “You think Andre or Keisha could be responsible?”
“I don’t want to accuse anyone yet, but they did handle some of these transactions.” Carlton stared at the report in his hands. “I have confidence in my employees, but I’ll get to the bottom of this and do what I have to.”
“Yes, I’m sure you will.” Noel stood. “Thanks, Carlton. I knew when it hit the fan I could count on you.” He put an arm around his cousin’s shoulder.
“Like you said, we have to stick together. I’ll look into the questions raised by this report immediately. Can I keep it?” Carlton clutched the report as though Noel would have to rip it from his hands.
“Definitely. Read it cover to cover. I know you’ll find it interesting.”
Noel watched his cousin scurry out. He balled his hands into large, menacing fists when his office door closed.
Lyrissa walked into the small cafe on the comer of St. Charles and Third Street. Only a few customers were scattered around at the tables. She checked her watch. Ten minutes before two in the afternoon. Most of the lunch crowd had cleared out. Lyrissa took a seat and waited for Julie. She’d arrived early to get the advantage, since Julie had suggested where they meet. Also, Lyrissa wanted to appear anxious.
Five minutes later Julie drove up in her late-model dark red two-seater BMW. She turned a comer and parked on a side street.
Julie strolled inside wearing dark sunglasses. A waitress approached, took her order for diet soda, then left. She scanned the dining room, then smiled briefly when she saw Lyrissa. Lyrissa folded her hands and rested them on the table as she approached.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, under the circum-stances?” Julie tucked her navy leather clutch bag under one arm.
“Hi. Thanks for coming,” Lyrissa said with a jittery smile that faded quickly. “I know Noel and the others would be angry if they knew. I—”
“I meant for you. I’m not the one in deep trouble.” Julie raised her eyebrows until they arched above the gold rims of her sunglasses.
“I’m an arson and theft suspect, my boss fired me, and Noel doesn’t believe me. What have I got to lose?” Lyrissa swallowed hard.
Julie stared at her for a few seconds, then lifted a shoulder. She sat down. The waitress brought their drinks and left.
“Good point, but I don’t see why you’re talking to me. Make your case to Noel,” Julie said.
“I tried. We had a terrible fight. I couldn’t believe the way he talked to me!” Lyrissa’s bottom Up trembled. Then she reminded herself not to lay it on too thick. She stopped short of squeezing out a tear.
“He’s not stupid. You must have known he’d see right through you eventually. And he’s very loyal to his family.” Julie removed her sunglasses and gazed at her.
“I’m innocent. Okay, I didn’t tell him about the painting,” she added quickly, when Julie’s expression turned skeptical. “But I didn’t set that fire or steal anything!” “Fine. Your lawyer will get you off. The fact that the police found the stolen painting at your house looks bad, though.” Her mouth twitched into a smirk.
“I don’t understand how it got there, Julie. I swear!” Lyrissa frowned. “A lot of people have decided I’m guilty already. Noel is one of them. My career is probably ruined in this business.”
“Too bad,” Julie said in a flat tone. “I still don’t know why you’re talking to me.”
“I—” Lyrissa broke off when the waitress led two men in suits to a nearby table. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I was nowhere near that house when it caught fire. I was with Noel. Uh, sorry,” she put in, when Julie winced.
“The theory is you hired someone to do your dirty work,” Julie retorted with a stiff expression. “A suspicious type would say being with Noel was the perfect set-up.”
“That’s crazy! I’d never do such a thing.” Lyrissa wrung her hands. “Look, I know we’ve had our problems.”
“Yes.”
“But I think we can help each other,” Lyrissa went on.
“This I’ve got to hear.” Julie folded her arms and gazed at her. “I can’t think of one reason why I should care what happens to you or why I need your help.”
“Noel is being difficult.” Lyrissa wore a miserable expression.
“He’s a St. Denis, darlin’. They don’t easily forgive, and they never forget.”
Lyrissa lifted her chin. “But he wants to believe me real bad, Julie. He’s agreed to see me again. I’ve still got a chance.”
“He’s not that big a fool for you!” Julie snarled.
“Don’t count on it,” Lyrissa tossed back. “No matter what you’d like to think, the man still wants me. I’m more than his latest distraction.”
“You’re so wrong. I’ve seen him toss aside better women than you,” Julie huffed in anger.
“Are you sure?”
Lyrissa watched fury and uncertainty flash in her eyes. So her guess had been correct: Julie still held out hope that she could have Noel.
“Noel has too much to lose,” Julie blurted out. “The board would fire him. His family would cut him off cold. You wouldn’t get your hands on their money.”
“Maybe not, but I’d have him. You wouldn’t. Then there’s the small matter of his substantial trust fund.” Lyrissa wore a tight smile. “We wouldn’t exactly starve, from what he’s told me.”
“What makes you think I care at this point? He’s no prize if you’re his taste these days!” Julie hissed.
“Don’t try it, Julie. You want him so bad you can’t see straight,” Lyrissa retorted.
Julie blinked as if she’d been slapped hard across the face. She recovered after a few seconds. “Why should you give him up?”
“As you pointed out, his family will shun us both. I won’t have the bigger prize, their money. I won’t have status. Hell, I might not even have the painting they stole.” Julie’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it! You were after his money and social position all along.”
“Then there’s the problem of these charges hanging over my head.” Lyrissa scowled. “He’s not worth that much to me. Besides, hiring the best criminal lawyer could wipe out his nice trust fund like that!” She snapped her fingers. Such callous words about the man she loved dearly made Lyrissa’s stomach twist, but she had to be convincing.
“You’re too devious,” Julie murmured. She wore an expression close to admiration.
“But I’ll take what I can get if...” Lyrissa let her voice trail off as she stared hard at Julie.
They studied each other in silence for several minutes, each looking for weakness in the other. Julie sipped from her glass from time to time as the seconds ticked by. Finally she shrugged.
“What do you think I can do?” Julie patted her lips with a cocktail napkin.
“Call off the dogs,” Lyrissa said bluntly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Julie’s expression didn’t change.
Lyrissa leaned forward and lowered her voice even more. “I know I didn’t set the fire or steal the painting. I’ve been thinking about who else had a motive. I came up with you and Carlton. Noel told me about the audit.”
“You are desperate,” Julie said with a snort. “Nobody would believe that fairytale.”
“If I’m out of the picture, you could play Noel the way you want to. Otherwise, I’ll encourage him to follow up on the audit. They’ll find dirt on Carlton, maybe even you. Noel would still be CEO and I would get the whole package.”<
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“His family would never accept you.” Julie stabbed a forefinger in Lyrissa’s face.
“Fine. Take the chance. I’ve got nothing to lose either way. How bad do you want him?” Lyrissa said fiercely.
Julie drummed her fingers on the white linen tablecloth. “I’ll consider it. I might just decide he’s not worth it to me.”
“You might, but I don’t think you will.” Lyrissa let out a shaky breath. “Look, don’t be stupid. All I want is to stay out of jail and at least salvage my career. I didn’t plan on being arrested.”
A slow, confident smile spread across Julie’s face. “You are in a tough situation, aren’t you?” She put on her sun-glasses and stood. “I’ll be in touch.”
Lyrissa watched her stride out of the cafe, head held high. “Yeah, do that, bitch!” she muttered.
Noel slammed a fist down on the oval table. Lyrissa and Eddie both jumped and exchanged a glance. The three of them were in the small conference room next to Noel’s office. He stared at the thick final audit report before him.
“Good thing Carlton isn’t here right now,” Eddie whispered aside to Lyrissa.
“Honey, I thought you’d calmed down,” Lyrissa told Noel.
“Every time I think about what they pulled—” His jaw muscles worked as he controlled his rage. Noel held up his hands palm out. “Right, right. There’ll be plenty of time to crush those two later. The report will fix Carlton.”
“You really think Julie will talk? She’s pretty tricky,” Lyrissa said.
“And arrogant. So is Carlton. They think they’ve won,” Noel replied with a scowl.
“Yeah, they’re both walking around like they run the place already,” Eddie said with disgust in her voice.
Noel looked at her. “Did you set up the speaker phone? I don’t want them to notice it’s on.”
“No problem, boss. They won’t, not the way I positioned it. I’ve got it set to the vacant office down the hall. We can listen in and they’ll never suspect a thing.” Eddie grinned.
“You’re pretty tricky yourself, Mr. St. Denis.” Lyrissa looked at him.
He grinned. “It’s in the blood, remember?”
Eddie stood. “I’ll make sure no one is in the hall so Lyrissa can sneak into the office.”
“Right. Then get back to your desk fast. Julie will be looking for you soon,” Noel said.
“Check, boss! This is s-o-o-o cool.” Eddie giggled. Lyrissa started to follow her out when Noel pulled her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his muscular body as he kissed her.
“What was that for?” she asked when they parted.
“I needed something sweet. This whole thing has put a nasty taste in my mouth.” Noel brushed her hair with one hand. “You were right about my family, baby.”
“Come on. I’ve said a few nasty things about them, but every family has its share of shady characters.” Lyrissa snuggled closer to soothe him.
“I have to face facts. The St. Denis family has a monopoly on low people in high places,” he said in a dry tone.
“We can’t change the past or take the whole burden for what they did.”
Noel let out a long breath. “I want to try and right some of those wrongs. I can’t brag about the good and avoid responsibility for the bad.”
Lyrissa caressed his face. “Another reason I love you, Noel St. Denis.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you back.”
Eddie peeked in the door. “They’re circling like vultures, Noel.” She came in with both hands on her hips. “Listen, people, we’re in the middle of a critical operation here. Save the gooey stuff for later.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lyrissa saluted her.
“Sorry, chief.” Noel winked at Eddie.
“All right. Come on, Lyrissa. Andre has everyone distracted.” Eddie herded her out the door.
Lyrissa waved to Noel and darted out the side door. She
strode quickly down the hall and into the vacant office. A phone sat on the desk. A green light glowed, indicating the speaker was on. Seconds went by and Lyrissa grew antsy. A loud thump from the speaker made her yelp in surprise. Lyrissa clamped a hand over her mouth and prayed.
“What was that?” Carlton’s voice came through.
“Sorry, I dropped my pad and pen,” Eddie said.
Lyrissa let out a silent sigh of relief and turned down the volume on the phone. There was more rustling and a second solid thump. The others entered the large conference room and closed the door.
“Let’s get going. I’ve got one hell of a busy day,” Noel said.
“Fine,” Julie said. Her voice was crisp and composed.
“I’ve already met with Carlton about the audit findings.”
“He told me. Why isn’t Andre here? I think we should nail his ass. Carlton says—”
“There’s no need to bring Andre in at this point,” Noel cut her off.
Carlton spoke up. “He’s been stealing from us. I realize you hired him and don’t want to believe it. We all know the board won’t be happy to hear this latest news.”
Lyrissa grimaced at his gloating tone. The guy had nerve. She itched to slap him across his moon-shaped face.
“I’m not convinced Andre has done anything wrong, Carlton,” Noel said calmly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I gave you the results of my investigation. The evidence against him couldn’t be clearer,” Carlton replied.
“I had our accountant hire a specialist, a forensic accountant is what I think they’re called. He hasn’t quite un-tangled the mess. Someone has been very clever, but not quite clever enough.”
Carlton spluttered. “I-I don’t understand. Why didn’t you consult me? I’ve spent hours working to find out what was going on. I could help this forensic accountant.” “That’s great, but I decided to put it in the hands of an expert on this sort of thing. Damn it, I left his preliminary report in my office.” Noel sounded harassed.
“I’ll get it for you,” Eddie said.
“No, I locked it in my file drawer. Besides, Tyson is faxing me more details. It should be coming in on my machine now. I’ll be right back.”
The door opened and closed again. Seconds later Noel joined Lyrissa in the empty office. He wore a fierce expression on his handsome face. Lyrissa gasped at the sight of him. He towered over her as he placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward over the speakerphone. Noel looked like a beautiful avenging angel about to deliver justice. She couldn’t resist touching him. His eyes softened with affection when her hand covered one of his large ones.
“I’ll get you guys something to drink, since we have to wait,” Eddie said after a time. Once more the door opened and closed.
“He knows,” Carlton burst out.
“Sit down and get a hold of yourself. Did you do what I told you to?” Julie snapped.
“Yes! I posted payments to contractors we actually used. The money passed through the active company bank accounts. Then I made it look like clerical errors whenever I could. I don’t see how they could find out.” “They’ll reach a dead end. We can still hang it on André and Keisha if we work fast. I said sit down!” she barked. “Noel could walk in here any second.”
Carlton groaned. “God, I hope that guy didn’t find those foreign bank accounts. I haven’t had a chance to close them all yet.”
“You idiot!” Julie’s voice cracked like a whip.
“I need more time, Julie,” Carlton whined. “I’ve been up to my neck in work, trying to juggle it all.”
“All right, all right. Let’s just calm down.”
Julie was silent for a while. Lyrissa could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.
“Okay, look, we probably do have a little time. But you take care of those damn accounts today. Stay up all night, if you have to,” she commanded.
“Today,” Carlton repeated.
“In the meantime, we could use a diversion.” Julie gave a vicious laugh. “I’d make sure the
rest of those stolen items are traced to Lyrissa no later than tomorrow.”
“She hasn’t been charged yet. So far, your brilliant plan hasn’t worked.”
“My plan is going better than yours,” she shot back. “The woman had the nerve to try and bargain with me. She should have known better than to threaten me!”
“I hope you bum her good. She’s caused us too much trouble not to pay for it.”
“Poor Lyrissa. Pretty soon she’ll be wearing one of those lovely orange jumpsuits with ‘Orleans Parish Prison’ stamped across the back.” Julie laughed again.
“Great, but what about me? I’m not sure I can handle the accounts, deal with Andre—”
“Don’t whine,” Julie cut him short. “Give me a list of the accounts. In the meantime, I’d keep Noel busy.”
“How? You know how single-minded he can be.”
“Now that I’ve eliminated Lyrissa Rideau, I'll work my magic on him,” Julie replied with confidence.
“The witch.” Lyrissa glared at the phone.
Noel put a finger to his lips. “Shh,” he said softly.
As Julie prompted him with sharp questions, Carlton explained how he had diverted money into his accounts. Noel scribbled notes until he’d filled two pages of a legal pad.
“I’m going back in now,” he whispered close to Lyrissa’s ear. “Come in. You’ll know when.” He pointed to the phone.
Lyrissa nodded and Noel left the office. A minute later he was back in the conference room with Julie and Carlton.
“Did you find out anything?” Julie asked.
“Everything I needed to know,” Noel replied.
“But you couldn’t have—” Carlton croaked. He cleared his throat. “I mean, did you get the fax?”
“I didn’t need Tyson’s addendum. In fact, I have a confession. I wasn’t expecting a fax. I made that up,” Noel said in a placid tone.
“We’re in a crisis. I think you have enough problems with the board, don’t you? Stop playing games,” Julie said.
“You’re right. I played a game, yours. Guess what? You lose.”
Lyrissa left the office and met Eddie coming down the hallway. They strode into the conference room together. Julie and Carlton babbled at the same time. They threw accusations and insults at Noel. Noel slammed a fist on the table so hard it wobbled. They stopped talking, eyes wide with shock.
