by Robin Gideon
“But….”
Diana looked him challengingly in the eyes and whispered, “In my mouth.”
* * * *
Diana told herself that, no matter what, everything would turn out for the best. Those happy thoughts weren’t always so easy to keep close to the heart when she looked between the window frame and the curtain of the deVille family’s antebellum mansion and saw the vast array of television news crews assembled on the front lawn.
This was all my idea. William and Marcus love me, and even if this whole scheme of mine goes sideways, they’ll always love me. But if it all explodes, Jared and James will never forgive me. And their father will hate me for the rest of his life.
She looked at Marcus and asked, “What time is it?”
He looked at his wristwatch. It was a gold Rolex, which Diana figured was pretty much de rigueur for young men of his society.
“Ten minutes until the news conference begins.”
“I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” Diana said.
“Everything’s going to be fine, my darling,” Marcus replied.
William, who had been listening in from a few feet away, stepped forward and added, “Very soon, all our troubles will be behind us.”
“Has Geary shown up yet?” Marcus asked.
“If he doesn’t show up, this whole plan goes down in flames before it even gets off the ground.” She looked out the window at the driveway leading to the multi-car garage. “He’s here!” She let out a deep sigh, and said, “This might just work after all.”
“Get your father,” she said to Jared, the oldest of the siblings. “We’ve got about five minutes to sunrise.”
* * * *
William looked at his brothers then at Diana. Suddenly, he was absolutely convinced that Diana’s plan to rid the deVille family of its most dangerous enemy would work.
Nobody pulls together when it’s crunch time quite like the deVille family, he thought. And Diana’s such a magnificent addition to it. She’s everything I could hope for in a life partner, and the fact that I share her with my twin brother only makes it that much more special.
He looked at his father and felt a fresh surge of pride. Pierre deVille had suffered mightily, but he had said he was going to get his life together, and this time, William believed him.
Papa’s just got to hold it together for one more news conference, then we can get him all the help he’ll need. The old man’s tough. He’s been knocked around and even knocked down, but he’s going to get back up.
“Let Papa go out first,” Jared said. “Then his sons follow by age.”
William looked down at Diana. “Don’t worry, I know I can’t walk out with you,” she said to him quickly but in a whisper, “If I go out with you, I’ll only draw speculation about our relationship, and right now, that’s the last thing in the world we want.”
When she understands things like that, I love her even more.
William looked to the east. The first pink dusting of light was showing on the horizon. The sun would be up soon and, with it, a new day. William hoped it would be a glorious new day.
He looked around the property. The chairs, the tables, the food and drink… It had all been properly staged, as choreographed as a Broadway play.
A podium had been set up on the lawn. Pierre deVille, patriarch of the deVille family and founder of its dynasty, stepped up to the podium, tall, proud, distinctly aristocratic. William, standing behind his father, saw that his left leg was shaking a little and that he had placed both hands firmly flat on the podium so that no one would see they were trembling.
Keep it together, Papa. Just a couple more minutes and then we’re going to start putting all our troubles behind us…and all our enemies in nice, little boxes where we can keep an eye on them and they can’t hurt us.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Pierre deVille began, his tone baritone, his demeanor kingly without being condescending. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve called this press conference at such an unusual hour. To answer your question as to the hour, it is symbolic. Very shortly the sun will rise, and we will begin a new day. And very shortly, the sun will rise on the corporation I founded, and deVille Enterprises will begin a new day.”
Papa’s still got it. William looked at his father, feeling his heart tighten in his chest with pride. The old lion’s going to come back strong and proud, and our enemies will fear all the deVilles, but especially Papa.
William’s thoughts wandered for a while as he thought about the enormous impact Diana had had on his life. But it wasn’t just his own life or even that of Marcus’s. Diana’s influence went throughout the deVille clan. She had, in one way or another, touched and influenced all of them.
“When you hear me say the word Beijing’” Pierre deVille said, drawing William out of his reverie, “always remember that if a shipyard in Beijing is busy, that means that a shipyard in New Orleans is going to be busy.”
William saw that several of the journalists nodded their heads in agreement. Outsourcing jobs from Louisiana was a touchy subject, but creating jobs made a businessman a hero.
“Starting almost immediately, deVille Enterprises will be expanding our shipyards. That means good paying jobs for men and women to do the expansion and then good paying jobs to handle the additional traffic that will be accessing our services and infrastructure.”
With that comment, some of the journalists—theoretically objective and neutral on every subject—clapped their hands for a little while before realizing that they really weren’t supposed to be doing something like that at a new conference.
“Heading up our Beijing expansion is going to be a most trusted and valued executive, Mr. Sam Geary, who will ascend to the rank of Executive Vice President for our just-created New Projects Division.”
Geary, who was standing in the audience with the journalists, put a hand to his mouth in the universal expression of shock and confusion.
The traitorous bastard never saw this one coming. William struggled to keep from smiling. He doesn’t have any idea of what’s happening or what’s about to happen to him.
“And since we’re in such a hurry to begin creating all those good-paying new jobs for the people of New Orleans, I’m sure you’ll understand why Sam can’t stick around to field your questions. Sam has to leave immediately, or he’ll miss his flight to Beijing. However,” Pierre deVille said, putting a hand to his heart and smiling, “I do have my four sons. They can answer all of your questions. Jared, will you take the microphone first?”
Just then, the sun began coming over the horizon. The timing was perfect.
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Pierre deVille continued, “there is much I have to do, but I leave you in the good hands. This is a new and exciting time for deVille Enterprises, New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana.”
William watched as three men, wearing beautiful suits and neckties but having the shoulders of National Football League linemen, escorted Sam Geary into the back seat of a limousine. Seconds later, Julie, who had been told that she’d be going on a vacation, was also tossed into the limousine. Before she disappeared into the back of the Cadillac, William saw an expression of confusion spreading across her face. He tried to not smile, but didn’t succeed.
The black Cadillac was headed out of the estate a second later.
Epilogue
On the Eau Claire River, Nouveau Paradis, Louisiana —September
“Last cast,” Diana called out.
In unison, six voices, belonging to nine- and ten-year-olds, all made sounds of disapproval and said things like, “Not yet, Miss Diana!” and “Please, can’t we fish just a little while longer?”
Diana smiled, loving what she now did during the days and loving the totality of her life even more.
“Sorry, my darlings, but I’ve got to get you back to the dock on time, or you’ll never catch your bus back to the city,” Diana said, already starting to help the children reel in their lines and s
tow the rods and reels properly. “But we’ve had a good day, haven’t we?”
“The best ever!” and sentiments of that nature were given a voice.
Since falling in love with the deVille twins, and then having to deal with the dire threat that Sam Geary represented to the family, much had changed in Diana’s world.
No, she thought after a moment. Not much. Everything has changed.
Though her father had adamantly refused to get help for his fondness for ouzo, he did agree to a buyout of his charter fishing business. He was paid handsomely by the deVilles for his pontoon and the last house mortgage payments were also put in. In exchange, he was given a tidy sum, though he was only allowed to take $50 from the ATM each day. Diana’s father complained and said it wasn’t fair but eventually understood that he was being drastically overpaid for the charter service, and now he could do pretty much what he really wanted to do, which was tell stories with his friends and sip ouzo.
Diana, now owner of the pontoon boat, chose not to continue taking on paid charter fishing expeditions. William and Marcus had made it abundantly clear that she now had more money than she could fathom. But instead of being pointlessly wealthy, she created a not-for-profit venture where she took inner-city children from New Orleans and introduced them to the bayou life and the thrill of fishing. For this service, she charged absolutely nothing, though she was paid with a thousand smiles, very sincerely given hugs by children who hadn’t been outside the city limits of New Orleans their entire life. She received heartfelt thank-yous from parents who couldn’t possibly afford to send their children on a private, chartered fishing expedition.
As for Sam Geary, he had been driven directly from the news conference to the deVilles’ private jet. His cell phone and his computer had been taken away by very large, very strong men who said very little. When he asked what was happening, he did not receive an answer. When he threatened the big men, they merely smiled.
It was explained to him that he would sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding his time with deVille Enterprises. The teeth in the contract, should he violate it, were approximately the size and shape of a sabre tooth tiger’s. Geary balked at signing the contract. The big men smiled. It was explained to him that his salary as EVP while in China would be considerable. Besides, it wasn’t like he had a choice now, did he?
The deVille jet landed in Beijing. Geary was whisked through customs without a second glance because deVille Enterprises and the Chinese government made a lot of money doing business with each other, and neither would allow a greedy little man to interfere with that profit-making arrangement.
Geary was brought to his apartment, where he discovered he now had around-the-clock bodyguards “for his protection.” What he didn’t have in China’s capital was access to a telephone, access to a computer or the Internet, or access in any way, shape, or form of communicating with anyone in the United States. He was, however, Executive Vice President of a new division of deVille Enterprises, and just as soon as the company got around to actually hiring people, then Sam Geary would actually have a staff. Until then, his division had precisely one employee. His salary, however, was substantial. Until then he had employees he could command, he could spend his days watching Chinese television, or he could play solitaire. All of the books in his apartment were in Chinese.
Diana watched as a mini school bus came and the children boarded noisily and then headed back to New Orleans. The school bus had just disappeared when a long, black Cadillac limousine came into view, and Diana’s heart did a cartwheel in her chest.
When Marcus and William just wanted to pick her up after she’d finished her workday, they drove one of their many luxury sedans. But when they were feeling passionate, they used a limousine driver, making sure the glass privacy screen was up.
Diana smiled. She was really beginning to like that limousine…
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Gideon is the author of many titles with Siren, and loves to write. She is married to a guy named Keith, who gets way too many stories dedicated to him. She has a daughter named Hannah. She’s spoiled, and Robin blames Keith for that. Basically, though, Hannah’s a pretty good kid. Robin lives in Frostbite Falls, Minnesota (that’s where Rocky & Bullwinkle live, by the way) and therefore lives with a six-month winter. Robin loves her readers and can be reached at [email protected]. She’s also interested in what you’d like to see her write next. Time? Place? She’s lookin’ for input!
For all titles by Robin Gideon, please visit
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