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“She wanted you to dance with one of the Depas girls.”
“Why?” My jaw clenched. “I’ve never been interested in them. You know that. Have you seen the Depas girls?”
My father shuffled papers on his desk. “Their father has recently increased his stock in a whiskey business. I think they’re looking more attractive with those kinds of numbers behind their last name.”
“Who cares?” I shook my head. “Not interested.”
“You are twenty-eight years old.” His eyes bore into my skull. “You can’t keep this up much longer.”
“Keep what up?” I drew a long breath.
“Dating. Running through girls like dirty laundry. You need to make an official declaration and start representing this family.”
“I do represent the family.”
He sat abruptly in the chair. “We have different interpretations of that word. You don’t show the other families that you are committed. Where is the wife? Where are the kids? Huh?”
“Fuck, dad. I don’t want kids right now.” I ran my fingers through my hair.
He pointed at me. “You’re almost thirty. I had two kids by the time I was your age. No kids means your legacy is up for grabs. You have no roots. No inheritance to pass on. You’re going to end up like your Uncle Zeke. No heirs. No one to carry on your legacy. You’re a man without legs if you don’t have children. What are you doing to change that? What’s your plan, Knight?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “I didn’t come here to talk to you about making you a grandpa. Okay?” My father had turned Zeke into a martyr, twisting and turning his tragic life to fit whatever scenario was in front of him. Today, it was that the man was childless.
“What then? It seems like the most pressing issue. I thought maybe after attending your baby sister’s engagement party, it would have made you stop and think about your own future.”
“It was a good party,” I commented. “As long as Seraphina is happy, that’s all that matters.” Our eyes locked. He knew as well as I did that Seraphina was miserable. Neither of us would mention our last fight on the subject. It could lead to blows.
“She is happy,” he snapped. It was a warning.
“What do you know about Lucien Martin?” I asked, changing the subject.
My father shrugged. His face was red. He had gotten worked up more quickly than usual.
“He’s an outsider. Vulture type.” I heard the contempt in his voice.
“Then why did you invite him to Seraphina’s engagement party?” I thought the guest list was exclusively for friends of both families. Neither set of parents wanted to risk an event.
He pushed back to rock in the chair. “Because, always bring your enemies in close, son.” I had been wrong about the guest list.
“Why in the hell is he an enemy? He just moved here.”
“Lucien Martin has been buying up property for over a year. He might have just moved to New Orleans, but he’s been trying to buy up the same sites we’re after. He has five different LLCs, but Paul tracked them all back to the KM Corporation. He closed on his first hotel yesterday. He’s driving up prices, starting bidding wars. He’s becoming an issue.”
KM? He had used his daughter’s initials. “That’s called competition. It doesn’t make the man an enemy.”
“It makes him a problem. A problem I need to dispose of before he buys up my next target. I was disappointed he didn’t show last night. I wanted to have a word with him. I heard he sent his daughter instead.”
Fuck.
My mother hadn’t yet told him about Kennedy’s identity. It was clear he had no idea who she was or anything about our meeting in the pool house. It was better that way for now.
“Why don’t you let me take care of Lucien?” I offered. “Give this one to me. I’ll look into him. See if there’s anything from Chicago that might be of use.”
My father eyed me. “You’re offering to help?”
“Of course.” I pretended it was a regular occurrence, ignoring I was usually reluctant to add more to my list of family duties.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He sat for a minute, digesting the offer. “There’s an auction next month. I want the property. It’s a boutique hotel, but we need the access it provides. High-end clientele. Location. All of it.”
