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“She’s the main player. Everyone’s main player. There isn’t anyone in New Orleans who doesn’t owe her a small fortune or their first born.”
“Do you?” I prodded.
The Bastions had always been conservative with their money. They had old money, invested in sugar and whiskey. They were tried and true investments in New Orleans.
“No. I’ve stayed away from her loans. It’s not worth it.” He shook his head. “She’s a shark. Or a wolf. Maybe a wolf-shark?” He chuckled.
“A queen,” I corrected him. “She’s taken everything owed to her. She’s outsmarted every man here. I think she’s due a little respect, don’t you?”
Parker raised his hands in the air. “I see you still have a thing for her. I get it. She’s hot. She’s smart. She’s rich as sin. But she’ll spit you out. You should know that. She’s a fucking praying mantis.”
I thought about the woman who had been in my arms this morning. How warm and soft her body was. How her green eyes glowed with passion every time I touched her. How her curves fit perfectly in my palms. What her lips did to me. Kennedy Martin was mine and eventually I’d tell the world, but not today.
“Let’s change the topic, shall we?” I needed to steer him away from Kennedy.
“Fine by me. Although, I did see you two at the funeral together.”
“Yeah.” It wasn’t one of my finer moments. I had just discovered from Paul about the interest rates on the loans. My family was underwater because of her. “We had business to talk about. Which is exactly what I want to talk to you about.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“There is something Raphael did that was a smart move before he died. It might be the only thing I give the old man credit for doing.”
“What was it?” Parker leaned forward.
“He invested in a tech company. And the legislation just went through that’s going to allow me to make a fortune. Enough to become the lender in this city again.”
“Wow. That’s great. Good news, brother.”
“It is. This is where you come in.” We had never done business together. Our fathers were the ones who brokered the deals in the closed-door meetings.
“What can I do?”
“I need to free up more capital. I want to put more into this tech investment. What do you think about expanding your distilleries by adding a French winery?”
“You want to sell the Corban wines?”
I nodded. “It’s solid money. It’s a good return. But I need the cash now. As you know, at the interest rate I have with the Martin organization, it’s going to take a lot of time to repay the debt my father incurred. I want to cash out of the wine business and put everything into the tech.”
“Are you sure?” Parker looked stunned. “That’s a steady, above the board business you have. I guess I thought you’d just live over there and grow a bunch of grapes, date models, and drink wine the rest of your life.”
“As nice as that sounds, I have bigger plans. I want my place back in New Orleans. I’ll give you a fair price on the winery. It has a brand new office. It’s beautiful over there. Maybe you and Chelsea could take a trip and see it,” I suggested. “Has she ever been to Paris?”
“No. She hasn’t.”
We leaned away from the table when our lunch was served. The waitress dropped off extra glasses of water and walked away.
“Take her. Make a vacation out of it. You’re going to want to buy it on the spot. I know you will. Peter, my guy over there, he’ll give the full tour.”
“What about the fire?”
I swallowed hard. I gripped a knife in my right hand. I was just about to cut into my steak.
“The buildings were rebuilt. The casks and grapes weren’t damaged.”
“But do they know who set the fires?”
I looked across the table at my friend. “No. They never caught anyone. No one was charged.”
