Bourbon Street Royalty: Jaded Series, Book Two by Kimmie Easley

the two older women.
    “I don’t pay you to talk to me like that.” Tilly pursed her lips. Playing the hard ass was her specialty.
    “Well, I guess I can go then. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff that needs to be done at the manor, which is, of course, what I get paid to do.”
    Tilly rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly.” She propped herself up in the bed. “Who would pick up lunch? I’m going to want bisque today.”
    “Mulate’s?” Joyce asked. That woman knew Tilly better than Tilly knew herself.
    “Of course.”
    “Mmhmm,” Joyce mumbled before grabbing her purse. On her way out the door, she patted Lucky’s arm. He was used to her nurturing gestures, but they still caught him off guard.
    Once they were alone, Tilly directed her attention towards her son.
    “It’s the first chance we’ve had to be alone.” She pointed to the chair next to her bed.
    Lucky sat, crossing one ankle over the other leg.
    “Well?”
    “Well, what?” he asked his mother.
    “Aren’t you going to ask me what I was doing in your father’s office? What I was looking for?”
    “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know it probably has something to do with Carrie. She came by that night. Claims she heard about you being in the hospital, but I think she was looking for something too. So what gives?”
    Tilly pumped a generous portion of expensive lotion into her hands and took her time rubbing it in. “James, she is up to something, and I don’t think she’s working on her own. I’ve had my suspicions about her long before your father passed. She was always needling him and looking over his shoulder, insisting on learning from the best, as she put it.”
    “What’s so strange about that? She’s also been driven by prestige and money.”
    “Well, I suppose it wasn’t strange in the beginning, but then they started having late night calls and closed-door meetings.”
    He sat up straighter. “An affair?”
    Tilly waved her hand through the air. “Oh, no. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure your father had a fling or two, but it wasn’t like that. I don’t think he even liked her.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “He and I may not have been over the moon in love recently, but I was married to the man for almost thirty years. I could read him like a book. How do you think I knew about the other women? I just chose to pick my battles, and sex wasn’t one of them.”
    “Mother, seriously?”
    “James, grow up. Anyway, he didn’t like Carrie hovering. It seemed that when she was around or when they had a meeting, it was more like putting him out. She was a bother to him, but for some reason, not one he could simply rid himself of and I needed to know why. So, I spoke to Human Resources to find out information. I did some digging because her resume appeared too good to be true. I mean, I know the college and education parts were true, we all know the history there.”
    “Not that that stopped you from hiring her.”
    “I suppose it should have.” Tilly rolled her eyes.
    “Yes, mother. Her history does speak a little to her character.”
    She sighed. It wasn’t the right time for this particular fight.
    “Well, I put our legal team on the case to find out some more information with the goal of letting her go, without legal repercussions, of course.” Tilly adjusted herself in the bed. Lucky knew she was uncomfortable. Three weeks ago, they had no relationship, and she had a husband. Today, she was a widow and Lucky was the only person she had to turn to with this kind of stuff.
    “And?”
    She peered at him. Her sharp nose wrinkled. “No one can find her contract with Gauthier. There’s an empty folder where her portfolio should be with Human Resources, and the only thing that the attorneys have to say is that your father wanted to handle her contract personally.”
    Lucky began to pace the room. “That doesn’t make any sense. What’s so special