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

about Carrie Scott that would make him do that?”
    “Nothing that I’m aware of. She sent in her resume and made it through the interview process just like all of the other applicants. It came down to her and a gentleman from Washington. I thought he had the job; everyone did. He was highly qualified and had even interned with a marine transport outfit on the west coast.”
    “Well, what happened?” Lucky couldn’t figure out how Carrie had done it, but it was bound to involve breaking the rules and manipulation.
    Tilly shrugged her thin shoulders.
    “Could she have something on Dad?”
    She shrugged again. “I couldn’t imagine what, but I suppose it’s possible.” She took the straw into her mouth and took a sip of her Pellegrino. “All I know is a contract has to exist. Your father wouldn’t have conducted business without one.”
    “So that’s why you were ransacking the office,” Lucky concluded.
    Tilly nodded and arched her perfectly trimmed brows before she laid her head back and closed her eyes. Although she was trying to control the world from her hospital bed, his mother was still actually very ill.
    He was a little ashamed that it was so easy to lose sight of that.
     
    ***
     
    Lucky opened the stainless steel door of the massive refrigerator. Smiling when he spotted the new covered dish with his name scrawled across the top. Joyce was the only person connected with the Gauthier’s who called him by his nickname. She must have slipped in while running errands for his mother. He pulled out the dish and ladled out a generous helping of gumbo before sticking it in the microwave to warm.
    The mouthwatering smell of smoked sausage and shrimp made his stomach rumble.
    Another long ass day. It seemed like a lifetime ago that Baby Jade had been lying in his arms, resting her gorgeous head on his chest. He tried not to remember the gut wrenching way her face twisted in pain when he walked out the door. It cut him like a dull knife to know that she thought he just up and left her.
    How can she not remember telling him to leave the hospital and to get out of her life forever?
    What a clusterfuck.
    His head should be with his family, trying to figure out what the hell was happening at Gauthier. But this bullshit with Baby was really screwing with him. He ate the gumbo and poured himself a glass of whiskey. A little liquid courage to help him finish going through his father’s belongings.
     
    ***
     
    The scalding water beaded off Lucky’s chiseled back. He had spent a long night going through papers and files, some of that time he spent trying to figure out the password to his father’s laptop. That fucker was locked down tighter than Fort Knox.
    At some point, he had passed out. His body was stiff and achy from dozing on the floor.
    He called Joyce to check on his mother while he drank a large mug of strong, black coffee, trying to gather his game plan for the day.
    “She’s large and in charge,” Joyce said with a snicker.
    “I guess that’s good, for her anyway.”
    “Yes, better than the alternative. They’re trying some new medicine for her blood pressure. If everything goes well, she should be able to go home soon.”
    “Good deal.” Lucky finished off the rest of the pot of coffee.
    “You eating?”
    “You know I am. Thanks for the gumbo, good stuff.”
    “Hopefully, we’ll be home soon, and we can get things back to normal. As normal as they can be anyway. I’ve got to admit, I was pretty scared.”
    “I know you were, Joyce. I was too, but it’s all gonna be ok. She’s in the clear, and we just have to get her back home and settled in,” he reassured her before hanging up.
    Since he wasn’t having any luck with the office at home, he decided to try Gauthier. He contemplated checking in on Baby Jade but concluded that he could only handle one hurdle at a time. He dressed in a pair of clean jeans and, out of respect for his father, a nice button down rather than a t-shirt.
    “Mr.