Chapter One
Daisy Karr rolled her suitcase out of the terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, her jaw set, her stride determined. It was Mardi Gras time in New Orleans, a city she’d always loved, and disaster was not going to ruin it for her. She’d been looking forward to this trip for weeks. All the reservations were made. A fiancé who’d betrayed her and turned out to be a crook wasn’t going to ruin it for her. In fact, she’d brought along the credit card they’d shared, figuring if it hadn’t been cancelled, she’d use that to cover everything on the trip. It would serve him right, wherever he was.
That was another part of the problem. Her erstwhile fiancé, Craig Myers, the man she shared a condo with and expected to marry, had disappeared barely ahead of the federal agents who’d showed up. Yesterday—a day of blackness—he was still at their condo when she’d left early in the morning. She’d assumed she’d see him at the investment firm where they both worked before too long. What a shock she’d been in for. Craig never showed up but the FBI did, to arrest him. Arrest him? And were they ever pissed off because he wasn’t there or at home. He’d told her he had a stop to make on the way to work, and she said she’d see him later. Ha! That was the last she saw or heard of him. He never called her, never even texted. The closed-door session in the senior partner’s office where she’d been grilled at length by the feds then given the axe by her boss had been the frosting on the cake. After all, they’d said, she worked there as an accountant, so of course she’d know how to siphon off money and move it around. And who better to do it for than her supposed fiancé?
Well, damn it all, she was the injured party here. She’d sat in their condo—no, his condo—all night, trying to process everything that happened. Wondering where she’d live now? The condo was in his name. We don’t need to pay for two places, Daisy. And mine is so much more in line with our goals. I’ll take care of you, Daisy. Yeah, some taking care of. Well, finding a place to live was one more thing she’d have to worry about, right after she tried to get another job.
She’d stared for a long time at the tickets for New Orleans and the Mardi Gras brochure. Craig had been enthusiastic about it. He said he’d been to the city a number of times, never got tired of its charm, and wanted to show her the excitement of the famous celebration. But he had split one day before their scheduled trip, and by dawn, she’d made up her mind to take the trip alone. She deserved something for all this misery and humiliation he was putting her through. The sick feeling at the way her life had turned upside down rode on the plane with her all the way from New York. She needed to get away from this mess and try to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
Making her way up the jetway, she’d decided for the moment not to waste her time obsessing over what happened. She’d been a fool and an idiot, now without a job and maybe homeless, but Daisy had never been one to let life defeat her. Her first order of business was to put everything behind her, or at least as much as she could. When she got back, hopefully in a better frame of mind after a few days of Mardi Gras, she’d assess her situation and make some decisions.
As she progressed through the terminal, with every stride, her determination grew. It was Mardi Gras time, the biggest party in the world. Mardi Gras! She’d been looking forward to this for so long. Her life might be in the toilet, but right now, she planned to stuff it all in a closet and try to have some fun.
She’d been so sure Craig, with his starched shirts and three-piece suits, had been the answer to stability for her. Hadn’t he gotten her the position at his firm? Moved her into his condo? Paraded her around as his fiancée—although he had yet to give her anything
Daisy Karr rolled her suitcase out of the terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, her jaw set, her stride determined. It was Mardi Gras time in New Orleans, a city she’d always loved, and disaster was not going to ruin it for her. She’d been looking forward to this trip for weeks. All the reservations were made. A fiancé who’d betrayed her and turned out to be a crook wasn’t going to ruin it for her. In fact, she’d brought along the credit card they’d shared, figuring if it hadn’t been cancelled, she’d use that to cover everything on the trip. It would serve him right, wherever he was.
That was another part of the problem. Her erstwhile fiancé, Craig Myers, the man she shared a condo with and expected to marry, had disappeared barely ahead of the federal agents who’d showed up. Yesterday—a day of blackness—he was still at their condo when she’d left early in the morning. She’d assumed she’d see him at the investment firm where they both worked before too long. What a shock she’d been in for. Craig never showed up but the FBI did, to arrest him. Arrest him? And were they ever pissed off because he wasn’t there or at home. He’d told her he had a stop to make on the way to work, and she said she’d see him later. Ha! That was the last she saw or heard of him. He never called her, never even texted. The closed-door session in the senior partner’s office where she’d been grilled at length by the feds then given the axe by her boss had been the frosting on the cake. After all, they’d said, she worked there as an accountant, so of course she’d know how to siphon off money and move it around. And who better to do it for than her supposed fiancé?
Well, damn it all, she was the injured party here. She’d sat in their condo—no, his condo—all night, trying to process everything that happened. Wondering where she’d live now? The condo was in his name. We don’t need to pay for two places, Daisy. And mine is so much more in line with our goals. I’ll take care of you, Daisy. Yeah, some taking care of. Well, finding a place to live was one more thing she’d have to worry about, right after she tried to get another job.
She’d stared for a long time at the tickets for New Orleans and the Mardi Gras brochure. Craig had been enthusiastic about it. He said he’d been to the city a number of times, never got tired of its charm, and wanted to show her the excitement of the famous celebration. But he had split one day before their scheduled trip, and by dawn, she’d made up her mind to take the trip alone. She deserved something for all this misery and humiliation he was putting her through. The sick feeling at the way her life had turned upside down rode on the plane with her all the way from New York. She needed to get away from this mess and try to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
Making her way up the jetway, she’d decided for the moment not to waste her time obsessing over what happened. She’d been a fool and an idiot, now without a job and maybe homeless, but Daisy had never been one to let life defeat her. Her first order of business was to put everything behind her, or at least as much as she could. When she got back, hopefully in a better frame of mind after a few days of Mardi Gras, she’d assess her situation and make some decisions.
As she progressed through the terminal, with every stride, her determination grew. It was Mardi Gras time, the biggest party in the world. Mardi Gras! She’d been looking forward to this for so long. Her life might be in the toilet, but right now, she planned to stuff it all in a closet and try to have some fun.
She’d been so sure Craig, with his starched shirts and three-piece suits, had been the answer to stability for her. Hadn’t he gotten her the position at his firm? Moved her into his condo? Paraded her around as his fiancée—although he had yet to give her anything
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