Truly Yours

By the time Darryl and Mason made their way through New Orleans to the Roosevelt Hotel, the two men were laughing heartily. Breakfast had been tense as their mother had slapped bacon, eggs and grits onto their porcelain plates. But by the end of the meal she’d calmed down enough to listen to Darryl’s apology. Mason had been poking fun at him since.

“It’s just like what happened when that mess went down with me in Thailand. The old folks were mad because they heard about it from the girls and not from me. Your sisters will get you in trouble every time. I don’t know why you haven’t learned that yet,” Mason said with a robust chuckle.

Darryl shook his head. “Maitlyn better be glad we’re not kids anymore, because I’d find a mud hole for her sure ’nuff!”

Mason grinned. “But Maitlyn kept her promise. She didn’t tell them. She just told the rest of us. Your other sisters all called and broke the news to them. Then, of course, the minute I walked through the door they were looking at me to confirm it. You know you should have called each one of us and made us pinkie swear.”

“I’m still going to wring her neck,” Darryl exclaimed.

Mason shook his head. “So what do you plan to do?”

His brother shrugged. “Nothing. The court system will deal with Asia and I plan to focus all my attention on this project.”

“I’m sure that throwing yourself into your work will make it all go away,” he said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

With a roll of his eyes, Darryl changed the subject. “So, what’s Mr. Charles like? I’m really looking forward to working with him and his firm.”

Mason smiled. “Kenneth is quite the character. I think this will be a great partnership.”

“I’m anxious to meet him and his son, Cam. That’s his son’s name, right, Cam Charles? I admire a lot of his work, as well.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “Oh, Cam’s not a—” he started, suddenly interrupted by the cell phone chiming loudly from the breast pocket of his suit jacket. He held up his index finger, gesturing for Darryl to hold his thought. Mason pulled the device into his hand, grinning as the smartphone’s screen projected an image of his wife.

“Hey, baby!”

Phaedra Stallion-Boudreaux exclaimed joyously on the other end. “Good morning, good-lookin’! Are you busy?”

“Darryl and I are headed into a meeting. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Missing you, though.”

“I miss you, too, darling,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “How long are you planning to stay in Texas?”

“That’s why I’m calling you, actually. I have to fly to New York. I’ve been hired to get some shots of the city for a tourism project. I’ll be there for at least a week, and then I’ll head to New Orleans.”

Mason nodded into the receiver. His wife’s photography career was important to her and despite the abundance of wealth they shared, he supported her desire to work and have her own. She’d been fiercely independent when they’d first met and was even more so since she’d become his wife.

“Mason, you still there?” Phaedra questioned.

“Sorry, baby. I’m fine,” he responded. “Are you going to be okay traveling by yourself?” he asked.

Phaedra laughed. “I can’t believe you asked me that,” she said. “But for the record, I won’t be alone. Mark is going with me.”

Mason laughed with her. “You know how I worry about you.”

“I’m not the one who goes around getting kidnapped,” she teased, reminding him of the time she’d had to call upon her newly discovered brothers to help find him in Thailand. She continued, “I’ll be fine. You’re just as bad as my brothers.”

Her husband grinned as he thought about his new in-laws. Phaedra had only recently come to know her four brothers, John, Matthew, Mark and Luke Stallion. Doing business with the family had been the catalyst that had opened the doors to his relationship with their baby sister. He would be forever grateful. “We’ll, I’m glad he’ll be there with you. Just stay in touch with me, please.”

“You know I will,” she said, making kissing noises through the receiver. “I love you!”

Mason laughed softly. “I love you, too, baby! I’ll call you after my meeting, okay?”

“I can’t wait,” Phaedra said.

Disconnecting the call, Mason stood with a wide grin on his face. He tossed a glance over at Darryl, who was rolling his dark eyes. “Live and learn, Darryl. My woman never tried to shoot me,” he said smugly.

“Asia wasn’t my woman,” Darryl said sarcastically.

Their bantering continued as they made their way to the upper suites that Mason had rented for temporary office space. As they stepped over the threshold, the doors closing behind them, both men shifted headfirst into business mode.

Chapter 2

“Boudreaux Towers is a multilevel office complex the likes of which has never been seen in New Orleans, Louisiana.” The comment came from Kenneth Charles, renowned architect and owner of the design firm Charles & Charles Architecture. “This will be a magnificent partnership for us.” He and his daughter were riding in the company limo to their meeting. He lifted his gaze from the iPad he was making notes on to stare in her direction.

Camryn Charles eyed her father back. “And we’ll be working directly with Mason?” she asked.

Her father nodded. “I don’t know if you’re aware or not but he sold off his hotel business. This is a new venture for him and I’m honored that he wants us to design the building. He has a brother that will be working on this project, as well. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet him yet.” Kenneth paused as he leaned forward in his seat, passing a prospectus to his daughter. “And this is going to be a great opportunity for you, as well, Camryn. I’ve given it a lot of thought and I want you to take the lead on this project. Mason and I have agreed that you should head the design team.”

Camryn’s eyes widened as she took the documents from her father’s hand. “Really?”

The man’s salt-and-pepper head moved up and down. “You’re making a solid name for yourself in the industry, independent of me and the business. It’s been impressive, and I think if you design the newest skyscraper in downtown New Orleans, it will take both you and the business to a whole new level.”

The young woman smiled warmly. “I appreciate the confidence, Father,” she said, flipping through the documents in her lap.

Camryn fought to contain the excitement that sizzled in the pit of her stomach. Although she’d been eager to work on a new project with her father, to have him hand her the reins of one of the company’s biggest contracts was a big deal for the both of them. Determined to prove herself worthy of his trust, Camryn couldn’t wait to get started.

As their driver stopped the car in front of the Roosevelt Hotel and moved to open the door for them, she turned to her father. “How much creative control do I have?” she asked.

The man eyed her teasingly. “How much do you want?”

She grinned. “Why doesn’t that sound promising, Father?”

He chuckled warmly. “As far as I’m concerned, Camryn, you have full and total creative control. However,” he concluded, tossing her a wink of his eye, “you’ll have to negotiate the specifics of that with our client.”

“I hope our client is an old softy like you, then!”

Her father laughed. “There’s nothing soft about your old man, Camryn Charles. Not one single thing.”

Camryn laughed with him. “So there’s hope for Mr. Boudreaux, is that what you’re saying?”

Kenneth grinned. “For some reason, I think the Boudreaux family is in for more than they bargained for.”

* * *

The two men sat at the large conference table as Mason detailed the budget for his new multimillion-dollar building. Darryl listened intently, digesting the details like a good meal. He’d been inundated with information since he arrived, his brother’s excitement fueling his own. Adding to that exhilaration was discovering that Mason had hired Kenneth Charles to work on the architectural design.

Kenneth Charles was one of his idols, having won numerous awards for his work. He was considered an architectural genius amongst his peers, and Darryl was excited about the prospect of working with the legend. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the conference room door, the entrance swinging open easily.