“I need to see Renee this afternoon,” I announced from the back of the SUV. I scrolled through my phone. I didn’t have an update from our state lobbyist on the casino rights.
“I’ll make sure she’s in your office today.”
“Thank you.”
I stopped when an email popped up on the screen. There was a congressional meeting tonight on Louisiana’s gambling statues, specifically the Crescent Towers proposal.
“I can’t wait until this afternoon. Take me straight to her office. Now.” I had a bad feeling about the alert. We had been working with local and state officials for months.
I sent my attorney a quick text. I hoped she was prepared to give me answers.
“But you can fix this,” I pressed. It wasn’t often I made office visits. I did the summoning. A lesson my father taught me. Make people come to you.
Renee hesitated. “I’m working on it. I’m as surprised as you are about the special committee hearing tonight.”
“I pay you not to be surprised.”
She exhaled. “Honestly, I think it’s just a formality. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“But if I do? If you’re wrong? If I don’t get the casino permits?” I couldn’t sit. Renee’s office was near the river. I watched a barge float past, pushing cargo. It wasn’t one of my vessels.
Renee was in her early fifties. She had two kids who were both in high school. They both wanted to go to LSU. They were a family of tigers. Her diploma hung on the wall, along with portraits of her children when they were younger.
Renee never worked for my father. I hired her the day after he died. I needed someone I could trust. It came down to her or a man with a rust-colored mustache. I choose Renee. She had been a business and legal force ever since. For something like this to happen, was unusual. Unprecedented.
“Why don’t we get some coffee, Kennedy?” she offered. “We could talk through what the committee might do.”
Over the past four years, she had also stepped in as a type of surrogate mother. Although, neither of us would admit to categorizing her that way. She was sharp-witted and brilliant, but she was also kind. As long as I paid her well, she kept my secrets. I sometimes looked at the photos of her kids and envied them. They had a mom who was strong and maternal. I didn’t know how that worked. How any of it worked in a functioning family.
“No.” I shook my head. “I have more meetings. I left the site and rushed here as soon as I had the alert. I don’t need the extra stress right now. I can’t lose this. If the casino doesn’t open, I’m screwed.”
Renee rounded her desk and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “The casino legislation is going to happen. Patience. Okay?”
Her voice was calming, but my stomach continued to do flips. “Thanks, Renee. Keep me updated every hour.”
“All right. Even if the session runs past midnight?” she asked.
“Especially if it does.” I rarely slept at night. I would wait for her calls.
“You’ve got it. Anything else I can do to help?”
I shook my head. “Just get that law passed.”
The rest of the day I spent in and out of meetings. By the time I arrived home, all I wanted to do was kick my heels across the room and sip a crisp wine.
Bella greeted me in the kitchen. “You’re home so late. You’ve been working a lot, Ms. Martin.”
I managed a smile. “It’s part of my responsibilities.”
The sun had started to set.
“Can I bring you cocktail?” she asked.
“Yes. Wine in the pool courtyard, please.”
“I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
I changed into a swimsuit. It was a red one-piece with a deep V that stopped just below my navel. The sides had been strategically cut away. I was hot, and I thought about swimming laps tonight.
I emerged on the pool deck, followed by Bella. She brought a wine chiller as well as a cheese plate.
“Just in case you get hungry.”
“Thank you.”
I made sure the volume on my phone was turned up. I didn’t want to miss Renee’s call.
I tasted the wine and leaned back, staring up at a starry sky.
“Carpe noctem?” The growl invaded my ears and rattled my spine. “Your company is carpe fucking noctem? I still can’t believe it. I’ve heard it. Read it. Seen the doc and I still don’t believe it.”
I almost shattered the glass at the sound of his voice. My eyes opened.
“How did you get in here?”
Knight grinned. “I just told them who I was at the front door. I was even given condolences by your butler. Seems my father used to pay you visits here.”
“You should go.” I swung my legs around, but Knight was there, blocking them. His solid body an obstacle to any movement I made.
All I could think about was this moment five years ago. Here. Him chasing me down. Kissing my lips.
“I’ll call Kimble,” I warned.
He huffed. “I’m surprised about a lot of things since I’ve been back. Keeping him on your payroll is at the top of my list.”
“You don’t have the right to judge anything I’ve done while you’ve been gone.”
The look in his eyes said otherwise.
19
Knight
The suit. She was wearing a red bathing suit. At night. Under the fucking starry sky like a damn siren. Who wears a fucking bathing suit when the sun goes down?
“Kennedy.” My jaw clenched. So did my fist and in it the notice I had received from her office. Scrawled across the top in embossed gold were the words Carpe Noctem, LLC. “What is this?” I demanded.
Her eyes fell to my fist. It gave me a brief second to scan her breasts. To admire the way the dip between them made my mouth water. She’d always had the most beautiful skin. Skin that should be licked and tasted. Worshipped.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She tried to reach for the paper, but I recoiled. “If that’s
