Читать книгу: «Backfire»

One

The place hadn’t changed much, Chase thought as he studied the garden room of the Saint Charles Hotel from his position near the dais. The cloths covering the tables were still made of pink damask and, given their faded appearance, he would lay odds they were the same ones that had covered the tables twenty-six years ago. The fresh flowers on the tables were fewer in number, but the vases holding them were genuine crystal.

Surveying the crowd of reporters and local bigwigs, who had gathered for the formal announcement of the new partnership between his firm and Henri Charbonnet, Chase frowned. Even the faces and names looked the same, he thought, recalling those Sunday mornings his mother had spent scouring the newspaper’s society pages and pointing out her customers to him. The crème de la crème of New Orleans, she had called them. He doubted that any of them had even known the name of the pretty waitress who had served them their coffee and five-course meals. But she had known their names. She had idolized them, had been thrilled to touch the fringes of their pampered lives.

And now they were here to see him.

Of course, their eagerness to welcome him into their privileged midst was due to his alignment with one of their own—Henri Charbonnet.

Chase shifted his gaze to the object of his thoughts. The years had not been as kind to Henri Charbonnet as they had been to his hotel. The man’s hair was thinner now and nearly all white. His middle had thickened, giving him a portly appearance. He had loomed as a giant in the memory of an eight-year-old boy, but now he appeared almost short against Chase’s own six feet. But the eyes…those hard green eyes that had been so cold and forbidding when they had stared at him from across his mother’s coffin…they hadn’t changed. They were just as cold, just as empty, just as unfeeling as he remembered.

Henri Charbonnet shook hands with one of the city’s councilmen, then tipped his head back in laughter before leading a group of his friends to one of the serving stations. The hotel’s finest crystal and silver pieces adorned the tables laden with the restaurant’s signature dishes.

Charbonnet had spared little expense for the press briefing and reception that was to follow, Chase surmised, as he took in the lavishly decorated room. Evidently cost didn’t matter to the man when it was someone else’s money he was spending. Chase gritted his teeth and rubbed his thumb across the two-inch scar that stretched across his chin. Enjoy your little kingdom while you can, old man, he thought. Because it won’t be yours for much longer.

Chase shifted his gaze to the doorway where the guests continued to filter into the room at a steady pace.

Then he saw the brunette.

Despite her small size, she was a hard one to miss in that red suit. The fabric skimmed nicely rounded curves and fell several inches above her knees on legs that seemed impossibly long for a woman who couldn’t measure more than five foot four.

Nice, Chase thought. He appreciated the female form as much as the next man. And while he had never been a man who got overly excited by big-breasted women, legs were another story.

Chase smiled as he took another look at hers. The brunette definitely had a great pair of legs. Slowly, Chase inched his gaze upward from the expensive red pumps to the mouth painted the same shade of cherry red as her suit. A mouth made for kissing, he thought idly.

The rest of her face wasn’t bad, either. She wasn’t beautiful, at least not by movie-star standards, but she was pretty all the same. She greeted several people and seemed to scan the crowd in search of someone. With her face turned to the side, he couldn’t quite make out if her eyes were green or blue. The thick cocoa-colored hair fell in a smooth and chic line just below her chin and was a great foil for her skin. Ah, and what skin, Chase thought as he studied her. The color of rich cream, it looked as soft and delicate as the petal of a rose.

An expensive rose, Chase decided, catching the flicker of diamond studs when she tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. She smiled at something the pretty boy in the Italian suit said, her luscious mouth curving up sweetly at the other man.

She’s out of your league, McAllister, a voice inside him taunted. This rose was one sweet, tempting little package with all the class and breeding her daddy’s money could buy. And no doubt if she hadn’t yet landed herself a rich husband to pick up where daddy left off, she soon would.

“Mr. McAllister.” One of the newspaper reporters approached him and introduced herself. The smile the woman gave him reminded him of a cat, a big hungry cat. “I know you can’t divulge the details of your firm’s purchase of stock in the Saint Charles, but can you tell me if it’s true that Majestic Hotels plans to invest several million dollars in the renovation of the hotel?”

So the rumor mill was already buzzing. “My firm plans to invest a considerable amount of money in renovating the property,” he said, favoring her with one of his lazy smiles. Using his smile to charm others had been one of the first tricks he had learned in the foster home circuit, and it had served him well in the hotel business. People liked dealing with a person who smiled. And women especially seemed to like his. “But how much the renovation is going to cost has yet to be determined,” he said noncommittally.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chase watched his expensive rose weave her way through the crowd with the pretty boy in tow to where Henri Charbonnet and his group stood. She greeted him and several of those gathered with a kiss on the cheek in the fashion so typical of Southern women.

“What about the actual running of the hotel? Word has it that Majestic likes to bring in their own general managers. Is that why you’re here? Do you plan to take over as the new general manager of the Saint Charles?”

Chase pulled his attention back to the reporter. His assessment of the woman as a cat was evidently on target, he decided. And from the hungry gleam in her eye, this one probably had sharp claws. Evidently she smelled another story behind Charbonnet’s decision to sell an interest in the family’s legacy to an outsider.

But it was a story he had no interest in telling. He had his own agenda where Charbonnet was concerned and had no intention of meeting someone else’s…no matter how tempting. “Now, Bitsy,” he said, addressing her by the first name printed on her name tag. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Oh, just a hunch.” She gave him an assessing look and Chase suspected she liked what she saw. “But I can see you’re not going to tell me anything more. So what’s the official line on your involvement here?”

He gave the woman his best smile and watched it take effect. “My role at the Saint Charles will be to oversee the implementation of new reporting and reservation systems, linking the hotel with Majestic’s mother systems. And I’ll also be working to get the renovations under way.”

“And Henri Charbonnet’s role?”

“Henri Charbonnet is the hotel’s executive director, as well as one of its owners. But I suspect you already know that. Majestic plans to work very closely with him in the operation of the Saint Charles.”

“What about his daughter, Madeline?”

“What about her?” Chase tossed back, resisting the urge to check on his rose.

The reporter cut a glance to Henri Charbonnet, then looked back at him. A thin smile spread across the reporter’s lips. “Well, I understand Madeline wasn’t very happy about her father’s decision to sell an interest in the hotel…that she had hoped to take over the operation of the Saint Charles herself someday,” the woman continued. “I was just wondering if you or Majestic Hotels saw Madeline’s position at the hotel as a problem.”

He had given little thought to Madeline Charbonnet when he had been making his plans. He had noted her name on the list of the sales department’s employees and dismissed it. He assumed she was one of the reasons the place was operating in the red. The fact that she had not attended the staff meeting he had held the previous day and had been missing from the sales department—on vacation they saidhad confirmed his opinion of her as a spoiled little rich girl playing at the hotel business. If the daughter was anything like her father, she would have only contributed to the financial drain. He had simply added her name to the list of problems at the hotel that he would need to fix. Of course, he had no intention of telling the reporter that. Instead, he simply replied, “I don’t see Madeline Charbonnet as a problem at all.”

Excusing himself from the reporter, Chase headed in Charbonnet’s direction. He told himself he simply wanted to get this dog-and-pony show on the road, that it had nothing to do with the brunette standing beside the older man. Stopping just behind Charbonnet, Chase waited for him to finish his conversation before suggesting they get the statements to the press out of the way. And he used the moment to study the brunette.

Damn if that skin of hers didn’t look even softer close up, he thought. Even her voice matched. It was all velvety and soft as she made plans to meet pretty boy for breakfast the next morning. Unable to resist, Chase gave her legs another once-over. Definitely roses. The long-stemmed expensive variety.

“McAllister.” Charbonnet stuck out his hand, motioning for Chase to join him. He made quick introductions of the men, then turned to the brunette. “And I don’t believe you’ve met my daughter, Madeline. Madeline, this is Chase McAllister with Majestic Hotels.”

He should have seen that one coming, Chase admonished himself. Quickly, he schooled his expression, looking at Madeline Charbonnet more closely.

The black-and-white newspaper photographs he had seen of her through the years—clips of her as a debutante, a maid for the old-line carnival clubs and society darling—none had done justice to the woman who stood before him. They hadn’t revealed that the lips now pressed together in a tight line were so full and sensuous or that the eyes set in that perfect oval face were such a deep green. The newspaper photographs certainly hadn’t prepared him for the fact that those green eyes would be a mirror of everything she was feeling.

And right now, judging from the fire flashing in those emerald gems, Chase had no doubt that Madeline Charbonnet would like nothing better than to deck him.

The thought amused him and Chase smiled, which only seemed to make those eyes of hers grow even darker. But he had to give her credit because instead of slugging him, she extended her hand. “Mr. McAllister,” she said, her voice as cool as the February wind that whipped at the flags flying outside of the hotel.

Chase bit back the urge to laugh at the regal tilt of her chin. “Ms. Charbonnet. It’s a pleasure. And please, call me Chase.” Damn if her skin wasn’t every bit as silky and soft as he had imagined. She even smelled like roses.

And no doubt she came with her own supply of thorns, a voice inside Chase warned. Before he could dwell on that thought further, the ear-piercing shrill of a microphone being flipped on sliced through the room.

Madeline pulled her hand free. She took a step back, then turned to Charbonnet. “Father, I believe they’re ready for you and Mr. McAllister to take your positions at the podium,” she told him.

“Would you like to join your father and me at the podium for the announcement?” Chase asked.

“No.” Madeline’s faced flushed an angry red. “Thank you, but no. The Saint Charles belongs to my father and…and to Majestic Hotels.”

“I know. But you’re still welcome—”

“Mr. McAllister, I don’t want to join you and my father at the podium. If it had been my decision, there would be no need for an announcement today.”

“Madeline, that’s enough,” Henri Charbonnet said firmly.

So the reporter had been right. Madeline Charbonnet hadn’t been happy about her father’s decision to sell. In fact, she was out-and-out furious.

“Madeline, apologize to Mr. McAllister for your rudeness,” Henri ordered.

Madeline looked as though her father had slapped her. She tipped up her chin. “I have nothing to apologize for. Mr. McAllister and his firm have no right to own a part of the Saint Charles. It belongs—”

“Madeline Claire—”

Chase touched the other man’s shoulder. “Forget it, Charbonnet. It doesn’t matter.” Guilt prickled at Chase momentarily, but he pushed it aside. Charbonnet was the one who had robbed her of her legacy. Not him. He had merely supplied the means. The fact that the deal would serve his own purposes didn’t matter. Ignoring the shimmer of tears in her eyes, Chase hardened his heart. “Then I guess it’s fortunate for Majestic Hotels and me that the decision to sell the Saint Charles wasn’t yours to make.”

Turning away from Madeline, he motioned to her father. “Come on, Charbonnet. Let’s get this thing over with.” Without waiting for a reply, Chase strode to the front of the room.

As Charbonnet stepped up to the microphone, Chase move to the side and half listened while he announced the new partnership and outlined his grand plans for the hotel.

“As all of you know, the Saint Charles Hotel has always prided itself on its old-world elegance and its fine service. With Majestic Hotels as our new partner, we intend to not only uphold that tradition, but to expand upon it,” Charbonnet continued. “Our guests will continue to enjoy all of the amenities now offered, plus some additional ones…”

Yes, the man was really good at spending money, Chase thought, confirming his earlier assessment. In this case, someone else’s. But he would let the old man have his day, enjoy himself while he could. Because within six months, if all went as planned, Charbonnet’s little kingdom would come crumbling down.

And what about Madeline Charbonnet?

She wasn’t his problem. He had waited a long time for this moment. It was the culmination of years of working, watching and waiting. At last the vengeance he had sought was within his grasp.

He didn’t intend to lose the chance to even the score simply because some spoiled little rich girl had starry-eyed notions about the hotel. Only a fool would fall for that “heart in her eyes” trick.

Yet as he looked down into the gathering where she listened to her father ramble on about the hotel’s heritage and its long ties to the Charbonnet family, the pride and longing on that expressive face of hers looked real.

And as Henri Charbonnet introduced him, the flicker of betrayal and then anger that raced across her features before she turned and started for the exit didn’t seem at all like a trick.

Forget about her, McAllister, Chase told himself as he stepped up to the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, Honorable Mayor, members of the city council, distinguished guests and friends, on behalf of Majestic Hotels, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you…”

Madeline allowed the cool water from the faucet to run over her hands and wrists while she struggled to regain control of herself. After several long moments she reached over and turned off the tap.

What a foolish thing to do, Madeline told her image in the gilt-edged mirror that hung over the basin in the ladies’ powder room. Not foolish, it was plain stupid, she amended. Color flooded her cheeks as she relived the frustration and anger she had experienced at Chase McAllister’s cutting reply.

What angered her most was that he had been right—the decision to sell an interest in the hotel hadn’t been hers. She had had absolutely no say in the matter. True, the hotel didn’t belong to her. It belonged to her father. But she loved the place, had practically grown up in it. She knew every piece of furniture, every antique that filled each of the hotel’s eighty suites. It was more than just a hotel, more than just a piece of real estate. It was her home. And the thought of strangers owning a part of it galled her, made her physically ill.

Drying her hands on the linen towels that bore the hotel’s entwined letters S and C, Madeline tossed it into the brass container designated for soiled linens. She leaned against the marble countertop and squeezed her eyes shut.

But there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. Not now. It was too late. And any hopes that she might have harbored of one day running the hotel were finished. Even if she could have eventually convinced her father that she was capable of running the Saint Charles, it no longer mattered. The decision would no longer be his. It belonged to some unknown board of directors on the East Coast who wouldn’t care about the hotel’s history or the fact that a Charbonnet had always been at its helm.

If only her father had given her a chance, confided in her. Maybe she could have helped him work out the financial problems without resorting to selling off a part of the hotel.

But he hadn’t. He hadn’t even bothered to discuss his problems or his decision to sell with her until it was too late. The realization made her angry, but more than that, it hurt. Because it just drove home what she already knew: in her father’s eyes she could never measure up. If she had, he would never have opted to sell.

Biting back a sigh of frustration, Madeline opened her eyes. No matter how hard she worked, no matter how good she was at her job, her father didn’t think she was capable of running the hotel. And now with Chase McAllister in the picture, she would never have the chance to prove him wrong.

At the thought of Chase McAllister, Madeline straightened. The man had unnerved her. She had been all too aware of him watching her. He had reminded her of a wolf, running his eyes over her lazily, as though he were contemplating taking a taste. Madeline shivered at the image of Chase’s mouth on her skin. She smoothed her fingers down the sides of her skirt as she recalled the feel of his palm, strong and hard against her own, when she had offered him her hand.

Hard. It was a good word to describe Chase McAllister. Despite the heartbreaker smile that told her he knew just what effect he had on women, there had been something hot and dangerous in his eyes when her father had introduced them. While working with a man like him might prove exciting, it would be unsettling.

Not that she was likely to have to worry about that problem. Madeline stifled a groan. After her remarks today, she doubted he would keep her on the hotel’s staff. She probably should just resign and get it over with. She was good at her job. She could hire on at one of the other hotels in the city. Heaven knew there were enough of them, new ones popping up like crazy since the opening of the casino. That’s why she had arranged to meet Kyle for breakfast, to ask for his help.

But the thought of working anyplace else made her want to weep. She loved the Saint Charles. It was in her blood. The hotel…the people, they were like family. She hated the thought of leaving. How could she just walk away?

Why should she have to? The stubborn voice inside her asked. She had more right to be here than Chase McAllister did. Why should she make it easy for him and his firm to take over her family’s hotel?

She wouldn’t, Madeline vowed. Not without a fight. She wasn’t going to quit. She wasn’t going to run away and hide. If Chase McAllister wanted her out, then he was going to have to fire her. Tipping up her chin, she slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder and headed back into the garden room where McAllister was speaking.

“Majestic Hotels is pleased to add the venerable Saint Charles Hotel to its family of fine, luxury properties…”

At the rear of the room, Madeline listened to Chase deliver his speech in that deep, authoritative voice of his. The fact that he had memorized his remarks and not used any notes was a nice touch, she conceded. So was that devilish smile that he kept flashing at the audience. From the looks on peoples’ faces—particularly the female ones—it was working.

“…and who better to have as our partner than Henri Charbonnet, the gentleman whose family founded the hotel. I’m personally looking forward to working with Henri—” His amused gaze swept over the crowd and halted when he reached her. He paused, staring at her long moments. “And with his daughter Madeline.”

Madeline glared at him. He was lying through his pretty white teeth and she knew it.

As though he could read her thoughts, Chase smiled at her then. His mouth curved in the most wicked smile. It was warm and deep, intimate, the type of knowing smile a man might share with his lover. The effect was delectable, captivating…and disturbing.

“Handsome fellow, isn’t he?”

Madeline swung her gaze to the pregnant woman standing beside her. Chloe James. Friends all of their lives, Chloe was the closest thing to a sister she had. Chloe had always been the adventuresome one of the two, and right now Madeline didn’t trust the silly grin pasted on her face. “Chloe, I didn’t see you standing there.”

“Yes. I know. You were too busy drooling over the hunk.”

“I’m not going to even dignify that with a denial.”

Ignoring her, Chloe went on, “Not that I blame you now. He really is good-looking, and that smile. Lord, it’s enough to make a girl’s knees go weak. The man certainly is sexy. Don’t you agree?”

“If you like his type,” Madeline replied as nonchalantly as she could. Not for the life of her would she admit that her own stomach had done a flip-flop before she had reminded herself just who he was.

The other woman chuckled. “Madeline, darling, regardless of what your type is, a woman would have to be dead not to notice a man like him.”

Madeline arched her brow at her friend. “Need I remind you that you’re a married woman, Chloe James? And a pregnant one at that? I wonder what Paul would have to say if he heard you?”

Chloe wrinkled her pert nose at Madeline. “Lighten up, Maddie. I didn’t say I was going to take him home with me—not that I wouldn’t be tempted to. I’m just saying he’s easy on the eyes. You have to admit he’s a lot different from the sort of fellows we used to date.”

He was different from the men she usually dated, Madeline admitted. For one thing, Chase McAllister didn’t have her ex-fiancé’s polished good looks. Chase’s dark blond hair was a tad too long, brushing the collar of his shirt, to be fashionable. His bone structure was good, and he certainly knew how to fill out a suit. But his skin was too deeply tanned for a man who supposedly spent his days behind a desk. And while his mouth curved into the most enticing smile, the scar that slashed across his chin ruined any chance of him being considered handsome—at least not in a conventional way.

“There’s something about him,” Chloe said. “Sort of…untamed. Makes a girl wonder what he’d be like in bed.”

“Chloe!”

“Oh, all right. I’ll shut up. But you have to admit he is sexy. Especially when he smiles.”

And he certainly knew how to use that smile, Madeline decided, watching him charm the guests.

Chloe sighed. “You’re lucky. You get to work side by side with him.”

“Funny, but I don’t think of myself as lucky at all.”

Chloe’s expression sobered. “I’m sorry, Madeline. I guess I wasn’t thinking. I know how much you loved this place.”

“I still love it.” Madeline shrugged. “Don’t pay any attention to me. It’s not like my father sold out completely. At least I still get to work here.” That is, if she still had a job in the morning.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy yourselves,” her father said after Chase had turned the microphone back over to him. “Eat, drink and enjoy.”

Ten minutes later Madeline set aside her untouched glass of champagne and started to work her way toward the exit. Her head was pounding, and if she had to keep the smile plastered on her face a moment longer, she was afraid her muscles would lock in the position permanently.

“If you want people to really believe you’re happy about this merger, you’re going to have to do better than that tight little smile you’ve been wearing.”

Madeline whirled around, nearly knocking the champagne glass out of Chase’s hand. She hadn’t even heard him come up behind her. The realization unsettled her…almost as much as the man himself. “I’m not happy about the merger, Mr. McAllister. So, why should I pretend that I am?”