6. Anthony
ANTHONY
For the rest of the week, I kept my distance from my very sexy assistant.
No more lunches or other ventures outside the office.
We did go on location a few times, but I was the consummate professional.
I tried not to even look at Daisy if I could help it—because one look was all it took for my imagination to spiral out of control.
On Friday, I was already looking forward to the weekend.
I wanted a respite from the office and from being too close to Daisy.
My family often got together at the mansion in the Garden District, but from time to time, we brought the party to LeBlanc-Broussard, especially when a big group canceled their reservation. In all honesty, it was the only way we could get a table for all of us.
Today we were right next to the window, with a great view of Royal Street.
“Uncle Anthony, I’m so happy you’re sitting next to me,” Bella said.
I glanced at my niece, wondering why she was laying it on thick already. Obviously, she wanted to ask me for a favor. She’d gotten quite good at shmoozing during her short years.
“I’m happy, too, cricket. ”
Chad and Scarlett were sitting opposite her, Simone on her momma’s lap, and Chad was already looking at us with suspicion. I winked at my brother, letting him know it was okay.
All of us liked to spoil Bella, but we had an agreement: We always double-checked whether Chad was good with our plans.
“Dad said,” Bella said, frowning at my brother, “I can’t go to your music competition.”
“Right.” I was completely taken aback. I’d braced myself for two scenarios: a conversation about how I could sneak her more sweets or about convincing Chad to let her watch the next Harry Potter movie. I swear she spent half her time doing that.
“And you would like to go?” I asked, looking at Chad, who was frowning at Bella, too, as if he couldn’t believe she was bringing this up. I organized a yearly music competition to discover new talents in New Orleans. This year’s started next week.
“Yes, but Dad says it’s too late in the evening.”
“Bella, I didn’t say we can’t go at all, just that we can’t stay too long,” Chad replied.
I smiled at her. “See? Your dad has a good plan. I’ll probably attend a few evenings, and let you know when it seems less crowded.”
Chad considered this. “Sure, that works.”
“Perfect.”
Bella clapped her hands excitedly. “I can’t wait. I’m the first one in my class to go to a music competition. Uncle Anthony, can I borrow your phone when I’m there?”
This was getting weirder by the minute. Once again, Chad focused on his daughter. Clearly he was sensing some shenanigans.
“Why?” I inquired.
“My friends dared me to take a picture of the hottest singer there to prove I was there in person.”
I felt my eyes bulge, and I quickly looked at Chad because I was out of my depth. I had no idea how to even reply .
“What kind of a dare?” Chad asked calmly, and I had mad respect for him. I was a chill person, but if my ten-year-old daughter… No, I wasn’t going to go there.
“I told you,” Bella said impatiently, “we’ve got a dare that whoever attends the first competition has to take a picture of the hottest dude there to prove she’s not lying.”
I wanted to scrub my ears with soap. A dare? Hottest dude? What was the world coming to?
Chad looked as if he wanted to rewind time so this conversation didn’t happen at all.
I cleared my throat, turning to the rest of the table. They were only half listening. My grandmothers were talking with Zachary’s fiancée, Grace. She had a cosmetics company, and she was selling some of her products in their store too.
“Is there a way to make lilac work in creams as well?” Grace asked. “Because we could definitely incorporate that into a fantastic marketing campaign.”
I glanced at Beckett, who seemed as alarmed as I was. Why were they pursuing this nonsense with the lilac?
Nonsense that seems to work, but nonsense nonetheless.
Isabeau tilted her head, clearly considering this. “It’s tricky because we firmly believe it only works in custom-made concoctions.”
“You can’t mass-produce chemistry,” Grace replied with a nod. “I understand.”
“I find it fascinating,” I chipped in, “that you talk about this as if there’s an actual study behind its efficacy or something.”
Isabeau turned to me with a mischievous look in her eyes. “I think we’ve got plenty of proof.”
“Sorry, I don’t agree with that.”
“Boy, you’re on thin ice,” Felix said jokingly. “Don’t get between Isabeau, Celine, and their lilac.”
I chuckled. “Can’t help myself.”
“By the way, how’s it going with your new assistant?” he inquired .
“Good,” I replied, happy to move on from lilac. “She’ll only be here for a short while, though.”
“How come?”
“Long story, but she only accepted this job because another one fell through. She’s vastly overqualified to be an assistant, but she’s very efficient.”
“And you’re getting along with her?” David asked.
“Things are working fine.” I’d been perfectly professional this past week. It was taking a tremendous amount of effort, and I couldn’t understand why, but I’d managed.
In the past, I’d been indifferent to my assistants—especially after the incident. But I was drawn to Daisy. Luckily, she had a similar work ethic to mine and challenged me to remain professional and businesslike. But it wasn’t easy.
“Good to know.”
“Are you coming fishing with us this weekend?” Felix asked.
I shook my head, feeling a bit guilty. “No can do. The festival is starting this weekend.”
“I’ll come,” Beckett offered, and my grandfathers’ expressions immediately lit up. It was funny how important this was for them. Then again, it was a lot of fun for me and my brothers too.
While listening to Beckett make fishing plans, I also heard my grandmothers and Grace back on the lilac thing again.
I looked at Zachary, who laughed, replying, “Happy wife, happy life.”
Grace elbowed him. “Hey, show some respect for the lilac.”
Zachary was a lot like me. I mean, none of my brothers believed that bullshit, but Zachary, Beckett, and I were openly cynical about it.
“Anthony.” Daisy’s voice filtered in from behind me, and I immediately turned around. She stood a few feet away from the table. “Could I speak with you just for a few seconds? I’m on my way out.”
“Sure.” The whole table went silent as I got to my feet. “ Everyone, this is my new assistant, Daisy. Daisy, come closer so I can introduce you.”
“I really don’t want to disturb you all,” she said with an apologetic smile.
This woman was so damn stunning. Her legs were endless, and she was wearing a dark green dress that fit her body perfectly.
My imagination was working overtime. If I could roll her dress up a bit higher…
Fucking hell! I’d done so well all week and kept my promise after our lunch together. Why was I having so much trouble whipping my thoughts into shape right now?
“Hi, everyone. I’m Daisy.”
“Nice to meet you, Daisy. I’m Isabeau, and this is Celine.”
I laughed. “These are the two names you have to remember and be wary of.”
“Anthony,” Isabeau chastised.
I winked at my grandmother, but she just shook her head.
“I’ll be right back. Daisy and I need to catch up on something.”
As we walked away from the table, I glanced over my shoulder. My grandmothers had their heads together, conversing. Up to no good, I was sure.
“I’m all ears,” I said.
“Are you going to the festival tonight?” she asked.
“Yes, I need to see how things are going.”
“Would you mind if I came?”
I looked at her in surprise. “Not at all. But you’ve been working late all week.”
Her expression lit up. “I’d love to see everything live. And if you’re there, it’ll be a good learning experience.”
“I agree.” I leaned slightly toward her, winking. “You can see firsthand that all the hard work paid off.”
“What time should I meet you there?”
“Eight. ”
“Perfect.”
A loud yelp came from my family’s table, and then everyone burst out laughing.
“Your family is very lively,” she said.
I glanced at the table. My grandmothers were staring right at us. So was Beckett.
“That’s a very polite way of putting it.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
Right, she couldn’t know they were all a bunch of nosy bastards. “Never mind.”
I glanced back at her. She was wearing a flower-shaped pendant that had been my obsession all week. It hung very low, almost in her cleavage. Now it was even harder to look away than usual.
I finally tore my gaze back up to her face and said, “Then I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Fantastic.”
She left, and I returned to the table, the image of that pendant nearly brushing her breasts playing in my mind. This was insane. And I was going to see Daisy again in just a few hours.
I was screwed.
As I sat down at the table, Isabeau looked at me intently. “Daisy seems very nice.”
“She is.”
“Mom,” Dad said with a warning tone in his voice. He rarely used it. My parents were usually the quietest in the family. Mom always said she preferred to listen. And there were a lot of us, so there was plenty to listen to.
Isabeau seemed stunned too. She blinked at Dad, then shook her head and focused on me again. “So, what’s her story? How did she end up in New Orleans?”
“How do you know Daisy’s not from here?” I asked.
She waved her hand. “Oh, it’s obvious she’s not local.”
“She’s not,” I admitted. “She moved here because of a summer course she wanted to take at Loyola. She was supposed to start a new job in marketing at Thornton’s Beverages, but that fell through.
Now she’s on the lookout for another job in marketing.
Which is a pity because I like her as an assistant. ”
“Only as an assistant?”
The table fell silent. I shook my head. Why would she put me on the spot like this? But I cared about Isabeau too much to say anything.
“What’s your point?” I asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “Your grandfathers told us you’ve lost too many assistants already.”
I jerked my head back. That was not where I thought she was going with this conversation.
“I’m aware of that, and I’m correcting it,” I replied coolly, looking around the table.
Everyone was staring at me intently.
“How the hell does everyone know, anyway?”
“Word travels that you’re a hard one to work for, brother,” Beckett said in an amused tone.
“But Anthony did seem friendly enough with her,” David replied, nodding in the direction Daisy had gone. He then looked at Isabeau with a raised brow, clearly not understanding why she was picking on me.
“Hmm,” Isabeau said, tilting her head, seemingly considering something.
“Yes, maybe too friendly,” Celine added.
Now I knew where this was going.
“Let’s table this conversation.” My tone was final.
“Wait, now we’re all curious. What’s going on?” Grace inquired.
I started to laugh. This was payback for sure!
Each time one of my brothers first started seeing their better halves, they wanted to keep it quiet, and I didn’t make it easy for them.
But my situation wasn’t even remotely the same.
Daisy was my employee. I sure as fuck didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past .
“I think Anthony here needs us to make a perfume that has an antidote to lilac,” Isabeau informed everyone.
“Is that even possible?” I asked. Maybe that would help dampen my insane attraction to Daisy.
“We’re going to look into it,” Celine said.
“Yes, you do that!” I responded, maybe a little bit too enthusiastically. I didn’t want to give myself away. The last thing this family needed to know was that I was attracted to Daisy.
Isabeau cocked a brow. “Oh, so now that it’s about an ‘antidote,’ you’re a believer, huh?”
I shrugged with a grin at my grandmother’s use of finger quotes. These two were a riot. Honestly, though, I would certainly become a believer if whatever they came up with made me immune to Daisy. “Never say never.”
“Well, then,” Celine said, rubbing her hands together and turning to Isabeau. “Chop-chop. We better get working.”