The Boudreaux Family

Guy laughed. “Well, hello to you, too, Dahlia.”

“Guy.” Dahlia eased her way around him to sit in her seat.

As she passed, her shoulder brushed against his arm, and the connection was like an igniting flame. Guy felt his body tense; the scent of her perfume threw lighter fluid on his rising emotions. Every muscle hardened beneath his skin. Dahlia gestured toward the empty chair, wishing for some distance between them.

Moving to the other side of the table and the cushioned chair in front of her desk, Guy sat down. He took a deep breath before he spoke, willing the tension away. “No, I don’t think it’s a stretch at all. In fact, I’m thinking it’s quite appropriate in light of my very generous contribution.”

Dahlia paused, fighting to focus her eyes on anything except his face. “I’m willing to concede that. As long as you understand it’s strictly honorary.” She crossed her arms over her chest, finally lifting her gaze to his.

Guy held her stare for a moment, startled by the intensity that pierced past her forest-thick lashes. The look she was giving him was intoxicating, and something like desire washed over him. He could only begin to imagine what she saw in his own eyes since desire was exactly what he was feeling for her. He crossed one leg over the other, hoping to hide the sudden rise of nature between them. He cleared his throat. “What? You mean you don’t want me to be hands-on?”

“Truthfully, I want you to be exceptionally hands-off,” Dahlia emphasized. “You get a script, you memorize and deliver your lines like the professional I know you are and it’ll be all good between us.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said lightly as he shifted the conversation, leaning forward in his seat. “What time are you buying me dinner tonight?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you know my friend Phaedra?”

“Do you always answer a question by changing the subject with another question?” Guy countered.

Dahlia shrugged, feigning disinterest. “I’m not buying you dinner. If anything, I’ll buy you a bottle of water, but that’s about it. I don’t mix business with pleasure, Mr. Boudreaux.”

Guy nodded. “I’m glad to hear that,” he responded, feigning his own disinterest, “because my intent is strictly business. I do, however, try to eat three square meals per day. And since I’m on a strict regimen, there’s little that’s pleasurable about it, not even the prospect of your company. So, I should be done by seven o’clock. Shall we meet at eight?”

Dahlia paused, the man’s arrogance taking her by surprise. There was a hint of teasing in his tone, and that annoyed her, as well. For a brief moment she thought about throwing him out on his very delectable behind, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he’d riled her.

“Tonight won’t work. I have another commitment,” she said finally.

“A date?” Guy asked curiously.

She ignored his query, amused that he would even think that he could question her plans. “I’ll meet you tomorrow afternoon at Roscoe’s,” she responded. “Can you do three o’clock?”

Guy laughed. “Two would be better, so let’s split the difference. Will two-thirty work for you?”

“Two-thirty it is,” Dahlia said.

“Enjoy your date tonight, Dahlia,” Guy said, tossing her a quick wink of his eye. He stood up and made his way to the door. He stopped short, turning back around to face her. “Oh, and to answer your other question, Phaedra married my older brother, Mason. She and I are family.” His grin widened. “See you tomorrow, beautiful.” He made his exit, his expression eager at the prospect.

Without responding, Dahlia leaned back in her seat. Leslie drew her attention as she cleared her throat in the doorway. The two friends locked gazes.

“And you won’t do dinner why?” Leslie asked.

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“You know I was.”

Dahlia shook her head. “Because he expected that I would just jump at the opportunity, and I’m not giving him that satisfaction.”

Leslie laughed. “And lunch tomorrow will be your comeuppance?”

Dahlia smiled. “It’s not dinner and he’s not dictating the where and the when.”

Leslie’s eyes widened. “You like that man.”

Dahlia’s face scrunched up in annoyance, her eyes narrowing to thin slits. “He’s an employee.”

Leslie laughed again as she reached for Dahlia’s smartphone and accessed the calendar on the device. She quickly tapped an entry into the database before passing the gadget back to the other woman.

“Something I don’t know about?” Dahlia questioned, scanning the month’s activity page.

Shrugging her shoulders, Leslie exited the room, still giggling softly.

Dahlia couldn’t miss the appointments Leslie had noted for the following night and each day thereafter. The woman had scheduled hours of quality time for her and Guy Morrow, each notation followed by a string of hearts.

“Not funny!” Dahlia shouted. She had to laugh at her friend, shaking her head. But as she sat staring at the notation she couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities, because Guy Boudreaux definitely had her imagination running rampant.

Dahlia couldn’t remember the last time any man had taken her breath away, and meeting Guy had done just that. Everything about the delectable man had put her on sensory overload and ignited a fire through every nerve ending in her body. Guy Boudreaux had been a refreshing departure from the usual characters she’d come to know in Hollywood. His down-to-earth persona overshadowed the bad-boy, playboy image he often portrayed. The man had been funny, intuitive and too damn sexy for words. In fact, Dahlia mused, blowing out a deep sigh, Guy Boudreaux had been too much man for her to even begin to fathom, and she was giving every ounce of him much consideration.

* * *

“So, who’s the doll you’ve checked Google for a million times on your laptop?” Darryl Boudreaux asked as he scanned the screen of his older brother’s computer.

“What?”

“Dahlia Morrow. You’ve been spending a lot of time researching the woman. Is she an actress or something?”

Guy shook his head, reaching to close the lid of his laptop from his brother’s prying eyes.

“Hey, I was optimizing your hard drive!” Darryl intoned.

“No, you were being nosy.”

“I was doing that, too. She’s cute, though. The woman has a body and then some.”

Guy rolled his eyes at his brother’s comment. “She’s a filmmaker, one of the best. Do you follow the industry at all, Darryl?”

Darryl shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t even own a television, why would I follow the film industry?”

“Uh, maybe to support your big brother?”

“I can support you without denigrating my mind with the garbage they’re airing on TV these days. And I think I support you just fine. I installed your security system. I fixed your garbage disposal last week. I designed a new rooftop garden for you—construction starts in two days, by the way—and if you leave me alone, I can make sure you have the best access to the internet to keep scoping out your woman,” Darryl said as he lifted the computer’s top and resumed his search of Guy’s database.

Guy laughed. “I wasn’t scoping her out!”

Darryl cut his eyes toward his brother, indicating that he knew better and wasn’t buying his brother’s protests.

“You need to worry about your own love life,” Guy said, gesturing toward his brother’s cell phone, which was vibrating against the desktop. “What’s that, the hundredth time she’s called?”

Darryl scowled, annoyance painting his features. He’d been ignoring the device for over an hour as his soon-to-be-ex girlfriend blew up his cell phone. He shook his head. “I told Asia that it wasn’t working out and we needed to sit down and have a serious talk.”

“I’m sure that’s going to go well. I told you that girl was crazy from the start.”

Darryl shrugged again, turning back to his task. “By the way, Maitlyn said to call her. She has some questions about you and your new woman, too.”

“What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say anything to her. You hire your sister to be your manager and you don’t think she’s not going to know everything that’s going on with you? Big brother, please. You even taught me better than that,” Darryl said with a wry laugh. “And I’d bet my last dollar that if Maitlyn suspects something, then Mommy and the rest of the girls already know.”

Guy headed to the bedroom of his penthouse apartment. He hated when his siblings peeped his hold card, and Darryl taking note of his interest in Dahlia was a point of consternation. His brother had read every card in his deck.

His sister Maitlyn asking questions was something else altogether. Once his sister began to pry into his business, she had reached a point of no return. The women in his family were never readily willing to give him or any of his brothers a break when it came to other women in their lives.

Darryl going out of his way to comment on Dahlia meant his brother had taken note of much more than Guy would have liked. He himself wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge his sudden interest in the beautiful woman.

Since their first meeting, the encounter in her office and agreeing to take the role in her movie, Guy had invested a lot of energy in discovering everything he could about Dahlia. He’d even broken one of his cardinal rules, calling up the friend of a friend of a friend, who’d allegedly dated Dahlia, to discreetly inquire about her. Everything he’d discovered said that she was a woman devoted to her craft, loyal to a fault and not at all caught up in the shallow facade of what a Hollywood powerhouse was expected to be.

Everyone he’d spoken to had only favorable things to say about Dahlia, not one individual cosigning the tabloid fodder that had been written about her in the past. And much had been written about Dahlia; the supermarket rags read like the gossip bible of all things Dahlia Morrow. But even the tabloids didn’t dispute her talents as a filmmaker, and that in and of itself provoked much thought. Guy was thinking that the exquisite and enigmatic Dahlia Morrow was a woman he really wanted to get to know better.

Chapter 5

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Stallion were seated around the family breakfast table when their sister, Phaedra, made her way into the family home. The four brothers greeted her warmly as she rounded the table, planting kisses on each of their cheeks. Phaedra still marveled at the emotion that bubbled within her each time she was in their presence. Just months earlier she hadn’t had a clue about their existence, and now she was celebrating the joy of having brothers who cared about her well-being and family that loved her unconditionally. Discovering her link to the Stallion lineage had been a whirlwind experience, but she now found herself forever a Stallion, and she loved everything that represented.

“Welcome home,” John, her oldest brother, said as he gestured for her to take a seat at the table beside him.

“Where’s that new husband of yours?” Mark asked casually, his gaze turned toward the doorway.

“He’s headed to the office. Something about the property in Geneva having problems with their front office upgrade,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Luke, the youngest of the Stallion brothers, nodded knowingly. “Geneva’s been a problem from start to finish. I’m hoping Mason can work his magic for us,” he said as he rose to his feet. He tossed his cloth napkin on the table. “I need to meet with him so that we can see if we can get this thing going.” Luke excused himself and exited the room.

Matthew glanced down at the watch on his wrist. “I have to run, as well, but when you get a chance, Phaedra, I need you to stop by my office. Our petition for your name change has been approved by the courts, and we just need to file the final paperwork to insure that all your legal documents reflect your new moniker.”

Mark eyed her curiously, his gaze sweeping around the table. “You changed your name?”

Phaedra nodded. “Yep! I guess I am officially Phaedra Stallion-Boudreaux now.”

John nodded his approval, which made Phaedra smile. As the patriarch of their small family, he was very opinionated about everything his siblings did, and Phaedra was no exception. His endorsement meant the world to her, and she found herself seeking out his opinion on most of her decisions, even her recent marriage to Mason Boudreaux.

Matthew leaned in to kiss her forehead before he headed for the door, Mark following close on his heels. “Katrina is upstairs with Jack,” Matthew said, referring to his wife and newborn son. “She said for you not to leave without coming up to see her. Something about the christening,” he said as he saluted them goodbye.

The familial connection with her brother being married to her husband’s sister was a source of great joy to her, and every time she thought about it she found herself smiling.

“So what’s on your agenda today?” John asked, his booming voice pulling at her attention.

“I was hoping to get your opinion on an investment,” Phaedra said, passing a prospectus in his direction.

With eyebrows raised, John took a moment to review the documents inside, leaning forward as he spread everything out before him. As Phaedra waited, she reached for one of the toasted bagels that rested on a ceramic platter in the center of the table, then slathered it with jalapeño-flavored cream cheese. By her third bite John was tapping numbers into a calculator application on his iPad. His expression was blank, and Phaedra was unable to get a read on what her big brother was thinking. By the time John was done, Phaedra was working on her second bagel, a bowl of fresh fruit and a third cup of coffee.

“So what do you think?” she queried when he finally placed the documents inside their manila folder and sat back in his seat.

He hesitated for a brief moment before responding. “Tell me why this project?” he asked.

“The filmmaker is a dear friend and sorority sister of mine.”

“Dahlia Morrow?”

“Correct. Dahlia and I went to school together. We’ve been the best of friends since the first day we met. We pledged together, and I love her to pieces. Dahlia is good at what she does. This script is one that is near and dear to her heart, and if anyone can bring it to the big screen and turn it into a box office sensation, Dahlia can. She needs help to get there, though, and I really want to help her. But I want to be smart about it, too.”

“Didn’t she just win an Oscar or something?” John asked.

Phaedra nodded. “Her last film, Victory’s Daughter, was nominated for seven Oscars and took Best Picture. Dahlia is the youngest and the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Director.”

“And she has high hopes for this film. What’s it called again?”

“Passionate, after the name of the lead female character.”

“Has she cast her leads yet?”

“Zahara Ginolfi has signed on to play the part of Passionate.”

“Wow,” John exclaimed. “She’s good, and she has a huge following,” he said of the Grammy-winning songstress turned award-winning actress. “I’m impressed. What about the leading man?”

Phaedra grinned. “She just signed Mason’s brother,” she said excitedly.

John laughed. “The Guy Boudreaux! The black Bond himself. Very nice.”

“So should I invest?” Phaedra asked again, her confidence boosted by her brother’s enthusiasm.

John hesitated a second time, resting his elbows against the table and his chin against his fists. His head waved ever so slightly. “This is a tough one,” he started, meeting Phaedra’s gaze. “If you didn’t have a personal connection to the film I would probably advise against it.

“When people invest in films, it’s the potential for a high return that’s the draw, but it is such a big risk with way too many ifs for a novice investor. Movies only do well if it’s a good script, if it has good acting, if it has good production value and if it strikes a chord with distributors. If you are able to get past a number of those issues, the film can do well, but you could still lose everything you put into it if the distribution deals fall short.”

Phaedra nodded as she reflected on John’s comments.

He continued, “I think that in this case, the key reason for you to invest has to be more important than the potential return. You obviously believe in the message of the film and in the filmmaker. You like and support the movie’s producer and cast. I also get the impression that you like the glamour of being involved, an opportunity to bring attention to your own photography perhaps,” he said as he gestured toward the requisite camera she always carried with her. “This is why I say go for it. Consider it a tax write-off like you would if you were giving to a charity. That way it can still benefit you if it doesn’t work out.”

“Thanks,” Phaedra said, her excitement gleaming in her eyes. She threw her arms around her big brother’s neck and kissed his cheek. “I really appreciate your opinion,” she added.

John nodded, giving her a slight wink of his eye. “And after you stop by Matthew’s office, swing by mine and pick up a check for Dahlia. We have to support our family,” he said, his smile warming his dark face.

“I love you,” she said as she hugged him a second time. “And I know that Dahlia will appreciate the support.”

John laughed with her. “I love you, too,” he said.

Phaedra tossed back the last of her coffee. “I need to go up and see those nieces and nephews of ours,” she said as she set her mug back down on the table. “I need to see Marah, too. Is your wife upstairs?”

John shook his head. “No, Marah flew to New York this morning,” he said. “She and her sisters are franchising their dating business, and she’s meeting with some potential investors. She’ll be back tomorrow.”

Phaedra rose to her feet as she gave him a quick wave of her hand. “I’ll catch her tomorrow, then,” she said as she headed for the door. “And I’ll catch up with you later!” She then headed for the second floor and the playroom, where the rest of the Stallion women and babies were gathered.

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