The next week was hectic with Jim Bob mostly out of the office, but Tucker didn’t mind the extra workload to take the pressure off him. As she’d predicted, Ivy had totally flipped out when she’d been served with not only divorce papers but an order to start planning her and the kids’ move. That had made Jim Bob’s life, as well as everyone else’s, a living hell.
Tucker was getting regular phone calls at all hours begging for her to talk some sense into Jim Bob, and in not one of those conversations did Ivy sound sober. Tucker could handle it. At least by taking the calls, Ivy was leaving Jimbo alone for now.
“You’ve got a meeting down on twelve with the teams from Suntrust and TPT Construction,” Syd said as they reviewed her schedule. “They want you to sign off on the preliminary stuff, and if you do, Big Earl will start at the beginning of the month. Someone should tell him jumbo shrimp would be a more appropriate nickname for him.”
She nodded as she glanced over some paperwork. “Anything else?” Tucker was exhausted from the four calls from Ivy, twenty minutes apart, starting at three in the morning. She couldn’t turn her phone off because of work—she’d requested emergencies be routed to her instead of her brother, but lately the only dumpster fire in her life was Ivy. The kids seemed to take the news with some satisfaction that their father would be gone from their lives.
“You got that Oilman’s thing at Mardi Gras World Friday night, and Jim Bob’s the chairman this year and said he’d kill you if you missed it. And…” Syd hesitated.
“Go ahead and spit it out. Unless you’ve booked a meeting with Ivy for the rest of the afternoon that I’m obligated to attend. If you did that, you’re fired.”
“I love you too much for that, but Stella III is off-line again, so I blocked out Monday in case you want to fly out and check it out.”
“Fuck!” She pounded her fist on her desk. “It’s those goddamn safety valves TPT used to cut costs and didn’t think we’d notice. Did they evacuate everyone?”
“They sure did, but you’re right that it’ll take changing those valves out before we stop this same fire drill from happening over and over.”
“I’ll take care of it now and it might save us a trip.” She took all the files Syd held out for her and checked her email one more time.
“You’re not going out to the rig, you mean?”
“It’s the old carrot and stick way of doing business, Syd. The contract we signed with Big Earl is the carrot, and him screwing us on the valves is the stick I plan to beat him with until he’s bleeding on my cypress table in the conference room. That evil little guy has a way of pushing all my buttons, and why my father and him are friends is a complete mystery.”
“Okay, I’d ask to come and watch, but I have a conference call with the coastal erosion group you asked me to join.”
“Until Jim Bob gets his personal life under control, I don’t want to spend too much time in the field, so hopefully all our problems will be solved this easily. After your call see if you can talk Ivy into an around the world tour for the next year.”
“I’d have better luck learning sword swallowing,” Syd said, moving closer to her. “If you don’t get what you want, do you want to send Bubba?”
“He’s been around?” She hadn’t seen her nephew since the prior weekend at the most awkward dinner at Blanchard’s she’d ever attended. It’d been two hours of everyone pretending to love each other until dessert. That’s when the screaming had started, but neither Bubba’s fiancée, Trixie Carlos, nor her parents seemed fazed. Of course, anyone who called their child Trixie and had a Confederate flag tattooed on his bicep was probably used to Jerry Springer–type escapades.
The lesson in all of it was that life was full of different people who considered evolution a dirty word. Her mother’s face, though, had been worth the price of admission. Where Bubba had met this girl was still a mystery, but he definitely needed a prenup, as well as an honest conversation about his life choices.
“Surprisingly, he’s been here on time every day,” Syd said, tapping her watch. “I can’t say for sure he’s not in there playing solitaire, but he’s here, and it’s time for you to go.”
“He’s smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“What do you mean?”
She laughed as she put her jacket on and stood as Syd smoothed down the lapels and straightened her collar. “The gravy train is leaving the station, and Bubba wants to guarantee his seat. Tara could learn a few things from him even though she swears she’s the smart one.”
“I’ll let him know to be on standby, then.”
“Thanks, and this shouldn’t take too long. Want to have lunch at the Petroleum Club after? It’s rib eye day.”
“I’ll make a reservation, and every day is rib eye day for you, so I’m not falling for that again, caveman.”
Tucker was early and the only one in the room, which gave her the chance to review their monthly numbers. Oil prices were always in flux, but the recent drop had hit the majors more than them, so she was happy with their profit margins. They were healthy enough to consider the pipeline and gasoline plant Jim Bob had been pushing for. Granted, it would take years of bureaucracy to get through, but everything was possible if you were willing to put in the time.
“Hey, Tucker.” Earl Peters with TPT came in with his son. Earl was her father’s age, but there was no way he was allowing Earl Jr. any power until he was dead and had no say in the matter. “We’re excited about this.”
“You might want to pull your shorts up and take a breath.”
Jonathan Mann was right behind Earl and Junior, and he’d brought Willow with him. Tucker had given up leaving messages since Willow had effectively disappeared. There was no way she hadn’t gotten the messages she’d left, which meant she wasn’t at all interested in talking to her. Willow had vanished like some act in Vegas, and she had to admit it sucked. Losing wasn’t in her nature, and it certainly was a novelty when it came to women. If you didn’t care, you couldn’t get hurt, and that was a rule she needed to get back to.
“Is there a problem?” Jonathan asked, shaking her hand and taking a seat.
“I’ve got a natural gas platform dead in the water for the fourteenth time this year, Earl, because you replaced the main safety valves with cheaper models. We’ve tried being nice, and patient, but time’s up. You’ve dragged your feet hoping I’d eat the cost of replacing them, so there’s no way in hell I’m letting you anywhere near another project of ours.” She didn’t raise her voice, but she could see Earl’s face getting redder and Junior’s hand on his arm as if to keep him in check.
“You signed a contract, Tucker, and if you had doubts, you shouldn’t have.”
“And you should’ve had your legal department review what you signed. We’ve got the right to change our minds before you cut the first piece of steel. A platform I’ve had to evacuate because I’m not going to endanger any one of my people’s lives gives me plenty of reasons to change my mind.” She straightened the papers she’d been reviewing and placed them back in the folder.
“Come on, Tucker,” Jonathan said with his hands out. “You know Big Earl’s good for this.”
“If you want to gamble with your people, go ahead, but I’m not spending the next two years wondering where Big Earl cut corners.” She stood up with only the financial sheets she’d brought down. “I’m positive your legal team knows every comma and period in that contract, so I guess we won’t see you two at the beginning of the month. If you want to proceed, Jon, I can’t stop you, but we’re out.”
“What’d Jim Bob say about all this?” Earl asked.
“My equal partner, you mean?” Her question made Junior’s fingers turn white on Earl’s arm. “You want to call him, call him.” She moved the phone toward him. “If you want, I’ll dial, but he wanted me to tell you that questioning what I’m saying is the fastest way to definitely lose the contract even if you make the damned structure out of gold.”
“What can we do to fix this?” Jonathan asked.
She tilted her head, thinking. “We’ll need an addendum to the existing contract that even one deviation from what we agreed to in the interest of cutting costs, and you’re going to eat the repairs we contract.” Jefferson had already drafted what they wanted, so she handed it over.
“This is ridiculous,” Earl said. “You’re shitting on my reputation.”
“You’re here because Suntrust pushed for you, Earl. Believe me, Jim Bob and I wouldn’t hire you again to build a doghouse, much less this massive project.” She took some more papers and gave Earl and Jonathan each a copy. “That’s the court order to halt any construction until our demands are met. Defy it and I hope you’ve got a place to park that big platform, Jon, because it sure as shit won’t be on our lease.”
“Let’s all take a few days to review, and we’ll meet again,” Jonathan said. “We take safety seriously, and I’m sure we could come up with some understanding we’re all happy with.”
“Sounds reasonable,” she said, handing Earl one more sheet. “That’s a copy of the invoice you’ll be getting from the manufacturer. You can either pay it, or wait and pay it along with the hefty legal fees when we drag you into court.”
“Jesus, Tucker, I did business with your daddy. I can’t believe you’re treating me like this.” Earl could have a sideline as a traffic cone he was so short, stout, and red.
“BP changed the game, Earl, and I’m not willing to become the next lead story for every major news outlet for a fucking year because you want to treat yourself to a bonus. Good afternoon, everyone. I’ll be waiting on that call.”
She walked out, giving them the chance to talk without her in the room. The door opened again as she pressed the up button on the elevator. All the screaming made her smile but not turn around.
“Tucker.” Willow spoke in a tone that made her think her name should’ve been followed by we’re ready to start your colonoscopy, asshole.
“Hey, are you okay?” She’d tried her best to keep her focus off Willow in the meeting, but there was no denying it was nice seeing her again. If she was honest, she hadn’t stopped thinking about her. “I tried calling, but I got the impression you wanted me to stop.”
“I should’ve gotten back to you, but I don’t appreciate being the butt of any joke.”
“Who does?” The elevator door opened but she let it go back up. “Did I give you the impression I’d done that?”
“Don’t lie and say you’ve never heard of me.”
“I don’t follow.” The decision not to get in the elevator was a big mistake because her drama radar was pinging hard. If that was the case she’d have to ease on up Bubba and her family since they’d had the decency to lose their shit at a fancy restaurant and not at work. “Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”
“Are you telling me you don’t know who I am?”
Willow was beautiful but had that crazy vibe about her that would make this project fun if it went through. “Of course I know who you are. We had dinner and did other things, remember?” This conversation was like putting together a piece of furniture from IKEA when the only directions were in Russian. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Great, just great,” Willow said, sounding like she was winding up, so Tucker pressed the elevator button again. “You and your brother must’ve had a good laugh about me.”
“Calm down, and explain.” That comment was like applying jumper cables to someone’s genitals, since it perked Willow up, but not in a good way.
“You and your brother can fucking drop dead. I don’t know what you got out of this—”
The elevator door opened and Tucker got in without saying anything else. Willow appeared mortified at the outburst, but there were certain things you couldn’t take back, and this certainly qualified.
“Tucker, wait,” Willow said, but Tucker wasn’t sticking around for any other outbursts.
The door slid closed. “Next time, idiot, keep your pants on.” She rested her head against the cool elevator wall and wished the day away.
* * *
“Shit,” Willow said, wanting to get to Monique before Tucker got to Jim Bob. If Tucker was the vindictive type, though, her brother wouldn’t be her first call—Jonathan Mann would be.
She grabbed her purse and was relieved Jonathan was in a deep conversation with Earl Peters. She left quickly and pulled out her phone. Why had she thought she could keep this from her sister?
“Hey,” Monique said when she answered her call. “You okay? You sound like you’re breathing hard.”
“Before I say anything, promise you won’t get mad.” She stared at the pictures of the Delacroix rigs in the waiting area of the conference room and wanted the day to be over, or maybe a benevolent God would allow her to relive it. If that happened, she’d promise to make better choices, or at least not use the word fuck so willy-nilly. “Let me rephrase. You’re going to get pissed, but let me explain before you start yelling.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Monique said in her usual compassionate way.
“I told Tucker Delacroix she and her brother could fucking drop dead.”
The silence that followed was about as comfortable as watching Tucker walk away. “Is there some reason you did that? I mean, have you completely lost your mind? Never mind that I’m engaged to her brother, but that wasn’t a wise career move.”
“I wasn’t totally up-front about some stuff. Are you free?”
“I will be in about thirty minutes. The nurse is reviewing some stuff the doctor wanted.” The way Monique was now clipping words meant she was pissed. “I’ll meet you at the Mediterranean place down the block from you.”
“Thanks.” What she’d said was wrong, but being played was in no way a forgivable offense either. I need to learn to be pissed in silence.
She sat and ordered a Lebanese tea while she waited and rehearsed exactly what she was going to say. Her main problem was the look on Tucker’s face as those elevator doors were sliding shut. If there was a way to cut her to the core, it seemed like Willow had found it with a big cherry on top. The sprinkle on this fuckup sundae was going to be the lecture she knew was coming from Monique.
“Hey,” she said when Monique walked in. “I know you’re mad, but there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for what happened.”
“I’m not staying, so I hope you didn’t order anything for me,” Monique said, holding her purse like a protective shield in front of her. “You can’t keep attacking my choices without it eventually damaging our relationship. I get it. You hate Jim Bob, you hate that we have Grady together, and you hate that I’m some idiot who’s nothing more than a notch in Jim Bob’s bedpost.”
“That’s not it at all.”
“Let me finish, please.” Monique held her hand up, and the way she was talking and acting was new. They’d had arguments before, but always about stupid shit. “What you did today doesn’t in any way resemble the woman I know and love, and it’s up to you to fix it. Forget about me and Jim Bob, forget about how much you hate and disapprove about the whole situation, and start thinking about your future.”
She leaned in and tried to touch Monique but she moved away from her. “What are you talking about? Don’t you want to hear why I said it?”
“I’m talking about your job, Willow. Jim Bob and Tucker Delacroix are more than simply my future family, they’re joint owners of Delacroix Oil. If you’ve forgotten, that’s the company you’re getting ready to partner with in the massive project I’ve heard everything about for the last year.” Monique spoke to her like she was trying to get a dimwitted dog to give her its paw. “One call to Jonathan Mann and you’ll be standing in the unemployment line wondering what the hell happened. Will losing everything you’ve worked for be worth the satisfaction of telling Tucker to drop dead?”
“No, but—”
“I don’t want to hear it. Fix it, and I’m staying out of it. The good thing here is that I haven’t heard from Jim Bob, which means Tucker might be slightly more mature than you.”
“But—” she started but Monique stood and walked out without a backward glance. “Fuck me and my big mouth.” She disagreed with Monique but she was partly right. What she’d said had crossed the line of polite human behavior, but she knew that Tucker had played her, and that was hard to overlook without the use of the word fuck, liberally and with plenty of emphasis. Sighing and pushing away the feeling of righteous anger, she picked up her phone.
“Tucker Delacroix’s office,” a woman said, sounding like her nose was pinched shut.
“I’d like to speak to Tucker, please. This is Willow Vernon with Suntrust.”
“Ms. Delacroix is out at lunch, but I’ll take a message for her.”
“Can you tell me where?” She crossed her fingers, hoping she could fix this before heading back to her office where she could worry herself into a killer-bees-attacking-the-city kind of frenzy.
“I could, but I’d also like to keep my job, so it’s the message or nothing.”
Would it be too soon to start with that fuck thing? “Thank you, and can you tell her it’s rather urgent,” she said and left her cell number. All she could do was wait.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Syd asked as they walked to the Petroleum Club across the street from their building.
“One of the Suntrust people cursed me with a death wish.” Tucker smiled a little when Syd placed her hand in the bend of her elbow.
“Wow, I’ve heard of tough contract negotiations, but that’s harsh. Did they bring a doll and stick pins in it?” Syd combed her hair back, trying to keep it out of her face in the stiff wind.
“She probably had one in her purse since I think my brain went numb at some point trying to understand what the hell was going on.”
Syd laughed and moved her hand to slap her on the ass. “She? Now we’re getting somewhere. Who was this sorceress who wants you dead?”
“She’s the engineer Mann put in charge of the project.”
“Spill. I know there’s more to it.” Syd tugged her along when the light changed and moved closer to her. “Just because I won’t sleep with you doesn’t mean I don’t realize how devastatingly good-looking you are, so either you slept with her or you didn’t.”
“Maybe I should find a priest to confess to instead of you. It might be less humiliating, and it’ll lower my chances of being blackmailed when you need a new car or something.” She opened the door for Syd and was glad they were the only ones in the elevator to the thirtieth floor. “I slept with her.” It didn’t take long to arrive at the private restaurant, but the story of her and Willow wasn’t that long either.
“If you ask me, you dodged a bullet. The woman sounds nuts.”
“I don’t know, Syd, she was pretty adamant as she said that. There has to be something to it, don’t you think? And why include Jim Bob?” They looked at each other when they were seated by one of the windows on the river side of the place, and Tucker suspected her face reflected Syd’s wide-eyed dawning recognition. “You don’t think…? I mean, I didn’t ask if she dated men too…”
“You guys share everything, but let’s not go there. I’d rather not get sick to my stomach before we eat.”
“Can I get you anything to drink?” the waiter asked.
“You want to splurge a little?” Tucker asked Syd.
“A bottle of pinot, your best, since my sexy beast of a boss is paying,” Syd said and both Tucker and the waiter laughed.
“You’re going to get in trouble one day calling me that,” Tucker said, answering her cell. The office. “Hey,” she said.
“Sorry to bother you, Tucker, but a Willow Vernon called and said it was rather urgent she talk to you. I didn’t want to wait on the off chance it really is someone you’d like to talk to.”
“I’d rather have my fingers ripped off by a rabid monkey.”
“That’s rather descriptive.”
“Do me a favor and call her back. Tell her I did her a favor and dropped dead. To her at least, so she doesn’t need to call back.” Why she cared to respond at all was beyond her, but Willow had cut deep enough for her to want to hurt her back. That alone was enough to confuse her. Why the hell did she care? But Willow had seemed so special…until she wasn’t.
* * *
“Can you meet me at the house tonight? I want to get the rest of my clothes, and the guy the attorney hired is coming.” Jim Bob had left for Houston that morning and was on his way to the private airstrip to hop on their plane back. “I’m giving Ivy a year to move out, but we need an inventory of the pieces that belong to the house. If any of them walk, she’ll forfeit the alimony payments.”
“Why the hell would I subject myself to your divorce drama?” Tucker asked.
“Because you love me, and you’re in the mood for a good steak with your old brother. We have plenty to talk about, and I miss you.”
“Yeah, it’s been a whole day since I’ve seen you,” she teased. Their living arrangement was going well, but they’d been so busy they actually hadn’t seen each other all that much.
He dropped his briefcase on the seat next to him and nodded when the copilot held up the liquor bottle. “I had coffee with you this morning, so don’t exaggerate.”
“I was kidding. I miss you too, and only seeing you for a few minutes at a time lately hasn’t been enough. We really do have plenty to talk about.”
“Thanks for covering for me at work, and I want you to know how proud of you I am.” He smiled at the guy who handed him the drink. “I also love you, and I’m so thankful you’re my best friend. The day Mom told me you were coming, I had mixed feelings, but I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”
“Thanks, buddy. I feel the same way about you. You’ve made my life fun, and you’ve been a great big brother.”
“I cherish every memory.” His eyes watered, so he put his drink down to rub the emotions way.
“Are you feeling okay? Not that I mind, but you seldom sound like a Hallmark greeting card.”
“It’s all this crap I’ve got to go through to get to where I’m going and want to be.” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I also don’t want to miss an opportunity to tell you how I feel. You deserve it for always having been there for me. Maybe that’s the mistake I made with my family.”
“Eventually, you’re going to have to accept that not everything is your fault. You’re a perfect big brother and I’m lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one, Tuck. Promise me you’ll try to live life to be happy. Don’t settle,” he said, wishing someone had told him that years before. “That’s what you deserve. Hey, I also want to talk to you about something important.”
“That’s what we all deserve, old man. Now come home, so we can get your stuff and go to dinner. We’ll talk about whatever, and I’ll tell you what happened to me today.”
“I’ll call you when I get there.” He drained his glass and smiled. “Love you, Tuck.”
“Love you too, and thanks for everything you said. It means a lot.”
“I meant every word, and I’m going to remind you what you mean to me often. Think of it as the new me.”
Tucker laughed. “I happened to think the old you is pretty awesome, so don’t get nuts on me.”
“You really think so?” The memory of a twelve-year-old Tucker catching her first swordfish popped into his head. He thought she was the only person in his life who loved him, warts and all, and he really did cherish every single memory they’d made together.
“You might be older, Jimbo, but you’ve made my life fun. When it came to families, I lucked out, especially in the sibling department.”
“I’m glad you think so, and let’s stop before we get any sappier.”
“Fly safe.”
The flight took an hour, and having a company plane meant it was a twenty-foot walk to his car. He did want to get the rest of his stuff, but he wanted to stop and see Monique before he had to face Ivy. Monique hadn’t been feeling well, and he wanted to check on her before the delightful Willow got home. For not knowing much about him, the woman hated his guts, but he could see her side of things. Monique hadn’t talked about her sister much, but their few meetings had left a definite impression.
“Thanks, guys,” he said when they landed. The drive to Monique’s felt like the beginning of a whole new life. Whatever time he’d wasted on forced obligations was over, and he’d strive to live up to the ones of his choosing. Life was way too short to be burning in hell all the time.
“Welcome home, baby,” Monique said when she met him at the door, holding Grady.
“It’s good to be back, and I have good news.” He took the baby and kissed his cheeks. “Hey, little man.” Grady kicked his legs, and he wanted to weep from how cute this kid was.
“Come into the kitchen,” Monique said after he kissed her. “I was starting dinner.”
“None for me, darlin’. I’m meeting Tucker later. She’s agreed to meet me at the house to help me finish moving my stuff out.” He sat and held Grady against his shoulder. “My attorney said I can fast-track my divorce. Six months instead of a year means Grady won’t grow up thinking I’m a total bastard.”
“Grady is never going to think that, so don’t ever say it again.” Monique sounded so adamant it brightened his mood.
“I don’t want him growing up thinking I wasn’t a stand-up guy.”
“I want you to listen to me, okay?” Monique took the pot off the burner so she could frame his face with her hands. “You don’t like talking about it, but Ivy’s drinking has a lot to do with your family’s dynamic. It’s not your fault, and it won’t be like that with Grady.”
“I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you. Thank you again for saying yes.”
“I feel the same way.” Monique took the baby, placed him on his activity blanket on the floor, and stepped between Jim Bob’s legs. “I love you, and I can’t wait for the day you’re staying permanently.”
“It won’t be long now, but let me get going before Tucker ends up over there alone.” Jim Bob kissed Monique slowly, enjoying the feel of her. If he had the power to advance time, he would pay to do it, but now they had an end date to all this, and that was something. “You make it hard to go in more ways than one.”
Monique laughed when she pressed harder into his groin. “Remember not to fall for any bait anyone throws out, and call me later,” Monique said, easing up.
“Are you feeling better? I can put this off until tomorrow.” He was an idiot for forgetting to ask before now. Monique had called him and shared what the doctor had said, and he was starting to worry about her erratic numbers.
“I’m fine. Get this over with, but don’t forget to call or I’ll worry.”
“There’s no way I’ll ever forget.” He closed his eyes when she hugged him as if they wouldn’t see each other for a while. “Do you think Tucker will be really pissed that I didn’t tell her about you and Grady? I know you didn’t want me to, but I think I should have.”
“I want to meet your family when I don’t have to hide what you mean to me, and I may have never met her, but from your stories, she loves you. When you love someone, forgiveness is part of the package.”
“I hope you’re right, but let’s plan on dinner this weekend, and she can meet you and Grady.”
“I can’t wait.”