Good Woman Blues (30 page)

“Don’t get that picture in your head. Not
now,” Darlene mumbled to herself. She used the palm of one hand to
press wrinkles from her skirt. As she left, Shanae came out of the
conference room and closed the door behind her.

“They’re all settled in. I did my best to
soften them up for you.”

“With friends like you, I just might pull
through all this.” Darlene gave her a look of gratitude.

“Long as you need me to watch your back I’m
here.” Shanae gave a sharp nod.

“Thanks,” Darlene said, and headed for the
conference room again. She only hoped Shanae would feel the same
when rumors became confirmed facts. When she opened the door
conversation died away. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Harold Ledoux replied. He gave her
a grave nod. Kelvin and two other board members greeted her.

Darlene willed herself not to stare at
Kelvin. “I just talked to Mrs. Howard at Scardina Produce Company.
We’ll be able to keep buying bulk items for meals. At least for
another thirty days. That should give Alexis time to get our line
of credit approved.”

“That’s all well and good,” Harold broke in.
‘The board knows you’re trying to patch up this situation.” “Yes,
I’m making every effort to make sure the center doesn’t suffer,”
Darlene replied. Their expressions made her feel cornered.

The vice president of the board cleared her
throat. Mrs. Walker seemed the most sympathetic of the four.
“Darlene, we need to have a frank discussion, painful as it might
be. As a member of the executive committee, you can trust us to be
discreet.”

“We can’t keep secrets that affect the
center. And this is not a board meeting. Just want to make that
clear,” Harold said. “We wouldn’t want anyone accusing us of
violating the open meeting laws.”

“Yes, yes, Harold.” Mrs. Walker waved at him
to be quiet. She was probably the only one who could get away with
that. He pressed his lips together.

Though she knew what was coming, Darlene
still hoped it wasn’t true. She wanted to shake herself awake and
end the bad dream. Darlene glanced at Kelvin. He would not look at
her. He wouldn’t risk his neck if they asked for her
resignation.

“We need to clear up this problem quickly,”
Mrs. Walker said carefully.

The silence after her statement seemed to
suck air from the room. They all looked at Darlene for some
response. Mr. Ledoux had a sour expression while the others and
Kelvin remained silent. Mrs. Walker alone seemed in her element.
Darlene drew in a breath and let it out.

“Alexis hasn’t completed her review, but so
far there doesn’t appear to be some error on the part of the bank.
Checks were written for supplies and equipment at the center as
usual. I’m going match every check to invoices I approved for the
last three months,” she said. Darlene knew what they were
thinking.

“I see.” Mrs. Walker drew herself up in
preparation for more “painful discussion.” “Then the figure we
heard is correct? Almost twenty thousand dollars is gone?”

“My Lord,” Mrs. Morrison, another board
member, burst out.

“We’re out of business.” Mr. Ledoux shook his
head. He glared at Darlene.

“Alexis is working to get us a line of
credit. That should help. I think we should have a major
fundraising event. My niece Erikka has experience in that area.
Alexis is willing to assist us. She even has a few ideas,” Darlene
hastened to respond, when the others glanced at her as well. “I’m
in the process of finishing up a strategy. We can have an emergency
board meeting to review it.”

Mrs. Walker wore an expression of regret. She
looked at Mr. Ledoux. “We have a problem, dear.”

“Problem is right, with street credibility as
the young folks say these days. Your niece has had her own
problems. Add it all up and— how should I put this?” Mr. Ledoux
looked at Darlene.

“Are you accusing us of embezzlement? I’ve
poured my heart into this place.” Darlene stood.

“Being defensive doesn’t help.” Harold’s
bushy eyebrows formed one fuzzy line in anger.

“We can’t afford to sling accusations against
a valued employee without evidence,” Mrs. Walker said pointedly.
“She’d have every right to sue us.”

“I never said ...” Harold’s gruff voice
trailed off. The idea of a lawsuit seemed to shock him into pulling
back. He blinked rapidly.

“We have enough to contend with as it is,”
Mrs. Walker finished. “Unless we want to padlock the front doors,
we’d better pull together. Darlene, is Alexis sure the money is
gone?”

Darlene sat down again. “Yes.”

“Kelvin, what do you think?” Mrs. Walker said
quietly. He cleared his throat and shot a brief glance at Darlene
before looking away again. “We can’t afford more turmoil. I think
we should allow Mrs. Mason time to come up with this plan.”

His response sounded cold, but Darlene didn’t
have time to feel sorry for herself. “I’m prepared to work
twenty-four/seven to save this place. You can watch every move I
make if that’s what you need.”

“Frankly I think we need to appoint a
temporary liaison between the director and the board.”

Mrs. Walker nodded. “I agree. Darlene, have
whatever plan you want to propose ready. Kelvin, present it, and
we’ll review all options then.”

The committee members left after muted
good-byes. Unlike most meetings no one wanted to linger for
chitchat or more coffee. All seemed ready to get away. Darlene was
just as grateful to reach her office and shut the door. Actually,
she slammed it hard enough to make the walls shake. Her phone rang
at that moment. She didn’t even have time for a good cry.

***

“Wonderful.” Nadine beamed at the staff. She
looked at the other two partners, Brinkhaus and Calder. “We have a
list of happy, happy clients. Good work everyone.”

Erikka basked in the glow when Nadine favored
her with a special wink. Her second week back at work and Erikka’s
brownie points just kept going up. The other four associates wore
expressions that ranged from admiration to annoyance, especially
Laurie. Her “I just swallowed a bug” grimace gave Erikka particular
pleasure.

“Now about Layton.” Brinkhaus, a lanky man
with graying brown hair, steepled his long fingers.

“We are working to switch their self-funded
pension plan over to 401(k)s,” Erikka put in with confidence.
“Health coverage costs will go down fifteen percent with a new
company.”

“The CFO had lots of warm fuzzy things to say
about our Erikka,” Nadine said with a nod.

“Bet the employees didn’t,” Jarvis said, as a
low aside. His liberal leanings were well-known.

Erikka looked straight at him. “The employees
have to pay more, but that beats the alternative. Layton had plans
to cut benefits sharply.”

Nadine seemed not to have heard Jarvis. She
swiveled her chair toward Erikka, nodded, and turned to her two
fellow partners. “Excellent. This firm is now known for being
experts on employee-benefit plans. We already have an envious rep
on expansion funding.”

“Don’t forget our good works,” Calder added.
Short and plump, he looked dapper in a dark olive green suit and
gray tie.

“Did I mention that our three closest
competitors envy us?” Nadine’s satisfied laugh tinkled around the
room. The associates joined in, except Jarvis.

“Everyone has pulled together to give us a
good quarter. Kudos,” Brinkhaus said in a bland tone. He wasn’t
known for being ebullient. Compliments weren’t his style
either.

“Thanks everyone.” Nadine said to the
associates, a signal that the meeting was over. The two male
partners left. “Erikka, follow me to my office.”

“Sure.” Erikka gave Laurie a serene smile as
the rest of the staff walked out. Laurie pretended not to
notice.

“I won’t keep you long. I don’t want to keep
you from the Bastion, Inc. matter.” Nadine marched ahead of Erikka
without looking back as she spoke. She’d managed to remind Erikka
not to dawdle in her signature- smooth way.

“Right. I’ve just about finished the first
review of the information they sent over.” Erikka followed her.

“Really? We got the reports yesterday. I
wasn’t aware they hadn’t sent everything.” Nadine entered her
office and went straight to her desk, then sat down. She crossed
her legs.

Erikka closed the door. “I asked for more.
They only sent their profit and loss statements. I want to look at
everything down to how much they spend on office supplies.”

“Excellent.” Nadine tilted her chair back.
“You rolled right into the fast lane. I told the other partners you
would.”

“I appreciate it, too. I know you stuck your
neck out for me,” Erikka replied.

“Just a minute. We need to talk about Layton,
Inc. A few disgruntled employees are making trouble. They’re even
using scare tactics like threatening a lawsuit, saying the company
is hiding something.” Nadine’s words came out fast like bullet
points. “I want you to draft a counteroffensive. Talk about lost
productivity through employee absenteeism, employee theft,
etc.”

Erikka felt her words whizzing by. The one
that didn’t get lost in the buzz was lawsuit. “What about their
income statements? That should—”

“Smoke screen, my dear. The employees want to
stop those changes. If the U.S Attorney gets involved—well, we both
know what a nightmare that could be. Of course, you didn’t do
anything wrong. I’ll swear to that.”

“Excuse me?” Erikka stared at her in
shock.

“Not that it will come anywhere close to a
criminal investigation. The entire thing is absurd. Which is why we
need to hit back hard. I’m sure you see that.” Nadine wore a calm
expression as she looked at Erikka.

“No, I’m not sure I do,” Erikka said
softly.

“Let me see what you map out. Here, look over
these, and I’ll get with you in the morning.” Nadine handed her a
thick folder.

“Okay.”

Erikka took it without remembering when she
reached out. In a daze she somehow made it down the hall to her
office. She opened the expanding file and removed the stack of
papers. Four hours and dozens of sheets later, Erikka left the
office wishing she could satisfy her thirst for a stiff drink.

Chapter 18

Gabriel watched Erikka as she laughed at a
joke his father told. So did Gabriel. His mother forced a tight
smile that vanished quickly. At least he’d served dinner at his
house. Whenever he thought Erikka was distracted, Gabriel would
shoot a sideways glance at his mother. Glances she pretended not to
see. Rachel had suggested they all have dinner. Gabriel had agreed
to do the cooking. Rachel had objected, saying she wanted to
prepare one of her specialties. They’d had a tug of war that
Gabriel finally won. Rachel Cormier would have been even more
imperial on her own turf. As it was, she kept looking for an
opening to intimidate Erikka.

“I can’t believe you’ve never heard those old
Cajun jokes about Boudreaux. I know dozens of ’em. Why there’s the
one about how Boudreaux became the first Cajun on the moon. See he
drank rocket fuel and—” Charles leaned back to go on.

Rachel gave a discreet cough into her linen
napkin to get his attention. “Erikka hasn’t had much of a chance to
say anything, Charles. Besides, I don’t think that joke is
appropriate for the dinner table.”

“Guess you’re right, sweetie. I’ll tell you
later,” he said in a loud whisper to Erikka, then winked at
her.

“I’m going to hold you to that promise.”
Erikka pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at him.

Gabriel groaned inwardly when his mother gave
his father a stony look. He jumped in to head off trouble.
“Everybody save room for dessert. Erikka made lemon chess pie.
She’s a wonderful cook.”

Rachel smoothed her napkin carefully on her
lap again. “Did you learn at home? A lot of girls from large
families learn that way.”

“I only have one sister. Actually, my
grandmother taught me. I enjoy being in the kitchen, mixing and
seasoning dishes. I find it to be relaxing after a long day at the
office.”

“Know what you mean. Fishing helped me unwind
when I wasn’t working. Back then I’d head out first thing on
Saturday mornings. Took the kids with me.” Charles was about to go
on when Rachel silenced him with a look. He cleared his throat and
drank deeply from his glass of iced tea.

“You worked for a large accounting office in
New Orleans. Guess adjusting to a slower pace took some doing.”
Rachel nodded at her.

“It certainly did,” Erikka replied, without
elaborating.

“How about that pie? I brewed us fresh
coffee. Decaf.” Gabriel pointed a finger at Charles.

“I know you’ve got some good Louisiana dark
roast in this house, boy. Can’t wash down Erikka’s pie with brown
water,” Charles complained.

“No caffeine for you, Dad.”

“That’s right, Charles. You men go in and get
the dessert. Erikka and I will wait right here while you serve us,”
Rachel said, with a sweet expression.

“I thought—” Gabriel started, but Erikka cut
him off. “Good idea. You guys show us what you can do. We’ll be
fine,” Erikka said, with a smile.

“Put us to work, huh? Come on, son. We’ve got
our marching orders.” Charles slapped Gabriel on the back, and then
started clearing the table.

Moments later the two men were in the kitchen
alone. Gabriel moved around quickly, putting the pie and dessert
plates on a tray. “Grab that other tray, Dad. Everything is there.
Just pour coffee into the carafe, and we’ll be all set.”

“Don’t want to leave Erikka at Rachel’s mercy
for too long, I reckon.” Charles gave a chuckle. He took his time,
despite Gabriel’s instructions. “Relax. I do believe Rachel has met
her match.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Now come on.”
Gabriel nodded toward the dining room, eager to return.