Power Play (The Billionaire's Club: New Orleans) by Mallery Malone Read Free Book Online Page A

competitors?”
    “You have a point, sir.” She took a sip of her tea. “I suppose you and your partners get a lot of media attention, solicited or otherwise.”
    “We do,” he acknowledged as their basil rolls and soup arrived. “We’ve each learned to deal with it in our own way. The usual attention I get has died down since I took over JerTech, but I’m still the public face for my company and for DJD Holdings as a whole. These days, I’m mostly photographed at charity events.”
    “That must bore someone like you to tears.”
    “Someone like me?” His eyebrows rose. “You know me, Macy. At least, you used to. Doyou really think I’ve changed so much?”
    Guilt pricked her as she realized she’d offended him. Instead of apologizing, she said, “That’s why we’re here, right? To get to know each other again?”
    He gave her a long look full of serious regard. “The first thing you should know is that the media’s first goal is to make money, not tell the truth. Painting me as a serial playboy—and God knows I gave them the ammunition—made them a ton of money. It also gave me a lot of publicity, which I used to help my collective businesses, and our charity work.” He toyed with his tea. “Considering how each one of us had someone who saved us from ourselves, giving back is the least we can do.”
    She wondered if he meant her and her family, Armand Duparte, or someone else. The emotion that filled his tone was sincere, causing her to seriously question what she knew of Raphael Jerroult now versus what she used to know. Was that man still inside him? Had he been there all along, protected by the playboy facade?
    She struggled for a lighter, safer topic. “When did you take over JerTech again?”
    “A year ago. My last fight left me with a pretty severe shoulder injury. I had the best doctors put it back together but I knew it essentially was a weakness that would be exploited by my opponents if I ever entered a ring again. So I retired from Muay Thai and focused on using my brain instead of my brawn to make money. I’d already dusted off my business degree a few years back when Sebastian, Gabriel, and I decided to pool our prize money and form DJD. Besides, it was high time for me to come back. I didn’t like the feeling that I couldn’t hack running something my father half-assed his way through after my mother died.”
    “You could have done it and been good at it back then, Raffie,” she refuted, reaching over to wrap her fingers around his. “You worked there summers in high school. College was allabout you taking over the business one day. But no one should have expected you to lead the company immediately after your father’s death. That shouldn’t have been asked of anyone, least of all a twenty-two-year-old.”
    “Maybe.” He gave her a brief smile. “I figured I had something to prove, like the first time I stepped into a ring in Thailand. I threw my whole self into fast-tracking through the company, learning all I could. I gave myself the length of my rehabilitation to understand the ins and outs of managing JerTech, and as soon as I had a clean bill of health, I officially assumed leadership.”
    Their food arrived, red curry for him, spicy noodles for her. Macy dug in with gusto despite knowing she’d have to pay for it with a longer workout the next day. At his gentle prodding, she filled him in on the highlights of culinary school, her favorite desserts, the scary opportunity to open her restaurant, the lean first year, then finally achieving enough success to open Lovelace. He told her of his time in Thailand, a country he clearly loved if the tone of his voice was any indication.
    Dinner went better than she’d expected, with none of the awkwardness she had assumed the years would show. Sitting and talking to him over spicy curry was like picking up a jump rope again. Muscle memory kicked in, years and distance fell away, and she found herself laughing and leaning into