His Partnership Proposal
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Jacquelin Thomas
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CHAPTER ONE
AUBRIE DUGRANDPRE STARED out the window at the fifty or so guests milling around the massive backyard, made more beautiful by stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. Although Polk Island was just across the bridge from Charleston, she didn’t get there often because of the long hours she worked.
“Why are you in here?” her mother asked. “You should be outside greeting everyone along with your brother and cousins.”
“This is a DuGrandpre Law Firm gathering,” she responded. “I’m just catering the event.”
“You are a DuGrandpre, dear. The firm is kicking off its weeklong sixtieth anniversary celebration with this private party for our high-profile clients. We’re all expected to participate.”
“Why aren’t you out there?” Aubrie asked. “You’re one of the senior partners.”
“I’m on my way now,” Rochelle stated. “I had a bit of a wardrobe mishap earlier. I’ve put on a few pounds, and I can’t seem to get rid of them.”
“Mom, you look great.”
She smiled. “Thank you for saying that, but now I’m going to have to invest in some new clothes if I can’t shed the weight.”
“Maybe cutting out the desserts and pasta might help.”
Rochelle frowned. “I know...it’s just that I love them.”
“Maybe don’t eat them as much. Mom, why don’t you start coming to the gym with me?”
“I might just do that, Aubrie.”
Rochelle and her husband, Jacques, were senior partners in the firm which had a rich history in Charleston since the 1960s when Aubrie’s grandparents relocated from New Orleans with their twin sons to open the doors of the DuGrandpre Law Offices. Etienne and Jacques shared control of the firm after their parents retired. Aubrie was the only one in their family who’d opted to become a chef instead of following tradition and becoming a lawyer.
At thirty-three years old, Aubrie was the proud owner of two restaurants: one in New Orleans and the other in Charleston. She’d recently investigated opening a third and considered an island location.
“I guess we’d better get out there,” Aubrie said. “Looks like the family is gathering together. It’s nice to see our New Orleans relatives here.”
“Yes, it is,” Rochelle agreed.
Aubrie followed her mother to the patio and into clear skies and bright sunshine. It was a beautiful day. She was looking forward to the start of summer, her favorite season.
They were met by her father.
“I was about to come looking for you two,” Jacques said.
“I’m sorry, hon. I had trouble finding something to wear,” Rochelle responded, giving him a tender look. “I’ve got to do something about my weight.”
Aubrie smiled. “I told Mom that she looks fine.”
“Yes, she does.”
Taking Jacques by the hand, Rochelle said, “I guess we should make our rounds.”
Aubrie navigated through the sea of guests, smiling and pausing every now and then to chat with a few. She made her way to the back where she had a clear view of the oceanfront.
I’d rather be out there swimming in the ocean than standing around at this party right now.
If she’d had her way, she would just attend the anniversary gala on the following Saturday. She didn’t work at the law firm and didn’t see the importance of having to be present for every event planned this week. Besides, there was always someone who inquired as to why she chose to be a chef instead of following in her family’s footsteps. Aubrie didn’t like feeling as if she had to defend her decision. She’d had to do this with her family in the beginning, but she refused to continue doing so with outsiders.
As she walked around greeting guests, she made her way to the gazebo overlooking the beautiful ocean. The view was simply breathtaking. She thought back to Jadin and Landon’s wedding, which had been held at the estate. A touch of sadness swept through her. Seven years ago, she was planning her own wedding...
“Why are you standing over here by yourself?” her cousin Jordin inquired, bringing Aubrie out of her musings. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Your mother was asking if there’s more chicken in the kitchen.”
“There is,” Aubrie said. “I’ll bring it out.”
“Do you need any help?” Jordin asked.
“No, I can handle it.”
“Where’s Michelle?”
Aubrie glanced around for a sighting of her best friend. “I don’t think she’s here yet. Maybe it’s a busy day for the shop.” Her friend’s tee shirt design business had really taken off.
“I know. Ethan wants to order tee shirts for his employees.” Jordin’s husband ran a gym on the island.
“That’s great. She’s going to be so excited. It’s wonderful that you and your husband are being so supportive. Michelle was nervous about moving to a storefront, but she’s doing well with her custom tee shirts.”
“She does great work,” Jordin responded.
A short time later, her friend arrived.
“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late,” Michelle Chapman said. “I had a last-minute customer.” Her gaze bounced around the surroundings. “Wow...this place is amazing.”
“It belongs to my aunt and uncle,” Aubrie said. “Growing up, Ryker and I spent many summers here.”
“Where is your brother? I saw Garland when I got here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two apart.”
Aubrie chuckled. “He’s probably somewhere inside.” Ryker and Garland had been married for ten years and were the proud parents of three children: Amya, Kai and little RJ. It thrilled her to see her brother so happy.
She didn’t think love was in her future and had made peace with that a long time ago. Aubrie was content with her life and her restaurants. She wouldn’t ask for anything more... Well, maybe another restaurant, she thought with a smile. Polk Island was beautiful and a popular tourist attraction.
The perfect place for my new venture.
“WHAT DID I tell you...this place is beautiful,” Terian LaCroix said as he drove down Main Street. “Polk Island, South Carolina, is the perfect place for my restaurant.” Elated, he glanced over at his twin sister. “What do you think?”
“Oh, I agree,” Torrie responded. “I saw a café and one other restaurant during the drive over here, but they’re nothing like what you have in mind.”
“I found the perfect location near South Beach, a high-traffic location. This is it,” Terian stated as he parked the car in the empty parking lot. “There used to be a high-end steakhouse here with two private dining rooms, but it closed for some reason. Capacity is one hundred fifty seats.” The standalone building was surrounded by high-end homes.
“Ooooh, I can see the ocean from here,” Torrie said. “We have to take a stroll on the beach before we leave the island.”
He chuckled. “Sure.” His sister loved the beach as much as he did. The May weather was nice, the temperature just right.
“This is the perfect place for what you have in mind.”
Terian nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it is...”
Torrie played with a micro-thin loc. She’d been wearing her hair in locs for five years. She turned around to face her brother, gazing through hazel eyes that were identical to his own. “Are you absolutely sure about this? Striking out on your own. I don’t doubt that you can do it—it’s just a huge undertaking.”
He had an indefinable feeling of confidence. “I am,” he told her. “I’ve never been so certain about anything.”
Torrie moved closer to peek through one of the windows on the side. “I love what I can see of it. The decor is a little dated though.”
“I’m going to change all that,” he responded.
She looked back at Terian. “So, what’s next?”
“I’m going to submit an offer to the owner.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I know we’re here on this island, but I still can’t believe that you’re really serious about leaving New Orleans.”
Terian nodded. “I am. I didn’t expect all this to happen so soon, but I figure a place like this isn’t going to stay empty too long.” When he came across the listing while searching online, he had felt in his gut that this was the perfect building for his restaurant. He’d booked a flight to Charleston while still on the real estate website. Two days later, he asked Torrie to join him because he valued her opinion.
“Why not open a restaurant in NOLA? Is it because of Dad?”
“You know it is,” he responded. “Pop would consider it a betrayal. It’s going to make him mad that I left LaCroix to strike out on my own, but he’ll handle it better if I’m not in the same city.”
“You’re probably right. He’s not gonna be too happy about it either way.”
They left the site and drove a couple of blocks away to the beach parking lot. Torrie was out of the car almost before he took the key out of the ignition.
Terian watched in amusement as his sister changed out of her sandals into a pair of flip-flops. She pulled her dark brown locs into a ponytail, before retrieving a bottle of sunscreen out of her tote and rubbing it on her milk chocolate–hued skin.
“Oh yes, the beach... I can’t wait to dip my toes in the ocean.”
“You’re like a little kid,” Terian teased.
“I don’t care. I love the water.”
“I do, too. I’m hoping to find a place to live within walking distance to the beach. I can train for the 5K run I signed up for. If you were going to be here—I’d have put you down for it. It’s to raise money for breast cancer research.”
“I’m doing a 5K run with Luke next month.”
“I’ve been replaced,” Terian said and pretended to wipe away a tear. He and Torrie had always been close—she was his best friend. While he was happy for her, there was a part of him that worried how her marriage might affect their own relationship. He liked Luke well enough, and he believed the man truly loved his sister. She was starting a new season in her life. Terian felt it was time that he did the same.
“No, you haven’t,” she responded. “You’ll always be my running buddy, but I figure I should do at least one 5K with my fiancé. Especially since that’s how we met last year.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
During their walk along the shoreline, Torrie asked, “How do you think Aubrie DuGrandpre is going to react when she finds out you’re opening a restaurant so close to Charleston?”
He shrugged with nonchalance. “I don’t know, but it shouldn’t matter. She opened her first place, Manoir Rouge, two blocks from our restaurant in New Orleans, when she could’ve opened it here on the island. The way I see it—it’s her loss.”
“Is this your way of getting back at her?”
He eyed her in disbelief. He’d never expected his sister to ask such a question. “No, it’s nothing like that, Torrie.”
She scrutinized him. “Are you sure?”
“You should know me better than anyone else.”
“I do,” she responded. “That’s why I’m asking. I know how competitive you are. You always want to be number one—the best. When we were growing up, you had to be the best at checkers, the best in sports. You started running because I was getting accolades and you couldn’t stand it. You had to best me at that.”
“I’m my father’s son,” he said. “You know Pop won’t accept anything less than being the best. He made me this way. He’s the reason I had to be the best in sports. Pop wanted you to be a princess...pretty and pampered.”
“True, but there comes a point when you must be your own person. I’m not the princess type. You have to live your life for yourself.”
“Pop’s not as hard on you. He wanted me to prove myself worthy of running LaCroix Restaurant while he’s willing to just turn the reins over to you without question.”
Torrie stopped in her tracks. “Wait...are you saying I don’t deserve to run LaCroix? Just so you know... I’m just as qualified as you are, brother. We both went to top culinary schools. As for turning the reins over... I’ll be old and gray before that happens and you know it.”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” Terian interjected as he scratched his beard. “You’re a great chef, but it’s not your life’s dream. Not like it is for me.”
“No, it wasn’t always my dream to be a chef, but I do love it, Terian.”
“Pop didn’t pull you out of school to come home and work the business. I was a few months away from graduating.” That was seven years ago now. He’d never told his sister that he was failing and that was the reason their father demanded he withdraw. His father told him to keep it between them—it was their private shame to bear.
“I guess he felt it was better for you to gain real experience,” Torrie responded. “You’re a fantastic chef so it didn’t hold you back.”
“I don’t agree.”
She shrugged off his comment. “We should just tell Dad that we intend to work together as equal partners. You can have your own restaurant and we share in the running of LaCroix.”
“You know Pop’s not gonna go for that. I think he enjoys watching us compete.”
“Terian, I’m not interested in competing with you. LaCroix is as much ours as it is Dad’s. It’s our legacy.”
“Unfortunately, Pop doesn’t see it that way at all.”
Terrance LaCroix liked to call all the shots and he valued being the best. He’d been the top student and athlete in high school, the top of his class in culinary school, and for years his restaurant was highly popular. He’d raised Terian in that same manner—to be the best. There was no second best as far as Terrance was concerned.
There were times Terian wished he’d gone to Italy with Torrie to study. But he knew his father expected him to attend the same school in Paris as he had. The pressure to do as well as his dad was hard to deal with, and he found himself struggling to keep up his marks.
His dad also didn’t have to deal with a student like Aubrie DuGrandpre, who excelled in every class. She’d also captured his heart, which added a different kind of stress. In the end though, his need to have his father’s blessing outweighed his feelings for Aubrie.
When his father realized that Terian was barely holding his own in school, he decided that on-the-job training would be more effective with Terian and ordered him back home. There really hadn’t been a choice.
Ashamed and feeling like a complete failure, Terian left school and the love of his life behind. He was determined never to look back.
Until his past collided with his present when Aubrie opened Manoir Rouge in New Orleans a few years later.
“How did you come to choose this island for your restaurant?” Torrie asked. “Have you been here before now?”
“No. I think Aubrie mentioned it once when we were in school,” Terian responded. “I did some research and decided it was the best place to open my restaurant.”
She stopped in her tracks. “I’m going to ask you again...are you sure this isn’t some sort of payback?”
He glanced over at his twin. “This has nothing to do with Aubrie. It’s about making money. Aubrie lives in Charleston. She used to come here for the summer with her cousins, but it’s not like she owns this island.” Deep down, there was a slight twinge of joy at the thought of opening a restaurant on the island Aubrie loved so much. He wanted her to know how it felt when she opened Manoir Rouge in New Orleans. But more than that, everything about the island felt right—it was the perfect place for his new beginning.
He eyed his sister. “Aubrie will just have to get used to the idea of sharing this island with me.”
“Still, you don’t fully know the reach of the DuGrandpre family...” Torrie’s voice died as she looked past her brother. “Speaking of which...”
“What is it?” Terian asked.
“I thought that was you,” a voice said behind him.
Terian turned around, coming face-to-face with someone he never expected to see today. “Phillip DuGrandpre, what are you doing here? I thought we left you in NOLA.”
“My family came to Charleston to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the DuGrandpre Law Firm. My cousins are hosting a party at their house here on the island.”
“Aubrie’s parent’s—they have a home on Polk Island?” Torrie inquired as she eyed Terian.
He was surprised to hear this as well. He’d had no idea that her family owned property on the island. A feeling of uneasiness snaked down his spine.
“It’s a vacation home,” Phillip said. “I came out here to take a stroll, but I’d better head back before I’m missed. Hey, the whole clan is at the house. Y’all should come by.”
“We don’t want to intrude.” The prospect of running into Aubrie set Terian on edge.
“You won’t be. All you need is an invitation and I just invited you.”
“I’d like to go,” Torrie said. “We don’t have to stay long.”
Phillip pointed straight ahead. “The house is right there.”
Just three hundred feet away, the three-story home had floor to ceiling windows on almost every inch of wall facing the ocean and featured a beachfront Olympic-size pool behind its gate.
Terian and his sister exchanged looks before she responded, “That’s no house. That’s a mansion.”
“My sister is easily impressed,” he said calmly while trying to ignore the wave of apprehension now sweeping through him. The DuGrandpres of New Orleans were well established financially, but they didn’t live as lavishly as this.
“It’s an impressive estate, to be sure,” Phillip said. “As you can see, my cousins have done very well with the firm. I’m actually thinking of leaving the district attorney’s office to become a criminal lawyer. It pays better.”
Terian chuckled. “I can’t see it. Not from a man with your personal conviction and passion.”
“I’m serious,” Phillip responded as they walked across the warm sand toward the DuGrandpre mansion. “Aubrie’s gonna be surprised to see you.”
“I’m sure she will be,” he responded. He was the last person in this world Aubrie would want to see.
“You didn’t tell me her family was rich,” Torrie said in a whisper.
“I didn’t know,” he whispered back. “I knew they were well-off, but nothing on this scale.”
As they neared the DuGrandpre estate, Terian heard music playing, people laughing and conversations floating in the wind. “Sounds like a good time,” he said.
Phillip laughed. “My family know how to throw a party.”
They followed him through a wrought iron gate.
“Wow...” Torrie murmured, her eyes bouncing around, taking in their grand surroundings.
Live oak trees offered serene views of the Atlantic Ocean. On their left, an Olympic-size swimming pool complete with dressing room and shower took center stage in the sprawling garden. A white gazebo sat off to the right of the property. Colorful rose bushes dotted the well-tended lawn. Women wearing brightly covered summer dresses, men in slacks and linen trousers with short sleeve shirts moved around the elegantly decorated backyard.
“This place is really beautiful.” Torrie seemed spellbound. “I can see why Phillip is considering changing careers. The Charleston DuGrandpre’s are living large. Maybe I should’ve become a lawyer.”
Terian didn’t respond. He scanned the crowd and felt the tiny hairs on his body stand erect as he met Aubrie’s shocked, then hardened gaze. She clearly wasn’t happy to see him.
They stared across the yard at one another for a tense moment before she began walking toward him and Torrie. Terian wasn’t sure what to expect, but from the expression on her face—it wasn’t good.
Phillip hurried over to meet her.
Aubrie was met halfway by her cousin. They talked for a moment before she continued her approach. Normally, she would take off in the opposite direction whenever they saw each other in New Orleans, but today was different. He was on her turf.
“Here she comes... Are you okay?” Torrie whispered.
“I’m fine,” he responded. “We might as well get this over with.”
“I just hope Aubrie doesn’t cause a scene.”
“She’s not like that,” Terian said, hoping what he said was true. She wasn’t like that or at least she hadn’t been when he knew her. He hoped she hadn’t changed.
“Hello, Aubrie,” he greeted her when they were finally face-to-face.
Judging from her expression, Terian had the sinking feeling that this face-to-face was not going to go well.
