Love Is Lovelier Read Online Free PDF Page B

in tune with Judith’s always-chic attire. “Where were you?”
    Her expression told him she suspected. Not that it was any of her business.
    Anne wasn’t the only one with overprotective offspring.
    Judith was still fragile after the divorce, shaken by being left for a younger woman who was already pregnant with her husband’s child. William didn’t want to hurt her, but he wouldn’t lie to her, either. “I went to see Anne.”
    Displeasure tightened her features. “Do you think that’s wise?”
    “What do you mean?” He searched for patience, though it had been many years since anyone had attempted to question his judgment. She and her mother had been extremely close, but Isabel had been gone eight years. When was enough time to mourn?
    He reminded himself that a man might take more than one wife, but a child’s heart had only one mother. The loss had hit Judith hard, and he hadn’t realized her marriage was also rocky. That she’d been trying unsuccessfully to have a child. She’d needed her mother’s gentle hand, and he’d done his best as substitute, but he’d felt all thumbs.
    He’d spent too much of her youth building a business; now he was trying to make up for lost time. He’d brought her back to New Orleans from Chicago, given her a job as assistant to the very ambitious Glen Schaefer, a man who clearly wanted to succeed William when William was ready to step down.
    Until Anne, William hadn’t been ready, had lived for his work—but she was changing a lot of his assumptions these days.
    Judith spoke up. “I have a plan, Daddy. I’ve been analyzing the situation, and Glen is all for it. It’s what I wanted to talk to you about. But this…association with that woman could hinder Regency Corporation’s best interests.”
    “What?” His head whipped around. At another time, he might have admired the way she stood there, straight and slim and intent on proving herself worthy of his confidence. He’d begun to see promise in her that might make her, not Glen, his successor, once she was a little more seasoned.
    But she was still his daughter, and her remarks came perilously close to questioning not only his personal life, but his devotion to the enterprise he’d spent forty years nurturing.
    “Explain.”
    “All right.” Reserve gave way to enthusiasm. “The Hotel Marchand is failing. The physical plant is outdated, and the economics of restoring it are iffy. There is a group from Thailand that has made an offer on it—” Her gaze slid to the side, to test whether that was news to him.
    He merely nodded. “Go on.”
    “The Marchands are dragging their heels, no doubt hoping that Mardi Gras revenues will buy them some breathing room.” She paused. “I don’t believe they will, and recent problems bear that out. The Hotel Marchand’s reputation can’t survive much more, and I believe Charlotte knows that, whether or not her mother concedes it.” Her mouth tightened. “Charlotte’s reputation is one of determination laced with pragmatism. I think there’s an approach to be made that can work with her. We give her only slightly more than the offer on the table now, but we pledge to keep the Marchand name in place and her job intact.”
    He would bet money that Judith had underestimated Charlotte in one very important way: her devotion to her mother. Coupled with, of course, the fact that Anne was the true owner and the only one who could sign the final agreement. She had other daughters employed at the hotel and, in addition, a staff that had been with her for years. Keeping Remy’s name on the place would appeal to her, but Judith surely had economies in mind. Still, she was animated in a manner he hadn’t seen from her since her return.
    And he was curious. “So how do you make this a good deal for Regency Corp.?”
    Her eyes sparkled as she realized he wasn’t arguing. “We cut down on staffing, first of all, then we gut the restaurant and turn it into more rooms, do the