Page 82 of The Shop on Royal Street
Christopher nodded. “Tell him to stop by and ask for me. I’ll see if we can work something out.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I will.” I started to turn away, but paused. “Christopher, can I ask you something?”
“I suppose that would depend on what it is.”
“I accidentally saw that text you sent to Beau. The picture of Jeanne. I saw her, too, you know. And it was her.”
His amber eyes showed no surprise.
“I wanted to ask what you meant about telling Mimi and saying it would only get worse.”
He opened the door of the shop and stepped inside. “I’ve got to go. I have customers waiting.”
“It’s my house, Christopher. Shouldn’t I know?”
“Not unless you have the power to do something about it.”
“Like Beau?”
He shut the door and turned away.
I pedaled the rest of the way to the Marigny, watching for parked cars with open doors, and thinking about what Christopher had said.
The front door stood partially open, so no one noticed me. Jaxson was there filming while Michael stood to the side watching Thibaut toss a measuring tape into the air as Jorge leapfrogged over his back and caught it before landing safely on the ground.
Everyone turned toward me as I clapped. “That was amazing, guys! Where did you learn that?”
Thibaut approached and shook hands with Michael, introducing himself and Jorge. “Jorge’s people were circus folks back in Brazil, so he comes from a long line of acrobats. I’m just a big guy who’s a sturdy base for any of the crazy things Jorge can think of. And I know how to juggle—something I learned in prison.”
Jaxson glanced at me. “Don’t worry—I can edit that last part out.” Turning toward the two men, he said, “Great job. I swear, every time we post something like this on the YouTube channel we get about another five hundred followers. It’s crazy. And Jolene says that the number of calls they’re getting at JR Properties has almost tripled since last month. Who knew?”
Michael moved to stand next to me. Aware that all three men were watching us, he only lightly touched my shoulder. “It’s good to see you again. It’s been a while.”
I laughed, feeling almost giddy—not a familiar emotion for me. “It’s been, what? Eighteen hours?”
“Only that long? It felt like much longer.” We grinned at each other like idiots.
Jaxson approached with an outstretched hand. “Jaxson Landry, official documentarian for this renovation. Public defender when I’m not doing this.”
“Michael Hebert.” The two men shook hands. “With the Sabatier Group.”
“Oh,” Jaxson said. “You’re the ones who are trying to build those high-rise condos in the Treme, right?”
“Yes, that’s us. My uncle’s company, anyway. We’re still having discussions with the historical society and community leaders, so it’s holding us back a bit, but we’re hoping to come to an agreement soon.”
I regretted not taking Beau’s suggestion to find out more about the Sabatier Group. Granted, I hadn’t had a lot of time, but I knew a large part of my reluctance was because Beau had suggested it. The other part was that I was afraid of what I might find. My relationship—if it could be called that so early in the game—with Michael was too new to go digging for anything that might skew my perception of him.
“Well, good luck with that,” Jaxson said. “From what I hear, there’s a lot of opposition.”
Michael shrugged. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t be called progress if there wasn’t any opposition. We’re used to it. I don’t doubt that we will be able to come up with a plan that works for all interested parties.” He smiled, then put an arm around my shoulders. “Why don’t you show me around? I’m dying to see what’s been done so far.”
With the conversation effectively ended, Jaxson said his good-byes, but turned back at the door. “Have you heard from Jolene?”
I nodded. “She’s enjoying being at home with her family. She said she might take some vacation time and do some working from home, so it could be a couple more days. Unless I need her to bring the dog back.” As much as I missed Jolene, the absence of the little dog, eventhough I’d known him only a short while, hurt more than I wanted to admit. “I can keep you posted, or you could call her.”
“Right.” With a wave, he let himself out.
To Michael, I said, “Just give me a moment, all right? I want to go over the worksheets with the guys first.”
