Chasing the Wind Read Online Free Page A

She couldn't imagine the place being demolished to build a gaudy hotel that would loom over the French Quarter.
    "You'll recall, of course, that this is confidential information." Doug's voice was firm.
    Raymond pushed out his bottom lip. He tapped a pencil on his notepad. "Ah, isn't the Marigny designated historical in the National Register?
    It should be, Amalise thought.
    "No. And the project permits are set. That's under control. It's not a concern at this point."
    Raymond looked down and began writing, and Amalise took a deep breath.
    Doug stood, adjusting his tie. "Let me remind you all. There's a lot riding on this for the firm. And for us." He leaned over and braced himself, hands flat on the conference table. "Any more questions?" The question was a dare.
    No one spoke.
    "Good then. That's all." Doug straightened, shot his cuffs, and strode across the room toward his desk. "Preston." He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and waved it in the direction of the table. "Here are the parameters of the financing, the deal points. We'll meet with Frank Earl Blanton from First Merchant Bank at one, and after that, I'll need you to draft a term sheet."
    "Right."
    "Amalise and Ray?"
    Their heads popped up.
    "You two check out the status of Lone Ranger and the sub. Check public records in Cayman, Delaware, Louisiana. Run a search. Get organizational records, the usual. And check SEC filings, check the Reporters and litigation reports. Find whatever you can on the companies." He frowned and ran his hand across his forehead. "And see what you can find on Murdoch too. We don't know much about him. Morgan Klemp's bringing him to the table, but let's do a little of our own due diligence. Just basic background."

Chapter Three
    Jude sat at a table waiting for Amalise. On the phone earlier, Rebecca said she had looked fine when she'd seen her this morning and that Amalise had already been put on a major transaction. He'd caught a hint of something in Rebecca's voice that he'd not heard before. A touch of discontent, or disappointment maybe. He wondered if Amalise's new assignment was the same transaction Rebecca had been talking about all week, the one she wanted to work on. If so, she would find a way to get assigned to it too, he'd wager. This was a big deal for the firm, she'd said, road-to-partnership material for an associate.
    Jude glanced at his watch. It was eight o'clock. Franky & Johnny's was slow tonight. He wondered how Amalise had managed on her first day back. She'd been ill for so long. He pressed his hands over his eyes and slid them down his cheeks, fingers splayed as the memories intruded. Jude saw himself behind the wheel, peering down the narrow dirt road, searching the darkness for Amalise—and for Phillip, who he knew would harm her. Suddenly Amalise had appeared from around the curve, looming in the beams of his headlights. He'd slammed on the brakes, the car skidding toward her.
    He could still see the terror in her eyes just before she fell.
    Jude had stumbled from the car, fallen to his knees, and gathered her to him, praying, willing her to live—desperately willing her blood to pump on through her veins—realizing in that moment that he wouldn't want to live without her. The understanding of what it would mean to lose Amalise had hit him then like a blow to his solar plexus, a bludgeoning glimpse of long gray years ahead without her.
    He'd known then that he loved Amalise Catoir. He'd loved her since they were children, but this feeling was new, transformative—different from the way he'd felt with any other. This was something deeper, more profound.
    He hadn't told her yet. Soon he would. He longed to tell her, and not for the first time he wondered how it would feel to kiss this girl whom he'd practically helped to raise. But Amalise was no longer a girl. She was a woman now—and a widow.
    In the time they had spent together during her recuperation, it had been tempting just to lay things out for