Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series Read Online Free

name?”
    “ Who?”
    “ The one who stole the man
you wanted … Mr. Love-of-my-life-Josh.” He handed her the
money.
    She evaded his dark eyes. “I’ll get
your change.”
    “ You keep the
change.”
    She glanced back at him. “That’s very
kind of you.”
    “ Consider it a bribe.” He
placed his wallet back in his suit jacket. “I want you to come and
work for me. I can pay you well and help get you out of Jackson
Square.”
    Melinda crinkled her brow. “What’s
wrong with the Square?”
    “ You can do better. If you
come and work for me, you can get out of that ratty apartment you
live in on St. Ann and spend more time on your music.”
    A trickle of trepidation tightened her
gut. “How do you know where I live?”
    Nathan retrieved a white business card
from his inner jacket pocket. “I like to know who I’m dealing with,
whether I can trust them and share my secrets with them. Think
about my offer. I know you and I would be good together.” He handed
her the card. “My cell number is on the back when you’re ready to
talk.”
    Melinda took the card and gleaned the
number. “I’m happy where I am, Nathan.”
    “ Are you? I don’t see it
that way.”
    She peered up at him. “Really? What do
you see?”
    His deep brown eyes warmed over with
concern. “I see a woman who wants more out of life, but isn’t quite
sure how to get it. I can help you get what you want, Melinda, but
you have to help me in return.”
    Melinda pocketed the card in her
jeans. “I promise to think about it.
    Nathan smiled, and Melinda’s stomach
danced with excitement.
    “ That’s all I ask. Good
night, Melinda.”
    As Nathan sauntered away, Melinda kept
an eye on his broad back and fabulous ass. There was something very
appealing about working for a man like Nathan Cole. Not only was he
a pleasure to look at, but he could take her places; places a girl
from rural Mississippi longed to see. Museums, fancy restaurants,
nightclubs, designer dress shops; all the sights she had dreamed of
visiting when she first came to New Orleans with Josh. But things
hadn’t worked out as planned, and now a second opportunity to have
the kind of life she had always wanted was within her
grasp.
    “ Are you finished with that
man?”
    When Melinda spun around, Ellie was
gathering up her things from her table.
    Melinda eased over to her friend.
“What do you think of Nathan Cole?”
    “ Handsome, good dresser,
seems pretty sure of himself.” Ellie focused her blue eyes on
Melinda. “Why? Are you interested in him?”
    “ Not like that. Not in a
romantic way. I’m more interested in what he could do for
me.”
    Ellie’s throaty chortle resonated
through the darkness creeping across Jackson Square. “Be careful
with that kind of man, honey. Men like that are only interested in
two things, money and power. You can feel it when he walks by. His
aura exudes too much confidence and not enough concern for anyone
else but himself.”
    Melinda caught sight of Nathan’s
figure fading into the shadows of Chartres Street. “But sometimes
you have to dance with the devil to get what you want,
right?”
    “ Just make sure you’re
ready to deal with the consequences, because with men like that,
there are always consequences.”
    Turning back to Ellie, Melinda knitted
her brow. “What kind of consequences?”
    Ellie shook her head and softly
chuckled. “Melinda, sometimes you really are too good to be
true.”
    * * *
    The usually boisterous St. Ann Street
was blissfully peaceful as Jack escorted Melinda to her front
doorstep. The bright streetlights above the crowded Creole cottages
cast eerie shadows on the sidewalk, adding a ghostly ambience to
their stroll. When they stopped before the bright red door of a
dark green French Quarter townhouse, Jack cleared his
throat.
    “ Thanks for setting up my
table for me today,” Melinda wrestled with her backpack.
    Jack tugged at the straps of his green
canvas tote bag. “When you didn’t show up