The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(5)



Charlie was speed walking, pointing toward the corner, her straight, blond hair bouncing behind her. “Nope. Somethin’ much better.”

Alice felt her stomach drop as they made their way down the sidewalk toward the construction site. Call it intuition, or blame it on the fact she hated change. Maybe it was because nothing had gone her way for the past six months. But whatever it was, all the little hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She felt as if she teetered on the edge of something. Whether good or bad, she couldn’t tell.





Chapter Two


“Technology is a gift from God. After the gift of life, it is perhaps the greatest

of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations,

of arts and sciences.”― Freeman Dyson





“Okay, I’m not getting it. You’ve got to explain this one to me.”

“I’ve tried.” Paul Olivier leveled a gaze at his best friend. “And it doesn’t matter whether you get it. Construction started weeks ago.” He tried to keep a poker face but couldn’t help cracking a smile.

“Well, I’m still not understanding.” Andy McBride perched on the edge of Paul’s desk and waved a hand at the blueprints pinned to the wall. “Of all the places to open a flagship store, why your home town? I thought you hated that place.”

“I never said that.” Paul angled out from behind his desk and stood in front of the blueprints, arms crossed. “Natchitoches was a hard place to grow up as the only techno geek for hundreds of miles.” He turned and flashed a smile. “But I won’t be the only one now. Not anymore. Everyone has a computer, everybody uses the Internet--even the old folks. My great Aunt Sandrine has a Facebook page for her garden club.”

Andy was quiet for a moment. “I thought you were nuts when you opened three stores in Atlanta in the same year, but it was the right move. I thought you’d lost your marbles when you partnered up with those reality TV stars at Comic-Con, but our profits doubled that year. Let’s not even talk about that whole super-secret identity you have going on with the stolen books.”

“It’s not secret. I’m just using a pen name. And they’re not stolen. They’re all out from under copyright and it’s fair use to upload.” Paul tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. Andy was a genius at keeping the company on track, but the guy could get some serious tunnel vision. If it didn’t have graphics and a soundtrack, he wasn’t interested. In college, Andy had always nagged Paul to drop his double major and focus on computer science, but Paul wouldn’t let go of his English degree. “I’m bringing classics of Western Literature to the masses. These are books that you’d have to hunt down in rare book stores, books that cost hundreds of dollars. People are thrilled to find them available so easily. They think I’m saving the world,” he said. “I’ve got fan clubs.”

“Nice. Fan clubs for your secret superhero identity which has no connection to the company and therefore won’t give us any benefits,” Andy said. “Anyway, I never argued with any of that, but I’m telling you as your business partner and your best friend, this Natchitoches store doesn’t look like a good move, and not just because the town’s name is unpronounceable.”

“I hear what you’re saying.” Paul walked forward and stared at the property lines of the newest ScreenStop store. Even as they debated, the parking lot was being finished. Getting permission to build on that side of the river was usually a long and ugly process, involving mounds of paperwork and months of waiting. Getting permission to build in the National Historic Landmark District was unheard of. Paul had managed both in weeks. There were perks to being a famous billionaire after all.

“But it’s a good place for a store. There’s nothing like it for three hundred miles,” Paul said. “We’re filling a technology gap that reaches from New Orleans to Shreveport. It’s a good move. I can feel it.” He poked a finger at the maps. “This store will make money.”

“And you get to come back home the conquering hero.” Andy intoned. His lips were turned up in a smile but his dark eyes were somber. “I’m not saying you can’t afford it. As your CTO, I’m perfectly okay with you throwing a store into the void if it makes you feel better. One store won’t break this company. I just don’t want you to disappear into the wilds of Louisiana when you said you’d never set foot there again.”

Paul threw his head back and laughed. “The wilds?” He turned, clapping a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “It’s swampland. My friend, you’re coming with me. It’s time for a little Southern education.”

He grimaced. “No, thanks. I went to that tech conference in Atlanta last year. That was as far south as I needed to go, and a weekend was more than enough.”

“Sitting in a hotel for the weekend is not really getting to know the people, Andy.” Paul sat back down in his chair and swiveled from side to side. He hated being still, especially when he had a new idea, and showing Andy a good time in Cane River was his best idea in a long time. “There’s no reason to rush back here. You broke up with Reilly, right?”

Andy shot him a look. “Yeah. She said she thought our relationship had ‘run its course,’ and ‘we should branch out,’ whatever that means. I wasn’t surprised. We all can’t be billionaire playboys like you.”

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