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I nodded. “Yes.”

The name Deveraux grated on my nerves.

Her brothers, Kyle and Beau, had swindled half the businesses they worked with. They weren’t well thought of around town. Last year, Xander exposed them and their antics, and the two hadn’t been heard from since.

“Do you know anything about Grace?” I asked, looking pointedly at my grandmothers. I’d asked around in my business circles but didn’t get anything reliable. Everyone assumed she was like her brothers: arrogant, lacking integrity, and dismissive. I didn’t like to assume, though. I wanted facts.

Isabeau narrowed her eyes. “She was Grace Cointreau until her divorce. She used to work in her family’s company, but now I don’t know what she does.”

“I think she took a break from that,” Celine added.

“You know her personally?” I asked. They were both social butterflies. If there was an event in New Orleans, chances were they either attended or knew someone who had.

Isabeau shook her head. “No, not at all. But the Deveraux name is well known.”

“Grace didn’t go to school with us, did she?” Anthony asked Beckett.

I remembered Kyle and Beau from school, but not Grace. Then again, if she was a few years younger, that was no surprise.

“She went to an all-girls school.” That came from Celine. “It came up at a party years ago.”

“You know a lot about her for someone who hasn’t actually met her.”

Celine smiled. “What can I say? My mind retains gossip.”

But I didn’t want to know gossip. I wanted to know what her business was—if she was the same as her brothers and why she was interested in the ranch. Apparently, I wasn’t going to get that information from my family.

“Well, let’s just all focus on food,” Chad said as if reading my thoughts, just as the waiters came to serve everyone.

Having our offices above LeBlanc & Broussard was hands down the best idea we’d ever had. Chad, Anthony, Beckett, and I all worked here. Julian mostly stayed in the office he had behind his bar on Dumaine. Xander was in the business district. I, forone, had chosen this location simply because it was convenient. I often had food sent up for lunch—sometimes even dinner if we stayed late. I liked being in the French Quarter. In my opinion, it was the heartbeat of New Orleans.

After my family and I finished dinner, we all dispersed. I decided to pay Julian a visit at his bar rather than go straight home. On the way, I called my go-to person when I wanted a potential business partner vetted.

“Hi, Marcel,” I said when he answered.

“Zachary LeBlanc. What an honor. What can I do for you?”

“I’m interested in a business opportunity, but someone else is too. Grace Deveraux.”

“OfthatDeveraux family?” Marcel asked.

“Yes. I want to invest in a ranch, and so does she.”

“Right. You want a scoop on the competition.”

His tone was already judgmental, which I didn’t appreciate. I knew Kyle and Beau were swindlers, but as far as we knew, the rest of the family hadn’t been involved.

“Text me the details of the ranch, and I’ll get back to you soon,” he said. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“What type of business she’s doing and if she’s legit.”

He scoffed. “That’ll be hard to find out if she’s as good at hiding things as her brothers.”

“Assume she has a clean slate and go from there.”

“You always assume the best of people.”

It was the way I did things, and it had never really failed me. I didn’t understand why anyone would go through life assuming the worst of people. It had to be exhausting.