“I thought we were having a business meeting.” Jasmine had styled her hair in a twist she had pinned off the nape of her neck, and had selected a powder-blue pantsuit, a white silk blouse, and two-inch navy-blue pumps. “If you want I can go back and change.”
He kissed her forehead. “Don’t. You look beautiful. The meeting isn’t until five. I thought I’d get you there early so you can have a snack before dinner.” Cameron opened the passenger-side door and waited for her to get in.
“I find myself eating about five small meals a day instead of three full ones,” Jasmine told Cameron after he’d slipped in behind the wheel.
“Are you still throwing up?”
“It comes and goes.”
He started the engine and pulled smoothly away from the curb. “I’d like to go with you when you see the doctor Thursday.”
Jasmine stared out the windshield. “You don’t have to.”
He gave her a quick glance. “But I want to. I don’t ever want you to forget that we’re in this together.”
“Will you let me forget?”
“No way, darling. What time is your appointment?”
“Nine. Hannah has offered to go with me.”
“Let Hannah know that I’m going to take you. I want you to text me the doctor’s name and address.”
Jasmine knew it was useless to try and talk Cameron out of accompanying her to the doctor, and she also didn’t want to engage in a verbal confrontation with him. His revelation that he had grown up with two warring parents was something she did not want for their child. Yet Jasmine did not intend to become a doormat for Cameron or to genuflect or acquiesce to his every demand. She had decided to pick and choose her battles, while standing her ground for what she felt would be to her benefit.
“Okay.”
“I’d also like you to let me know the time and dates for all your appointments.”
Jasmine stared at him. “All of them?”
Cameron nodded. “Yes.”
“Don’t you have a company to run?”
“Yes, but it’s not going to fall apart if I take a couple of hours off a few times a month. Don’t forget my father still heads the company, and my brother Preston can always cover for me if Dad’s not there.”
“Tell me about the Singletons.” Jasmine had Googled Singleton Investments but found scant information on the family-owned, privately held company.
“What do you want to know?”
“How did they come to settle in Louisiana?”
Jasmine listened intently as Cameron gave her an abbreviated version of his family’s history. His ancestors made their fortune in shipping cotton and sugar cane to northern and European cities. During the Civil War, Union generals commandeered his great-great-great-grandfather’s ships to transport armaments to supply General Grant and Sherman’s troops.
“Archibald Singleton told everyone the Union general had appropriated his ships when in reality he’d willingly offered them up. No one knew he spied for the Union because he didn’t own slaves, and believed in preserving the Union. Archibald was devoutly religious and believed it was a sin for one man to own another man. All of his household help and dock workers were free people of color.”
“Were there that many free people of color at that time?”
Cameron smiled. “Yes. There was always a large population of free people of color in New Orleans.”
“Did anyone ever uncover Archibald’s double life?”
“No. He had become quite the consummate actor.”
“What happened after the war?” Jasmine asked.
“Once the mode of transportation changed from shipping to railroads, Archibald’s sons went into insurance. They were very conservative when it came to buying and selling stocks and bonds, and didn’t believe in putting all of their money in banks. After the Crash of ’29 when there was a run on the banks, the tightwad Singletons congratulated themselves because they were able to hold on to to most of their fortune. My penny-pinching great-grandfather used the Great Depression to become an accomplished hustler.”
