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“Not until next month.” The twenty-year-old gave her a bright smile. “But if you need me to stay, I can skip a semester.”

“No way,” Gisele said. “You’re within a handful of semesters of finishing your degree. Then you can get out of the bayou and see the world.”

“What if I don’t want to see the world?” Lena stared out the window. “What if I like it here in Bayou Mambaloa and never want to leave?”

“You need to get away and sample what the world has to offer. Then, when you come back, you’ll have something to compare with.” Gisele shook her head. “Besides, there aren’t too many jobs available for young people.”

“I could work here at your store. I’ll have my accounting degree. I could keep your books and do your taxes while helping you in the store.”

“Or you could start your own accounting firm,” Gisele suggested. “After you’ve worked for another accounting firm in a bigger town.”

“What if I don’t want to be an accountant?” Lena asked.

Gisele gave the girl her full attention. “Are you having second thoughts about your degree?”

Lena shrugged. “Maybe.”

“It’s a good career to go into. People always need accountants.”

Lena’s lips pressed into a tight line. “But what if I get tired of it?”

“Have you thought of taking a minor in something different but still related, like financial or business management?” Gisele suggested. “What about supply chain management or statistical analysis?”

“I’ve thought of all of that. The problem is that I don’t know what I want.” Her gaze remained on the view outside the window.

“Then take an internship somewhere that sparks your interest. Give it a chance. See if you like the work. That will also give you something on your resume.”

“You’re a successful business owner,” Lena turnedto Gisele. “How did you know you wanted to own and operate a gift shop?”

Gisele turned to the window. “I didn’t want to be stuck for my entire life in Bayou Mambaloa.”

“What?” Lena shook her head. “You didn’t want to stay here? I thought you loved it here.”

“I do,” Gisele gave her a crooked smile. “But I needed to get away and see what was out there. I wanted to go somewhere I wasn’t defined by my family. I wanted to be just me. Not the Voodoo Queen’s granddaughter where people expected me to be all into magic and woo-woo stuff.”

“But you’re amazing. People come from all around for your lotions and potions.”

“I only dabble. Madame Gautier is the expert. I never wanted to learn her secrets. I went to college, got a degree in finance and moved to New York City, where I worked for a big firm on Wall Street. Talk about an eye-opener. I went from being a medium-sized fish in a little pond—the bayou—to being a tiny fish in a huge pond filled with every kind of fish imaginable, including piranha and sharks.”

Lena winced. “Was it bad?”

“At first, it was exciting.” Gisele smiled at the memories of her first years in the big city. “I met a lot of people, had celebrity sightings in Manhattan and took vacations to Europe. I was free to be me. It was wonderful. I even fell in love with a co-worker.”

“That sounds amazing.” Lena’s brow dipped. “I sense there’s a but coming.”

Gisele snorted softly. “On Wall Street, if you’re not moving up, you become obsolete and are swept aside. I worked hard and absorbed as much as I could about everything to do with money. But it never seemed to be enough.”

“What happened?”

“After the rosy glow of a new life wore off, I began to see the dark side of the industry and learned why they called it the rat race. People stepped on others to move up the chain. Ethics were for poor-minded weaklings. I didn’t like who I was becoming.”

“I can’t imagine you as anything other than focused, kind and generous.”

“I was focused all right, but kind and generous I was not.”

“No way,” Lena protested.

“Way,” Gisele said with a grimace. “When I finally got a backbone and refused to do what I knew would make my grand-mère slap me into the next year, my mentors dropped me and moved on to the next gullible up-and-coming analyst. That person stepped on me as he moved up the corporate ladder, leaving me in a black hole like an untouchable. I was black-balled from within the company I worked for. My career was over there.”

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