Page 28 of Breaking Point
He shifted under her.Stroked her back, a soft single touch.“Since the arena, I’ve worried about screwing this up, too.That’s when I knew I needed answers.”
She sighed.
“The stalls, Luciana—”
She put her fingertips against his lips, silencing him.“I don’t care.”
He picked up her hand.Held it.“You’ve never dug into my history, have you?”
Luciana pressed her lips together.“I didn’t think I had the right to do that.It was supposed to be just a passing fever, you said…” She sighed.“Andyou’reworried about messing this up?I did exactly the opposite of what we agreed to.”
“We both did,” he said.In the dark, she saw a hint of his smile.“I’m a Capitolino, Luciana.I was raised there.Those stalls?They were my father’s.They’re the last of an old life I don’t want to forget.It keeps me stable, knowing they’re there.”
Luciana let out a long breath as understanding touched her.She lifted herself up on her elbows.“Keep them,” she said.“And let me manage them.They’re losing money, Brice.They’re mis-managed, truly.I could make you at least double what they’re bringing in now…why are you laughing?”
He smothered another guffaw and pulled her over him, so she was lying farther over him.“Younevergive up, do you?”
And he kissed her.
Chapter Ten
BRICE ONLY REALIZED HE WASstanding at the window, looking down on what was left of the arena, and the crews still working on cleaning up the area, when Cathi tapped on the door and dared to lean in.
He had been zoning out a lot, lately.Most of the time, he would come back to reality and realize he was smiling, his thoughts far away from tankball.
He smiled at Cathi now and raised his brow.
“Um…boss…Zana Magro is here to speak to you.”
The chair of the board?Here?That was the equivalent of the Endurance running backward.He was always summoned to her apartment high on the Aventine, with a jaw-dropping view of the ship all the way down to the Field of Mars.
“You’d better let her in,” he told Cathi.He moved back to the desk and picked up the cane.He wanted to be able to walk relatively straight.He moved over to the door and got there as Cathi opened it again and stepped back.
Zana Magro was a tall woman, with short black hair cut blunt and straight, and an overly large mouth that she painted a bright red no matter what she was wearing.It was supposed to look dramatic, he’d guessed.The combination was too harsh for a woman who had little prettiness to begin with.
She made up for that with iron hard expectations, and an unforgiving nature.Brice respected her, but he would never like her.
“Zana,” he acknowledged politely, as she strode through the door.Behind her came none other than the vice chair, Tayget Penn.He looked short beside Zana, although he was of average height.He also looked nervous.
Bronson stepped into the room with them, and raised his brow silently at Brice.He didn’t know what this was about, either.
A third person came in.Brice took a moment to remember who it was.The most recent appointee to the board, Lakewood.The baby expert.
“Please, have a seat,” Brice told them.“Coffee, anyone?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Zana said firmly.
The others declined quickly, too.
They all settled themselves in the armchairs over by the window.The grouping was supposed to be informal and relaxed, only the way Zana Magro sat, with her feet together and her hands on each arm, Brice knew that the next few minutes would be anything but casual.
Forewarned, he pushed Bronson toward the last chair, and settled his rear on the window sill behind it.That gave Brice height that he might need.
He skipped all the pleasantries he would have started any other meeting with.“This visit is both unscheduled and unexpected, Madam Chairman.Perhaps you should just cut to the point?”
Zana Magro didn’t seem to react.She didn’t nod, or clear her throat.She just spoke, her tone flat, her voice rasping.“It has been nearly five months since the tragedy.”
He winced.“Yes.”He was well aware of this fact.The date would forever be emblazoned on his mind.
