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Professor Reyes: I’d be happy to pick you up for our date. No sense in paying for parking twice.
Without considering the ridiculous suggestion, Natalia slipped her phone into the pocket of her orange blazer and returned to what she’d been doing before she was derailed. In the conference room United in PRIDE used for board meetings, Natalia discovered that she was the last to arrive. She liked being last, but she didn’t like being perilously close to late.
Of the twelve other members on the board of directors, Natalia’s attention drifted to one. Lola, her dark hair slicked into a painfully tight bun and her dark eyes wearing an intensity that rarely wavered, was sitting to the right of Natalia’s seat at the head of the long table.
Immediately, Natalia sensed the tension between Lola and Francis. Despite having missed it, Natalia recreated what had transpired. Francis had been on the board for two years and had never stopped trying to usurp Natalia. Occasionally, she tried to sit in Natalia’s seat, claiming that Natalia didn’t own the chair and they didn’t have assigned spots.
Lola had only been on the board a few weeks, and even though it was her first full meeting, she probably guessed there was a reason no one else had taken the place at the head. She imagined Lola’s face when Francis tried to weasel into her seat. Imagined Francis’ shock when she couldn’t get away with it. Not that she wouldn’t have moved when Natalia arrived, but it was much less awkward this way. The scene in her head nearly led her to smile at Lola before regaining control of herself.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” Natalia said while she swept in and took her place. “Let’s get started.”
Natalia ran through the agenda efficiently, keeping the meeting productive and on track. She kept her attention on Lola from the corner of her eye.
The young agent sat straight-backed, taking meticulous notes and listening intently. She only spoke when called upon, but her remarks were thoughtful and well-reasoned. It was clear Lola took this appointment as seriously as Natalia hoped.
When Natalia first decided to bring her protégé onto the board, she wondered if it might be premature. Lola still had sharp edges in need of smoothing, impulses in need of tempering.
But watching her today, Natalia felt an unfamiliar swell of pride. Of satisfaction in seeing potential fulfilled. She knew all too well how much discipline and resilience it took to transform raw talent into leadership. Lola had come far, but she had the capacity for so much more.
Near the end of the meeting, Natalia announced a new subcommittee focused on providing financial literacy and investment training for LGBTQ+ youth. To her surprise, Lola immediately volunteered to chair it.
Natalia’s lips curved into a hint of a smile as Lola explained her passion for giving young LGBTQ+ people the financial skills she wished she’d had. Natalia was impressed by her initiative.
When the meeting adjourned, she lingered as the room emptied until it was just her and Lola.
“Leading a subcommittee is a lot of work,” Natalia said. “Organizing people and processes brings significant challenges.”
Lola nodded. “I know I have a lot to learn. But I want to do something meaningful here. Make a difference.”
Sincerity shone in her determined eyes. The temperamental girl was now a thoughtful woman. She saw so much of her younger self in Lola — hungry to prove herself, intent on building the future she envisioned no matter the cost.
Natalia had never wanted children. The thought of passing on her legacy that way had never appealed. She preferred to mold careers, shape talents, empower others to carry on her work.
And with Lola, she felt she’d done just that. This fiery, bold young woman embodied everything Natalia hoped the next generation would be. Fiercely idealistic yet pragmatic. Compassionate but uncompromising. Tempered by Adriana’s caution and reason, they would do so much more than Natalia ever dreamed possible.
As Natalia left the building after the meeting, she felt uncharacteristically contemplative. Watching Lola come into her own had sparked thoughts about the future, about legacy.
Her thoughts drifted unexpectedly to Samantha. The intriguing professor was an undeniably new element in her orderly life. Natalia was sure that her intrigue was pinned to how hard to dominate she was. Being with Samantha was a challenge, and Natalia couldn’t help but rise to that. To win.
Natalia suddenly imagined what it might be like if Samantha were part of her future. To let someone know her, truly know her, after so long alone at the top. The thought made her feel vulnerable, exposed.
She was a different person than she had been thirty years ago. She’d been just a kid, really. Barely an adult trying to make it on her own with no family. No support. Maybe dating wasn’t so dangerous now. It’s not like she’d ever let anyone hurt her again. She was a woman. Grown and strong and submissive to no one. Could she try? The thought was an exposed nerve, too tender to touch after all this time.
She halted that train of thought abruptly and checked her watch. Still a few hours before she had to meet Samantha for dinner.
Pushing aside thoughts of the future, she turned her mind to the present. She refused to let her disciplined mind wander any further down the dangerous path it had careened toward. For now, there was only tonight. There was only gaining Samantha’s trust so she could close the deal. So what if she happened not to hate spending time with her? It didn’t have to mean anything.
CHAPTER 17
Despite being late February and a moonless ten at night, the warm evening made Natalia leave her jacket in the car. In a sleeveless black dress that left her shoulders tantalizingly bare, she intended to make it hard for Dr. Reyes to keep her train of thought from derailing. Maybe she’d spontaneously offer her the book rights. That’s what all of this was about, anyway. As soon as she had the book for Zoe, she’d go back to her normal life.
Confident, she started toward the boutique hotel with the hidden gem of a bar tucked inside. Built during Prohibition, the hotel’s ornate French colonial exterior concealed a rumrunner’s paradise. Lost to time, the lavish bar had been rediscovered and brought to gleaming life.
“Natalia!” a voice shouted behind her before her hand landed on the ornate brass door handle.
Turning toward the sound, she realized it was her brain train she’d have to wrestle to keep in place. In a loose v-neck t-shirt and black jeans, most of Samantha’s arm sleeve was visible. Voluminous short hair swept back. Samantha was sleek and sexy and smooth as she strode toward her.
Fuck.
