“You know.” She waves a hand. “Stampeding your way through things.”
Stampeding. I rip off another bite of burrito and chew.
I can’t argue back if my mouth is full.
“So, yeah. You have rules and I try to respect them. Here’s a new one. Can we agree youwon’tpiss off potential buyers?”
“Fine,” I grind out. “It’s your decision. I told you from the beginning.”
“I know, but you’re clearly devoted to checking my homework.”
I shake my head.
“Woman, I’mdevotedto protecting Mr. Blackthorn’s legacy. That includes you and his highly valuable property.”
“I know, I know.”
“Especially you,” I add. “Don’t run from me again. When I have to rush in and peel you off the pavement, that’s when mistakes happen.”
She looks down. Her cheeks heat and her face softens with a shy smile.
“That was pretty dumb of me. I’m sorry.” She twirls the straw in her smoothie slowly, holding it before she meets my eyes again. “Hey, just like old times, right?”
My brain flashes back to catching her years ago when she fell out of the tree. The way it made her so vulnerable and how she only figured out I had good intentions later.
Familiar.
“Just like old times. Except this time, I didn’t have to chase off some fuckboy.” I sip my coffee, relishing the fluster on her face.
“Let’s not go there. I do learn from my mistakes, in dating and in life.”
Shit, whatabouther dating life? Come to think of it, I haven’t noticed her glued to her phone like a lot of young women, texting some boyfriend back in Boston or flipping through potential matches on the apps.
Surely, she puts herself out there.
A hard fact that’s none of my fucking business.
But at least I’m starting to feel more human with the coffee. I set my cup down and change the subject.
“I know you want to find a buyer and pull the trigger. If that’s Fairfax, fine, but you should know I’m still digging into him. A few of his past associates were a few degrees removed from criminals, especially on the Russian side. Dangerous ones.”
“How dangerous?” A line appears between her eyes.
“Enough to raise my security assessment,” I say grimly. “No evidence he was ever mixed up with them too closely, though. Igor Baranov bought quite a few religious pieces from Fairfax before he was killed. He was an oil baron, and you couldn’t walk through a business room then without smacking into some crime lord. It wasn’t unheard of.”
“So Fairfax was clean?”
“Yes,” I admit reluctantly. “While I can’t say the same about the money he earned off Baranov, no one ever launched an investigation. It’s just one loose end to keep an eye on.”
Silence.
She purses her lips as she thinks, toying with the last chunk of her burrito until bright-yellow egg and green avocado falls out.
“I know, due diligence. But it sounds like we know the risks. If something shady comes up, we’ll handle it. But for now, would it be too risky to get some fresh air?”
“You’ve been outside today,” I point out.
“I never stepped out the main door.”
