“I’d like that too,” Isabel told him.
They stood staring at each other for a few moments until the world shrunk and their lips met.
DARIUS
Darius kept both hands locked on the steering wheel as he navigated the hot asphalt road heading away from the diner, his brow furrowed as his analytical thoughts replayed the entire high-leverage meeting with Dr. Debbi Wineberg. The technical parameters she had dropped on the table were clicking into place, but the sheer, clinical malice behind her delivery left a lingering chill behind his ribs.
Darius had not been seated in the padded middle booth for more than two minutes when Dr. Wineberg strutted into the room like a queen who owned the very ground she walked on. His skin actually crawled the moment she crossed the threshold. It was not that she lacked physical appeal, because she was undeniably stunning, but there was an aggressive aura of calculated entitlement hovering around her that made his internal warning systems go cold.
He kept his face a perfectly relaxed mask of corporate indifference, forcing a smooth, polite smile onto his features as he stood to greet her. He was not entirely surprised when she immediately took the initiative to lean in close, pressing a brief,familiar kiss against his cheek as if they had known each other for a lifetime. It took everything his nervous system possessed not to shudder right in front of her.
They sat down across from each other on the vinyl cushions, and Pete walked over from behind the counter to present them with a pair of laminated menus.
"Just a dark roast coffee for me, Pete," Darius said, offering a brief nod. He was not hungry, his stomach far too tight with strategic maneuvers to process a meal. "Thank you."
"I will have the exact same thing," Dr. Wineberg told him, her gaze tracking Pete with a sharp, dismissive sweep before she turned her full focus onto Darius.
Pete nodded smoothly, but as he adjusted the plastic menu tracking cards on the edge of the table, he slightly turned his head toward the wood grain. Darius's eyes tracked the subtle movement, noticing the small, highly specialized recording lens tucked behind the condiment caddy—a transparent device completely invisible to the naked eye if a person was not actively trained to spot the internal glass metrics.
"Thank you, Pete, that will be all for now," Darius said, flashing a quick, knowing smile.
Pete smiled back, his expression entirely professional. "Your server will bring your beverages right over."
The diner owner retreated back toward the main kitchen partition, leaving them isolated in the middle of the floor.
"So, Dr. Wineberg, what exactly did you want to meet about today?" Darius asked, leaning his forearms against the table to project an air of relaxed interest.
"Please, Mr. Wayne, call me Debbi," she pouted prettily, tilting her chin as she looked across the short distance. "After all, I am hoping we can construct a very long and lucrative relationship together." She emphasized the final word with a slow, deliberate drop in her voice.
Again, Darius tried his absolute best not to shudder, ignoring the persistent crawling sensation along his neck as he kept his legal mask perfectly locked in place. "What exactly are you proposing? Does this strategy have something to do with the current status of the Hearts Hotel registry?"
"Yes," Debbi said, her jaw tightening as she leaned forward. "I saw how you handled Ms. Heart out on the beach earlier." A cruel, unmistakable glint of pure malice sliced through her blue eyes. "That woman and I have crossed paths before in academic circles." She tapped a long, well-manicured fingernail against the wood of the table with a sharp, rhythmic click. "She can be rather bothersome to deal with. Her and her two-timing aunt."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Darius asked, forcing his voice to remain entirely level as he reined in a sudden, sharp spike of anger.
"Anna Caldwell was legally supposed to marry my uncle, Professor Hyrum Wineberg, decades ago," Debbi told him, her lip curling with ancient family disdain. "But she jilted him right at the altar, packed her research bags, and left Charleston to go marry that local hotel owner, George Heart."
"Oh," Darius said, the syllable escaping him in a wave of feigned surprise. Internally, his thoughts were racing.What an absolute liar,he thought, recalling the technical details of the restraining orders Clyde had unearthed just an hour prior. "And Ms. Heart?How exactly could she have fitted into an ancient family dispute like that?"
"Oh, not that specific disaster," Debbi said, waving her hand dismissively as the server slid two steaming mugs of coffee onto the table. She waited for the staff member to clear the aisle before her eyes flashed with a sudden, hot wave of anger and deep-seated malice. "But she was instrumental in breaking up a separate marriage and another high-profile engagement ten years ago. Specifically, my marriage and my older brother's engagement." Her jaw clenched so tight the muscle bunched beneath her skin. "It was entirely because of her interference that my brother nearly lost his senate seat during the primary selection."
"How on earth could a local real estate attorney like Ms. Heart be at fault for your family's political restructuring?" Darius asked, lifting his cup to hide the sharp, calculating focus in his eyes.
"She reported my brother directly to the police for allegedly abusing his fiancé," Debbi told him, her voice dripping with a sharp edge of contempt. "A total nobody named Gill. Her father happened to be the serving dean of the scientific college we all attended together, and where Dr. Caldwell lectured at the time."
Darius was astounded at how dismissive and snobbish the woman was.
"Between Gill, Ms. Heart, and Dr. Caldwell, they managed to drive my husband to divorce me," Debbi's eyes welled with unshed tears right on cue.
Darius really hated women like this. But he needed information from her, and by the way she was staring at him, he hadto maintain his focus.Don't shudder, Darius,he admonished himself internally.
"How did they manage to break up your marriage?" Darius feigned concern, keeping his voice smooth.
"Gill threw herself at Owen, encouraged by Ms. Heart and Dr. Caldwell," Debbi said, her tone hardening. "They had the audacity to accuse me of plagiarism, claiming I tried to steal the project work that Gill and Owen had done." Her eyes flashed with sudden bitterness. "But my uncle Hyrum, who is also a highly respected archaeologist, managed to prove they were lying."
"What happened to them?" Darius asked.
"Gill and her father lost their jobs," Debbi told him with cold malice. "Dr. Caldwell... well, no one can really touch her. My uncle would have a fit if anyone tried. He is still, after all these years, totally besotted with her." She shook her head. "Can you believe that snooty cow had the nerve to get a restraining order against my upstanding uncle?"
