Page 57 of Lennox Lane

Lennox released his hand. “Community acquisition consultant?”

Curtis chuckled. “Sounds fancier than it is. I help developers and communities find mutually beneficial pathways when neighborhoods start changing.”

Lane’s smile sharpened. “Gentrification with a thesaurus.”

Curtis gave a soft laugh, though his eyes hardened. “Ms. Sanders has a wonderful sense of humor.”

“She does,” Lennox said. “Especially when people waste her time.”

Lane coughed.

Curtis adjusted his jacket. “I was just telling Ms. Sanders we admire what she’s built here. Truly. The Full Plate Project is a beautiful community resource. But this area is evolving. Major opportunities are coming to this corridor, and sometimes legacy organizations need support transitioning into spaces that better fit their next chapter.”

Lennox heard the threat beneath the polish.

He had spent his entire life listening to powerful men make harm sound like progress.

Lane’s voice stayed cool. “And I was just telling Mr. Bell that The Full Plate Project is exactly where it needs to be.”

Curtis nodded as if she were a child making a point with crayons. “Of course. Of course. We simply want to open a dialogue. If a new, state-of-the-art facility became available, one with modern equipment, more square footage, updated parking, perhaps in a less congested area, we’d hope you would consider the possibilities.”

“Inaccessible possibilities,” Lane said.

“Different does not always mean inaccessible.”

“It does when the people who need us most can’t get there.”

His smile thinned. “There are always transportation solutions.”

“Are you funding those too?”

Curtis’s eyes flicked briefly toward Lennox before returning to Lane. “We’re not here to argue logistics today.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To keep communication open.”

Lane’s smile did not move. “Consider it open and concluded.”

Lennox almost laughed.

Curtis’s jaw shifted.

“Well,” Curtis said, sliding a business card from inside his jacket. “I’ll leave my card. These conversations tend to become more urgent with time.”

There it was.

Lane’s expression did not change, but Lennox felt the temperature of his own blood drop.

Curtis held the card out.

Lane did not take it.

Lennox did.

Curtis looked at him.

Lennox slipped the card into his pocket. “I’ll make sure she has it.”