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Finally? I guessed there must be some speculation among the other Devil’s Dozen inner circles about each family’s heirs.
I smiled back at her, trying to mimic that same expression I’d seen Mom use on the gang boss yesterday. “It’s good to meet you too. Thank you so much for agreeing to this meeting so we can see what we can work out.”
She bobbed her head. “My employer is very interested in what we might accomplish together.”
Mom had gone over the initial negotiations for the deal with me in detail before I’d come here. She wanted to expand our weapons trade into one of the March Wind’s territories in northern California. In exchange, he wanted to take over the distribution of certain drugs in the southern part of that state, which was currently under our rule.
We couldn’t discuss any of that outright, of course. After placing our orders and a little more bland small talk, Mara got down to business using vague language to hide her real purpose.
She brought up a map on a tablet and slid it across the table to me. “These are the areas where we’d like to increase our reach. We feel it’s an equitable balance with the access you’re requesting.”
I scanned the map, comparing it to the instructions Mom had given me, and tapped one county. “This one we’d like to keep full control over. There are some delicate relations that need to be maintained there. But we could offer this region or this one instead.”
Mara cocked her head, considering. “I believe the second of those would suit our purposes as an alternative. We’d like to keep the transition as seamless and simple as possible.”
I pushed my mouth into another forced smile. “So would we. I’m glad that our interests align so well.”
It was my first attempt at feeling out her and her boss’s attitude toward the Deadly Rose overall. Maybe a weak one, but I had no idea what exactly Mom wanted me to fish for. I couldn’t exactly ask this woman if we could exchange friendship bracelets.
Mara returned my smile with the same blandly professional expression she’d kept up since she arrived. “It does appear that this arrangement will benefit both of us quite a bit. My employer appreciates your willingness to negotiate.”
I didn’t think I could read anything into that, warm or cold. The waitress saved me from having to figure out an immediate reply by arriving with our salads.
I couldn’t have felt less hungry, but I jabbed my fork into the leafy green mix and chewed gingerly. Mara’s gaze rested on me between bites of her own meal, and my skin prickled.
Was she studying me just as much as I was supposed to be evaluating her?
“Maybe there’ll be other opportunities for us to collaborate with your employer in the future,” I ventured in another tentative foray.
My probe was only met by a slight lift of Mara’s thinly plucked eyebrows and a beat of hesitation. “If we see an opening for a satisfying exchange, we’ll be sure to let you know,” she said.
You couldn’t get much more noncommittal than that. But then, I hadn’t exactly poured on the enthusiasm either.
This whole conversation felt like an awkward dance—one where neither of us was willing to actually move close enough to touch the other person for fear of coming on too strong… or not being welcome at all.
I tried to earn a little more warmth from her by asking a few questions about her home territory in California—nothing at all sensitive, of course. Mara answered readily enough but with a cool air that gave nothing away.
By the time we were getting up from our seats, I couldn’t shake the sense that whatever Mom had hoped for from this meeting, I’d failed miserably.
Mara dipped her head to me. “I’ll have my employer pass on his confirmation of the agreement by the end of the day.”
I let her stride out ahead of me and gathered my nerves as I walked out to the car I’d driven here on my own. I wasn’t enough of a leader to warrant a driver yet, apparently, but then, I was grateful for the time to myself without any of Mom’s lackeys peering at me.
I’d appreciate the freedom more if it hadn’t also felt like a slap in the face. It was a silent statement that she would find me regardless—that there was no hope of escaping again, so she didn’t need to bother monitoring me that closely.
Not letting myself zone out in the driver’s seat like I wanted to, I turned on the ignition and pulled out onto the road. In a matter of minutes, I was on the highway heading to what I had to call home for now.
I was halfway back to Austin when my phone rang. I already had it set out so I could quickly hit the speaker phone button.
Mom’s voice carried from the tiny speaker. She didn’t bother with a hello. “How was the meeting? Did you learn anything interesting?”
I winced, glad she couldn’t see me right now. “I’m not sure. It sounds like the deal is a go, according to the terms you were okay with.”
“No further overtures of alliance?”
“No,” I said cautiously. “I tried to put out feelers and suggest that we’d be open to more without being too blatant about it, and the representative stayed very detached about the whole thing.”
Mom hummed to herself. “Well, that’s a little disappointing, but not totally surprising. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
