Page 31 of The Exposed Heiress

She shook her head. “Some of the employees won’t want to stay with everything changing. Routines will be disrupted, and it also speaks to the direness of the situation.”

“Try not to take on the emotional aspects of all of this. Any transition or re-structuring is difficult. It’s impossible to predict the responses. There will be anger, resentment, blame, sadness. The full range.”

Emma smoothed the cloth napkin out on her lap. She wouldn’t allow herself to think about individuals tonight. They were her family. She knew things about them. Small things. When their child had a milestone birthday, or if they lost their parents.

She cleared her thoughts and asked, “How did John Blatchly take it?”

Leo took a sip of wine. “He was relieved. He saw this whole thing heading to bankruptcy, but now he thinks there is an inkling of hope.”

She considered the various board members. Most of them were friends with her father and rarely asked tough questions. They must want to back away and fade into the background.

The waiter discreetly placed an attractively plated appetizer in front of her. Looking down at the seared foie gras, she didn’t think she could eat.

Picking up her fork, Emma asked, “You had a preliminary conversation with a real estate person?”

Leo nodded to the waiter and then said, “Peter Lake. He invests into commercial real estate projects. We didn’t speak extensively, but he indicated that he’d give us a fair offer.”

* * *

Leo hesitated briefly,and then took a bite of the smoked quail starter. Emma surprised him at each turn. Unlike her father, she could think strategically and make practical decisions. Her ability would save Francis Bolles. But a tight knot formed in his gut when he thought of the personal cost to her. She would do the right thing and grieve privately. Unfortunately, her family would likely rush forward and blame her for everything.

She took a small bite of food. “It’s that simple. My family owned that building for seventy-five years and he’ll just make an offer.”

He made himself take another bite. “Your family slowly gave away the building over twenty-five years. Each time a new loan was taken, they lost some of their ownership.”

Emma placed her fork on her plate and took a sip of wine. “That is true.”

He needed to change the conversation. She couldn’t handle much more pressure about the business. “There’s something about you that puzzles me.”

She glanced at him. “There are things about you that puzzle me.”

He smiled. “You come from a family that prizes the family business and long-standing legacy. Why haven’t you settled down and gotten married?”

She picked up her fork. “I’m twenty-seven, Leo. By most standards that would be young to marry.”

“You’re not doing anything that would bring about a committed relationship.”

She let her mouth fall open. “How do you know that?”

He should let his curiosity about her go, but he couldn’t just yet. “You dated my brother. I don’t know anyone less suitable. You seem to gravitate to men that take a nice picture but don’t want anything more meaningful.”

She looked down at her plate. “I’m busy. My career takes everything right now. I don’t have time to accommodate someone else’s busy schedule.”

The waiter removed their plates and served the next course. He took a moment to subtly adjust the plates on the table and pour them each more wine.

Emma captured his interest. The graceful way she moved her hands and the way her expression changed with each emotion or thought. “I’m going to be blunt. Your lifestyle seems superficial. You hide away creating designs. You appear only during fashion week and barely say a word. Even your connection to your family seems to exist on the surface only.”

Emma pushed her wine glass to the right. “You’re judging me. My lifestyle seems superficial to you? What about your lifestyle? You don’t even have conversations with the women you date.”

He laughed. “I didn’t say that exactly.”

She frowned. “Close enough. So why haven’t you married? You’re probably pushing forty?”

Leo stilled. “I’m thirty.”

“Really? I thought all of your obsessive working out was a way to stay young?”

He leaned forward. “What does that mean, obsessively working out?” Why did she think that?

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