Todos os capítulos de Dear Ex, I'm Your Godmother Now: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

Ravenna"Miss Kral."He said it like a man testing a door he already expected to be unlocked."I hope I'm not interrupting." Adrian stopped at a respectful distance, one hand in his pocket, the other extended. "Adrian Kingsley, Kingsley Distribution. I've wanted to meet you all evening, but you've been very well guarded."I looked at his hand.It was the same hand. Same long fingers, same square knuckles, same faint pale line on the thumb where he had cut himself opening a crate at nineteen. I knew it the way you know a room you have lived in. I had held it across a wedding table. I had held it, for three seconds, over a balcony.I took it.His palm was warm. Dry. It closed around mine with a firm, easy pressure, and I waited for something inside me to break.Nothing did."Mr. Kingsley." My voice was low and even. I was proud of it. "I've heard a great deal about your company.""Then I'm afraid I have a reputation to live up to." He smiled, and let go of my hand a moment later than he

Ravenna"We should continue this later," Adrian said minutes after. "Properly. Over dinner, perhaps."The summit was thinning around us. Waiters were collecting empty glasses, and somewhere behind him Selene was laughing too brightly at something a man had said. I picked up my coat from the back of the chair."Later, Mr. Kingsley," I said. "We'll talk more later."I said it warmly. I let my eyes rest on his face for exactly one second. Then I walked out, and I did not look back to see whether he watched me go.He did. I knew without turning. I could feel it between my shoulder blades all the way to the door.The first email arrived at 7:42 the next morning."It's from Kingsley's office," Elise said, standing at the edge of my hotel suite with her tablet in both hands. "Mr. Kingsley would like to schedule a formal meeting to discuss the Kral partnership terms. He has blocked out Thursday afternoon and says he is willing to travel to wherever you prefer."I stirred my coffee. "Decline."

Ravenna "Six proposals," my voice rang out. "Three seats." The conference room went very quiet. I stood at the head of the long glass table with my hands folded in front of me. Six delegations sat on either side, each with their folders, their laptops, their carefully rehearsed smiles. Harlan Pierce. The Rotterdam consortium. The Toronto firm. A Boston carrier I had already decided I didn't like. A mid sized Texan operator with hungry eyes. And at the far end, with his back very straight and his jaw very still, Adrian. "Kral Maritime will not partner with more than three of you," I continued. "Every one of you has met the minimum requirements. That's why you're here. But meeting the minimum does not earn a seat. Over the next two days, each of you will present to me directly. I will ask questions. Some of them will be uncomfortable. At the end, three companies will remain." A murmur went through the room. Adrian hadn't moved. But I saw his hand tighten around his pen. "

RavennaI made it through dinner.I don't remember most of it. There was soup, and something with duck, and a dessert arranged like a small white flower. My father talked about the Port of Chicago. My mother asked about Prague. I answered every question in the right order, in the right tone, with the right small laugh in the right places. Somewhere between the duck and the dessert, my mother reached across the table and touched my wrist, and I let her.I kept my face still. That was all I did. For three hours I held it still, like a woman carrying a full glass across a moving deck.At the door, my mother hugged me.I hadn't expected it. She stepped forward in the warm light of the hall, said "Thank you for coming, dear," and put her arms around me. She smelled of lilies and powder. Her cheek pressed against mine. Her hands were light on my back.I stood there like a plank.And in that one second, some small, stupid part of me held its breath.Then she let go, smiled, and told me to dr

SeleneI heard the front door slam from upstairs.Adrian did not slam doors. He was a man who closed things quietly, who set glasses down without a sound, who had built his whole life on never letting anyone hear him lose control. So when the whole house shook, I put down my brush, looked at myself once in the vanity mirror, and went down to meet him.He was in the study, pacing. His jacket was on the floor. His tie hung loose around his neck, and one hand was buried in his hair, pulling it out of place. When I stepped in, he did not look up."Darling." I kept my voice soft. "What happened?""Nothing.""That doesn't look like nothing.""I said nothing, Selene."I ignored the harshness in his voice, closed the door behind me and crossed the room slowly. I took the jacket off the carpet, shook it out, and hung it over the back of a chair. Then I poured a glass of water, not whiskey, and held it out to him.He looked at it. Then, after a moment, he took it and sank into the armchair by t