Chapter 340: Chapter 340: Soap opera (1)
Days later the estate had settled into a new rhythm. Lucas had moved his work to a bright corner office overlooking the gardens, a place designed for county paperwork rather than state councils. His laptop was open, e-mails and draft statements spilling across the screen. A stack of folders waited by his elbow, Trevor’s crest stamped on each. The faint pulse of heat that hadn’t yet broken lay like a low thrum under his skin, making the room feel warmer than it was.
He rubbed his temple, trying to focus on a reply to a minister’s message, when a soft knock broke the quiet. Windstone stepped inside, silver-haired and precise as always. "Sir," he said quietly, "there is a visitor..."
He didn’t get to finish. The door behind him banged open and Mia slipped past him like a gust of wind, eyes wide. "Lucas!" she exclaimed, skirts swishing around her legs as she crossed the room at a near run.
Windstone’s brows shot up at the breach of protocol, but he didn’t try to stop her. Nobody entered the Fitzgeralt estate without Trevor’s say-so; for Mia to appear unannounced, something had to have been urgent enough for Windstone to step aside.
Lucas pushed back from the desk, startled, his chair rolling a little on its casters. "Mia? What are you doing?"
She was already at his side, catching his hands in hers, breathless. "I had to come. I couldn’t wait for an invitation."
A deeper voice came from the doorway before Lucas could answer. "Nor could I." Lucius stepped in behind her, tall and composed, the sharp lines of a Palatine suit making him look like a blade in the soft light of the office. His blue eyes flicked over the room, taking in the security cameras, the closed laptop, and Mia clutching Lucas’s hands.
Windstone cleared his throat, his tone still level but edged. "Sir, they insisted. I thought it best not to cause a scene at the gates."
Lucas glanced from Mia to his older brother, his pulse suddenly faster from heat, stress, or both; he wasn’t sure. "All right," he said, rising from his chair. "Then somebody tell me what’s so urgent you both had to break into Fitzgeralt to deliver it yourselves."
"He wants me as his new fiancée!" Mia blurted, pointing a trembling finger at Lucius as if she were naming a villain in a courtroom. The gesture would have been comic if her eyes hadn’t been so bright with betrayal.
Lucas blinked, the words not immediately computing. "Excuse me?"
Windstone, still stationed at the door, closed it with deliberate care. "Perhaps we should all sit," he murmured, but no one moved.
Lucius didn’t flinch at Mia’s accusation. He slipped his hands into his pockets and stood there, immaculate and unreadable, his expression somewhere between exasperation and amusement. "You’re exaggerating," he said smoothly. "I suggested a strategic engagement. Hardly a romantic proposal."
"Strategic engagement?" Mia spun on him, voice rising. "You tried to negotiate me like a merger. You even asked my hand from Andrew and Milo!"
Lucius’s jaw tightened, the only visible crack in his composure. "Because they’re your family now," he said evenly. "You chose the Blacks. I wasn’t going to insult you by going around them."
"You mean you weren’t going to insult your own reputation," Mia shot back, still clinging to Lucas’s hands. "You think because my brother and I are useful to you, you can buy me like another contract."
Lucas stepped out from behind the desk before the two of them could get any closer. "Enough," he said, voice quiet but cutting through the room. The faint pulse of his unbroken heat made the air feel heavy, and even Lucius’s gaze flicked to him. "This is Fitzgeralt. No shouting, no deals across my desk."
Windstone inclined his head slightly, one hand already resting on the door handle in case security was needed.
Lucius drew a slow breath, the blue of his eyes cooling. "Mia," he said, tone softer now, "I didn’t ask because you were useful. I asked because I..." He stopped himself, shoulders straightening. "Because I believe it would protect you and your brother. Because it would stabilize the mess that family left behind. You know what happened with Trevor’s poisoning attempt. You know what my former fiancée’s family did. I have no one."
Mia’s expression faltered for a heartbeat, but she kept her chin high. "That’s not how you ask someone out," she said. "That’s how you file a motion."
Lucas sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Mia, sit down. Lucius, stand over there before my head splits." When they hesitated, he added, "Now."
The two of them obeyed, though Mia muttered something under her breath and Lucius’s hands stayed buried in his pockets. Lucas turned to Windstone. "Get some water, please. Cold."
When the butler had slipped out, Lucas looked back at them, green eyes tired but sharp. "You two, behave. Is it in the Malek genes to run away from everything?"
Mia’s head snapped up. "Excuse me? I ran toward you," she said, indignant. "I practically broke your security system to get in here."
Lucius’s mouth twitched at the corner, the closest he ever came to a smile. "And you accuse me of being dramatic," he murmured.
"That’s not an answer," Lucas cut in, one brow arching. "You, Lucius, vanish for weeks, reappear in my office trying to negotiate a merger with someone who isn’t yours. And you, Mia, come crashing through the front door like a storm. It’s a wonder Windstone hasn’t resigned yet."
Mia shifted on the chair, cheeks coloring. "I wasn’t running," she said more quietly. "I was... making sure I still had a choice."
Lucius’s hands slid out of his pockets, palms open in a rare gesture of concession. "And I was making sure you didn’t get crushed for choosing wrong," he said, eyes flicking to her before returning to Lucas. "Poor execution. Right intention."
Lucas exhaled through his nose, the smallest crack in his stern expression. "You both make my head hurt," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sit. Breathe. Windstone will bring water. Then, for the love of whatever gods are left, we’ll talk like adults instead of turning my office into a soap opera."