Dante's Marriage Pact by Day Leclaire Read Free Book Online Page B

indicating he should take care of the analysis and grading. “So.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Letty has her own supply of fire diamonds. I am surprised she is giving us advance warning of her intentions. Or is it more in the nature of a threat?”
    He tilted his head to one side, and fixed the power of his gaze on Shayla. Draco had seen men of immense power and position crumble beneath that gaze. But not Shayla. She met him look for look.
    â€œIt’s not a warning, Mr. Dante, or a threat.” Her smile flickered to life. Draco considered it one of her most potent weapons. “It’s a proposition. My grandmother is offering you the exclusive opportunity to lease our mines.”
    Sev focused his gaze on Shayla as well, one identical to his grandfather’s. “Why?”
    â€œIt’s quite simple. We’re not in the business anymore. My parents, who probably could have revitalized Charlestons, are dead and I have neither the interest nor the ability to run the company,” she admitted with endearing candor. “To be blunt, we simply aren’t in the position to mine the stones or cut them—other than this initial lot—let alone create jewelry with them. You are.”
    Primo weighed the information for a long moment before speaking. “There are others who would pay your grandmother a fortune for the mining rights. Competitors of Dantes. Considering she has always blamed us for putting Charlestons out of business and it is in her nature to exact revenge…” He spread his hands wide and shrugged. “Why does she not use this opportunity to her advantage?”
    â€œMy grandmother is older now. Losing my parents hit her hard.”
    Primo nodded. “I heard about the accident. Having lost one of my own sons, along with his wife, I can sympathize with Letty. But it is your loss that grieves me most.”
    Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them back, impressing the hell out of Draco with her control. “Thank you.”
    Primo inclined his head. “Would you be offended if we discuss the situation in Italian?”
    â€œNot at all.” She sent him a charming smile. “Would you be offended if I listened in?”
    Primo stilled. “You speak Italian?”
    â€œ Parlo italiano fluente ,” she admitted.
    â€œFluently and with an excellent accent,” Draco murmured. Then he raised his voice. “In that case… Shayla, would you mind waiting in my office while my family and I discuss the situation?”
    She slid back her chair and stood. “Not at all.”
    Draco escorted her from the conference room and down the hallway to his office. “Help yourself to coffee,” he offered. “I made a fresh pot a short time ago.”
    Before she could guess his intentions he leaned in for a swift kiss. Their lips joined, parted, then met again for a slower, more thorough exploration. Her breath sighed from her lungs, filled with hunger, yet shaded with regret. He wished there were time for more than a swift, stolen kiss. But his family waited and he didn’t doubt for a minute that if he delayed any longer they’d guess why.
    â€œI have to go,” he reluctantly informed her.
    She drew back. “And we shouldn’t be mixing business with pleasure, anyway.”
    â€œWe’ll have plenty of time for pleasure later,” he reassured her. “Once this is settled.”
    She turned abruptly. “I look forward to hearing your family’s decision,” she said.
    Her formality amused him, given what they’d been doing a few short hours earlier. “It shouldn’t take long.”
    He returned to the conference room, interrupting a heated exchange between his cousins, who debated Leticia Charleston’s motivations for her offer. No one commented on the delay, though Primo pulled out a cigar and swept him with a quick, encompassing stare