Sebastian
I found Clara in the garden when I got home, sitting on the stone bench beneath the old magnolia tree she'd claimed as her own within the first month of moving into the estate, a book open in her lap that she didn't appear to be reading.
"You look like a man carrying bad news," she said, closing the book as I approached.
"I am." I sat beside her, the weight of the day pressing down harder now that I'd left the boardroom, now that I didn't have twelve pairs of eyes watching for any sign of weakness. "The board voted this morning to formally approach Kingsley Holdings for a capital partnership. It's the only option large enough, fast enough, to close the gap we're facing."
Clara went very still beside me. "Kingsley Holdings."
"I know." I reached for her hand, finding it cold d
