An Heiress For The Bear (Sarkozy Brothers 2) (6 page)

Lukas sat and grabbed his cellphone. He was already dialing as she left the office, rattling off a string of Italian dishes that sounded delicious. She supposed she should be grateful that the whole pity lunch would be held in private.

Stop it, Kat.

She had to think positive. Sure, he wanted to get the paperwork sorted, but he didn't need to wine and dine her for it. Even if he could schmooze the donor, he'd have no reason to butter Kat up.

Besides, she had to keep her head in the game. She'd have to remain on guard. Now Lukas expected a male donor, so Kat would have to watch herself when answering questions.

If he wanted to know who the donor was, he wouldn't give up easily.

L
UKAS
WAS
WONDERING
WHY
HE
'
D
suggested lunch in the first place. He'd seen the shock in her face when he'd barked at her. He couldn't believe he'd been so fucking callous as to yell at her that way. She certainly hadn't deserved to be spoken to like that, even if it was due to a misunderstanding.

The fear he'd seen in Kat's eyes was real enough to make him feel like a fucking heel. And he'd searched his stupid brain for a way to make it up to her. But what the hell was he thinking by suggesting the private boardroom? He should have just taken her out to dinner.

Out in public was safer.

But out in public would have meant they couldn't be alone.

And alone was how he wanted Kat.

Alone is a bad idea, Lukas.

Alone meant he'd be on edge, waiting for another opportunity to almost kiss her. Waiting for an opportunity to actually finish the damned job. Thoughts of Kat were driving him crazy, and he'd need to do something about it soon.

Lukas sighed and flipped though the papers on his desk. His mind wasn't in the right space, but there was more going on at the moment than him and his stupid spur of the moment decisions.

He picked up the phone and scanned his messages.

One from Marek to call him back and the other from Dominik regarding the dive. A ripple of excitement ran through him as he considered the possibility that they would find the Relic. That discovery would mean the world to the entire Sarkozy line. Their unassuming researcher, who'd managed to decipher its location, had no idea what they were dealing with.

With each generation, the Sarkozy line was dwindling. The death of their bloodline was attributed to a centuries-old gypsy's curse. The curse of a scorned lover, no less.

Historically speaking, Sarkozy men had always experienced difficulty in love.

Lukas shook his head and sympathized with Marek as he dialed his cousin's number. Since their childhood, they'd all been close--Lukas and the twins Marek and Aleks. As close as siblings, considering Sarkozy men rarely produced more than one offspring in their lifetimes.

Each generation, the number of children had dwindled, and the birth rate per couple was now zero point five. Lukas laughed. Fifty percent chance of conceiving a child. It was a good thing that as a bear shifter, he'd known his choices were limited to begin with. Female bear shifters were scarce enough to make a partnership on an equal footing extremely rare.

Of course, there was Alana. But she wasn't the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He'd rather be alone than saddled with Alana for the rest of his life.

But at least he was around to have to make that decision. Unlike Aleks. He'd been gone for a year now, with no sign of him no matter how hard Delta Corps worked. Marek missed him the most. The rare twin bond had made him almost mindless with grief when Aleks had been taken.

The Legion had abducted him, and nobody had heard a word from him since. They'd searched, but the Legion's operatives hadn't left a trace of anything for them to follow. But the Sarkozys would never give up. Although, as bad as Lukas felt, he knew Marek felt worse.

Marek and Aleks had been a miracle. Twins had been a common enough occurrence for the family over the centuries, but the last pair had been born forty years ago. Marek and Aleks's birth had shocked the family and had been the last.

Nobody expected another set of twins again. Heck, nobody expected to even have a single child, let alone two at the same time.

And the fucking Legion had managed to get their hands on a rare Sarkozy twin.

The Legion and the Sarkozys played a dreadful game.

"Marek." His cousin's deep voice vibrated into his ear.

"It's Luc. How you doing, brother?" Lukas asked, more to get the preliminaries out of the way. Marek's grunt was a sufficient answer. "Sara's been complaining that you're giving the staff a hard time."

Marek snorted. "The staff? She means Sara. The woman thinks it's a good idea to creep into my bedroom while I'm asleep... naked."

Lukas laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day when you complain about a woman creeping into your bedroom."

"She and Alana should hook up. They seem like each other's type." Marek sounded serious, which was a testament to the man's frustrations.

"You can say that again." Lukas sighed.

"So, any news on the dive?"

"Maryse texted." Maryse Carlisle was their brilliant researcher, a woman who'd managed to decode fragments of ancient documents where centuries of men had failed. "They've commissioned a vessel, and barring bad weather, they should be diving in two weeks."

"This is it, brother." Marek's voice mirrored his anticipation. The dive meant a lot to all the Sarkozy men. "Let's hope she's right."

"She sure sounds like she knows what she's doing. She's the best cryptographer this side of the universe."

"You hold her in high regard."

"She came highly recommended." Lukas spoke softly. Maryse had been recommended to them by Aleks a few months before he'd disappeared.
 

Marek had fallen silent, his thoughts probably also touching on his brother. Lukas cleared his throat. "You take care of yourself, Marek. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, brother."

"And Marek."

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to fix things with Carson?"

Marek fell silent. And when he didn't answer, Lukas said, "If she is the one for you, then you should fight for her. You need to ask yourself if she is worth fighting for."

When Marek didn't respond, Lukas smiled to himself and cut the call. Let the big lummox stew on that.

K
AT
WAS
PACING
.

T
HE
PRIVATE
boardroom was a larger room at the back of the office. Lukas and Alana only ever used it when donors came by, or if any high profile clients needed privacy.

The room was large enough to hold the eight seater oak table, chairs, and a glass-fronted sideboard that ran the length of the room. A large plush sofa was pushed up against the only wall with a window, making the room seem comfortable, yet classy.

And Kat was pacing across the plush caramel carpet. The food had been delivered, and the room was filled with delectable aromas. And Lukas hadn't arrived yet.

Maybe this is a big mistake, she thought. Maybe it's a sign.

A sign that Lukas was bad news. But it wasn't as if she was really interested in him. She didn't even like him.

The door opened, and Lukas breezed through, a small stack of files in his arms. His dark suit hugged his form, the jacket and pants tailored to his physique, outlining the muscles of his shoulders and arms in a way that made Kat want to see more.

Okay, you didn't have to like someone in order to like the way they looked, did you?

"Hey. Sorry. I just got back from speaking to the judge about Maria's case."

"Oh?" responded Kat, her forehead scrunching into a frown. "Was there a problem?"

Lukas shrugged out of his coat and dropped it over the nearest chair. Now that was more like it, she thought, as she got a satisfying eyeful of white fabric that gave a hint of the muscled chest beneath.

"Not really. King had his lawyer appeal to the judge to get the case thrown out of court because of Maria's failure to appear."

"We expected that."

Kat reached for his jacket with a frown. She needed to do something with her hands as Lukas spoke, something that would stop her from walking over to him and running her hands over his arms and chest. So instead, she dusted out the jacket and headed to the sideboard. At the end was a closet, and she opened it and reached for a hanger.

Get a grip, Kat.

Sure the man was eye candy, but she had to focus. She slipped the jacket onto the hanger and shoved it onto the rail, forcing herself to ignore the scent of him that emanated from the fabric.
 

Lukas was speaking, and she turned to him, noting the amused smile on his face. "Yep. And my appeal to the judge was not to dismiss but rather to postpone because we are concerned about Maria's mental state. So for the record, we're suggesting Maria see a counselor to help with handling everything. That should give us a few weeks."

Kat nodded, impressed. "Good plan. Buy for time, keep them guessing. He'll think his letter is working because of the counseling suggestions. That should give us enough time for the trail to go cold." She went over to the table and began to unwrap the food.

"That's the plan." Lukas helped her, then opened a bottle of sparkling water before filling two goblets. Joshua's had delivered the food with cutlery, crockery, and glassware. First class service all around. Kat found it hard not to be impressed.

They focused on the food, sampling the eclectic combination of dishes: seafood linguine, chicken and mushroom risotto, lobster bisque.

Kat tried not look at him. It was safer that way. She was beginning to think that the boardroom had been a bad choice.

At last, Lukas pushed his plate aside and reached for his files. "This is the contract we've drawn up. It's standard. We can nut out the specifics. Then we redraw the contact and prep it for signing."

Kat nodded and reached for the file.

"The first question, of course, is the amount Mr. Anonymous wants to donate."

Kat tried to keep the feeling of exhilaration from showing on her face as she named a low seven-figure sum. Lukas's eyes widened. "That's generous."

Kat nodded. "He's impressed by the little I mentioned. If I were allowed to divulge more, I'm sure he'd give more."

Lukas hesitated. And Kat wondered why the hell she was playing this game. She knew how much she wanted to donate, and she should just name the damned figure and be done with it.

But she realized that it might look too easy. How the hell did one donate large sums of money, anyway? She'd never been party to such a thing before, and she'd sure as hell never heard her grandfather mention donations either.

She grinned, thinking about what he would say if he were alive to witness it.

Lukas laughed softly. "He must be impressed, judging by that smile." But then he leaned back. "I'm still not sure. Seeing as he is anonymous, I have no way to judge how discreet he is or how trustworthy. Just because he's throwing money at us doesn't mean we can trust him."