And he was doing it. Yes, she had cornered him, gone through Cameron Blackmore, but Simon still could have said no. She had made that clear to Cameron, too.
Her stomach clenched as she flashed through all the ways this could go wrong. If Simon were to get hurt, get shot, anything, it would be worse than something happening to her. Why the hell hadn’t she thought about these pieces before now? Hadn’t she grown in the last eleven years, or was she still the same spoiled girl who couldn’t see past her own needs?
Marianna slowed to a stop in front of the door. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was falling in love with this man all over again. And now she was dragging him into danger with her.
“Simon?” She turned to him.
His face was hard, cold, but when he met her gaze, his eyes softened. Then he frowned.
“Not now,” he muttered. His voice was low and harsh, but his touch was soothing. Maybe he already knew.
“Open the door, Mari,” he said. “Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Marianna straightened her back, lifted her chin and turned the handle.
In front of her sat a version of the man she remembered. Different and yet the same. Older. His gray hair was a little too long, and his skin now had the weathered look of someone who spent years working in the sun. Goodwin’s well-tailored suit was the only thing about him that looked polished. But she remembered his eyes, ice blue, assessing.
Those eyes narrowed as Goodwin rose to his feet. He moved around his desk with a swagger that had no place in a boardroom.
“Marianna Ruiz. My goddaughter.” There was a hint of irony in his voice that sent a chill down her back. He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You’re just as lovely as I remember.”
“It’s been a long time, Mr. Goodwin,” she said, cringing as his name came from her lips. At five years old,Mr. Goodwinwas appropriate. More than twenty years later, the formality sounded ridiculous. But she pushed on. “This is Simon Rodriguez.”
Goodwin sized up Simon and offered a hand. Simon’s face gave nothing away, and his handshake looked more like the flexing of power than a greeting.
The man studied Simon closely, then turned back to her. “Maybe this conversation should be a little more private?”
“No.” Simon’s voice echoed in the room, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
“Simon worked for my father,” said Marianna smoothly. “I trust him.”
Not a lie. Simon did work for her father all those years ago. But the deception had rolled off her tongue so easily.
“Are you expecting trouble?” Goodwin asked. His tone was light, but he didn’t smile. “Is that why you’ve brought security?”
Marianna raised her eyebrows. “The same kind of trouble as your guards are expecting. The ones who frisked us.”
“Point taken.” He chuckled and motioned to the chairs. Marianna sat down, but Simon stayed on his feet, positioning himself behind her. Goodwin smiled a little and leaned back against his desk. “You have something that brought you all the way from Miami to show me. And you’re early.”
She opened her mouth to give her invented excuse but hesitated. The man staring down at her with his cold blue eyes wouldn’t believe it, not for a moment. Marianna closed her mouth and nodded.
“I’m guessing you trust that I will keep my vow as your godfather, that I will protect you,” he continued. “The question is whether I can trust you.”
Marianna stiffened in her chair. She was determined to do this. But she hadn’t expected that sitting across from Goodwin, ready to implicate the man her father had trusted to protect her, would feel so wrong. Shit. She couldn’t afford to waver right now. Not when she had set Simon up as her buffer from danger.
Marianna swallowed, channeling years of social training into her voice.
“I found a few papers I wanted to know more about,” she said, holding out the envelope. “Informal deals I think you made with my father.”
But Goodwin didn’t reach for the envelope, so she continued. “Now that William and I are divorced, I thought I should get a better understanding of the whole process.”
Goodwin raised his eyebrows. “You father was worried that you might not be suited for this business, but it looks like you’re doing just fine.”
Her gut tightened. Was this an admission of guilt?
“I’m still learning,” she said evenly.
She waited for him to elaborate or take the envelope or dosomething. But he didn’t move.
