He didn’t.
“Sounds important,” he said.
“It is,” Alexis replied. “History shapes everything. If we don’t understand where we came from, we can’t understand where we’re going.”
I watched her speak.
She was intelligent. Articulate. Passionate about her work.
Everything Mama wanted for me.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about Truth.
About the way she’d looked at me in the car.
About the way she’d fought beside me in the street.
About the way she’d signed that contract without flinching.
“Amai.”
I blinked.
Winston was staring at me.
“I asked you a question,” he said.
“Sorry. What?”
His jaw tightened. “I asked how business is going.”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” He raised an eyebrow. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Business is good,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Landry Enterprises is expanding. The jewelry shop is doing well. Everything’s on track.”
“And the other business?”
The air shifted.
Alexis glanced between us, sensing something but not understanding what.
“Also fine,” I said.
Winston leaned forward slightly. “I heard there was some trouble at the docks.”
“It’s handled.”
“Handled how?”
“The way it needed to be handled.”
Silence.
Then Winston smiled—cold, sharp, the kind of smile that never reached his eyes.
“Good,” he said. “I’d hate to think you were getting soft.”
