'Nick,' she said, trying to maintain a casual, conversational tone. Just two people chatting about family matters over dinner. 'He came to see me at my office today.'
'What did he want from you?'
She concentrated on serving the salad. 'Under the circumstances, it's perfectly natural that he would want to meet your wife, isn't it?'
'No.'
'Well, I realize that this is only a Marriage of Convenience, but that doesn't mean the family isn't interested. Look at my family, for example. My grandmother will expect me to bring you to her anniversary celebration next month. If we're still married, that is.'
'No.'
She chilled. 'Yes, I know, we probably won't be married that long. But my point is that families are curious about wives and husbands, even if the arrangements are short-term.' She drew a breath. 'Like ours.'
'I wasn't referring to your grandparents' anniversary. I was talking about my Burns relatives. Trust me, none of us wants to get any closer. What did Nick say? And don't try to convince me that he was just curious about you.'
She put down the salad tongs with great care. 'Let's get something straight here, Fontana. I am your wife, not one of your hunters. You engage in conversations and discussions with me; you do not give me orders.'
His brows rose. 'Sounds like you're the one giving orders.'
She thought about that. 'I think of it as setting boundaries. Now, to return to the subject at hand, Nick told me that lately you have refused to take any calls from anyone in your family.'
He stabbed a bite of salmon with his fork. 'They've only been trying to call me for about a month or so. Now, if they'd been trying for a year or longer…'
'I get it. You would have refused to take the calls that long. Okay, you've made your position clear.'
'Good. That means this conversation is over.'
'Not quite,' she said evenly.
'I was afraid of that.' He drank some more wine and set down the glass. 'Nick told you that Bums is on the verge of bankruptcy, didn't he?'
'Yes, he did. He says your other brother, Josh, can save it, but he needs an infusion of capital.'
'In other words, Nick asked you to talk me into pumping money into the business.'
'He sounded desperate.'
Fontana shrugged. 'Margaret probably sent him. She's the most desperate one in the family.'
'Who's Margaret?'
'Nick's mother, my father's widow. She always believed the company was the rightful inheritance of her husband's
'Nick said that your father left control of the company to you, but you declined the inheritance.'
'That's right. The day the will was read in the lawyer's office, I signed papers transferring my shares in Bums & Co. back to my father's
'Did you know the business was in trouble when you walked away from it?'
'No, neither did Margaret.' His smile was cold. 'Talk about life's little ironies. She was so relieved, she actually sent me a stiff little thank-you note afterward. Those well-bred, upper-class manners come through every time.'
She thought about calling him on that jab and then decided she needed to stay focused.
'Okay,' she said, 'so when did everyone find out that Burns was in serious financial jeopardy?'
He ate some of the fish for a moment, thinking. 'Josh must have realized that he had problems soon after he took over the company. Probably spent months trying to come up with some way to salvage things on his own before he approached me.'
'You did take that call?'
'Yes. We talked just long enough for me to make it clear that I don't want anything to do with the business.'
'Why did your father change his will at the last minute and leave Burns to you?' she asked.
'Burns was my father's passion,' Fontana said. 'He committed his life to the company. When he realized that his dream had become a nightmare, he couldn't face it.'
She lowered her fork. 'That was why he killed himself? Because he was facing financial ruin?'
'Yes.'
'But that's such a dumb reason. I mean, I can see contemplating suicide because you found out that you had a fatal illness or because you'd done something dreadful and couldn't live with yourself. But to put a gun to your head just because your business was in trouble seems—'
'Weak?'
She flushed. 'Forgive me. I'm very sorry. I should not have said that. Suicide is a great tragedy. Your father was undoubtedly suffering from a severe depression. It is an illness, like any other, and should be treated as such.'
'Forget the politically correct spin. The truth is my father was willing to sacrifice everything for Burns & Co. Hell, he even entered a Covenant Marriage for the sake of the business. He wanted the financial connections Margaret's family could give him. The drive and ambition it took to build Burns was Dad's greatest strength.' Fontana shrugged. 'You know what they say about your greatest strength.'
'It's also your greatest weakness,' she said quietly.
'Right. The only defense anyone has is to be aware of both.' He used his fork to spear another bite of salmon. 'Play to one and guard against the other.'
She smiled. 'Words to live by.'
'Thanks. Once in a while we Guild bosses actually think about stuff like that.'
'Don't start,' she warned.
'Sorry. Can't resist occasionally pointing out that your stereotyped image of the Guild has a few flaws.' He picked up the wine bottle. 'It's one of my weaknesses.'
She raised her brows. 'Wow. A Guild boss who actually admits to having a weakness?'
'Sure. But not in public. I'm counting on your wifely loyalty to keep that news flash out of the press.'
'Hot dang, another Guild secret.' She watched him refill their glasses. 'All right, so your father lived his life for his business, and when it failed, he couldn't go on. I still don't understand why he left the company to you.'
'That's obvious. Burns was more than just a financial empire. My father intended it to be his legacy, a monument that would live on for generations after his death. When he realized that the firm was headed straight for the catacombs, he did the only thing he could think of to preserve his reputation. He dumped the business on me.'
'What was the point?'
'Don't you get it?' His mouth twisted in a humorless smile. 'My father figured that when Burns & Co. eventually folded, it would look like I was the one who had destroyed it, not him. He wanted me to take the fall for his failure so that his own reputation would remain untarnished.'
'Hmm.'
'What?'
'Your relationship with your father was obviously pretty complicated.'
'There was nothing complicated about it. I was his bastard son, a source of humiliation and embarrassment to his wife and her elite family. He met his financial obligations to me until the day I turned eighteen. Otherwise he pretended that my mother and I didn't exist.'
'I've got news for you, Fontana. That description of your relationship with him meets the definition of complicated.'
'So?'
'So, here's what I think,' she said. 'Your father was very aware of your success within the Guild. He also knew that you had built your own financial empire.'
'It's no empire. I've made some good investments, but I'm not worth anywhere near as much as he was
