Three colored drawings sat on Adrian’s coffee table.
One was of a purple elephant.
One appeared to be our office building.
The third showed three stick figures holding hands.
I stared at it.
Adrian followed my gaze.
“She works quickly.”
“I’m going to move to another country.”
“That seems disproportionate.”
“In the picture you’re approximately nine feet tall.”
“I assume that’s artistic accuracy.”
I looked at him.
He looked back.
And then, unexpectedly, we both laughed.
Not loudly.
Not for long.
But something changed in the room.
For two years, Adrian Kane had existed in my mind as a title before he existed as a person.
Owner.
CEO.
Billionaire.
Boss.
Now, for one disorienting moment, he was simply a man standing beside me while my daughter slept on his sofa.
I looked away first.
“I really am sorry about this morning.”
“You’ve mentioned that.”
“She shouldn’t have said those things.”
“She’s six.”
“She’s observant.”
“I noticed.”
I folded my arms.
“That’s what worries me.”
His expression softened.
“You lost your husband?”
The question was gentle enough that I didn’t resent it.
“Three years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
I looked at Mia.
“Daniel had been sick for a while. Mia was young enough that most of what she remembers comes from photographs and stories.”
Adrian went very still.
“Daniel?”
I turned.
“Yes.”
He hesitated.
“What was his last name?”
“Foster.”
Something passed through his face.
Recognition.
So quick I almost missed it.
“Daniel Foster?”
I stared at him.
“You knew him?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
That alone told me the answer mattered.
“Not well,” he said at last. “At least, not in the way you mean.”
“What does that mean?”
He glanced at Mia.
“Probably not a conversation to have while she’s sleeping ten feet away.”
Every nerve in my body sharpened.
“Adrian.”
It was the first time I had ever called him by his first name.
He noticed.
So did I.
He walked toward the window and looked down at Park Avenue.
“About eight years ago, Kane Foundation was rebuilding its community programs. We brought in outside people from different industries to help us rethink how we communicated what we were actually doing.”
