Maggie blinked.
“How did you know?”
“You put two sugars in your coffee last night.”
She stared at him.
“You noticed that?”
He shrugged.
“I notice things.”
“That's a dangerous quality in a developer.”
“I'm beginning to think you dislike developers on principle.”
“Not all developers.”
“Only the ones who own theaters?”
“Only the ones who threaten to demolish them.”
Nicholas smiled.
“Fair enough.”
Maggie opened the paper bag.
Inside were two warm croissants.
She looked up.
“Are you attempting to bribe me?”
“Yes.”
“With pastry?”
“Is it working?”
She took one.
“Alarmingly well.”
They entered through the theater's narrow side door.
The lobby smelled of dust, old carpet, and the faint sweetness of furniture polish.
Sunlight filtered through stained-glass panels above the entrance.
Nicholas stopped beneath the grand staircase.
For a moment, he said nothing.
The Starlight was more beautiful than the photographs suggested.
Even beneath years of neglect, the architecture possessed a peculiar elegance.
Gold plaster leaves curled around the columns. The marble floor retained traces of its original black-and-cream pattern. A painted mural stretched across the ceiling, showing a midnight sky crowded with silver stars.
Nicholas looked up.
“Good Lord.”
Maggie smiled.
“I know.”
“Why wasn't this included in the acquisition report?”
“Because whoever prepared the report probably never looked above eye level.”
He glanced at her.
“That would be Graham Pike.”
“Who's that?”
“My chief financial officer.”
“Does he have a neck problem?”
Nicholas laughed.
“Not that I'm aware of.”
“Then he has no excuse.”
A voice called from the ticket office.
“Maggie Bennett, if you've brought another man with a measuring tape, I swear I'm charging admission!”
A woman in her sixties appeared through the side doorway.
Rose Daley was small, sharp-eyed, and magnificently dressed in a purple cardigan, black trousers, and enormous gold earrings. Her silver hair was piled into a loose arrangement held together by several hairpins and what appeared to be a pencil.
She stopped when she saw Nicholas.
“Oh.”
Maggie smiled.
“Rose, this is Nicholas Sterling.”
Rose's expression changed.
“The Nicholas Sterling?”
He extended his hand.
“I'm afraid so.”
Rose looked at it.
Then at him.
“You're younger than I expected.”
Nicholas smiled.
“I get that occasionally.”
“And better-looking.”
“Rose!” Maggie protested.
“What? I have eyes.”
Nicholas laughed.
Rose finally shook his hand.
“Rose Daley. I've managed this place since 1969.”
“A pleasure.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Maggie covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Rose examined Nicholas closely.
“So you're the man who wants to knock down my theater.”
“I'm the man who's come to understand whether there's a reason not to.”
Rose nodded thoughtfully.