“Yes?”
“They're ready.”
Her stomach tightened.
Frances smiled.
“And Mr. Sterling wishes you luck.”
Maggie paused.
“Thank you.”
“He also said he won't interfere.”
She looked toward the conference room.
For a moment, the memory of Nicholas standing in her apartment returned with painful clarity.
I was afraid of losing you.
She took a slow breath.
Then gathered her drawings.
“Let's do this.”
The conference room contained twelve people.
Walter Sterling sat at the head of the table.
Graham Pike occupied the chair beside him.
Several directors and financial advisers sat along the windows.
An outside engineer and an independent property consultant had been invited to evaluate the proposals.
Nicholas sat near the far end.
He did not rise when Maggie entered.
But their eyes met.
For one brief moment, everything else disappeared.
He looked tired.
There were shadows beneath his eyes, and his expression held a tension Maggie had not seen before.
He gave her the smallest encouraging smile.
She returned it.
Then looked away.
Walter Sterling rose.
“Miss Bennett.”
“Mr. Sterling.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
He gestured toward the presentation area.
“You have forty minutes.”
Maggie smiled.
“Then I'd better begin.”
She opened her portfolio.
And began.
She spoke about the Starlight as a property.
Its location.
Its physical condition.
Its commercial possibilities.
Then she showed photographs of the existing building.
The damaged roof.
The worn auditorium.
The deteriorating backstage spaces.
She made no attempt to conceal the problems.
Graham watched closely.
Maggie introduced the revised engineering solution.
She displayed the original 1929 plans and explained how the concealed service passage could permit a less destructive structural intervention.
Leonard Brooks confirmed the calculations.
The independent engineer asked several difficult questions.
Leonard answered them.
Then Maggie presented the phased restoration plan.
The proposed commercial leases.
The projected auditorium schedule.
The educational partnership.
The financing commitments.
The cash-flow assumptions.
For thirty-five minutes, she moved through the material with calm precision.
Nicholas watched her.
He had seen Maggie passionate.
Angry.
Funny.
Vulnerable.
Now he saw something else.
Authority.
Not the borrowed authority of a title or a bank account.
The authority of someone who knew exactly what she was talking about.
At last, she reached the final presentation board.
It showed an image of the restored Starlight.
The rose-colored facade had been cleaned.