Enchanted Heart Read Free

boardroom and across the bargaining table, neither of which were evident at the moment. Lance, however, remained immune from the effect, a fact that usually annoyed Cole.
    This time Cole was the first to back down, but only because he reached for a small blue bottle of Maalox antacid tablets.
    â€œI thought Sonja weaned you off of those things.”
    â€œShe did.”
    Lance took the bottle away from Cole before he could twist it open. “Tell me about the latest with your joint venture.”
    Cole took the bait and leaped right into the description of his Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia projects. The language was one of the barriers to more open trade between African-Americans and Brazilians of African descent. Cole and his partner planned to eliminate those barriers via an education program and venture capital. They’d broker some deals and make more money than either could spend in several lifetimes.
    Lance paid less than half a bit of attention to Cole’s spiel. He’d heard it all before. Cole wanted Lance to join him. While the prospect of wooing Brazilian beauties held a certain appeal, Lance had his own reasons for needing to remain stateside. The less Cole and the rest of his family knew about those reasons, the better. Lance had dreams that had nothing to do with the Hearts, their retail empire or fitting into a niche assigned by Cole or anyone else. That’s where Vivienne la Fontaine came in. His physical response and desire for her notwithstanding, Vivienne had something else he wanted.
    When it seemed that Cole was winding down a bit, Lance decided to send out a floater.
    â€œI met a woman today,” he said.
    â€œStop the presses,” Cole said with a roll of his eyes. Then he deliberately lifted his arm, exposing the French cuff of his sleeve. He tapped the face of his watch. “Have you already started the countdown to when you’ll dump her?”
    â€œHa-ha.”
    But Lance didn’t at all like it that his pattern in relationships had become so predictable that even one-track business-minded Cole knew he didn’t linger long with the ladies. Everyone in the family thought they knew all there was to know about him. But Lance had a few secrets, one in particular, that would set all their butts on the ground. He took a deep, cleansing breath, willing himself to bide his time. He had to remember to make his life appear like an open book, especially around Cole, who was not just his uncle, but his mentor and best friend.
    Shaking his head to clear away those shadow thoughts, Lance again turned his attention to the conversation with Cole.
    â€œSo, when do you leave?”
    â€œI’ll head to Rio in two weeks. I’ve already set up a place to stay . . .”
    â€œOn which beach, Copacabana or Ipanema?” Lance asked, a grin on his face.
    â€œLife is more than a party, Lance.”
    Lance dropped the crystal stirrer on the marble countertop. It didn’t crack, but the sound carried through the room shattering the bond between the two men.
    â€œYeah,” Lance said, stalking away. “As you so eloquently illustrate every day.”
    Folding his arms, Cole stared at Lance’s retreating back. “What do you want me to say, Lance? That I think it’s okay that you’re wasting away your life? That you bounce from woman to woman with no thought toward the future?”
    Lance turned. “It’s my life. How I spend it is my . . .”
    Cole cut him off. “How you spend it has a direct impact on the lives of a lot of other people.”
    The smirk on Lance’s face indicated what he thought of that. “Give it up, Cole. Heart Federated no longer exists. There are no employees, no stockholders, no one depending on you or me.”
    â€œThis is not about the stores, Lance. It’s about your future.”
    Cole closed the distance between them. Lance stood at a window, staring out at a patio, and beyond it to the