"Guilt?" Aria blinked up at Marcus, hoping for what she wanted to look like convincing confusion. "All of these business papers really overwhelm me. Daddy kept so many records—something I never knew!"
She gestured helplessly at the papers strewn over the mahogany desk, her performance deliberately designed to convey exactly the appropriate degree of confused innocence. Marcus's keen eye once more swept the room, then his expression softened into the worried husband mask he wore so perfectly.
"Oh, darling," he said, approaching her shoulder and laying what looked to be a consoling hand. "You should not load yourself with such intricate problems. Especially while you're still working through your grief, these old business files can be quite perplexing.
Aria thought with internal sarcasm, 'because I'm clearly too delicate for basic math and reading comprehension'
"I just want to know what Daddy built," she said, letting a little tremor into her voice. "It seems like the only way I might still be in touch with him."
Marcus's smile was exactly sympathetic, but she sensed the calculated glitter in his eyes. "Sweetheart, I totally get it. Let me, however, handle the business aspect of things. You concentrate on honoring his memory in ways that won't add to your already heavy burden."
Standing and smoothing her skirt, Aria said, "You're probably right. I suppose I got a bit carried away trying to make sense of all these legal documents and financial reports."
Marcus said, "That's exactly why you have me," his arm sliding possessively around her waist. "To guard you against these kinds of loads. Now, how should we have dinner? I brought that kind of Italian cuisine you enjoy."
Aria caught Marcus looking back at the desk with satisfaction as they left the study together, obviously thinking he had guided her from dangerous territory.
Marcus opened containers from Romano's, the elegant Italian restaurant that had grown to be one of their regular treats, and the dining room smelled like garlic and herbs. Playing the attentive husband who expected her every need, he moved with deliberate efficiency.
"So tell me about your day," Aria said, settling into her chair with apparent contentment. "Any intriguing conferences or advancements?"
Marcus's chest puffed with pride; he never could resist a chance to highlight his commercial sense. "Actually, very effective. I closed the Morrison contract this morning, and next week I have three more prospects booked."
"That's great," Aria said, whirling pasta around her fork. "You put quite the effort into it. I wonder occasionally how you keep ahead of all the rivals."
Marcus said, warming to his preferred subject, "It's all about understanding the market. Most of these so-called business leaders are either too ethical or too dumb to make the hard decisions that real success calls for."
"Oh, what kinds of decisions?"
Marcus sipped liberally from a bottle of wine, then carried on. "Consider that Blackwood bullshit of a man, for instance. If the man were not so fixated on his moral standards, he could own half the city."
Aria's fork paused halfway to her mouth. "Blackwood? I guess I have heard that name before. Is he not in the same line with your business?"
Marcus's whole attitude changed the minute she mentioned the name. His grip on his wine glass grew noticeably firm, and his jaw tightened nearly imperceptibly.
"Adrian Blackwood," Marcus said, his tone dismissive. "He maintains his flawless reputation and moral business conduct make him untouchable. Pensive bastard."
'Pot, meet kettle,' Aria considered, keeping a subdued curiosity. "He must be rather successful to trouble you so much."
"Successful?" Marcus laughed, but there was no fun in it. "He's good at being a sanctimonious prig meddling with reasonable commercial prospects. The man doesn't know how the actual world operates."
"What do you mean by meddling with reasonable commercial prospects?"
Marcus's face grew even more dark. "He has this nasty tendency of swooping in and outbidding fairly reasonable offers with his apparently 'ethical' substitutes. He cost me three significant contracts last month alone since the clients bought into his moral garbage on 'sustainable business practices' and 'open operations.'"
'How horrible, someone who doesn't steal and offers sincere work. What a concept!' Aria pondered inside.
"That does sound frustrating," she said aloud. "Why do you suppose clients like his method?"
"Because people are sheep," Marcus said with growing intensity. "They fall for his well-constructed public persona without realizing that nobody creates an empire of that scope without sacrificing some standards. He simply excels in hiding his techniques than most."
"You honestly think he's dishonest?"
"I am aware of his nature. Nobody gets that successful that fast without engaging in devil's negotiations. He simply excels in public relations compared to the others."
Aria filed away every word, knowing that Marcus's resentment of Adrian Blackwood transcended mere commercial rivalry. This was personal—the wrath of a fraud challenged by someone really credible.
She said, reaching across to touch Marcus's hand, "Well, I'm sure your method will prove more effective in the long run. You grasp the market in ways most likely never possible for someone like him."
Marcus' attitude cleared right away at the flattery. Just exactly. Though it's not sustainable, his holier-than-thou behavior might help in the near future.
Marcus regaled her with tales of his several business conquests at dinner, each one exposing more about his approach and attitude than he most likely intended. Aria knew exactly why Adrian Blackwood posed such a threat to her husband's operations by the time he was about to head upstairs.
"I think I'll turn in early," Marcus said, giving her apparently loving forehead kisses. "Tomorrow's going to be another busy day."
"Of course, dear. I could read for a little while."
Aria started organizing her research approach as soon as she heard the shower turning on. Though Adrian Blackwood could be an ally, she had to know exactly kind of man she would be dealing with.
The next morning after Marcus left for work, the computer terminals of the public library provided Aria the privacy she required for extensive research free from leaving digital traces on devices Marcus might keep under observation. She found a quiet corner and started looking at Adrian Blackwood's company empire.
Her first hour's findings presented a picture nearly too perfect to be real. Although Adrian Blackwood had created a large commercial empire, his reputation for moral behavior seemed to be real rather than manufactured.
Born into riches but losing his father's company to dishonest business partners at barely twenty-one, Adrian had spent the next ten years creating his own empire from nothing. His companies were well-known for open policies, fair employment practices, and avoidance of working with companies engaged in legal gray areas.
'No wonder Marcus hates him. He stands for everything Marcus passes for but never could', Aria thought.
One headline in Aria's search results caught her blood freezing: "Blackwood Industries Leads Investigation Into Suspicious Asset Management Practices."
The paper claims that one of the companies under inquiry had direct ties to several of Marcus's business operations.
'What if he is looking into my husband already?' Aria asked, fixed on the screen.
What if Adrian Blackwood turned out to be exactly the friend she needed?