Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)(52)

She swallowed her trepidation and made her way to the chair. He studied her openly, and she found herself wishing she’d ignored the blistering summer heat and worn a suit instead of her chocolate silk wrap dress. The garment tied loosely at the side and fell in soft folds over her hips as she sat. She had brightened the simple neckline with a chunky matte gold necklace and small, matching earrings. Her sheer, chocolate-tinted stockings were the same shade as her designer pumps, which were embellished around the sides of the square polished heels with a parade of tiny gold panthers. The outfit had been ridiculously expensive, she was certain, a birthday gift from Bobby Tom after she’d refused to let him buy her a condo on Hilton Head.

“What can I do for you, Mrs. Denton?”

His words held the trace of a sneer. She could deal with the more aggressive male members on the board because she’d known most of them all her life, but she was clearly out of her element with him. As much as she wanted to leave, however, she had a job to do. The children of Telarosa were going to lose so much if this awful man had his way.

“I’m here representing the Telarosa Board of Education, Mr. Sawyer. I want to make certain you’ve considered the consequences that closing Rosatech is going to have on the children of this town.”

His eyes were dark and chill in his rawboned face. Propping his elbows on the desk, he pressed his fingers together and studied her over the tips. “In what capacity are you representing the board?”

“I’m the president.”

“I see. And is this the same Board of Education that kicked me out of school a month before I could graduate?”

His question stunned her and she had no idea what to say.

“Well, Mrs. Denton?”

His eyes had darkened with hostility, and she realized that, for once, the gossip was accurate. Way Sawyer believed he had been wronged by Telarosa, and he had returned to take his revenge. The old stories came back to her. She knew that Way had been illegitimate, a condition that had made both him and his mother Trudy outcasts. Trudy had cleaned houses for a while—she’d even cleaned for Hoyt’s mother—but eventually she’d become a prostitute.

Suzy crossed her hands in her lap. “Do you intend to punish all of the children just because you might have been mistreated here forty years ago?”

“Not quite forty years. And the memory’s still young.” He gave her a thin smile that didn’t make it past the corners of his mouth. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“If you move Rosatech, you’ll turn Telarosa into a ghost town.”

“The company isn’t its only source of income. There’s the tourist industry.”

She saw the cynical twist to his lips and stiffened as she realized that he was baiting her. “Both of us know tourism won’t ever support this town. Without Rosatech, Telarosa is going to die.”

“I’m a businessman, not a philanthropist, and my responsibility rests with making the company more profitable. Right now, it looks as if consolidating with a plant in San Antone is the best way to do that.”

Controlling her anger, she leaned forward slightly. “Would you let me take you on a tour of the schools next week?”

“And have all those little children run screaming in terror when they see me? I think I’ll pass.”

The mockery in his eyes told her that being the town’s pariah didn’t bother him all that much.

She looked down at her hands in her lap and then back at up him. “There’s nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?”

He stared at her for a long moment. She was conscious of muffled voices in the outer reception area, the soft tick of the wall clock, the sound of her own breathing. Something she didn’t understand flickered across his face, and she felt a stab of foreboding. There was an almost imperceptible tension in his posture that threatened her.

“Maybe there is.” His chair squeaked as he leaned back, and the hard, unforgiving lines of his face reminded her of the rugged granite slopes found in this part of Texas. “We can discuss it over dinner at my house on Sunday evening. I’ll send a car for you at eight.”

No polite invitation, but a direct command, and phrased in the most insulting manner. She wanted to tell him that she’d eat dinner with the devil before she’d eat with him, but the stakes were too high, and as she stared into those grim, implacable eyes, she knew that she didn’t dare refuse.

Gathering up her purse, she stood. “Very well,” she said quietly.

He had already slipped his half glasses back on and returned his attention to his papers. As she left his office, he didn’t bother to say good-bye.

She was still fuming when she reached her car. What a despicable person! She had no experience dealing with someone like him. Hoyt had been open and sunny, the opposite of Way Sawyer. As she fumbled for her car keys, she wondered what he wanted from her.

She knew Luther Baines would be expecting a phone call from her as soon as she got home, and she didn’t know what she would say to him. She certainly couldn’t tell him that she had agreed to have dinner with Sawyer. She couldn’t tell anyone that, especially Bobby Tom. If he ever found out how Sawyer had intimidated her, he’d be furious, and too much was at stake for her to risk his interference. No matter how upsetting, she would have to handle this herself.