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I hide my smile. April clearly has no idea how much her community thinks of her, or the letters we’ve received to protest against the current plans.

“No harm done,” I tell her. “You arrived early, so we’re still on time.”

Her shoulders relax a little at my words, although her back remains ramrod straight.

“I know you’re busy. Shall we get down to business?” she says, her eyes finally rising to my face.

Okay, no small talk.

There’s a knock on my door, and Trish enters carrying our drinks.

“Here you go. Is there anything else I can get you?” she asks, smiling over at April as she places our drinks down on the table next to us.

April returns her smile, and my heart skips a beat.

I’m still waiting for Elijah’s intel. I know I’m overstepping, but there’s something about this woman. I want to know what makes her tick.

“Thanks, Trish,” I say, wanting her to leave.

She nods with another smile for April.

When the door shuts, April turns her attention to me, all signs of the smile gone, her expression focused.

“I’ve read your emails,” I say, opening the folder. “I can only apologise for not getting back to you.”

I was furious when I finally received the messages. The team in charge of incoming communications won’t be making the same mistake again.

April nods, her gaze moving to her hands.

She remains silent, and I sit back in my chair and watch her. As I suspect, she takes a few moments to realise I’ve stopped talking. She looks at me, her eyes wide, but there’s a spark of annoyance in their depths.

“Why have you called me here?” she asks.

Ah, there she is, the firecracker I met in the bar.

I tilt my head and stare at her for a moment.

“I want you to forget what has been,” I say. “Imagine we’re meeting for the first time five months ago. We’ve come to your studio with the landlord. What would you be asking of me and my company?”

“Isn’t that a moot point and a waste of both of our time? We can’t turn back the clock.”

“You’re right,” I add.

We both sit in silence.

April drops her chin to her chest and inhales. “Sorry. It’s been a long couple of weeks.”

I can only imagine.

I know the affect seeing her again has had on me, with the added stress of losing her business…

“We can’t change the past, but we can look at moving forward,” I say and watch her nod.

She takes a deep breath. The shuddering exhale lets me know exactly how tense she is.

“I’d be asking to renew my lease,” she says, sitting up and holding her shoulders back. “But I’ve seen Frazer Development's plans for the building. It’s been redesigned as small industrial and retail units with apartments above. There’s no space for my dance studio. You have a new swanky gym and fitness centre for that.”

I grimace. She’s right, of course. All our developments include a fitness centre, gym, and pool. We aim to offer all the residents and community a place close to home where they can go to exercise in the city. That and eat and buy groceries. It’s why our waiting list for apartments continues to grow daily. It’s become so big we’re struggling to keep up with the demand. The apartments for our last development sold out within a day of going on sale.