Chapter 15
VAL
The next evening, mayhem reigned during Friday dinner.
I’d cooked chicken fajitas with iceberg salad on the side, and I’d monopolized my niece, Willow, holding her on my lap throughout dinner. I loved her toddler smell and the way she grabbed the fabric of my dress in her tiny fists.
“You, my dear, have excellent taste in clothing,” I informed her, then asked no one in particular, “Is it too early to buy her scarves?”
My sisters were shoe lovers, but scarves were my kryptonite.
“Landon, watch your daughter,” Jace cautioned, “or Val will turn her into a shopaholic.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Maddie asked, looking at her daughter happily. My twin had been a widower when he’d met her. I hadn’t thought he would fall in love again. I was so grateful that Landon had found Maddie.
“She’s a Connor girl,” Landon said lazily. “I bet she was born with the shopping bug.”
“That’s my twin.”
I was on a mission to discover if Jace was in trouble. He and Hailey had their heads together again, chatting a little apart from the rest of the group. What was up with that? And Jace even had a few deep frown lines.
As the youngest, they always stuck together. If it was meant to be a secret, the joke was on him, because Hailey had the worst track record as secret keeper in the family.
After dinner, we chilled in the backyard, soaking the last sunrays. The evening was splendid. Under the guise of bringing out lemonade glasses for everyone, I roped my sisters into helping me.
“What’s up with Jace?” I asked Hailey straight away. “You two have been whispering the whole evening. Last Friday too.”
Hailey shook her head, making a gesture as if to indicate her lips were sealed.
“I’ve got nothing to say.”
I exchanged a glance with Lori and could tell she was thinking the same thing. Since when did Hailey keep family secrets? It looked as if I’d have to actually put some effort into this. Huh… this was new.
“But speaking of secrets, you’ve been holding out on us, sister.” Hailey spoke while she pressed lemons.
“Me?” I asked innocently.
Lori grinned. “We’ve been watching you. Twice you slipped in daydreaming mode, which you only do when you’ve had a great date or are planning one.”
As a wedding planner, Lori caught on to these things quickly.
I looked from Lori to Hailey, and then the words burst out of me while I busied myself preparing a mix of honey and ginger. And because I didn’t do anything halfheartedly, I went into great detail about the sexy time on the yacht, which caused Lori’s cheeks to turn red. Hailey was eating it all up.
“Holy shit, way to go, sis. Oh, you so deserve a man who knows what he’s doing,” Hailey said.
“I do, don’t I?” I said smugly. “We’re having dinner next week.”
“Why not the weekend?” Hailey asked.
“He’s busy with his nieces.”
After we returned outside, I moved on to the second part of the plan: cornering Jace.
I just hoped he hadn’t picked up on the daydreaming vibes my sister had. After the fiasco with Ethan, Jace was even more protective.
Those protective instincts had reared their heads for the first time when he was thirteen and he’d grilled a guy who’d come to pick up Lori for a date like it was his job.
When I had asked him about it, he’d simply said, “When a guy at my school goes to pick up girls on dates, the girl’s dad always gives them shit. Dad isn’t here, so I’ll do it.”
I’d been so stunned that I’d even forgotten to scold him for saying shit.
My thirteen-year-old brother was growing up far too fast, and I hadn’t known how to stop it.
And now he was a grown man I was proud of.
But if he was in trouble, I wanted to know.
I wasn’t just trying to be nosy. I could help.
I’d arranged lounge chairs throughout the yard. Lori’s husband, Graham, was sitting with their son, Milo, on Jace’s left. Graham owned the soccer club where Jace played, and while the boys tried not to talk shop during family dinners, they sometimes got into heated discussions about the games.
I took the chair to Jace’s right.
“Brother dearest, it has come to my attention that you’re keeping secrets with Hailey.”
Jace looked at Hailey in alarm, but our sister shook her head. Jace grinned at me.
“If Hailey managed to keep quiet, you seriously think I’ll spill the beans?”
“What if I promise to cook your favorite next week? As a proof of affection. And you could show some gratitude in advance.”
I batted my eyelashes, going for the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look that Lori pulled off so well and that worked like a charm on Jace. Unfortunately, I sucked at it. All I managed was to make Jace laugh.
“Nice try, Val. Nice try.”
A cappuccino, a pancake, and yogurt with muesli. I grinned as I took inventory of my delivered breakfast on Monday, then shot Carter a message.
Val: Any particular reason you’ve been extra generous today?
Carter: Setting the mood for tomorrow.
My heart rate sped up as I dug into my food. I could tell I wasn’t going to be very productive today, but I was allowed to daydream once in a while, wasn’t I?
I was ecstatic right until shortly before lunchtime, when I was served papers. Everything inside me froze when I saw the sender was Beauty SkinEssence.
I willed myself not to be jittery as I signed for the papers, but then my legs turned into Jell-O. I didn’t make it to my desk. Instead, I leaned against the wall next to the door and pulled out the documents.
They were suing me.
My heart sank. I read through the details, absorbing them.
Then I did something I hadn’t done in a long while.
I closed the door to my office before sitting in the chair behind my desk, feeling drained of all energy.
I’d prepared for this scenario, of course.
I’d just hoped it wouldn’t occur. It would require a lot of time and money I could use elsewhere.
An inkling of doubt set in. Had I been stupid not to settle during mediation?
But killing the line would have effectively meant admitting guilt, and I simply couldn’t have lived with that.
But now, when faced point-blank with the result, I wondered if swallowing my pride was the best course of action.
I’d worked my ass off for so long to get where I was, to bring the company to a point where it was solid and profitable, and now this.
I willed myself to ignore the tight knot in my stomach, but I couldn’t. What if the litigation ended up at trial? What if the judge ruled against me? What if I lost more than this line? God, there I went again, overthinking everything.
But I couldn’t help it. The company was so tied to who I was.
I still remembered that euphoric feeling I’d had when Landon and I signed the papers for incorporating.
I’d wanted to build something everyone could be proud of: me, my parents, and Landon too.
I’d also wanted to prove to myself that I could make my dream come true.
I wouldn’t let anyone take it away from me.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been locked inside by myself, mulling over everything, and wishing the day would just end so I could go home and sink in my tub. I heard a knock at my door.
“Val, everything all right?” Anne asked. “You have a meeting in ten minutes.”
“I’ll be on time.”
I checked my phone. I’d been wallowing for twenty minutes. And I had a new message from Carter.
Carter: Do you have time for lunch?
I typed a message, then deleted it, then typed another one.
Val: No. My day just got a lot worse :(( I have to go into a meeting right now.
Carter: Did something happen?
I sent him a picture of the papers. Carter didn’t answer right away, and I didn’t have time to wait. I rushed into the meeting, leaving my phone behind, not wanting to be distracted.
I forced myself to focus because the gentlemen had flown in from Italy. They produced some of the rarest essences, and I wanted to strike a deal with them.
The meeting lasted longer than I’d hoped, and by the time we’d finalized the details, I was light-headed. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was almost four o’clock. I walked the gentlemen to the elevator, and the second the door slid to a close, I turned to Anne.
“Can you get me something to eat? Anything at all.”
“Sure, boss. But you’ve got someone waiting in your office for you.”
“Oh? I didn’t have any other meeting on my calendar.”
“A Carter Sloane dropped by unannounced. Said he had to talk to you. He’s been waiting for an hour. Couldn’t get rid of him.”
“Of course not. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll talk to him. But please, hurry with that sandwich, or I’ll faint.”
Anne darted to the elevator as I spun on my heels, heading to my office. My empty stomach rolled over. When I reached the doorway to my office, Carter rose to his feet. I tried to read his body language but was too tired and hungry to make much headway.
“Anne said you’ve been waiting for an hour.”
He held up his phone. “You didn’t answer my text or call.”
“I was in a meeting.”
“I know, Anne told me. Called the office when you weren’t answering.”
I stepped inside, closing the door again.