One of the board members had stated that they had weathered decades of market fluctuations.Things would come back.They always had.Pernell’s ever-steady philosophy had served the company in good stead.
Now, her father’s stubbornness was damaging BHI’s valuation, and he refused to see the truth.
For the past eighteen months, she’d been steadfast in her conviction that they needed to make changes immediately.The resulting tension coiled between them, gnawing away at their relationship.“Dad—”
“Go home,” he interrupted.“Get some rest.You’ve earned it.Have a glass of wine.”
From experience, she knew she’d get no further with him.He could be right that the offer had been an intentional lowball, but she didn’t know that.
“Go home, Lara Marie,” he said softly.
“Only if you will,” she countered.
“Donald will be coming for me in half an hour.”
His driver, confidant, butler.She nodded.“We are not finished with this conversation.”
“Believe me, Lara.I know.”He sighed.Then, obviously realizing he’d revealed a weakness, he stood.“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She was being thrown out.Like Connor had been.
Her father waited for her to pick up her bag before escorting her to the door.
Once she was out, he snapped it shut.
Frustration churned through her.Instead of cleaning up her desk, she exited the building and headed for the parking garage.She knew she should follow her original plan and hit the gym, but she wanted to go home, have some peace to think things through.It’d been a hell of an evening.
Her fast pace didn’t alleviate any of her anxiety, and she was still simmering as she slid behind the wheel of her sedan.
Her car was cool, and she took a moment to unpin her hair and roll her shoulders, trying to ease some of the knots there.Unfortunately they seemed to have become permanent.
This evening there was no baseball game or concert, so traffic was as light as it ever was in Houston, and it took her less than twenty minutes to reach her historic bungalow in the Heights.
All the way home, she turned over Erin’s words and the unexpected meeting with Connor.
Before going inside, she stopped long enough to water the bougainvillea and the potted plants that looked as wilted as she felt.
She headed straight for the bedroom to stow her bag, kick off her shoes, remove her thigh-high stockings then pull her shirt over her head.As usual, she left everything in a discarded heap.At times she was grateful she lived alone and wasn’t dating anyone.There were benefits.
After she’d changed into a pair of shorts, a tank top and flip-flops, she went into the kitchen for that glass of wine her father had suggested.Since the day had been so frustrating, she added sparkling water to the glass to cut the alcohol in half.She had a feeling she’d be wanting at least one refill.
Glass in hand, she grabbed her iPad from the counter and went into the backyard, her favorite retreat.The outdoor space was the feature that had convinced her to offer full price for the house.In addition to the covered deck, there was a small vegetable garden, numerous oleander trees, lush banana plants, several types of palms and a fishpond that she had to constantly replenish thanks to the hungry local bird population.It was a small oasis in a busy city.
In cooler months, she had a heater on the deck, but today, she needed the overhead fan to churn through the humidity-laced air.
Lara sat on the porch swing and took a long drink before putting down the glass.Then she powered up the tablet.While she waited for it to connect, she used her toes to push off and set the swing into motion.
She became aware of children playing in the yard behind her.And soon after, the sounds of dogs running around.Mrs.Fuhrman, her next-door neighbor, must have let her five rescue animals outside.
Their excited yips and barks soothed her.
Without conscious thought, she did a search on Connor’s name.
Not for the first time, she scrolled through a few articles about him.Most of it, she knew from Erin, so Lara only read the first couple of paragraphs before moving on.
After their father’s death, Connor had been called home from his graduate school studies back east to take the helm of Donovan Worldwide.Though his grandfather, William, referred to as the Colonel, still served as CEO, Connor was president, and he was responsible for most of the decisions.According to unconfirmed reports, the Colonel had recently had a stroke, which meant that Connor had assumed even more obligations.
Lara saw a couple of references to Erin’s role as a human resources guru, while Connor’s younger brother handled research.According to Erin, they had a step-brother, Cade, who was the eldest child.Though she seemed to adore him, he wasn’t around much, and there were only hints about the scandal of his birth.He ran a ranching operation—or, as it was referred to deeper in the story, the family’s agribusiness interests—in west Texas.
