Everyone else perks up.
I force myself to breathe.
“And?” Dad asks.
“And it turns out Dawson Construction is half-owned by his ex-wife and ex-best friend,” he informs us.
The room falls silent, and then the whole table turns to me.
Heat crawls up my neck. “What?”
“You knew,” Zane accuses. “You absolutely knew.”
I lift my chin, refusing to flinch. “Yes. I knew.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Quinn demands.
“Because it doesn’t matter,” I say, steady but firm. “It has nothing to do with his ability to handle the project.”
Beck scoffs. “It sounds messy.”
“Everything is messy if you dig deep enough,” I snap before I can stop myself.
Dad leans forward, folding his hands on the table, studying me with that slow, measured way he has. The kind that makes you feel like he sees everything you’re trying to hide.
“Ella,” he says, voice calm, “we needed the full picture before making a decision.”
I swallow, pulse tapping at my throat. “I’m giving you the full picture,” I say quietly. “Personal complications or not, Cole is still the best man for the job.”
Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. And me? I keep my gaze level, refusing to let them see how tangled this feels inside me—the worry, the frustration, the stupid hope I can’t shake.
Cole isn’t answering me, which means he might not want the job, and if that’s the case, then it’s all my fault. But that doesn’t change what I know: He’s the one who can do this right.
Dad exhales slowly, like he’s been weighing this from the second Jace opened his mouth. He wipes his hands on a napkin, leans back, and gives a single, decisive nod, the kind that usually means the conversation is about to be over.
“Well,” he says, “if his business is shared, then we need to treat this like any other major project. No favoritism. No assumptions.”
My pulse kicks. This is not going in the direction I want.
Quinn clears her throat, and we draw our attention to her. “Perfect. Because I’ve already contacted three contractors and two construction firms to submit their bids.”
I stare at her. “You… what?!”
She shrugs. “We didn’t hear back from Cole. I took initiative.”
Beck snorts. “That’s Quinn-speak for ‘I got bored and wanted to stir things up.’”
Quinn pointedly ignores him.
Dad nods approvingly. “Good. We’ll hold a bidding war and go with whoever comes out on top. It’s the fairest approach.”
The words bidding war hit me right in the center of my chest.
I grip the edge of the table. “So even if Cole wants the project, he’ll be competing for it?”
“He’ll be competing,” Dad confirms, tone final, “like everyone else.”
Jace leans forward, mouth full of mashed potatoes, and adds, “Honestly, if Cole wins, all the better. But if not? At least he tried.”
