Before I Knew (The Cabots #1)(17)

As she approached her father’s office building, the perfumed air from the abundant rose bushes offered no balm. She breezed through CTC’s lobby, flashing her badge to Jerry behind the security desk, and went straight to the elevator. When she reached her father’s office, she stopped at his assistant’s desk. “Hey, Cindy. Is my dad available?”

“He’s in there with Jenna. Let me check.”

While Cindy buzzed her father, Colby glanced down the hall toward Hunter’s office. To say he’d be unhappy about the ultimatum she’d handed Alec would be a massive understatement.

“You can go in.” Cindy smiled, unaware of the perspiration breaking out over Colby’s scalp.

“Do me a favor, please. Find Hunter and ask him to join us.” Colby drew a deep breath and headed into her father’s office.

Even though he was the founder and CEO, his office remained rather Spartan, sort of like the man himself. Nothing ostentatious or unnecessary. A large desk, flanked by two comfortable navy leather chairs. A round conference table with six swivel chairs. A whiteboard and a SMART Board. Functional, if not conventionally handsome. The opposite of Jenna’s smaller but beautiful office with its sumptuous Tibetan carpet and handcrafted desk.

Her dad had already stood to greet her with a kiss. He was tall and lean, like her, and his salt-and-pepper hair lent him a hint of sophistication. His eyes slanted upward slightly, also like hers, but with deeper laugh lines. “Hey, sweetheart. What brings you by?”

He gestured toward the table where Jenna, who nodded a greeting, remained seated. Jenna, the hardscrabble businesswoman, who’d started working here soon after college and captured her dad’s heart.

At first blush, one might assume her statuesque figure and flaming-red hair had won him over. But Jenna was also driven and savvy. Over the years, she’d worked her way up to a senior executive marketing position, proving herself his equal in many ways.

Jenna was a better wife and employee than her mother, but then again, what did Colby know about being a mother? She’d wanted children but had refused to bring any into the chaotic world of her marriage. If Alec had known of that conscious decision, he wouldn’t have been so sympathetic this morning about her childlessness.

Alec. The reason she now sat before the firing squad.

“Restaurant business.” Colby laid her purse on the table.

“Trouble so soon?” Jenna asked. The woman had mastered the art of sounding sweet yet poking for weaknesses. Unfortunately, Colby’s dad seemed blind to this habit.

“Let’s wait for Hunter.” Colby offered a tight smile.

“Want some water, or tea?” her father asked.

“No, thanks.”

He sat beside her. “You look stressed.”

“I guess I am.”

He patted her hand. “Remember, business isn’t like lawyering. You can’t be so conservative. Take risks. Expect to fail now and then. That’s how you learn and grow. The key is getting back up and in the fight.”

If it hadn’t been for the side-eye Jenna surreptitiously shot Colby, she might’ve actually relaxed a bit. Her father had an easy manner, which belied his business success.

As a child, Colby had resented him for leaving her, thanks to the steady diet of her mom’s “That damn business was more important than this family” rants. Colby had blamed Jenna, too, especially when she and Gentry enjoyed the “whole family” life that Colby and Hunter had lost. All that had made it easy to keep her stepmom at arm’s length.

But after learning firsthand how difficult marriage could be—how much could happen within a relationship that no one else knew—she’d softened her attitude toward her dad. Her newfound understanding had helped her forge a closer relationship with him, as proven by his offer to help her start over. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Thanks for what?” Hunter entered the office without sparing Jenna more than a dismissive glance. Colby barely resisted the reflex of ducking for cover from the palpable animosity between those two.

Hunter took a seat beside her.

“For the pep talk,” she answered.

“So tell us the crisis, because we’ve got other items on our agenda.” Jenna set down her notepad.

Impatient as ever. Colby guessed that Jenna’s attitude stemmed from the fact that she wished her husband didn’t have another family—other children. Or maybe Colby was making more out of the simple gesture than necessary. Reading between the lines had become a reflex—an exhausting one that kept her mired in a state of constant defensiveness.

“Crisis?” Hunter clenched his pen, but he didn’t snap at Jenna. Instead, he turned to Colby. “When I left you and Alec, things seemed fine.”