“Oh, no,” Priscilla said softly.
“I’ll answer,” Griff injected before any of the daughters had to. “No, Mrs. King doesn’t approve; obviously that’s why she’s not here today. She doesn’t know me or what her daughter wants. She doesn’t support any of her daughters. That’s her loss. As far as a feud…” He longed to roast the woman, especially now in the press. For Priscilla’s sake, Griff held back. “No, there’s no feud. Her daughters and their families refuse to engage in such futile actions when it concerns a troubled woman. I hope you give her the privacy she needs to work through the issues that have plagued her for years.”
The woman’s jaw dropped. She closed her mouth, but, thankfully, didn’t have anything else to ask. Maybe he’d stunned her into silence. He hoped so. But, he realized, this one would be the first to interview Mrs. King to get her take on the events.
This wasn’t over by a long shot.
Chapter 17
“Don’t tell Griff,” Priscilla ordered Rico.
“Who, moi?” He lifted his hand to his pressed lips, turned the invisible key, and then threw it away. “My lips are sealed.”
“Okay, you can come in now,” she said, holding the door open. She swept her arm through the air to show him the newly redone foyer. “Ta-dah!”
“Shut up!” he screamed, holding his hands to his cheeks. “Love, love, love the color! What is it called?”
“I call it ocean aqua blue. I mixed a few colors together to get the shade I wanted. Not girly and not too manly. Somewhere in between.” She beamed with pride at pulling the large space together in just a few days.
“Girl, look at those stairs! O-M-G, you graduated the color from dark to lighter shades going up the risers. Gorg!” He trailed his hand over the table, fluffed the big, white gardenias standing in the crystal vase, and then air touched the candles. Rico gazed around, and then up. “Love the sparkly chandelier. Did you find aquamarine gems to fill in? To die for. D-I-E!”
“Oh, I’m so glad you like it. You’re the first person that’s seen it complete. Do you think Griff will like it? I’m saving it, though. Come see the living room. It’s not done yet, but I had the painters do the same color when they did the foyer.” She was talking a mile a minute, her excitement bubbling over.
“No you didn’t?! Chocolate brown with the ocean aqua blue. I’m in love.” He raced through the large room, going to each wall and then to the next. “Take my picture, quick. I’m going to faint with lust.”
She laughed, clasping her hands over her mouth. “I’m adding touches of tangerine, too. What do you think?”
“Love it.” Rico rushed to her and picked her up, swinging her around. “You did it, girl. You’re a professional designer.”
When he finally put her down, she swiped away tears of happiness. “Do you really think so, Rico? Do you think this will let everyone know that I do deserve to work at King’s?”
“Ah, honey,” he said, “you’re on your way. You’ll be a hit— you just watch and see.”
Priscilla prayed he was right. But deep down, she longed for something else, too. She longed to please Griff and make this place a real home for him. Could she ever fill that cold, empty spot in his heart with love?
***
Griffin worked tirelessly, putting in long hours and dodging intimate questions about Priscilla and his relationship. However, he could not quiet his thoughts. When would Priscilla find out he’d blocked her mother’s number from her phone? When would she begin to question him and his motives?
He punched in the button for the elevator. It opened within seconds.
“Hold up, Griff,” Charlie called to him from the glass executive doors. “Got a minute?”
“Sure,” he said, turning around and going back in. “Is anything wrong?”
“No, there’s just something you should see.” She led him down the hallway to her corner office. “I’m glad I caught you before you left.” Once there, she waved him to her desk. “Have a seat and look.”
He sat in the chair and immediately bumped his knee on the big, oak desk, jarring both him and the piece of furniture. “Damn,” he muttered.
“Sorry, buddy,” she said. “I don’t know what Daddy had in mind when he got this, but it must have been small for him, too.”
Griff stilled. “Your father bought this?”
“Uh huh. One of the first things he could afford to get for his office here. It’s the only thing I begged to keep.”