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His eyes dart around the room as he helps me to my feet, but there’s nowhere for either of us to escape.
“What do we do?” I ask at the same time his gaze lands on his desk.
“Hide.”
Unthinking, and in a panic, I gather my skirt and round the corner. Thin, scratchy carpet bites at my knees when I crouch on all fours while Logan quickly helps me duck into the cramped area.
I tuck as much of my dress as I can out of sight, but my heart leaps to my throat when his eyes meet mine for a fleeting moment. They’re filled with remorse and anguish, making my stomach pitch, but when Silas knocks again, all he manages to say is, “I’m sorry.”
A moment later, the door creaks open, and tension knots my shoulders as I pull my knees to my chin, hiding my breaths in the soft material of my gown.
“Dad,” Logan greets him, his voice unnaturally calm. “What are you doing here?”
Silas’s shoes snick softly across the office floor, bringing me near hyperventilation. All at once, I’m eighteen again, watching the smoke curl from his cigarettes—crying as I watched Logan run lap after lap around the pasture every time I got him into trouble.
Cigarette smoke clogs the air, and I pray it’s potent enough to cover the scent of sex.
“What, a father can’t come support his only son?”
That condescending tone hasn’t changed a bit, but still, my stomach rolls with nausea for fear that he’ll punish him.
“Of course. I’m just surprised, is all,” Logan says. “I figured you’d still be handling business.”
“We finished earlier than expected, so I came by to check in and see how things were going.”
There’s no way Silas hasn’t spotted my space in the front corner of the room, with my obnoxious desk decor and fuzzy pink chair, but if he has, he doesn’t let on.
“It’s been great, honestly. Just needed a breather while everyone eats. I was going to head back down once the auction starts.”
“Ah.”
There’s some shuffling and a long beat of silence before Logan asks, “Is something wrong?”
“I just spoke with Nathan Reid,” Silas says guardedly, as if there’s more, but he wants Logan to sweat. “He mentioned you were talking with Ellen Mays before you left the party.”
Fear drenches my insides as I wait for him to dismantle everything we just worked for, and my apprehension only rises when Logan finally says, “He’s correct.”
I hear the telling sound of Silas inhaling before the burning scent of cigarette smoke thickens the air. “Did you two have a nice chat?”
“Dad,” Logan says, uneasy.
“It’s just a question, son.”
I can sense the internal battle he’s waging when he clears his throat. “After careful consideration for my vision, I decided she was the best fit for the job.”
“Yet you didn’t consult the person funding Summit Estates and all its operations beforehand?”
“I… No. I didn’t.” I hate that his voice has weakened, and I’d bet money he’s fidgeting with something, looking anywhere but his father’s domineering stare. “You told me to pitch to potential investors, and Mays is who I want backing this project.”
“No.” Sharp and unyielding, Silas’s tone raises an involuntary shiver from me. “I gave you a direct order to speak with Reid, and you disobeyed me. We don’t need a damn thing from that hippie woman for our move into Anchorage Harbor.”
Our move.
Wait… He told his dad about our plans?
My breathing sounds unnaturally loud in the confined space, but I can’t understand why he would tell him, knowing what the harbor means to us.
“I told you I was working to get Reid on board. Why would you mess this up for us?”
