“I just did talk to him.”
“You yelled at him. Talk, Reena,” Marley said. “There’s more to this, I can feel it.”
“You sound like Saira.”
Marley chuckled. “Your sister—she’s changed a lot, right? I shop at her store, and she somehow manages to say the wisest things while still being eighty percent inappropriate.”
“I know. She’s Bizarro Saira, now.”
“I adore your sister,” Shayne said. “She’s so delightfullyextra.”
Reena smirked.
Marley sipped her wine, perfect eyebrows furrowed in thought. “I think you should trust him. You know your parents and his are a little manipulative. The Shahs might be, too. I have no reason to believe that the guy who’s become our friend in the last month would lie to us. Do you think maybe you’re looking for flaws that aren’t there?”
That was ridiculous. Absurd. But…Reena bit her lip. “Last week someone said to me, ‘You ever get scared when something fits a little too perfectly? You think it’s not possible so you look for problems that aren’t there?’”
Shayne recoiled. “Wow, I feel sorry for whoever that person dumped. Why run away from perfection? Who said it?”
Reena gave a small smile, thinking of Anderson. “It doesn’t matter,” Reena said.
“Why don’t you ask your dad what he knows?” Marley suggested.
“Why would I do a thing like that?”
“He’s been working with Nadim for over a month. Whether he likes the Shahs or not, he does know them better than anyone else here. Maybe it’s a good idea to get support from your parents when things are shitty?”
She snorted. Did Dad know how to give support?
It was so unlike her to go to her father of all people…but maybe that was part of the problem. Reena took a long sip of her tea, the mellow, chilled drink cooling her core. If anything, these last few days had taught her that her normal way of dealing with problems wasn’t the only way. And definitely not the best way.
“Maybe. Yeah, maybe I should talk to Dad.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Reena reluctantly agreed to talk to her father, but she wasn’t about to do it alone. She’d learned long ago that difficult conversations with parents were easier with the strength of numbers. So she called Saira and made plans to ambush Dad at the Diamond project together the next day.
They found Dad in the site office—a portable unit that the construction management team used for paperwork and meetings. He was at a desk, typing on a computer while Igor, the construction manager, was chatting with a hard hat-wearing woman while looking over huge sheets of paper on a table.
“Girls.” Dad looked up. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk,” Reena said. “Alone.”
Dad closed his eyes a moment, then stood. “Let’s go to the corner unit. There’s a table and chairs in there.” He guided them out.
He led them to a large L-shaped space, unfinished with concrete floors and walls, and an open ceiling. A folding table and grouping of chairs had been set up in the back. This was the store Nadim was struggling to find a lease for. It was strange to see it after he’d talked about it so much.
“Nice,” Saira said, eyeing the area. “Did you guys secure a tenant for this yet? You should think about doing a little shop along with a restaurant. Like a bodega-café.”
Dad waved his hand. “Everything is in limbo now. Losing a manager while in the middle of negotiations will set me back a long time.” He sat at the chair at the head of the table and waited for them to follow before speaking.
This was a bad idea. What was Reena expecting to learn by coming here? She didn’t know where to begin.
Saira apparently had no difficulty speaking, and slapped her hands on the table. “Nadim said the Shahs are lying, and that he’s not engaged. That true?”
“That is also what he told me, but I have no proof,” Dad said.
Saira shook her head. “And you fired him anyway? That’s harsh, Dad. You’re supposed to be this compassionate and supportive boss, but when push comes to shove, you won’t trust your own employee.”
