“No hints as to what this is about?” Whitney asked hopefully.
“Not even rumors,” Olivia shrugged. “Sorry. I hate to ruin your lunch.”
“Like a last meal before execution? Yeah, thanks.” Only, Whitney was worried. She’d never been called into Dad’s office like this before. For her and Carina to be summoned together was a huge red flag. Had Grant run straight back to Dad over the booklet?
She and Carina ate in silence, neither of them wanting to talk about this ominous cloud of concern hovering over them.
Carina crumpled the paper as she took her last bite. “I better get to my office. I’ll meet you back here right after.”
“Yeah. I’ll be here.”
Carina walked out and Olivia popped her head inside the door. “You ready for your next appointment?”
“Yes, please send her in.” Whitney stood and greeted her next client; a single mother trying to get custody back from the child’s father. They’d gone through a lengthy process three yearsago when he wanted more time with his son. Only now, he was being aggressive with the boy, and borderline abusive, although it would be hard to prove. She hated cases like this when the child was the one who stood the most to lose. It broke her heart when things came down to this, because usually it was driven by something that had nothing to do with the child.
At four fifty, Whitney walked her client to the door and assured her they’d find a solution. Carina stood next to the elevator, waiting for her.
“Any whispers what this is about?” she asked.
Whitney shook her head. “None. Maybe the Grant thing?”
“The timing makes sense. Why do I feel like a school kid who just got caught smoking?”
“We’ve seen how those end of the day meetings go. Not good, usually.”
“He can’t fire us. We’re family,” Carina said. “Right? Plus, we haven’t done anything wrong.”
They stepped into the elevator and took it to the fourth floor.
Dad’s secretary had already left for the day. His office door was open and William was standing to the right of his desk.
“Is everything okay?” Whitney asked. “Is Mom?—”
“Your mother is fine.” Dad’s words fired off at a clip.
Whitney let out a sigh of relief, but the warning flags were snapping. Dad never spoke to her in that tone.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“Okay?” Whitney glanced at William, looking for some clue as to what was happening, but he couldn’t even look her in the eye, nor did he look pleased with his wife.
“Maybe we should have family gatherings more often,” her father said.
“Yesterday was fun,” Whitney said.
“Yes, and apparently there are some things that distant cousins know that are going on right under my nose.”
“Excuse me?” Whitney looked toward William again, but he wasn’t offering any support.
“It seems you’ve become somewhat of a celebrity. In fact, Katie informed her parents she wants to grow up to be just like you.”
“That’s so sweet,” Whitney mused.
“Don’t be impressed. She wants to make videos for social media.”
Panic crawled inside her gut. “I’m not on social media.” Maintaining her composure the best she could, she didn’t elaborate, and prayed it was a coincidence.
His eyebrow raised. Just the one. “You may not have any accounts on any of the platforms I’ve had my staff check, but you are on social media. All over it. And you two are well aware of it, because you wouldn’t have your team working like undercover agents, canvassing our lobby to keep it on the hush-hush.”
