Olivia
Whitney swept a tear from her cheek. She was blessed with smart, kind, caring people.
She sat there at her desk thinking about the possibilities they’d brainstormed at lunch that day. About possibly having a subsidiary business focused on the prenups. If she’d somehow thrown all their progress off course for family law in this practice, she had options.
Would Dad allow her and Carina to carve out their divorce and family law practice from the firm or give his stamp of approval for her owning the secondary business for prenups and premarital services?
Everything happens for a reason.
If nothing else, today had given her time to pause and consider where she was, what she wanted, and where she wanted to go with her life—in business and personally.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Saturday morning, Carina and Whitney met up with Olivia at the yoga center.
Olivia looked like she hadn’t slept all night.
“I was hoping y’all would show up,” Olivia said. “How’d it go?”
“It wasn’t comfortable, but we will survive it,” Carina answered. “Don’t worry.”
“Thank goodness.”
They walked inside and claimed the spots they now considered their own.
Whitney had hoped Kally would be here this morning. She never had returned her call, and she wanted to ask her about her motivation to make that video in the first place. Knowing Kally didn’t make the video to cause problems, she hoped she’d agree to do one retracting the comment or making it clear it was fiction, like her books. Something from her might simmer down her voracious readers from continuing the perpetual movement of the hashtag.
The three of them were sitting on their mats. Carina had her eyes closed, slowly rolling her neck and shoulders.
“Heck of a week,” Whitney said, mirroring Carina’s movements and wishing she felt as relaxed as Carina looked right now.
“Yes.”
“Seeing the disappointment on Dad’s face is haunting me. I can’t shake it.”
“It wasn’t your doing. Let it go. I’m sure he has.”
“I’m not so sure. He’s a hanger-onner. Besides, it was my doing.” Whitney closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “I didn’t tell him. I should have.”
“If he was not your father, you would have never taken that to him. We’re fine. We reacted appropriately. Even William had to admit it wasn’t that big of a deal. Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but it’s out of our control. I definitely should have told William, but”—she made that clicking sound with her teeth—“William and I both think he went a little overboard. Especially having his people check for social media accounts instead of talking to you. He can’t have a policy about no social media and then have people checking it and using the information for himself.”
Carina was mad. Whitney was sad that she’d let her father down. His approval meant so much to her.
Whitney leaned forward, stretching. “At what point in a person’s life do we get to stop telling our parents about every little hiccup?”
Olivia stretched out on her mat on the other side of Whitney.
They had a different instructor today, and the workout was more intense than last week. They stretched and sweated like it was a hot yoga class, even though it wasn’t.
Whitney had never been so happy to get to those last cooldown, cleansing breaths.
She rolled over on her belly and dropped her head to the mat. “That was torture.”
Carina swatted her arm. “It was not, but I’m sweating like a pig.”
“Where’s Dreama? That was a grueling workout. I like the simple movements so much better. This wasn’t relaxing at all.”
