Her dad entered first, Mom right behind him.
“Hey, Dad.” She walked over and gave him a hug. “Congratulations.”
She hugged her mom too.
She held her hand to her stomach, almost feeling like she might throw up.
Mom said, “It wasn’t the same without you there.”
“Dad, I have something to show you.” She held her breath, ready for whatever came her way.
“If this is about the local morning show, I’ve already seen it, Whitney.”
“You did?” Whitney paled, unable to read if it was an disapproving look on his face or not.
“The minute your name went out across the airwaves, my team received an alert.”
She was surprised he had something so technically savvy in place, but it was smart.
“I’m proud of you, Whitney. I wasn’t too pleased when I first heard the news, but the segment was good. You represented yourself, your work, and us in a positive light. I let some comments from Grant steer my opinion, and I’m not proud of that. I should have trusted your ability to handle the contemporary issues that might rise in your area of responsibility. You’ve worked so hard to build the divorce and family law practice. It was practically nonexistent until you came in.”
Her mother smacked her lips. “Practically? The only divorces handled before Whitney and Carina came onboard were for stodgy, selfish, rich business clients who didn’t want their future ex-wives to benefit from their inappropriate behavior.I know. I was the one who had to deal with it back then. Frankly, that isn’t something to be proud of.” She looked lovingly at Whitney. “Why do you think I never went back? And I bet we didn’t handle twenty divorces the whole time after I stepped down.”
“I never knew that, Mom.”
“There’s history running this firm that can’t be ignored, however,” her father said. “That’s not going to change. At least probably not in my lifetime.”
“Well, I’ve watched quietly, and I know that Whitney and Carina are doing it right. Like you, Whitney, family law was everything to me. It’s not sexy like all the high-dollar business stuff, but it’s important. It’s life, and that deserves attention too. Life is not always easy or pretty, but it can be handled in a decent way.”
Her father’s voice softened. “I love you, Whitney. I’m very proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“And Bill, I think you have something else to say too.” Mom stared at him.
Dad’s lids drooped for a nanosecond. “I do. There was no scandal or buzz, or even a negative pause about the social media shenanigans?—”
Mom butted in. “But the firm did get some snide comments at the event.”
Whitney wasn’t sure what happened. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.”
“Not about you,” Mom said. “About your father’s billboard. It’ll be coming down this week, and there will never be another one. That is all the discussion there will be on that subject, right, dear?”
Her father nodded. “Happily.”
Whitney slapped her hand on her pants. “William’s going to be so happy. Sorry, Dad, but you know how we feel about those billboards.”
“Done for good this time.” Mom clapped her hands. “No more discussion about that. Ever.”
“Yes, ma’am.” But Whitney was dying to tell William their dreams had come true.
Mom moved in closer. “On a lighter, but just as important, subject related to family, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Matthew McMahon. So you really had met before I brought him into your office that night? You acted like you’d never seen him.”
“I didn’t recognize him that night. We later figured it out, but the first time I ever laid eyes on him was in the middle of a storm. I actually thought he was a homeless person.”
“What?”
“The long story short, is, yes, he actually played the hero that night in the pouring rain.”
