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7
“He’s so manipulative,” Sienna ground out between gritted teeth. Two days after that lunch, she was still angry with her father.
“That’s the nature of the beast,” Aunt Teresa quipped.
Sienna was taking another long lunch, this time at Aunt Teresa’s house. She was starting to love long lunches and didn’t even feel guilty. They were seated in her aunt and uncle’s gorgeous sunroom filled with light and green plants and blooming flowers all year round. Aunt Teresa called it her indoor garden.
Uncle William was one of the top attorneys in the Bay Area. The house in Saratoga was a showpiece, with a formal living and dining room, because Aunt Teresa and Uncle William entertained often. Despite their wealth, Aunt Teresa was down to earth, a mother figure, and the only person Sienna could run to with her troubles.
“He’s become so controlling since the divorce. And it’s not Bron’s fault. Maybe he’s just worried she’ll leave him because he’s so old.”
Aunt Teresa patted her hand. “Did you ever consider that he was always manipulative and controlling and you just didn’t see it?”
Knowing her mother was coming to lunch as well, Sienna had arrived early to do a data dump on her aunt. She told her about the birthday party when her father lied about Matthew, compounding it with a “fabrication” about Bron, then the lie about her mother not wanting her to be in the wedding, and finally about Mr. Smithfield and the complete lie, not fabrication, that lost Sienna the job. All because he supposedly was looking out for everyone’s feelings and knew what was best.
“I’m not saying he hasn’t always liked to have things his way. He’s a man, after all,” Sienna said. She’d worked with a lot of men, and most of them liked things their way. “But this is different,” she insisted. “He deliberately sabotaged the job because he didn’t want me working for his competitor.” She shook her hands as if she could shake out the agitation. “Sure he offers me a job, but I know how it would play out. I’d be under his and Matthew’s thumb doing all the grunt work. But I want my own clients to service. I want to be a partner.”
“I know how hard it is, sweetie,” Aunt Teresa sympathized. “But now you can see what it was like for your mother.”
Sienna shook her head, her hair flying. “I’m telling you, he is so much worse.”
“Maybe you finally caught him at it.”
Sienna pursed her lips stubbornly. “I would have caught him long ago if he was doing this for years.” She looked at her aunt. “I worry about Bron. What’s she getting herself into?”
“Bron’s a big girl. She worked for him, and she knows what he’s like. She’ll be able to figure out if he’s not the right man for her.”
“Sure. But she’s already pregnant.”
The doorbell rang through the house. Her mother. The heart-to-heart was over. She hadn’t even gotten around to asking Aunt Teresa’s advice.
The sisters hugged when her mother entered. They couldn’t be more different in personality, but they both had the same beautiful deep brown eyes, silky dark hair now streaked with gray, and figures that men would have drooled over in their younger days. Not that either of them had lost their shape. It was just that they were, well, older.
It was a fact of life that men going through a midlife crisis—like her father—wanted a younger woman. It was truly sad that older women became invisible no matter how beautiful they were. Luckily, Uncle William would never cheat on Aunt Teresa.
She thought over her aunt’s comment. Had her dad always been controlling, but just better at hiding it before? Sienna didn’t know. For so long, she’d thought all the problems were her mother’s fault.
And what about her mom? She was broken by the divorce. Or maybe thirty years with a man like Donald Walker was enough marriage for any woman. She’d probably never marry again.
She and her mother gave each other awkward air kisses on both cheeks. It had been like this for years. She didn’t think it could ever change.
“Let’s eat,” her aunt said. “I know you have to get back to work, Sienna.” She waved them over to the linen-draped table as if they were dining in a five-star restaurant. Salad plates had already been set out.
“I’m so sorry about that job you wanted,” her mother said. Aunt Teresa must have told her. Not that Sienna minded.
“Thank you. I’ll find something. Maybe even another opening at the same company.”
“But do you really want to go there if they’ve already passed you over?” Her mother obviously didn’t realize how insensitive that was.
“They didn’t pass me over.” Sienna did her best to keep the irritation out of her voice. “They were just looking for someone with a different skill set.”
But why had they hired Jeffrey Deck? Maybe Matthew was overstating his objections. Jeffrey couldn’t be that bad if he made it into Smithfield and Vine.
Her mother smiled. “I’m sure they couldn’t find anyone better qualified than you.” She seemed to try too hard.
Sienna recalled what her father had said as he walked away, that her choices would come back to bite her in the ass just the way her mother’s choices would bite her in the ass too.
She tried to look at her mom with fresh eyes. Mother kept Sienna from going on all those outings, saying her brother and dad needed male bonding. She’d shut Sienna out of that relationship, as if being a girl meant she wasn’t good enough. And she wasn’t wanted.
