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Sofia gripped his face and turned it from the door to face her instead. He was buoyed by the conviction he saw in her eyes.
“No, he’ll have to get used to the idea, right? Because this thing between us isn’t changing any time soon. He’s just surprised.”
Why hadn’t she told anyone?
Jo came back into the dining room carrying a roast pork loin surrounded by broccolini. Placing it in the place of pride on a table already groaning, she went and sat in her spot without a word. Dom blustered in behind her with a bowl of pesto orecchiette. “…doesn’t tell me a goddamn thing,” he muttered as everyone took seats around the table.
Adrian stood to the side and waited while everyone sat, awkwardly nervous and afraid of screwing up his future in more ways than one. He took the empty seat next to Sofia and kept his head down while grace was said and bowls were passed. When he turned to hand the pasta to Sofia, he saw the tears in her eyes.
“What’s…?”
She cut him off with a shake of her head and blinked back tears. Shit. He wanted to support her, but he didn’t know how to in front of her family.
“Later.”
Brandy dove into the silence around the table, and Adrian was thankful for her bravery. “So, I had a funny thing happen today.”
While she recounted a story of someone passing out during an OB/GYN observation in her nursing program, Adrian tried to calm himself back down. Dom was just surprised. He hadn’t been in the office much lately, and when he was on set he shadowed Jake so intently that he hadn’t noticed the change between Adrian and Sofia. Where they once bickered incessantly, they’d grown downright cordial in the office. Paperwork was getting completed and flowing with ease. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt compelled to tease her. Probably because he was getting plenty of her attention already.
As the laughter died down, Dom stepped into the conversational gap, clearing his throat. “I know this is supposed to be family dinner, but I do have a little bit of business to discuss.” Jo rose from the table and headed for the door to the kitchen. “I thought you’d all like to know that the pilot got picked up. We will be on TV!”
The table erupted into excited squeals and clapping from nearly everyone—everyone except Jo and Sofia. Jo stood frozen in the doorway. Adrian could tell this news did not excite the family matriarch in the least, but he was surprised that Sofia was so quiet. He’d thought she’d be excited about the show getting picked up. Wasn’t this her dream to jump-start her design business?
“Dad?” she asked, but only Adrian heard her. “DAD!” She yelled it that time and got everyone’s attention around the table.
“What is it, honey?”
In a voice as sweet as the endearment, she asked a quiet question. Even Adrian could tell this was going to be bad.
“How can we be on TV if we haven’t signed new contracts?”
“I signed them yesterday. We’re all good.”
“No, Dad. Not good. Did you read them?”
“Jake told me they were the same as the pilot contracts with a few more people added to it.”
“What’s the percentage cut on merchandise from the show?”
“Uh, I don’t know. What was it in the other one?”
She ignored his question and asked another. Adrian could see the vein pulsing in her temple.
“Whose names are listed on the new contract?”
“Everyone in this room. Plus some of the regular guys on the crew.”
Jo’s head snapped up at this. “No way in hell am I going on that show.”
“That answers my next question of whether you asked everyone or not. Have you thought about what this does to our project timelines? How are we going to handle the intake of new clients? Do they expect us to film our existing clients for upcoming projects in the pipeline? And have you gotten releases from those people? What’s the revenue split between the people in this room? How can you have figured any of that out if we haven’t even settled the roles people will play after you retire? Did you sort any of this out or did you just go with your gut and sign away our business?” Sofia’s voice got louder and higher the more rapid-fire questions she aimed at her father. Without waiting for a reply she rose from the table and grabbed her cell phone from her purse.
Dom slammed his hand on the table, making forks and spoons jump as well as Sofia. “Damn it, Sofia. Enough with the questions! I thought this was what you wanted. Why are you so against it all of a sudden?”
“Dad, I’m not against it. But how can you say yes without knowing the answers?” She unlocked her cell phone and deliberately turned her back on her father.
“Who are you calling?”
“I’m texting Jake to tell him that you signed under duress and that the rest of us did not have access to the documents and that if he doesn’t want a lawsuit on his hands he’ll ignore your signature for a few days while we sort things out.”
