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He nodded quickly as I walked away. The dancers who were getting ready for the show gave me curious glances as I walked through the room. Every girl in here was beautiful, but none of them held my attention. The one girl whose attention I wanted hated me with every fiber of her being. Not that I blamed her.
Especially since I’d blurted out our history in front of Eli and West. I hadn’t meant to. But West had been goading me as he touched her, and I’d fucking lost it. Usually, I was immaculate at portraying the emotions I wanted everyone to see. Except when it came to her. She made me lose all my senses.
My eyes landed on another door near the back of the dressing room, and I strode toward it, pulling it open without hesitation. This room was smaller. There was a narrow bar to the side and a few round tables with a light hanging above each table. The room was hazy from Richard and William smoking cigars.
They both turned away from the bar, along with Eli and West, as I shut the door behind me. My old best friends stared at me with hate while Richard and William greeted me with a nod. Moving across the room, I stepped up next to West and reached for a bottle of whiskey to refill my empty glass.
“Let’s get started,” William said, motioning to one of the tables. “We have things to discuss.”
My stomach flipped as I followed them to the table. Hopeful they’d spill the information I’d been looking for to help Marissa. A small amount of guilt stabbed me as I sat down next to West. As a Ward, this town and the families should be my first priority. At the moment, they weren’t.
William and Richard took the seats across from me. Eli pulled the chair out on the other side of me and moved to sit until he was yanked backward. William nearly choked on his drink when Kat slid into the empty chair.
Biting my tongue, I smothered my amusement when every other man in here stared at her in disbelief. Kat held her chin high, her face a perfect picture of calm. She had to be nervous, but she was hiding it well.
She was wearing more makeup than usual, and the purple surrounding her eyes matched her straightened hair. The diamonds in her ears and around her neck caught the light every time she moved. Her shimmery white dress had a plunging neckline, but it wasn’t overly revealing. It was perfect for the look she was going for.
She looked every inch a Whitman. Powerful. Gorgeous. Fierce.
I had a feeling she was done letting us push her around. She had been trying to stay under the radar, but it was obvious she was changing that by showing up tonight.
Eli gripped the back of her chair tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. West was staring at her with his mouth hanging open. His gaze dropped to her chest, and his surprise mixed with heat as he stared at her.
“Katalina, what are you doing here?” William finally spoke up, his eyes flashing in anger.
“I’m here for the meeting,” she answered, looking confused.
“You weren’t invited,” William bit out.
She tilted her head, not looking the least bit ruffled. “Is this not about town business?”
“It is,” Richard said gruffly, shooting a glance at Eli as if he was the reason Kat had showed up.
Her eyes darted to West and me before they landed back on her stepfather. “Town business involves all four families. If these three are here, why shouldn’t I be?”
“I’m here,” William snapped in fury. “You don’t need to be.”
Kat stared at him, keeping her calm. “In less than a year, it’ll be my place at the table. If West, Eli, and River are already stepping up and learning their roles, I should be too.”
As William’s face grew red, I was starting to regret my choice of telling her about this. When it came to William, she needed to do what she could to stay away from him. This wasn’t helping.
“You just got back, Katalina.” Richard tried placating her. “We’re giving you time to adjust first.”
“I’m perfectly adjusted,” she stated, staying confident without being argumentative. “Unless there’s another reason you don’t want me here.”
I schooled my surprise while West raised his eyebrow, not hiding his shock at how brazen she was being. Richard wasn’t about to come right out and say they didn’t want a woman at the table. My mom kept her seat only because she fought and never gave up. And still, she was left out of a lot.
With Kat, it seemed they didn’t even want to give her the chance to do that. I didn’t understand what they were planning. Tradition was for the oldest child in each family to take over once they graduated from college. William couldn’t keep his spot at the table once Kat graduated. Noah wasn’t an option anymore either. I frowned, not liking how William was glaring at her. He definitely had something else planned, and I wondered if Richard was in on it too.
I didn’t think our parents were upset she was back a year early. If anything, it was easier for them to keep an eye on her, which was what they wanted. But they didn’t want her making waves or speaking up. Which was exactly what she was doing right now.
Richard had instilled in Eli that men should be running this town. That women shouldn’t be part of the decision-making of anything. West’s father shared that thought but was much less vocal about it. Generations ago, it didn’t matter. Because back then, women had no voice about anything. The husbands did everything. But it was modern day, and women like my mother were changing the archaic tradition that men had all the say.
And I had a feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.
“Get up, Kat. You’re in my seat,” Eli spoke up, still looking like he was about to yank her out of the chair.
Kat twisted her neck and glanced up at him. A smile played on her lips as challenge filled her gaze. “No.”
