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Luke breathed a small sigh of relief and drank some more coffee.
CHAPTER TEN
What’s the matter?”Trevor March said. “You sound tense.”
“I’m not tense.” Frantically she tried to switch gears and get into her cool, confident, and, above all,stableadult daughter mode. The daughter who had completely recovered from her hallucinatory experience in the desert and no longer needed a therapist. “You caught me at a busy moment, that’s all.”
“You’re busy? At seven forty-five in the morning? Are you getting ready to go to work?” Parental approval suddenly infused Trevor’s voice. “So you finally landed a real job? About time.”
Talia drummed her fingers on the table and glared at Luke, who pretended not to notice. “I’m still doing some consulting and developing the podcast brand.”
“Those don’t qualify as real jobs and you know it. You’re still in a downward spiral. You need to go back into therapy.”
Time to try to turn the tables. “Is there a reason you’re calling at this hour, Dad?” she asked, projecting concern into her voice. “Is everything okay on your end?”
“We’re fine. Did you follow up on any of those leads I sent you?”
So much for the effort to redirect the conversation.
“Not yet.” No point mentioning that she had dumped the contact information he had emailed to her straight into the trash folder. Sure, one of Trevor’s business pals might be willing to repay a favor or two by finding a mind-numbing job for her, but she had other plans for her life—just as soon as she discovered the truth about her lost night.
“Talia, I’ve told you before that you’re wasting your time trying to start your own consulting business and that podcast thing is a dead end. You’ve got to get serious about your future.”
“Dad, why did you call me so early in the morning?”
“I called to wish you happy birthday, of course.”
“Oh, right. Thanks. I forgot.”
“I called early because I wanted to touch base with you before the car service arrives.”
“You’re on your way out of town?”
“The kids are on a school break, so we’re off to the Maui house,” Trevor said.
“You’re not going to Aspen?”
“It’s too early for Aspen.”
“Of course. I knew that.”Not.She had never been to Aspen in her life.
“We use Aspen for the winter break,” Trevor continued. “Say, why don’t you join us for a few days there this year?”
The prospect of spending a few days in the bosom of Trevor’s second family did not bear thinking about. Her half-siblings, aged five and seven, were not a problem but they were destined for a very different world than the one in which she lived. They were enrolled in an expensive, exclusive school that was preparing them academically and socially for the rarefied atmosphere of the social circlesinhabited by the offspring of wealthy hedge fund managers and successful tech entrepreneurs.
The real issue was Trevor’s second wife. Isabel was polished, stylish, and beautiful in a high-maintenance blonde way. She was also a year younger than Talia. On the rare occasions when she was obliged to deal with her husband’s daughter from a previous marriage she was always gracious. Talia did her best to respond in kind, but she knew both of them found the family get-togethers uncomfortable.
“Thanks for the invitation, but I never learned to ski,” Talia said.Because you were always too busy making money to take Mom and me on vacations.
“Forget the skiing.” Trevor chuckled. “Aspen is about making connections. And that’s reason enough for you to join us this winter. I’ll make sure you meet the right people.”
“I’ve got a lot going on at the moment, Dad. Finished a consulting gig yesterday and the podcast is getting some traction.”
“I’ve told you, you’re wasting your time with that podcast. No way you’re going to generate serious cash with a platform like that. The audience for the woo-woo stuff is too small.”
“You’ve mentioned that.”
“Don’t expect me to finance it,” Trevor warned. “I’m not going to pour any money down that drain.”
