“Who are you going to kill?” India asked.
Elaina whirled to face her. She held the neck of the bottle in her fist and raised it as if she were ready to butt India in the head with the flat bottom. “Don’t sneak up on me!” She relaxed and lowered the bottle.
“You would have heard me if you weren’t stomping and cursing through the house,” India replied.
Elaina glared. She snatched open a drawer next to the fridge, dug around and pulled out a corkscrew. “I don’t stomp,” she said haughtily before stabbing the cork with the screw and twisting it roughly.
India barely suppressed a chuckle. “Fine, we’ll call what you were doing heavy walking.”
“Are you on your way out?” Elaina looked pointedly at the purse on India’s shoulder. “If that’s the case, please go on about your business.” She popped out the cork and poured wine into her glass.
India had been on her way to the art museum to talk about the guest performance with the chamber orchestra. She’d avoided Elaina in the two days since she’d gotten back from Asheville. She hadn’t known if she would be able to look her sister in the face and not say anything about what happened between her and Travis. Except for a few calls, they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. He couldn’t visit her at home and she wasn’t about to risk being seen at his place. She had no idea how they were going to keep things going without getting caught.
“I’ve got enough time to check on you,” India said. She crossed the room and laid her purse on the granite countertop. “What’s going on? Who do you want to kill?” A thought made her stomach churn. “Is it Travis?”
Elaina’s hand paused on the way to her mouth with a full-to-the-brim wineglass. “Travis? God no, this has nothing to do with him. Though, I wish it did. I could at least get what I wanted most of the time out of him.”
India wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or concerned by that statement. She hid her confusion by sliding onto one of the barstools at the countertop. “Okay, then who?”
“Alex. Alex Tyson,” Elaina said the name with a sneer.
India raised a brow and shrugged. “Who?”
Elaina scoffed and looked at India as if she’d admitted to not knowing who was president. “He’s the new head of Research and Development at Robidoux Tobacco, the bane of my existence and the world’s biggest asshole.”
India leaned back in her chair. “Okay...” She drew out the word. “We don’t like Alex.”
“We don’t.” Elaina scowled and took another sip of her wine. She gripped the corkscrew, cork still attached, in her other hand. She looked as if she were imagining poking Alex in an eye with the sharp end.
India reached over and took the corkscrew out of her sister’s hand. “Why exactly do we not like Alex? Other than him being the bane of your existence and world’s biggest asshole.”
Elaina rarely got worked up by people in the office. For this guy to have her stomping...walking hard...through the house and gripping a corkscrew like a weapon, he must have gotten under her skin like a splinter.
“I can’t get anything done out of that department since he’s taken over. He doesn’t respond to my emails or requests for meetings. When we do meet, he looks at me as if I have a...a kindergarten education instead of an MBA.” She sniffed and lifted her chin. “As if having a doctorate in chemical engineering somehow makes him superior to me.”
“A doctorate in chemical engineering. That’s impressive.”
Elaina’s eyes shot poisoned daggers at India. “So is an MBA.” She ground the words out through clenched teeth. The exasperation in Elaina’s voice made India wonder if her sister had said as much to the man under fire.
India held up her hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I know. Believe me. You are way smarter.”
“Don’t patronize me, India. It’s not cute.” But the irritation melted from her voice and her shoulders relaxed as she took a long sip of her drink.
One well-placed compliment always did the trick with Elaina. Her sister was smart, tenacious and shrewd, but she wasn’t vain. Though most people thought she was. India saw that Elaina wanted approval, acceptance, which was why she didn’t mind throwing out compliments to remind her sister of her abilities.
“Tell me what happened,” India said. “You haven’t said why you’re so upset today.”
“Because he completely overrode me,” Elaina said as if no one had ever not complied with her wishes. Come to think of it, few people had. “I issued a directive to his department and later discovered he told his team to ignore me. When I confronted him on it, he admitted telling them to ignore me.”
India’s eyes widened. She didn’t know Alex Tyson, but he had balls of steel or a death wish to go against her sister. “What did you do?”
“I fired him,” she said with a snap of her fingers. “Immediately.”
“Are you sure that was right? I mean, can’t he file a complaint?”
“I fired him for insubordination.” She lifted her glass and took another sip.
“And I rehired him because you were wrong.” Grant’s voice came from the door.
Elaina slammed her wineglass on the counter with such force India was surprised the glass didn’t shatter. “You. What?”
Grant strolled into the kitchen not looking the least bit affected by the hellfire in Elaina’s eyes. “I rehired him. He was right, Elaina. You gave Research and Development that order because you were being petty. Not because the work needed to be done.”
“People can’t ignore directives I send out,” Elaina fired back.
“I hire smart people so I can be confident in their decisions. We’re fighting on all ends to keep this company on top, not micromanage our employees. The sales of cigarettes have gone down, and unless we look into expanding the market on cigars and other tobacco uses, we’ll be left behind. You worry about making sure the books are good and production is high. Let Alex and the other managers figure out how to keep our product out there.”
“I’m going to be the CEO of this company one day,” Elaina said. “He along with everyone else has to understand that.”
Grant pointed one long, accusing finger in her direction. “You have to understand being CEO doesn’t make you a dictator.”
Elaina scoffed. “That’s hilarious coming from you. The man who lives by ultimatums and manipulation to get what he wants from everyone.”
“What I’ve done has nothing to do with what we’re talking about now,” Grant continued. “Work things out with Alex or else I’ll look for someone else to take over when I retire in a few years.”
India jumped off the stool and stared at her dad. He may be right that Elaina needed to back off her subordinates, but to threaten to take the company from her? That was ridiculous. “You can’t be serious. Elaina deserves the company.”
Everyone in the family knew that. Elaina was the one who’d worked next to Dad in the office and in the fields. She knew Robidoux Tobacco inside and out. She could recite the company mission and vision statement in her sleep.
“No one deserves anything,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “I’ve given you kids everything I could, and I’ll admit sometimes I was harsh in my decisions. But you’ve always earned everything I gave you. If I didn’t think you deserved it, then you wouldn’t have gotten anything. This isn’t any different. Alex is the best engineer out there. I had to do a lot of work to get him at Robidoux Tobacco and you’re not going to run him off just because he won’t bow at your feet the way every other manager does when you give them the evil eye.”
“I’ll never forgive you if you take the CEO position from me.” Elaina’s voice shook with emotion. Her face remained ever cool, calm and poised, but the tremor of fear and hurt was unmistakable.
Grant shook his head as if Elaina’s rarely shown distress were nothing more than an expected tantrum. �
�I’d rather you hate me than ruin our company.”
Elaina picked up the wineglass and tossed it across the room. The glass shattered, spraying wine everywhere. The sharp scent of the spilled liquid filled the room.
India jumped at the uncharacteristic show of emotion. Not just emotion. Rage covered Elaina’s face. Rage and pain. Their dad didn’t flinch. India held her breath. Too shocked to know how to respond.
Grant pointed to the mess Elaina had made. “Clean that shit up.”
Elaina grabbed the bottle of wine. She stalked around the counter toward the door. When she got to their father, she stopped and glared at him. “I’m sorry, I have to go read up on being a good supervisor. Find someone else to clean up the wine.” Her voice was syrupy sweet and laced with bitterness. Without another word, she went to the door.
“Elaina, wait,” India called.
Elaina waved a hand over her shoulder. “Not now, India. Not now.” She didn’t look back as she walked out. Eventually the echoes of her defeated footsteps disappeared.
India spun to her father. “Daddy, why would you say that to her? Why would you threaten to take the company from her?”
“Because your sister has problems she needs to work out.” He looked at the broken glass and spilled wine. The anger and unflinching determination he’d shown Elaina faded away. Weariness she’d never seen on her father replaced the other emotions. “If she doesn’t realize that... Well she won’t be any good as the head of Robidoux Tobacco. She’s interfering in areas she doesn’t belong. This fight with Alex only proves it.”
Elaina was a workaholic and she had difficulty showing emotions, but that didn’t mean she had problems. The smell of spilled wine filled the room. India stared at the mess. Unease pouring into her system the same way the wine had poured down the wall.
“Is he really disrespecting her at work? That could be the real problem.” Not anything else.
“He’s not letting her run him over. Nothing he’s done so far has been disrespectful. Your sister is trying to force his hand. Her stubbornness will cost the company, and she’s only being stubborn because Alex won’t kiss her ass the way the rest of the directors do.” He sighed and shook his head. “Enough about Elaina. She’ll pout in her room and be fine tomorrow. How are you? I haven’t seen you since you got back. Did you have a good weekend?”
India chewed the corner of her lip. He didn’t sound as if he were prying. If he’d known she’d spent the weekend with Travis, as unexpected as the weekend had been, she was sure he would say something. If he’d stepped in before and pushed Travis into marrying Elaina, then there was no way he wouldn’t try to interfere now.
She smiled and tried not to sound as if she were hiding something. “I did. You?”
The tension around her dad’s eyes and mouth disappeared. “Spent some time with Patricia.” His voice warmed when he said Patricia’s name.
India sucked in a breath. Irritation scratched her like a cheap, unwashed sweater. “You know what. Never mind.”
“Is that how it’s going to be? You’re going to ignore it when I bring her up? You can’t do that when I marry her.”
“Let’s not talk about your marriage.” She stalked to the door.
“How about we talk about you going to Asheville the same weekend as Travis.”
India’s heart jumped in her throat. Shit! She felt like an idiot for thinking he hadn’t put two and two together, but she’d prepared for her father bringing this up. She raised a brow and tried to look moderately curious. “Travis was in Asheville?”
Grant crossed his arms and called her a liar with his eyes. “Are you telling me you didn’t see him?”
She slid her sweaty palms into the pocket of her pants. “Why would I see him? I toured Biltmore and used the weekend to get away from the drama in this house. What was he doing there?” Her voice didn’t give away her deception.
Grant’s eyes narrowed before he huffed and shook his head. “You know what. Never mind.” He used the I-don’t-want-to-hear-this tone she’d used on him at the mention of Patricia. “Were you going out tonight?”
“Yes.” She looked at the mess on the floor. “I can clean that up before I go.” Her dad didn’t like giving the staff any additional reasons to gossip about the family.
Grant waved her away. “No. Go on out. I made this mess,” he sighed heavily. “I’ll clean it up.”
He turned away and pulled several paper towels off the roll. India didn’t ask what he meant. Elaina had thrown the glass of wine, but Grant’s actions had pushed her to it. Actions that may have started long before he’d rehired a headstrong employee.
* * *
THE HOUSE WAS quiet when India returned later that evening. The meeting with the art museum had gone better than expected. India was excited about the guest performance. The other members playing chamber music at the museum were fun and interesting. The cellist, Penelope Gumbee, had been very friendly and invited India to meet up for coffee the next day. She had musical connections in town again and that was great.
She’d gotten the invitation for first-round auditions for the LA Philharmonic today. The anticipation of being a part of a large symphony again was still there, but the idea of moving across country wasn’t as tempting as it had been when she’d first come home.
She should be eager to get out of town. Her dad was marrying the woman he’d betrayed their mom with. Her brother was marrying someone he didn’t love as a political stunt. Her relationship with Travis was going to create a missile explosion in her family. All reasons to be excited about moving. But all the problems with her family didn’t stop her from loving them. She’d missed them when she traveled, and the comfort of being home—despite the hang-ups—was still there. She’d missed being on the estate. Missed hanging out with Ashiya. Even missed her sister’s prickly form of affection.
But if you stay and tell her about Travis, she’ll hate you.
That was it. The real reason she had to leave. Staying meant hurting her sister. Elaina was strong, but there were cracks in her armor. The scene earlier had proved that. India couldn’t be the reason her sister finally shattered.
Then there was Travis. How could she be sure he was really ready for the potential fallout? He’d succumbed to her dad’s pressures before and followed his advice. Grant would definitely advise against any relationship between them. Travis was older and had branched away from the family, but that didn’t mean he no longer sought her father’s approval.
At the top of the stairs, the sound of male laughter in the family room stopped her. She recognized both laughs. Byron and Travis. Her heart did a triplet rhythm against her ribs. Her path changed, and she went to the family room instead of her room.
Byron and Travis sat in the leather recliners. They were both dressed as if they’d left the office and hadn’t changed. Wrinkled dress shirts, ties tossed on the floor, and slacks. Papers were strewn across the coffee table along with large Byron for Senate coffee mugs and a few dirty plates.
“What are you two doing?” she asked.
Travis sat up straight. His dark gaze snapped to her, the smile on his face softening along with the look in his eyes. She returned his smile. The pull to cross the room, wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him tugged her like an invisible rope. She forced her gaze to Byron before she went against her own plan to keep their relationship a secret.
Byron waved her over. “We had a meeting with Dad and Roy about the campaign. I dragged Travis over because he needed a break from trial preparations.”
India focused on Travis again. “How are things coming with that?”
Tension crept back into his features, the stress of his job immediately apparent in the tightening of his lips and shoulders. “They’re coming. I don’t see how any outcome is going to be good.”
“Why?”
Byron answered, “Family drama
. He wins, and his family won’t be happy.”
Winning would put further pressure on his strained family relationship. Travis acted like the rift with his family wasn’t that big of a deal, but India knew how much their lack of support bothered him. He wanted their acceptance, and everything he did seemed to only tear them further apart.
“Are you okay?” she asked Travis.
He nodded and shrugged, but the effort looked stiff. “I’ll be fine. It’s no big deal. My main goal is to represent my client.”
Byron sighed and ran a hand over his legs. “Before we go back down the road of what could go wrong, how about we call it a night?” He checked his watch and stood. “I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow and I still need to do a few things.”
Travis stood, stretched his arms backward, and rolled his head in a circle like he was working out the kinks. “I’m cool with that. I’ll help you straighten up before I go.”
Byron looked around at the mess and rubbed the back of his head. “I appreciate that. Sandra might make me pick my own switch and wear my tail out if I leave too much of a mess,” he said with a chuckle.
India grunted. “Doubtful. Sandra likes to pretend you’re some type of prince.”
Byron winked and picked up the mugs. “Which is why I’ve got to stay on her good side.”
“Well, I’m going to get ready for bed,” she said. She hesitated and bit her lip. Her gaze darted to Travis.
Travis had looked up quickly when she mentioned going to bed. Longing flared in his eyes so deep it made her bones ache. India’s body caught fire. Raw, aching hunger pulsed deep within her.
Byron leaned in and gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. Breaking the spell. “Good night, sis.”
India blinked and hugged him back. “Night.”
Byron went back to stacking up the dirty dishes. Her eyes locked with Travis’s.
“Good night, India.”
Did he mean to sound so sexy when he said that? His voice was a deep rumble that sent waves through her body. She bit the corner of her lip, then lifted her hand for a brief wave.
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