on his bed, his face wan and drawn. “Hand me that water, will you, honey?”
“Sure, sure, Dad.” She got her father’s water container, and spun the straw until it faced Henry. She helped him take it, and bring it to his mouth, then sat back. “You sure you’re up to a visit?”
He put down the water, then gave her a smile. “Seeing my little girl always makes me feel better. Now, talk to me about something besides doctors and medications. Tell me how things are at the company.”
“Good.” She hadn’t told her father about any of the problems she’d encountered with Farnsworth quitting and the rush to get the Piedmont project underway. She wasn’t about to start now. Maybe down the road when he was stronger and feeling better.
He tsk-tsked her. “You always tell me that things are good. I know you’re lying.” He covered her hand with his own. “I know you have the best of intentions, but really, you can talk to me. Use me as a sounding board.”
Oh, how she wished she could. But the doctor had been firm—no unnecessary stress or worries. Her father, who had worked all his adult life, had a lot of trouble distancing himself from the job, and right now, that was what he needed most to do. Whatever she wanted—or needed—could wait. “You need to concentrate on getting better, Dad, not on what is happening at work.”
“All I do is lie here and concentrate on getting better.” He let out a sigh. Frustration filled his green eyes, and knitted his brows. “This place is like prison. Complete with the crappy food. I need more to do. Something to challenge me.”
“I brought you a lot of books. And there are magazines on the counter. A TV right here. If you want something else to read—”
He waved all of that off. “Talk to me about work.”
“Dad—”
He leaned forward. The strong, determined Henry Winston she knew lit his features. “I love you, Ellie, and I love you for being so protective of me. But talking about work keeps me from worrying about work. I’m not worried about you being in charge—you’re capable and smart, and I know you want that business to succeed as much as I do—but I miss being plugged in, connected. That company is as much a part of me as my right arm.”
She sighed. She knew her father. He had the tenacity of a bulldog, and now that he was feeling better, she doubted she could put him off much longer about WW Architectural Design. Maybe she could set his mind at ease by sharing a small amount of information, and that would satisfy his workaholic tendencies. “Okay, but if your blood pressure so much as blips, we’re talking only about gardening the rest of the day.”
He grimaced at his least favorite topic, then crossed his heart. “I promise.”
“Okay.” She sat back and filled him in, starting with a brief recap of Farnsworth’s defection, followed by glossing over most of the setbacks on the Piedmont project, and finally, touting the positive aspects of her temporary alliance with Finn. She kept the news mostly upbeat, and left out all mentions of her elopement.
“You are working with Finn McKenna,” Henry said. It was a statement, not a question.
She nodded. “He has the experience we need. I could hire a new architect but we don’t have enough time to do another candidate search and then bring that person up to speed. The prelims are due the fifteenth.”
“Finn McKenna, though? That man is not one you should easily trust. He’s made an art form out of taking over small companies like ours. You know he’s our competition, right?”
“Yes, and we have worked out an amicable and fair arrangement. His business got into a little trouble—”
“Do you know what that trouble was? Did he tell you?”
“He didn’t give me specifics.” Dread sank in Ellie’s gut. She could hear the message in her father’s tone. There was something she had missed, something she had overlooked. Damn. She had been too distracted to probe Finn, to push him to tell her more.
She knew better. She’d rushed headlong into an alliance because her mind was on saving Jiao and nothing else.
“He got involved with the daughter of a competitor. In fact, I think he was engaged to her,” Henry said. “And when things went south in the relationship, several of his clients defected to the other firm, taking all their business with them. I heard Finn raised a ruckus over at his office, but it was too late. A lot of people said he only proposed to her so he could take over her company and when it ended badly, she stole his clients instead.”
Daughter of a competitor. Wasn’t that what she was, too? Had Finn married her for control of the company?
Oh, God, had she made a deal with the devil? Her gut told her no, that Finn was not the cutthroat businessman depicted by the media. But how well did she really know him? Every time she tried to get close to him, he shut the door.
Wasn’t this exactly why she had stayed away from marriage all these years? She’d seen how her parents had been virtual strangers, roommates sharing a roof. She didn’t want to end up the same way, married to someone she hardly knew because she mistook infatuation for something real.
Ironic how that had turned out. Well, either way, the marriage would be over soon. She told herself it was better that way for all of them.
“Just be cautious, honey,” Henry said. “I’ve heard Finn is ruthless. You know they call him—”
“The Hawk.” The nickname had seemed like a joke before, but now it struck a chord. Had she missed the point? Was this entire marriage a plan by Finn to get his company back—
By taking over WW Architectural Design?
Maybe his “help” was all about helping his own bottom line. “I’m sure Finn will be fine,” she said, more to allay her own fears than her father’s. Because all of a sudden she wasn’t so sure anything was going to be fine. “He’s really smart and has been a great asset on this project.”
“I’d just be very cautious about an alliance with him,” her father said. “He’s one of those guys who’s always out to win. No matter the cost.”
“He’s been very up-front with me, Dad. I don’t think he has a hidden agenda.” Though could she say that for a hundred percent? Just because she’d married Finn and kissed him didn’t mean she knew much more than she had two days ago. Every time she tried to get close to him, he pushed her away.
“Don’t trust him, that’s all I’m saying. He’s backed into a corner, and a dog that’s in a corner will do anything to get out.”
Anything. Like marry a total stranger.
And try to steal her father’s legacy right out from under her.
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