“He knew I was covering this meeting,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “Maybe he didn’t want to distract me.”
Or maybe he figured you wouldn’t want to be distracted.
The little voice that whispered through her mind surprised her. She wasn’t here because she wanted to have this meeting. Not exactly. She was here because she was trying to help her partners… well, her bosses. Her friends with something they couldn’t handle themselves right now.
But it was something she would have done in the past too. For different reasons. To prove herself. To take the chance to make a business contact without her bosses breathing down her neck. To further the business just to, well, further the business.
Her throat tightened again and she felt the backs of her eyes sting. She blinked rapidly.
Ollie’s phone dinged again and he looked at it. “Dax,” he said, swiping the message open. “They’re doing a bypass. Surgery could take four to five hours. And she won’t be awake for another two or three after that.” He shook his head. “This is going to be a long fucking day.”
Whitney agreed. And watching Ollie now made her chest ache. No doubt Dax and Grant looked much the same. Maybe worse. Their girls were worried and emotional too so they’d be supporting them as well as Cam. And then, of course, there were Cam and Aiden. Their mother was going into a major surgery. It would be hours before they knew how things were going to turn out.
Whitney had to blink again as her eyes stung and her throat got scratchy.
She didn’t know exactly what Cam was doing but he was at the hospital and surrounded by people who loved him, who would make him feel stronger by being there and would make sure he had whatever he needed.
She trusted that.
No matter how much it hurt to not be one of those people.
“Did Grant or Dax say—”
Her question was cut off by the conference room door opening.
She took a breath and forced a smile as Gordon, Matt, and Stephen came in. She glanced at Ollie as she stood. He was also smiling and pushing to his feet. But she knew him. Oliver Caprinelli was upset. He wasn’t the business meeting type in the first place and it was clear it was bothering him a lot to not be at the hospital with his friends.
“Good morning, Gordon,” she greeted, pulling her attention from Ollie.
“Hello, Whitney. Good to see you again,” the older Perkins greeted her with a handshake.
“Hello, Matt,” she said, turning to his son.
“Hi, Whitney.” Matt Perkins was good looking, charming, and sophisticated. And knew it. He gave her a grin and a glance that went from the top of her head to the flower on the toe of her shoe.
She ignored him. She turned to Stephen. “Mr. McDonald.”
“Hello, Whitney.”
She should probably ask them to call her Ms. Lancaster. Or they should just call her that without her having to ask. But they’d known her since Gordon and her father golfed together and she and Matt hung out at the country club swimming pool.
“This is Oliver Caprinelli, one of the new owners. Oliver, this is Gordon and Matt Perkins and Stephen McDonald.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Ollie said, shaking each man’s hand. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Gordon said, taking in Ollie’s disheveled hair from where he’d been running his hand.
Ollie had put a tie on for the meeting and Whitney smiled to herself. That was a huge gesture and she appreciated it. But it was loose at the neck and his shirt wasn’t tucked into his pants tightly and his pants were, well, jeans. He was also wearing Converse tennis shoes.
It didn’t matter. Ollie was an owner of Hot Cakes and had as much, if not more, money than the Perkins men did. And he didn’t really care what they thought. In fact, Whitney would have bet her month’s salary that Ollie didn’t even notice the way Gordon had looked him over.
“Please have a seat, everyone,” Whitney said, pulling her own chair out. “Help yourself to coffee. We won’t keep you long. I know you made a special stop here today.” Whitney took her seat at the head of the table where Aiden usually sat.
She glanced at Ollie out of the corner of her eye. He was looking at his phone again.
It wasn’t rude. She knew he wasn’t ignoring her. He was checking in at the hospital. And she really wanted to know what the text said. He also wasn’t going to be presenting here today. She was fully in charge. He was here as a face for the new owners only.
Piper slipped in just then. She gave everyone a bright smile and asked, “Just seeing if you need anything, Ms. Lancaster.”
Whitney fought her grin. She loved Piper.
“This is Piper Barry,” Whitney introduced. “She’s our executive assistant.”
“Hello, Piper,” Matt said, sitting forward in his chair and giving her a big grin.
Ollie looked up at that. He frowned at Matt and looked over at Piper. He also sat forward in his chair. “Thought you were going down to Buttered Up?”
“Paige is getting things opened up. I thought I’d see if I can help Ms. Lancaster with anything before I go.”
Ollie looked at Whitney, then back to Piper. “I’ve got Ms. Lancaster covered.”
Piper didn’t quite roll her eyes at him, but it was definitely implied. “Ms. Lancaster?” she asked, dismissing Ollie.
“I’m fine, actually,” Whitney said. “But thank you.”
“Absolutely. We’ll talk later.”
“Of course.” Whitney watched as Piper slipped back out.
She was relieved to know that Paige was already at Buttered Up and that Piper was on her way.
She still wanted to get this meeting over with.
That was new. She never wanted to rush through meetings. She always wanted to be sure every T was crossed. Twenty-four hours ago, she’d been
