Family Man

for what happened to your parents thirty-seven years ago, isn't it?” Darren narrowed his eyes. “Why don't you admit it?”
    Katy could stand it no longer. “For heaven's sake, stop it, all of you,” she said crisply. “Luke has agreed to save Gilchrist, Inc. Give him a chance.”
    The Gilchrists turned on her en masse, eyes glittering.
    “From what Grandmother has told us,” Eden said, “he's only here because you persuaded him to come back. Were you the one who offered him the Pacific Rim as a fee for services rendered?”
    Katy's fingers tightened around the stem of her sherry glass, but she kept her voice calm. “No, I did not. No one offered it to him. He simply announced he was going to take it as his fee. It was part of the deal he made with Justine.”
    Maureen frowned. “Just where do you fit into all this anyway, Katy? I must say, you're certainly moving in the inner circles these days. I thought you were supposed to be Justine's personal assistant, but lately you've been acting more like a member of the family.”
    Luke spoke coldly from the window. His voice sliced like a sword through the grumbling and muttering of the others. “That's enough, Maureen. And that goes for the rest of you, too. Your claws are showing.”
    Hayden frowned. “What are you talking about?”
    “I'm warning you that Katy is not fair game. She no longer works for Justine. She is now my personal assistant. That makes her my responsibility, and she answers to no one but me. Is that clear?”
    The others—including Katy—stared at him in shock. It dawned on Katy that no one had thought it necessary to come to her rescue in years. She was the one who generally did the rescuing.
    “But she's always worked for Grandmother,” Darren finally muttered. “Ever since she joined the company.”
    “Well, now she works for me.” Luke's voice was dangerously soft. “That was also part of the deal I made with Justine.”
    Silence gripped the room. Katy was aware of the speculation in the eyes of Eden and her mother. She had the feeling the two women were leaping to more conclusions.
    “I believe we're ready to sit down to dinner,” Justine said. She rose from her chair with an odd air of subtle triumph and accepted Hayden's arm. “Shall we adjourn to the dining room?”
    No one argued.
    It was not the most pleasant evening Katy had passed in Gilchrist company. In fact, she decided, it probably ranked as one of the worst evenings of recent memory.
    The family alternately attacked, retreated, regrouped and charged—again and again. Luke sat impassively through the siege and didn't give an inch of ground. He looked bored most of the time.
    Katy grew increasingly depressed until the meal finally came to a conclusion with thin wedges of cheese and a lemon mousse.
    She cheered up slightly, however, when the others gathered in the living room for demitasse. Escape was at hand. As soon as the coffee was finished she would be able to leave.
    Darren smiled at her with what might have been sympathy as the others fell into desultory conversation about the future of Gilchrist, Inc. He carried his gold-edged cup and saucer over to where she sat.
    “You look like you could use a break.” Darren nodded toward the French doors. “What do you say we go out onto the balcony for a few minutes and get some fresh air?”
    “All right.” Katy had always gotten along reasonably well with Darren and was grateful to him now for making a friendly gesture. She put down her cup and got to her feet.
    Luke looked up from something he was saying to Hayden as Katy followed Darren out onto the balcony. She could feel his eyes watching her until she stepped out of sight through the glass-paned doors. The shiver of awareness that went through her was not caused entirely by the chilled evening air. She sensed that Luke was not pleased by her exit.
    “Whew.” Darren made a show of mopping his brow. “Talk about dropping a bombshell on the family. Trust Justine to pull it off. I have to admit I never thought she'd get him here. Dad told me that when Uncle Thornton eloped with his secretary all those years ago, Grandmother said she never wanted to see Thornton, his floozy, or their son as long as she lived. Uncle Thornton is reputed to have said that was fine with him.”
    Katy gripped the teak railing. “Justine must have been in a rage. I know she was terribly humiliated.”
    “Did your mother ever forgive the Gilchrists?”
    Katy smiled.