Page 93 of Tangled Control

Even with lack of sleep and wearing the same clothes as yesterday, Catriona takes my breath away. Her eyes widen as she sees my whole family. “Have a seat, Catriona.” I pull out a chair for her, the one to the right of Dad and opposite Mum. “Have you met Rosie and Knox?”

“Hello. Um, I’ve seen you both in the office.”

“Nice to meet you,” my sister greets with a smile, while my brother only grunts.

Catriona sinks down on the seat and nervously adjusts her skirt. I take a seat next to her and squeeze her leg reassuringly.

“What do you prefer, Catriona, tea or coffee?”

“Coffee would be lovely, Mrs Kearney,” Catriona mumbles.

The table goes quiet.

“Did you enjoy the party last night?” Rosie is not one for uncomfortable silences.

“Um…” Catriona takes her time answering as she grabs the fine china cup from Mum with both hands. The silver teaspoon jiggles on the saucer as she sets it down. “Yes, it was very impressive. The food was delicious, and the grounds are fabulous.”

“Indeed, Alexandra knows how to throw a party,” Mum comments, then promptly clamps her lips shut. I swear under my breath.

Rosie tosses her hair over her shoulder with an awkward giggle. “It was for sure better than last year. Remember it was torrential rain in the evening?”

“So I’ve heard. Yesterday was the first I’ve ever attended.”

“You’ve worked for us for almost five years, haven’t you?” Dad asks, his first contribution to the conversation.

“That’s right.”

“Then why was it your first barbeque?”

Catriona fiddles with the hem of her skirt. “To be honest with you, I’ve always taken my career very seriously. Maybe too seriously. I’ve…I’ve been reluctant to attend social functions with work in case I let my guard down or someone acted inappropriately towards me.”

Dad fixes his gaze on me and says in a slow, dry tone, “Her worries weren’t unfounded.”

I swallow my scoff and fight a grin. “Yes, it may seem so.”

“At least someone in your office has been taking their job seriously.” Dad’s mouth is twitching. “So, how long have you and Rian been dating?”

“Arthur!” Mum admonishes, yet both she and Rosie lean forward as if not to miss a word.

“Well, publicly, about thirty minutes.” Catriona laughs nervously and I snicker. “I guess things have developed over the last few weeks.”

“And how do you think this will affect your working relationship? And your working relationship with your colleagues?” Dad looks straight at her, his eyes challenging.

Fuck this interrogation. I grab Catriona’s hand, ready to answer for her, but she straightens her back and lifts her chin, like I’ve seen her do so many times in front of me. “Well, actually, sir, I’ve queried about a transfer.”

I drop her hand. “You have what?!”What the hell?“And exactly when were you planning on telling me this?”

“Rian!” she hisses, squirming in her chair while glancing around the table, but I don’t care about the audience.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because I won’t allow it!”

“You can’t tell me what to do—” she tries to interrupt.

“I can and I will! You know I need you in the office. I don’t trust anyone else, you know that, so this is out of the question!”

She pokes my chest and icy fire burns in her eyes. “You don’t need me in the office. The last few weeks, when you’ve actually shown an interest in the work and guided your staff, they’ve proved that they’re more than capable. Haven’t you trusted Gemma with the claims section of the O’Toole contract? And she’s done a great job! And Trevor’s presentation the other day was excellent. You only had to help him out with a couple of points. So don’t you dare tell me that you can’t do without me!”

There’s a choked sound from the head of the table.