Page 46 of Bitter Confessions

Colette’s mouth quirked into a half-smile as she gave a one-shoulder shrug. “The last time I talked to my grandfather, he questioned my competency, considering the state of Hennessy & Co.”

Ariana’s hands balled into fists. “If it weren’t for him, none of this would have happened! He said those deals were bulletproof.”

Jasmine straightened. “Your grandfather gave bad business advice?”

Colette flushed. “I know he and Dad didn’t get along, but I had no idea how deep their rivalry went. It took me too long to figure out he was trying to cripple Hennessy & Co. By the time I realized he was leading me astray, we’d lost millions.”

“If Colette hadn’t caught on so quickly, we wouldn’t have been able to salvage anything from that disaster.” Ariana crossed her arms over her chest and tapped the toe of her shoe. “We had our reservations, but Cecil said Colette was being too conservative. Dad seconded that, so we went for it.”

“What did Dad say about all this?” Jasmine asked.

“Nothing.” Colette fingered her signature strand of pearls. Tonight’s was a soft pink to match the ornaments on the tree. “I’m sure he knew what my grandfather was trying to do, but he didn’t warn me. I think he wanted to see how I’d handle the fallout.” Colette cleared her throat. “He brought up my poor judgment in the letter he left me.”

Jasmine’s pulse quickened. All three of them had received letters with final warnings and advice from Maximus. What else had their dad written in her letter besides his warning to stay away from Roth?

“You did the best you could,” Ariana said fiercely. “Why wouldn’t you trust your grandfather? You didn’t lose the company, which is why Cecil’s doing this publicity stunt and acting like he’s going to make Lawrence CEO. You deserve to be on the board of Cecil’s company, for your tenacity alone. Most would have given up by now. You earned your spot and are the only one with legitimate experience. Cecil and your mother know that.”

“Aunty?”

Bailey wrapped herself around Jasmine’s leg like a koala and stared at the package of gifts with wistful longing. She grinned and ran her fingers through Bailey’s silky hair.

“Do you want to help me put the presents under the tree?”

Bailey threw her hands in the air before taking off running. Jasmine slipped away from her sister’s heated discussion and kneeled by the tree as the kids shook the crap out of each present, trying to guess what they contained. As Bailey tried to explain to Kye why a cloud couldn’t fit into a box, Jasmine admired the Christmas tree decorated with miniature pink nutcrackers, pastel pointe shoes, sweets, and tiaras.

She leaned back on her hands and knocked her boots together. So, there was an explanation for Colette’s bad business decisions. Her grandfather had sabotaged her. What was wrong with the men in their family that they were constantly manipulating and testing their daughters and granddaughters? Was it because they were female that they doubted they had what it took to run these corporations, or would they treat their male heirs the same? It was bad enough they had to battle outside forces. Little did they know, their worst enemies were their own blood.

She glanced over her shoulder to check on Roth, who was holding his own with her brothers-in-law. Rami and Lyle were listening intently to whatever he was saying. Why wasn’t Cecil’s involvement mentioned in Colette’s file? Or had Roth dismissed the reason for her catastrophic mistake and focused only on the result? She understood that way of thinking to some extent, but if you couldn’t trust your grandfather, who could you trust?

When the housekeeper announced dinner would be ready in five minutes, Colette left to put Polara in the nursery. Ariana rounded up her kids to wash up. Lyle excused himself to take a call, which left Rami to escort her and Roth to the formal dining room.

“The kids have been asking about you for weeks,” Rami said.

“I enjoyed our travels, but I’m glad to be back.”

“And planning to stay put for a while?”

“I think so.”

Rami cocked his head and gave her an odd smile. “What is it? Is there something on my face?”

She let out a strained laugh and looked away. “Ignore me. I’m jet-lagged and still haven’t caught up on sleep yet.”

“Daddy!” Bailey hollered the moment she entered the room, beelining it to him.

Rami cupped his daughter’s cheeks as he listened with rapt attention to her exhilarated babble. It was clear Bailey had her father wrapped around her finger. If Jasmine hadn’t read the detailed report for herself, never in a million years would she be convinced her soft-spoken brother-in-law could use such brutal tactics to get his way. Had he changed, or was that part of him lying dormant, waiting to reemerge if necessary?

Heart heavy, she wandered over to Roth, who was standing before the table laden with traditional Thanksgiving dishes. How the hell did he do this—make small talk and do business with people who were capable of such dark deeds? How could he trust them? His security measures made sense. So did his need to be armed. He was right to be suspicious and investigate potential business associates so he wouldn’t be blindsided... Oh shit. She really was starting to think like her husband.

She resisted the urge to lean into him for reassurance. He was so sure of himself, so calm, despite the very real danger and risks involved. Was there no one who’d made their way into the upper echelon through sheer hard work and dedication? Had everyone sold a piece of their soul to reach success?

She thrust her worries into the dark recesses of her mind. She couldn’t allow the past to mar the light and festive mood. Tonight, all was well. No one was being nasty. They were all putting forth the effort to get along and make each other feel welcome. Rami’s past could wait until... Until what, an actual threat materialized?

She sighed and took in the table, which was beautifully set with foliage and candles, before looking up at Roth who had an odd look on his face. “Is something wrong?”

“It looks like the commercials.”

“What does?”

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