Page 12 of So Wrong It Must Be Right

She was really struggling to find that horror or self-disgust. But she was just a little too pleased with herself. She had done something she had only ever dreamed of doing. Maybe it was wrong, and maybe she would suffer some consequences in the future, but for now, having to face the reality of her situation with Uncle Craig, she might as well enjoy the memories of last night.

She drove to Gallagher’s feeling more philosophical than she had in a while. It was a quick drive from her apartment to the restaurant.

Much had changed in the two decades she could remember. Some good, some bad. The city certainly wasn’t the same place it had been when her great-great-grandparents had started Gallagher’s, but regardless of the way the city had changed around it, shelovedthe place. It was her legacy, and even if that legacy didn’t match the city as well as it used to, that didn’t mean she could give up on something she believed in so passionately.

She parked in the employee lot around the back of the brick building. Brick columns ran up the three stories, covered in a green ivy she’d always assumed was the inspiration for the street name that connected with Gallagher Street. The windows on each level were trimmed in black in the back, pretty white cornices in the front. It was sandwiched by other old brick buildings, all with a variety of styles of windows and embellishments.

She loved thehistoryof it all, that her ancestors had walked all over this ground, put their stamp on that building, and now she got to honor their work and add her own flare.

It was a good reminder after last night. She still couldn’t bring herself toregret, but in the face of her life’s work, she had to remember why Carter Trask couldn’t be anything more than a one-night liability.

Uncle Craig’s sleek BMW was nowhere to be seen in the lot. She was slightly relieved, since she hadn’t figured out exactly what her plan of attack was going to be. She would need Kayla’s help. With any luck, Kayla had thought of something last night. Assuming she had been alone and not diving into any fantasies brought to life, as Dinah had been.

Again Dinah waited for the shame to swamp her. Again, it didn’t appear. She smiled instead.

She walked into the back and up the stairs to the offices on the second floor. The restaurant and bar wouldn’t come to life until later, but she’d always loved this time of day. When the first floor was quiet, and the second floor pulsed withbusiness.

“I guess you didn’t take to heart my lecture about being on time.”

Dinah came to a complete stop at her grandmother’s voice. Wide-eyed and startled, she glanced up to find Grandmother standing ominously at the end of the hallway.

Lucille Dinah Gallagher was an imposing figure even in her early eighties. Though she had married at twenty, she had insisted on keeping the Gallagher name and giving it to her children in a generation where that was frowned upon. The oldest Gallagher of her generation, though she had stepped aside for her son thirty-five years ago, she had remained a constant figure at Gallagher’s Tap Room.

A constant looming, scary figure. Dinah was both 100 percent intimidated by her and 100 percent in awe of her. She admired her grandmother fiercely, and she loved her as much as Grandmother allowed.

That was the tricky part. “I thought you were in Chicago.” Dinah beamed at her in a way that had Grandmother narrowing her eyes.

“You’d certainly like it if I were in Chicago. Slinking in here late.”

“Grandmother,” Dinah admonished. “I’m five minutes early.”

The older woman scowled in return. “Five minutes early is ten minutes late.” Grandmother gave her a quick flick of a glance that amounted to a once-over. “Kayla told me you talked to Trask yesterday. I assume it was unsuccessful?”

Dinah tried to keep her smile in place. She had always assumed Grandmother gave her a hard time because it was the only way she knew how to express her love. At least, Dinah really hoped that was the case.

But when it came to business, Grandmother wasallGallagher, andzerograndmother. So much so, Dinah hesitated spouting off about Craig trying to sabotage her. With her luck, Grandmother would just tell her that if she wanted to be DOO, she’d have to outmaneuver him.

So, rather than let Grandmother think she was weak or whining, Dinah decided to keep the challenge to herself. That’s all it was, after all. A challenge. That’s how Grandmother would view it.

Dinah wasn’t sure she completely wanted to be like her grandmother, but shemostlywanted to be like her. She just . . . never quite knew how.

It was amazing how much that kept coming up; that she didn’t know how to be the things she wanted to be. With Grandmother. With Gallagher. Hell, even with . . . Carter. C.

“Dinah.”

She met her grandmother’s shrewd gaze and tried to smile. “Mr. Trask has a very significant emotional connection to his land, and it seems he’s been a little misinformed about our purpose in wanting to buy it. But I have no doubt I’ll convince him.”

“How soon?”

Dina’s weak smile faltered, but she refused to break eye contact. She knew how easy it was for Grandmother to spot weakness.

“I’m not sure, but I have no doubt I’ll be successful. I just might need some time in order to convince him.”

“I want his agreement by the end of October, and all papers signed by the end of the year.”

“And if I fail?” Dinah asked, not because she thought she would fail but because she sincerely wondered what Grandmother’s plans were if Dinah didn’t do exactly what Grandmother had asked. Dinah had always lived up to Grandmother’s expectations, though sometimes by the skin of her teeth. She wouldn’t let her down now.

But she was a little curious what failure would look like.

---