Page 17 of Conrad

“The forensic report came back inconclusive,” Tia said finally. “And you carrying on with this belief only makes it harder for us all to heal.” She looked up, her eyes glistening. “You need to let me have a future.”

Oh.

“Can you just do this for me?” Tia wiped her cheek almost violently.

“I’m not a financial wizard like you,” Penelope said, then looked at her dad. “You know that.”

He sighed. “I’ll hire a foundation manager. But we need you to be the face. Show up at events, give interviews. Be a spokesperson. That’s all I ask.” He lifted a shoulder. “You can still do your podcast if you want.”

Like it was a hobby. “Dad. I make money with the podcast. We’re nationally syndicated. It’s a big deal.” Or could be, if her ratings hadn’t tanked after she’d failed to fulfill her promise to uncover Sarah Livingston’s killer on her podcast a month ago. She’d even received more than was fair thumbs-down and hate posts calling her a fraud.

So that hurt.

And now her father arched a brow and delivered a zinger. “A three-point-four-million-dollar-charitable-fund big deal?”

“Wow.”

“Just saying. You want to change the world, maybe look closer to home.”

“Strong-arm much?” She finished her coffee, then got up and put her mug in the sink. Turned to face her oppressors.

Her father wore a frown. Tia looked away, outside, probably to the future that Penelope was keeping her from pursuing.

“Don’t you guys want peace? To be able to sleep through the night knowing you did everything to find justice for Edward?”

A beat, and then, “You don’t have to have justice to find peace,” Tia said.

Whatever. “Fine. Okay. I’ll . . . show up and smile. Just tell me when and where.”

“Great,” her father said. He cast a gaze at Tia.

Tia sighed, her smile tight. “Thanks, Pep. We have a small photo event with a local team later this week. The news wants to do a feature on us and what we’re doing. I’ll text you the deets.”

She slid off the chair, then came over and pulled Penelope into a hug. “It’s okay to let go of the past. It doesn’t mean you didn’t love him.”

Maybe Tia’s words were for herself. Still, Penelope nodded.

Tia let her go, grabbed her half-full mug, and headed out of the room.

Her father stood there watching her go, compassion in his eyes for his oldest daughter. Of course.

Funny, but she’d never seen him look at her that way. Then again, she’d never quite measured up to Tia, who took after him in nearly every tangible way, from her no-nonsense business head to her athletic spirit to her ability to lead.

Still, it wasn’t a terrible gig. Show up, support the kids. She could do this.

“I saw you talking with Conrad Kingston last night.”

Oh.She had picked up her phone and now glanced at her father. “Yeah. He’s a friend.”

“Be careful with that one, Pep. We don’t need any drama. Investors are on social media too.”

She frowned. “Are you talking about the scandal with Torch and his girlfriend?”

He held up a hand. “No. I don’t believe a word of social media. But scandal affects ticket sales. And it’s not just his rep. I get Blue Ox team reports. King Con’s stats are dropping, and the truth is, investors are worried. He might get traded, and I don’t want him to break your heart.” He walked over, delivered a kiss to her cheek, then squeezed her forearm and headed out of the room.

Aw, shoot,that was information she didn’t need to know. So maybe it was a good thing she’d turned Conrad down.

She picked up her phone, opened her email, and spotted a message from Clarice, her new manager, thanks to Harper’s recommendation. And she could hardly ignore the “Open Me Immediately!!” subject line.

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