But the office itself was empty.
“Mom? I’m here with Broderick Steele. There’s been a misunderstanding, a rumor we need to clear up.” Glenna looked around. “I know she’s here. There’s her leather portfolio bag and her coat, even her cashmere scarf. She must be getting coffee.”
Or in the powder room? Glenna’s gaze flicked to the private bathroom.
Muffled sounds came from within, like a shower maybe, soft and indistinctive. Steam seeped from under the door as if the water had been running a long time. A moan filtered through. From an enjoyable shower? Or was that a sound of pain? He wasn’t sure.
Broderick backed into the sitting area, away from the line of sight of the bathroom. “I’ll step out so you can check on her. If you need any help, just say the word.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. Mom?” Concern laced Glenna’s voice. “Mom, are you okay?”
There was no answer.
Glenna looked at Broderick. “I hate to just burst in, but if she’s ill... If it’s an emergency...”
“Your call. Do you want me to leave?” Maybe health issues might explain the strange business behavior.
“How about you stay back, but nearby in case I need to send you for Sage.” Glenna tapped lightly on the door. “Mother, it’s me. Are you all right?”
He studied the top of his boots, keeping his eyes averted.
“Mother, I’m worried. I don’t want to embarrass you, but I need to know you’re okay. I’m coming in.”
When the doorknob rattled, Broderick glanced up and saw Glenna shaking her head. His concern ratcheted a notch higher.
“It’s locked.” She knocked harder on the door. “Mom, you’re scaring me. Open up. Please.” She reached into her pocket. “I’m going to use my master key to come in.” She opened the door—and squeaked.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, launching Broderick into motion. He rushed forward and rested a palm on her back, ready to help with whatever crisis might be unfolding.
Glenna pressed a steadying hand on the bathroom door frame. “Mom?”
Broderick stopped short. Blinked. Blinked again. And holy crap, he still couldn’t believe his eyes.
Glenna might have been surprised, but Broderick was stunned numb. He even braced his booted feet because his world had done a somersault.
Jeannie Mikkelson stood wrapped in a towel in the steam-filled, white-tiled bathroom, and she wasn’t alone.
An all-too-familiar figure edged in front of her—pushing Glenna’s mother safely behind his broad chest.
Confused, Broderick couldn’t stop himself from asking the obvious. “Dad?”
Pacing in her mother’s reception area, Glenna struggled to push through the fog of...confusion? Shock? She didn’t know how to wrap her brain around what she’d seen, much less put a label on it.
Her mother was having an affair with their corporate enemy.
Okay, so, technically, Glenna had done the same in college, but she and Broderick hadn’t held positions in the family businesses then. Even now they weren’t the owners and acting CEOs of both companies. They weren’t the parents who had perpetuated the feud with dinner table discussions of suspicions and rumors.
Back in college, Glenna had felt so guilty, like such a turncoat because of her attraction to Broderick. She’d felt that way just fifteen minutes ago in her office.
Now, she glanced across the waiting area at...the son of her mother’s lover, boyfriend, whatever.
This was so surreal.
And Broderick was still infuriatingly hot. But things were more complicated than they’d been before, which had been mighty damn complicated.
He rested one lean hip against a wingback chair, his booted foot tapping restlessly. Her cousin looked back and forth between them. Sage obviously sensed something was wrong, but she kept her lips pressed closed. She wouldn’t ask.
And she wouldn’t gossip. Very likely that had been a quality high on Jeannie Mikkelson’s list when she’d chosen her assistant.
Did Sage already know about the affair? And perhaps about whatever was going on with their stocks? If some hint of the relationship between the two oil moguls had leaked, that could explain the odd fluctuations in stock holdings as investors grew unsure, some selling off their interests while others scooped up more, based on their own hypotheses.
So many questions.
Starting with...how long did it take to throw on some clothes? Glenna winced at the thought.
The door to her mother’s office finally swung open, the Alaskan yellow cedar panel revealing her mom, with Jack Steele standing tall right behind her, a gleam in his green eyes. Protective. Territorial. An unrelenting look Glenna had seen before in his business dealings. But this was different. So different.
She shifted her gaze to her mom.
Her mother’s damp hair was pulled back in a clip, but otherwise there was no sign of what had happened. Jeannie Mikkelson was as poised and strong as ever. She’d run the corporation alongside her husband for years, and then taken the helm alone after his first major heart attack debilitated him.
She’d kept the business running at full speed through his entire health crisis and even held it together after that final fatal heart attack. The whole family had been rocked. But Jeannie? Glenna had seen her cry only once.
Her mother excelled at keeping her emotions under wraps.
So it was no surprise she remained unreadable now. This wasn’t about her mother having a relationship with someone other than Glenna’s father.
It was about her mom having a relationship with this man.
Jack Steele looked like an older version of his eldest son, with dark hair more liberally streaked with gray. He’d kept in shape, but age had thickened him. He was a character, similar to all three of his sons. He was executive and cowboy. And Alaskan.
One of the many headlines from his magazine profiles scrolled through her mind. The CEO Wore Mukluks.
Jeannie nodded toward her assistant. “Sage, could you hold all my calls and redirect any visitors?”
“Of course, Aunt Jeannie.” Sage already had her notebook tablet in hand and was tapping with delicate efficiency.
“This may take a while.”
“I’ll reschedule your eleven o’clock and send Chuck to take him out to lunch.”
Chuck, aka Charles Mikkelson III, was Jeannie’s son, Glenna’s brother and second in command of the company. Heir apparent to take over when Jeannie retired.
If she ever retired. Jeannie was still vibrant and going strong, only in her sixties.
“That’s the perfect plan. Thank you, dear.” Jeannie waved Glenna and Broderick into the office and Jack closed the door behind them, clicking the lock to ensure there would be no interruptions.
Glenna swayed and Broderick palmed her waist. She couldn’t help but be grateful for the momentary steadying, even as his hand seared her.
Jack raised one eyebrow before saying, “Let’s all have a seat.”
Glenna