“Dad suggested it; it was my choice. I thought it was working out well, too. So, do you really want to quit, or did you just say that in the heat of the moment?”
Gentry chewed on the inside of her cheek, averting her gaze. Despite her expensive jewelry and couture wardrobe, she looked terribly young. Young and lost.
“I’d like you to stick around, but I won’t beg.” Colby added, thinking it might prompt a response.
“Fine. I’ll come back.” Gentry then tapped her fingernails on the chair. “And I’m sorry I insulted you, too. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about being too nice.”
Colby let the “too nice” remark slide. Things with Alec had left her optimistic, which went a long way toward making her feel magnanimous.
“Great. Next, Alec and I are starting a charitable foundation in Mark’s and Joe’s names. Would you be interested in helping? I’ve asked Sara, my mother, and Mrs. Morgan to meet today to start planning our first fund-raiser. We could use some help spreading the word.”
“Hold on.” Gentry edged to the front of her seat, expression tight with frustration. “Yesterday you said your marriage sucked. Now you’re telling me you’re going to canonize the cheater?”
“Gentry, I shared that with you in confidence, so I hope you won’t throw it in my face or tell others. And I didn’t say my marriage sucked. I said it was troubled. We had challenges, and I was unhappy toward the end. But my marriage began with love, and it ended, in part, because I gave up on Mark. I’m starting this foundation to heal, and to help the Morgan family heal.”
Her sister sat back in the chair, shaking her head. “I don’t understand you, Colby. Honestly, I don’t.”
“I could say the same to you. You’re young, beautiful, and you’ve been given every advantage, yet you hold on to grudges and anger.” Colby wanted to reach across the desk and shake her. “Don’t you get tired?”
Gentry lowered her gaze. “Maybe. Sometimes.”
Finally! A small step toward honesty. Colby would take it and run. “Perhaps working with this foundation can help you, too.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Gentry slouched.
“So you don’t want to be involved?”
“I’ll help. Just don’t expect miracles, that’s all.” She sat up and clapped her hands together, clearly ready to change the subject. “In other news, I heard through the grapevine that the Trib’s restaurant critic will be here the last Saturday of this month.”
Colby stilled, wishing there were no such things as restaurant critics, James Beard Awards, and Michelin Guides. Reading about how so many master chefs’ lives were destroyed because of an unhealthy obsession with those accolades had increased her concern for Alec’s mental state. Didn’t he realize that he was more than a chef? He was a son, a friend, a lover—all of which were more meaningful than anonymous critics’ ratings. “Do you know that for sure?”
“No. It’s a rumor, but a fairly reliable one, I think.”
“The timing’s not great.”
“Why not?”
“We’re telling the staff about our relationship tomorrow. I’d rather not have that coincide with Alec becoming more demanding, which will happen if he’s focused on that information.” She tapped her pencil on the desk and thought.
“Why do you have to tell the staff about your sex life? It isn’t anyone’s business.”
“It’s not just sex,” Colby corrected. “And this affects them. They might not feel comfortable coming to me with complaints if they think I’m biased. I need to reassure them.”
“Have they come to you yet?” Gentry pulled a face.
“No, but I think it’s because I hold daily meetings where Alec and I offer positive feedback to counterbalance his criticism.”
Gentry chuckled. “See? Too nice.”
“Smart, actually. I want people to be happy here. I don’t want high turnover or employee lawsuits. Raising Alec’s anxiety based on a rumor could be a mistake with a potentially wide ripple effect. Get me confirmation, then I’ll tell.”
“I’ll never get that. It’s unethical.”
Colby considered the pressure Alec was already under with his dad, and thought about the staff. “Alec says he treats each dish as if it were being served to a reviewer, anyhow. No need to spread rumors and have him fixate on a date that might not be real. It could also backfire if the staff thinks they have that much time to prepare and the critic shows up sooner.” Colby felt 90 percent sure this was the right decision. “Let’s get back to the foundation. Everyone will be here in ten minutes. Can you stay?”
“Did you leave my mom out on purpose?” Gentry smiled, taking too much delight in the perceived slight.
“Your mom has a full-time job. I didn’t ask her, Dad, or Hunter for help.”
“You have a full-time job, too.”
“It’s my foundation. Mine and Alec’s.” Keeping Alec involved with the foundation would remind him of the world outside his kitchen. She tuned out the fact that such maneuvering was eerily similar to how she’d managed Mark’s moods. “Actually, it was his idea.”
“How cuuuuute,” Gentry teased. “You work together here. Now you have a foundation. And you get to have sex with the hot chef. Tell me, which is the best part?”
“Stop.” Warmth flooded Colby’s cheeks.
“Oh, come on. Tell me something juicy. I bet he’s even hotter naked. He’s got a cute butt, and those scars on his hands are sexy. Jake doesn’t get scars from the cart. Well, except one steam burn on his forearm.”
Colby barely heard the stuff about Jake because her thoughts had latched onto her first comment. “Quit looking at Alec’s butt!”
“Just sayin’.” Her sister shrugged.
As if conjured by Gentry’s curiosity, Alec entered the room. Gentry leaned back in her chair and made a show of eyeing Alec’s butt. He glanced at her and then at his butt. “Did I sit in something?”
“Nope.” Gentry grinned. “Just proving a point to my sister.”
“Do I want to know?” he asked Colby, and she shook her head. He smiled at Gentry, then turned back to Colby. “My mom’s here. I’ll go throw together a snack for the table. I assume your mom and Sara will arrive soon.”
“They’d better if they don’t want to get on her bad side.” Gentry hooked a thumb at Colby.
“That’s never made a difference to you,” Colby rejoined.
“I like to live dangerously,” Gentry snickered before leaning back to ogle Alec’s butt again.
With that, Alec beat a hasty exit. “See you out there.”
He disappeared and Gentry grinned. “This’ll be fun.”
Fun—her sister’s only goal in life. “Gentry, can I give you a word of sisterly advice?”
“Like I can stop you.”
“Spend less time teasing me and complaining about your parents, and more time figuring out who you want to be when you grow up.” Colby watched for any glimpse of the candor with which they’d begun today’s conversation, but that moment had been an anomaly.