Page 6 of Justified Lies

Nicki scowled, but before she could go on, Lianna needed to split.

“Listen, I have to run this morning,” Lianna said apologetically. “We’ve got the quarterly board meeting.”

A board meeting Lianna would now show up to late, frizzy haired, and clothing disheveled.

Nicki complained, “At least you’re in the know. I didn’t find out they were expanding until I saw it on my news feed. Honestly, Darren and his parents probably wish they could clone you and replace me.”

Lianna shook her head. Surely Darren must complain about what a troll she was.

“Anyway, if you find out anything juicy for the next quarter drop me a text. I want to know how Darren’s going to react to spending Christmas in Maui again.” She batted her eyelashes for effect, and it worked, making Lianna laugh. Her sister-in-law might be slightly vain, but deep down she had a good heart and loved Lianna.

“Fine, although these meetings are usually just lots of numbers and projections,” she warned.

“Okay, sounds good,” Nicki said, lazily waving as she made her way towards a different group of moms.

“Bye,” Lianna said to the space her sister-in-law had just vacated. Then she bee-lined for the car before the clouds could call her bluff and ruin her fresh blowout.

****

An hour later, Lianna’s kitten heels clicked out a tune as she strolled down the long, marbled hallway of her office building. The Bennett company headquarters were located on two luxurious floors of coveted downtown office space. Darren and Scott’s great grandfather started the company with one crate and a dilapidated dock on Vancouver’s harbor. He used his little putt-putt boat to ferry goods back and forth between the mainland and Vancouver Island.

Four generations later, the family company supplied Vancouver with a large percentage of the shipping crates it used. The dilapidated dock and the property it was situated on now held the city’s largest shipyard. Instead of silently holding the shares Lianna had retained after Scott passed, his parents requested she take his spot on the board. Reluctantly she did so, attending the quarterly board meetings on top of the three days a week she worked there.

Forcing herself to keep a leisurely pace, she made her way to the conference room. Stopping for a moment to peer out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, she enjoyed the view of Georgia Street below. Busy commuters honked and merged around construction, the sound reaching her ears several floors above the action.

It was now pouring outside, and the dark sky allowed her to view her reflection in the window. An involuntary smile pulled at her lips as she took in the sight of her business suit. Although the outfit was dated, she always felt so confident dressed like this.

On regular workdays, she wore business casual clothing. She had even gone so far as making yoga pants function as office attire. But today, a crisp, olive button-down hugged her curves and looked perfect with her skin tone. She kept it business appropriate with a black knee-length pencil skirt and fitted blazer. The heels gave her just enough height to complete the look without making her five-foot-ten-inch frame appear too Amazonian.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed a long tendril of black hair behind her ear and continued down the hall. Lianna steeled herself when she reached the conference room doors. Taking only enough time to remind herself she deserved to be here and most importantly, wanted to be here.

When she was pregnant with Harris, which happened almost immediately after the wedding, they had decided she would stay at home part-time until the kids were in school. Lianna had felt lucky for that opportunity to work family-friendly hours but had also looked forward to returning to work full-time one day. Life had other plans, however. Now, the children needed their remaining parent around more than she needed a career.

It was her brother-in-law’s behavior that always made her wary before these meetings. Darren’s current course of action was to belittle her into submission. He did this subtly, but purposely, questioning her business acuity. When he saw her around the office he would ask, “Oh, you’re in today?” loud enough for others to hear, as if she only showed up occasionally.

While she had no intentions of stepping down, his antics were beginning to grate on her nerves. She was upset with herself for feeling so much anxiety about her attendance today. Beyond that, she was furious for not having the guts to stand up to him. But she would not go away, not without a fight.

Giving her head a quick shake, she decided to be respectful but stand up for herself if Darren slighted her today. It was also probably time for a little one-on-one sit down with him, but she’d cross that bridge when she got to it. Looking down at her watch, she realized she had delayed as much as possible without being late. Lianna rolled her shoulders hoping to release some tension, then pushed open the conference room doors.

Darren stood at the head of the long boardroom table. As the doors closed behind Lianna he looked up and they locked gazes. Lianna nodded, his presence demanding attention.

“Thank you for joining us, Lianna.” he uttered through clenched teeth, before ignoring her to continue his introductory statements to the rest of the board.

As she took her seat, she smiled and whispered hellos to the colleagues in her proximity. Once settled, she focused her attention back on Darren. If possible, he seemed stiffer, more uptight than usual. His mouth pressed into a thin line whenever he wasn’t speaking. Lianna knew she would take the brunt of whatever was eating him.

Despite his rather gruff demeanor, her brother-in-law was a good-looking man. Like Scott, he had bright blue eyes that contrasted so well with his thick brown hair. He was tall with long, lean muscle. Simply put, he was striking.

The major difference between the brothers was in personality. While Scott could be secretive, he was never mean and always up for a party. Darren, however, was quiet and calculated. He did his best to avoid small talk, having an air about him that said,I’m better than you and I know it.

Turning the meeting over to the CFO, Darren had just taken his seat when the doors to the boardroom opened again. Jane, Darren’s executive assistant, peaked in giving the group an apologetic look before hustling over to Darren. She spoke in rushed but whispered words before turning and just as quickly leaving the room.

“I’m very sorry to interrupt, but something has come up that requires my immediate attention. Please continue without me.” Darren addressed the group before abruptly leaving.

Lianna’s internal radar told her something was going on but as she looked around the room no one else seemed to care. So, like the rest of the group, she refocused her attention back on their CFO. While she may not know what that was all about, she couldn’t deny feeling better being out of Darren’s presence.

****

Two hours later, Lianna had a pep in her step after the successful meeting. As usual, it was mostly number projections and future goal setting, but she was directly asked for herinput on several occasions. It made her feel like a contributing member of the board, not just a suit who took up space. Darren had not returned, making it a relaxing few hours.

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