Page 137 of The Exception

“No. I’m sure it means a lot to her that you got everyone from our family to come for the festival.”

“Yeah. And ruined everything. Lily. Sloan.” He shook his head.

“Can you tell me what happened with Sloan?” I asked, even though I was scared to hear the answer.

Jasper seemed to curl in on himself. “One minute, she was fine, and then the next, she collapsed.”

Hm. I rubbed a hand over my mouth. “Was she conscious when the ambulance came?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good,” I said, placing my hand on his back. “And she’s here now. They can help her.”

Jasper stood and started pacing. “I just keep thinking, how can we help her? Could we have done more to help prevent something like this?”

I wondered the same thing, though I still wasn’t sure what had caused it.

“Did you have something in mind?”

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“Jas?” I prodded. I knew my brother well enough to realize there was something he wasn’t telling me.

He stopped pacing and locked his hands behind his neck. “All this drama with the board has been stressing her out.”

I frowned. “Did she say that?”

“She didn’t have to. I can tell it’s weighing on her. Hell, it’s weighing on me. Yes, the merger is tabled, for now.” Voting was suspended until the situation with the additional shares was resolved. “But you know Donahue. He’s not going to let this go, not without a fight.”

“And you know me,” I said. “I won’t let him win.”

“That’s just it,” Jasper said. “This battle isn’t good for anyone. Not the company, not Sloan, not you. Aren’t you sick of it? Isn’t Lily sick of it? It’s intrusive and disruptive and divisive.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m simply going to roll over and let it go. This is our family’s company. Our legacy.”

“Weare their legacy.” Jasper jabbed his chest. “You and Sloan and me and Knox and Nate. Our family was what mattered most to them. Not profits. Not the brand.Us. This family.”

“I—”

“No,” he cut me off. “I think you’ve lost sight of that. I think you’ve clung to the company because it’s something tangible. Something you can control. But the company isn’t all we have left of Gran and Pops. We have their love. We have one another.”

“What are you suggesting?” I asked, grateful the waiting room was relatively empty and no one seemed to be paying us any attention.

“I don’t know.” He slumped in the chair. “I don’t. But there has to be a better way.”

Before we could discuss it further, Lily and Pierce returned, coffees in hand.

“Any updates?” Lily asked as she handed me one. I shook my head, grateful when she came to stand beside me and placed her hand on my back.

Jasper stepped forward. “I’m sorry if I overstepped by inviting your family. I just—” He swallowed. “I wanted to do something nice.”

Lily glanced to me, and I gave her a subtle nod. It was crazy to me that we could communicate so easily without words. That we understood each other so well. And yet, she’d questioned my motives earlier for suggesting that she talk to her family.

Lily’s shoulders relaxed. “I know.” She gave his arm a squeeze. “It was really sweet of you.”

I was constantly in awe of her. Even now, she calmed my brother and reassured him, all while facing her own problems.

Jasper’s apology made me even more determined to clear the air with Pierce. While Lily and Jasper were talking, I pulled Pierce aside.

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