We’ll see? Was she flirting with him or just messing with his mind?
“That wouldn’t be a good idea.” An understatement.
“Are you sure? It could give your family an opportunity to get closer.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” Having his parents volunteer on the same committee he was cochairing wasn’t a bonding opportunity. It was a recipe for disaster, one he didn’t want Peyton to witness.
“Why did you ask your father to be on your committee and not me?” Ethel stood framed in Darius’s cubicle in the Monitor’s offices later that afternoon. Her hands were fisted on her hips. Her eyes blazed betrayal.
His mother’s short, sharp question jerked Darius from the news story he was trying to file before his deadline. He rose to his feet. How had she found out?
The lightbulb came on. “Dad told you.”
“He came to the house, looking for a meal.” Ethel’s thick, brown, wool winter coat was buttoned to her neck and masked her figure. A black knit hat pulled low on her head covered her hair.
Darius frowned. “You two had lunch?”
“Don’t change the subject. Why did you ask your father to help you, but you didn’t come to me?”
“Let’s find a meeting room.” Darius maneuvered around his mother and started down the aisle. He ignored the curious stares of coworkers as he led his mother to a vacant meeting room. Now that his parents were separated, they spent almost as much time at the Monitor as he did. How could he make this stop?
The first room he came to was available. Darius opened the door and motioned for his mother to precede him. “Have a seat.”
“Why should I sit down?”
“Because I’m going to sit and I won’t speak with you standing over me.” Ms. Helen had taught him better manners than that.
“Fine.” Ethel pulled off her hat, fluffed her hair, then took off her coat before settling onto the chair.
“Dad asked to be on the committee.” Darius took the seat across from her. His answer wouldn’t be good enough for Ethel. He checked his watch. He could give her ten minutes before he had to get back to his article.
“You told him that you were cochairing a fundraising committee but kept that information from me?”
“Why would I tell you?” The Knight family didn’t have the kind of relationship in which they shared everything with each other. Ethel knew that as well as he did.
The meeting room was small and sparse: a honey wood circular conference table, matching corner stand with a black conference phone, four black-leather-and-silver metal chairs, and a whiteboard affixed to the far plaster wall. Through the room’s remaining two glass walls, Darius saw several curious coworkers looking his way. Opal Gutierrez, the rookie reporter, walked by twice, slowing down to observe them each time.
“Men always stick together,” Ethel sneered.
“What does that mean?” Darius returned his attention to his mother.
“You’re taking your father’s side.” Ethel stabbed a finger at him. “You were always closer to him than you were to me.”
What a load of nonsense. Darius checked the time. “What do you want, Mom?”
“Why do you keep looking at your watch?” Her tone was waspish.
“I need to get back to work. Just tell me what you want.”
“Did you rush your father when he was here earlier?”
Were they really doing this? “Mom—”
“I bet you didn’t. I bet you gave him all the time in the world.” Ethel leaned back onto her seat, crossing her arms and legs. “That’s what I want. I want you to give me the same time and attention you give Simon.”
Darius stood. He kept his expression carefully blank so his coworkers wouldn’t be aware of the temper building within him. “I don’t have time to indulge you. As I explained, I’m on deadline.” Without another word, Darius turned toward the door.
“Wait.” Ethel’s response shot across the small room.