The Love Game

Iris took a deep breath, trying to control her temper. “Tyler told me his father knows our family.”

“I repeat.” Rose crossed her arms and gave Iris a cool stare. “What makes you think I know him?”

“You’re the one who doesn’t believe I can succeed.” Iris glared at Rose. “Who els

e would go begging for work for me?”

“I would.” Lily’s voice came from behind her.

Iris spun in the direction of Rose’s living room. She stared at her middle sister in surprise. “I thought you believed in me.”

“I do.” Lily stood in the threshold between Rose’s living room and the front entrance. “That’s why I gave Foster Anderson your business card and asked him to keep you in mind if his company needed a marketing consultant.”

“I can get clients on my own.” Never in a million years would Iris have imagined Lily would betray her.

All of her life, Lily had been there for her with words of encouragement. She’d supported Iris’s dream of working for a public relations firm in New York straight out of college when everyone else thought a smaller market like Columbus was a safer plan. Lily had also agreed with her decision to leave a good job in New York and return to Columbus when Iris had gotten homesick. And when Iris had quit her well-paying job seven months ago, Lily had defended Iris’s goal of opening her own marketing and public relations firm when Rose had told Iris to get a job with a pension plan.

Lily stepped forward. “Iris, you were furious when that young man at your previous job used his connections to get the promotion you’d been working toward. But networking is how you get ahead in business.”

“Lil’s right.” Rose moved to stand beside Lily. “It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. You should have learned that lesson well from your last job.”

“But I don’t want to get ahead that way.” Iris sighed with frustration. “I want to build my reputation on my abilities.”

“Don’t be naive, Pollyanna.” Rose grunted. “Take off the pink shades and see the world the way it is.”

“That’s not helpful, Rose.” Lily turned back to Iris. “You’ve proven you can do both. I didn’t get you the Anderson Adventures account. All I did was give Foster Anderson your name. You did the work.”

Iris sighed. “I wish you’d told me what you were doing.”

“You’d have tried to talk her out of it.” Rose tilted her head. “It seems to me based on your reaction to what Lily did, you’re the one who doesn’t have confidence in your abilities, not us.”

Iris gaped at Rose. “That’s not true.”

Rose crossed her arms. “Then why are you so upset that Lily gave you a reference? You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

Maybe Rose and Lily were right. She was making a scene because of her own insecurities. After all, Lily did what she’d always done: supported Iris’s dreams.

“I’m sorry.” Iris reached out and took Lily’s hand. “I appreciate what you did.”

Lily shook her head. “I was only trying to help, Iris.”

“I know.” Iris sighed. Self-doubt was a vicious thing and a lot harder to conquer than she would’ve thought. “I want to prove that I can succeed with my own agency. But Rosie’s right. I don’t have to do it all myself. I shouldn’t have reacted so poorly.”

“Don’t worry about it. No hard feelings.” Lily smiled, giving Iris a quick hug before stepping back. “And I have complete faith in you, Iris. You should know that by now. Your agency will be a great success. You’ll see.” Lily glanced at Rose. “You’ll both see. And then I’ll say, ‘I told you so.’”

Chapter 9

At Anderson Adventures Thursday morning, a little more than two weeks before the industry convention, Iris turned the corner on her way back to her office. She came to an abrupt stop. Lauren appeared to be waiting for her outside the locked room.

Several company associates had given Iris their opinion of Xavier’s girlfriend of four months. They agreed she was beautiful. Tall and slender, Lauren wore her professional polish with an ease Iris struggled for every day. But no one seemed to like the woman, including Xavier’s mother.

“There you are.” Lauren greeted her with a cool smile. Her sleek cap of dark brown hair framed her thin face.

“Are you waiting for me?” Iris couldn’t think of a single reason why.

“I heard the internal launch went well.” Lauren’s ice-blue linen skirt suit fit her as though custom-made. Her matching sapphire jewelry—earrings, necklace and bracelets—looked expensive.

“Yes, it did.” The event had occurred almost two weeks ago. Why was Lauren bringing it up now?