pretty sure it was that she wanted to believe Piper. But that she didn’t quite.
Cam took care of her by taking things off her plate, making it so she didn’t have to worry. That’s what she was doing here. Or trying to do here. She wanted to take care of Cam.
“It’s a work in progress,” she finally said.
Piper nodded. “Okay. Well then, I can go to the bakery with Paige and Ollie will be in there with you and… when it’s over we can go from there.”
Whitney nodded and looked down at the files in her arms. This she knew. This she was comfortable with. This she could pull off.
Ollie joined her in the conference room a few minutes later. “’Mornin’,” he greeted. His smile was a lot less bright than usual.
She understood. “Morning.”
He took a chair as his phone chimed. He pulled it out and opened the message. Whitney felt her heart kick. Was it news about Maggie? How was she? How was everyone else?
“They found a blockage in three vessels,” Ollie read. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “She’s going in for surgery.”
Whitney felt her throat tighten and she forced herself to swallow.
“Dammit.” He laid his phone on the table and took a deep breath. “Poor Cam and Aiden.” He looked up. “And Zoe, of course. And Steve and Henry.”
Whitney nodded. She knew he hadn’t meant to leave the rest of the family out. But Cam and Aiden were two of his best friends. Of course they were in the front of his mind.
“Who’s—” She had to clear her throat and try again. “Who’s texting you?”
“Grant.”
Her air swooshed out. She’d hoped it was Cam. That would mean, in her mind anyway, that he was taking some control by relaying the information and keeping people informed. But of course it was Grant. He was the calm, cool one. Of course Cam wouldn’t be calm and cool right now.
She imagined him pacing the waiting room, growling at everyone, and snapping at staff when they couldn’t give him the answers he wanted right now. Then again, she could also picture him sitting with his arm around his dad or holding his sister’s hand or taking Didi and Henry to the cafeteria for brownies at 8 a.m. as a distraction.
She would really love to know for sure how he was and what he was doing.
“Has Cam said anything more to you?” Ollie asked, leaning forward. His eyes were tired. He looked worried. Very worried. And Ollie never looked worried.
She shook her head. “I haven’t heard from him.”
Ollie was clearly surprised by that. “Oh. I just assumed he’d be wanting to talk to you.”
Yeah. Well, he was surrounded by people who could support him and make him feel better. Who had been a part of his life over the past nine years and knew Maggie well and loved his mother as much as he did.
“He knew I was covering this meeting,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “Maybe he didn’t want to distract me.”
Or maybe he figured you wouldn’t want to be distracted.
The little voice that whispered through her mind surprised her. She wasn’t here because she wanted to have this meeting. Not exactly. She was here because she was trying to help her partners… well, her bosses. Her friends with something they couldn’t handle themselves right now.
But it was something she would have done in the past too. For different reasons. To prove herself. To take the chance to make a business contact without her bosses breathing down her neck. To further the business just to, well, further the business.
Her throat tightened again and she felt the backs of her eyes sting. She blinked rapidly.
Ollie’s phone dinged again and he looked at it. “Dax,” he said, swiping the message open. “They’re doing a bypass. Surgery could take four to five hours. And she won’t be awake for another two or three after that.” He shook his head. “This is going to be a long fucking day.”
Whitney agreed. And watching Ollie now made her chest ache. No doubt Dax and Grant looked much the same. Maybe worse. Their girls were worried and emotional too so they’d be supporting them as well as Cam. And then, of course, there were Cam and Aiden. Their mother was going into a major surgery. It would be hours before they knew how things were going to turn out.
Whitney had to blink again as her eyes stung and her throat got scratchy.
She didn’t know exactly what Cam was