I turned toward her.
« No. You made him feel ashamed of his own father. »
« I never said that. »
« You didn’t have to. »
I started toward the garage.
Then Daniel spoke.
« Mark, there’s something you need to understand about tonight. »
I stopped.
His tone was different.
Nervous.
He looked toward a silver-haired man standing near the fireplace.
« Tonight isn’t just a family dinner. »
I turned slowly.
« What does that mean? »
« There’s someone here who’s considering a major business partnership with me. »
I glanced at the man.
Then at Daniel.
« And? »
Victoria stepped forward.
« We wanted everything to look a certain way. »
I almost laughed.
« A certain way? »
Daniel lowered his voice.
« Mark, you’re embarrassing us. »
I stared at him.
** »My son is sitting in your garage thinking he’s the embarrassment. »**
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
He looked around at the guests.
Then he admitted, « I told Victoria to make sure there weren’t any distractions during dinner. »
