“You made her look foolish in front of the entire committee.”

I looked down at the edge of the leather blotter.

The white paper of the default notice peeked out by a millimeter.

“She needs to mind her own business,” I said.

Graham laughed, a harsh, dry sound.

“Our business is her business, Jocelyn. She is a Ralston.”

He took off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of my guest chair.

“And right now, I need her backing more than ever.”

“Why?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

“Because the firm is expanding,” he said, puffing out his chest.

“The new showroom on Oak Lawn is the key to everything.”

He began to pace the length of the Persian rug.

“We have the launch event in three weeks.”

“The regional investors are flying in from Houston and Chicago.”

“If my mother starts telling people in our social circle that we are having marital issues, it looks bad.”

“It looks unstable.”

“So you are going to call her,” he said, stopping his pace.

“You are going to apologize to her tonight.”