Her father met her gaze squarely. “We’re going over the first week trial results.”

Without her? “Did you buzz my office? I was in there.”

“No, I didn’t.”

The other team members avoided her eyes.

What the hell was going on? “Can I talk to you? In the hallway?” she asked her dad.

He checked his watch. “We’re in the middle of something here, Erika. It’s Christmas Eve—these folks would like to get home soon. Can it wait?”

Was he kidding? Her spine stiffened. “We could talk in here if you’d like,” she said tightly.

He stared at her.

She didn’t dare flinch.

“I’ll be right back,” he told the group. The fact that he didn’t immediately admit it was an oversight and invite her to join the meeting spoke volumes.

“Why wasn’t I invited to this?” she asked the minute they were in the hallway.

Kam reappeared at her desk and glanced their way with a sympathetic look. Erika’s stomach twisted. She had been purposely excluded.

And why the hell hadn’t her father let Kam go home to her kids yet? Christmas Eve might mean nothing to him, family might mean nothing to him, but it did to most people.

She forced her pulse steady as she waited for an explanation.

“You have a lot on your plate right now,” her father said.

She gestured to the nearly empty waiting room down the hall. “Not really.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know by your lack of attention to detail lately.”

Her mouth gaped and she slammed her lips shut. True, she’d been a little distracted when she’d first returned, but it hadn’t taken her long to get back to her old self—her old workaholic self...

She wasn’t sure that was a good thing, but it was certainly what her father wanted.

Yet, it obviously wasn’t enough. “The vacation threw me off a little...but that’s over now.” She swallowed hard, an image of Reed burned into her mind.

The redhead in the picture was there, too. Who was she? A date? Had he moved on already? She felt sick.

“Really? Those reports are hardly accurate. You missed two of the candidates’ first week results.”

She clenched her teeth. “I didn’t miss anything. Those candidates are away for the holidays. You approved their request to leave Anchorage for a few days to see family, remember?” She wasn’t the one who’d messed up and she’d be damned if she would let him make her feel inadequate.

He waved a hand. “Either way, the trials have started...the team is up to speed on things. I’m taking you off as lead to give you time to focus on your job.”

He was what?