Page 37 of Things We Tell Ourselves

Twelve

Leah is limping to her room much slower than when she left. Camille groans internally, hurrying across the living room suddenly twice as expansive then when she first arrived.

“Ma’am, let me start by apologizing.”

Leah stops at the entrance to her bedroom, grasping the doorframe.

Camille hurries to her side. “Are you okay?” she asks, seeing the tired look on Leah’s face. “Should I get Delilah?”

Leah grits her teeth. “I’m fine.” She pushes from the doorframe, hobbling into the master bedroom. “Come in and shut the door,” she instructs.

Camille does as she’s told. Leah takes a seat on her perfectly made king-size bed.

“Nothing you witnessed today can leave this room.”

Camille shakes her head. “I would never disrespect your privacy like that,” she hesitates, “and I signed a non-disclosure.”

Leah gives the hint of a smirk. “Ah, the good old NDA, but I mean it,” she says, turning somber. “Not your business partner, not that Sadie girl, not my sons—”

“I won’t tell a soul,” Camille glances around uncomfortably, “but just so you know, Marcy was in the kitchen with me when things…got heated.”

“Marcy’s been with me for years,” Leah retorts, meeting Camille’s gaze. “My secrets are safe with her.”

Camille nods knowingly. “You’re just not sure about me.”

Leah stares at her, the silence between them confirming Camille’s train of thought.

“How about I tell you my secret?”

Leah narrows her gaze. “Go on.”

“Evelyn and I met with the Flexinburg Group—”

“I know all that,” Leah waves her off.

“Yes,” Camille continues anxiously, “but you don’t know what happened,” she pinches her lips together, trying to find the right words. “It went really bad.”

The corner of Leah’s mouth curls into a one-sided grin, identical to Wade’s. “Like half a million dollars for everything you spent years working on, kind of bad?”

Camille gapes at her. She wasn’t going to tell her how much they offered, just that the meeting went so badly that they walked out. So much for it being her secret. Leah watches her intently as Camille tries to connect the dots. Had she talked to Evelyn? No, Evelyn’s too smart for that. Camille forces her lips to move.

“That…would be a bad offer.”

Leah nods. “I laughed when Gwendolyn told me. No offense.”

Camille’s brows furrow as she recognizes the name. “Gwendolyn?”

Leah sits back on the bed. “That’s right.” She grabs a pillow from beside her, using it to prop her hurt foot up. “The Flexinburg Group let her go.”

Camille’s heart sinks. “We got Gwen fired.”

“Of course not,” Leah chuckles, the tension lifting in the room. “She knew it was only a matter of time with a company like that. Don’t worry about her. She’s working for me now. If I’ve learned anything from past treacheries, it’s how to bring a good asset into the fold.”

Camille wonders if she’s referring to the incident Wade mentioned about the brothers, making Camille want to ask if it was the Lichtensteins or not, but she stays quiet.

“We take much better care of our employees. I’m sure they had her sign a non-disclosure agreement as well, so technically, she wasn’t supposed to tell me about your meeting, but I’m sure if my secret is safe with you, then hers is as well.”

Camille nods.

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