Page 78 of One Big Little Secret

“I know. Guys, she’s getting all the mentoring she needs, I promise.” I huff loudly. “Hell, she came with me to meet Evelyn. I’m including her in all the major business activities, even beyond The Cardinal. I spent an hour sledding with her kid, and if you knew him, you’d give me a purple heart.”

I grit my teeth.

The little monster wasn’t half-bad, really, but they don’t need to know that.

“Whatever you say, guru.” Dexter gives me that grating skeptical look he specializes in.

“The fact is, she’s got great instincts and she doesn’t need much hand-holding. More like practical advice and more experience in the right situations.” I lean my chair back again. “Hell, the cocoa bar alone will probably bring in repeat customers. She knows what she’s doing. I’m just coaching her.”

Archer raises his brows.

“So you’re making excuses for sitting back and letting her do all the work. Typical Pat,” he spits.

“I’m giving heropportunitiesto figure shit out,” I throw back. “I’m even covering her babysitter for the long evenings when her usual nanny’s out. What other job offers that?”

“Wait.” Dexter frowns at me. “You spentyour own moneyon a babysitter for her kid?”

“You?” Archer sounds just as incredulous. “Patton, I know you. You’re a tight-fisted little shit who never learned how to spend money on anything that doesn’t have fins and tentacles. What about this woman changed your mind?”

I don’t answer.

I’m already in too fucking deep.

The last thing I need is either of these clowns adding to the confusion that’s been churning up my blood wherever Salem Hopper is concerned.

“Make up your minds. Do you want me to be a good mentor or what? I’m not shortchanging her on anything, and that’s the point.”

“A mentor—not a sponsor,” Archer says gruffly. “You sure you’re feeling okay, Pat? You haven’t gone and hit your head recently or been replaced by someone normal?”

A booming laugh falls out of him.

“Fuck you, man. I hope Colt brings home a rabid raccoon and turns it loose in your bed while you’re asleep.”

I know they’re teasing, but knowing the weight of my history with Salem, this goofy conversation stings more than it should.

“Also, I don’t have time to take your shit. I’ve got work to do.”

“Patton—” Dexter calls from behind me, but I’m up and moving, and I slam the door behind me a second later.

Maybe pitching in to help cover her sitter expenses was a step too far, but what was I supposed to do? Tell them it was so her son couldn’t come along and destroy The Cardinal’s lobby again?

And where the hell is that kid’s absentee father, anyway? I’d like to beat his face in.

Let them think whatever they want.

It’s a practical decision.

And if we’re taking on this Minnesota expansion, there’s no more time for kicking back and gossiping like birds while we have a business to run.

I findSalem in her office, hunched over her keyboard with headphones on as she hums softly to the music.

I’m not surprised.

She runs around plenty, but she seems more at home tucked away here, in the back where she can organize and plan to her heart’s content.

For a second, I stand in the doorway and watch her. It’s always slightly cracked so the staff can approach her if they need to.

Like usual, her hair is piled up at the back of her head in a bun, the dark strands starkly rising against the pale skin of her neck.

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