Page 58 of A Convenient Secret
Declan
“Are we still waiting for Cal?” Corm asks, rocking in his office chair.
“Yes, we need him for this conversation.” Roxy doesn’t even look up, typing.
“Why are you working from home, Declan?” Xander pops something in his mouth. Does he always eat?
“Has your nanny quit on you again?” Corm teases, knowing full well, if that were the case, he would have heard it from Saar already.
“That would be a shame. Isn’t she into knife-play?” Xander stuffs his face again.
How does he even know about the incident? How is it that in a company that deals in confidential information, and one that keeps so manycorporate and financial secrets, our personal lives seem to be common knowledge?
“Fuck you,” I spit and glare, knowing that the effect is muted by the screen.
“Come on, that was funny.” Corm snorts.
He wasn’t laughing when his sleeping in the office to avoid Saar became the topic of the water-cooler conversation.
“Am I laughing?” I growl.
“What did I miss?” Cal’s face appears on the screen, and he looks like he hasn’t showered, shaved, or changed his shirt in weeks.
“Dick comparing,” Roxy mutters.
“We were discussing how Declan got stabbed by his nanny.” Xander’s shit-eating grin fills the screen.
“Oh, I thought that was a secret.” Cal looks confused.
He knows as well? Fuck.
“Perhaps we can proceed with the actual point of this call.” I tap my fingers on the table, my eyes gliding to my phone where the downstairs security feed shows Lily preparing a snack.
Yeah, I’m that fucker who tells her I’m exercising my common sense and restraint, and then I continue to cyberstalk her.
When she didn’t come immediately after the school drop-off, I worried for a moment that I mighthave scared away the first suitable nanny I’d had in years.
Fuck.
As much as I try, I barely hang onto my control around the woman. I adjusted my schedule to cross paths with her as little as possible. It wasn’t enough. Just the knowledge that she’s been here every day continues to feed my fantasies.
I couldn’t get her out of my system even if I tried.
“Declan?” Corm’s voice snaps me back to the meeting.
“Is the nanny playing with the knife again?” Xander snickers.
“You fucking mention her again, and I swear to God you will be the one needing stitches.” Second time today I exhibit a lack of control.
I’ve never threatened one of my colleagues. Xander has been testing me, but I’ve never stooped to his level of razzing. Nor have I ever taken his bait. Fuck.
The silence on the line is loud, hammering in my temples with a relentless pulse.
“Okay, now, when the informal part of the agenda is over—and thank God for that—” Roxy’s voice carries an unwarranted amount of cheer. “Let’s talk about the London office before I’m forced to send you all into a timeout.”
A wailing siren rips through the house.
“For fuck’s sake.” Corm sighs.
