Page 14 of A Convenient Secret

I need a stable nanny by then. Not that I have onenow. The woman in my home, probably talking to my housekeeper right now, can’t stay there. I still don’t understand how Lily ended up in my house in the first place.

“Not yet.” Caleb chuckles and sits beside Xander.

“Let’s start this meeting, shall we?” I flip my tablet’s cover and click on my notes app.

“Let’s start then.” Corm sits, and even without looking, I can feel his eyes on me.

Okay, maybe I’m in a worse mood than usual. Again, with the morning I had…

“All right, let’s get to the big item on the agenda. The London expansion,” Xander announces with a self-satisfied grin. “I’ve looked at opportunities, and Declan ran the numbers. This is a no-brainer. London’s financial district is primed for growth, and positioning ourselves there could increase our market share in Europe by at least twenty percent over the next two years.”

“Primed for growth?” Corm raises an eyebrow. “How much of that twenty percent are you expecting to come out of our pockets first?”

“Initial investment isn’t negligible,” I say. “Office space in Canary Wharf isn’t cheap, and we’d need to recruit locally—top talent only. But the long-term returns make it worth it. I sent you all the numbers, and I think we can all agree the time is right.”

“If we want an aggressive expansion. We started this company a little over a year ago,” Cal points out.

“Well, I’m all for aggressive growth. The question is, who will babysit this adventure?” Corm looks around the table.

“One of us should oversee it personally for at least the first year.” Xander puts his drink down. “It’s a critical move, and I don’t trust an outsider to understand the intricacies of what we do.”

“You mean the intricacies of how you want it done,” Roxy snickers.

“It’s not a bad strategy,” I say. “Having one of us there ensures continuity and control.”

Cal lets out a long puff of breath. “I’m all for sipping tea and watching cricket, but with the baby on the way and Mia living here with her mother, I can’t relocate. Celeste and I need to stay here.”

He recently found out he has a preteen daughter, so of course, he can’t leave. Mentioning Celeste, who is a friend of Lily’s, triggers images in my mind.

Lily in the summer dress at Corm’s party on Saturday. The pang of jealousy I felt when she laughed at something Xander said. The moment of insanity when I wanted to walk over and talk to her myself.

Lily at my house. In the shortest fucking shorts ever. Fuck.

“Declan, are you listening?” Corm kicks the side of my seat.

“Of course I am,” I lie.

I need to fire her today, and avoid all group activities with her friends. Not an easy feat, given that two of them are my partners’ wives. But I can make up excuses those few times a year. Forever. Or until she gets married.

The thought squeezes at my stomach. I ignore it. Corm studies me with suspicion.

“It can’t be me,” he says, and as he’s the CEO, he’s right. “And Xander is nurturing several long-term projects that can’t be handled from over there.”

“What are you suggesting?” I smirk. “Because if it’s what I think it is, you must be delusional.”

“You’re best suited for the job,” Caleb says. “You would be signing off on all the expenses anyway, so why not do it from the ground?”

“So I’m expandable here?” Fuck, I hate being defensive.

“Hey, boys,” Roxy interrupts. “Let’s set the egos aside for a moment. Have your pissing contests in your free time. I have more important things to do.”

“No, you don’t,” all four of us say in unison, and Roxy rolls her eyes.

“Declan, you have the operational background andthe strategic mindset for this. If anyone can set up London, it’s you.” Corm shrugs.

“And you’re the least likely to punch a banker in the face at a networking event.” Caleb chuckles.

“That’s true.” Roxy crosses one leg over the other. She’s wearing workers’ overalls with a formal jacket on top. The woman’s wardrobe is atrocious. “You’ve got the whole ‘serious CFO’ thing going for you. You’d charm the pants off the London crowd.” Her commentary is equally tragic.