Page 5 of A Convenient Secret (Merged #3)

Declan

F ucking hell.

Lily is my new nanny. How did that happen?

How did I allow that to happen?

Ever since I saw her that first time at Caleb’s Christmas vow renewal, she’s invaded my every waking hour.

So I did the only reasonable thing. I’ve been pretending she doesn’t exist. At least we didn’t need to see each other again. Not that it helped my infatuation.

And now she is in my fucking kitchen. With her weirdly unkempt haircut, large unflattering glasses, and those legs.

Fucking hell.

She’s in my kitchen in those indecently short shorts, her tanned legs imprinted on my mind for an eternity.

But it’s her eyes that grabbed my attention that first time. She hides them behind those glasses like she’s trying to avoid attention.

But I saw those brown eyes. She is all smiles and kindness, but those eyes hide loss and pain.

I noticed way too much about her that first night. She talked to her friend about Greek gods. What an odd thing. What an intriguing thing.

“Daddy, do we weally need to go to school?” Zoya pulls at my jacket.

“Of course, sweetheart. You’re already very late. You better hurry.”

“But, Daddy—”

“Zoya—” I use my strict voice, and her little shoulders sag.

“Have a nice day, Dad.” Zach extends his hand, and we shake.

“Are you okay?” Mom studies me.

I sigh. “It’s been a hell of a morning.”

“Daddy, money in a sweaw jar.” Zoya practically dances with excitement that she caught me cussing.

“Let’s go now,” my mom says, and my twins bounce toward the elevator.

“See you later.” Lily’s voice comes from my side, and I whip my head toward her .

That voice. Jesus.

She smiles. It seems like it’s a deliberate effort to form a smile, but it still comes out honest. Sunshine.

My jaw tightens, and I nod and then gesture toward the elevator, rushing her away. Pink ghosts her cheeks, and she hurries after my family.

I stare at the closed door of the elevator for way longer than I can afford.

Fucking hell. Lily is my new nanny.

I’ve successfully ignored her for half a year. Quite unsuccessfully, if I’m honest, since I still saw her everywhere, my mind completely ignoring any sensible notion of how wrong it was.

I have no right to think about her. She doesn’t need an older man with family to derail her life. She’s in her early twenties, for fuck’s sake.

And even if she didn’t mind that I’m at least a decade older, there is no room for any relationship in my life.

Between work and the kids, I have no time for anything else. We have a good routine. One that I fought hard to build. I can’t have it disrupted. Zoya and Zach deserve stability.

It’s one thing to fantasize about your friend’s friend. But about my nanny?

Fuck. I need to fire her tonight.

“I didn’t think it’s possible, but Declan actually can glower more.” Xander takes a loud sip from his ridiculously large cold drink. What is he, twelve?

The youngest partner at Merged is a gifted child, but sometimes I wonder if he rigged the IQ tests.

“What’s wrong?” my brother asks, and stands from behind his desk. Why we always have meetings in his office instead of a boardroom is beyond me.

“Nothing.” I take a seat in a one-seater in the farthest corner, as far as possible from slurping Xander.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I side with Xander on this one; you look like a cat peed into your favorite Ferragamos. What pissed you off?” Cormac sits in the armchair beside me.

“Talking from experience?”

Corm recently adopted a cat. Well, more like his wife did. My brother is a different man in many ways since he settled down. Case in point: the large black-and-white photograph of Saar above the sofa beside me.

I have pictures of my kids on my desk, but his approach seems a bit over the top. Despite the fact that it’s an art piece taken by a famous photographer that cost a high five-figures.

“I think he looks more like he had his wisdom tooth extracted.” Our office manager, Roxy, waltzes in and picks up the conversation—one I care little about—flawlessly. Does she have this office bugged?

She never removes her earpiece, and sometimes, I half wonder if she’s listening to music while pretending to talk to us. But her productivity and ability to keep the office, and especially the four of us partners, organized is priceless, so she can listen to audiobooks for all I care.

What she shouldn’t do is comment on my mood. Fuck them all. If they’d had the morning I had, they wouldn’t even show up.

The most difficult part of being a father is having to constantly adjust the schedule. It doesn’t matter how prepared I am to tackle everything, to be there for the kids’ bedtime, to catch all the concerts and games, something always explodes.

“I think his new nanny quit.” Caleb, our chief operating officer, walks in. Does this office have speakers all around the floor for everyone to listen in?

“She didn’t quit,” I snap.

Not that it hasn’t been an issue before. At one point this past year, Zoya and Zach decided to drive all the nannies away. I hope it’s just a phase. As soon as they start the first grade in September, they won’t have time for their antics.

I need a stable nanny by then. Not that I have one now. 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 and the 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.

“I’m flattered.” I glower at her, and she shrugs, grinning.

“I get it, Declan,” Xander says, a hint of frustration in his tone. “Family comes first. But this isn’t just about any of us. It’s about the future of Merged. The way I see it, you’re the most qualified to handle this.”

“That’s true,” Corm says.

“You really think I should move?” I look at my brother, a sense of betrayal coiling up my spine.

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s my opinion as the CEO. As your brother, I understand the twins come first. At the same time, they’re starting a new school in September. Perhaps the best time to relocate.”