Page 53 of A Convenient Secret (Merged #3)

Declan

“ I understand she’s not accepting the flowers, but I’m paying you to have them delivered three times a day, so you do that,” I bark into the phone, pacing around my hotel room.

“With the same note, sir?”

“Yes.” The card says “Just because” and has no signature. I hope it’s enough for now. I hope she gets it.

The person on the other side sighs.

Why is she not accepting the flowers? Come on, Lily, hang in there for a moment longer.

I disconnect the call and answer the video on my laptop.

“It’s nice to see you’re still shaved.” Xander snickers.

“It’s not so nice to see you’re still an asshole.” I sit on the sofa, holding the notebook in my hands. It’s not the most comfortable, but I’m not taking a call in my bed. There is only so much disorder I can handle.

“Oh, you miss me, Dec.”

“Like herpes.”

“Enough.” Corm turns his camera on. “Update quickly. I have things to do.”

“Nice to see you, too,” I say.

“Fuck off,” my brother murmurs.

“Someone is in a mood.” Xander snickers.

“Fucking dog destroyed my new shoes this morning.”

Xander almost falls off his chair laughing.

“Are we waiting for Caleb?” I ask, hoping this meeting will end already.

Roxy’s face appears on the screen. “Caleb won’t make it. He’s on a call with Japan, and it’s running late.”

“At least this time his excuse isn’t his domestic situation.” Xander pops something into his mouth.

“One day you will have a family, and you’ll shut up.” I glare at him. “What’s on the agenda, Roxy?”

“Just the London update.” She shoves a pencil behind her ear. The woman uses writing utensils as her accessory.

“Okay.” I lean back. “The offices look good, fully furnished, and designed with Merged branding. I’m meeting with Vivienne Drake in half an hour. ”

“Let’s hope it all goes smoothly, because we need to hit the ground running.” Corm checks his watch.

“I agree. I will send you an update, hopefully by the end of the day London time.” I stand to grab my jacket.

“What about some Lily update?” Roxy asks, grinning.

“None of your business,” I growl.

“But things are going okay?” Corm leans forward like he can see what’s going on here through the screen. “How is she?”

I blow the air from my cheeks. “I only saw her once.”

“What? At this rate your kids will graduate from college by the time you win her over.” Corm frowns.

Just because he’s in a committed relationship for the first time in his life, he feels he has the moral ground to mock me.

“As I said, none of your business. Lily told me what she needs, and I’m making it happen.”

“So you’re going to roll over for her? That’s manly.” Xander chuckles.

“I’m going to compromise, you idiot.”

“That sounds like sacrifice,” Roxy says. “It almost rhymes.” She wiggles her shoulders.

It’s like a kindergarten, I swear under my breath.

“The two of you are chronically single, so you have no right to comment.” I put on the jacket, ready to disconnect the call.

“It still begs the question: when are you coming back?” Corm stops me.

I wish there was a straightforward answer. “Soon.”

I snap the laptop shut and head to the first important meeting of my day.

I adjust my tie as the server cleans our plates. “Look, Ms. Drake—”

“Call me Vivienne.” She smiles.

The woman in front of me has confidence, qualifications, and, judging by our twenty-minute conversation, sharp intuition. She would fit the shoes well.

“Vivienne, this is probably not what you expected when you came today—”

“You’re going to offer the job to someone else, aren’t you? A man, probably. You could have saved me the trip.”

She grabs her briefcase and pushes her chair back.

“I would appreciate it if you let me finish. Or for that matter, stop interrupting me. Sit down,” I growl. “Please,” I add, and almost can feel Lily’s smile.

Vivienne frowns at me, glaring for a beat too long, but then sinks back into the chair .

“The job is going to a man, but that man would love if you joined his team as his second-in-command.”

She folds her arms across her chest. “I don’t think I’m interested in playing second fiddle to someone who stole the job from me. I’ve been there, done that. There is always someone more qualified because they have a penis.”

“Thank you for your opinion. I would prefer we would not mention cocks in our future dealings. The man is more experienced than you, though.”

She scoffs. “Who?”

“Me.”

Finally, she loses her gumption and just gapes at me. “I don’t understand. Wouldn’t I report to you anyway?”

“Let me explain.”

“Where is my wife?” I ask the receptionist on the Spinellis’ executive floor.

“Mr. Quinn,” she stammers.

“Good, you remember me. Now, could you kindly tell me if my wife is in her office?”

“Ms. Spinelli is in a meeting.”

“I think it’s time you start calling her Mrs. Quinn. Which way? ”

“You can’t—”

“Watch me.” I march down the corridor, not sure where I’m going.

When I was here last week, I noticed the boardrooms here have glass walls, so I’ll take my chances.

“Mr. Quinn, please.” The receptionist strides behind me.

I stop, and she collides with me. I grip her elbow, so she can find her footing. “What’s your name?”

“Lavinia.”

“Look, Lavinia, I’ve done many idiotic things in the last few weeks. I’m not going to add to them and barge into my wife’s meeting. I just want to wait for her and get her attention when she is done.”

She heaves like she’s just run a marathon. “I don’t want to get fired.”

“You won’t, I promise. When is her meeting over?”

“I don’t know.”

“Take me to her assistant then.”

She relaxes and leads me to the corner of the floor. Two things immediately surprise me.

One of them is pleasant. Lily’s meeting is taking place in that part of the building, and she looks positively arresting presiding over the table. Fuck, I’m proud of her.

I want to savor the view through the glass wall, but the second surprise requires my immediate attention .

“I told you to never even so much as breathe her way.” I keep my voice down, but my tone leaves no room for interpretations.

Timothy fucking Spinelli turns on his heels and flinches when he sees me. He schools his expression quickly. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“None of your business, and I strongly suggest you get the fuck out of here before you regret it.”

I was never someone who causes a scene, but this dickhead just asks for it.

“This is my company, you twat.” He puffs out his chest.

“No, it’s not. Your mother owns some shares, and you believe that gives you some privileges. Let me correct that belief.” I step closer.

He flinches again, stepping back. “You’re going to regret this, Quinn. If you think you can steal what’s mine, you are mistaken.”

“The only person making mistakes here is you, Timmy. First, nothing here is yours. Second, the only person regretting their actions will be you. And that’s a promise. Now get out of my sight.”

As he stumbles away, spitting empty threats, I find several people left their offices to watch the exchange. Shit, I hope nobody recorded it.

“What’s going on?”

Lily’s voice is like a drug hitting my system, permanently addictive, immediately coloring the world in high definition.

I whip around. “Sorry about that.”

All eyes are on her, the people from her meeting rooted to the floor. She shakes her head. Okay, she’s pissed.

“Go back to work, everyone.” She eats the distance between us and gestures toward her office.

She waits for me to enter, and before she joins me, she turns to her assistant. “Call my security and fire them. He was not allowed to come to this level. Organize me a new security team.”

She walks in and shuts the door behind her.

Fuck, she is hot when she is in charge. When I saw her last week, after the painful days full of doubt and regret, it was like coming home.

Her small frame that she carries with such confidence, her slanted nose, those beautiful intelligent eyes, and her smoking-hot body—it all takes my breath away.

Seeing her now, seething like a goddess of war, is even hotter.

The air is unusually heavy with fragrance, and when I look around, I realize she’s been accepting the flowers. I smile, which only spurs her indignation.

“What are you doing here, Declan? You think you can just waltz out of here and keep sending flowers without a word—”

“There was a card.”

She rolls her eyes. “What do you want? I have work to do.”

“I brought you something.” I reach into my pocket.

“I don’t want any gifts.”

“It’s not a gift, Lily. And I guarantee you’ll want this.” I hand her an encrypted data stick.

She takes it, frowning. “What is this?”

“Everything I could collect on your cousin. Enough to put him away. Not for what he did to you, but enough for a decade behind bars.”

Her eyebrows rise. She looks at the stick before her gaze returns to me. “Thank you. Is this the reason you came?”

“Will you use it?”

“I don’t know. I need to see what it contains and discuss it with my father. Tim is still a Spinelli; it’s not just my decision.”

“When you see what’s he been up to, you will want to disassociate yourself from him.”

“Okay, I will review it. Thank you. Though I don’t understand why you went to all this effort—”

“I need you to be safe. Even if you never accept me back, I need to know you are safe.”

“Declan, if I accept you back? You came here last week, declared your love, and then stormed out.” This fired-up version of her is fucking attractive.

“You told me you want to stay; I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I needed to fix that.”

“What are you talking about? You don’t just leave in the middle of a conversation.” She flails her arms in the air.

Fuck. “I see how that looked. A tactical mistake. I’m sorry, when I’m on a mission I tend to… act less… polite.” I wince.

She shakes her head. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that.” She walks over to the sofa and opens her laptop. “Thank you for this.” She waves the stick before she throws it on a stack of folders beside her.

“Why don’t you work behind the desk?”