Page 114 of Discretion

I’d waited for Kai to get better. And now that Kai had bounced back from his endoscopy, and he had a diagnosis and a path forward, I finally felt like the time was right to broach the topic with Halle once more.

“You and Kai are coming to the Leatherbacks’ home game next weekend, right?” Knox had invited the family to enjoy the game from the owner’s suite, and I was looking forward to it.

Kai seemed to be feeling better overall now that he was following a gluten-free diet. That wasn’t necessarily surprising, especially now that we knew he had celiac disease. Halle had been upset but also relieved. And since then, we’d researched celiac and felt more confident with how best to support Kai.

“I was planning on it.” She pulled on her underwear. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it is,” I said. “I always want you and Kai with me.”

She smiled, bending forward to kiss me. I cupped theback of her neck, holding her close. Our tongues danced and sparred as the kiss turned heated.

I pulled her onto my lap, and she moaned as she rocked against my erection. “Jasper.”

“Halle.” I squeezed her breasts, her hips, her ass, each one met with an answering sound of pleasure. “Come with me.”

She pulled back ever so slightly, her palms pressed to my chest, a smirk playing at her lips. “I didn’t realize you were already so close.”

“No. Well, yes, that too. Later. But come with me to the game.” I took a deep breath. “As my girlfriend.” Girlfriend sounded so juvenile, but nothing else seemed quite right either. “It’s the perfect opportunity to soft launch our relationship to my family.”

“I—” She paused, and I couldn’t gauge what she was thinking. The fact that she was hesitating gave me hope that maybe she was actually considering it. “I want to say yes, but there’s just so much going on.…” She hedged. “Now’s not a good time. Sloan’s not even back from her maternity leave.”

I tried to tamp down my frustration. To remind myself that this was progress. Maybe Halle just needed to talk it through so she’d feel ready. “There’s always a lot going on. There will never be a perfect time.”

An alarm chimed, and she reached over, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. Halle started grabbing her clothes from the floor. She pulled on her skirt and zipped it up.

“Halle.” I wasn’t ready to let this go. I understood why she was scared, and I didn’t want to let Pierce’s negativity impact my thoughts, but I needed some type of assurance that we were still working toward telling my family. Some kind of plan.

“You won’t always feel ready to take the next step,” I said, taking her hand in mine. “I didn’t feel ready when I had tostep up to become CEO. Just as I think you also felt some hesitation when you were going to become the SVP. But now that we’re in these roles, we’re thriving. And I think once we tell my family and the board, we’ll feel so much lighter. Please just…think about it. Pierce—” I stopped myself before I could say more, say too much.

“What about Pierce?” she asked, assessing me. Her eyes widened. “Does Pierce know about us?”

I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut.

“Jasper?”

Fuck.

“He knows I’m seeing someone. He guessed it was you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, and I could sense the fear radiating from her. Where was the strong, confident woman who commanded meetings? Where was the badass who negotiated seven-figure art deals without breaking a sweat?

“He won’t say anything,” I added. At least not in the short-term. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want anyone to know about us, but I was trying to protect us. Protect the company. Protectyou.And the best way to do this is by telling my family and the board.”

My phone chimed, reminding me that we had to get back to the office.

“Can we discuss it more later?” She slid into her heels, sans shirt.

I splayed my hands on my thighs, stretching then relaxing them in an attempt to stem my frustration. I didn’t want to add even more pressure to an already stressful situation. And I didn’t want Halle to think that I was trying to manipulate her into a decision she wasn’t comfortable with. But I couldn’t keep living like this.

The longer we waited to tell everyone, the worse this would be. My conversation with Pierce had confirmed that.

“Sure,” I said, hating the sullen tone to my voice. “How about tonight?” I pressed.

She raced to button up her shirt, not meeting my eyes. “We can’t. You have your date. And my mom’s coming into town.”

Right.My date.

I had no idea what the woman from the charity auction was expecting from our evening together, but she’d paid a lot of money for the pleasure of my company. I’d been so preoccupied, I’d nearly forgotten that it was coming up.