Page 15 of Discretion

And she’d been my chief of staff for the past decade. Not only was I trying to find my footing as the CEO, but I was trying to find my groove without a chief of staff.

“I’m surprised Halle decided to relocate,” I said, attempting to keep my tone neutral.

“Me too. She might have loved London even more than I do, but I suppose this opportunity came at a good time.”

“How so?” I hedged, hoping I didn’t sound too eager.

“Between you and me, her dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last summer.”

Last summer. Last.Summer. Before or after we’d had our fling?Fuck.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, hoping my tone didn’t betray my anguish.

“We’re lucky we never had to deal with that,” Sloan said, and I nodded.

Our grandparents had still been very independent upuntil their deaths. And it had all happened swiftly. That didn’t necessarily make their loss easier, but in a way, knowing that they’d maintained their quality of life until the end was a blessing.

“It’s been hard on her, as you can probably imagine,” Sloan continued.

“She’s an only child, and she’s always been close to her dad,” I mused, wondering how Halle was coping.

Sloan furrowed her brow. “Yeah.” She paused. “How did you?—”

“You mentioned it in the past,” I added quickly, hoping my sister wouldn’t dwell on it.

Sloan gave me a curious look, but I ignored it, grateful that the elevator doors had just opened. Sloan hadn’t told me about Halle’s relationship with her parents; Halle had.

Be professional,I reminded myself.

CHAPTER FOUR

My phone chimed from my nightstand, and I fumbled around for it, eager to hit snooze. I squinted at the screen, the bright light harsh in the dark room. It was five in the morning. A text from Zara had awoken me, not my alarm.

I sighed and flopped back onto the bed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. Not when I had to be up in an hour anyway. I might as well take advantage of this window to chat with my best friend, even if I was still half asleep.

It was… I squeezed my eyes shut and calculated the time difference. It was one in the afternoon in London. I supposed I should be grateful she hadn’t texted even earlier.

Zara: How wasyour first day?

I yawnedand tapped out a reply.

Me: Busy. Exhausting.

Zara: I’ll bet.

Zara: How did it go with Jasper?

I huffed and started typing.

Jasper is even hotter than I remember.

Erased it.

Jasper…I blew a raspberry.

I don’t trust myself to be alone with him.

Definitely not sending that one.