Page 9 of The Ring Thief
I should’ve taken her home, tucked her into bed, and checked on her. Instead, I left her standing outside of the real estate office with promises to meet her back at our new condo later that night. I couldn’t even give her a clear time of when that would be, not when I had fires to put out here.
Carter’s been blowing up my phone for the last 24 hours, and I’d known it wasn’t something I could keep ignoring, not when my father had planned it this way. What better time to make hismove than when I’m out of the city and on my goddamn honeymoon?
I rub the back of my neck, right where a knot of tension has lodged itself at the base of my skull.
Lily would be fine. She was clearly tired from our trip, as brief as it was. And it wasn’t a surprise she was exhausted after running herself ragged organizing our wedding, especially after my father had taken it upon himself to invite over 50 last minute guests.
A knock precedes my assistant, Adam, as he comes in with an apologetic grimace. Carter saunters in behind him, ignoring the dirty look my assistant shoots his way.
“Sorry, Declan. I know you said you didn’t want to be disturbed, but he insisted,” Adam says.
I eye my friend impatiently. “Thanks, Adam. I’ll deal with him.”
Adam straightens his bowtie—blue and white stripes today—and flicks one last aggravated glare in Carter’s direction before sticking his nose in the air and waltzing back out, shutting the door behind him.
I look at Carter, who seems entirely too satisfied as he collapses into a leather-backed chair facing my desk.
I clasp my hands behind my back, arching a brow. “Do you have to piss my assistant off before he’s had his third cup of coffee? You know he doesn't do well with your shit before then.”
He smirks back at me. “Adam makes it too easy. I can’t help yanking his tail.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, head thumping painfully. “I like Adam,” I tell him tiredly. “He’s efficient and good at his job. Don’t chase him away with your antics.” I send him a warning look.
“You mean he’s good at managing you.”
“I don’t need to be managed.”
“Yeah, right.” There’s a glint in his eyes I don’t trust. “Anyway, you’re giving me too much credit. I don’t have the power to chase Adam away.” I shake my head, biting my words back. “So…” he starts, watching me curiously. “The honeymoon. How was it?”
“How do you think?” I return dryly. “Considering I’m back after only three days away. Lily was disappointed, but she seemed to understand. She wasn’t well last night, so it’s probably for the best.” I’m notsure who I’m trying to convince, so I clamp my mouth shut, before any more useless words fall out.
“Is she okay?” Carter’s amusement falls away, leaving only a deep frown.
“She will be.”
“Did you tell her?”
I narrow my eyes, but the problem with working with someone I’ve known for years means he knows how to read me. Without me saying anything, he blows out a breath, a low curse escaping him. “You’re gonna lose the best thing that ever happened to you, man.”
“It’s got nothing to do with Lily,” I argue stiffly. “Or our marriage.”
He barks out a caustic laugh. “And she obviously knows that. She went into this with her eyes wide open, hm?”
That shame curls through me again, scorching everything it touches, and acting like the strike of a match to my temper. “Stop talking about my wife,” I demand through clenched teeth.
Our eyes clash and hold, but he breaks first, muttering something under his breath that I pretend I don’t hear. “Seeing as you’re here, you must have an update for me. Get on with it. I want to know everything he’s been doing.”
It seems like he might ignore me, but then a mask of professionalism drops down over his face. His voice is detached as he informs me, “Your father’s been having secret meetings all over the country. Meetings,” he stresses pointedly, “that he’s being very careful to keep off all the books.”
I sit down behind my desk and steeple my hands in front of me. “So, how did you find out, then?”
“His assistant accidentally CC’d me in on an email. It was like picking up breadcrumbs after that.”
I flick up an eyebrow. “And that was enough?”
The slightest pause, a pinching at the corners of his mouth, and then he admits, “No. Your father also met with an acquaintance of mine. She gave me a heads up.”
A silent alarm blares. “An acquaintance,” I repeat, and he nods. “Who was it?”
