Page 49 of Silver Fox's Secret Triplets
"Ivy, wait—" Duncan reached for me, but I was already opening the car door, cold air rushing in to break the intimate cocoon we'd created.
"I'll see you Monday," I managed to say, then fled toward the house, leaving him sitting there in the darkness with questions I couldn't answer and guilt swelling in my chest at the same rate as the tears welling up in my eyes.
18
DUNCAN
Istared at my computer screen, the cursor blinking against a sea of unread emails. Quarterly reports. Contract negotiations. Board meeting requests. All of it felt distant and meaningless, words on a screen that had no connection to the restless energy coursing through my body.
My mind kept drifting back to Saturday night. To Ivy in my arms, the way she'd responded to my touch, the soft sounds she'd made against my mouth. Then the sudden shift when that monitor crackled to life. The way she'd bolted from the car, leaving me sitting there with more questions than answers.
Something of that nature.
The phrase had been rolling through my head for two days now. It was evasive, careful, the kind of response someone gave when they didn't want to lie outright but couldn't tell the truth either. I'd built a career on reading people, on understanding what they weren't saying, and everything about that moment felt wrong.
I pushed back from my desk and grabbed my jacket, slipping it on. Physical exertion usually helped when my thoughts spiraled, but today I felt like if I started working out, I'd breakthe equipment when the adrenaline surged and my intrusive thoughts began making me angry. All I could think was that Ivy was keeping a secret from me—some other man's baby she never told me about because she was too ashamed. And I'd been nothing but open with her about my past, the scandal—Meranda.
Climbing past the executive floor, I headed to the rooftop terrace. The Boston skyline stretched out before me, glass and steel reaching toward gray clouds that threatened rain. Up here, with the wind cutting through my jacket, I could almost breathe again.
I pulled out my phone and called Nick.
"Walsh Industries' most eligible bachelor," he answered, his voice warm with familiar humor. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need to talk."
The levity in his tone shifted immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Everything's wrong. I don't know." I walked to the edge of the terrace, resting my forearms on the concrete barrier. "How's the transition paperwork coming along?"
"That's what I should be asking you. I sent over those documents last week, and I haven't heard back. Are you dragging your feet on purpose?"
"No." The answer came too quickly, too defensive. "I'm not dragging my feet. I'm just… distracted."
"By what?"
I hesitated, watching traffic move through the streets below. "Something's bothering me. About Ivy."
"Your assistant? The one you've been mooning over for weeks?"
"I haven't been mooning."
"Duncan, you've mentioned her name in every conversation we've had since she started working for you. You're mooning." His voice gentled. "What's going on?"
I ran a hand through my hair, searching for the right words. "I don't know if I trust her. Something feels off, and I can't put my finger on what it is."
"Off how?"
"Saturday night, I went to see her. We were… together. Then she heard something through this monitor she was carrying and rushed off. When I asked if she was babysitting, she gave me this vague non-answer and practically ran away."
Nick was quiet for a moment. "Maybe she really was just babysitting for someone. So she had a monitor running and one of the kids woke up. No big deal."
"Maybe." But even as I said it, I didn't believe it. "It's more than that, though. She's secretive about everything. Her past, her family situation, why she came back to Boston. Every conversation feels like she's holding back."
"Some people are private, Duncan. Especially people who've been hurt before."
"Or people who have reasons to be secretive."
The line grew silent, and my hearing filled with the sound of wind and distant traffic. Finally, Nick spoke again carefully. "What are you really worried about here?"
