Page 63 of His Little Secret in Discretion
“Are you still friends with Miss Maia?”
“Change the subject again,” I advised, and she hopped off my lap with a grin.
“Nope!” She seemed all smiles, her little mischievous grin going from ear to ear as I eyed her, resting my elbows on my knees to be at the same level as her face.
“That was our secret, young lady.”
“Secrets can get expensive, Uncle Blainey. Ask Benny, he’ll tell you all about the secret swear jar he made me.”
“I wouldn’t mind putting a few dollars in there myself just to say a few choice words right now,” I murmured with a sigh, pulling out a crisp fifty and handing it to her.
She squealed, snatching the fifty like she’d just won the damn lottery. “Thank you, Uncle Blainey! Your secret’s safe forever.”
Forever, right.I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Great. My most dangerous informant is four—no, five now; it had been her birthday recently, I remembered Killian saying in one of those rare, lighter moments when I remembered why I loved the guy.
Delilah was dangerous… too smart, too nosy, and way too much like me for comfort.
She’d probably sell me out for a lollipop next week. I was a fool to think otherwise.
But as she hugged me tight, curls brushing my jaw, I let myself smile anyway. Because somehow, I didn’t mind being her favorite fool.
Brielle and Delilah had left for lunch. Killian was behind his desk now, sleeves rolled, eyes glued to some spreadsheet as if it were truly the most important thing at the moment.
Me? I was perched on the edge of the desk, mindlessly flipping through Masahiko’s proposal. The numbers were fine, betterthan fine, but if Shin didn’t slow his expansion, he’d have a dozen furious investors breathing down his neck by spring.
“He’s doubling production in six months,” I said, dropping the folder onto the desk with a thud. “Which is great until the whole thing implodes on itself.”
Killian didn’t look up. “Then we make sure the deal includes oversight.” He tapped something into his laptop, voice flat. “If we’re tying our companies to his expansion, I’m not having another Shanghai incident.”
“You mean the one where you flipped the conference room table to get the board to sign? Very diplomatic, I must say.”
“It worked,” he muttered in response.
I hummed. Couldn’t argue with that.
“Still don’t get why you’re dragging me across the globe,” I groaned, falling onto the couch. “Could’ve sent a nice gift basket, a thank-you card maybe…”
“Sure. Let's send our multi-trillion dollar investment a thank-you basket for trusting us with one of the largest expansions Asia has ever seen.”
“You’re the one making me fly halfway across the world to sweet-talk him about his renovations.”
Killian’s eyes flick up from his laptop. “It’s not sweet-talking. It’s business. He’s a primary investor. His growth is our growth.”
“Sure,” I muttered, leaning back. “Just feels like something that could’ve been done over email.” He closed his laptop as I dramatically let out a sigh. “Right before the holidays, too.”
“You done yet?”
“Probably not,” I said, letting my head fall back against the couch.
“You don’t even have plans for the holidays. Besides, Brielle is conjuring up so many ideas, I’m sure she and Delilah expect you to be there for Thanksgiving.”
“Right,” I said, trying to smother the grin tugging at my mouth. I couldn’t believe how fucking whipped this fucker was. Lucifer… the devil himself… charmed by a pretty face to celebrate holidays. Just the word “holiday” left a sour taste in his mouth, but here he was, practically extending me the invitation himself.
But the grin on my lips faded as fast as it came when Maia’s face drifted into my head. I could only wonder how many holidays she spent working or alone. How many quiet nights she’d had where nobody even bothered to check in.
The image of her curled up on the couch with nothing but the TV for company tugged the strings of my heart. I fucking hated the idea of adding one more lonely season to the list.
My phone buzzed on the table, breaking the thought, and I glanced over at it to see Thomas the PI. Killian didn’t bother looking up as I reached for it.
