"That her sister loves you but isn't ready to acknowledge it because of all the shit going on now and what went on with their mother."
He couldn't argue with that and didn't bother to try. "I hope so."
"Patience. She'll come around."
"Yeah, well, I just hope she does before she knows I've been keeping things from her."
"You could always tell her now."
Roark snorted.
"What?" Maryn demanded. "You don't think he should?"
"Not now."
"Oh, this ought to be good. Why not now?"
"He needs to wait until she gets permanent guardianship."
"I have to agree with that assessment," Keaton added. "She's all about making sure Penny is safe from her mother. She doesn't need anything else thrown at her and the minute she finds out who you are, what you have, and let's not forget who she'll have to deal with once your marriage is public knowledge, she's going to be bombarded by the barracudaandthe press."
"Ah shit." Jack shoved a hand through his hair. "I didn't even think about the press."
"That's what you have us for," Dash announced. "I'll get started on a press release. Have two ready to go. One in case the information is leaked, the other for when you decide to tell the world."
Jack didn't want anyone to know. He knew the minute the world found out the heir to the Townsend Group had married, everybody would want a piece of his wife. If he wanted to stay married, he had to protect Lys from all that.
Turning to Keaton he asked, "How confident are you that we won't need to use my name on the petition for guardianship?"
"Pretty confident. I'm hoping to pull some strings and get us a private hearing."
"And you'll be there?"
"Yes. I can push things around to make that happen."
"Will we have to be there?" He wouldn't be able to keep his secret if he was forced to go to court.
"I shouldn't think so. As I said, I'm hoping to pull some strings."
"I don't want anything to taint the ruling."
"It won't."
"Make sure it doesn't."
"After what you and Roark have told me, you can guarantee I'll make sure there is no way the ruling can be overturned or questioned."
"Thanks, Keaton."
"No need to thank me, if it wasn't part of my job to take care of Townsend's CEO, I'd do it for my friend."
Jack nodded. They never got too deep into the reasons the four of them had bonded so tightly because that time in Jack's life had been the worst. The death of his father and Maryn's mother had devastated him and his half-sister. If it hadn't been for their grandfather and the three men around the table, he wasn't sure either of them would have survived Emmaline's attempts to take over the Townsend Group and their father's estate.
It had taken six years to stabilize things in a way that Emmaline couldn't try the same thing when their grandfather died. By then, Jack was firmly in place within the corporation along with Maryn. During those intervening years, he and his grandfather had made sure to employ people they trusted. And he trusted no one as much as the people around the table.
"I'll head out." Keaton stood. "You coming, Dash, or are you going with Roark when he shadows the girls?"
Jack smiled. He'd known Roark would want to follow the women on their adventure. It showed how in sync they all were that Keaton thought the same.
