Page 46 of Don't Tell

She replies in under a minute.

Suzanne

Roger sneezed near the tea kettle. I'm unwell.

I'm smiling at my phone…in an elevator. I don't particularly care.

Cade

Tragic. Survive until tonight.

I step out onto the sidewalk.

Adrian Maddox is on the same block. Coincidence or pure machination? It doesn’t matter. I don’t intend to engage with him. He steps in front of me before I reach the Aston Martin.

"Have you finally come to your senses?" he says. "Realized what I actually have on you?"

I don't stop walking. "Have you finally realized how completely impotent you are next to me?"

His smug smile curls back. "Keep telling yourself that."

I get in the car and ignore his existence.

I drive to the office. My hands are steady on the wheel, but my jaw isn’t.

Beau's on my desk with his feet up, drinking coffee. He looks comfortable, too comfortable.

"Rough morning?" he asks.

I frown. "Get your feet off my desk."

He gets his feet off and stands. "Theo says you brought someone to the lake."

"Theo talks too much."

"Theo talks exactly the right amount." He picks up the cup of coffee again. "Who was she?"

I sit down in my chair and open the top folder. "Nobody you need to know about."

Beau is quiet for a moment and pays attention. He sets the mug down.

The reason I haven't said anything is simple. Well, there’s a version I tell myself, and then there’s the truth.

My family has an investment in my personal life that I've never asked for and can't get rid of. My mother calls Beau. Beau calls Theo. Theo shows up somewhere he hasn't been invited and makes himself at home. They mean well, but they are relentless.

The moment I say a name out loud in this room, it becomes a topic, then an opinion, then a conversation, and Suzanne doesn't deserve any of that yet. She doesn't deserve to be managed before anyone has even met her.

And the other reason, the one I’m slowly beginning to realize, is that I’m not ready. Being in a relationship, a public one, is real work. There are expectations, ones I might never be able to fulfill. I’ve never failed at anything. I fear I might fail at this. And Suzanne is too special for that.

I want to keep something that's mine for a while. That's the whole of it.

"There's a wine auction," Beau says. He's moved on, which I appreciate. "The Cross Foundation. It’s in three weeks. I've been on the committee for six months, and I'm already exhausted."

"What's the format?"

"Silent bid. Forty lots. Mostly Napa and Bordeaux, a few outliers." He rubs the back of his neck. "It's a good event. It matters. I just need it to be over."

"Do you need anything from me?"