Page 22 of Married to Lies

Jude asked, “Do they at least have clarity on the timeline?”

“They’re thinking it happened at the wedding,” Bryce answered with a pained expression.

That seemed to piss Jude off even more. “Did you all see anyone acting suspicious? I wasn’t there to keep an eye on things, and of course it all fell apart.” Beyond the annoyance, I swore I heard a note of hurt to his voice when he mentioned his absence, and it made me even more curious... What was going on between him and Bryce?

Aaric cut in, saying, “Someone serving food could easily have slipped him something without us noticing on our best day.” He gave a wry smile. “There was a lot happening that day.”

Bryce huffed out a laugh.

Cruz said, “I had at least one of the waitresses occupied. She had pretty blond hair and⁠—”

“Save it for the police,” I muttered.

Jude snipped, “Why are we brainstorming this? That’s the detective’s job.”

Bryce conceded, “Yes, but they did ask me to relay any ideas we had, and it’s likely we’ll all be asked to give a statement regarding the wedding as eyewitnesses to attempted murder.”

We all fell quiet for a moment. Things felt more tense than ever before. And Bryce made it worse by saying, “Simon is asking when our founders’ retreat is.”

My eyes rolled to the top of the ceiling. Of course Simon would be thinking of marriage and vacations while lying on his deathbed.

Cruz said, “Doesn’t he have bigger things to worry about? Like not dying?”

Bryce shook his head. “Simon doesn’t want the company going to his kids. This just reminded all of us that we’re running out of time to hold up our end of the deal.”

“And if we don’t follow his dementia-induced demands?” Jude retorted stubbornly. “Maybe a near-death experience can remind him that he’s playing with fire.”

Bryce glared at the camera, but I knew it was aimed at Jude. “You can’t reason with a dying man. And insulting him on his deathbed is in poor taste.” He took a breath and smoothed his expression. “Maya booked out a resort in Aspen the day after New Year's. We’ll be there for four days, three nights.”

Protests came through the speakers, but Bryce barked, “I don’t give a shit if you don’t want to go.”

My eyes widened at the outburst. “Whoa,” Aaric said, but Bryce continued, “Jude accused me of being distracted, but right now, I’m telling you all to dial the fuck in. It’s time to step up and do what it takes to protect this business, or step down and get out of the way.”

The room fell silent.

Jude’s voice was laced with venom as he said, “Anything else, boss?”

Bryce ignored him. “I’ll text you all with updates on Simon. Maya will pass retreat info to your assistants.” He clicked out of the call.

Soon after everyone logged out, I got a new phone call from Aaric.

“Hello?” I answered.

“I’m adding Cruz. Hold on.”

We waited until Cruz answered, and then Aaric said, “It’s Quentin and me on the line.”

“What’s up?” Cruz asked. “I have to leave for a luncheon in ten minutes.”

Aaric’s accent seemed thicker than usual as he said, “We have to find a solution to this rift between Jude and Bryce. Do either of you know what happened?”

“No,” I said.

Cruz added, “I still have no idea why Jude suggested that vote. He keeps saying that Bryce was distracted, but I’m not buying it.”

“Me neither,” I added. “It’s deeper than business.”

Aaric said, “Whatever it is, we can’t be divided while fighting against Simon’s children. They’re clearly willing to do whatever it takes to stop us. We need to be a united front or we could lose the company. Or our lives.”