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“I’m always too close to my own damn story!” I turn to see her standing behind me, holding her ground with her fists clenched. “If you’re not, what’s the point?”
“Sleeping at night.”
“Not my forte.”
“Maybe it should be. I’ve been trying this new thing, you know. Napping. Have you heard of it? I’m still practicing, but I feel like it could—”
“Elsa,” Lis sighs. I can tell she’s at a breaking point…and maybe she should be. “Cut the shit and give me something. Anything. I need to know.”
It’s been a rollercoaster ride between Tanner Sharpe and me since day one, and she’s been along for the ride at every twist and turn.
Maybe I do owe it to her to be straight with her.
Maybe this mommy thing is just making me soft.
“Okay,” I relent. “What do you want to know?”
“Jackson Halo. Tanner knows that Halo’s his father and doesn’t give a shit about it getting out. Why?”
“Tanner’s a big boy,” I remind her. “Daddy issues aren’t really his thing.”
“Okay, then how about Dirty Little Angel. The company should have tanked by now—but the stocks are floating. Why?”
“Solid products,” I explain away with a wave of my hand. “Risk-averse business strategies. Keep trying.”
“The wedding thing with Tanner. He’s not the type to wait around at the altar for anyone—not even you.”
“I’m insulted, Lis. I’ll have you know that I’m quite the catch. Maybe Tanner has finally caught feelings after all.”
I can see her temper boiling just beneath the surface, ready to break. But she’s a smart girl. She’ll put two and two together…eventually.
“You know what I think, Elsa?”
“I’m all ears.”
“I think you two have been playing us. All of us—the public. Your shareholders. The lot. I think you’ve been dealing with dirty fucking laundry, Elsa—and I think it’s all going to blow up in your face. Soon.”
It’s shitty of me, but I can’t help it. I just smile back at her.
“You’re not wrong,” I admit. “But you’re not exactly right, either. By all means, Lis. Keep digging. Just know that my laundry may be dirty, but my conscience is completely fucking clean.”
I leave her with that—because I wasn’t kidding about the mommy yoga thing. If I don’t get there in time, that bitch Patricia Kirkland-Sterling will take my spot.
“Elsa!” Lis calls after me.
I sigh, turn and raise an eyebrow at her.
What can I say? I’m in a good mood today. I’ll let her get in one more.
“Are you going to do it?” Lis asks. “Tanner. The wedding. He says he’s waiting for you…are you going to show up?”
I laugh—the deep, hard kind that makes me feel like the baby’s little feet are fluttering inside me.
“I’m not doing your job for you, Lis. You want to dig through dirty laundry, you should be prepared to get your hands dirty, too.”
Chapter 32
Tanner
