Page 5 of The Sound of Secrets

Alistair leaned forward on the desk and gave me a conspiratorial look. “It’s unbelievable you agreed to stay at his place without putting up a fight. Do you not remember how badly things ended the last time you played house with him?” He snorted and pointed a finger at the end of my nose. “I even offered to set you up with staff lodging. You rejected me faster than I could give you the details.”

I scoffed, but a warm blush crawled up my neck and flooded my face. “I turned you down because no one else on your payroll has employee housing. I don’t wish for any unnecessary favors just because we’re family in a roundabout way. Besides, I want to stay with Winnie, at least until her birthday. I owe it to her. I really screwed up when I decided to take Willow’s ashes and scatter them abroad.” I could handle living with Win for a stint while we mapped out what the future should look like. Especially if he was planning to work like a dog to dispose of his family fortune.

“Her birthday is right around the corner. Where are you planning to go after that?” I could tell Alistair was genuinely concerned, but I was a woman who always managed to keep a roof over my head. Sure, that sometimes meant I moved in with men whom there was absolutely no potential with, but more often than not, I just hustled until I figured out a way to pay rent on a small crappy apartment.

I popped another candy in my mouth and licked around where the soft caramel sucked to my teeth. “I’ll figure it out. The salary you pay me is more than enough for me to be able to fend for myself. And I can alwayscrash with my bestie for as long as needed.” I was determined to start making smarter long-term decisions. I wanted to be a better example for Winnie and start living my life like I had something to lose.

Though, that option might be trickier than it was in the past. I was almost certain my best friend was hooking up with my favorite ex-husband. I called Salome several times while I was overseas to touch base. I forgot about the time difference and called when it was the middle of the night in the city. I recognized the sleepy male voice that answered her phone immediately. I hung up with a laugh and sent a text saying it was a pocket-dial. If she and Roan, my ex, didn’t want to tell me about their relationship, I didn’t want to force the issue. They were two of the best people on the planet. Of course I was happy for them. They absolutely deserved to find happiness together. I told myself I would wait them out and not bring up the subject until I was back home and they were ready to come clean.

“My place is huge. If all else fails, you can crash there until you find your own spot.” As soon as the offer left Alistair’s lips, we both shook our heads and said, “No way.”

It was an unspoken understanding that if I went to Alistair’s, it would touch Win’s bottom line. Neither of us were willing to push the grumpy billionaire past his point of tolerance. The truce between Alistair and his half-siblings was still too new to toy with.

I pushed all the receipts I’d gathered in Europe in a messy pile across his desk. Handing over all the work reimbursements was the reason I stopped by theoffice today. They should’ve gone to accounting and been scanned into digital form, but I was too lazy to figure all of that out and asked if I could just hand them over directly. Alistair agreed, mostly so he could hound me about my living arrangements and situation with Win. I made a mental note to have Winnie show me how to digitize everything in the future so I could avoid being grilled about my love life.

I took out the black credit card I’d used to fulfill the clients’ orders and added that to the pile. Alistair immediately pushed it back in my direction.

“Keep it. You did an amazing job sourcing stuff the last three months. This won’t be the last buying trip I send you on. That’s a corporate card. Keep it for business-related expenses.” He danced his eyebrows up and down playfully. “Including a down-payment on an apartment if you need.”

I tapped the corner of the card on the desk, then shoved it into the pocket of my jeans. I got to my feet and told the handsome young man, “Honestly, the compliment about doing a good job makes me more excited than the black card.”

Alistair laughed and picked up the discarded Montblanc to continue flipping it through his fingers. “That’s what makes you so special, Channing. Never change.”

I wanted to tell him it was impossible not to be altered after having the Hallidays in your life. However, he already had firsthand experience with the destruction that followed that family around. We each dealt with our battle scars in our own way. Alistair seemed to have decided to wear his as a badge of honor.

I bid a hasty farewell and headed from the midtown office building to the uptown area where Winnie’s school and the new brownstone were located. I used to ride bikes with her to and from her private school on the coast. Now it was within walking distance. The school was no less exclusive and elite, but there was no missing the urban vibe. The kids still got picked up by drivers in luxury cars, and Winnie wasn’t the only student with a security detail. The building and the surrounding area gave majorGossip Girlvibes. Though Winnie was too young to get the correlation. I promised her we could binge watch the show when I got back from my trip. It was my sworn duty to keep her from turning into Blair.

I stopped at a nearby coffee shop to grab a drink. Something enough to fight jet lag for me, and something sweet and syrupy for Winnie. The line was long. By the time I reached the front, a group of kids wearing school uniforms jostled through the doors. They were laughing and carrying on, filling the mellow shop with the sound of carefree youth. It made me smile.

There was never a time when I had the luxury of goofing off and playing around. I was too busy taking care of my mother and keeping my family together to think about having fun. Then, when I was only a few years older than Winnie, I hooked up with a guy who promised to be the answer to all of my problems. I was young, naïve, and believed every outlandish lie he told me. By the time I realized he isolated me and manipulated me into havinghimas the only important thing in my life, it was too late to reclaim the youthful years that had slipped through my fingers. My lifelong regret was just one of the majorreasons I advocated so hard for Winnie to have something that resembled a normal childhood. Part of the reason I lived so carefree and unattached was because I lost my chance to do so when it was age appropriate.

As I wrangled my wayward musings, a familiar head of red hair flashed by the front windows of the shop. I only caught a fleeting glimpse, but there was no denying the speedy figure was Winnie. She looked too much like my sister for me to ever mistake her as someone else. I frowned and walked out of the store with the outrageously priced drinks in hand. While it wasn’t unheard of that Winnie came out with friends after school, it was unlikely that she was running around without her security. After all that went down at Halliday manor, it was no secret the family was in disorder. If Win actually stepped down as CEO, Winnie was the next Halliday in line to claim the mantle. Which meant she was a key piece of the conglomerate’s future. There was no telling what lengths the competition would go to in order to swing power in their direction. Win would never let her be exposed and vulnerable, especially when he was away for work.

I started to follow Winnie when a black SUV came to a skidding halt in front of the shop. The blacked-out windows rolled down and a familiar bald head turned to look in my direction. Black sunglasses covered Rocco’s stern face, but I could tell Win’s head of security was still on the mend from the injuries he received during the showdown with Colette. He looked much thinner and even more fierce than the last time I laid eyes on him.

“Did you meet up with Winnie?” The question was barked in my direction. “Her primary guard lost sight ofher in the crowd of kids exiting the school. They all look the damn same in that uniform. She’s got a tracker on her that led to this location.” He swore under his breath as his head swiveled in search of the teenager. “Win’s going to have my ass. This is the second time she’s slipped security in the last month.”

I gestured with my hands full toward the small park that was up ahead. “She went that way. I saw her run past the window. I was going to the gate to pick her up. I told her to wait for me in front of the school this morning. I have no idea what she’s up to.” More than likely, she was finally free enough to act like any other rebellious teenager and taking full advantage.

Frankly, it was about damn time.

In his typical curt manner, Rocco rolled up the window without a goodbye and the SUV shot off toward the park.

I sipped the hot coffee and followed at a much more leisurely pace. Considering the traffic in the city, I made it to the park before Rocco found a place to park the big SUV. I was scanning all the people gathered in groups, chatting, or playing around. I had to sidestep a kid on a skateboard who barreled right in my direction. He had a hoodie covering most of his face and uttered a rushed apology when sticky liquid spilled all over my hands and wrists. I grumbled a warning to be careful and felt his gaze follow me as I finally located my niece in the crowd.

She was sitting on a bench, staring down at her phone. She never looked up as I approached from one side, and Rocco rushed over from the other. I wanted her to enjoy herself and have a modicum of freedom, but herabsolute unawareness of what was happening around her was unacceptable. That was a tradeoff for moving from her quiet seaside school to one in the city.

“What are you doing?” I asked, as she finally looked up. Winnie was clearly startled to see me, and she flashed a guilty look at Rocco when he made his presence known. She climbed to her feet and nervously fiddled with the straps of her backpack. “I told you I would meet you at the entrance of the school. Why are you running around and hanging out in this park without a protection detail? Do you have any idea of the danger you put yourself in?”

Winnie bit her lip and put her phone into her pocket. “I’m sorry. I wanted to meet with a friend who doesn’t go to my school. My security makes him nervous. I thought I could slip away really quick and be back at the gate before you got there, Aunt Channing.” She looked down at the ground and dug the toe of her Prada flat into the dirt. “I know it was wrong.”

Rocco swore and reached for Winnie’s shoulder. “If your friend fears the people that protect you, they don’t have proper intentions. You need to be smarter about who you give your time to, Squirt.” He gave the girl a little shake and started to guide her across the park toward the SUV, leaving me no choice but to follow. “How did you meet someone outside of your school in the first place? You know your uncle wants to monitor all your friends and classmates. You can’t be too careful, Winnie.”

I handed Winnie her drink but didn’t interrupt Rocco’s lecture. His methods were rough, but I agreed with the harsh warning he was giving to my niece. She neededto be more aware of her status and the challenges her last name presented.

“Did you forget what I told you about ditching your security detail? Are you okay with someone losing their job, the way they support their family, just because you wanted to play with a friend in the park? Is that person more important to you than someone whose sole purpose is to keep you safe? I’m going to be honest, Winnie, I’m disappointed in you, and I know your uncle will be as well.”

Winnie frowned and curled her hands tightly around the cup. I saw her eyelashes flutter and watched as she gnawed on her lower lip.