Page 151 of The Grand Duel

Lucy

WHERE IS SHE SLEEPING?

Megan

You guys are dicks sometimes

My phone starts to ring, Megan’s name flashing on the screen. I get up and walk to my home office.

“Megs,” I say with a slight smile.

“I can’t deal with their mood tonight.” She sighs. “Trust me when I tell you you’ll get nowhere with them when they’re like this.”

“I should have known better. How are you? I hear the new job is going well.”

“It is,” she says, and I can hear the smile she’s wearing. “But never mind that. This thing with the assistant.”

“Lissie.”

“Lissie. What did she say when she found out?”

“She was upset that I didn’t tell her sooner.”

“That you didn’t tell her at all. You didn’t tell her, did you?”

“No. I didn’t.” I run my hand through my hair, feeling guilt coil in my gut. “It’s…I…”

“Does Lissie know much about you, Charles?” Megan asks when I don’t say anything more. “She can’t have been working for you for long. And based on the way you don’t tend to share a whole lot of yourself with anyone who’s not…”

“In my circle,” I finish for her.

“Right. You don’t tend to give up so much so soon. Like I was genuinely as shocked as the girls were when you said she was at yours. There are clearly feelings there.”

I roll my lips, turning on the spot with no idea how to respond.

“Which is fine. Great, even,” she says, and I know she’s grinning.

“What do I do, Megs?”

“Explain to her why you never told her, give her space to process that, and then the second she even thinks to let her guard down with you again, you grovel like a little bitch.”

I frown. “You think I should tell her about Phoebe?”

My friend goes silent on the other end of the line, and I pull the phone away from my ear to see if she’s still there.

“Megs?”

“Sorry,” she says, her voice softer. “I’m here. I just don’t think I fully considered why you never told her.”

“Because it’s not a simple answer.”

“No,” she agrees, a knowing silence settling between us. “I think you should give her what you can of yourself. Be that Phoebe or just the fact you don’t sleep around outside of the club.”

“It’ll lead to questions regardless.”

“And you don’t have to answer those questions.”

“No.” I don’t.