My distaste for their lifestyles is bitter on my tongue. “I want to earn it myself. Otherwise, it’s meaningless.”

Elle swallows thickly. “Well, shit, I had a good temper tantrum worked up here and you just squashed it by being all . . .” She waves her hands around at me, luckily at the air and not making contact this time. “Good and upstanding.” She sounds almost . . . disappointed?

I’m so confused. “I’m . . . sorry?” Apology seems the safest again, even though it didn’t quite work before.

“It’s fine,” she huffs, rolling her eyes in a move that reminds me of Lizzie. “Tell me the rest . . . the HQ2 part.”

“It struck me as soon as I heard about the proposal race,” I admit.

She interrupts with a hiss of accusation. “So you’ve known all along and didn’t say a word?” I nod slowly and she sneers in victory. “Just wanted to make sure you knew I’d caught that. Continue.”

I let her get away with the catty snark. It’s warranted, given all I’ve thrown at her in the last day. Especially since I suspect this conversation, while about work, is with Elle, my girlfriend. Not Elle, my assistant.

“The Estate’s mostly empty, bordered on one side by a large road that leads to the parkway, is less than five miles from a small airport that would be excellent service for shipping, and is close to the trains as well. I know the property like the back of my hand. It has everything HQ2 needs. And I do believe in the rest of it. I think we need an HQ2 overseas to grow.”

“But how . . . Jesus, Colton, there’s so many hoops to jump through on this, just on the corporate side,” Elle says.

And there’s my smart assistant.

“We need to get back to the hotel and call Gary and Debra to fill them in. Especially Gary. You need to fill him in on the family trust angle so he can research the legality of that and give you some advice there. Even if it’s off the record for you and not for Fox.”

I know she’s right, but I’ve kept this side of my life—my family—a secret from the people at Fox for so long. They all know I come from wealth. That privileged upbringing is impossible to hide, but the degree of pedigree is another thing altogether. One I won’t be able to keep secret anymore. Not if I’m going to make this work for the HQ2 site, and I have every intention of doing so.

“Agreed. Think I can dare him to maintain secrecy as well?” It’s wishful thinking at best. Gary is discreet, for certain, but this will be gossip around the water coolers on every floor of Fox within hours. “I might need to discuss this with Allan first so he’s not blindsided.”

Elle gapes at me. “Mr. Fox doesn’t know either?” At my cringe, she shakes her head, nearly whopping me with her hair again. “Stupid man. Stupid, sexy, smart man.”

I don’t dare mention that two of her descriptors are the literal opposites of one another. I just let her look at me critically, knowing I deserve it. And also knowing that she’s already on my side. That alone feels like a win. Or at least the beginning of one.

“What about your family? Business aside, or maybe in addition to, what’s the deal? Because that was harsh. And I say that as someone who knows helicopter, overinvolved, overprotective, high-expectation parents.”

I chuckle at her description of Daniel. With a fresh dose of my family, he’s not seeming nearly so bad to either of us, I’d wager.

“You saw the basics. Father’s an ass who favors Eddie regardless of what he does. Or more likely, doesn’t do, because he flits about with no destination. He’s an oxygen thief that lives on a trust fund. He’s the reason I took up boxing as a boy.”

So many memories assault me at once, the physical pain echoing fresh, and out of habit, I clench my jaw in preparation for the punch landing.

Elle sees it and lays a comforting hand on my thigh. “Out with it. I said I’ll keep your secrets and I will. But I think you need to get this out. For work, for us, but mostly, just for you. Think of it like ripping a Band-Aid off. Spill it all at once, scream at the loss of skin, and then you can scab it over.”

Gross imagery, but perhaps she’s right. I’ve buried this down for too long. And though this thing with Elle is still rather new, I know that deep down, I can trust her. I would’ve laughed at that idea weeks ago, and in fact, I did think she was wholly untrustworthy and Daniel’s spy. But even just her behavior today has alleviated so much of my doubt—what little bit that had remained after our dates, our intimacy on the plane, our time together.

And so I do something I swore I never would. I tell her everything.

“He and his mates would bully me, hitting and kicking me once I was down. They nicked any money I carried and often my books, too. I’d come home a mess, and Mum would demand to know what happened, but when I’d say it was Eddie, Father would step in. He claimed I was telling porkies or that I had started it and was sour that I’d been bested. And Mum chose to believe him over me, standing right there in front of her with bruises and scrapes and even split lips. It went on like that until I got bigger and started standing up for myself. Took out a couple of Eddie’s cronies, and then I started training. It wasn’t until I started beating up Eddie that Father had any real concern with us. I busted Eddie’s nose once.”

I look to Elle, gauging her reaction. I expect her to be horrified at the violence, both Eddie’s and mine. She looks to be on the verge of fuming actual smoke out of her ears, though.

“I’m going to bust his nose again. Oliver, turn the fucking car around.”

I love that she wants to defend me. It’s somehow sweet and sexy at the same time, putting tiny stitches over wounds from long ago. I shake my head at Oliver’s questioning eyes, though.

“It’s fine, it was a long time ago.” Elle snorts, her head working a circle around on top of her neck. It’s the most attitude I’ve seen from her, and she’s already shown quite a bit. But she falls back into my story as I keep talking. “Nan always had my back. She’s the one who put me in boxing, and I know she watches out for Lizzie too. Nan’s a spitfire, even now. Though it’s getting harder for her to get around, she’s still as sharp as a tack.”

“She’s something else, that’s for sure. Your whole family is . . . wow.”

The dry delivery says it all. They are . . . something else.

“Yes, Gary. The property is in trust, and while I’ve had my first meeting with the family, I’d like to know the actual language of the trust. I want specifics on their power over the land. I don’t want any surprises.”

His follow-up questions are spot-on and professional, not giving any inkling that he’s brimming with the gossip I just shared with him. I have to hope that’s a good sign, but I cross my fingers anyway.

“Mr. Fox is aware of the progression of the situation and on board with our next steps. I’ll be in touch tomorrow for the latest update.”

I hang up the phone, glad for the time difference that will let Gary start his day with an outlined mission of teasing out every detail of the trust. Hopefully, he finds me some good news.

“All set?” Elle asks, coming out of her bedroom in a fluffy robe with wet hair.