Page 42 of The Billionaire's Promise

I swallowed and asked in a hushed voice, "Are you going to turn him in?"

"I think I have to." Charlie cut off and let out a breath. "No, I know I have to. I've got evidence. I'm almost ready, it's just . . ." Charlie's shoulders slumped, and she studied a nonexistent spot on the table. "I hate this. I hate being in this position. I hate this business, and I hate my job."

My heart squeezed at the sound of her voice. I'd never heard Charlotte sound so small and defeated. I put down my burger and wiped my hands. "You're allowed to hate your job, Charlie," I said. "You don't have to keep doing this if you don't like it, if it's not what you want."

She shook her head and forced a bright smile on her face. Vance said I ran away from difficult situations, but in her own way, Charlotte was worse.

"I can't quit my job, Maggie. I can't. Aiden needs me. I'm the only other Winters at the company right now. Vance has his art and his investing, Annalise is off with her camera, photographing the world, and Holden and Tate are busy with WGC and their club. Gage is off the map doing something he can’t talk about with the military, and who knows if he'll ever come home. He used to love the business, and then he just bailed. Aiden has everything on his shoulders. I can't abandon him."

"What does Aiden say?" I asked.

All pretense dropped away, and Charlotte sat up straight. When she spoke, her voice was deadly serious. "I'm not talking about this with Aiden. No one is talking about this with Aiden, do you understand? Not you, not Vance, no one. Okay?"

"I swear," I said, holding my hand over my heart. "I swear I won’t say anything to anyone." I thought she should talk to her brother, but it was her life and her decision.

"Anyway, we have another situation, and I need to ask for a favor,” she said, picking up her lemonade and taking a last sip, clearly finished talking about her job and the family company. I wasn't quite ready to drop the subject, but I didn’t want to get in a fight with Charlie over it.

"What's up?" I asked, curious.

"Do you remember my Aunt Amelia?" Charlie asked.

"Of course I remember Aunt Amelia," I said. "I haven't seen her since my grandmother died, though. I should have visited. I just . . . it's been hard seeing her friends, and I didn't. I'm sorry. How is she? Is she okay?"

Charlotte's Aunt Amelia had been a friend of my grandmother's. Amelia was quirky and had a biting sense of humor. She used to make my refined grandmother laugh out loud and blush at the same time.

"She's okay," Charlotte said. "But she's getting to the point where she can't really live on her own anymore. Aiden is the best about spending time with her, and he asked her if she wanted to go live in some kind of home situation or move into Winters House with him, and they'd get a live-in nurse to help her out."

"Aiden offered to take her in?" I asked, kind of surprised.

"Of course. She's family. And they've always gotten along well. Plus, it's not like he doesn't have the room. He only offered the home because he didn't want her to be lonely, rattling around in that huge house with just him and a nurse."

Her words put me on alert. "What do you mean just him and a nurse?" I asked. "You live there, don't you? Did you move and you didn't tell anyone?"

"No, I still live there. We'll talk about that in a minute, but first, Aiden asked me to do the interviews for the nurse. He said he doesn't have the patience, the time, or the temperament. He's right. He'd probably hire some termagant with a clipboard. And you know Amelia. She's sweet and kind of flighty. She needs someone patient, with a sense of humor. Anyway, I told him I'd do the interviews, but will you help me? You know Amelia and you're good with people. I know you're busy right now with Vance's show and Rosie, but—"

"Of course I'll help," I said. Now that I was thinking of Amelia Winters, I realized how much I'd missed her. When my grandmother had died, I'd stopped seeing all of her friends, the pain too raw for me to handle reminders of the life we'd had. I shouldn't have done that. In a way, they'd been my friends too. "Just let me know when the interviews are, and I'll work it out. I—"

My phone rang, and I grabbed for it, worried it was Vance and Rosie was feeling worse. When I saw who it was, I stabbed a finger at theDecline Callbutton.

"Who was that?" Charlie asked, reaching for my phone. I slid it out of reach.

"Brayden," I said.

"What does he want?"

"No clue, but I have nothing to say to him." Changing the subject, I said, “Tell me what you meant about you living at Winters House."

Charlotte stood and pushed back her chair. "Come for a walk with me," she said, obliquely. "I want to show you something."

"After ice cream," I said, eyeballing the shop across the street.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at me. "Of course, after ice cream," she said, hooking her arm through mine.

"So, tell me—what are you up to?" I asked.

"I'm not quite sure," she said.

My phone rang a second time. After a quick check, I declined the call and shoved it in my pocket.