“By managing it toward my interests,” Bruce says. “Which is what you were always going to do, Daniel.”
He says it lightly. All I can see is the kid who shook my hand three weeks ago and saidI know you’ll do right by me.
But I knew there was more to this, didn’t I? With every deposit fattening my bank account, I knew there was more to this.
“What did Everett Whitman do to you?” I ask.
Bruce looks at me for a long moment. “That,” he says pleasantly, “is not part of our arrangement.”
I look at my plate. I think about walking away. I think about what walking away would look like—the money that would stop coming in, the consulting fees that looked like one thing and turned out to have been something else entirely.
But wait a minute. I can manage this from the inside. I can take Bruce’s money and protect Tully if I’m careful. I have more control than Bruce thinks because I’ll actually be in the room with Tully making the decisions when the time comes.
“What would managing his career in your direction look like?” I ask.
“The long game, remember? We’ll go over that in more detail later. Your dinner’s getting cold.” He grins.
And then Lola comes into Tully’s life.
I don’t like her. She looks at me with those light eyes, and I have to hide a shiver. She threatens to undo everything I’ve done, simply because Tully loves her. At first, I think this crush will pass, but he’s barely known her when he tells me he loves her. He comes to practice exhausted, he’s distracted, and it just cannot happen now—not when this is the most critical time to set up his future career. If he’s not playing at the top tier now, everything I’ve assembled all these years will become worthless.
Bruce and I are finally in full agreement, albeit for completely different reasons.
Bruce simply wants to make the Whitmans bleed.
But Tully Whitman is the player who will change my career for life—he’sthatgood—and I will do whatever it takes to keep him. I won’t let anyone or anything stand in the way of the money that’s mine. I’ve sacrificed too much to let that happen.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
WHAT WE KNOW
LOLA
Elm & Echo clears out by eleven. We see Camden and Juju off, snowflakes whirling in the wind as they drive away. It’s quiet when we go back inside, feeling heavy with exhaustion. We’ve danced and laughed with the family, trying our best not to let anything ruin the wedding.
Inside me, the fury has marinated.
Tully holds up his phone. “We can wait until tomorrow, or we can talk to Wade and Marcus right now.”
My eyes widen. “If they want to talk this late, I think we should.”
He nods. “I think so too.”
He texts something and leads me back to Camden’s office, closing the door behind me. I have Tully’s suit jacket on because I’m chilly. He sees me shiver and sits in Camden’s chair and tugs me in his lap, wrapping his arms around me. Then he taps on the computer with one hand, making the video call.
Wade’s face appears first. He’s actually in a room atWindhaven. “Hey,” he says. “Just the face you wanted to see again tonight, I know.”
Marcus pops up in another window.
“Thanks for meeting us tonight, guys,” Tully says.
“It’s necessary,” Marcus says. “What do you have for us, Wade?”
Wade opens something on his end. “Okay,” he says. “Do you want me to tell you the gist or very specific details?”
Tully looks at me, letting me make the decision.
“For now, the gist, please,” I say. “I’m not sure I can retain anything too detailed tonight.”