The Secrets We Hide (The Four 2)

“Who? … told you to take care of it … docks … I don’t have time for this … That’s what I pay you

for … be discreet.”

The door was suddenly thrown open and Arlo stormed out, in the opposite direction to me, to my relief. I don’t know what he’d have done if he’d caught me right outside the door, but I didn’t want to find out. I straightened up and continued down the hallway, discreetly peering into the room as I passed. All I could see was the security guy who had come to get Arlo on the dance floor, and the back of a man’s head, with a small round bald patch in his greying hair. Something about him felt familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

As I walked by at a snail’s pace, I saw the security guy mutter something to the other man, so low and quiet that I couldn’t catch his words. He gestured angrily, throwing his hands up, before following Arlo out of the room.

I made a mental note to think about it later and followed the signs to the bathrooms. There wasn’t anything else I could do right now—the last thing I wanted was to get caught, unable to explain myself. Being Arlo’s stepdaughter, I wasn’t exactly able to fly under the radar.

My head was swimming, though. I could’ve sworn Arlo had mentioned the docks. It could be a coincidence—after all, they were owned by Alstone Holdings. But I couldn’t ignore the feeling I had that something more was going on.

Lost in my thoughts, I was washing my hands in the ornate marble bathroom when the door swung open, and Jessa and Portia stepped inside. I groaned under my breath, steeling myself.

“Having fun, Winter?” Portia smirked at me, coming to stand in front of the mirrors, pulling a blood-red lipstick from her purse. “How does it feel, knowing Caiden ditched you for someone who’s actually in his league?”

Jessa met my eyes in the mirror, flicking her long hair back with a triumphant smile. “You did me a favour, babe. He’s been all over me tonight. I can’t wait for the after-party.”

“Private party for two,” Portia sang, before pouting in the mirror, slicking her lipstick on, then smacking her lips together.

“You know it.” Jessa pulled her own lipstick out of her purse, deliberately holding eye contact with me. “With my father negotiating this deal with his father, I just know we’re going to be spending much more time together. To grow a lot closer, if you know what I mean.”

Portia dug a small brush out of her clutch bag, running it through her silky hair. “You know him intimately already, babe. And he’s been back for seconds.”

“And thirds.”

“And why wouldn’t he? You’re perfectly suited. Everyone keeps saying how good you look together tonight.” She turned to me, her tone conversational. Throughout their whole exchange I’d been kind of frozen in place, desperate to be anywhere else, but at the same time wanting to hear what they had to say. I needed to leave. “Did you know I’ve been with Caiden, too? Most of our friends have. You’re nothing special.” Tucking her brush back into her bag, she fluffed out her hair as Jessa pouted at her reflection. “Him and Jessa are going places.”

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I was so fucking jealous at the thought of Jessa with Cade that it made me feel sick, but I wouldn’t let them get to me. At least, I’d try. Actually putting that thought into action was way, way harder when I had them both filling my ears with their poisoned words. “You two are so deluded,” I managed to spit out, miraculously without my voice cracking, spinning on my heel, and racing out of the bathroom to the sound of their laughter.

“Winter.” Stopping at the voice, temporarily distracted, I turned to see Zayde leaning against the wall.

“Z? What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for my date.” His lip curled. “Can’t fucking wait to get out of here and ditch her.”

“Not a fan of Portia, huh? Me neither.” Understatement of the evening.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, his tone turning icy. “You could say that.” Eyes on his phone, he inclined his head to the left and added, “You might want to go that way.”

Okay then.

I was in no rush to get back to the ballroom, and I was more than happy to put as much space between me, Portia, and Jessa as possible, so I followed his vague instruction, continuing down the corridor. I passed a set of glass double doors that were thrown open, allowing a cool breeze to blow in, and paused, taking in the unexpected view. There was a garden through the doors, all manicured hedges with lights artfully placed throughout the space, and at the bottom stood a small bandstand draped in white fairy lights.

I took a step forwards to explore, when I was pulled back against a hard body, arms coming around my waist, holding me in place.

He rasped one word against my ear.

“Snowflake.”

FIFTEEN

“You know I’m gonna have to punish you for what you did.” I advanced on Granville, stalking him like a lion would with its prey, taking my time, toying with him, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere. I shouldn’t be doing anything to potentially fuck things up for the Alstone Holdings deal, but we were in private, and I knew he wouldn’t say anything. This had been coming ever since he tried to trick Winter, and from what I could see of his face, he was resigned to his fate.

He swallowed hard, his voice shaking. “I know. I didn’t have a choice, though.”

“Don’t give a shit.” I spat the words. “You fucked around with me and her, and you have to pay.”

“Just—just make it quick, okay? Don’t get blood on my suit. It’s a Boateng.” He gave me a pleading look from behind his mask, but I was too angry to pay it any attention. Discarding my suit jacket by the bathroom door, which I’d locked, I advanced on him, undoing my cufflinks and rolling up my sleeves.