"Victor came to the hotel again last week," Lena said, her voice dropping. "I told Denise flatly to keep him away from the housekeeping floor while I'm working."
Charles's expression hardened instantly. "I will handle Victor permanently. He has a habit of overstepping boundaries."
"He thinks you're making a massive mistake with this low-profile track," Lena said.
"He frequently thinks that when I disagree with his public relations metrics."
"And are you? Making a mistake?"
Charles looked toward the small bedroom alcove where Annie was sleeping. "I don't know," he said honestly. "But I know with absolute certainty that I would have made a far worse mistake if I had ignored her in that hallway."
Lena studied his features for a long moment. "You know what people are going to say, Mr. Whitmore. They're going to say she only has access to this academy because of your checkbook."
"Yes."
"And they're going to say you only help her because it makes you look like a decent man to the press."
"Yes."
"And they're going to say I let a rich billionaire buy my child's future."
Charles did not deploy an immediate answer this time. When he spoke, his voice was quieter than Lena had ever heard it. "People in those rooms will say many things, Ms. Bell. But none of them were standing in that service hallway. None of them saw her listening to the music as if it were the only honest variable in the entire building. And none of them are the ones waking up at night executing the actual structures she needs to grow safely."
"You are," Lena said, her chest tightening and easing at the same time. "But I am not giving her to your family."