“There are a lot of hoops I still have to jump through, now and even after I’m on the board, and . . . I’m going to need your help.” I swallowed a breath. “How so?” “Win at all costs is the Hale family motto, so there will be times I’m going to say or do things you’re not going to like.” His expression was resigned, like a doctor delivering tough news. “I’ll be mean, Marist. Maybe even awful. I’ll tell lies, and when this is all over? You might think I’m worse than my father.”
