Page 68 of Sunset Serenade
Lillian hesitated. “Can I come in?”
She was so polite he didn’t dare refuse her. “Please.”
She sat down, her hands folded in her lap. “I don’t know if you remember me.”
“I do. Lillian. It’s nice to see you again.” He paused. “I’m not sure why you’re here.”
“I need to talk to you about Rose.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” He stood, walking to the bookshelf and grabbing a random book, trying to look like he had a purpose. “I’m not sure what she told you–”
“She told me everything.”
“Ah. Then you probably know more than I do.”
She winced. “Rose made a mistake.”
He tossed the book onto his desk and it landed with a louder thud than he’d intended, cutting her off.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “But no, Rose didn’t make a mistake. A mistake would be getting phished in an email or leaving a mug in the sink for weeks. Rose lied about who she was –whatshe was.” Craig stopped and took a deep breath. “And now I’m left picking up the pieces.”
“She didn’t do it on purpose!” Lillian’s eyes flashed down, and she spoke again with a softer voice. “Lucy and I encouraged her to take the job. She wasn’t going to. She was mortified after being mistaken for Dr. Woodson.”
Craig interrupted. “Maybe I’ll give the real Dr. Woodson a call and see if she’d like the job?”
A slight smile crossed her face. “I’ve already talked to her. I sent her an email explaining the situation, and she thinks the whole thing is really funny. She forgot she’d booked that interview. She’s a sort of nutty professor type.”
Who did Lillian think she was, contacting the real Rose Woodson before he’d thought to do it? “Rose is lucky she’s not being sued. Either by Dr. Woodson or by us.”
“Sued?” Lillian scrunched her eyebrows, a playful smile still dancing on her lips. “That’s a bit drastic, don’t you think? Sued for what?”
“For fraud. For lying.” He sat down and picked up the book he didn’t need. “She misrepresented her education and made us believe she was qualified when she wasn’t.”
“Except she obviouslywasqualified, because she made fantastic matches. She did all that programming, and she brought a bunch of good publicity to the company!”
Craig glanced at Lillian, then turned to his computer. “That’s not the point.”
Lillian sat back. “Then what is the point?”
“The point is,” he said, looking up and locking eyes with Lillian, “integrity and honesty. And our company values.” Or something. He didn’t know how to put it into words. “She lied to us. To all of us, and it’s damaging.”
He clicked around on his computer, trying to find something to make him look busy. His email had a few unread messages; he’d start there.
“You have trouble trusting people.” Lillian’s voice was soft and nonjudgmental. She said it like she was observing the rain.
He sighed. “Don’t try to pull a Rose and figure me out.”
“I’m not trying to figure you out.” She shook her head. “Rose told me about you. She told me how it was for you as a kid.”
There it was. “I had a wonderful childhood,” he said decidedly. “I had the best education possible, and it opened doors for me.”
Lillian was unruffled by his stern tone. She stared at him for a moment, then said in a small voice, “It couldn’t have been easy having to go to those expensive schools and be on your own.”
He put his hands in his lap. “It was fine.”
“That sort of thing can make it hard to get close to people. Hard to trust people.”
He sighed. “It can.”
