Page 11 of The Widower
“Yes.”
“I’m sure you adored him. He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he?”
I stared at her, wide-eyed, until she wrinkled her nose in amusement. I couldn’t help but laugh. She had to be joking, because that man…
“I’d rather not answer that.” I dodged the question; the last thing I needed was another warning. I didn’t plan on setting a new record for fastest employee to get fired—three days in.
“Colin’s like that with pretty much everyone. Ninety-nine percent, if we’re being precise.”
“And who’s the lucky exception?”
“Believe it or not… me.”
“Was he always like this? Rude, arrogant, impossible, foul-mouthed—”
I stopped mid-sentence, realizing too late what I’d just said. Great. First I was late, now I was badmouthing my boss to the woman who’d probably worked with him for years.
Nice going, Isabelle.
“No,” she said softly, lowering her head a little. “He used to be the opposite. Something happened in his life and…”
She trailed off. Clearly uncomfortable. And I wasn’t about to make mistake number two of the day by pushing her.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just do my best with my duties,” I said gently, cutting in with a smile. She didn’t need to explain something she didn’t want to, and besides—I remembered rule number eight.
Yes, I memorized the rules.
“All right, Isabelle.” She smiled kindly. “I almost forgot—there’s someone you should meet.”
“Of course.”
We walked down one of the mansion’s long hallways, and at the end, I spotted a boy playing with a couple of remote-control cars.
“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” Helen said. “That’s Joshua—Colin’s son.”
As soon as he noticed us, he stood up. I studied him as he approached. The resemblance hit me instantly—the dark hair, the sharp eyes, the mouth…
He was practically his father’s twin.No question about it.
“Hi there.”I crouched a little.
“Hi, lady.”
“What’s your name?” I asked, even though I already knew.
“Joshua. What’s yours?”
“Isabelle. Nice to meet you.” I smiled.
“Hmm. How long are you gonna work here?”
“All day. Why do you ask?”
“No, I mean… are you gonna stay for a lot of days? My dad usually sends the ladies away after a few.”
He said it so innocently—but his downcast eyes gave away something else: worry, maybe even sadness.
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t,” I said softly.
