Chương 7
Emma nodded.
“They talked in the dining room.”
“Did you hear them?”
“Some.”
Alexander looked toward Claire.
She was kneeling on the living room rug trying to repair the zipper on Grace’s backpack.
Sophie sat beside her offering advice nobody needed.
Emma lowered her voice.
“Mom might lose her job.”
Alexander looked back at her.
“What did you hear?”
“Mr. Daniels said the company is worried.”
“About Mercer?”
“About everything.”
That sounded believable enough to be dangerous.
Deals did not disappear simply because one participant behaved badly.
Companies disliked scandal, but they often disliked uncertainty more.
“What else?”
Emma swallowed.
“Mom said she should have reported him sooner.”
Alexander’s hand tightened around the towel.
“Did Daniels agree?”
“He said that wasn’t what he meant.”
“What did he mean?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked frustrated now.
“He kept saying legal was reviewing exposure.”
Alexander almost smiled at the phrase despite himself.
Adults used language like that when they wanted fear to sound procedural.
“Emma.”
She looked up.
“Your mother’s work situation belongs to your mother until she decides otherwise.”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect us.”
“No.”
“You adults always say stuff like that.”
“Like what?”
“That something is private when what you mean is kids aren’t allowed to know.”
Alexander considered his answer.
“You’re right sometimes.”
Emma blinked.
She had expected resistance.
He continued.
“But knowing part of something can be worse than knowing nothing.”
“I already know part.”
“That’s the problem.”
She looked toward Claire.
“Are you going to ask her?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she didn’t tell me.”
Emma made a sound of disgust.
“You’re supposed to help.”
“I am helping.”
“By doing nothing?”
“Sometimes.”
She stared at him.
Alexander dried the same plate for several seconds.
Then Emma said, “That sounds convenient.”
“It often is.”
She gave him a sharp look.
He handed her the plate.
“Being right doesn’t make you less annoying.”
“I’ve been told.”
Before Emma could answer, Claire entered the kitchen.
She looked between them.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” Emma said.
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“That tone is never nothing.”
Emma put the plate on the rack.
“I’m going upstairs.”
“You haven’t finished cleaning.”
“You told me not to clean.”
“That was before you developed an attitude.”
“I didn’t develop it.”
Lily shouted from the living room, “She’s always had it.”
Emma yelled, “Shut up.”
“Emma.”
“I’m sorry.”
She was not.
She walked upstairs.
Claire watched her go.
Then she looked at Alexander.
“What did she say?”
He leaned against the counter.
“You should ask her.”
Claire’s expression changed.
“She told you about last night.”
Alexander said nothing.
Claire closed her eyes.
“Of course she did.”
“She’s worried.”
“She’s eleven.”
“She’s worried anyway.”
Claire turned toward the sink and began arranging dishes that were already arranged.
Alexander let her.
After a moment she said, “Daniels came over because legal wants a formal statement.”
“That seems reasonable.”
“It is.”
“But.”
Claire stared at the faucet.
“But Mercer’s firm suspended the financing talks.”
Alexander waited.
She gave a short laugh.
“Suspended is the polite word.”
“And the impolite word?”
“Dead.”
The children were still arguing in the other room.
A cartoon theme song started on the television.
Claire lowered her voice.
“My company has been counting on that money for months.”
“You’re not responsible for Mercer’s decision.”
“No, but I’m the reason he made it.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
“They are to people worried about payroll.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Is your job at risk?”
Claire’s silence lasted too long.
“Yes.”
The answer came softly.
“Daniels says he’s trying to protect my position, but the board wants someone to blame, and apparently blame is cheaper than financing.”
Alexander folded his arms.
“What does Mercer want?”
Claire looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
She rubbed her thumb along the edge of the counter.
“He emailed me Thursday night.”
“What did he say?”
“That this could all go away.”
Alexander felt his jaw tighten.
Claire noticed.
“He didn’t threaten me directly.”
“What did he ask for?”
“He said if I corrected the misunderstanding with Daniels, he could convince his partners to reopen the deal.”
“Corrected.”
“That was his word.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“That he and I had a mutual relationship and that I had overreacted because I was embarrassed.”
Alexander looked toward the living room.
Grace had started laughing at something on television.
Sophie laughed because Grace did.
He turned back.
“What did you tell him?”
Claire’s face tightened.
“Nothing.”
“You didn’t respond?”
“No.”
“That was smart.”
“No.”
Her voice sharpened unexpectedly.
“It was scared.”
Alexander said nothing.
Claire looked down at her hands.
“I opened it twelve times.”
“That doesn’t change what you did.”
“You’re very good at making things sound simple.”
“I didn’t say it was simple.”
“You make it sound like there’s a correct decision and then you just do it.”
“That is not remotely how my life works.”
She looked up.
Something in his tone had surprised her.
Alexander regretted it immediately.
Claire waited.
He could have stepped around the question without being asked.
He had done that professionally for years.
Instead he looked at the rubber-banded cabinet.
“My wife used to say the same thing.”
Claire became still.
Alexander had not mentioned a wife.
He had not intended to.
“Used to?”
“She died six years ago.”
The kitchen noise seemed to thin around them.
Claire’s face softened.
“I’m sorry.”
Alexander nodded once.
“She would have hated that sentence.”
Claire almost smiled.
“What sentence?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What did she prefer?”
“She preferred people bringing food.”
Claire looked at the bakery bag on the counter.
“That explains the croissants.”
“No.”
“That explains the croissants perfectly.”
Alexander looked away because she was right.
Claire touched the edge of the bag but did not open it.
“What was her name?”
“Margaret.”
“Did you have children?”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
He expected relief after saying it.
Instead the word felt heavier than usual.
May you like
Claire waited, but she did not ask why.
He appreciated her for that more than he wanted to.
