Lost and Found (14 page)

"Do you think it would do me any good to tell him the real
reason I started working today? I don't know. Maybe it'll wake him up a little. Was he like this when his wife was
alive?"

"I don't know if you should tell him or not. I would hate for
him to fire you, knowing that you went behind his back and
fired her. He might be really mad about it. As far as was he
like this when Mrs. Kingston was alive? No. He was the sweetest, most romantic husband and doting father I had
ever seen in my life. The day that Eden was born and Mrs.
Kingston died? I think his heart literally broke in half,
because he's never been the same since."
I think back to the day at the cemetery and yes, he
definitely looked like a man whose heart was broken in
two. But he has two beautiful children that came out of that
union. I know I've been selfish since I've lost Derek and the
kids and honestly didn't think I had a reason to live and I
understand his darkness, I truly do, but he has got to open
up his eyes and see what he does have. If I could, anybody
can.

"I do understand his pain and how lost he feels." I
immediately start playing with my wedding ring and run a hand through my hair. Carmen looks over and notices me
playing with my ring.

"You lost your husband? Is that why you took the job?" I
hesitate to tell her, but there's no sense in lying, so I open up
to her.

"Yes, I did. He died a year and a half ago and he was partly
why I took the job." I didn't feel like going into the details
of everything, so I just left it at that. "But I do feel that Mr. Kingston needs a wakeup call and to realize that he has two small children depending upon him, so I think I am going to
tell him about Mrs. Williamson, to try to get his attention,
hopefully."
Carmen pats me on the hand and smiles and the back door
opened up and Cash is standing there looking at us.

"Hey, Olivia." He looks from me to Carmen. "Carmen",
and then looks back at me. "Do you mind if we have a talk? I'll be in my study when you're done." He glances out at the
kids and turns and shuts the door.

"Well, here's your chance, Olivia. I wish you lots of luck
and don't back down and maybe he'll respect you more."
That made me wince, because I hate confrontation more
than anything.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I walk into the house, and I feel as if I'm walking into a
tomb, it's so eerily quiet. I didn't think to ask where his
study was. During the whole fiasco, I didn't really pay
attention to how big the living room and kitchen was. You
could have fit the whole house that Derek and I lived in, just in this one big room.

The room was big and open. On one side, you had the living
room, with modern furnishings mixed in with some
medieval paintings on the wall and a family crest with
swords, and the biggest fireplace I had ever seen. I think I could walk under and inside the chimney, it's so big. The kitchen is just as big as the living room, with a big dining
room table in front of the big picture window.

After searching through the house for a few minutes, I
finally find his study and he has the door open. I knock on
the door and he lifts his head up from the desk and stands up and waves me toward the seat in front of his desk.

"Come in, Olivia. Have a seat. I hope Carmen has been
showing you around and you are settling in alright."

I walk across the gigantic room to the seat that he indicated
for me to sit in and sit down. I can already tell that it is
going to take me weeks to find my way around his castle.

"So far, all I've seen is the foyer, living room, kitchen, and
outside. We haven't had a chance yet for Carmen to take me on a tour. You do have quite a castle here."
He seems to be mad about something, because he seems to
be brooding and seems rather deep in thought. Am I not
allowed to take the children outside or speak to Carmen?
Surely that's not why he's mad.

"Yes, it is rather big. I've been thinking about downsizing
recently. It's just too much upkeep, but I've been too busy
with work to look for something smaller."

"Well, that's understandable." Small talk. Ok, I can do this
for a little bit.

"I need to ask you a question, Olivia. I got a call from Mrs.
Williamson after she arrived at the airport and I'm a little
confused about something that she said." That evil
BITCH! That's why he seems so mad and there's no
telling what she said to him.

"What was it that she said?" I'd rather know what all she
said, before I completely stick my foot in my mouth.

"She called to inform me that I made the wrong choice in hiring you and that you were not the kind of person that I needed to watch my children, and especially for Gideon. I
understand he got into some trouble at school today?"

Wow. When I said he had gorgeous eyes, I wasn't kidding.
They get even bluer when he is mad, which is what is
keeping me from standing up and throwing obscenities at
him right now. Focus Olivia. Focus!

"Yes, he did get into trouble at school today and he was
punished, and I've talked to him about it and it won't happen
again." I started to raise my voice, but I reined it in. He is
my boss after all, even though he's acting like an ass right
now.

"Don't you think he should be punished here as well for
what he did? From what Mrs. Williamson said, he put tacks
on his teacher’s seat while he was out of the room, before he
sat down on them? They had to get the nurse to pull them
out with pliers, because they went in so far." I giggled. Oh lord. He just looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm sorry. I know that's not funny at all. But, his teacher
has been really mean to him and it was just a prank gone
wrong." Oh this made him mad. I could tell by the intense stare he gave me.

"You think it was a prank gone wrong? So, you condone
this kind of behavior? Maybe she was right; maybe you're
NOT the one for this job. Is it also true that you FIRED HER?" And this is when he started yelling at me, And when I started yelling back.

            "YES, I DID FIRE HER AND YOU OUGHT TO BE
ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, FOR NOT FIRING HER
YOURSELF!
"
Oh my God! Did I really just say that? Scream that? I
look at his enraged face and realize that yes, I did. SHIT!

"WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
He pauses and takes a few short breaths and looks at me for
a few seconds, before he continues in a calmer tone. "Why,
may I ask, did you fire my nanny? She has worked for me for over two years, and I've never had a problem with her
and you swoop right in, and just because you obviously
didn't like her, you told her she was free to go? Can you explain yourself, Olivia?"

He was gritting his teeth through the last question. I don't even know where to start. I had to calm down myself and
take a few breaths. We are staring at each other intently and
then he breaks contact, and looks around the room.

“Ok, you pretty much begged me to take this job and I was
very hesitant to take it, I'll admit. I've been, well, I've been
very depressed since I lost.... my husband and I needed a
way to, well, start living again."
I know I should tell him about the kids as well, but I just
can't go into it that deep with him. I need him to understand
where I'm coming from and also try to get him to understand that he's not alone in his grief. Why, I don't know. But he nods like he understands and his face
softened a little and motions for me to continue.

"The night I met you was the first day that I had gotten out
of the house and actually enjoyed myself with Claudia. She
had finally had it with me and my grief, and forced me to
get out and have some fun, and told me that I needed to get a job or join a charity group, just something to leave my
room. So, when you mentioned that you were looking for a nanny and she suggested that I be your nanny, well, that was why I drank so much, because it was just too much too
soon."

He got a knowing look on his face and then he started
cracking up laughing. I mean his head rolled back and he was holding his belly and laughing. How dare him. I'm
trying to tell him why I took the job and telling him
personal things about me, and he's laughing at me? He
looks at me and sees that I'm upset, and straightens up real
quick.

“I'm so sorry. I'm not laughing at what you just said and I
assure you, I truly understand why you felt that way, but you're the one that kicked me aren't you? It wasn't Claudia at all, was it?" Oh that. I had forgotten all about that.

"Guilty." I just smiled back at him. Maybe he's not as bad as he pretends to be.

"I understand your hesitation now, but what does this have
to do with Mrs. Williamson?"

"Well, I showed up wondering if this was what I should be
doing, and I heard yelling through the door and when no
one answered, I walked in and what I saw going on in your
kitchen, made me feel like I had made the right decision in
taking this job."
I know I still haven't gotten him to understand, so I
continue.

"What I saw was an angry little boy, being bullied by a
mean old woman. Do you know that she sends him to bed
without dinner? And threatens to use a yard stick on him, if
he doesn't mind? I still haven't gotten to the bottom of if
she HAS used the yard stick." He looks at me shocked and
confused.

"She would never do that. He's only 7 years old, for Christ's
sake. Has Carmen been filling your head with stuff? I'll talk
to her." Are you kidding me?

"No, Mr. Kingston! I saw it with my own two eyes! It was
when she raised her hand to strike him that I intervened
and told her that I would start today, and that she was free to
go. So, if that's the kind of nanny you want for your children, one that withholds food from them and starves
them and one that HITS them, then maybe I should go!"

H
e has a dumbfounded look on his face and then a knowing
look, like his worst fears unimaginable. I can tell that there's
hope for him yet, because that look alone let me know that he does indeed love his children.

"I don't know what to say. I really don't. She was going to
HIT him? Has she hit him before? Oh my God. Carmen and
Lucas have told me things and I would ask her about it, and
she would always say they heard wrong, or didn't see it right
and assured me that she had everything under control. Is
Gideon ok?" He stands up and starts walking towards the
door.

"Gideon is ok." He stopped before he reached the door. He turns around and looks at me, or through me actually, as if I'm not there because he's standing there, but it’s as if he
has left his body, so I continue.

"He's thrilled actually, and we have come to an
understanding that he won't be getting into any more
trouble. Tomorrow, I am going to go talk to his teacher, because it sounds like he and Mrs. Williamson were in
cahoots with each other in punishing him and from what
I've gotten from Gideon, he has only been acting out as a
defense mechanism in defending himself."

"No." What? No?

"No? As in you don't think that's why he's acting out?"

"No, as in you're not going to go talk to his teacher. I AM!
Along with the principal. I'm also going to have a little chat
with Mrs. Williamson and she better pray to God that I
don't press charges against her!"

He reaches for his phone and starts to dial a number on his
phone and then he stops and looks at me,
“Olivia?" He looks as if he's going to cry. "Please tell
Gideon that I'm very sorry." I saw a tear fall onto his
cheek and he turned around and had his back to me, as he
put the phone to his ear, which let me know that our conversation was over, so I left the room.