Page 132 of Failure to Match

lol

I officially loved those two. Almost as much as I loved this magical library.

Tucking my phone into my back pocket, I hopped down the five steps, my heart fluttering with giddy excitement. There were only a handful of bookshelves down here. The rest of the space was peppered with even more art-covered furniture—chairs, desks, bedside tables, and, yup, there it was... the sweetest little kids’ piano. It was adorable.

Found the piano.

Molly

That one was a bit trickier to keep under the radar, wasn’t it, Mabel?

Mabel

Very much so. We had to coordinate with Mikey on that one.

Mikey? Like Jackson’s driver, Mikey?

Mabel

The very one. Though he was Richard’s driver back then.

Molly

We could only allow the Young Master to practice when his father wasn’t home. Mikey would provide us with that information.

Mabel

Richard would’ve had our heads otherwise. He was convinced that music and art would make the boy “soft” as he put it.

Who taught Jackson how to play?

Mabel

Bensen to start.

Rahul’s daughter-in-law took over when Bensen was fired. He’s the barber, dear. I’d imagine you’ve met him by now.

Something severely unpleasant tugged at my chest. The reason why Jackson kept so many members of staff—the reason why he had “a person” for everything—wasn’t because he wasuseless and incapable of self-sufficiency. It was because they werehis people. His family. He kept them around out of love, not necessity.

My heart inflated, a thick wad of cotton forming in the pit of my throat. In hindsight, I could see why they were so insistent I’d misjudged him.

Why was Bensen fired?

I assumed Jackson had rehired him at some point, likely when he’d been old enough to get a place of his own.

There was no immediate response, which gave me time to meander around and take in more details. Like the framed picture Jackson kept on an old desk tucked in the corner of the room. He must have been twelve or thirteen at the time, sporting a Santa hat and a mouthful of braces. Embracing him were Molly and Mabel, and the Grinch smiling evilly behind them was... a much younger Bensen, I was pretty sure.

It was far more precious than it had any right to be, and definitely wasn’t helping the tightening in my throat.

Molly

Do you see a bedside table with a big cactus drawn on one side?

Yeah

Molly

The book I need you to grab for me is in there. Second drawer.

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