Page 140 of Still Me
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“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” he said, closing the door behind him. He gestured toward a seat on the other side of the desk and walked slowly around it. I noticed his limp was pronounced and wondered what Nathan was doing with him. He always was too discreet to discuss it.
I said nothing.
He sat down heavily in his chair. He looked tired, I noticed, the expensive tan unable to hide the shadows under his eyes, the strain lines at their edges.
“You’re taking your duties very seriously,” he said, gesturing at the dog.
“I always do,” I said, and he nodded, as if that were a fair comeback.
Then he leaned forward over the desk and steepled his fingers. “I’m not someone, Louisa, used to finding myself lost for words, but... I confess I am right now. I discovered something two days ago. Something which has left me rather shaken.”
He looked up at me. I looked steadily back at him, my expression a study in neutrality.
“My daughter Tabitha had become... suspicious about some things she’d heard and put a private investigator on the case. This is not something I’m particularly happy about—we are not, as a family, prone to investigating each other. But when she told me what the gentleman had found, it was not something I could ignore. I talked to Agnes about it and she has told me everything.”
I waited.
“The child.”
“Oh,” I said.
He sighed. “During these rather... extensive discussions, she also explained about the piano, the money for which, I understand, you were under instruction to remove in increments, day by day, from a nearby ATM.”
“Yes, Mr. Gopnik,” I said.
He lowered his head as if he had hoped against hope that I might dispute the facts, tell him it was all nonsense, that the private investigator was talking rubbish.
Finally he sat back heavily in his chair. “We appear to have done you a great wrong, Louisa.”
“I’m not a thief, Mr. Gopnik.”
“Obviously. And yet, out of loyalty to my wife, you were prepared to let me believe you were.”
I wasn’t sure if it was a criticism. “I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
“Oh, you did. You absolutely did.”
We sat in the cool office in silence for a few moments. He tapped on his desk with his fingers.
“Louisa, I have spent much of the night trying to figure out how I can put this situation right. And I’d like to make you an offer.”
I waited.
“I’d like to give you your job back. You will, of course, receive better terms—longer holidays, a pay raise, significantly improved benefits. If you would rather not live on site, we can arrange accommodation nearby.”
“A job?”
“Agnes hasn’t found anyone she likes half as much as she liked you. You have more than proven yourself, and I’m immensely grateful for your... loyalty and your continued discretion. The girl we took on after you has been... well, she’s not up to it. Agnes doesn’t like her. She considered you more of... of a friend.”
I looked down at the dog. He looked up at me. He seemed distinctly unimpressed. “Mr. Gopnik, that’s very flattering but I don’t think I would feel comfortable working as Agnes’s assistant now.”
“There are other positions, positions within my organization. I understand that you do not have another job yet.”
“Who told you that?”
“There’s not a lot goes on in my building that I don’t know about, Louisa. Usually, at least.” He allowed himself a wry smile. “Look, we have openings in our marketing and administrative departments. I could ask Human Resources to bypass certain entry requirements and we could offer you training. Or I would be prepared to create a position in my philanthropic arm if you felt that was something you were interested in. What do you say?” He sat back, one arm on his desk, his ebonized pen loose in his hand.
