Page 76 of The Austen Escape
Chapter 24
We entered the house through the mudroom door and climbed the narrow stairs to the gallery. The gallery, open to the hallway below, was filled with soft laughter. Dinner was in full swing.
I caught Isabel’s voice. It was light and open. She was telling... I strained to hear. She was telling them about some of Austen’s letters to her nieces.
“I think the apologies worked.” I looked to Nathan. “Should we join them?”
He pulled me close. “I don’t want to share you. Let’s go sit by the fire in the Day Room. No one will find us there, and Sonia showed me where she keeps the port.”
“Excellent plan. I’ll grab a lighter sweater and meet you there. The fire was warm last night.”
“I’ll call Craig real quick.” He kissed me.
I headed to our bedroom; he turned back down the stairway. Within moments, I followed and made my way to the Day Room. I passed close by the dining room and, although I knew I’d be welcome, I was glad I wasn’t in there. Isabel didn’t need me. This was hers now, whatever became of the visit and the thesis.
Before I reached the Day Room, I heard Nathan’s voice coming from the library across from it. The door was ajar, so I pushed it and looked inside. It was a charming little space—a completely interior room with walls fully lined in books. It smelled of dust, ink, old leather, and furniture oil.
Nathan’s back was to me. He was typing at his computer, his phone resting near him. I noted the long white cord of earbuds and stepped forward to tap him.
“I disagree. Engineering is not the place for cuts, not when entering the fourth quarter... A sale will never clear that fast and you know it.”
He sat back. I stepped back.
“Benson? Rodriguez? Davies? Whom are you planning to sacrifice, Karen? We’ve run the numbers and WATT’s got payroll secured through May... This is precipitous...”
I froze where I was, knowing he hadn’t heard me come in.
“She’s responsible for 42 percent of deliverables in the past three years... I understand that and I’m not saying it isn’t an issue... I don’t...”
I backed out of the room completely.I understand that and I’m not saying it isn’t an issue.
That “she” had to be me. How had it not occurred to me that Nathan would discuss me? That I was part of what was right—or wrong—at WATT? He’d followed me around for a month. He had to have opinions about my work. Was I getting fired? Was he agreeing? Or was he defending me? And if he was defending me—was it because I was good at my job, or because I was now his girlfriend?
“I didn’t hear you come down.”
I started at his voice. “Just now... How was your call?”
“It was fine.” He gestured into the Day Room.
I walked in first and curled into one of the armchairs. “You don’t look fine.”
“We don’t need to talk about it.” He pointed to a small silver tray, then handed me one of the two glasses of port resting on it. “I ran into Duncan. He brought these for us.”
“We can talk about it if it would help.” I waited.
“No...” Nathan sat back and watched the fire, seemingly lost in thought. He took a sip. Another. Then he turned to me. “I’ve asked before, but I don’t think I fully understood your answer. Why did you never share your Golightly work with Benson or Rodriguez? They’re both solid engineers with different skill sets. They could’ve helped you.”
“It got away from me in a lot of ways, but it also was my job to get it right.” I set down my glass. “Craig never pushed me on this. Why are you?”
“Because it’s an issue, Mary. It cost a lot of money and, bottom line, he should have. There’s no way around that.”
“He understood I needed it.”
“But as your boss he should have pushed, so there wouldn’t be questions now.” He flinched as if he’d just revealed something he shouldn’t have.
“What are the questions now?” I paused, but he didn’t reply. “Are you going to tell me what you’re really after? Or do I have to guess?”
“I can’t, Mary. Not now, not yet.”
