Page 67 of Paternal Instincts
“For five weeks.”
“But you were recently dismissed.”
“Yes.”
“Who dismissed you?”
“Imogen… um, Mrs. Davis.”
“How come?”
Clementine stared at my phone with an expression I couldn’t read. She wet her lips, wrung her hands, then reached for the water bottle, taking a drink. “I… I don’t know. She… didn’t like me much.”
I struggled to assess her honesty, but when she refused to look at me, it was hard to say if she spoke the truth. “Why is that?”
She shook her head, more confident that time. “I really don’t know. I worked hard. The kids seemed to like me.”
“Did Imogen give you the impression you weren’t doing a good enough job?”
“No. She never complained.”
I stared at the top of the girl’s head, but her focus was steadfast on the table. “Nixon hired you, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How would you describe your relationship with him?”
That question caught her attention. She glanced up, a look of confusion on her face. “What do you mean?”
“Did you get along? Did he treat you well?”
“Yes. He was always nice to me.”
“Did he pay you well?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever see him away from the house during your time off?”
Her neck turned blotchy with guilt, and she lowered her gaze, mumbling something I couldn’t decipher.
“I can’t hear you. Please repeat yourself.”
“Once or twice.”
“And what was the purpose of those meetings?”
“To discuss my job. The first time was an interview. The second time was to see how things were going. The final time was to try to convince me to come back after his wife let me go.”
“Three times.” Not a question.
I inserted a long pause. Clementine didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure she breathed.
“Were you having an affair with Nixon Davis?”
Startled green eyes flashed to mine, horror painting her features, red filling her face. “What? N-no. Why would you… No.”
I stared, assessed, and dissected every twitch of her muscles. I analyzed the tension in her shoulders. I watched the spread of humiliation color her pale skin, but the woman remained genuinely aghast. Was it a show? I had a hundred more questions, but Jordyn was already going to be pissed that I’d stepped out on this limb alone.
