to do so, that kind of punishment was petty and made her feel
sick. Haley was happy. Laughing. Thriving. Beautiful. The
woman was a siren, slipped from the water and made real.
“Yes, well,” Claire snapped at a loss for words. She was
done with this. With the loss of control she felt. “You have an
hour before dinner. I’ll be in my office until then. And, Jean,
clean up the mess, please. If you’re teaching her to cook, teach
her properly. A messy kitchen like this wouldn’t be tolerated
anywhere.”
“Yes.” Jean nodded, and because he had a healthy amount
of self preservation and common sense, he didn’t tack on the
word ma’am at the end. “Yes,
Miss Finley. Absolutely.”
Claire left, her head already starting to pound. She hated the
thundering of her pulse and heart. She’d done this to herself. It
was best to remember that Haley was innocent, and Claire had
no right to drag her into the shadows, no matter how much she
wanted revenge. She’d made that promise and she was going
to stick to it, no matter the wicked thoughts her brain was
conjuring up.
As she entered her office, the bubbly laughter started up
again. Claire slammed the door and sunk into her chair. She
pulled up the spreadsheets a little too angrily. She was rattled.
Her breathing was off. She was off. These things didn’t
happen. She was never not in control of herself.
She just needed a few days to get used t it. This was as
disruptive for her as it was for Haley. In a few days, she’d be
back on her game. She’d be able to ignore her house guest and
her grating laughter with effortless ease.
Chapter 4
