Page 27 of Prelude To You

Miss Leyland sighed.“Why?”

“Because she got up at daybreak and made macarons for her “new co-workers.” The girl has no agenda other than doingwhat she came here to do. Unlike the others before her. At least give her an interview.”

Holy shit, the macarons impressed him, I think? And he hadn’t even tasted them. If I got this job, I was going to make him his own batch of macarons. Now it was up to Bossgirl to get over herself and at least give me an interview.

There was an uncomfortable silence between Nelson and Miss Leyland, long enough for me to imagine all kinds of scenarios where I was kicked to the curb. With four hours’ pay. I quickly added up a hundred-and-twenty dollars times four. With that money, I could pay rent.

There was still the nauseating option of begging Jean-Rene for my job back. He had to know that for what he paid his kitchen staff, I was the best he was likely to find. I’d give him a few days looking for a pastry chef of my caliber willing to work for the kind of wages he offered.

“Fine, Nelson,”Miss Leyland said eventually. “Send her in.”

Wait, what? She was giving me an interview? I scurried as far from the door as possible, pretending to admire one of the many lovely paintings on the wall. The door opened and Nelson came out.

“Miss Le Roche, Miss Leyland will see you now,” he said. This called for a high-five, but Nelson just didn’t seem like the kind of guy who did that sort of thing.

“Thank you,” I replied modestly. He nodded, and I could swear I saw the hint of a smile in his eyes before he marched off. I took a deep breath and went into Miss Leyland’s office.

The room was big but surprisingly warm and feminine. Miss Leyland stood behind a desk, and nothing about her was as I expected.

She was a woman of about sixty, her dark hair in a perfect French twist, and she was really beautiful. I mean the kind ofclassic beauty that never gets old. Everything about her was pure class, if maybe a bit prim and proper.

“Miss Le Roche, I’m Miss Leyland,” she said coolly. I was on the cusp of sticking out my hand but the vibe didn’t really call for a handshake, so I dropped the notion. My mom always said, if someone made you feel uncomfortable, pay the person a compliment.

“Hi Miss Leyland,” I said, looking around her office admiringly. “This really is a lovely room.”

Her gaze traveled over me with what I thought was threadbare acknowledgment. “Thank you, Miss Le Roche.”

I should have listened to Meg and worn something else. Thank God I wasn’t wearing my shabby coat right now. This woman would have had a conniption if she saw me traipsing around in that rag.

“I can wear a dress tomorrow if this outfit doesn’t work for you,” I said. “I’m really easy.” I bit my tongue.Did I really have to say it like that?Being so presumptuous about getting the job.

“No, it’s fine,” she said. “Actually you are dressed befitting the job description.”

“Really? What a relief! When I saw this place my first thought was that they’re not going to like what I’m wearing.”

“Comfort is key,” Miss Leyland continued, undaunted. “There’s no one around here to impress anyway. Please sit down, Miss Le Roche, we have an interview and some paperwork to complete.”

“You can call me Isabel,” I answered, trying to shift gracefully onto a chair, miscalculating and losing my balance and nearly breaking my damn face on her desk.

Her eyebrows arched. “Oh dear, are you all right?”

“That was clumsy of me,” I mumbled as I landed safely on the chair. “So what kind of paperwork are we talking about?”

Miss Leyland took a seat and unceremoniously stacked a pile of documents, one on top of the other. She locked a very inflexible gaze on me. “At this estate, we are very thorough. Responsibility is our first priority, and we demand absolute discretion from our staff.”

“Oh, I’m Miss Discretion. Tell me your deepest darkest secret and you can be sure it will go to my grave.”

Not that I thought the perfect Miss Leyland had any deep dark secrets of course.

There was a glint of exasperation as Miss Leyland sorted through the documents. “The first thing you will sign is a Non-Disclosure Agreement. The family’s security and privacy are of the utmost importance. We will pursue every legal recourse to remedy any kind of breach, however insignificant it might seem.”

I had to physically restrain myself from gaping open-mouthed at Miss Leyland. To say this was all somewhat unexpected would be the understatement of the century. I wondered if she knew what job I was applying for.

“I think there might be a small misunderstanding here, Miss Leyland. Maybe I’m in the wrong department but as far as I know, I’m here to read to someone. I don’t know how much of a security issue that could possibly entail.”

For the first time, Miss Leyland’s gaze softened a bit. Maybe it was just a hunch, but her sudden mildness was not aimed at me but rather at the person in question.

“Miss Le Roche, the “someone” you’re reading to is of great importance. The significance of his health, safety and privacy is beyond comprehension. Before you get within fifty yards of him, everything will be ironclad. There is simply no compromise when it comes to his welfare and protection.”

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