Not quite a smile, but something. There is a non-disclosure agreement, Gerald said. Everything about Ms. Whitmore's condition, her business affairs, her personal life, and your employment terms is to remain entirely confidential. I understand. And I need you to understand, Mr. Carter that if you take this position and leave abruptly, there are contractual consequences.
I understand. Do you? Because several people sat in that chair and said the same thing. Daniel looked at Gerald steadily. I don't make promises I don't intend to keep.
That's not a thing I do. Gerald studied him for a moment. Then he slid a folder across the table. The NDA is on top. Employment contract beneath it.
Take them home, review them, and if you have no objections, sign and return them by end of business tomorrow. Daniel picked up the folder. When would I start? Monday, Claudettete said, "If you sign." It was Thursday.
He had the weekend to prepare his daughter for a life they'd never imagined. He told Maya that night after dinner. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her homework spread in front of her, working on a math worksheet with the intensity of a child who had decided that school was something to be taken seriously. She got that from him. He'd always believed that the one thing no one could take from you was what you knew.
He sat down across from her and waited until she looked up. What? She said she had Kesha's eyes that sharp reading you quality. You have your news face on. I have a news face.
You always do this thing where you sit down carefully like you're placing yourself. She demonstrated exaggeratedly lowering herself into an invisible chair with exaggerated care and he laughed despite himself. Okay, we're going to move. Her expression flickered just for a second. Then it steadied because Maya was her father's daughter and studying was something she had learned early.
Where? A neighborhood called Coral Gables. It's still Miami. That's far from school. We'll figure out the school situation.
There are good schools there. Is it because you lost your job? He didn't flinch. He decided early on that he would never lie to Maya about hard things. He would soften them.
He would frame them carefully, but he would not lie. That's part of it, but it's also a real opportunity. There's a woman who needs help and I'm going to help her and in exchange we get to live in her house and I get paid well enough that I can start saving for our future, our real future. Maya processed this with the serious considering face that she made when she was working through something big. What kind of help does she need?
She was in an accident. She needs help with everyday things, getting around meals. She has people, but she needs someone there consistently. Is she nice? A pause.
I think she's going through a hard time. Sometimes when people are going through hard times, they're not easy to be around. Maya considered this like Grandma Lorraine was after grandpa died. He thought about that his grandmother in the months after his grandfather passed. the sharpness that had come into her voice, the way she'd send food back at restaurants for the first time in her life, the way she'd snapped at his aunts during Sunday dinners.
And then gradually, so gradually, you almost didn't see it happening the way she'd come back. Yeah, he said kind of like that. Maya nodded slowly. Is there going to be space for my stuff? All the space in the world.
Is there going to be a yard? A big one. Can I bring my plants? He smiled. She had four succulents on the windowsill that she'd named collectively the Avengers.
Yes, the Avengers can come. She nodded once decisive like she'd just signed a treaty. Okay. But I want to visit Marcus's mom on Sunday still. We'll make it work.
Promise? He reached across the table and covered her small hand with his large one. I promise. She turned back to her math worksheet. He sat there for another moment watching her work, thinking about what was coming.
Thinking about a woman in a mansion in Coral Gables who had driven away six people in 14 months, thinking about what it would feel like to walk into that world with nothing but himself and the conviction that he could withstand whatever came at him. He thought about Miss Lorraine saying, "A man's worth isn't measured by what he has. It's measured by what he does when he has nothing." He picked up the employment contract. He found a pen.
He signed. The house was not a house. That was the first thing Daniel understood when the address led him down a palm lined driveway and deposited him in front of something that should have had a historical marker on it. It was a white Mediterranean style estate with a circular driveway, a fountain that was currently off, and enough square footage that Daniel did a quick mental calculation, and concluded that his childhood home could fit inside the front wing. He sat in his car for a moment.
Maya was in the back seat looking through the window with wide eyes. " Is this real?" she whispered. " Appears to be like, "Do people actually live here?" One person apparently.
That's a lot of house for one person. It is, he agreed. He got out of the car. The door to the main entrance opened before he reached it, and Claudettete appeared more formidable in the context of the house, somehow wearing all black, looking like someone whose job was to manage impossible situations, and who had stopped being surprised by any of them years ago. Mr. Carter, on time.
That's a good start. She looked past him at Maya, who had climbed out of the car and was standing with her small backpack over both shoulders looking at the fountain. " She's smaller than I expected." " She hears everything," Daniel said. " Just so you know."
Maya turned and waved at Claudettete with the easy confidence of a child who has never been intimidated by adults. " Claudettetete blinked." " Follow me. I'll show you both to your rooms first, and then I'll take you through the house protocols." Miss Whitmore.
she paused. Is resting. She has been informed of your arrival. They followed her into the house. Daniel noticed Maya touching the wall lightly as she walked like she was testing whether it was real.