Page 21 of Up for Heir (Westerly Billionaire 2)
He gave her arm a pat. “I’m saying that Mrs. Westerly loves her family very much. What is her relationship with them beyond that? I’m not sure you could get two Westerlys to agree, but that doesn’t change what I know.” He chuckled and started walking. “Did I ever tell you that I studied philosophy in college?”
Hailey almost asked him how he’d gone from college to wor
king as a butler, but she didn’t. How did I go from college to being a paid companion? Life happens.
As they moved forward, he said, “I’ve worked for Mrs. Westerly for over thirty years, and I hope to work here twenty years more. When I first started here, I was fresh from a divorce. My son had health problems I couldn’t afford. I was desperate. Mrs. Westerly covered his medical bills and never said a word to anyone about it. She paid for him to go to college without him ever knowing the money came from her. He’s healthy now, with an impressive job as a broker in New York City. Beautiful wife. Two children I spoil as much as I’m allowed. My son has offered to let me live with them or buy me a place of my own. He doesn’t see my employment here the way I do. I wouldn’t have a son if it weren’t for the generosity of Mrs. Westerly. To her, I’m a butler. To me, she’s an angel. A lonely angel. How could I ever leave her?”
Hailey waved a hand at her suddenly misty eyes. With a choked laugh, she said, “Her generosity scares me a little. My biggest concern is Skye and how she’d handle it if we had to leave.”
“Then don’t leave,” Michael said as they arrived at the door of the solarium.
Delinda noticed her and waved her over. “Well, it’s about time you returned. How was your lunch?”
Hailey took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs next to her. “It was nice.”
Delinda leaned forward. “Just nice?”
She couldn’t know where I was, could she? I didn’t tell anyone. I made sure not to use the driver. No, of course she doesn’t know. Spencer said they aren’t close. “Very nice?”
“Humph.” Delinda called out, “Michael, could you bring some tea?”
“Of course,” Michael answered from the door.
“Skye wants to know if you’d like to go with us to the barn tonight.”
A smile lit Delinda’s face. “I would love to. I’ve ordered a helmet for her along with boots and breeches. She doesn’t need a show jacket yet, but when she does, I’ll have my tailor fit one to her. I’m not sold on the barn’s in-house trainer. A friend of mine works with Olympians—”
“Skye may not want to compete. She may simply want to ride for fun.”
“Winning ribbons is fun.”
“Competition is good, but that’s not what’s most important.”
Delinda pursed her lips, then said, “So you don’t believe she could win.”
“I didn’t say that. I just don’t want you to pressure Skye to be someone she isn’t.”
“So you want me to lower my standards for her? Perhaps if you weren’t so willing to expect nothing from her she might have started speaking sooner.”
Hailey gasped. “That was cruel, Delinda.”
Delinda folded her hands on her lap unapologetically. Michael rolled in a tray of tea and scones, assessed the mood of the room, and made a hasty retreat. “Life is cruel. Step up to the plate, Hailey, and start preparing your niece for it.”
Michael’s angel also had horns.
Breathe. She throws barbs when she’s hurting. “Are you upset with me, Delinda?”
“No. I’m angry with myself. I forgot that I’m not supposed to do anything nice for you or Skye anymore. Should I return the helmet and attire? What about the tea and scones? Too much? Throw them at me if it makes you feel better.”
Delinda and Skye actually are a lot alike. The corners of her mouth twitched at the thought. Delinda’s expression darkened, and all humor left Hailey. Working for Delinda was as confusing as seeing Spencer had been, but on a totally different level.
They both made her ask the same question: How do I make you happy without putting aside what I know is important?
“I want to be able to argue with you,” Hailey blurted.
Delinda’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
Right. Wrong. This is my truth. “I don’t want to be afraid that you’ll fire me if I don’t make you happy every second of the day. I love it here. Skye does, too. But you could let me go at any time. I stay up at night afraid that you’ll ask us to leave if I say or do the wrong thing. I don’t know what you want from us, but I know what I need from you.”
“And that is?”
She needs to hear this. Maybe a little honesty will help her. It worked with Skye. “I need to know that we’re on the same team. My father always started our family talks by telling us that he loved us. It made whatever our issues were feel not as bad because our foundation was stable. I like you. I’m grateful for all you’ve done, but I don’t always like the way you talk to me. I don’t always agree with what you want to do for Skye. I want to be able to say that. If you’re paying me to sit and agree with everything you say, then please stay out of our personal business. But if you want to be part of our lives, then we have to be able to disagree and still be on the same team.”
Delinda pursed her lips. “Is this how your generation speaks to their employers?”
There it was, the little dig. I’m wasting my breath. “This isn’t exactly a conventional job, and maybe that’s the problem. If you want to be part of our lives, I need to be able to trust you.”
Delinda stood and walked to a bookshelf. She returned with a photo of a handsome man in his forties. She handed the photo to Hailey. “This was my Oliver. He had a big heart just like yours. He loved everyone, and there wasn’t a mean bone in his body. He couldn’t walk by a person in need and not help them.”
Hailey accepted the photo and looked down at the man with dark hair and laughter in his eyes. The profound sadness in Delinda’s voice left Hailey unsure of what to say.
Delinda gripped the back of the chair beside her, determined to stand even though she was clearly in pain. “My parents didn’t approve of him at first, but I married him anyway. I was so proud of him when he took over my father’s company.” She took the photo back and seemed to get lost in the past as she looked down at her deceased husband’s face. “He wasn’t very good at business. It was all new to him. He was a good man, but he wasn’t ready for the responsibilities he was given.”
“I can’t imagine anyone would be ready for such a responsibility.”
Delinda shook her head. “He should have been. We should have done more to prepare him. The doctors said he died from an accidental overdose of his heart medication. It wasn’t an accident. The company was losing money before my son stepped in. Oliver was desperate, and he felt he’d failed me.”
Hailey gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. Is she saying that Oliver—
“My son thinks I was oblivious to what was going on, but I knew. Just like I knew Dereck wasn’t ready to step into Oliver’s shoes like he did. It was almost too much for him as well. He had his father’s soft heart. All he wanted was Stephanie, but she made him doubt himself.”
And that’s why you hated her. It makes sense now.
“I couldn’t bear the idea that I might lose Dereck the same way I lost Oliver. So I pushed Dereck to be the man who could succeed where his father had failed. He needed to be stronger to survive. Stephanie saw me as harsh. I could do nothing right when it came to her. Every warning I gave either of them was taken as a criticism.” She walked over and replaced the photo in its spot on the shelf. When she returned, her face revealed none of the emotions that must have been raging within her. “I pushed my son because I love him, and it worked. No one won against Dereck. No one. Brett is head of the company now, and nothing shakes him. We raised him strong. No excuses. No second chances. Yes, I push my grandchildren, but only because I know how harsh life can be if one isn’t prepared for it.”
Hailey got goose bumps listening to Delinda. Her view of life was different, and yet somehow they had the same fears. I’m also afraid of failing the ones I love. Hailey placed a hand on Delinda’s arm. “I don’t know what to say except I’m sorry you lost someone you loved. Have you ever spoken to your family about it?”
“How could I? They barely visit me,” Delinda said, her voice just above a whisper.
“I might be able t
o help you with that.” Did I just say that?
Delinda’s eyes flew to hers. “What do you mean?”
Hailey hesitated. The solution seems so easy, but who am I to tell her what to do when I can’t sort out my own life?
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, have the fortitude to speak your mind,” Delinda snapped.
Okay, but this is for your own good. Hailey raised her fingers in a measuring motion. “If you tweak the way you speak to people—just a little bit . . .”
“Now you sound like Brett.”
Hailey breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s the grandson you’re closest to, right? He must know you well.”
Delinda’s eyes narrowed. “If this is how you are when you’re afraid you might lose your job, I cannot imagine how you’ll be when you realize I’m too attached to ever fire you.”
Wait. Did she just say something nice? “See, that’s kind of sweet. All you’d have to do is leave off the initial insult, and I would feel all warm and fuzzy toward you.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“And keep some of your thoughts in your head.”
With a sigh, Delinda sat back in her chair. “Anything else?”
“Smile more?”
Delinda glared at Hailey.
Hailey leaned closer and glared back. It all felt so ridiculous that Hailey broke into a laugh and a huge smile spread across her face.
Delinda slowly smiled back.
I wish Spencer could see this side of his grandmother. Blood related or not, they have traits in common.
Hailey’s phone dinged with a message. She ignored it because she’d already made the mistake of checking her phone while visiting with Delinda. Apparently, it was poor etiquette.
“Aren’t you going to check your message?”
“I’ll look at it later.”
“It might be important.”
“Mrs. Holihen would call if it were.”
“There’s no one else who might message you?”
Her phone dinged again. “No one that couldn’t be answered later.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, check your messages.”
Hailey reacted instinctively to the authority in Delinda’s tone. She took out her phone and glanced at it. Spencer. Heat rose up her neck. “It’s not important.”
