'Hey, listen, are you busy right now? Do you want to have lunch or something? My plans are pretty much shot with Ben not being around, so I have some time up my sleeve.'
'Oh, um.' I tried to think of an excuse: laundry to do, washing my hair … I don't know what made me want to say no, but when I couldn't think of a valid reason, I changed my mind. Just because some people choose to hide away from the world doesn't mean I had to.
I smiled. 'Well, Gracie and I were just going to grab something to eat and hang out in Washington Square Park if you want to come?'
Alistair nodded, and for a second I could see the resemblance to Ben. My heart skipped a beat.
'An excellent choice,' he said.
Alistair Worthington was a breath of fresh air and, just like Nikki, I questioned his parentage as I watched him dote and fuss over Grace, who excitedly whacked him in the face with her rattle.
'Ah, that's gonna bruise.' He chuckled, nursing his eye socket.
'Grace, that is no way to greet your uncle.'
He squinted. 'She packs a mean punch, that's for sure.'
'She's also partial to face gouging and hair pulling,' I said, taking Grace from his knee to rescue him.
He laughed, shaking his head. 'Such a brute.'
'Does this iron will of hers come from your mother's or father's side?'
Alistair blew out a breath, crossing his arms and relaxing on the bench as he idly watched the spray of the fountain before us. 'Hard to say. The old man's as stubborn as a mule, and, well, you've met my mother.'
I nodded, perhaps a little too vigorously.
'You'd like my dad. He's a tough old bastard but he's a charming one as well. Makes up for the fact he wasn't the world's greatest dad.'
There was something refreshing about Alistair's candidness, maybe because his brother was such a closed book. With Alistair, there were no hushed secrets or things left unsaid. I had found out more about his family in one afternoon than I had in almost a fortnight working for Ben. I had so wanted to ask Alistair about Ben specifically, but I kept the conversation to him and his life, which was far from boring. His tales of European summers, a life of rebelling against his family and causing havoc to the Worthington reputation had me more than convinced that I had found myself a new BFF.
'So, what sent you away? And what has you coming back?' I asked, placing Grace into her pram and pulling up the sun visor.
Alistair looked at me sideways, squinting against the sun's rays. 'Wow, so many questions.'
'Oh, sorry, I'm being nosy, just tell me to mind my own business, that's what everyone else does.'
He shifted forward on his seat, fully focused on me and, God, if he didn't look like Ben more than ever now that he'd turned serious. He leant his elbows on his knees. 'Who tells you to mind your own business?'
'Oh, no, well, not in so many words, just not to ask any questions, you know? Which I can understand,' I lied.
Alistair scoffed, leaning back again. 'Yep! Welcome to the Worthingtons,' he said before looking at his watch. 'Damn it, speaking of Worthingtons.'
'Coffee date with Penny?'
'Not exactly – whisky and men's business with Father.' He sighed, standing and blocking the sun so I didn't have to shield my eyes. 'Don't tell me she's asleep again, I'm starting to get a complex.'
'Ha! I know, right? For one who never sleeps. Seriously, what are you doing tonight?'
Alistair looked at me with a spark of interest that had me blushing at how suggestive my words must have sounded.
I cleared my throat. 'I mean, you're obviously the baby whisperer,' I said quickly.
'Either that or the most boring person she's ever met.'
'I doubt that.'
And there was that smile again, broad and bright and almost something I had to shield my eyes from.
'Hey, Sarah, you know that you can ask me as many questions as you want. I'll never tell you to mind your own business.'
My smile mirrored his. 'Good to know.'
Alistair nodded. 'Well, I better get going, it's been great hanging with you girls,' he said, backing away with his hands in the pockets of his pants. 'By the way, I still haven't caught up with Ben, but we have a family dinner coming up. Do you think you can keep the secret of me being in town?'
'You think he doesn't know? As if your mum or sister haven't said anything.'
He laughed, shaking his head. 'I would have thought you of all people would know how good Worthingtons are at keeping secrets.'
'Wow. So. True.'
'Deal?'
'Your secret is safe with me.'
Alistair bowed. 'Much obliged, see you around, Miss Williams.'
Alistair turned to exit through the Washington Arch, and then I realised.
'Hey, Alistair, you never answered my questions.'
He turned to me with interest.
'What drew you away and what made you come back?'
He thought, a knowing smile curving his mouth. 'That's easy,' he said, 'because the answer is the same for both.'
I folded my arms and waiting, ever so intrigued.
Alistair smiled, that same glorious smile, as he winked before continuing to walk. 'Her name is Holly.'
The smile fell from my face and my blood ran cold.
Holly?
Oh my God.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I was shocked. Surely he couldn't do that to his own brother?
If Alistair had left because of Holly, did that mean that he knew about her and Ben? Was Holly why Ben and Caroline's relationship had been on the rocks – had Ben had an affair? No wonder no one wanted me to ask questions, not even Nikki. The idea that I had almost become another notch in Ben's bedpost made me feel ill.
I glanced down at Grace in her pram as I walked back to the townhouse, thinking if it wasn't for her I would be writing a letter of resignation and packing my bags. Tears welled and I felt a new sense of hopelessness. But as I looked at her sleeping, my heart ached, and I realised I couldn't possibly leave. Despite the sleepless nights, the tears, the screams, the drool, the poop and the hair pulling, I had gone and fallen in love with her. And I was the only stable thing she had in her life right now.
I cautiously bumped Grace up the steps, pausing at the top to hold my breath as she squirmed and frowned in her sleep. I blew out a sigh of relief, having managed not to wake her. I rolled her down the hall into the lounge, enjoying the peace a little longer as I took my bag from my shoulder and put it on the couch. I wiped a light sheen of sweat from my face then went to the fridge for a bottle of water. I twisted the lid and gulped big mouthfuls before I realised where I was standing. The memories flared in my mind. Damn him! Why couldn't he be a crap kisser?
I quickly moved to the opposite side of the bench, opening the laptop to record Grace's sleep and daily routine to monitor her patterns. But before I even had a chance to click onto the Word doc my eyes caught on something above the little envelope at the bottom of the screen: a small red circle with a white number one inside.
I swallowed, not letting myself truly freak out until I clicked on the envelope …
'Oh, fuck.'
Ben had replied.
A part of me hoped that it was an email telling me I was fired, but I knew I wouldn't be that lucky. I psyched myself up to open it, the cursor hovering over his name, my blood pulsing loud in my ears like the countdown to launch time, and before I could chicken out, I clicked.
There was no way this man could possibly infuriate me any more than he already had. His response to my thoroughly thought-out, articulate, fifteen-hundred-word email?
On my way home. – B
'You've got to be kidding me.'
I checked the time the email was sent: twenty minutes ago. I had no real idea of how long it took to travel from Brooklyn, especially in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce. But, as I looked around the room, I did know that it looked like a bomb had gone off.
I started to clean like a woman possessed. It was always important to me, no matter who I worked for, that they come home to a clean and organised home; I wanted to seem like this superhuman force who could do it all, even if I felt anything but. A part of me wanted to say screw it and give Ben a dose of reality – he deserved it, I thought bitterly – and then I stilled, wondering if that was born from the disappointment of him avoiding his daughter or that he was a massive love rat who'd betrayed his own brother. How was I ever going to continue working for a man like him?
I was about to find out.
The front door slammed and Ben's footsteps sounded in the hall. I attacked the bench even more vigorously. Maybe if I seemed busy I wouldn't have to interact with him too much.
'Get ready,' he said.
No hello? No how has your day been, your week even? 'Sorry?'
'We've been invited to dinner with a colleague of mine.'
I twisted the dishcloth in my hand, looking at him in confusion.
Ben sighed, unfastening the single button of his jacket. 'They all want to meet Grace.' He said it in a way that almost sounded bored. So … what? She was good enough to use as a showpiece?
'Did you get my email?' I asked.
'Yes,' he said, going over to Grace in her bouncer. 'She doesn't live in this thing, does she?' he said.
'Of course not!'
Ben glanced at me, not seeming to appreciate my tone, but I didn't care – I didn't appreciate the accusation. I should have left the house messy after all, show him a bit of reality.
I walked over to Grace, pushing past him to unclip her from her seat. I nursed her over my shoulder. 'We've actually had a productive day, haven't we, Grace? We had lunch in Washington Park.'