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He placed the cup down, then gazed at her. She expected him to start talking immediately, about anything: the job, his son, his work, but he didn’t. That smile lingered on his face, and he wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying just looking at her.
A second later and she became a little restless under this scrutinous gaze. She felt naked, like she wasn’t wearing a single item of clothing, as if he could see all of her secrets, even those unimportant ones, such as when she cheated off Melissa Gable’s math test in junior high and never got caught.
She knew if she wanted to break it, she’d have to start talking first. Taking the lead wasn’t something she usually did. But, his gaze was making her feel naked and it was way too early for that.
“So, I understand you need someone only part time?” she inquired, crossing her right leg over the left one.
“Yes,” he replied immediately, but that deep, investigative gaze was still there. “I just started work at a new company and they’ve been very understanding regarding my… current situation. However, I still need someone to take care of him for a few hours on the days that he’s here. It should be only a few hours, but occasionally I might need you to stay longer, if I need to travel for work. They said this shouldn’t be too often, and I hope it won’t, but that’s a possibility, and I’d like you to get acquainted with all the prerequisites, so you can make your decision.”
Rene wasn’t told anything about his situation, but she could understand it immediately. He was obviously living alone. Nothing in this place showed any signs of female presence. There is no mistaking that in a home. His son was spending only a part of the time here, so it was obvious that his parents were divorced. Freshly divorced. Something told her
that Hyde was still adjusting to this new version of life, trying to make sense of it all. Despite that initial smile, she could sense a sadness about him, but he wasn’t letting it show. He obviously wanted everyone to think that he was perfectly alright and able to continue with his life as if nothing happened. But, divorce is never easy, especially when there is a child involved.
Of course, the last thing she expected was for him to mention that, but she just had a gut feeling and, sometimes, that was all it takes.
“I think that can be easily arranged,” she replied, happy that this job would probably allow her some more hours with another family, if only she managed to make a good schedule.
“He really is a good boy,” Hyde repeated, but this time, it didn’t sound like he was explaining his son’s behavior.
This one came from the heart of a father who was proud of his son, who loved nothing more than him. She remembered that there were a few photos of him and Parker in the hallway, and she saw a few on a little mantelpiece in the living room, when she passed by it on the way to the kitchen. She didn’t see any with Parker’s mother.
“Maybe I should go get him.”
Suddenly, he jumped up, but before he could go past her, she grabbed him by the elbow instinctively. The last thing she wanted him to do right now is force Parker to come and say hi. That would be the wrong start, and it might undermine everything she could achieve with him. Spontaneity was a far better option.
“No, don’t,” she shook her head. “He appears really shy and it’s a mistake to make him come out here if he doesn’t feel the need to do so on his own.”
“Oh,” he murmured, pulling his hand away immediately, as if her touch burned him. “I guess you’re right.”
He thought about it for a second, then went back to his seat. He was still smiling, but it was a painful kind of smile, a forced smile. Rene was sure that the smile he would give his son was genuine, it was a smile that never revealed its deep pain hidden underneath, but with her, he didn’t need to put in so much effort, and it showed. As someone who knew what it felt like to carry a deep sadness that never really went away, she could recognize it the moment she saw it in someone else. It was easy. It was like looking into a mirror that went past the mere surface and showed what truly lies beneath.
“Your house is really lovely, Mr. McGallan,” she smiled, feeling as if she was losing him, even though she was sure she hadn’t done anything.
“Thank you,” he nodded, a little pensively, but a second later, he was smiling again.
There was an obvious effort on his part not to succumb to that brooding pensiveness once more, but to remain the smiling, charming person he wanted her to think he was.
“And, please, call me Hyde. I think that’ll help Parker be more open with you,” he added.
She agreed with this. Moving away from those social confines was usually beneficial in her line of work. However, the line still had to be drawn somewhere, and in this case, Rene herself would be drawing it by forcing herself to stop thinking about how hot her possibly future boss was.
“Anything you can tell me about him?” Rene wondered. “His hobbies, interests?”
“He loves books, he’s got this little um…” Hyde paused, raking his fingers through his hair as he spoke, “microscope my w… his mother and I got him last year, and it’s still one of his favorite things to do. You know, look at stuff underneath, and you see what it’s made of.”
Rene nodded and smiled. This sentence actually revealed more about him than his son. It was all still fresh and this man was still in shambles over what had happened. She could see that much. The fact that he refused to refer to her as his ex-wife, but rather just his son’s mother told her that it was probably she who wanted the divorce.
“I have a book about biology and stuff, which I think would be great for him. I’ll make sure to bring it next time,” she said it, then bit her tongue.
The position still wasn’t hers. It was too soon to talk like this. She could only hope that he wouldn’t hold it against her.
“You know, that’s a great idea,” he smiled, encouragingly.
Rene smiled back, happy to see that she didn’t cross the line.
“You come highly recommended, Miss… I mean, Rene,” he corrected himself quickly, “and as you can imagine, I’m in a bit of a rush to find someone to watch Parker, because I start tomorrow.”
Rene wasn’t expecting to start that early, but she wasn’t in a position to be overly picky. She’d have to make it work, one way or another.
