“No, no. It’s fine. I’m really ready,” I said, stepping back.
He nodded and entered. For a moment, he simply stood there looking at me with a soft smile on his face. “You’re a really beautiful young woman, Lorelei,” he said. “A natural beauty. Most of the women I’m introduced to these days look like they would come apart in a hot shower.”
“Thank you, Mr. Dolan.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“I love how you don’t blush and yet you don’t come off being conceited or arrogant. It’s so matter-of-fact with you, your beauty.”
It wasn’t in my nature to blush. How could I explain that? Daddy had filled me with too much confidence, but, like a skilled sculptor, he had managed to keep us all from appearing smug or vain.
“Nevertheless, I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Dolan.”
He nodded.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet,” I continued, “but speaking of beauty, you have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you. A lot of thought went into it. You can be confident that we have the best plumbing,” he added, smiling. He glanced around and then sat in the side chair and nodded at the one beside it. I sat.
“Is something wrong, Mr. Dolan?”
His eyes shadowed and grew deep and dark for a moment. I thought that Mrs. Wakefield might have seen something in me that she didn’t like and had already said something to him.
“No, nothing’s wrong. My daughter, Julia, is very taken with you. She’s a perceptive young lady. I respect her opinion.”
“I like her, too.”
Where’s the second shoe here? I wondered. What’s going to be dropped on me?
“The reason I snuck up here once I learned you were here was to have a brief chat. I want to be sure that seeing Liam is something you really want to do. What I mean to say is, don’t do anything you think might be necessary to hold on to your job.”
I sat back sharply. “I don’t know what sort of girl you’re used to seeing with your son, Mr. Dolan, but I assure you, I wouldn’t spend a moment with him outside of the company if I didn’t want to do so. And if my job depended on my pleasing the boss’s son, I’d be out of there in what I’ve heard people call a New York minute.”
Instead of being annoyed at my sharp comeback, he smiled. “You reassure me that my initial instincts about people, especially young women, are not as dull as I feared. I don’t doubt that the difficulties of your own family situation have hardened you. What’s that quote, ‘If it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger’?”
“Nietzsche. It’s ‘What does not destroy me makes me stronger.’ ”
“Yes, well, I wish that were true for Liam.”
“Give him a chance. Maybe it will be,” I said. “Sometimes we’re too close to see.”
His smile widened, and his eyes lost any trace of darkness.
The truth was, I wasn’t thinking of Liam. I was thinking of myself and my father and sisters.
“I won’t deny that for the time being, he seems to have developed a sense of responsibility. Look at how he dresses for work now and how he goes at it. I have a sneaking suspicion, howev
er, that he’s really trying to please you more than me.”
“I hope that doesn’t upset you.”
“Upset me? Hardly. I just wanted to be sure you were fine with it.” He leaned toward me to whisper. “I was secretly watching and laughing to myself at how hard a time you were giving him, and also the other young men.”
“A girl alone my age has to be careful.”
“Absolutely, but don’t ever think of yourself as alone as long as you’re working for Ken Dolan,” he said. He slapped his palms on his knees and stood. “Okay. I feel better. So, I understand you went out on our boat. Did you have a good time?”