House of Christmas Secrets
Page 29
‘So, why did your father sell the law firm? Surely it would have been something to hang onto?’ William suddenly asked.
The question had been fair but Kate struggled to answer. ‘He … he didn’t want it any more.’ She took in a breath and gritted her teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was to cry, not here, not today. ‘He couldn’t bear to drive these roads, or to walk into the office and to see James’s desk empty. You see …’ She choked back the tears. ‘… James … he … he was his favourite, the only boy and my father didn’t take losing him very well. He didn’t even tell us about the sale. I was at the hospital a lot of the time, with my sister, and before we knew it, he’d sold everything and even though he only moved to York, it was far enough away for him not to have the daily memories that the company had given him.’
She looked around, battling her thoughts and was relieved when Gloria walked in with a tray of coffee and biscuits, carefully placing it on the desk next to where William still perched.
‘There you go, I brought more coffee. Just give me a shout if you need anything else.’ She glanced at where Kate sat. ‘Now, don’t you two go upsetting Kate. It’s her first day and I quite like the idea of having another woman around the place.’ She gave both Ben and William a stern look, before smiling at Kate and patting her on the shoulder. ‘Be nice to her,’ she said, before sweeping out of the room, allowing the door to slam shut behind her.
William picked up his mobile, checked the screen and then tossed it back on the desk. ‘You’ll be working with Ben for the first couple of weeks. I know you did surveillance work in the force, but you need to follow our way of doing things now. But, don’t worry, you’ll quickly learn the ropes. Ben will show you around the place, get you acquainted with the technology that we use and teach you as much as you need to know. The one thing we’re strict on, Kate, is that we do things by the book. At Parker and Son we stay within the law. So, no breaking the rules.’
Kate looked him directly in the eye. ‘Yes, sir. I’m pleased to hear that.’
‘Good.’ He looked at Ben. ‘Maybe you could take Kate out with you on the next job. Let her show us what she can do and, Kate, my name is still William.’ He smiled, but then stood up and Kate watched as he walked across the room, opened the door and once again, he smiled. ‘I’ll let Ben show you to your office. And Kate,’ he paused and held out his hand to shake hers. ‘Welcome to Parker and Son.’
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