I told Mia to stay right there.
My boss was standing beside the pergola with Benjamin, his business partner, and both were holding fresh drinks. Harold had his back facing me. I slowed down, not wanting to interrupt, waiting for a natural pause so I could apologize one more time.
Benjamin’s voice carried over, warm and slightly playful.
“And the renovation? Are you really going through with the whole second-floor rebuild? For a family? Harold, come on. Are you finally settling down on us?”
Benjamin’s voice drifted over.
I couldn’t make out Harold’s response. It was quiet, muffled, and brief.
But I watched his shoulders tense beneath his linen jacket. It was the kind of stillness someone gets when a question hits far too close to the bone.
Something inside my stomach sank.
A second-floor rebuild. For a family. Harold didn’t have a family. He’d never married or had children.
