âSO, WERE you able to hire her?â
Principe Tomasso Scorsolini paced the Hong Kong hotel suite, his cell phone pressed against his ear and waited with barely concealed impatience to discover if his prey had taken the bait.
âShe came to the palace for the interview as agreed and she impressed me very much.â Thereseâs voice rang with approval across the phone lines. âI donât know how you heard about her, but sheâs a sweet woman and will be good with the children. She really is ideal, but I was not certain at first that she would accept the position.â
âWhy?â Heâd made sure Maggie Thomson had no conflicting loyalties, arranging for her current employers to dispense with her services while at the same time suggesting she consider the position in his household.
âShe was concerned about the impact her leaving in a couple of years would have on Annamaria and Gianfranco, particularly in light of Lianaâs death.â
âA couple of years? She assumes she will leave?â
âShe has plans to open her own day care center after she has saved enough money. It is why she has taken positions with older children up to this point.â
Ah, so she still held onto her dreams. He should not be surprised. Maggie Thomson had a stubborn streak almost as wide as his own. âWhat did you tell her?â
âI took your advice and introduced her to Gianni and Anna. They liked Miss Thomson immediately and she fell completely under their spell. You know how shy little Annamaria is and yet by the end of the interview, she was sitting in Miss Thomsonâs lap. Iâve never seen anything like it.â Therese paused as if collecting her thoughts. âI know this is going to sound strange, Tomasso, but it was as if she was their long-lost motherâ¦the connection between the three of them was that strong.â
She didnât need to say what they both knew. The connection between the children and their real mother had never been that significant. Liana had not been a nurturer.
âThat is good to hear.â Very good.
âYes, well. I told her that if she would commit to a two-year contract, we would provide her with a generous bonus at the end of it to help her with her business.â
âDid that sway her?â
âNot at first. She was still concerned about the children, but I explained that when hiring domestic help, a two-year contract was a long-term commitment and really better than we might expect to do with someone else.â
He had no plans to let Maggie Thomson go in two years, or anytime thereafter, but Therese did not need to know that. âBrilliant. And she accepted?â
âYes.â
âGood.â Satisfaction filled him. âThank you, Therese.â
âIt was my pleasure, Tomasso.â
âTell Claudio I will see him when I return to Isole dei Re.â
âYou may well see him before I do.â There was something in his sister-in-lawâs voice that bothered him.
âAre you all right, Therese?â
âYes, of course. Miss Thomson agreed to begin her duties immediately as you suggested.â
âVery good.â
âYes, but I shall miss having the children with me.â
He hadnât considered that. âI am sorry, Therese.â
âDonât be silly. I enjoy their company, but it is important for them to have a more consistent caretaker in their lives. If you lived here in the palace, it would be different, but since you make your home on another island entirely, I cannot make up for their lack of a mother.â
âIt sounds like Maggie Thomson will do that nicely.â
âFor the next two years anyway.â
For a lifetime if it all worked out the way he planned. âI thank you again, Therese.â
She dismissed her role as unimportant and rang off.
Tomasso flipped his phone shut and smiled to the empty room. It was all coming together.
Better than even he could have anticipated, and projecting a planâs outcome was something he had perfected during his years running Mining and Jewelers.
Apparently his children and Maggie had adored one another on sight and, equally important, she was the same sweet-natured woman she had been in college. He hadnât really expected anything different since reading the report Hawkâs agency had compiled on her. It also said she retained other characteristics he remembered from his college days.
According to her past employers, she was efficient, content in the domestic environment and peaceful to be around. Traits he hadnât appreciated nearly enough at the time. Heâd been too interested in outward beauty to understand how much her presence meant to himâ¦until it was gone.
Heâd taken for granted how smoothly his life had run when Maggie was his housekeeper. Four years in a volatile marriage with Liana had cured him of that complacency.