AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I like you, Elliot. I think you’re what he needs.”
Of course she likes me. Mothers always do. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The letter, the job. It’s not a secret.”
This should flood me with relief, hearing it not just from Ryder, but from his mother, but for some reason, it doesn’t. I give her a speculative look. She only smiles.
“You could give him a pass,” I say.
“This thing, it’s more complicated than Ryder thinks.” She turns her champagne glass. “It’s not just about the outer image.”
“It’s about change. But in what way? Ryder’s Ryder. How he is outside of work doesn’t affect his job.”
“As I said, it’s complicated.”
“And you’re in charge of this.”
She pauses to say hello to a passing senator. Then she refocuses on me. “I’m overseeing things.”
It’s clear to me she’s pulling whatever strings she feels like pulling, but there isn’t a hint of malice about her. Whatever she’s up to is for Ryder’s sake. And it isn’t my job to judge. It’s my job to make sure Ryder gets what he wants.
“Inner change can come, but in four weeks?”
Faye sets a firm, warm hand on my upper arm and squeezes gently. “As you said, Ryder’s Ryder. He is capable of change.”
“If he wants that.”
“Yes.” There’s a small smile right before she takes a sip of her drink. “If.”
“You’re aware of my job here, so if you have anything I need—”
“There’s a lot at stake, Elliot.”
“Okay, but if I’m helping him, how does that do anything? You know with the four weeks change will be mostly cosmetic.” I’m saying this, not because I want to, but because it feels the right thing to say. His mother isn’t the kind of woman to take to bullshit. I want—need—to see what her game is.
“I’m the one judging, as I know him best.”
I nod. “So you’re willing to just say he’s changed?”
“If he changes, yes.”
I really wish Ryder hadn’t taken my drink. I could do with something to occupy my hands. Instead, I keep them by my side. Image goes a long way with others. “Why would you do that, say he’s changed if he ticks all the boxes, when you know he hired me?”
“I’m his mother.”
“Not some all-seeing being.” I decide to push it. “I said inner change can come, but after a long, hard slog; after effort and micro shifts. People don’t change. Not in four weeks.”
“Elliot,” she says, “that’s where you’re wrong. People can and they do. And there’s a lot more to my youngest son than there might seem.”
“I’m keeping my judgments to myself.”
His mother laughs. “You’re too good for him, but he’s got it in him to rise to that level.”
I stare at her. “Ryder and I…there’s nothing there. He’s not interested and I’m not what he wants.”
“I’m just saying,” she says, “that if anyone’s up to the job of implementing a life change in Ryder, it would be you. The trick is, Ryder can’t do just a cover up that lasts up to the end of the four weeks. It has to be that something in him really changes.”
“I don’t think he sees it that way.”
