Page 53 of The Mad Marchams

Mabel made a face. “Not really. Joss is behaving like a giant ass.”

“Then tell him to sling his hook.” Colin returned to the table with his toast.

“Sling his what now?”

He grinned at her, his blue gaze mischievous. “Not heard that one before? It means exactly what it implies. Or tell him to take a hike in your vernacular.”

“Do you remember one of our first ever conversations when I told you I was a terrible people pleaser? Well Joss is my kryptonite. We’ve known each other since we were sixteen and I guess I still feel like I owe him.”

“For what exactly?”

“The opportunity to be successful? In the early days I lacked confidence in my abilities, and he supported me through that and helped me become the person I wanted to be.”

“And from what you’ve told me you’ve already paid him back in spades.”

Mabel ate some toast and thought about what Colin was implying.

“It’s been harder than I imagined standing up to him.”

“Have you ever considered that he is the problem?” Colin asked. “That the fact you feel under siege doesn’t reflect well on him? I know it’s none of my business, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s listening to your concerns or being respectful of your boundaries.”

“He doesn’t think about personal stuff that way. He’s always looking ahead to the next big thing—the next project—the breakthrough that will make him a billionaire.”

“If you know all that, then why are you still making excuses for him?”

Mabel opened her mouth to argue and then shut it again. Why was she defending Joss when he made her feel like crap?

“I don’t know.”

“Something to think about, then.” Colin ate some toast.

“I suppose old habits die hard. At one point it was us against the world but that’s changed. I don’t want to be a billionaire if it means I never get to experience life outside my computer screen.”

Colin looked at her. “Then I think you’ve answered your own question about what to do about Joss.”

“I guess I have. Now I just have to be strong and follow through.” She took her plate and cup over to the sink. “At least you don’t seem to have any quarrels with your employers.”

“Stephen Falke’s a great boss.” Colin said. “Very understanding.”

Mabel rinsed the mug and plate and put them in the dishwasher. “That’s what Freddy said.”

He didn’t reply and when she turned back to the table, he was looking thoughtful.

“What else did Freddy say?”

“That you only got your job through nepotism.” Mabel met his gaze calmly.

“Which is true.”

She sat opposite him and waited to see what he would say next.

“Stephen gave me a chance when no one else would.” Colin looked down at his hands wrapped around his coffee mug. “I’ll always be grateful to him for that. He let me work part time while I went back to college and got my architectural and engineering qualifications. It was tough at first, but at least I didn’t have time to miss my old life or hang out with the enablers I once called friends. Freddy and the rest of my family prefer to think I still gad about like a butterfly, but I haven’t done that for years.”

“I know.” It was good to hear him express his changing feelings about his role in the family. It made her own world view less rocky.

“Sometimes I’m tempted.” He half-smiled. “It would be nice to drop everything and bum around the world on a private jet.”

“I’m fairly sure even that would get boring after a while,” Mabel said. “I’ve had friends who’ve made enough money to retire at twenty-five, and they soon get bored doing nothing.”