章節 14: I Have My Ways
"Are you done?" He asked when he saw the young lady lift her head and the reply she gave caused his face to darken several shades.
"Yeah. But may I know what is wrong with your son?"
"Nothing is wrong with Charles!" Jace snapped and Grace couldn't help but shake in fear.
'I guess I have said something wrong?' From the negative aura emanating from the man before her, she didn't need a soothsayer to inform her that she had touched the tiger by its tail.
"I'm sorry, Sir. It was a slip of the tongue. What I meant to ask is that…"
"You don't need to say anything more. Just sign the papers," Jace said in a rather surprisingly calm voice.
After handing over the signed papers, an eerie silence ensued between them and Grace found herself clasping and unclasping her hands the entire time.
After what seemed like eternity, Jace raised his head.
"Since you'll be taking care of Charles, I guess I need to tell you everything about him. After now, I'll fix an appointment with his doctor and he'll fill you in on the rest."
Grace congratulated herself for her keen discernment. 'I knew it. Something is definitely wrong with him from all those dos and don't rules that were stated in the contract. But what could be wrong with such a cute little child?' she wondered.
"Charles is autistic," she heard Jace say.
"Huh?!"
"I don't like repeating myself," Jace drawled in a tone that made Grace instantly take a mental note of that bit of information.
"All his meals are planned and the timing must be strictly adhered to," Jace stated.
"He must not be exposed to outsiders for any reason and must always be taken seriously."
He added that part because of the incident that just happened outside the company.
"And lastly, you must do all you can to understand him. He has a high IQ for a child his age despite his autistic nature, so he communicates through pictures and writings," Jace finished as if he had just finished reading the ten Commandments.
"But.." Grace couldn't help but raise her brow in confusion.
"That was a one off," Jace intercepted, knowing perfectly well what she intended to ask about.
"What!" Grace exclaimed but quickly covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it."
"You don't need to apologize," Jace said with a wave of the hand.
Even he, was yet to recover from the shock he felt when he heard his son speak for the first time. It had taken every fiber in him to restrain himself from lifting the little guy up in the air and running round the entire hospital, screaming: "my son can speak! He is not dumb!"
But there was no way he was going to let her know it was the first time the little guy ever spoke and that his first words were actually because he was expressing his concerns for her, a total stranger.
"Is there anything else you would wish to know?"
Grace shook her head. "No, Sir."
"The butler will show you to your room and when your ankle is healed, you will be familiarized with the rest of the house."
"Am I going to be living here?" Grace asked in disbelief. Although the place was like heaven, she still preferred her little space to herself. How was she going to ever cope with him breathing down her shoulders all day?
Jace quirked a brow. "How do you intend to take care of my son if you don't stay here?"
"In case you have forgotten so soon, it is stated in the contract that he must never be left alone. Besides you don't have anywhere to call a home anyways," Jace added sarcastically.
Grace remembered reading that part. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. But wait! How did he know she didn't have a place to call home?
"I have my ways of knowing about everything," Jace replied to her raised eyebrows.
"You're right, I guess." After all he was the richest man in SF and everyone was practically at his beck and call. Getting any information about her life was just a piece of cake.
"If there's nothing else, I think I'm done with you."
He pressed a bell and a dignified gentleman in a smart suit came in a few seconds later.
"This is Mr Fitzwilliam, the butler and the one in charge of the affairs here. Everyone takes orders from him and he reports to me."
Mr Jeffrey Fitzwilliam, popularly know as Mr Fitz, gave a curt bow as a greeting to Grace who responded warmly.
"Nice to meet you, Mr Fitzwilliam."
Turning to Grace, Jace continued the introduction, "This is Grace Fowler, she's here as Charles' nanny. Please show her to the room I asked you to prepare."
"Alright, Master Jace," he said and although he was skeptical about his boss's choice of getting a disabled person to tend to the young master, he was wise enough not to show it in his expression as he turned to help Grace push her wheelchair, but Grace politely refused.
"Thank you, sir. I think I can handle it from here."
"Alright, then."
"Thank you sir," Grace dropped her head in a slight bow to Jace before leaving with the butler.
As Grace followed the butler through the sprawling mansion, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It wasn't the grandeur of the house that made her uneasy, but rather the piercing gazes of the servants.
'I must say this place is gonna be quite interesting,' Grace muttered under her breath as she wheeled herself past the group of servants.
Already she could spot one among them whose look was far from curiosity— her expression was filled with contempt, sending a shiver down Grace's spine.
She had gotten a lot of that look from Fiona, her enemy in her former workplace to mistake it for anything else the moment she saw it in someone else's eyes. But what baffled her was that she couldn't just fathom why.
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