Chapter 23 - Margaret refuses the lake house
I offered Margaret a choice.
Main mansion.
Lake house.
Retire with full package.
She stared at me.
“Are you firing me politely?”
“No.”
“Then stop offering.”
“You’ve worked nineteen years.”
“I know.”
“You could rest.”
“I rest when Noah naps.”
He no longer napped consistently.
She knew.
Then I asked:
“Did Victoria ever offer you money to move?”
Margaret nodded.
“How much?”
“Salary increase.”
“What did you say?”
“I asked why.”
“She said?”
“Because you and Noah were a unit.”
There.
Victoria understood attachment.
She simply wanted it relocated.
Margaret said:
“She offered me a cottage at lake house and thirty percent raise.”
Did Margaret tell me?
“No.”
“Why?”
“I thought she was trying to be generous.”
That admission mattered.
May you like
Even Margaret missed part of it.
Manipulation works best when every step can look reasonable alone.
