Devon had returned from his travels for the Foundation and was now trying to catch up on his paperwork. As he sat at his desk, there was a knock at the door. Looking up, he saw Leon, the site manager.
"Leon, please come in."
"Actually, Devon, I'd like to show you something."
"Of course."
If Leon called him Devon instead of Mr. Miles, then something interesting was going on. Devon followed Leon upstairs and to the back of the mansion. There, at a window overlooking the pool, was Mr. C, the head gardener. Something very interesting was going on.
"Still at it, Mr. C?"
"Oh, yes."
Mr. C stepped aside, making room for Leon and Devon. Devon looked out. There, in the pool, was his goddaughter and his nominal employee. Michael swam over to the ladder and got out. He then reached down and easily hauled Melissa out of the pool. He put her on his shoulders, holding her tight. He then squatted down, stood up, and threw Melissa up. She went high, then splashed into the pool.
Devon was stunned. Melissa surfaced with the biggest smile he'd seen on her face in years. As soon as her face was above the water, Michael cannonballed into the pool. Laughing, he got out and hauled her up for another go.
Leon spoke first. "I still can't believe it. She hasn't been that happy in, well, in a very long time."
"No, she hasn't," murmured Devon.
Mr. C added, "I'd have seen her smile at the other end of the estate."
"You know," said Leon thoughtfully, "Michael seems a bit . . . tired."
Devon watched as Michael cheerfully pulled Melissa out of the pool and prepared to throw her in again. "He seems fine to me."
"Oh, no," said Mr. C. "Definitely tired. Probably overworked."
"Could use a couple of days off. To rest up," agreed Leon.
"No," said Devon, with a shake of his head. "We have a lot of work piling up." Before either of the other two men could protest, he added, "In fact, Michael is woefully behind on his case reports. Before I send him out on assignment, I really must insist he get those done. At least he has his research assistant to help him with those. They can get started this afternoon, after lunch."
The three men watched the antics in the pool with fond smiles on their faces before returning to their work.