Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 59044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Christ.
His daughter sounded like a fucking nightmare.
But if I could put up with the whiny new recruits while serving, I was sure I could tolerate some bratty rich kid.
“I understand. I’ve never been one to quit when things get hard,” I said.
Quite the opposite.
Everything I have ever lost in my life had claw marks on it.
“That’s good to hear. As for the job itself, it is simple work, really. Being wherever my daughter is, keeping an eye on her, making sure no one hurts her or gets into any… sticky situations.”
Did he have no control over his kid?
What kind of ‘sticky situations’ could a child be getting into?
“Alright,” I agreed.
“In case this was not made clear in the email, this is a live-in position.”
A live-in position?
Meaning that if I chose to do this, I would be committing to a year, at least, of nonstop work. Never getting time off. No way to get some space.
That was a big ask.
Though, yeah, the salary make a lot more sense.
Could I do that?
Lose a year of my life for a fat paycheck at the end?
I thought I just might be able to do that.
“All expenses are included, of course. You will have no expenses while in this position.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “What about time off?”
“You may choose one day a week, so long as it is not a weekend.”
That was an odd request.
But maybe he liked to go out on weekends, and wanted a man around to keep his little girl safe.
It didn’t matter.
It wasn’t like I had anywhere to be on the weekends myself.
“Will there be other hired help around?” I asked, thinking maybe the kid would have a nanny or something, and just me as an extra set of eyes.
“A driver, of course,” Marcus said. “Twice weekly cleaning staff. And the occasional in-home massage or facial.”
In-home massage and facial?
For a child?
The lifestyles of the rich and famous, I guess.
“You will, of course, have your own room and private bath. But the common areas will be shared.”
“Will your wife be around?” I asked, not thrilled at the idea of having no one else around to take care of the kid. I was no au pair.
“My wife passed many years ago,” Marcus said, eyes going sad in a blink.
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling like I’d ripped open a wound. “What are your hours then, sir?” I asked.
“My hours?”
“When will you be at work and at home?”
“I can’t imagine why that would be relevant.”
Christ.
Was he dense or just that detached from his daughter’s care? No wonder she was such a handful.
“It would be good to know when you would and wouldn’t be around.”
To that, Marcus’s brows pinched.
“Around? No. No. My daughter has her own condo, Mr. Flynn.”
“You don’t live with your child?” I asked, trying to keep the outrage out of my voice, and mostly failing.
“Mr. Flynn, may I call you Julian?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“Julian, how old do you think my daughter is?” he asked.
“I have no idea. But I’m starting to think a lot older than I originally figured.”
To that, Marcus let out a dry little laugh as he leaned back in his chair.
“I was wondering, given your line of questioning,” he said, leaning forward to snag a picture off of his desk. “Scarlet is twenty-four,” he said, turning the picture for me to see.
The girl in the picture wasn’t twenty-four, but maybe in her early teens. All arms and legs with a big smile and icy blue eyes like her father’s.
“Twenty-four,” I said, brows going low. “Why does she need live-in help then?” I asked.
“Scarlet keeps… her own hours,” he said, choosing his words carefully. A little too carefully. There was something he wasn’t saying.
And I wasn’t about to take a job without knowing what I was getting into.
“And by that, you mean…” I invited.
Another sigh from Marcus.
And more mug swirling.
“Okay, son. Here’s the thing. Scarlet has become a bit… wild since she became a legal adult. She parties a lot. She’s out at all hours of the night. For her own safety, our family’s reputation, and my own peace of mind as a father, I need to know she isn’t getting too out of control. So I have been hiring people to keep an eye on her since she finished college.”
“Unfortunately, I haven’t found someone who is up to the task as of yet. Scarlet can be… a lot. I need someone who can handle that.”
“I understand,” I said, my mind racing as I tried to wrap my head around this new information, and how I felt about a much different sort of position, on the spot. “Was Scarlet the one to fire the previous guards?”
“Technically, she can’t fire any of you,” Marcus said. “She understands very well that there are consequences if she doesn’t agree to this arrangement,” he said.
That was rich-person-speak for he would cut her off. And spoiled princesses like that couldn’t exist without their monthly allowance. Even if they did nothing to earn it.