“Of course.” I nod breathlessly. I’ve done it. I’ve bloody got the job. “For how long?”
“For as long as I deem necessary.” He stands from the couch and moves to the large glass table near the window. After grabbing a large bound booklet and phone, he returns and hands them to me. “This is your instruction manual put together by my long-term help, Mrs. Dalton. You’ll find all your tasks listed here.”
I take the worryingly thick manual in my hands as he looms over me, hands in his pockets, watching my every move.
This is the second time I’m eye level with his dick.
“She’s very detailed,” I murmur, leafing through the pages without reading them. I hate when people ask me to read something in front of them.
“A quality I expect from my team. Bear that in mind.”
“Yes, of course. Absolutely.” My lips curve into a tight smile. “I’ll digest this.”
“Tonight, please, since you start tomorrow morning.” His brow lifts. “Do you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?”
I shake my head, blushing.
With his hands in his pockets, he strolls back to stand, staring out the window. “Anyone you date will be vetted. When you date, it will be outside this house. I don’t let men stay, even in the staff quarters. That’s a hard rule for my daughter’s sake.”
“Sure.” I can deal with celibacy if it means living in an Upper East Side townhouse. Living under the same roof as Killian Quinn is terrifying enough.
He turns to face me again. “I put a lot of trust in my staff, but if you violate that trust, my security staff will be here in minutes. Cameras are all over the property.”
“Everywhere?” I’m not taking a dump with Quinn’s security team watching. “Even the bathrooms?”
“No, not the bathrooms. Your living quarters are exempt, too.”
I glance anxiously around the room. “But I’ll be watched all the time?”
“No.” His lips quirk as he leans against the window ledge. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a smile. “That’s by exception. The security is as much for your benefit, Miss Kelly, as it is mine and Teagan’s. Every room in the house has a panic button. My team will show you how to invoke an emergency. You’ll also install an app on your phone to alert my team immediately if you’re in danger.”
“Panic buttons?” I echo, bewildered.
“I’m in the public eye. It comes with the territory,” he says dryly. “I want you to feel safe here.”
It’s the first bout of compassion I’ve felt from him.
“I’m not planning to do anything to violate your trust, Mr. Quinn.”
“Glad we understand each other.” He nods to the phone beside me. “That’s yours. I expect you to always have it on you.”
There’s a knock behind me. I turn to see the double doors opening, and Sam, the nice Irish guy who drove me from Queens, enters. “Boss.”
Quinn nods at him before turning back to me. “Sam will take you to your studio.”
He pushes himself off the ledge, and I take it as my cue to stand.
“Teagan is at her grandmother’s, so you can’t meet her right now. Sam will show you your living quarters and set you up with access to the property. The rest of the evening is yours to settle in, Miss Kelly.”
As much as I like the sound of my second name in his deep raspy voice…
“Please call me Clodagh. No one calls me Miss Kelly.”
“Clodagh.”
My neck hairs stand on end.
He runs a hand over his strong jawline. “Call me Mr. Quinn.”
I start to laugh, then realize he’s not amused. “Oh. Sorry, I thought you were joking.”
“Do I look like a comedian?”
Does he want an answer to that? My nerves are shot.
“No. Mr. Quinn,” I say hoarsely. “I look forward to working for you. Boss.”
The corner of his mouth twitches slightly. “I’ll see you at five o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Wait, what?
For the umpteenth time during our exchange, I try not to react.
Who needs domestic assistance at five in the morning? I guess the answers are in the manual.
With a curt nod, Killian strides off.
“Ready?” Sam smiles at me sympathetically.
Too sympathetically.
Killian
I give the pint-sized redheaded soap thief with the emerald eyes until the end of the week.
Clodagh
Sam takes me to a secure room to program the security system at the entrance, enabling me access to the mansion. I press my thumb against a scanner and keep still while the device reads my retinal pattern.
I’ve never unlocked a house with my eyes before.
At least there’s no chance of me losing my keys.
“Ready to see your new digs?” Sam grins. My skittishness seems to entertain him.
The foyer lights are on, but there’s no sign of Killian or his daughter on the ground floor, and I’m relieved. Before I see him, I want to read this manual and understand what I’m dealing with.
I follow Sam past the double staircase, down the hall to another stairway to the lower ground floor.
“The dungeon,” I half joke as I descend behind Sam.
He flips on a light and… holy shit.
Quinn hasn’t skimped on the lower ground staff quarters. I follow Sam into a beautiful red-bricked lounge-kitchen area. This should be on ads for New York loft-style living.
He drops my bag on the couch.
“Wow,” I say loudly, spinning around. Renting this apartment would cost thousands of dollars a month. “I get to live here… alone? As in… it’s all mine?”
I turn to Sam, who leans against the fridge with a slight smirk.
“It’s all yours, Clodagh.”
“Fuck me,” I breathe. Orla will lose her shit when she sees this place.
Swallowing hard, I take in every detail of the room. I always thought basement flats would feel dark and dingy. This one has soft furnishings and a fluffy white carpet that makes me want to curl up on the floor and never leave. The area is perfect for hosting my online yoga classes for my gran’s friends back home.