Page 4 of Taming Scarlet

“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 littletoocarefully. 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.

“And yet?” I prompted, knowing the position was presently vacant.

“Scarlet can make things… difficult if she doesn’t get her way. I believe the former guards simply had enough and left.”

“So, if I take this position, and she tells me at some point to leave, to get out of her apartment…”

“You’re under no obligation to do so. She might complain and be miserable to be around, but she won’t call the police or even the doorman to try to get you thrown out. She knows better.”

“I see,” I said, taking a deep breath.

She sounded like a nightmare.

The question was, though, could I tolerate that for a year to be able to have a good chunk of my retirement stashed away?

I’d served in the military.

I’d dealt with extreme conditions, being stuck in small places for extended periods of time with people I didn’t even like. I’d been miserable and frustrated day in and out.

But I’d gotten through that.

There was no way one pampered little heiress could be too much for me to tolerate for a year.

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