Page 339 of The Christmas Wife

Without breaking my gaze, he picks up his cell phone, presses a key, and holds it to his ear. "Send in lunch for me and Ms. Young." He places his phone down on the table, then points to the chair opposite him. "Sit." The light glistens off the watch on his wrist.

I shake my head. "No, thank you."

"We need to go over your duties."

"Still haven’t said I’m accepting the job."

His chest rises and falls. "I’m paying you £10,000 a month."

"What?" I squeak. "Why would you pay me that much?"

"Trust me, you’ll earn every penny." His lips curl.

I scowl. "I’m not going to sleep with you, if that’s what you’re after."

He looks me up and down. "No fear there. You’re not my type."

My jaw drops. "Were you born this rude?"

"No, it's a skill I've perfected over many years."

Wow, okay."If you’re going to be this obnoxious?—"

"I haven’t even started, Ms. Young."

"Mira."

"Excuse me?"

"That’s my name."

"I know what your name is, Mirabelle."

I pick up my jaw off the floor, again. "H-h-h-how d-d-did you…."

"Mirabelle Young, living temporarily in a one-bed room apartment in Hackney. Father is Cyril Young, the CEO of the Young group of hotels. One of the most successful and wealthy families in the world."

My gaze widens. I open my mouth, but he holds up his hand. "Before you ask any predictable questions, I make it my business to know everything about people before I hire them."

"So, when you saw me yesterday at the gathering, you already knew about my background?"

He hesitates. "I had my investigator get me a file on you and?—"

"You have a file on me?" I yell.

"I have files on all of my employees. It’s standard HR procedure to do a check before you hire someone. It’s why I didn’t ask you for references."

"It’s an intrusion of privacy, is what it is."

"Not when all your information is in the public domain."

I blink, then realization dawns. "My social media networks."

"Shouldn’t have set your settings to public." He clicks his tongue.

I cross my arms over my chest. "Do you take pleasure in belittling people?"

"I don’t care one way or the other."

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