Page 7 of Triplet Babies
“Let them push. We have other options if they decide to make trouble.”
He turns one of the monitors toward me. “Speaking of which, I had the pool area incident pulled up. Thought you might want to see what happened.”
The security footage shows the new gardener struggling with the irrigation valve, exactly as I witnessed. Seeing it from this angle, I notice details I missed before. She approaches the problem methodically, testing different solutions before settling on the most direct approach. The competent way she handles the tools despite the equipment’s obvious problems impress me. “She knows what she’s doing.”
Valentin brings up her file on a second monitor. “Sarah Clark. She’s twenty-six and moved here from New York eight months ago. Her previous employment was long-term with the same landscaping company. She had good references and a clean background check. No criminal history, no significant debt, and no family in the area.”
I’m intrigued despite knowing I shouldn’t be. I want to know more about her, which is a bad sign. Katya couldn’t be sure, but she is right that I rarely get involved with the personnel. If there’s hiring or firing to do, I leave that to Mrs. Nykova and let Valentin handle the background checks and security details. I fight myself before asking, “Why did she leave New York?”
He scans for a minute. “The application just says ‘seeking new opportunities.’ Could be anything. Bad relationship, financial problems, or she wanted a change of scenery.”
I study her application photo. It’s a standard headshot, professionally taken but not expensive. She’s looking directly at the camera with a slight smile that seems genuine. “She doesn’t flinch.” The observation surprises me as much as it does Valentin.
“What?”
I look at him then back at her photo. “Most people flinch when I speak to them. She didn’t.”
Valentin looks at me with the expression he gets when he’s trying to figure out where my thoughts are heading. “Is that significant?”
I close her file and turn away from the monitors. “It might be. I want her reassigned.”
“To what?”
“My personal assistant. Have Mrs. Nykova brief her on office duties tomorrow morning.”
Valentin’s voice carries a warning I haven’t heard in a long time. “Yarik, she’s a gardener. She has no experience with office work and no clearance for sensitive information.”
I shrug. “Then she’ll learn.”
He’s really frowning now. “This isn’t like you. You don’t make impulsive personnel decisions.”
He’s right, and we both know it. Impulsive decisions are how people get killed in this business.
And yet… something about Sarah Clark has gotten under my skin in a way I don’t understand. Maybe it’s the way she looked at me without fear, or the competent way she handled a difficult situation, or simply that she seems genuine in a world full of people who are constantly performing. “Have Mrs. Nykova prepare an office on the second floor. Something with natural light.”
Valentin doesn’t argue, but there’s concern in his expression. “Should I run additional background checks? Contact her previous employers directly?”
“Do whatever you think is necessary.” I pause at the door. “Do it quietly. I don’t want her to know she’s being investigated.”
“Understood.”
He already has his phone in his hand when I add, “Keep watch on the Nikitins. Today’s meeting didn’t go the way they wanted, and that makes them unpredictable.”
He nods. “Already on it.”
I leave him to his work and return to my office, but I’m distracted by thoughts of the new gardener. Sarah Clark looked at me like I was just a man who’d helped her avoid a fall. There was nothing more and nothing less. When was the last time someone looked at me that way?
The question follows me through the rest of the afternoon, and I check the security monitors more often than usual. She’s back at work, spending two backbreaking hours mopping up the water mess with barely a break.
By the time she finishes for the day, I’ve made my decision. Sarah Clark interests me, and I haven’t been interested in anything new for a long time. Tomorrow morning, I’ll find out whether that interest is justified, or if it’s a mistake that could cost me everything I’ve worked to build.
I roll my eyes at the dramatic thought. I’ve spent too much time around Katya Nikitin and must be careful that her theatrics don’t wear off on me.
3
Sarah
Iarrive at the estate gates at seven-fifty this morning, ten minutes early because I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and wondering if I’m about to be fired. The security guard waves me through with the same polite nod as yesterday, but everything feels different now. Yesterday, I was just another groundskeeper. Today I have no idea what I am.
