Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“What kind of a past?” I had to laugh at her dramatic tone. Secretly, I was interested.
“A criminal one,” she said, lowering her voice and continuing to work at her computer so as not to draw any attention to herself.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice lowering to match hers as my heart began to pound.
“All I know is Sean was the boss, then not much more than a year ago, suddenly Keegan arrives. Sent here from Ireland, where he got himself into some sort of trouble. And they hate each other,” she shrugged.
“How do you know this?” I asked.
“Sean let it slip to a couple of the ladies in HR,” Taylor said with a roll of her eyes. “So, basically it was around the office before the end of the day.”
“Keegan’s only been here a year?” I asked, my mind racing. So the troubled criminal son arrives here right before Clover House starts stealing from other companies. Very interesting.
“Yep. His buddy works at the Ireland office. He was mixed up in the same shit too. Daddy Callahan rescued them, but for some reason Keegan had to get out of Ireland.” Taylor winked at me, and I wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted me to infer from it.
“Is the friend Mick?” I asked, the pieces suddenly clicking into place. “I spoke to him on Zoom.”
“You ain’t seen nothing until you see him in the flesh,” she pretended to mop her brow. “I’d like to be his assistant – I would give him all the assistance he needs…”
“Stop it!” I laughed. “I will be seeing him in the flesh soon enough, and I’d like to be able to keep a straight face! I’m going to the opening of a new office or something next weekend, and he will be there.”
“Get out!” she was shocked. “Keegan Callahan is taking you to Ireland?”
“What!? Ireland?” my laughter stopped abruptly. “No…”
“You’re going to the opening of a new office. Next week. Where you’ll meet Mick…” she said slowly, and I nodded my agreement.
Taylor quickly brought something up on her screen. “You’re going to Ireland, babe!”
I looked at her screen – it was a press release for the opening of a new office building. In Dublin. I must have looked as horrified as I felt, because she put a hand on my arm and patted me consolingly. I thought back over how I had played the opening down, just blithely agreed I’d be there. I’d been trying to pretend I hadn’t heard about his ‘perfect’ girlfriend, so I hadn’t thought it through; I had just assumed the opening was local. As if to confirm my stupidity, Keegan himself chose that moment to walk past, letting me know that he would email me the details for the ‘Ireland trip.’ Taylor didn’t even try to conceal her giggle of delight at my stricken face.
Taylor might have found it hilarious that I was stuck in this unexpected predicament, but she didn’t know the real reason for my dread. After work, I had to get through a dinner with my family, who definitely would know why I felt sick at the thought of it. I hadn’t even told them about my ‘promotion.’
“You’re Keegan Callahan’s assistant?” Beatrix had stared at me, a forkful of spaghetti halfway to her mouth. “And you’re going to…”
“Ireland,” I said as if it was somewhere shameful.
“Do you have to go?” Mom looked concerned, and I was glad that her reaction was of worry and not anger. I felt a frisson of guilt for the trip – it was one thing to work for the enemy; that seemed like a sacrifice. But this, this was different.
“I think so,” I said. “This job – being Keegan’s assistant – gives me access to his files. I’ve been watching him. He doesn’t lock his laptop, and he keeps his passwords written down.”
“Shit, Freya!” Beatrix looked half impressed and half terrified.
“Dad?” I glanced at him. He hadn’t said a word.
“If you think you can do this without getting into any trouble, then I trust your judgment. But I’m not happy about it,” he said.
“None of us are happy about it, but right now, it’s our only hope,” Beatrix said.
The rest of the meal was awkward. We ate, talked small talk, avoided any discussion of money or lawyers, and smiled reassuringly at one another. When we had all eaten, Mom and Dad disappeared back to the studio. They were looking at options to save the company, and the dark circles under their eyes spoke of late nights and unshared worries. Beatrix and I cleared the dishes, an old ritual that felt somehow comforting at a time when everything felt quite surreal.
“Drew was in the studio today,” Beatrix casually remarked.
“Okay,” I tried to sound casual, but I knew her tone. Drew worked for my parents. It was a workday, therefore Drew was at work. The only time Beatrix sounded casual was when she was working extremely hard at sounding casual.