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“And it’s my job to oversee the staff.”
“You can oversee them. I’ll step in when the firing needs to be done.”
“How about, we change our policy and don’t fire any more people? Wouldn’t that be a good compromise?” She gave him an angelic smile.
“No. It wouldn’t. We aren’t keeping incompetent people on at the mansion just because you feel sorry for them. From now on, I’ll do the firing. And you won’t be writing any more cheques. Am I clear?”
“Unfortunately.” The smile disappeared, and he felt like he’d turfed a kitten out into the snow.
He wasn’t going to let her sidetrack him. This had to be done. The townsfolk were walking all over her, and him by default. “And another thing, I’ll be paying back every penny you spent in my name.”
She shook her head, and her cheeks flushed to that fascinating shade of pink that made him itch to reach for his paints. “You don’t have to do that. I never asked you for the money.”
“Exactly.” She had to be the world’s most infuriating woman. “That’s my point.”
She stared at him for a moment, and he found himself getting lost in her sea green eyes. “Are we done now?” she said.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Aye. We’re done. But no more paying people off. I’m serious. If I find out you’ve been paying people, I’ll skin you alive and bury you under the roses.” It was an empty threat because he wasn’t sure what he would do if she went against his wishes. He couldn’t fire her. The thought of living in the mansion without Donna was unbearable. That left him with very few options. Something he hoped she never figured out.
To his surprise, she burst out laughing. “I knew you’d say that.”
Strange woman. His intention had been to lay down the law, but instead, he was reeling from his mystifying reaction to her and wasn’t entirely sure if she’d taken anything he’d said seriously.
“Well then,” he said as he stood. “I’m glad we got that sorted.”
And then he did the only thing he could think of to do. He left her to finish his meal.
Chapter 5
Donna awoke to the Doctor Who theme tune. She groaned, rolled over in bed and grabbed her phone.
“It’s five a.m.,” she whined at Mairi when she answered.
“And some of us have been up all night helping you defraud your boss,” Mairi snapped back.
“Is it really fraud?” Donna lay on her back and slung an arm over her eyes to shut out the early morning light. “What does Keir think you’ve been doing all night?”
“Something illegal,” Mairi’s boyfriend shouted in the background, making Donna realise she was on speakerphone.
“Keir knows?” Donna groaned.
“Sean, the back-stabbing hacker, sold me out to his brother.” Mairi’s words produced a male groan—Sean, presumably. “The rat fink cracked under pressure. All it took was one teeny phone call from his brother, and he spilled everything.”
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” Keir called out. “It’s dumb, and it’s going to backfire on all of you.”
“Whatever,” Mairi said. “I have news. We’ve cracked the art school’s email. Now you need to draft an email from the Fine Arts dean to Duncan, and one from him to the dean. Then we can send them and get this ball rolling.” She practically tripped over her words.
“How much caffeine have you had?”
“Lots. Lots and lots and lots.”
Great. Mairi was at her worst when she was hyperactive. “Why do I have to write the emails?”
“Because,” her sister said, sounding long suffering. “You know Duncan best. Now, chop-chop, get it done. I want to get this over with fast, so I can have some quality time with Keir before he leaves for work.”
“He doesn’t start work for another three hours.”
“I’m going to need every minute. I have a lot of excess energy I need to get rid of, and I’m not going to the garage to get serviced. Get it? Serviced?” She laughed at her own joke. She was the only one. Everyone else groaned. “The last time we did the deed in the garage I got oil in places that didn’t need oiling.”
