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“And me you. Please take a seat.” Ben sat opposite and opened a document wallet. From where Alex was sitting, he could see it was a copy of his CV with parts commented on and underlined. “I hope you had no trouble finding us.”
“None at all. I’ve been before, my cousin got married here last autumn.” One of the more normal members of the extended family, although not many would believe it.
“Oh, lovely. I’m afraid I’m unlikely to know the name if you told me, my husband would know. Ashley takes care of the weddings.”
“I doubt he’d forget this one. The bride got married in purple fake fur and her husband, gold leopard skin print.”
Ben’s smirk told Alex that the wedding had made an impression. “I see you’ve not chosen to follow in the family’s choice of attire.”
“No, I much prefer a more refined option.” He did wonder how he’d escaped some of the eccentricities of his family but thankfully he didn’t think wellies and pyjamas were the best thing to wear to a supermarket and had yet to take up a hobby which involved needing fire extinguishers on hand. “I find it important to have a professional image, after all, I’m not just representing myself, but my employer.”
Ben tugged at the lapel of his own jacket, a bespoke piece of tailoring, if Alex was not mistaken. “As you can see I completely agree. Not that I’m never dressed down but you’ll be unlikely to ever see me in sportswear outside of the gym or off a tennis court.”
“I should think not, my lord. I imagine your schedule wouldn’t allow too much downtime. Especially now with the new addition to the family.” He’d gleaned from Karl that it was the arrival of the Viscount of Crofton that had driven the earl to take on a secretary.
“Pretty much the crux of the matter. I’m sure Karl filled you in with the gist of the position and looking at your CV, I don’t think you’d have any issue with what I’d need.”
“Not at all. There’s not many things that make me baulk.” He’d hired escorts, organised balls and replanned travel schedules on a whim, the Earl of Crofton would have a reasonably full agenda but nowhere near the extent of his previous employer.
“I’m relieved to hear it.” Ben leant across the desk. “I’ll be honest, Alex. I need to find a secretary as soon as possible. Ever since the birth of my son, David, my world has spiralled into a maelstrom of sleepless nights, exhaustion and a perpetual state of confusion. As much as I adore him, I need to do something to get the rest of my life back in order before I drop the ball and miss another meeting or somehow endanger the earldom.”
Most of the people he’d worked for would have never dreamt of being so upfront in an interview. He’d already decided he wanted the job after speaking to Karl and hearing about the rest of the household, but this human side to Lord Crofton would be revolutionary in terms of his daily life.
“I doubt it would come to that, my lord, and Mr Vinter said you would prefer someone who could start immediately.”
“Karl thought you would be perfect after speaking to you, but I do have a few things I need to ask, including why someone of your calibre is currently looking for a job?”
A question he was expecting, and not a difficult one. “My last employer had a very aggressive travel schedule and he began requiring me to travel with him, which wasn’t originally part of my contract. Since we couldn’t come to an agreement, I’m now looking for something less… demanding.”
“That was the CEO of Lif Ltd. Venture capitalists, if I’m not mistaken. You do realise the position here at Crofton Hall is going to be rather different. Live-in and no extensive travel. In fact, no travel that I would expect you to accompany me on in the current plan.”
“And in the future?”
“None that I’m aware of. I’ve a quick dash to see a friend in New York but I wouldn’t be expecting you to travel on those sorts of things. I honestly can’t see you needing to be away from the hall for any extended period beyond maybe the odd meeting you attend with me. I hope that’s not a disappointment.”
“Far from it.” The idea of not having to live out of a suitcase sounded brilliant. “It will be nice to settle down. From what I’ve seen, this is a lovely part of the world to do so.”
“I should probably warn you that we have several others in the house. There’s Dara, Dr Callaghan, who is cataloguing the family archive. There may be a few bits you could help him with from time to time. Chris, who is our writer-in-residence, and part-time PhD student, so I don’t expect them to be too much of a burden.”
“What sort of things will be required?” he asked. He was aware of the two archive dragons—Karl’s descriptor not his—but not that they would be part of his workload.
“Occasional grant applications, help with potential soirées around book launches, and a potential opening night for a play Chris has been working on—but that won’t be for a while.”
Nothing he couldn’t manage, nor that he’d mind. He’d helped an author friend in a similar situation and he reckoned Lord Crofton would have a better advertising budget than twenty quid and as many free eBooks he could give away. “Should add some colour.”
Ben smiled, charming and sexy without any effort. “Alex, I’m not one to beat around the bush. You seem perfect, we can do a three-month probation period in case we get on each other’s wick, but when can you start?”
The salary was generous, especially since he’d be living in, and it would mean he could get away from his family, which was the main reason for trying to get a new job as soon as possible. As much as he loved them, they were driving him to distraction. “When do you need me?”
“Tomorrow.” Ben laughed. “Or as soon as.”
“I’m at my parents’ place in Norfolk so I suppose I could grab a few things and then move in properly over the weekend.”
“Oh, that would be marvellous!” From the document wallet, Ben picked out a few sheets of paper stapled together. “Here’s the contract my solicitors drew up, I think you’ve received a draft by email when you applied.”
“Yes, it all seemed in order. I’ll give it another read overnight and if there’s anything we can discuss before I sign. But provisionally, I’d be delighted to join Crofton Hall. I could be back here tomorrow after lunch. Say two p.m.?”
“Wonderful. Now I must insist you call me Ben, I’m not one for too much informality, and you can help me sort out my New York trip.”
