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He snorted. “I don’t make it a habit of judging a person on their gender. Besides, if I tried, my wife would string me up and use me for target practice.”
At my horrified look, he chuckled. “I may be the head of my family but my wife isn’t afraid to handle business. The guys know to watch out for her. The last person who pissed her off ended up with a bullet between their eyes.”
My mind was officially blown. It was hard enough to imagine the kind of woman who would marry someone as terrifying as Liam. I had to assume it was an arranged thing like the rest of the mafia world and she would be a demure creature like my sister. It sounded like she was a force to be reckoned with and I was a little curious about her. What kind of woman kept Liam O’Connor in line?
The whole conversation left me feeling more confident about the arrangement. To get me to work here exclusively, he’d have to pay both me and my office a large fee and I’m sure that’ll help me when it comes to my boss and with handling my father. I could see mostly positives by taking this job.
“Alright, Mr. O’Connor. I’ll draw up the revised contract and bring it to you when I’m finished. If you’ll just tell me where my office is, I’m sure I can find it.”
He nodded, dismissing me. I moved to leave but he spoke again and made me pause. “Jaime should be waiting for you by the elevator. He’ll show you to your office. He’ll also be your full time security while you’re working with me.”
That made me stiffen. “Sorry?”
“While you’re working for me, you’re required to have a member of my security team with you during work hours. You’ve already met Jaime. He’s one of the best, despite his inability to maintain proper decorum. You’ll be in good hands.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. “But I thought– Mr. O’Connor, I assure you I have no interest in swindling you, I’m not that kind of person. Mr. Ramirez has already experienced my work ethic. And with the way the contract is spelled out, even if I was that type of person I’d be facing a huge lawsuit I couldn’t hope to win. I don’t need security following me around.”
His face darkened. “It’s not your integrity I’m questioning, Miss Sloan. I’m sure you’re well aware of my reputation by now. I’m not without enemies and I have no interest in allowing a member of my staff to come to harm. You can either accept it or tear up the contract. The choice is yours.”
Glancing at the contract in my hand, I considered my options. I didn’t like the idea of someone following me around while I worked, I’m busy a lot and I didn’t want to hear the complaints when I worked through lunch or stayed late, but the look on Liam’s face left no room for argument.
Without warning, the door to the office flew open with a bang and I jumped nearly out of my seat.
“Oye. I found your snoop.”
The speaker was a young man with long blonde hair and mischievous blue eyes. He wasn’t in a suit like the rest of the people I’ve seen working around here. Instead he wore a t-shirt with shiny letters and chains printed on it and designer jeans hanging low on his hips. He shed his puffy winter coat, tossing it on one of the desks at his approach. His gaze shifted to me and narrowed, a deep frown on his face.
“How the hell did you find her first?”
My eyebrows flew up and I shot a startled look to Liam. A suspicious look crossed his face and he focused on the newcomer.
“What do you mean?”
The man pointed at me. “She’s the one who was looking you guys up. After I hacked her, I pulled her driver's license photo. Did Dmitriy send it to you already?”
How in the world did he know I was looking them up? And did he say hacked?
Liam turned to face me, raising an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”
Panic and embarrassment flooded my system and a deep flush worked its way up my cheeks. “I– I wanted to know who I was working for. I don’t know much about you and the articles lately haven’t been very flattering. I didn’t want to take a job if I didn’t know the type of person I’d be working for. How did he know that?”
Liam seemed satisfied with that answer and his attention moved back to the paperwork in front of him. “You’ll find very little can slip past Yuri. He used to be a bodyguard until we realized his skills were beyond the scope of a normal IT professional.”
Yuri looked smug. “My brother could not see pure talent if it was beating him over his massive head. I am so good, I am training another. Together, we will be unstoppable.” He popped his collar and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
Liam was not so discreet. He rolled his and scowled at Yuri so intensely, I worried there might be some kind of altercation about to happen.
“Was that all?”
Threading his thumbs through his belt loops, he shrugged. “I was sent to update you. I don't have much else planned now that the snoop is found.”
Each time he said that, I blushed a little harder. There was nothing wrong with doing a google search on a potential employer. It was a little terrifying that they seemed to pick up on that so quickly though.
“Then go check in with Elizabeth. She's the head of IT, not you. She’s in charge.”
Yuri made a face. “How can she be in charge when I am the one training her?”
It was Liam’s turn to look smug. “It’s her department. You fall under her jurisdiction as internet security. We don’t trust you to handle it without supervision. Now get back to work.”
