Page 12 of Hired By The Forbidden Italian
‘Like I said, old habits die hard. My father was a fan of handkerchiefs. Inherited trait. Tell me what happened, Sophie.’
She wanted to. It was the strangest thing. Had she bottled everything up for so long that all it took was a kind word from a stranger for the dam to burst?
She talked about her parents, remembering small details and smiling at the memories. She could sense some of the darkness leaving her. It felt good to let it all out of her system.
‘You probably know that I have considerable money problems,’ Sophie said in conclusion as she finally looked at him, in control of herself now. ‘I suppose that would have been one of the first things any background check would have thrown up.’ She sighed. ‘It all came out in the wash. Poor investments, over-extension on the mortgage... They did everything within their power to keep me in the life I was accustomed to.’ She pressed fingers over her eyes and rubbed them wearily. ‘They didn’t think to ask me whether any of that mattered or not.’
‘And would it have?’
‘No!’ She laughed bitterly. ‘Private school was fine. The classes were small and the surroundings were amazing, but the other kids... Some were great, but a lot were privileged and entitled and downright annoying.’
Niccolo smiled.
‘I’ve met a fair few of the entitled and privileged in my time,’ he admitted drily, ‘and I must say I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments.’
‘I took this job for a lot of reasons,’ Sophie told him truthfully. ‘Of course, I really do like kids, and I really do like your daughter. She’s...very special.’
‘But you also need the money.’
‘I’m not materialistic,’ Sophie automatically protested, and he raised his eyebrows wryly.
‘Have I levelled that accusation at you?’
Sophie shrugged. ‘I’ve had to sell an awful lot of things to pay off all the debts that just kept coming on a daily basis.’ She grimaced. ‘I also had to sell the family home. It still had a mortgage but there should be sufficient money made from the sale to clear the majority of the debt. So yes, I took the job because I need the money. And being here for a month? It buys me a bit of breathing space while I decide what happens next now the house is sold and there’s nothing left but memories to pack up.’
‘Would you return to your studies?’
Sophie laughed without humour. ‘I don’t think that’s on the cards. It’s a luxury I can’t run to. Maybe one day. No, for now I’m compiling a résumé to go into landscape gardening. It’s something I would love to do and it’s possible someone out there might be prepared to give me a chance.’ She paused and looked at him without flinching. ‘Working on the allotment will help. I’ve got an excellent idea of how harmonious spaces can be created with vegetables and fruits and plants built around office spaces so that people can work and simultaneously be calm and relaxed. I think I could put together some good ideas on how this concept could be turned into something really special.’
Another first. Talking about a plan for the future. She scooped up her hair with one hand and then absently began braiding it into one thick plait while she looked at him uncertainly.
‘I suppose you’re going to tell me that my services are no longer required...’
‘Come again?’
‘I realise I...must have come across as...as...something of an emotional train wreck and I can only think that that’s a trait you might not want in an employee.’
‘You lost your parents without warning and you’ve been dealing with the wreckage of what was left behind,’ Niccolo said gently. ‘So, do I consider you an emotional train wreck? No. I don’t.’ He looked at her steadily. ‘In fact,’ he continued pensively, ‘it helps that you need the money. I sense you’ll be prepared to go the extra mile when it comes to working more hours, and as an added incentive I will escalate your pay on a sliding scale. The later you work and the more demands I find I need to make of you, the more your pay will rise.’
‘There’s no need to do that. You’re already paying me far more than I could get anywhere else.’
‘I will also send someone to help you collate the things you want to keep from your family home and I’ll arrange the necessary storage.’
‘I don’t feel comfortable with that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because...it’s not part of the job. If I were to get a regular nanny job through a regular nanny agency, there’s no employer who would do favours like that.’
‘I can afford it and let’s call it buying your loyalty and ensuring my trust in you isn’t misplaced. I will arrange for half of the money to be transferred to your account tomorrow with the other half to follow when your stint is at an end. While you’re here, you’re to put everything pertaining to Annalise on expenses and I’ll ensure you have a separate credit card for that purpose and a few hundred quid in petty cash.’
Sophie gasped, with a shade of discomfort. ‘A few hundred pounds in petty cash? That’s very generous.’
‘Yet you look as though you’re tempted to turn down the offer. I wouldn’t get into a lather about it, Sophie. Anyone casting an eye over the accounts that cover the payroll for my many, many companies will find one thing in common: I pay well. Over the odds. Substantially so. I find that the fatter the pay cheque the more loyal the employee, and for me, loyalty is everything.’
‘You like buying people,’ Sophie mused, then reddened because the remark was inappropriate, given that he was her boss. He appeared to think about what she’d said, though, and when he spoke, softly, it was to concur.
‘I find it works,’ he murmured.
