Dair nearly smiled.
That was his girl.
“How about you let me handle this, darling?” Ned requested.
“Um…no fucking way, Dad,” Blake shot back just as Jeff strolled in like he owned the place, Christine bustling after him.
Christ, this bloke was a twat.
“You summoned?” Jeff drawled.
“Might wanna rein it in a notch, bud,” Rix warned, his voice rough with anger.
“I might?” Jeff asked like the suggestion was ludicrous. Then, as they all stood there, staring at him, he threw himself into a chair that was probably a priceless antique. He did this crosswise, his legs over an arm, completely at home. “Why might I want to do that?”
“I know you used the estate’s cars when Mum wasn’t here, and when she was, and therefore do not own your own vehicle,” Blake began, her voice not rough at all, but smooth as pulled silk. “So I suggest you phone a friend to come collect you before Dair and Rix escort you to your rooms so you can pack.”
Jeff raised a lazy brow. “Am I going somewhere?”
“As I’m firing you from a job you never really had”—she indicated the ledger with her hand—“even though Mum paid you like you were a butler so the estate would cover your…” she paused for drama before she emphasized, “fees…make no mistake, I am indeed firing you. In case you’re curious, I’m doing so for gross misconduct.”
Jeff smiled a slimy smile. “Your mother had no complaints about my conduct.”
Alex made a disgusted noise.
“Seriously suggest you get smart fast,” Rix warned, and his tone had deteriorated.
Jeff righted himself in his seat, put his elbows to his knees, but tipped his head back so he could keep his attention focused on Blake.
Even though she’d proved she could hold her own, both Dair and Ned closed in on her back.
“This is the way I see it,” Jeff began. “None of you are going to want the reputation of Helena Coddington-Sharp, Lady Norton, an esteemed Marchioness, to be besmirched by news leaked that she was fucking a twenty-eight-year-old and she’d been doing it since he was twenty-four.”
Bloody hell.
“So,”—Jeff sat back—“the way I see it, I’ll be staying as long as it takes me to find another position I enjoy, a place where I want to live, and I won’t be doing it at my current salary. Instead, you’ll give me an increase, that of twenty-five percent, with no duties, free access of the Defender, room and board provided…all I can eat, by the way…oh, and, let’s say, a million pounds deposited into my account.”
No one spoke or moved, and Dair suspected he wasn’t the only one keeping himself in check so he didn’t punch this arsehole in his larynx. Rix was likely doing the same. And perhaps Ned too.
“Is that all?” Jeff asked when the silence lingered.
“If you could leave us for a moment so we can talk,” Blake requested.
Jeff crossed his legs and smiled. “I think I’ll stay right here. If you want privacy, you can go somewhere else.”
“Christ, I’m finding it hard not to thump the fuck out of this asshole,” Rix said.
Aye.
He was correct.
Rix was feeling it too.
“If you touch me, that’ll be leaked as well, unless I get another half a mil,” Jeff replied.
“Actually,” Blake began nonchalantly, “we don’t need you to leave to discuss this.” She looked to her sister. “Do you give a shit about Mum’s reputation?”
Jeff twitched.
