Newt braced himself for the question he didn’t want.
“Then I have a job for you.”
Oh my God.
Three
A job? Newt held his breath for so long, he made a weird noise when he exhaled.Shit.“Doing what?”
“Before I tell you, I need you to read and sign this.” Max tapped into his phone, then handed it to Newt. “It’s an NDA. A non-disclosure agreement. And a basic employment contract.”
Newt frowned and read.You must not… You cannot…He wasn’t sure what he’d be signing not to reveal but he’d never had a problem keeping his mouth shut. He didn’t read the employment contract just in case it said anything about a criminal conviction. He knew that was no excuse if it came out, but… He took the stylus from Max and signed.
“Give me your email and I’ll send it to you. Your telephone number too.”
When the document arrived, he nodded to Max.
“I have a client who needs help. I think you’re just the person.”
“Doing what?”
“Living with him, talking to him, doing the cooking, some light cleaning, a little gardening, getting him to exercise, persuading him to practise speaking. Maybe most importantly, being his friend.”
“His friend, when we’ve never met?”
“Become his friend because he needs one. He’s more than a client to me. But you can’t tell anyone about him, how he’s doing, what he’s doing, where he lives. No photos are to be taken of him by you or anyone else without my permission. You need to be aware that anyone you speak to could be thepress, or someone out to make money by revealing information about him.”
Newt’s brain was racing. A live-in job, caring for someone who sounded like a guy who’d had a stroke. He could do that. “When would you want me to start?”
“Now. Can you?”
“Why so desperate?”
“Because he needs help but keeps pushing it away. You can’t let that happen. I’d be employing you so you work for me, not him. No matter what he says, does or threatens, I need you to stay with him, look after him.”
“I have to stop him going out?”
“He’s not capable of going out on his own. Not yet. Plus, he might be recognised.”
“He’s famous?”
“Yes. This is where the NDA really kicks in. You might decide to sell his story to the press. Maybe write a book. You’d be in trouble if you did.”
“I know how to keep quiet.” He’d zipped his mouth from the moment he’d been dragged out of the house by the police. Even when he’d realised what was being done to him, he kept quiet. How could he have lived with himself if Phelan had ended up in prison for fifteen years? But that was when Newt thought he’d only serve three. By the time he heardseven yearscome from the judge’s mouth, it was too late.
“He’ll be pissed off that I’m trusting you but something tells me that I can.”
“Plus, you’re desperate.”
“And that.” He took a deep breath. “You’ve shown your bravery and your honesty.”
Newt wasn’t sure about the honesty, and the bravery was more stupidity.
“From this point on, you can’t reveal to anyone what I’m going to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“A couple of months ago, my client was making a film when he fell from a cliff. He suffered severe brain damage in the fall. Right-sided hemiplegia and left side hemiparesis. You know what that means?”
