Instead, Lachlan is met by the head of household.
A woman in her late twenties named Clara Barnes, the same person he spoke to over the video call interview and on the phone the time before that.
‘Welcome to the Penhalyx Estate,’ she greets with a flawless smile, shaking his hand just once as he steps out of the downpour and into an enormous cathedral-esque space.‘Would you like to shower and change?’
She offers it the way Lachlan’s momma might offer someone a cup of tea.
‘No,’ he says after a beat.‘Thank you.’
‘April showers are fairly consistent here,’ she tells him.
‘Yeah, I was born in Varrow.’
‘You were?’They begin to walk, Clara leading the way.
Lachlan doesn’t bother repeating himself.He’s too busy clocking all the issues he sees in this showy, seemingly ancient place.The size is intimidating, but at least it’s well situated and built.
When he signs the contract, he can bring it up to code.
‘Whereabouts in the city were you born, Mr Tanner?’
‘Lachlan,’ he corrects automatically.‘Dockside.’
‘Oh.’Her smile never dims but he can tell she knows of it.‘How provincial.’
Through dark, stately hallways the only colour he sees are deep shades of malachite green twined with ebonised walnut wood.There’s no dust on anything and the wood smells of beeswax.Three floors and four wings.The place is somehow bigger than he anticipated from the outside.
Lachlan is led into the West Wing.Clara, walking beside him, explains about the Estate, the wings, the grounds, staff numbers, and how often Mr Penhalyx typically resides here which doesn’t seem to be much.
Once in the core of the West Wing, she gestures to a large, ornately carved set of double doors.‘Mr Penhalyx’s office.’Lachlan opens it for her and then stands aside politely.‘Thank you.’
Inside are two people in expensive suits standing by an empty desk; a vast, carved walnut monstrosity that dominates the room.Lachlan notes the currently dormant glass screen built into the surface.Behind the desk, a pair of double windows should make the space bright, but the light sinks into heavy curtains and polished grain, leaving everything cool, dim and antiquely striking.It’s palatial.He dislikes the space immediately.
Clara introduces him to the two men, both lawyers.They clearly already know who he is and once handshakes are done, one says, ‘Take a seat, Mr Tanner.’Clara doesn’t sit in the chair behind the desk, she pulls up one from the side and sits beside Lachlan.The lawyers sit at the side of the desk, as if Alistair Penhalyx himself is present and surveying them all from his chair.
So,’ she says, opening a file and pulling out a fresh copy of the contract.Lachlan withdraws his own, folded into quarters from the inside of his jacket pocket.He’s wearing a suit but it’s cheap compared to what the lawyers are wearing.‘What are your thoughts, Lachlan?’
‘I’ll sign it today, but there’s one area I’d like clarification on,’ he says, flipping through, suddenly can’t find it.‘It was the uh.The…’
‘Mr Tanner,’ the shorter of the two lawyers says, ‘for the sake of due diligence, Miss Barnes will be reading the contract aloud in full before execution.Perhaps reserve your requests until the conclusion.’
He clears his throat, sets the contract down on his lap.‘Sure.’
Clara takes a deep breath.
‘The Executive Protection Agreement is entered into between Alistair Sael Penhalyx,the Principal, and Lachlan James Tanner,the Protector, for the safeguarding and regulated management of Julian Sael Penhalyx,the Asset.The Protector acknowledges that the Asset is the sole property and responsibility of the Principal, and that all protective actions, interventions, and decisions must align strictly with the Principal’s directives.This role requires absolute discretion, continuous proximity, and unwavering obedience.Breach or deviation will result in consequences of significant and immediate severity.The following terms define the full extent of this obligation.’She glances up.‘Are you happy for me to read the rest in personal context, Mr Tanner?’
God, how fucking dull.‘Yeah, sure.’
‘Compensation shall be issued at a base rate of four hundred and fifty thousand per annum, inclusive of a ten per cent hazard stipend.You will be granted an unrestricted operational budget for any security improvements deemed necessary within the East Wing jurisdiction.A five per cent loyalty retention bonus will be awarded annually, subject to satisfactory performance review.’
Clara glances up, assessing.Lachlan nods.She continues.
‘This agreement constitutes a five-year, full-time close-protection appointment in a continuous shadow capacity.Deployment of secondary security personnel is permitted at your discretion in low-risk environments only; their training, conduct, and operational readiness will fall entirely under your remit.Secondary operatives will receive remuneration set at twenty-percent below your established pay scale.As primary protector, mandatory relocation to the client perimeter is required.You are granted full neutralisation authority, comprehensive access to client biometric and medical data, and authorisation to initiate hostile-surveillance measures as necessary.Reporting structure is singular.You will answer directly to Alistair Penhalyx.You are not subordinate to either of his children.’She smirks.‘No matterwhatJulian tells you.’
‘Understood.’
She reads off the rest, boilerplate stuff mostly; indemnity and liability protection, medical and psychological requirements, equipment provisions, defined duty scope and exclusions, hours and rotation protocols, termination and breach clauses, governing law jurisdiction, insurance coverage, professional standards and conduct, emergency authority conditions, employer audit rights, payment cycle specifics, threat scope definitions and post-employment restrictions.
