He gets that from the long line of Hunt men. Although I dare say he might just be the best of them all. His parents would be proud.’ She takes a sip of her tea, and I follow suit, intrigued. His parents. That was headline news. His mother was tragically killed in a car accident many years ago, and his father was found dead in Rome a few years later after a mugging gone wrong. Becker Hunt has had his fair share of tragedy.
Mrs Potts snaps back to the room, as do I. ‘Anyway, he’s assured me he’ll behave and let you get on with your job,’ she tells me. ‘He knows I need the help, and he needs to make sure he keeps his’ – her lips purse – ‘ways under control. You’ll become immune in time.’
My brow wrinkles. ‘Immune?’ I place my cup down, and she reaches over the table and squeezes my hand.
‘To Becker,’ she says. ‘I have every faith you can keep things professional, dear. It’s so exciting to have someone new at The Haven.’
Professional. I can do that. And now I’m determined to resist the man at all costs. I want this job more than I want him. I quickly rewind. I don’t want him at all. He might be the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, and he might send my pulse racing, but Becker Hunt isn’t the kind of man to whom any woman should give the time of day. Why so many do is beyond me. God knows what doors could be opened for me because of working here. My mind is on the job and nothing else, and I plan on keeping it that way.
‘I can keep things professional,’ I say to myself, glancing at the door when it opens. In walks a young chap, all preppy with wild spikes atop his head, pulling a huge briefcase behind him. He looks flustered.
‘I’m here,’ he sings.
‘Ah, Percy.’ Mrs Potts hurries over and grabs his cheeks, squeezing while he grins. ‘You’re a good boy.’
Percy laps up the praise being showered on him. ‘I try my best, Mrs Potts.’
‘Percy takes care of all the fancy technology at The Haven,’ Mrs Potts says, turning to me. ‘He’s going to fix you up with a security card so you can access all the rooms.’
Percy heaves his case from the floor and carts it over to me, grunting as he hauls it on to the table. He looks at me with a mild smile on his face. ‘Eleanor, I believe?’ he muses, flipping the catches and popping the lid.
I nod, craning my neck, my eyes following his skinny fingers into the case. There’s no paperwork or files, just a mass of chrome boxes with buttons and levers. He takes a card from his pocket and starts swiping and scanning it, before handing it across the table to me. ‘Voilà,’ he says.
I reach forward to take it, but Mrs Potts swoops in and snatches it from Percy’s hand. ‘I’ll take that. Until your contract is signed, anyway.’
Percy slams his case shut and takes a hanky from his inside pocket, dabbing at his forehead. ‘He finally agreed to some help?’ he asks, looking to Mrs Potts.
‘It’s about time.’
Percy starts chuckling, a silly goofy laugh. He’s a total geek, but completely adorable with it. ‘Well, I can understand his reluctance. You’re inviting whoever you hire into the Hunt family, after all.’
‘Hmm,’ Mrs Potts muses, glancing across to me. She smiles when she catches my eye. ‘Like Eleanor has said, trust can only be built.’
I smile in return, so determined to gain their trust. This place is wonderful and loaded with priceless treasures. It’s beyond a dream job.
Percy pulls his case off the table, grunting when it tugs his shoulder down sharply. Then he looks at me. ‘Good luck.’ He smiles a knowing smile, and I read between the lines. Percy doesn’t only mean in building their trust. He means with the sinful man who heads up the Hunt Corporation.
‘I won’t need it.’ I smile right back.
I’m exhausted by the time I get home. But so damn happy. The plan, according to Mrs Potts, and one I’m quite content with, is to get stuck right in. So I start tomorrow. Apparently, I’ll learn in time to know exactly what’s needed and when. She told me it’s how she survived, until she became indispensable. I want to be indispensable. I might have felt completely overwhelmed, but the feel of The