Chapter Thirty
At the bottom of the steps, Mae waited in the driver’s seat of a golf cart with Isla’s luggage already in the back seat. The people here were efficient at their jobs.
She begged off Holland’s offer to accompany her to her quarters and help her unpack and get settled, and deflected Holland’s apologies for her mother’s behavior.
“She just needs some time to get to know you,” Holland offered, trying hard to be sincere.
Holland and Isla burst out laughing when Mae sighed, mumbling something inaudible—something about hell freezing over—and started up the cart, cuing Isla that they needed to go.
“I can go, really.” Holland couldn’t stifle her big yawn. “I’m sorry. I had practice earlier.”
“Get some rest,” Isla urged, turning Holland around and gently pushing her toward the steps. “I’ll be fine on my own. And—” Isla made sure Holland was focused on her. “Thank you for helping me get here. For everything. You don’t even know me.”
“When’d you get so sentimental? Geez,” Holland said, blushing and dismissing her. “I might seem like I’m not into everything that’s going on around here, but I know good people when I see them. And you, Isla, are good people, which we are in desperate need of around here.”
With that Holland started back up the steps while Isla watched her leave, thinking how disappointed Holland would be when she proved Holland wrong. Isla was not good people. At least, not while she was here.
Mae pulled away from the curb with practiced ease, then rounded the drive and branched off onto one of the paved paths.
As they bumped along the winding path leading to their quarters, Mae began her rundown of the estate’s inner workings, her tone brisk but friendly, like she’d done this many times before.
“As you already know, the Corrigans are demanding and”—she searched for the right word—“unique. But they take really good care of the house staff and the company’s employees.
Mr. Corrigan is very firm on ensuring his people are well treated, so you won’t find high turnover here.
When people come on board here, they tend to stay. ”
Eden’s mother hadn’t.
“We provide around-the-clock care and availability for the family and their guests.” She side-eyed Isla.
Isla jumped in. “Which I’m not.”
Mae scoffed. “We’ll see about that. But for now, no, you’re not a guest.”
They passed the elaborate guest housing, equipped with its own pool and other amenities. Guests were living nearly as well as the Corrigans, Isla thought, gazing at the buildings as they passed. Mae mistook her awe for disappointment or wistfulness.
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your accommodations,” Mae told her. “Mr. Corrigan believes that if his people are happy, then they will do their best. They’ll be loyal. Grab that box right there.”
Isla did as told, leaning over to pick up a black box. Isla looked at her inquisitively, then opened the box to reveal a sleek black Apple Watch. She looked back at Mae askance.
“All staff wear a watch when they’re on shift. When the Corrigans need them, they send messages, or they’ll ask me to send messages to whichever staff member they need. Staff are to be reachable at all times when on duty.”
Isla nodded, staring at the watch inside.
She wondered whose idea the watches were, and three guesses led to Brooke.
Having people at her beck and call sounded right up her entitled and pretentious alley.
The lid of the box closed with a light pop.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass on this.” She didn’t even bother with the excuse of being a contract employee.
She just refused to be on a leash, which these watches were.
It was also a way to track her whereabouts.
“Mrs. Corrigan can come see me if she takes issue with it.”
Mae raised a brow but didn’t press the issue. “She will notice. She doesn’t miss much.”
“I’m counting on it,” Isla muttered under her breath.
The cart rounded a bend, and Isla’s new three-story home came into view.
The building was large and looked newly built.
It was open and airy, plainer than the guest quarters and the main house but matching the rest of the estate.
There was even an elevator, which Isla appreciated.
Isla spotted some staff entering and leaving the building, some on and some off duty.
Mae parked the cart next to several other carts and led Isla inside.
“Pretty fancy for staff housing,” Isla said, taking everything in. The inside was equally impressive, with polished hardwood floors and light-gray walls.
There was a communal lounge on the ground floor furnished with comfortable-looking couches, bookshelves, and a huge wide-screen TV built into the wall.
Mae walked Isla through the common areas, showing her the gym, the laundry facilities, and the café-style kitchen with a large restaurant-grade refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher.
Through the large windows showing the back, Isla could see outdoor seating areas and a large firepit, where some of the staff were lounging after a long day’s work.
Dorms—the place reminded Isla of upscale college dorms; it was all-inclusive, with everything the staff might need when they were away from the main house and their own homes.
Isla’s apartment was on the third floor, a fully furnished one-bedroom suite with a small kitchenette, a plush queen-size bed, and a balcony overlooking the grounds. She nodded approvingly, her thoughts going. Impressive.
“Thought I’d be stuck in a dungeon,” Isla muttered, forgetting she wasn’t alone.
Mae laughed. “I doubt Mrs. Corrigan could get away with that. Even if you are temporary, you were specifically chosen by Mr. Corrigan himself. And your position falls under Special Projects, which is run by Myles Corrigan.”
Isla ignored the little zing at Myles’s name. Jackass.
Mae continued, “Everyone knows how you got here, and so that’s why you can get away with not wearing the watch.” Mae looked at Isla mischievously. “And be kept out of the dungeon.”
Isla froze. “Because there really is one?”
Mae broke out laughing, and Isla joined tepidly, unsure what to make of it all. The woman didn’t say there wasn’t one. Isla sat on the bed, taking it all in.
“You’ll meet the others soon enough as they pass by. They’re a good group. Everyone does what they’re supposed to, and they keep Corrigan business to the Corrigans. We ask no questions here.”
Isla raised a hand. “But that’s what I’m here for. To ask questions. For the profile.”
Mae nodded. “They will accommodate. To an extent. And I hope you’ll have discretion. Contrary to what you’ve encountered from Mrs. Corrigan, the majority of the family are good people.”
Better to start now. Isla asked, “Then you know of their daughter . . . the one who is gone or something? Edie, I think?”
At the mention, Mae stiffened, her face becoming stony and her door shutting. She was too far in to talk so easily, Isla chastised herself. Mae would take work. She’d have to see Isla’s sincerity. “At any rate, everyone will try to help you out as best as they can.”
As if on cue, two young women in staff uniforms passed by the open door. When they noticed there was an occupant, they stopped to introduce themselves. A bubbly brunette named Lisa leaned against the doorframe, wearing a grin.
“Fresh meat,” she said. “Mae, you haven’t scared her off yet, have you? Crack a smile, will you?”
Mae rolled her eyes, pushing past Lisa at the door. She turned to Isla. “I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything or anyone gives you trouble. I have your cell should I need to reach you, so could you at least keep that on you?”
Isla grinned. “Since you asked so nicely. Of course I will.”
When Mae was gone, Lisa and the other one sauntered in, taking in the room. “Corner room with the best view. Nice.” Lisa plopped herself in one of the chairs, studying Isla. “I’ve been off and only heard about the newbie who got Mr. Corrigan to hire her as a writer or something.”
The other one, a redhead with pale-green eyes and a tag that read Doris, said, “I hear there’s already some kind of battle over you. The mister loves you. The missus wants to throw you in the lake and kick you out on your ass. What did you do?”
“You know she didn’t do anything. Mrs. Corrigan hates anyone Mr. Corrigan likes. She probably thinks you’re vying to be the third Mrs. Corrigan.”
Isla made a face. “The man is old enough to be my father or more. He’s pushing seventy.”
“Right, twenty years older than his wife, so maybe he’s looking for a newer, fresher model.”
Isla shuddered. That was not the vibe she got from Mr. Corrigan. “You’re way off base.”
Lisa said, “Agreed. If Mr. Corrigan plays around, it’s not where he eats, you know what I mean? Anyway, you met the Playboy and the Ice Prince yet?”
Isla tilted her head. “Who?”
“The sons,” Doris said dreamily, like she was about to swoon.
“I bet you can guess who is who.”
Isla said, “Bennett is the Playboy and Myles the Ice Prince?” She found the titles very fitting.
“Ding, ding,” Lisa chimed, using her fingers to mime a tiny bell.
She moved to the edge of her seat conspiratorially, and Isla drew in closer, captured by the allure of a good secret.
“Bennett will flirt with and bed anything that breathes. Though not really the staff. His entourage too. He doesn’t shit where he eats either, if you know what I mean.
I think that comes from Mr. Corrigan. Their father is a big stickler about messing around with staff.
Not that he took his own advice.” She gave a look that suggested otherwise, and Isla took note.
“Okay, Lisa, come on.” Doris looked uncomfortable, as if one of the Corrigans might suddenly pop out from behind the bushes and catch their staff talking dirt about them.
Isla waved away Doris’s sensitivities, not wanting Lisa to lose her momentum. “Go on.”
“But you’ll meet the rest of Bennett’s friends soon enough, I guess.
They are unavoidable and more inclined to flirt with staff,” Lisa continued, undeterred.
“And Myles . . . well, he is the cold, brooding type. Just like you’d see in a movie?
The gorgeous dark character you just can’t quite figure out.
He’s neither nice or mean. He just is? He mainly just watches from the background, but when he gets involved in something, you’ll definitely know it.
He’s a tough nut to crack, and believe me, I’ve tried. ”
Doris said, “No, Lisa’s not saying it right. Myles is low key, is what it is. He’d rather stay in the background. Bennett is the complete opposite.”
Isla said, “Yeah, I’ve already had a dose or two of the brothers. I’ll keep everything you said in mind.”
Lisa stood up to leave, with Doris following suit. “Then you just might make it around here.”