Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
I quickly figured out how much I would earn after tax and concluded that I would be getting two hundred euros more than I originally planned in my monthly budget. I wouldn’t be scraping by to make my rent and pay my utility bills, and I would get health insurance! I would even be able to put away a little money each month to start building some savings. My heart thrummed so hard against my chest that I feared I would cry with relief.
Mr Collins held out his hand, and I shook it happily.
“I’ll get this place in top shape, sir. Just you wait and see.”
“I’ve never doubted the will of a determined woman, and I’m not about to start today.”
I laughed as we dropped our hands and got to the more serious side of the meeting. I read through my contract, noting my first six months on the job were probationary. Mr Collins would evaluate me during that time and had the right to let me go if I wasn’t performing tasks at the standard he required, but once I did everything I was supposed to do, I’d have a secure job after the probation period was over. I provided my bank details to Mr Collins and silently thanked God that I had opened an account as soon as I had an address at the hostel where I was previously staying.
I made a mental note to stop by the closest branch with my new lease as proof of my new address so they would change it.
I had never had a bank account before, never had a job where I got paid wages for my hard work, and never had my own responsibilities. It was terrifying and awfully exciting at the same time. I felt like a real adult. I knew, in time, I would likely find paying bills and going to work a tedious bother, but at that very moment, I felt free because I was making my own decisions. No one was telling me what to do and when to do it.
It was exhilarating.
Mr Collins kept my signed contract, and I kept a duplicate that I folded and placed in my handbag. He then took me out to the garage floor that he called the hangar and introduced me to his team of mechanics. All of them were men, and all of them were handsome and giants! They looked like strippers dressed up as mechanics if I was being honest. It was unnerving to be in the company of so many attractive, burly men. I suddenly understood why so many women were in the waiting room. I totally got it.
“Lads!” Mr Collins shouted. “Come and meet Ina O’Shea, she’s our new receptionist. Behave when speakin’ to her, or I’ll redden your arses. She’s a lady.”
A lady.
I beamed at the compliment. I had been called many vile things by Daddy and Finn before, but only my granda had ever called me a lady. A little lady. The comment endeared me to Mr Collins, and he didn’t even know it. He left me with a smile and a wave as a few men approached me.
“Hel-lo.”
I smiled. “Hello.”
The man who spoke to me looked similar to Dante and Gavin, which left me wondering just how many Collins men were there?
“I’m Harley.” His red-rose lips curled upward. “And you are? I didn’t catch the aul fella say your name.”
“I’m Ina.”
“Pretty name for a pretty woman.” Harley grinned. “It’s great to meet ye.”
I felt my cheeks heat as I mumbled, “Thank you.”
“Date has bagsy.” Another man who looked like Dante said from the car he was working on. “He called it before she even got here. Nice to meet ye, Ina. I’m JJ, the eldest brother.”
“Hi, JJ.”
Harley groaned out loud. “That’s bollocks!”
JJ shrugged. “Don’t shoot the messenger. He knew ye’d react the way ye did when ye clocked her, so he told me to tell ye he’d break your dick if ye tried anythin’.”
“I fuckin’ hate him,” Harley growled, then stormed towards the door of the reception. “I really fuckin’ hate him.”
I looked at JJ. “What just happened?”
He chuckled. “Nothin’, love.”
I shook it off. “Okay, well, I forgot to ask your daddy this, but what should I wear to work?”
“Ye’ll be at the reception all day, and ye’ll have to deal with the customers, so office attire will work.”
I felt a little sick. I had never worn office attire before.
“Um, office attire,” I repeated. “Like skirt suits?”
“Is that those pencil skirts suits?” JJ asked when he turned to face me, adjusting the black rubber gloves on his hands. “The really fitted ones?”
“Yeah.”
“Wear those, then.” JJ grinned. “Ye’ll look great.”
“Thanks for your help. I’d have panicked if I got home and realised I didn’t know what to wear.”
I looked at a really tall man who wore the same uniform as the other men, only he had lots of tattoos. There was no getting around it. The man was gorgeous—film star kind of gorgeous—but he wasn’t a Collins. I could tell that straight off the bat. Now that I thought of it, JJ, Harley, Dante, and Gavin looked like they stepped off a GQ cover. It was intimidating how attractive they all were. Even Mr Collins was a looker!