Adrenaline (Speed Series Book 2)(30)

“Clearly,” I mumbled. “I mean . . . well, I have my cat. What would I do with her?”

“Take her.”

This time my mouth fell open. “W-what?”

“They were very specific on this. If you had any pets, you were free to bring them.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave Tyler a dazed look before laughing. “Wait. Is this some kind of joke?”

He slowly shook his head. “No. I’m being one-hundred-percent serious. The client has had two other physical therapists and fired them both.”

Oh great. Another * is exactly what I need in my life right now. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a guy with a big ego and even bigger pocketbook. Those were the kind who usually thought they owned you.

My father had shown up on my doorstep two weeks after seeing my picture in the paper with Malcolm. He figured I had landed a rich boyfriend and was seeing what he could get out of me. The minute he found out I was no longer in contact with Malcolm, he took off again. Never mind the fact I agreed to have lunch with him and he never showed up.

Someday I’ll learn.

I brought my fingers up to my temples as I chuckled and said, “Okay, so let me get this straight.” Dropping my hands back down, I looked directly at my boss. “I have to travel to this person and live with them?”

“Yes, here in Texas.”

I shook my head in a very confused manner. “And they’re willing to pay twice my salary plus room and board, plus pay my current apartment’s rent, and I can bring my cat?”

“Yep.”

“Are they are a hermit or something? Have you checked them out? Will I be held captive and chopped up into a million pieces?”

Tyler smirked along with giving me a shrug. “I hope not, because like I said, you’re one of my best.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew Tyler would have done his research before sending me off to live with a hermit. “Do I have set days off?”

Tyler handed me a piece of paper that listed me working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday I had off.

Shit. Tyler had me at twice my salary, but something didn’t feel right with this, but I let the money override my good sense.

“I’ll do it.”

With a sigh of relief, his body relaxed. “Thank God, I already said you would.”

“Tyler!” I cried out as he picked up the phone and hit the button for Stephanie.

“Stephanie, please let Mrs. Moss know Paislie will be there first thing Monday morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tyler and I both stood up as he gave me a warm smile. “Paislie, it means a lot to me that you’re such a team player and don’t worry, I had the guy checked out with a full background check and all. It’s because of people like you that our practice has such an amazing reputation. Matter of fact, this client requested you personally so he’d already heard about how great you were. You’re going to love Crawford, Texas. The guy owns a huge ranch and said you’ll have access to all of it.”

My heart fell to my stomach. “Crawford, Texas?” My breathing picked up. There is no f*cking way. “You said he owns a ranch . . . in Crawford?”

“Yep.”

A sick feeling moved over my body as I asked, “W-what’s the client’s name?”

“Malcolm. Malcolm Wallace. He’s a NASCAR driver, so I’m hoping this will open the door for us even more.”

The room spun as I reached for something to hold me up.

“That *,” I whispered under my breath. I was going to break his other leg the second I saw him.



I sat in my car and stared at the mansion of a house. “Holy. Shit.”

Never mind it felt like I drove forever down the long-ass driveway, but now I stared at a ranch-style house that looked like it was the size of the White House.

Okay, that’s a stretch. It was big, though.

Huge.

Frowning, I shook my head. “Guess Malcolm has a size issue.”

With a frustrated huff, I opened the door to my car and got out as I took a better look at the house.

It was a sandstone two-story house with a metal roof. All the windows were framed in black shutters with a black iron railing running across the porch. The front door was a massive double wood door.

“Pompous ass.”

Maybe I should have talked to Elizabeth about this. I had a feeling I made a very poor decision. But the money would help me in so many ways. Depending on how much time I’d be here, I could make enough money to buy the house I’d always dreamed of.

The front door open and an older woman and Sophie came running out. Her pigtails bounced as she raced toward me. She was the cutest five-year-old I’d ever seen.

“Paislie!”

My eyes widened in shock. She remembered my name?

She stopped just short of me and stared up at me with huge, bright blue eyes. She resembled Malcolm so much, it made my chest feel tight.

“Hello there, Sophie!” I said as I bent down to get at her level. I’d worked with enough little ones at the orphanage to know how to talk and interact with kids.

“You look like a princess! I hope I’m as pretty as you when I grow up.”

Either she was the sweetest child on earth . . . or Malcolm bribed her to say that.