Jack quickly interrupted her by saying, “That was what Sophia said to tease you, but seeing you think about that particular job so quickly makes me wonder if there is not a lower job than that one, one that would make you sweat your life out!”
“I think the lowest one would be an intern. They are at the lowest level of a company’s organisational structure. They are usually students or people with little to no experience who work for a company to learn the basics of the business. But I have a management degree! I can’t work at such a low level!”
“Have you ever worked? Do you even know what your father does in this company? Or what are the several departments in this enormous building?”
Mia became embarrassed, and the silent shaking of her head was the answer Jack was expecting, and he spoke, “I am not going to say anything more. You are big enough to understand what you need to do.”
The elevator door opened, and Mia followed Jack along the corridor, straight to the door at the end of it.
The people working in the open space on both sides of that long corridor looked at them, and they all thought it was very strange to see the proud and always arrogant Mia Mills walk in silence and with her head down, right next to a security guy. It was as if she was going with him to get a big scolding from her father.
Jack knocked on the door, and a woman’s voice inside told them to enter. A female secretary greeted the still-silent Mia and, puzzled, opened the next door for her and Jack, closing it as soon as they entered the spacious office.
In there, Joseph Mills was at his desk with his assistant seated on a chair in front of him, both of them reading some documents.
The moment the door opened, both of them looked up, and Joseph Mills got up in a flash and rushed to hug his awkwardly smiling daughter, saying, “Mia! How are you? You…” Puzzled by the way she was acting, he asked, “What happened? Are you alright? You have such a look on your face…”
“I am okay, father. Jack just said a few things that made me think. Did everything end? You found out who was after me? Did I do something to upset someone, and that was why I was targeted?”
“No, it was because of me, unfortunately. I am trying to buy a company that is having some problems, but they were looking for investors that could help them get over their predicament. One of the son’s owners made that plan. His original idea was to make me back off by kidnapping you and threatening that you would disappear. One of those investors helped him with that plan, but that guy belongs to a shady group, and that means this can happen again.”
Mia exploded while Jack was rolling his eyes. “Great! That’s so great! Because you like to ruin people’s lives, I pay the bill!”
She then noticed that Jack was frowning at her, and she immediately said, “I… I am sorry, father… I didn’t mean it like that… You told me before that you buy companies with difficulties and sell them after you change stuff so that they become profitable, and sometimes you have to fire people.” Seeing that Jack was giving a slight smile, she sighed. That was a close one! She almost got another flick on her forehead for saying things without even thinking, like Jack’s frowning was indicating.
The sudden change in her behaviour made Joseph Mills wonder what had happened in such a short time for her to change like that, but before he could ask, Mia explained, “Jack almost flicked my forehead again! He gets angry when I say things without thinking first. He said that I have that bad habit, and he hates it.”
Joseph Mills raised one eyebrow at the now serious man next to him and asked, “And since when do you care about what a mere security guy says? Or any other employee, for that matter?”
“I suppose… since the next day after he saved me? He scolded me so much for the tiniest thing that I had to keep quiet and shut up, or he wouldn’t stop nagging me! Or he would make me work as a punishment! He taught me how to clean a toilet and a sink, and how to wash the floor! On my knees, with a bottle spray and a piece of cloth!”
Noticing that her father looked in shock, she explained, “I would either do that or he wouldn’t give me any food, so I learned. Have you ever cleaned a floor by hand? It is not that easy, but the smell of a freshly cleaned floor is inebriating! I learned a bunch of house chores that I never learned, and I should have, so that I could appreciate the work our maids do.”
“I see…” he then faced Jack again and said, “It seems I have much to thank you for.” To which Jack said, “You sure do. You raised a spoiled woman, and considering how smart you are to own such a big company, it is surprising to find out you let her become like she is. My daughter is very young, and I spoiled her a lot while she was growing up, but I will be damned if she ever turns out like your daughter! I will put some sense into her with a few slaps on her butt if I have to, like you should have done to yours.”
Joseph Mills blinked and said, “I beg your pardon?”
“You have much to beg for, but not to me. You should ask for her forgiveness for letting her become as spoiled as she is! She is a bit better, but she still has a lot to change to become a proper human being.”
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“I was thinking about making you a job offer, but after hearing you, I am more inclined to fire you!”
Jack shrugged and said, “I was expecting you wouldn’t keep your part of the deal, considering how she was acting ever since I saved her. I suppose being arrogant and mean to other people runs in the family.”
“Mean? Arrogant? Did you notice the way you talked to me? That alone would be enough for me to fire you!”
“And by doing that, you would not keep your word that you would give me a bonus for each day I protected her and a raise, and you would prove that everything I said until now was right. And you know it, and you don’t want to admit it. Your daughter was in danger because of you and your business. She is more forgiving than me because I am about to throw you out of the window! What father in his right mind would ever put his daughter in danger? No one ever told you that your sole purpose in life, since she was born, was to make her happy and always, always, keep her safe?”
Mia immediately stood next to Jack, held his arm, and said, “Calm down, Jack. He didn’t do it on purpose! It was those guys’ fault! Sophia will be mad if you do something rash!” She then looked at her father and said, “You better shut up and mind your words, father! He will throw you out the window if you don’t! It was because of you that those guys targeted me, but since you are my father, I have to forgive and try to understand. Jack doesn’t need to do any of that. You are still standing because of Sophia, his daughter. If it wasn’t for her, I would have become an orphan in the next couple of seconds.”
“But… But…”
“No buts, father. What was that job offer you were about to give him? You might as well say it before you find out you can’t fly.”
Joseph Mills rubbed his face with both hands and sighed. “Darn it, it has been a long time since someone made me this angry… Very well. I wanted to ask if you wanted to become Mia’s bodyguard. That would come with a brand-new contract and better pay. It will also change your daily life because you would have to put her schedule ahead of yours.”
Jack frowned, and Mia was ecstatic. That would mean she would see him more often. She then noticed his look and immediately said, “I can be very careful so that my schedule and my days don’t mess up your life too much! We can discuss and figure out how to make this work!”
Hearing his daughter offer to change her carefree days and even wanting to discuss with her new bodyguard a schedule was so surprising that Joseph Mills gasped.
Without even noticing how much of a shock it was for her father what she said, she continued, “By the way, I want to start working here as an intern. Is there a department that needs one? I want to learn everything about your company, starting from the bottom.”
Joseph Mills looked blankly at his daughter, not knowing what to say. What happened to his always-proud and carefree daughter for her to be standing in front of him and asking something like that?
From behind him, his assistant said, “I would never have guessed this would be the day I would hear Mia asking something like that! The mailing department is looking for a new intern. You would be walking all over the place, taking care of mail, making photocopies, sending messages to other departments, delivering coffee to your supervisors, making phone calls on their behalf, and doing everything they might think of so that you would never have a moment’s rest, besides a lunch break! With that, you would learn everything there is to know about this company!”
Mia gulped when she saw the biggest smile she had ever seen on that annoying man. It looked as if he had been waiting for that moment for years. Either it was a well-thought-out punishment or he was truly happy to see her wanting to learn about her father’s business.
All her doubts dissipated when he said, “I told you to try that, Mister Joseph, over and over! Why you never listened to me goes beyond me! And now here we are, with Mia saying she wants to do that so that she can learn! Truly remarkable! I don’t know what you did, Mister Jack Cross, but please say that you accept the job offer Mister Joseph just gave you! It would be amazing if your influence made Mia a worthy heir to her father’s empire! Because of how she is right now, I fear for the future of this company and everyone working here at the moment!”
Jack looked at the surprised young woman and said, “I was thinking the same thing these last few days. I couldn’t imagine her at the front of this company, responsible for the payroll of so many people. But if she learns properly and if she realises that her actions can mess with other people’s lives, I believe she will succeed.”
Mia made an awkward smile and asked, “That means you are going to accept? To become my bodyguard? You can take me home every day or escort me to some places I want to go, and then back here when it is time for me to work. While I am working, you can have some time off or stay with the other security guys.”
“And you would call me when you are almost finished with work? That would mean I would have a very nice schedule.”
“I guess so. We can even try to be sure you are always free to pick up Sophia at her school. Or we can both go if I finish work on time.”
She held her breath, waiting for his answer. Jack stood in silence for a few seconds, looking at her, but to the nervous Mia Mills, it seemed like an eternity. She finally breathed in when he agreed, making his father’s assistant wonder why she looked so nervous.
Joseph Mills nodded and said, “Jack, go to Human Resources to sign your new contract. I am going to send an email immediately. Mia, ask my secretary outside how to get to the mailing department and go introduce yourself. I will send an email to warn them as well.”
He then offered his hand for a handshake and said, “Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Jack. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her.”
Jack grabbed his hand and squeezed it almost to a bone-breaking point, making Joseph Mills flinch, and calmly said, “I would advise you to make sure something like that never happens again because if some guys put Miss Mia or me in danger because of you, I won’t be this nice the next time I come here. This time, my friend Billy Patel ended up in a hospital bed. Next time, it will be you, and you will be a lot worse than him, believe me. And I will make sure no one ever finds out it was me. Consider this a fair warning.”
Jack turned around and opened the door for the nervous Mia Mills. She quickly hugged her father and went out of the office, with Jack closing the door behind him after one last cold look towards the two men still inside.
Joseph Mills cleaned the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “Considering his background, he would pull that off and no one would find out… Damn, he will be an amazing bodyguard for Mia!”
His assistant nodded with a pale face. “I almost pissed myself, Mister Joseph… Now we know why no one messes with a UK Royal Marine. He sounded calm, but his eyes… I will have a few nightmares because of him!”