Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Ugh, fine.” She turned a little, tilting her screen in my direction. “Hold on. I have to get a chub for Willy.”
I opened my mouth with every intention of asking her to clarify, but quickly changed my mind.
I wasn’t even going to ask.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – CHLOE
How The Other Half Live
“You know, if you bomb out of this whole Vice-President of the company thing, you’d have a smashing future as a tour guide for this place,” I said, gazing around the entry hall of Buckley Manor, the ancestral seat of the Duke of Ruxleigh.
“I have no intention of bombing the ‘whole Vice-President of the company thing,’ as you so eloquently put it, but thank you all the same.” Theodore laughed, his gaze hovering on me. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a tour guide.”
“Why not? I’m impressed by how much knowledge of your family history you have.”
“It was beaten into me as a child.”
“I’d ask you if you’re being serious, but I can really imagine it.” I wrapped my arms around myself and peered at the portraits on the wall. “Thank you for showing me around here. I’m sure you had other things you’d rather be doing today.”
Theodore smiled. “I really didn’t. Besides, the tour isn’t over yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a VIP tour guide.” His smile stretched into a full-fledged grin, and he laid his hand on my lower back, guiding me towards the library. “And you were personally invited here by the Duke of Ruxleigh, which means you can see places here that nobody else has seen.”
“Wait.” I turned, placing my hand on his chest to stop him in his tracks. “I’m pretty sure this is how women die in horror movies.”
“I swear on my life there’s nobody here who would dare kill you, horror movie or not.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist, his smile reflected in his grey-blue eyes as he peered down at me. “You’ve only seen the official tour of Buckley Manor. How about the unofficial one?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Never mind a horror movie. This is how innocent girls get lured into porn.”
Theodore stared at me for a moment before he burst out laughing, pulling my hand from his chest and releasing his grip on my wrist. “There’s no porn being filmed here. Not today, anyway.”
I froze. “What?”
Another deep laugh rumbled out of him. “I’m joking. We don’t hire out for porn. Movies and TV shows, yes, but not porn.”
I eyed him as he slid his hand from my back to my wrist and tugged me after him. “I’m not sure if I believe you or not.”
“What kind of porn would be filmed here?”
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable answering that.”
“Then don’t bring it up in the first place.”
He made an excellent point.
He was my boss.
Boss.
Superior.
The one in charge.
Why the hell was I talking about porn with him? Just because he’d decided we were friends last night didn’t mean I could be that unhinged around him.
What kind of porn would be filmed in an aristocratic country house like Buckley Manor, though? Regency porn? Was that a thing? Maybe a kinky recreation of the life of Henry the Eighth?
Ooh. No. Let’s not go there.
Regency porn was something I could get on board with, though.
If there was ever a smutty rendition of Pride and Prejudice with the right man playing Mr Darcy, I could absolutely see it being filmed here.
Theodore knocked a pattern against a large door, and it opened a few seconds later to reveal a man somewhere in his sixties. “Ben, is lunch ready?”
The man lowered his head. “Yes, it’ll be served in the Red Room when you’re ready.”
Red Room?
Hold on.
I’d heard this one before.
And this bastard told me they didn’t film pornos here…
“Good. This is Chloe St. James, my executive assistant. Chloe, this is Benedict Chalmers, the Buckley Manor butler.” Theodore motioned between us.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss St. James.” He turned to me and bowed his head in the same manner as he had to Theodore. “I’ve heard many wonderful things about you from His Grace and the rest of the family.”
Oh. Um.
This was strange.
“I’m sure they’ve vastly exaggerated my good points, Mr Chalmers,” I replied. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Please, call me Ben.” He stepped aside. “Please follow me. Would you like lunch immediately or should we bring it out after you’ve shown Miss St. James the rest of the manor?”
“We’ll eat first, Ben. Thank you,” Theodore said, putting his hand on my back again and pushing me through the door.
“Of course, my lord.”
My lord.
How the other half live, eh?
And this wasn’t just the other half. The ‘Other Half’ was the rich, but the aristocracy seemed to be somewhere above that.
More like the One Percent.
An elite, untouchable bubble of something more than money.
History.
Maybe I was a bit weird, but history was sexier than money.