I Owe the Tyrant Four Little Heirs novel Chapter 25

At the mention of money, Niamh immediately turned back, her interest piqued. “For real?”

As long as it wasn’t illegal, she was willing to do anything for extra cash, especially when she owed this devil fifty thousand dollars.

“From now on, you’ll buy my lunch and dinner. That’s a hundred dollars a trip.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Mm,” he confirmed.

“Deal!”

Maybe the devil had a heart after all.

Just as she was about to leave, Jareth spoke again. “Aren’t you going to ask what I like to eat? What I don’t like? Any allergies?” He smirked. “If you bring me something I don’t like, you won’t get a single cent.”

Niamh bit her lip. *Did she wrong him in a past life? Why does he go out of his way to make her life difficult?*

“You have to be strong, Niamh,” she told herself, a familiar mantra echoing in her head.

During the countless sleepless nights spent raising quadruplets on her own, whenever she felt like giving up, she would repeat those words. “Just a few more years, Niamh. Once the kids are older, it will be easier. You have to hold on.”

And just like that, five years had passed. Nothing could be harder than raising four children alone. What was putting up with one lunatic in comparison? As soon as the debt was paid, she was gone.

“Add me on WhatsApp,” Jareth said. “I’ll send you the details when I have time.”

Though she wanted nothing more than to avoid any contact with him, Niamh pulled out her phone and put on a cheerful voice. “Okay, great!”

“You do it. I don’t know how,” he said, tossing his phone onto the desk.

He doesn’t know how?

“The passcode is eight zeros,” he added.

Eight zeros? That’s not a password; that’s an invitation.

She typed in the code. The phone’s background was pitch black, and the only apps on the screen were the pre-installed ones and WhatsApp. There wasn’t a single game in sight.

“Done,” she said, placing the phone back on the desk.

“Good.”

“Well, if there’s nothing else, Mr. Bragg, I’ll be going.”

“Mm.”

She had only taken two steps when his voice, sharp as a whip, struck her again. “Niamh, I’m warning you one last time. If you dare to not show up for work, I will send people to find you, and I will have them break your legs.”

Why was she so fixated on Niamh? She was just a janitor. How could she possibly be a threat to a department head?

Hitting a brick wall with Usher, Rhoslyn stormed off to find Niamh herself. She found her mopping the floor near the elevators.

“Niamh,” Rhoslyn ordered, approaching her. “The CEO is in a meeting. Go clean his office. And while you’re at it, add some water to the bamboo on his desk.”

“Okay.”

Niamh thought it was a good idea to clean his office while he was away. The last thing she needed was to get on his bad side again.

As Niamh walked away, a cruel smile spread across Rhoslyn’s face.

Once inside the CEO’s office, Niamh’s eyes fell on the vase of bamboo on the desk. Its leaves were yellow and wilting. If it wasn’t cared for soon, it would die.

She decided to clean the office first, then tend to the plant. She’d had a pot of bamboo in her college dorm room that had thrived for three years before she dropped out and gave it away. She knew what she was doing.

After she finished cleaning, she went to the maintenance room and asked a technician for two small iron nails. Back in the office, she changed the water in the vase, dropped the nails in, and noticed the leaves were dusty. Using a clean, damp cloth, she began to gently wipe each leaf, one by one.

As she worked, the office door swung open without a sound.

Jareth was there, with Usher right behind him.

When Usher saw Niamh touching the bamboo, the color drained from his face.