Claire’s posture stiffened at his words.
“I’m a teacher.
That’s what I do.
I guide children and correct them when they make mistakes.”
“Even when that child is mine?” Sebastian snorted coldly.
“Especially then,” Claire replied without hesitation.
“All children need boundaries regardless of who their parents are.”
Sebastian’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes stayed on her for a moment longer.
“Since you’re an expert on how children should be raised,” he muttered.
“…and you wanted the authority to correct my daughter, now you’ll have it.”
Claire frowned in confusion.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You’ll teach her.
Private lessons.
My house.
Every day after school.”
Claire stared at him, completely caught off guard.
For a moment she wasn’t sure what to say.
She had come to his office expecting to defend herself and possibly prevent herself from losing her job.
She certainly hadn’t expected to leave with another position entirely.
“Private lessons?” she repeated, unsure if she had heard him correctly.
Her question was met with silence.
“At your house?”
“I don’t repeat myself.”
Claire’s eyebrows pulled together.
She looked at him carefully trying to figure out whether he was serious but his face gave her nothing.
“And for how long?”
“Three months.
If her behavior improves, you remain her teacher.
If it doesn’t, I’ll decide what happens next.”
Claire drummed her fingers against her lap.
She glanced toward the window before looking at him again.
Three months of private lessons with Sophie meant spending every afternoon with the same child she had already struggled with for nearly two weeks.
She had barely managed to keep her patience at school and now her father wanted her to teach the girl again after classes.
Claire pressed her lips together.
She wanted to say no but the word refused to come out.
She still needed her job at Westbridge, and she had no idea whether refusing this arrangement would affect her position there.
She lowered her eyes thinking through everything he had said.
Then another question came to mind.
If she was going to teach Sophie privately after school, would she be paid separately for it?
Claire looked up at him again, but before she could ask, Sebastian spoke.
“Did you think I’d ask you to do it for free?”
A faint flush spread across Claire’s face.
She hadn’t realized her thoughts had been that obvious.
“I was only wondering.”
He went silent for a moment, then he parted his lips casually.
“Ten times your current salary.
Each month.”
Claire’s eyes widened.
“Ten times?”
The only thing she could think about was the number.
Ten times her salary.
Each month.
Her eyes brightened before she could stop herself, and the surprise on her face was impossible to hide.
Three months!.
That was three years of her current salary.
She quickly lowered her eyes and bit her lip, but the calculation had already started in her head.
If she saved most of it, she could finally pay off a large part of her education loans.
She wouldn’t have to worry so much about rent or unexpected expenses, and she could put money aside for her grandmother instead of wondering how she would manage the next bill.
More importantly, with that kind of money coming in for three months, she won’t have to worry about going back home anytime soon.
Claire looked back at him.
“Did you mean ten times my monthly salary?”
Sebastian rested his knuckles against his jaw, his expression unchanged.
“Did I sound like I was referring to a one-time payment?” He paused, then added.
“Every month.
I don’t make careless offers.”
Claire swallowed.
That was far more than she had expected.
She knew rich people had money, but she had never understood just how casually some of them could spend it until now.
She studied him in suspicion.
There had to be something behind it.
“Why so much?”
“Because I want you to take the job seriously.”
Claire frowned.
“I would take it seriously even if you paid me the same amount.”
“I know.”
His answer caught her off guard.
“Then why offer ten times my salary?”
“Because I can.” Sebastian returned his attention to the laptop as if the matter required no further explanation.
“Money isn’t a concern for me.”
Claire’s lips parted a little but she said nothing.
Of course it wasn’t.
For him, the amount probably meant very little.
But for her, it could change everything.
Still, people didn’t make offers like this every day.
She couldn’t help wondering if there was a catch.
She had been doing fine before all this started, and she didn’t want greed to make her accept something she might regret later.
She raised her head.
“And if I don’t want to do it?”
Sebastian’s eyes settled on her.
“You can accept the arrangement, or you can leave Westbridge.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think I was unclear.”
Claire stared at him, her annoyance returning immediately.
“You can’t decide that for me.”
“I already have.”
“So I don’t really have a choice.”
“You do,” Sebastian gave a brief nod.
“Accept my terms, or find another position.”
Claire’s jaw tightened.
She wanted to argue.
She wanted to tell him that he couldn’t simply use his money and influence to force people into doing what he wanted.
But one look at the man sitting across from her told her that he wasn’t going to change his mind because she complained.
She pushed herself up from the chair and sent him a look.
“I’ll think about it.”
She walked out of the office, her legs feeling unsteady.
When she reached the hallway, she leaned against the wall for a moment to catch her breath…
That evening, she told Ruby everything that had happened and the latter’s eyes widened as she listened, literally glowing with excitement.
“Ten times your salary?
Are you crazy?
You should have accepted immediately!
Even if he’d asked you to be Sophie’s nanny, you should have said yes right then and there!”
Claire glared at her from the corner of her eye.
“What do you mean ‘Nanny’?
After all those years at university?”
Ruby waved her hand dismissively.
“Please!
With that kind of money, who cares about your degree?
What were you even thinking about?”
Later that night, Claire lay in bed staring at the ceiling but sleep wouldn’t come.
The numbers kept running through her head: Ten times her salary, three months.
It was enough to solve so many problems.
But she couldn’t help but think something about the arrangement felt wrong…