Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)(9)

He lowered his head at his mother’s tone. Fuck, it was like he was still a little kid.

“Anyway, she’s going to help you run your life. Your brain is hurting right now, and sitting in your own filth and worrying about your deadline isn’t helping. So we’re stepping in and showing you that you can be an adult.”

“And you can’t back out of it,” Miranda sighed. “No matter how much you want to.”

“She’s going to help you run your life because God knows you can’t do it yourself,” Maya added.

“And you can’t fire her because we’re the ones that hired her,” Meghan added then frowned. “Though you’ll be paying her since you make more money than us, but whatever.”

Griffin pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t want a PA or anyone in his home when he needed to work. The thing was, he wasn’t working. He knew he needed help, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with it.

“Who did you hire?” he asked, his voice low. “Who do you think can work with me and take over my life? Because that’s a lot of skills you’re talking about. In fact, that sounds like it’s more than one person’s job.”

“Well, you can’t do it all even though you think you can,” Maya said. “And you’ll like her.” He looked up at his sister to see the wide grin on her face. “In fact, I think you already do like her.”

“Who?” he asked again, his fists clenching.

“Autumn, of course,” Meghan said with a smile. “Who else would be able to handle you and your bad tempers other than Fall?”

“And you can’t say no,” his mother reminded him. “It’s already taken care of. You’re stuck with her, and you will treat her with respect. Got me, boy?”

Griffin closed his eyes and groaned. Well, f*ck. “Autumn? You’re kidding me, right? I thought she worked with Meghan?”

“She does,” Meghan answered. “And she will work with you. And you’ll be happy about it. Because if you mess with her and piss her off, she’ll kick your ass. And then I’ll kick your ass because she’s my friend.”

Griffin wanted to kick the girls out and stomp back to his room. There was no way this would work. Autumn would take one look at his place and run away. There was no way she’d want to stay and work with him. There was also no way he’d be able to deal with her so close to him while he was trying to figure out what the f*ck to do with his book.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he’d let her see what she was in for and let her walk away. Because no matter what, Autumn couldn’t be his personal assistant. No one could. He lived alone, worked alone, and breathed alone. It was the way he’d worked so far, and damn it, it was the way he would continue to work.

There wasn’t another option.

Autumn wouldn’t last long, and then she’d be out of his life forever.

And why the hell did that make his stomach hurt? For that reason and more, he knew he had to find a way out of this. Only he wasn’t sure how he was going to do that with the women in his life staring at him the way they were. They wanted Autumn in his life, and the damned woman had said yes. And it looked like Griffin didn’t have a choice at all.

Well, shit.





Chapter Three


What the hell had she been thinking? Autumn didn’t just react when it came to her life. She couldn’t afford to. It might look like she went from job to job, place to place, without second thoughts or a care in her head, but she worked hard at that misconception. She didn’t move without doing as much research as possible so she could make sure she wasn’t followed. Or at least be as sure as she could. She also didn’t take jobs randomly, despite the fact that she had held so many since high school her resume looked as if it had been patchworked from four different people rather than merely one. That was, of course, if she’d actually had a resume…

Yet when Meghan has approached her with the offhand comment of helping Griffin, she’d said yes. Griffin’s sister had wanted to help her brother but knew she couldn’t do it all. While Autumn was happy Meghan wasn’t trying to take everything on herself, she shouldn’t have said yes to the other woman.

It made no sense.

Sure she could clean, cook, organize, program and pretty much do most of the things Meghan thought Griffin needed, but she shouldn’t have said yes. The damned man had called her Fall.

Yeah, he’d rolled his eyes after he’d said it, so at least he hadn’t been too serious. And to be honest, she’d laughed a little at the joke because it was that bad, but still. She shouldn’t be getting closer to the Montgomerys. She should be severing ties so she could pack up and leave as soon as she could. She’d done her damndest over time to make sure no one truly knew who she was. That way, by the time she moved away, people would only remember a faint whisper of her presence. Unlike here, where she’d been given nicknames and worked with the whole family in one way or another.

The damn Montgomerys sure knew how to wrap a person up in their web of family, connection, and happiness.

It was enough to give a girl on the run an ulcer.

She didn’t want to work for Griffin. The man was too sexy for his own good. She had practically swallowed her tongue the last time she’d seen him, and now she’d be in his house. Daily. For hours. Alone. Just him and her. And the voices in his head that led to a book. She had to admit she was fascinated with his process since she didn’t actually know anything about it. She’d always wanted to know how someone could write a book. She might have ideas and love reading, but she couldn’t sit down in front of a computer or a notebook for hours at a time and try to build a story.