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callalillywrites · 2 months

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To Repay a Debt 1

Well, it took a full rewrite of what I had originally, but this version is a lot better than what I had originally for our PA!Reader and Ransom's first part. Reader was too meek in the original version, but she's meant to have a lot grit and spunk to deal with Ransom.

Sadly, Ransom, despite his bratty self bugging me about this story, barely appears here but he'll have more presence in the upcoming parts.

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Personal Assistant (PA)!Reader

Other characters: Harlan Thrombey, Marta Carbera, Jinx and Salem (OC pets of Reader)

Word Count: ~4000

Story Summary: Harlan requests Reader to become Ransom's personal assistant for a year to repay a long-overdue debt.

Warnings: not much yet but there's some cursing on both reader's and Ransom's part, Ransom is meant to be a softer version in this story though it'll take a bit to get him there

A/N: It’s proofread but all mistakes are my own.

I do not give permission for my work to be copied or posted on other sites or fed into an AI machine.

“Mr. Thrombey,” you began, but he stopped you with a single raised finger. You tried again. “Harlan, this is insane. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“My dear, this is a debt that’s been too long unpaid. It’s time to rectify that,” Harlan said, not unkindly. His steel blue gaze raked over you as you sat across from him, calculating and possibly a bit amused.

It would seem what you’d heard about this man’s flair for the dramatic had some basis in truth.

“I’m a dog trainer. Hell, I trained Hercule and Sherlock out there. Don’t think I’ll forget or forgive the trick you played on me with them.” You gestured to the large bay window behind Harlan to illustrate your point. The two dogs raced around the perimeter, enjoying their free time with the grounds remaining quiet for the moment. “At least, you had the grace and guts to do this face-to-face this time. Don’t think I’m not surprised, either. Was Marta too busy to do your dirty work? Besides, what makes you think I’m at all qualified to do what you’re asking?”

Harlan didn’t answer right away. His gaze fell to the top of his desk. The bushy grey brows he sported drew together until you could see several lines bunching across the bridge of his nose.

The sight of this older man and the sadness he seemed to exude in his contemplation had you almost fidgeting in your seat. It was enough that you wanted to comfort one of the last people you ever thought about comforting.

“I’m not sure there’s anyone qualified, my dear,” he said, finally breaking the silence by focusing on your last question, “but I trusted you with my highly prized dogs. I think I can trust you with this new mission. If anyone can see past his faults and help him, it’s you. Isn’t that what you do with all the so-called aggressive breeds you handle every day?”

It wasn’t lost on you that he ignored the other questions and jabs you tossed at him. You’d freely admit to wanting to needle the man for his previous cowardice. It’d taken everything in you to not toss Marta off your property when you realized who really owned Hercule and Sherlock. Betrayal and hatred had streaked through you with an electricity that lit up every one of your nerves.

The only reason you hadn’t done so had been Marta’s genuine remorsefulness. She’d broken down that day and told you everything about herself, her position as Harlan’s nurse, her mother’s less-than-legal status. The vulnerability in Marta’s voice had worked to soften you towards her. It’d been the reason you continued to work with Hercule and Sherlock until they passed your top-notch security courses.

While you wanted nothing to do with Harlan or his family, you’d made a friend in Marta that day. That friendship was the only reason you even entertained Harlan at this moment.

Which brought you back to the last thing he said.

“Aggressive, yes,” you agreed readily enough, “but they’re not all that way. Some just need the right guidance to get them back on track. Ransom’s not aggressive nor misguided from what I’ve heard. He’s something else entirely.”

Harlan had the audacity to laugh at your description. “My late wife would’ve said the same thing about me at his age. Probably still would, my dear, if I’m being honest.”

“Twenty years, Harlan.” You had to figure out a different way out of this. “Why care about the debt that’s owed now? What about Ransom’s normal behavior is scaring you enough to reach out to me of all people now?”

“I’m not a young man anymore, my dear. I turn 85 in a week’s time.” He stopped and stared at you, his steely blue gaze not sparing a single detail of your face. “I’ve grown weary of my family freeloading off my success. Of all my children and grandchildren, the one with the most potential is Ransom. He just needs the right push to get him to see that and build something for himself.”

You didn’t know what to say to that, but then, you needn’t worry.

Harlan hadn’t finished his speech. “I’ll admit I’ve spoiled and favored him the most over the years. He’s the most like me, and I think I appreciated that fact in the worst possible ways. I’ve not done him any favors, but there must be time still to fix that. That’s what I’m clinging to, my dear. That hope.”

“Harlan, I –”

He cut you off again. “I’ve given you a week to think over my proposition. A year of your life to help set my grandson straight. Use whatever methods you think necessary to achieve your ends. That’s all I’m asking. For your efforts, you’ll be provided handsomely.”

“I don’t need your money, Harlan,” you put your hand up this time and stopped him from interrupting, “nor do I want it. I have a successful company of my own. Like you, I’ve built mine from the ground up. I’m not some little mouse that will stand by and let you and yours destroy what I’ve built for some debt you want to call in twenty years too late.”

A silence descended upon the room at your admission.

Harlan’s gaze never strayed from your face, calculating as he regarded you.

You did your best not to fidget. To give this man an inkling of weakness would make you more susceptible prey to this astute predator, and that wasn’t something you were willing to give him then or ever if you could help it. The Thrombeys had deep pockets, but you refused to kowtow to the likes of them.

“If it’s not money you want, then what do you want?”

You studied him for a long moment before saying, “This debt between our families to be cancelled and cleared once and for all. I do this, and it’s never used against me again. I want your assurance that you’re not going to interfere with my business or have this scheme interfere with my day-to-day schedule should I agree. If I help Ransom, then it’s on my terms, not yours. I’ve worked too hard to have my business suffer for what will most likely amount to a lost cause.”

“Most men in my position would find your lack of desire for monetary gain suspicious,” he paused for what you could only guess was for some dramatic flair or flourish, “but you’re sincere in this, aren’t you?”

You nodded. “I am.”

“Do we have a deal then, my dear?”

His hand stretched across the desk towards you. A small but pleased smile slipped across his features, believing he’d won.

That thought rankled.

You refused to meet him in the middle.

At his questioning look, you said, “We still have some details to discuss. Only then will we maybe have a deal.”

Harlan had the nerve to send you a cheeky grin, settling back in his chair.

“I’m all ears, my dear.”

The sun had risen to midday before you finally emerged from Harlan’s downstairs office.

Marta hurried across the foyer to meet you near the front door, catching sight of you from the front parlor where she’d been waiting. She’d been adamant in her innocence of this meeting the moment you’d stepped into the house that morning.

“Is everything alright?”

You took the first real deep breath you could since coming face-to-face with Harlan. The air expanded your lungs to their absolute maximum capacity, and you let them rest that way for a full five seconds. Then, in a whoosh, you let everything go on your exhale.

Meeting Marta’s worried gaze, you couldn’t quite muster a smile, but you nodded. “Everything went about as well as I expected it to. It would seem you’ll be seeing my pretty face around here every other week for the next year.”

“You’re serious? You accepted his terms?” Marta’s eyes widened. She spared a glance at the doorway you’d come from before turning back to you.

You nodded again. “With a few necessary amendments, I did. Not sure what good it’ll do, but he’s adamant I at least try.”

“You have doubts?”

That pulled an exasperated huff from you. “Doubts? Yeah, I have doubts. I could fill the bloody Grand Canyon with my doubts about this cockamamy scheme of his. But, a debt’s a debt. It’s gotta be paid somehow, and it looks like this is the only way Harlan will accept its repayment.”

Marta twisted her fingers in front of her. A guilty expression briefly flitted over her face. “I feel like this is my fault. It was me that put the idea of him changing his will away from his ungrateful family that started all this. I never meant to involve you.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt you for a minute. You have other things to be concerned with, and I don’t want to you to worry about me, either.” You straightened your shoulders as you glanced around the bizarre décor of the foyer, having no doubt the eccentricity enveloped the entire mansion. “I can take care of myself. If I can handle the world’s most psychotic Chihuahua, then I can handle the likes of Ransom Drysdale.”

You shot her a playful wink and a grin at the giggle she let out.

The two of you spoke a few more minutes before you finally excused yourself.

With the day growing ever later, you needed to head home and gather up what you needed for the next year of your life. While you knew you wouldn’t fit everything in your mid-sized sedan, you could at least bring over some essentials.

Ransom’s credit card, also yours to use freely according to Harlan, would help pay for a U-Haul to bring the rest in a few days to Ransom’s home, now your new home.

That had been one stipulation that Harlan hadn’t backed down on.

“How else will you be able to keep a constant eye on him and keep him on the straight and narrow as they say if you’re not living in his home?” he’d asked.

There’d been no hint at the possible notion of impropriety that some of his generation might’ve considered for such an arrangement. After all, neither you nor Ransom were married, and you had a feeling neither of you had an interest in such an arrangement. At least, that hadn’t been one of Harlan’s demands though you didn’t put it past the old coot to consider it.

Marta called after you from the front porch, “Give Salem and Jinx a good scritch from me?”

“Oh, they’ll demand it with how long I’ve been away from them,” you shouted back, waving as you slipped into the driver’s seat of your car.

At least, their accompanying you to Ransom’s home had been something Harlan readily agreed to. How Ransom would react to having pets in his home remained to be seen, but you didn’t frankly care. Jinx and Salem were the only family you had left. An accident in your youth had seen to that. They’d been the final nail to gain your agreement to this insane proposition in the first place.

Lunch-hour traffic didn’t bother you as much as it normally would have. Other things occupied your mind. They kept you busy while you wound your way through the heart of the city. Harlan’s grand mansion on the opposite side of town far out of your rearview by then. Your thoughts didn’t really slow until you pulled into your reserved space in front of your condo.

Taking a moment, you admired the place you’d busted your ass to purchase three years ago. In those three years, you’d taken great pains to decorate it exactly to your preferences and those of your two mischief makers. It would be a lot to give up for the next year, but you told yourself it would only be for a year.

12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes.

You could last that long, couldn’t you?

You could figure out what makes Ransom tick. Figure out how to use that to your advantage like you did with your four-legged clients. Make him into the acceptable version of himself for Harlan’s sake and health. Ransom’s inheritance certainly counted on your success. That was a lot of pressure to be placed on your shoulders. Would Ransom resent you if he failed? Would he even try working with you or fight you every step of the way?

Two pairs of glowing eyes peered out the large front window of your condo. One set happy to see you’ve returned. The other beyond grumpy for being left behind. You couldn’t and wouldn’t ask them to change for anything.

The safety of your furniture hastened your exit from your car. Making the grump wait longer than he wanted brought out his avenging nature. He wielded that power with great superiority and cleverness that always left you shaking your head while cleaning up the mess. In a word, asshole. Lovable though he was, he kept you constantly on-alert to his moods and needs.

Right now, he wanted attention, then treats to repay your prolonged absence.

Nothing better dare get in the way of that.

Both your grump and his happy companion met you at the front door.

“Ah, there are my sweet babes. Give me a sec, and I’ll get your treats, sourpuss,” you said, laughing at your grump cat who’d taken to headbutting and rubbing against your leg. “I know I was gone so long, but I promise I’m not going anywhere without you again today.”

You draped your jacket across the back of a dining chair, then set your purse in the seat. It was nice to come back to comfortable surroundings after being in the likes of the Thrombey estate. Sure, it was practically a historical landmark with its age and Harlan’s notoriety. That didn’t mean you felt all that welcome within its walls.

Walking into your kitchen, you opened the cabinet where you kept their food and treats. “In fact, my lovelies, it seems we’ll be moving to a temporary new home for the next year.”

Both cats sat at your feet, their tails swishing behind them. Neither seemed concerned with the news she’d given them. Blue eyes followed her every movement. Little tongues peeked out and caught on their sharp canines.

Holding out their treats in separate hands, you bent down and did your best not to chuckle at their opposite reactions. One bounced toward your hand but stopped just short to gently take the treat between their teeth. The other leaned forward and sniffed at the treat, giving it a hard stare before swiping it from your hand with a paw.

“Salem,” you chided, “must you do that every time? You know what your treats are by now, you grumpy Gus.”

Salem, your black cat mix, merely stared back at you. He’d never been impressed with your gentle reprimands. He knew he was a good cat, and he made no bones about being persnickety when his mood shifted now and then.

Rolling your eyes, you reached out and gave him a quick scritch under the chin before turning your attention to your calico, Jinx. “How’s my favorite klutz? Did you have fun while I was gone? I’m sure you kept Salem on his toes, didn’t you, sweet boy?”

Jinx, happy at the attention, leaned into your hand, rubbing his head all over your fingers until you let out another giggle.

With their treats handed out, you pushed to your feet and turned toward the sink to wash your hands. “All right, my sweeties, we need to get going. Lots to pack up before we head to our new home in a couple of hours. Harlan was quite insistent we get settled in tonight with at least a few things.”

You couldn’t imagine what Ransom could do in one night that had made Harlan so adamant. Sure, the tabloids loved to plaster one of Boston’s biggest playboys on their front covers. It was truly a slow week for them if Ransom or one of his friends wasn’t their main story, adding what you could only hope was salacious gossip.

Not that you read the stories yourself, but you’d heard enough about Ransom’s antics from your two trusted employees. They lived for all the gossip about celebrities, and Ransom fell square in that category. You could never bring yourself to demand they stop mentioning him or his friends around you. That would invite questions you had no intention of ever answering. The past was the past, and nothing could change what happened.

Yet, that moment had come back to bite you in the ass.

With nothing left to do but pack, you shoved thoughts of Ransom aside for the time being. You were sure a confrontation would be inevitable, but that was a problem for your future self, not your present one. Your present self had enough to do with getting what you needed until the weekend packed up, and that included your two furry shadows.

The large house surrounded by woods shouldn’t have surprised you from what’d you learned of Ransom and his spending habits. Yet, you hadn’t really pictured him with a house made up of so many floor-to-ceiling windows. The amount of natural lighting and the lack of privacy tinting also had you scratching your head. It was almost like Ransom had nothing to hide based on the house he’d chosen to live in.

That or he had a major exhibition kink you had no interest in considering or discovering.

You fought the urge to pull out your cell phone and dial Marta’s number, demanding another conversation with Harlan. No way were you interested in living in a house like this. The more you inspected the house, the less you could see anything resembling bedrooms. Despite the glass walls, the bedrooms did seem to contain their own forms of privacy.

A loud howl broke through your thoughts.

Salem’s claws caught and scratched across the thick mess of his carrier.

“Alright, alright, we’re going,” you said, placating your grump.

As you moved from the driver’s seat, you noted the lack of lights on in the house or another car parked in the small drive. If there was a garage on the property, you didn’t see it right away.

Maybe luck was on your side.

As much as the confrontation with Ransom would be coming, you had no interest in having it while trying to settle Jinx and Salem in their new surroundings. It would be enough to get them calm before Ransom showed up. Harlan hadn’t been all that sure when Ransom would be home that evening. That could explain why Harlan had stubbornly insisted on you moving in tonight over another.

Salem continued his grumbling while you picked up their carriers from your back seat. They grew an octave as you covered the distance between your car and Ransom’s front door. His loudest setting neared its peak when you slid the key Harlan gave you into the lock.

“Sweets, you’ve gotta stop that. What will our new roommate think of such behavior? This is his house, so you better behave yourself. We understand each other, Salem?” Your voice remained soft despite your reprimands.

To his credit, Salem calmed once you set his carrier down in the foyer. His eyes scanned their new surroundings with a disinterest that you knew was less than genuine. Like Jinx, Salem had a curiosity that demanded satisfaction at its earliest convenience. It wouldn’t take long for him or Jinx to find their spots and claim them. Whether Ransom approved or not was not something that concerned either of them or you for that matter.

“Let’s find our room, then I’ll let you out.”

Jinx chittered at that, eager to get out of his carrier to explore.

The layout, you had to admit, took a bit of getting used to. The open floor plan for the living room, dining room, and kitchen didn’t yield many clues to where the bedrooms were. It was sheer luck that you spotted another hall of the dining room where the two extra bedrooms were. At least, Harlan had given you that much information. The house, with all its space, sported three bedrooms and two baths. Ransom’s room was the entire upper floor above the living room and kitchen. You had no intention of stepping foot in that room unless you had to.

Of the two rooms, you chose the one with a sliding glass door leading to a small deck area. Coverings provided all the privacy you wanted at night. But, they left you the availability to open them so Jinx (and occasionally Salem) could sunbathe in your room, out of the way.

Setting their carriers on the bed, you opened Salem’s first, then Jinx’s who’d been the most patient. While Salem shook out his fur before bounding off the bed, Jinx merely stretched himself before headbutting you for some attention. Once satisfied, he dropped to the floor in front of the sliding glass door and rolled in the bit of late evening sun filtering through.

Smiling at Jinx, you glanced around for Salem.

The door of your room stood cracked open.

“Oh, you little stink. Wait until I find you,” you muttered beneath your breath.

Despite your threat, you decided to gather your luggage and haul it inside before searching for Salem’s delinquent self. If all else failed, shaking his favorite bag of treats would send him running to you.

Or so you thought.

It hadn’t taken long to bring the few suitcases you’d brought with you into the house, then your room. Even less time to locate the treat bag you tucked inside your purse.

Yet every shake you gave it was met with silence besides Jinx’s happy chirping for said treats.

“Where did you go?” You let out a huff and set the treats down on the kitchen counter.

Picking up Jinx, you moved around the house, searching every nook and cranny Salem could possibly find interesting. No room on the main floor was spared your thorough check until you were left with two choices. The stairs leading down near your bedroom or the stairs behind the large fireplace in the living room. The same stairs that led to Ransom’s bedroom suite.

“He wouldn’t, would he?” you asked Jinx.

Jinx meowed back as if to say he didn’t know.

With little choice, you squared your shoulders and traveled back to the living room and the stairs leading upstairs. “Well, let’s get this over with.”

Much to your chagrin, Salem was in Ransom’s room.

More than that, Salem was lying, content and purring, on the pillows of Ransom’s bed. The same pillows next to the table with all of Ransom’s things. Salem had purposely chosen the ones that most certainly contained Ransom’s scent.

You hurried across the room and picked up your rotten cat, ready to admonish him in the safety of your room downstairs.

At least, that was your intent.

A large wall of a man blocked your path. A large wall of a man with blazing blue eyes and a pissed off frown.

“Who the hell are you? And how the fuck did you get into my house?”

*****

Series Masterlist / Main Masterlist

#ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x reader #x female reader #personal assistant reader #knives out #to repay a debt #soft!ransom drysdale

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