She freezes, eyes darting my way to check if I noticed. I keep my face blank, gaze fixed on my phone. Let her think she’s unobserved. The best intel comes when people believe no one’s watching.
She crouches carefully, one hand braced against the desk for balance. The red soles flash as she wobbles, and her skirt rides up, revealing the curve of her ass and a flash of pale thigh. I don’t look away. Why would I? The view is spectacular, and I’m not a saint.
If Dom had brought this one back from Pittsburgh, I’d have put Ricky through a wall just for looking at her. And if he’d touched her?—
I shift on the couch, redirecting my thoughts. This isn’t the time to imagine her on her knees in front of me, those green eyes looking up. Not while she’s still in the room. Not while I need to maintain control.
She snatches the paper from the floor, hands trembling slightly, a flush spreading across her cheeks. The vulnerability is unexpected. It creates a momentary crack in my armor, an unwelcome warmth I immediately suppress.
Rising slowly, she finds her balance again and returns to sorting, lips moving as she reads labels under her breath.
“A through D... E through H...”
Her organization system evolves by the minute. The piles multiply and spread—across her desk, onto the floor, the coffee table.
I stand and move to the kitchen, pouring the Kopi Luwak down the drain and putting the carafe in the dishwasher.
That little trick landed hard. First time I’ve ever done that. It was perfect.
I make myself another coffee in the French press, eyeing the clock and counting the minutes until I can start phase two of day one.
The rich aroma fills the apartment—a deliberate taunt. I don’t offer her any. Don’t speak. Don’t acknowledge the soft groan she makes when shifting her weight again.
The hours crawl by. She’s overtaken my living room like a quiet invasion. Receipts stretch across every surface—floor, counter, coffee table. Even the armrest of my couch now holds a precarious stack. Her fingers tremble slightly as she adds another invoice to it.
My space no longer feels like mine.
She’s claimed it without a word.
By eleven, sweat glistens on her brow and upper lip. The yellow cardigan is gone, folded over the desk. The oatmeal tank top underneath clings to her back as she bends, revealing shoulder blades and the delicate curve of her spine, all wrapped in effort. A bead of sweat slides down her neck and disappears beneath the fabric.
I shift, feeling a low pull of heat I have no business indulging.
The coffee is bitter and strong against my tongue. I savor both the taste and the silence, noting the slow shift in power between us. She’s still standing. Still trying. Still unaware of just how far this test will go.
She thinks this is the worst of it.
She’s wrong.
At noon, I glance over at Miss Takefrom behind the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room.
She’s been at it for nearly four hours without a single complaint. No water. No bathroom breaks. Just methodical, focused organization of the mess I deliberately created for her.
Her fingers move with precision, sorting invoices with surprising efficiency. The system she’s created across my apartment is... intelligent.
Almost impressive, if I cared to be impressed.
“Lunch break,” I announce, setting my mug down with a deliberate clink against the granite.
I watch her face carefully. There it is—that flicker of relief, a spark of hope that bleeds through before she can mask it. Her shoulders relax a fraction of an inch. Her hands hover over the papers, uncertain now.
I stand, reaching for the Lambo key fob on the kitchen counter. The hope drains from her expression as she tracks my movement.
“You’ll need to pick something up for me first,” I say, rolling the Lamborghini key between my fingers, feeling the weight of the metal warm against my skin. “From my house. “That one—up there, on the hill.”
I pause for effect, watching her eyes follow mine to the window, tracking her gaze as it lifts to the mansion perched like a sentinel above the city.
The morning light catches on the distant windows, making them flash like warning signals. I can practically see her mind working, calculating the distance, weighing her options, wondering what kind of errand I’m sending her on.