Chapter 3 - The Ghost at the Door
Nora was boxing up her meager belongings on Tuesday morning when a heavy knock rattled her door.
Assuming it was the landlord coming early, she braced herself, swinging the door open. The words died in her throat.
Damian Kell stood in the narrow, dingy hallway. He looked violently out of place, a wolf standing in a rabbit hutch. He was dressed in a bespoke navy suit, his presence so commanding the hallway suddenly felt entirely deprived of oxygen.
"Mr. Kell," Nora breathed, stepping back instinctively.
"Miss Bellamy," he replied, his eyes scanning the packed cardboard boxes. "May I come in?"
Nora nodded numbly, moving aside. Damian stepped into the cramped living room. He didn't look at the peeling wallpaper or the cracked linoleum with disgust; he looked at it with calculation.
"I owe you a debt," Damian said, getting straight to the point. "Sofia hasn't stopped talking about you since yesterday. She usually doesn't let anyone but me near her when she has an episode. You have a gift."
"I have an autistic cousin," Nora said defensively, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just know how to listen."
"I need someone who knows how to listen," Damian said, stepping closer. "My business requires me to travel. It requires long hours. I have a team of nannies, and Sofia hates all of them. I am offering you a position as her private companion."
Nora blinked. "You're... offering me a job?"
Damian pulled a folded document from his jacket. "Your brother’s tuition is paid for the next four years. The medical debt from your mother's illness has been cleared. And your starting salary will be fifteen thousand dollars a month. You will live at my estate in Long Island. You will have your own wing."
Nora’s knees went weak. She grabbed the edge of the kitchen counter. "Why? Why would you do all of this?"
Damian closed the distance between them. He was so close she could smell his cologne—cedar, bergamot, and danger.
May you like
"Because in my world, Nora, loyalty and genuine kindness are the rarest commodities. You protected what is mine. Now, I protect you. Do we have a deal?"
Nora looked at the eviction notice, then up into the cold, beautiful eyes of a mafia boss. She didn't have a choice. "Yes."
