Page 13

“Does she have more paperwork for me?”

“No. But, after she gives you the signing bonus, she’ll have you start working today.”

My eyes nearly fall out of my head, they go so wide. “I beg your pardon. Bonus?”

“Paychecks are given every two weeks, for the previous two. To keep employees from going an entire month without pay, I frequently give a starting bonus.”

“That’s so thoughtful,” I whisper, actually feeling a prick of tears. Whatever amount of money it is, it will help.

“Don’t give me too much credit. Veronica has a few things right. Giving bonuses builds loyalty. I don’t like turnover in my staff because loyalty leads to discretion.”

I nod. With the money he offered me for salary, I’ll stay for as long as he’ll have me.

But this is the second time Triston has mentioned strategy. He goes to great lengths to create ideal reactions in people. It’s a trait I note.

We continue on the tour, as I see his home office, the spare bedrooms, and the formal dining room before I’m returned to Mrs. Raith.

Triston gives me a single dip of his chin before he leaves Mrs. Raith’s office. I’m left watching the door, feeling like I know both more and less about the man who is going to be my boss.

Mrs. Raith clears her throat.

I turn back to her, giving my head a little shake to put my thoughts about Triston Smith aside.

He’s no less attractive than he was that first night; if anything, he’s more so. But he’s also my new boss and this job is the chance to save the money I’ll need for Darius.

I cannot afford to be daydreaming about Triston. Even if he were interested back, which he isn’t, it’s clear he doesn’t do commitment and that’s my one requirement for dating.

“We have a benefit event coming up on Friday night,” Mrs. Raith informs me. “We’ve already begun preparing, and I’m hoping you don’t mind jumping right in to help get the house ready.”

“Of course,” I reply. “I’d love to begin. Thank you.”

“Good,” she says as she pushes an envelope toward me. “This is your signing bonus. Tomorrow, I’d like you here by eight.”

I nod, slipping the envelope into my bag. Every day I work is another day I get paid. For the first time in a long time, I am filled with real hope. And that’s reason enough to keep my head down and my eyes off my boss.

This could be the start of something really wonderful.

CHAPTER FIVE

Triston

My afternoon is no moreproductive than my morning. All day long, I picture Honeyeh in my house, in my private spaces, bent over various pieces of furniture…

I haven’t fantasized about a woman this much since I was a teenager with my first girlfriend.

I’m considering tucking myself in a bathroom to squeeze one out just so I can get some work done.

It’s almost a relief when my phone dings that someone has approached the gate.

I check the video feed, my brother Killian’s Honda Pilot appearing on screen as he comes up the driveway.

I shake my head at his choice of vehicle. Chosen so that he can move around Vegas as anonymously as possible. Here is the thing about Killian. For a long time, I thought he might be certifiably insane.

He’s been our family’s dirty man, doing all the tasks that are unsavory and often bloody.

Which gives him license to say whatever comes into his head, never using a filter. It gets us all in trouble, and for a while, I thought it made him less. In some ways, though, it makes him more. Better. Honest. Real.

My role in the family would never allow me that kind of freedom. It’s all a carefully crafted façade, right down to the dating contract.