"Thank you, Ms. Mitchell."
"You're welcome, sir. Will there be anything else?"
She should leave. Should turn around and walk out before this moment stretched into something dangerous. Before the air between them grew any thicker with tension.
But Damien leaned back in his chair, studying her with that unnerving focus. "Actually, yes. Sit down."
Aria froze. "Sir?"
"Sit." He gestured to the chair across from his desk. "I have questions."
This wasn't normal. She knew enough about household dynamics to know that staff didn't sit with employers. Didn't have casual conversations during work hours.
But she couldn't refuse. Not on her first day. Not when he was watching her with those eyes that seemed to catalog every micro-expression.
She sat, keeping her posture perfect, her hands folded in her lap. "Of course, sir. How can I help you?"
"Tell me about yourself." He picked up his coffee, took a sip, never breaking eye contact. "The real version. Not the carefully crafted resume Elizabeth reviewed."
Her heart stuttered. The real version?
"I'm not sure what you mean, sir. Everything in my application...."
"Is technically accurate. I'm sure of that." His smile was slight, knowing. "But facts aren't truth. Your resume tells me where you worked. It doesn't tell me who you are."
This felt like a trap. Like he was testing her, seeing if she'd slip, if she'd reveal something inconsistent with Sarah Mitchell's carefully constructed identity.
"I'm just someone looking for stable employment with a good family," Aria said carefully. "Someone who values discretion and professionalism."
"Mmm." He set down his coffee and leaned forward, elbows on his desk, fingers steepled. "And what are you running from, Sarah Mitchell?"
The use of her fake name said with just the slightest emphasis, like he knew it was a costume made her skin prickle.
"I'm not running from anything."
"Everyone who comes to work here is running from something. Bad relationship. Family drama. Debt. Secrets they'd rather keep buried." His eyes never left her face. "So what's your story?"
She needed to give him something. Something believable but not too revealing.
"A relationship that didn't work out," she said softly, adding a vulnerability to her voice that wasn't entirely fake. "He was... controlling. I needed to get away. Start somewhere new where he wouldn't find me."
Something shifted in Damien's expression. Not quite sympathy, but recognition. "I see. And you felt safe here?"
"I felt like I could disappear here. Be just another face. Another employee." She met his eyes, letting him see genuine emotion even if the cause was fabricated. "Is that okay? That I want to be forgettable?"
His laugh was low, almost private. "Ms. Mitchell, I can assure you...you are many things. But forgettable isn't one of them."
The words hung between them, weighted with implication she didn't fully understand.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and his expression shifted back to business. "That will be all. You can go."
Aria stood quickly, grateful for the dismissal. "Thank you, sir."
She was almost to the door when his voice stopped her.
"Sarah."
She turned back. He was still watching her, his expression unreadable.
"Welcome to Blackwood Estate. I think you're going to find your time here very... educational."
There was something in his tone something that made her think he wasn't just talking about learning household procedures.
"Thank you, sir."
She fled, pulling the door closed behind her, her heart racing.
What the hell was that?
Lucy pounced the moment Aria returned to the first floor. "Oh my god, what took so long? You were up there for like fifteen minutes!"
"He wanted to talk."
"About what?"
"Just... getting to know the new employee. Background stuff." Aria tried to sound casual even though her hands were still shaking slightly. "It was fine."
"That's so weird." Lucy grabbed cleaning supplies and headed toward the next room on their list. "Mr. Blackwood literally never does that. Like, never. He barely acknowledges most staff exists."
"Maybe he's just being thorough during my trial period."
"Maybe." But Lucy's expression suggested she thought there was more to it. "Just be careful, okay? Mr. Blackwood is... intense. And when he focuses that intensity on someone, it can be overwhelming."
You have no idea, Aria thought.
They spent the afternoon cleaning guest bedrooms rooms that looked like they'd never been used, maintained to perfection just in case someone important decided to visit. The work was physically demanding in a way Aria wasn't used to. Her various careers had been cerebral hacking at a computer, painting in a studio, studying medical texts. This was different. Her back ached. Her feet hurt. Her hands were raw from cleaning solutions.
But she welcomed the physical exhaustion. It gave her something to focus on besides the memory of gray eyes and that slight smile and the way her body had responded to being in that room with him.
At 6 PM, the day staff began to disperse. Lucy walked with Aria back to the staff quarters. "First day down! How do you feel?"
"Exhausted."
"Yeah, it takes a while to build up the stamina. But you did great! Mrs. Chen seemed pleased trust me, if she wasn't, you'd know." Lucy paused outside her own room. "Staff dinner is at 7 in the dining hall if you want to join. Or there's always the common kitchen if you'd rather eat alone. No judgment either way."
"I think I'll eat with everyone. Might as well start making friends."
"Awesome! I'll save you a seat."
Alone in her small room, Aria collapsed on the bed and pulled out her real phone the one she kept hidden, the one connected to her actual life.
Three missed calls from the hospital. Her stomach clenched.
She called back immediately. "This is Aria Chen. I saw you called"
"Miss Chen, this is Nurse Patricia. Your mother's asking for you. Her vitals are stable but she's been quite insistent about speaking with you."
Relief and guilt warred in Aria's chest. "Can you transfer me to her room?"
"Of course. One moment."
A click, then her mother's voice: "Aria? Finally. Where have you been?"
"Working, Mama. I told you, I got a new position."
"A live-in position where you can't even call your dying mother?" Mei's tone was sharp, but Aria could hear the fear underneath. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"
Everything. I'm not telling you everything.
"Nothing, Mama. I promise. It's just been busy getting settled. I'll try to visit on Sunday that's my day off."
"You sound different."
"I'm just tired."
"No. You sound..." Mei paused, and Aria could imagine her mother's expression—that knowing look that had always been able to see through Aria's lies. "You sound like you're planning something. Something reckless."
"I'm not"
"Aria Chen, don't lie to your mother. I know you. You have that same tone your father had when he was plotting something dangerous." Her voice softened. "Baby girl, whatever you're thinking of doing, whatever line you're thinking of crossing is it worth it?"
Aria closed her eyes, tears burning behind her lids. "You're worth it. You're worth everything."
"That's not what I asked."
Before Aria could respond, there was a knock on her door. "Sarah? It's Lucy! Dinner time!"
"I have to go, Mama. I'll call you tomorrow, I promise."
"Aria"
"I love you." She ended the call before her mother could say more, before the guilt could overwhelm her completely.
She shoved her real phone back into its hiding spot, grabbed her Sarah Mitchell phone, and opened the door with a smile she didn't feel.
"Ready!" she told Lucy brightly.