Chapter 2
"Mr. Landon will be back tonight and will interview you himself," the butler said. "In the meantime, you can get familiar with the place."
I took a stroll around the manor.
The basement had a wine cellar and a home theater.
The first floor was all about entertaining, the living room, dining room, and a study.
The second floor was where everyone actually lived, with bedrooms and family spaces.
The whole third floor was the master suite, door firmly shut. The butler told me that it was Charles's territory, strictly off-limits to everyone else.
My room was on the second floor, right next to Leo's.
It was about triple the size of the apartment I used to rent.
Private bathroom, walk-in closet, and a balcony with a view of the lake way off in the distance.
I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.
Just three days ago, I'd been thrown out of what was supposed to be my bridal suite.
Now here I was, in a manor worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Life sure had a twisted sense of humor.
At eight o'clock that night, I heard movement downstairs.
The butler knocked on my door. "Miss Winters, Mr. Landon has returned."
I went downstairs.
The lights in the hall were dimmer than during the day, casting a cozy glow across the marble floor.
A man was standing in the entryway, stooping to untie his shoes.
When he straightened up, my mind went blank.
He was ridiculously good-looking.
Tall, lean, broad-shouldered, with legs for days, and a face as cold and distant as moonlight on a snow-capped mountain.
His features were striking but not harsh, so handsome it was impossible to look away, yet so intimidating you wouldn't dare get close.
He looked up at me.
His gaze was so indifferent, like I was nothing more than a random piece of furniture.
"You're the new nanny?" he asked.
His voice was icy, too.
"Yes, I'm Sophia Winters," I replied.
He didn't respond, just walked straight to the sofa and sat down. The butler handed him a glass of water.
"Education?" he asked.
"Master's in Clinical Medicine from Northbridge University," I replied.
"Why did you become a nanny?" he asked.
"I need money," I said.
He looked up at me. He probably hadn't met anyone this direct before.
"Did the butler tell you about Leo?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Eight nannies before you, and none lasted longer than seven days," he said, his flat, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "How long do you think you'll hold out?"
"I don't know," I said. "But at least he didn't throw a vase at me this afternoon."
His fingers stilled on the glass for a moment.
"You actually got him to place a block on his own?" he asked.
The butler nodded.
He was silent for a few seconds.
"You'll be on a one-month trial. The butler will tell you the rules. Don't mess with Leo's routine. He doesn't like strangers touching him, and don't force him to talk," Charles said.
"One more thing," he added.
He fixed his gaze on me.
"Don't set foot on the third floor," he said.
"Understood," I replied.
"That's all. You can leave," Charles said.
The whole interview took less than three minutes.
As I headed upstairs, I overheard the butler say, "Mr. Landon, Miss Winters really has nerves of steel."
He didn't respond.
I closed my door, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled out my phone.
[Bank balance: 95 dollars.]
[Mom's medical bill: 40,000 dollars, gotta pay it tomorrow.]
I took a deep breath and texted the butler: [Is it possible to get an advance on my salary?]
Two minutes later, he replied: "Mr. Landon said you'll be paid daily starting from your first day of the trial period. Tomorrow, you'll get your first day's pay, 5,000 dollars, calculated from the 150,000 dollars monthly salary."
Five thousand dollars.
My hand was shaking as I held my phone.
That would do.
Enough to get by. The rest I would deal with later.