CHAPTER 2: THE KING OF ICE

"You won’t last a week."

Long after Aria had vanished down the corridor, her words continued to reverberate in my mind.

I couldn't tell whether it was a challenge or a warning. Perhaps both.

However, as I stood there looking into Damian Knight's inscrutable face, I became aware that he was

observing me. Assessing. As if he was attempting to determine whether I was worth his attention.

Refusing to squirm beneath his stare, I straightened my shoulders. "So, do I start today?"

He remained silent for a while. Then, gently, he passed me while speaking in a steady, composed tone.

"Follow me."

After a half-second of hesitation, I pushed my feet forward.

With a commanding presence that required no words, Damian guided me around the home. This area

belonged to him. Everything belonged to him. He would also own me if I wasn't cautious, but not in the

same way that he owned his companies.

The corridor went on forever, the sound of my footfall absorbed by the chilly marble flooring. Every

the door we passed seemed pricey and immaculate, like a museum that was on-limits to visitors.

At last, he came to a halt before a big wooden door and pulled it open.

Anticipating another chilly, empty room, I entered.

I found a home office instead if you can call it that. The dark wood bookcases that lined the walls were

illuminated by the enormous windows that looked out over the expansive estate. In the middle was a

sleek desk with papers arranged precisely and a silver pen positioned with surgical accuracy.

Everything was in its proper place. Managed. Similar to him.

With his hands in his pockets, Damian approached the window and gazed out.

Without glancing at me, he said, "You'll follow three rules while you're here." "First, do your duties.

Make sure my kid follows the rules. Disobedience is not tolerated by me.

I folded my arms. "She’s a child, not an employee."

His icy blue eyes met me as he turned slightly. "She is my daughter. She will also be brought up

appropriately.

His tone had an uncompromising, even menacing quality. I remained quiet while clenching my jaw.

"Second," he said, "you never go too far. You are not here to inquire; you are here to work. You don't

need to worry about my private life."

My jaw muscle trembled. "Understood."

"And third," he said in a harsher, lower voice, "you never, ever quit without my permission."

I blinked. "What?"

His face remained the same. "You'll let me know if you wish to go. And I'll determine if you're allowed

to go."

I laughed, gasping for air. "That’s not how jobs work, Mr. Knight."

His lips quirked, almost like the ghost of a grin, for the first time. "In my world, Miss Wells, everything

works how I say it does."

Even though it made my spine tingle, I made myself look him in the eye. I refused to be intimidated by

him.

"Anything else?" With a loud voice, I asked.

After examining me for a while, he took a sleek black card out of his desk drawer. "You own this. You

buy Aria everything she needs. No boundaries.

Eyeing the card as if it were a loaded weapon, I gulped. "I don’t need this."

Flatly, "Take it," he said. "And don’t make me repeat myself."

After a moment of hesitation, I put the card in my pocket. It was heavier than it ought to have been.

He responded, "You can start now," and looked back out the window. "Aria is waiting."

It was dismissed. Additionally, it seemed to me that Damian Knight disliked being asked the same

subject repeatedly.

The weight of his eyes on my back followed me as I turned and left.

The Initial Exam

Aria was dangling her legs over the edge of a stone fountain in the garden when I discovered her. As I

got closer, she glanced up, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.

She said, "Did he scare you o yet?"

I grinned. "Not just yet. However, the day is still early.

Aria studied me with a twist of her head. "They usually run by now."

I sat next to her but kept a safe distance. "Maybe I’m not like the others."

She laughed. "They all said that too."

I kept a close eye on her. Her speech had a reserved quality as if she were trying to test me.

Attempting to determine if I would let her down like the others.

I questioned, "Why do you scare them?"

Aria's mouth formed a cunning smile. "Because it’s fun."

I raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe you just don’t like being left behind."

Her smile wavered.

Something inscrutable bickered over her face for a moment. But she looked aside and pushed it down

as fast as it had emerged.

She shouted, "Come on," and leaped from the fountain. "Let’s play a game."

I squinted. "What kind of game?"

Aria grinned. "You’ll see."

Before I could interrogate her, she ed into the hedge labyrinth at the far end of the garden and

disappeared.

I let out a sigh. Fantastic.

I had no option but to go after her.

A Control Game

I had misjudged the size of the labyrinth. The hedges were long and twisted in all directions. Everything

became quieter as I descended further. Only the crunch of my feet on the gravel walk could be heard

as the estate disappeared behind me.

"Aria?" I made a call.

No response.

I rounded a bend and looked across the way. Nothing has changed.

A shiver of uneasiness ran up my back.

Even though I knew Aria was joking, something about this seemed... o. The quiet. The seclusion. The

breeze barely made its way through the dense bushes.

I moved forward one more step when I heard a voice behind me.

"Lost?"

I almost stumbled as I whirled around so quickly.

Damian watched me through his impenetrable face as he stood at the path's entrance. He seems

unsurprised to see me. He seems to have anticipated it if anything.

I put a palm to my chest and exhaled slowly. "Your daughter has a talent for disappearing acts."

Slowly and deliberately, he took a step closer. She enjoys pushing boundaries. Like I do.

I felt a chill go down my spine because of the way he said it.

I stood up straight. "Save your breath if you're coming to tell me that I didn't succeed. I'm not going to

give up."

He cocked his head in a way that suggested amusement. "Interesting."

I folded my arms. "What’s interesting?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he took his phone out of his pocket and pushed a button.

Aria's voice crackled over a speaker a few seconds later.

"I win!"

Aria's laughing came from someplace close, and I blinked. Damian had been following her all along.

I gave a quick breath. "You could have told me."

His mouth curled slightly. "And ruin the game?"

I gazed at him as the knowledge began to sink in. He was curious about my potential. How long would

it takes me to give up?

Aria has nothing to do with this. He was the subject of this.

And I had entered his game right away.

Damian moved closer, his speech now hushed and put his phone back in his pocket. "You think you

can handle my daughter, Miss Wells?"

I refused to back down and looked him in the eye. "I know I can."

He grinned more broadly.

"Then let’s see how long you survive."

One thing became evident as he left me alone in the center of that labyrinth: I wasn't simply Aria's

babysitter.

Damian Knight's new passion was me.

And I was more afraid of it than anything else.