While I expected any number of reactions from my pretty maid upon hearing my presence, the contemptuous look she fixes me with was not one of them. She manages to school her expression into something more casual, gently closing the desk drawer which holds one of my most private items.

It’s not something I want her to see—at least, not in these conditions. I had hoped that I would be able to show her the handcuffs in the proper setting, but that aspiration seems to be drifting out the window. I keep my expression carefully molded into a calm and collected one, though fear races through my veins.

I know I should be angry that she invaded my private space, but truthfully, I have little to hide. I can’t let this go without any consideration to my privacy, however. As my housekeeper, she should well know what rooms are off-limits.

“Mind explaining what you’re doing in my private office, Miss Law?” I inquire, trying to keep amusement from slipping into my voice as she shuffles nervously from foot to foot.

Truth be told, I have no idea what she thinks she may find in my office, but I can only hope she was attempting to learn more about me as a person. I would be oblivious not to notice the disdain she regards me with, though it’s also clear that she thinks she’s hiding it well enough. Any other employer of my caliber wouldn’t allow such insolence. I know I shouldn’t either, but I’ve been letting my less-than-professional admiration cloud my mind.

Is the pay I’ve been giving her not sufficient? Is she struggling, even now, to make ends meet? I’d not considered that perhaps she needed more than I was providing. The idea of her wanting to steal from me is a startling one, but one I can possibly look past. I wish she’d just come to me.

Deciding to let her plead her case, I let my previous question hang in the air. Hopefully she’ll come clean, and we can resolve this issue. If she deflects, I’m afraid that’s something I can’t allow. If she’s having personal issues, either with me or at home, I’d like to be privy to that information. Call me a softie if you’d like, but any man would find himself enraptured with those eyes of hers.

“I was…I just thought I’d clean in here,” she says innocently, though it’s obvious she’s not being truthful.

I tilt my head, moving my lips into what I can only hope is a soothing smile.

“If I’d wanted you to clean up office, I’d have let you in before I left for work. What’s the real reason behind all this?” I ask gently.

Her eyes dart from side to side, and it’s obvious she’s trying to formulate another lie of sorts. I can’t allow her to waste any more time with such nonsense.

“You’re an awful liar, Charlotte, so just come out with it. Whatever it is—” I begin, only to be cut short by a bark of laughter.

“You want to know the truth, Dillon? Dillon Bradshaw, who has it all, and cares jack shit about who gets in the way, wants to know what I’m sneaking around for? Why do you even care to ask? Why not just ruin me again, like you did the first time?” she snaps, and I watch her with wide eyes as she grips her hair in obvious frustration.

As I watch her, a brief flicker of a memory comes to the forefront of my mind.

It should have come to me already, but in this business, you meet so many new people on a daily basis that remembering faces and names gets a bit unclear. There had been something familiar about Charlotte Law from the beginning, but I’m only just able to place it as I see those intense eyes clouded with rage. I’ve been fixed with that stare before.

“Charlotte—what on earth…” I blurt, stepping towards her and reaching out with a hand.

She flinches away from me, hatred shining in her gaze as she circles around me towards the door. It seems she’s unwilling to find herself trapped in the room with me. I can only wonder what she thinks I might do to her. I had fired her, years ago, but certainly she could realize that I was not a wild animal.

“You caught me, so I might as well come out with it! You were either too foolish to realize who you were hiring, or maybe you thought you could win me over somehow. Either way, I have nothing to lose at this point. You fired me two years ago, though it seems that you can’t remember telling me to my face that I was no longer needed,” she shouts angrily, gesturing wildly as she speaks.

Regret creeps up my spine, but not for the reasons one might think. I hold no regrets as far as hiring her, I simply wish things had not gone so bad without my realization. The theory that she needs money seems all the more apparent, and I hold my hands out in a placating gesture. I can nearly see the steam coming out of her ears, but I’m sure I can still fix this situation.

“Listen, Charlotte. I’m sorry that you found the conditions of your termination…unfavorable, but if it’s money you need…” I begin, only for her to narrow her eyes scornfully. As I part my lips to speak again, she holds a hand up to silence me.

“Listen very closely, Bradshaw. I’m not here for your money. The pay was just dandy, but you want to know the truth of the matter?” she hisses, her voice cold.

I hesitate, her intent to cause me as much harm possible growing all the more evident. Steeling myself, I nod my head and smile bitterly.

“It seems you’re rather intent upon coming out with the truth, anyway. So, let’s indulge each other. Why did you take the job?” I ask, feeling entirely out of sorts. It feels as if I’m watching myself from a thousand miles away, my voice sounding as faint to my ears as the whisper of an evening breeze.

“I wanted to ruin you as thoroughly as you ruined me. After you fired me, I lost my apartment. I had to move to a smaller place on the wrong side of town. I can barely sleep at night. My life has been hell since you came into it, and…” She trails off, her hands shaking.

I still feel miles away, but her every movement captures my vision just so. Her anger is sweeping over me in waves.

“I can fix this, Charlotte,” I offer, but she seems not to hear me. She appears to be as far away as I feel, lost in the expanse of her pain-filled psyche.

“I wanted you to know what it’s like, to feel like life isn’t worth living. This penthouse apartment, your multi-billion dollar company, your comfortable life—I wanted you to lose all of it. I wanted you to hurt as deeply as I’ve hurt because of you,” she murmurs. Her eyes mine for a moment, and my heart lurches in my chest. “I was trying to find something incriminating. Something that would actually harm you. There’s nothing, is there? There was never anything hidden in this office?” she continues, her voice cracking.

Shaking my head, I’m forced to avert my gaze. Her anguish is beginning to feel too much like my own, and I can’t bear the raw emotion of it all. I’m not meant to feel this deeply. Ever since she stepped into my life for the second time, feelings I can never consider or give voice to wash over me too often.

“You have to realize, Charlotte…it was nothing personal. It was just business. When you run a company like mine…” I trail off, the words sounding meaningless.

While I hadn’t intended to hurt her with my actions, intent means very little here and now. She’s opened herself up to me, the raw and festering wound she’s been nursing since she lost her job. I would give anything to soothe the damage I’ve caused, but there’s no fixing this. At least…not in this moment.

“In case it wasn’t already obvious, I quit. I never want to see your face again; I never want to hear your damn name. I realize now that life isn’t fair. It has never been fair, and to think it would change just because you stormed so boldly into my life again was silly,” she announces.

She shakes her head, storming out the door. It occurs to me to stop her. I could have her arrested for conspiracy to commit a crime. I’ve done enough to her, however. I’ve ruined enough lives. All I can do is watch as walks out of my penthouse, and likely out of my life forever.

For once, my life feels less than perfect. In this moment, I feel worthless. In a way, she has gotten her wish.