Author's Preface
Celeste entered the housekeeping office before Belle finished explaining the linen log.
“Sienna, Mr. Reed wants to see you.”
The pen stopped between my fingers and Belle looked up from the desk, then at me.
“He doesn’t summon new housekeepers.”
“Apparently, he made an exception.”
I clipped the pen to the log and stood. My thumb passed over the button camera beneath my uniform seam and the burner phone remained flat against my waist.
If Calvin had recognized me on the pier, the concealed equipment could turn an interview into an arrest. Or perhaps he had found the police identification I had lost aboard Apollo. Celeste was already walking so I followed her out.
Calvin’s office occupied the executive side of the Central Ridge administration building. Celeste knocked once, opened the door, and stepped aside.
Calvin stood behind a wide desk, the bruise at his temple still visible.
Another man waited near the windows, holding two folders. He was broad-shouldered, with closely cropped hair and a scar beside his jaw. His gaze passed over my uniform, shoes, hands, and posture with the care of someone trained to notice details.
Calvin nodded toward the folders. “Leave them, Damien. I’ll call you after the interview.”
Damien placed them on the desk. Before leaving, he gave me one last look that lingered long enough to feel intentional. Celeste followed him out and closed the door. Calvin did not offer me a seat.
“Your employment history says you worked in private residences.”
“Yes.”
“What did that involve?”
“Cleaning, laundry, food preparation, managing deliveries, and protecting my employers’ privacy.”
His gaze paused on my face. “You sound experienced with secrets.”
“Most employers call it discretion.”
He moved around the desk and leaned against its edge. Fully sober, he was harder to read. On Apollo, alcohol had softened his control enough for me to use the yacht’s movement against him. Here, every pause felt chosen.
“Why accept temporary work on an island?”
“The position was available.”
“There are available positions in Port Aurelia.”
“They don’t include staff housing.”
“You lived there?”
“For a while.”
“Near the marina?”
“No.”
His questions came without notes or hesitation. This was not a CEO checking whether a housekeeper could fold sheets.
Calvin stepped closer. “Do you travel well by sea?”
“Well enough.”
“No seasickness?”
“Not usually.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth before lifting again.
“You have never been aboard Apollo?”
“I’ve never been aboard Apollo.”
Silence stretched between us. Calvin watched me as if waiting for me to change my answer. A faint shift touched his expression, then disappeared.
Calvin moved to my right, stopping near the corner of the desk. The air-conditioning blew a loose strand of hair across my cheek. I turned my head and tucked it behind my right ear.
His gaze stopped on the crescent-shaped mark behind it. For one second, neither of us moved. Then the tension eased from his shoulders, as though he had found the answer to a question he had not asked aloud.
I lowered my hand. “Is there another question?”
He straightened, calmer than he had been when I entered.
“No.”
He returned behind his desk and opened my file.
“You may go, Ms. Blake.”
I reached the door.
“One thing.”
I turned.
“Stay near the staff corridor. Your assignment may be changing.”
Vic waited near the staff-corridor turn with two paper cups and a wrapped sandwich. He held out one cup before I reached him.
“You missed lunch.”
I took it. “You’re becoming useful.”
“Try not to sound surprised.” His gaze moved over my face. “What did Reed want?”
“Employment questions.”
“That took twenty minutes?”
“He’s thorough.”
Vic lowered his voice. “You all right, S?”
My grip on the cup loosened.
“He asked too many questions for a routine interview.”
“About your cover?”
“Port Aurelia, previous work and whether I was comfortable around boats.”
His expression tightened. “Do you think he suspects something?”
“I think he was testing me.”
“We should report it.”
“Not yet.”
“S—”
“If Ward thinks my cover is compromised, she’ll pull me off the island.”
“And if Reed keeps digging?”
“Then I find out what he knows before he finds anything else.”
Footsteps sounded at the far end of the corridor. Calvin approached with Damien beside him. His attention moved from the coffee in my hand to Vic standing close to my shoulder.
Vic followed his gaze and stepped back.
“I’ll see you later,” he said.
He headed toward the security wing. Calvin watched him leave before continuing with Damien. I returned to the housekeeping office, where Belle had gone back to the linen records. I set the sandwich beside the log and took a sip of coffee.
Celeste entered a few minutes later with a tablet against her chest.
“Sienna, your assignment has changed.”
Belle looked up. “Already?”
“You’ll replace Mr. Reed’s estate attendant. She left this morning because of a family emergency.”
“I haven’t completed orientation.”
“I told Mr. Reed.” Celeste’s mouth tightened. “He reviewed your work history and decided your private-residence experience made you the best temporary replacement.”
“When do I start?”
“Immediately. There’s a private family event in three days.”
Living inside Calvin’s security system would make every private movement harder. It would also place me inside the home of the man linked to Apollo, near his calls, financial records, and shipment schedules. Maybe near something that explained why Eli’s tracker had reached Solara Island.
“I’ll do it.”
Belle stared at me as though I had volunteered to clean a lion’s cage.
Celeste tapped the tablet. “Collect your luggage from staff housing. Mr. Reed will take you to the estate himself.”
My fingers tightened around the coffee cup. The reassignment was not an opportunity Calvin had given me. It was a trap we had both decided to enter.
Reed House stood above the northeastern cliffs, separated from the resort by a private road and two security gates. Glass faced the sea, while stone walls sheltered the service wing from the wind. Cameras covered the drive, entrance, and narrow path leading toward the gardens.
Calvin stopped beside the service door as I lifted my suitcase from the car.
“You notice cameras before architecture,” he said.
“I like knowing who is watching me.”
His gaze rested on me. “Then you’ll be comfortable here.”
The smart lock opened beneath his hand. He led me through a quiet passage and stopped outside a small staff suite. Through the open door, I saw a bed, wardrobe, desk, and a narrow window facing the service garden. Comfortable enough to keep an employee nearby but private enough to isolate one.
Calvin remained between me and the main corridor.
“There are rules,” he said. “You do not enter my study and you do not touch locked cabinets or files.”
“Of course.”
His attention held mine. “Do not leave the service wing after midnight unless there is an emergency. And do not invite other staff into the house.”
Every restriction marked something he wanted protected: the study, the records, the corridors, and whoever moved through them at night.
Calvin stepped closer, leaving little space between us and the closed wall. He did not touch me, but Apollo returned in the scent of his shirt and the careful way he watched my mouth. Then he placed a key in my palm.
“One more rule, Ms. Blake.”
“What is it, Mr. Reed?”
“Do not lie to me inside my own house.”