Chapter 3 A One-week Trial

• “Will you be my mommy?”
• The question hung in the room like something too fragile for anyone to touch.
• Mia's lips parted, but no answer came. Lily waited. Behind her, Adrian remained perfectly still.
• For one strange second, Mia forgot about the rain, the interview, the lie on her resume, and the fifty thousand dollars she desperately needed. All she could see was a five-year-old girl looking at her with a hope so enormous it frightened her.
• Mia lowered herself until they were eye to eye.
• “Lily…”
• The little girl squeezed her stuffed rabbit.
• “You know I'm not your mommy, right?”
• Lily nodded.
• “And your mommy was very special.”
• Another nod.
• Mia glanced toward Adrian. His face had become a wall. She looked back at Lily.
• “I think your mommy would want you to have people who love you.”
• Lily's eyes filled again. Mia reached out and gently wiped one tear from her cheek.
• “But I can't promise to be your mommy.”
• Lily's lower lip trembled. Adrian finally spoke.
• “That is enough.”
• His voice was quiet, but it ended the conversation.
• Lily immediately turned toward him.
• “No.”
• Adrian froze. Mia did too. It was another word. Lily hadn't spoken like that in two years. Adrian took a breath.
• “Lily, upstairs.”
• The little girl shook her head and grabbed Mia's hand. Mia looked at Adrian.
• “She doesn't want to go.”
• “I heard her.”
• “Then maybe don't force her.”
• His eyes snapped to hers.
• “You are in no position to tell me how to raise my daughter.”
• Mia released a slow breath.
• “You're right.”
• She stood.
• “But if you want her to trust people again, maybe give her a reason to.”
• Adrian's expression darkened.
• Before he could answer, an older woman entered the room.
• She wore a neat gray dress and carried herself with the quiet authority of someone who had run the Black household for years.
• “Mr. Black.”
• “Mrs. Sterling.”
• Her gaze moved to Mia, then to Lily.
• “I heard there was an incident.”
• “Nothing happened,” Adrian said.
• Mrs. Sterling looked at Lily.
• Then she noticed the faint smile still lingering on the child's face.
• Her eyes widened.
• “Lily smiled?”
• Mia glanced at Lily.
• “I may have sung a very terrible song.”
• Mrs. Sterling looked at Adrian.
• For the first time, the older woman's expression held something close to surprise.
• “She hasn't smiled in years.”
• “Apparently she has now,” Adrian replied.
• Mrs. Sterling studied Mia from head to toe. Her eyes stopped at the cheap blazer, then the damp shoes, then the resume folder.
• “I suppose you're the new nanny.”
• Mia opened her mouth. Adrian answered first.
• “She is not.”
• Lily tightened her grip on Mia's hand.
• Mrs. Sterling raised an eyebrow.
• “I see.”
• Adrian looked at Mia.
• “You wanted a chance.”
• “Yes.”
• “You'll get one.”
• Mia blinked.
• “What?”
• “Seven days.”
• Silence. Adrian's voice was cold.
• “One week. Trial period.”
• Mia stared at him.
• “You're serious?”
• “Very.”
• “How much?”
• “Minimum wage.”
• Her excitement disappeared.
• “Minimum wage?”
• “You lied about your experience. Consider it a consequence.”
• Mia folded her arms.
• “For a family paying a nanny one hundred thousand dollars a month?”
• “If you survive the week, we can discuss the actual position.”
• “And if I don't?”
• “You leave.”
• Mia looked at Lily. The little girl was watching her anxiously.
• “Seven days,” Mia said.
• Adrian nodded.
• “Seven days.”
• Mia's mind raced. Seven days.
• Seven days to prove she could do something she had never been trained to do. Seven days to earn enough trust to stay. Seven days to somehow turn minimum wage into a miracle.
• She looked down at Lily again. The little girl was no longer crying. She was watching Mia with an almost impossible amount of hope.
• Mia knew she should say no. She knew she should walk out, return to the hospital, and admit to her mother that she had failed.
• But she couldn't. Not while Lily was looking at her like this.
• Mia crouched beside her.
• “I'll stay for seven days.”
• Lily's eyes brightened.
• “Really?”
• The tiny word made Adrian's head turn sharply.
• Mia smiled.
• “Really.”
• Lily threw her arms around Mia's waist.
• Mia stiffened. She hadn't expected it. Then she gently placed a hand on the girl's back.
• Adrian's expression immediately changed.
• “Rule one.”
• Mia looked up.
• “I know.”
• “Then remember it.”
• Mia carefully stepped back.
• Lily looked confused.
• “Sorry,” Mia whispered. “Your daddy has rules.”
• Lily frowned at Adrian.
• For the first time, Adrian looked almost uncomfortable.
• Mrs. Sterling cleared her throat.
• “I'll prepare the guest room.”
• Mia nodded.
• “Thank you.”
• As Mrs. Sterling turned away, Mia noticed Lily watching her.
• The little girl raised her pinky.
• Mia smiled and linked hers with it.
• “No promises,” Mia whispered.
• Lily nodded.
• Adrian watched the exchange. Something about it bothered him. Not because Mia had broken a rule, but because for the first time in two years, his daughter looked like a child again. And Adrian wasn't sure whether to be grateful… or afraid.
• Because people who made Lily smile had a dangerous habit of becoming important.
• And Adrian Black had spent two years making sure nobody became important enough to leave again someday.
• Mrs. Sterling cleared her throat.
• “With all due respect, Mr. Black, she'll last two.”
• Mia turned toward her.
• “Excuse me?”
• Mrs. Sterling didn't blink.
• “I said you'll last two days.”
• “Why?”
• “Because every nanny before you did.”
• Mia looked at Adrian.
• “Your staff is very welcoming.”
• Mrs. Sterling almost smiled. Adrian stepped closer.
• “There are rules.”
• Mia sighed.
• “Of course there are.”
• “Three.”
• He held up one finger.
• “Rule one: You do not touch my daughter emotionally.”
• Mia frowned.
• “That's impossible.”
• “You will care for her. Feed her. Dress her. Supervise her. But you will not make promises. You will not tell her you're staying forever. You will not encourage her to depend on you.”
• Mia glanced at Lily.
• “That sounds cruel.”
• “It's protection.”
• “From what?”
• “From you.”
• The words stung. Mia's jaw tightened and Adrian raised a second finger.
• “Rule two: You never enter my bedroom wing.”
• “Wasn't planning to.”
• “Good.”
• A third finger.
• “Rule three: You never lie to me again.”
• Mia went still.
• “You already know I lied.”
• “I know.”
• “And if I don't?”
• “You're gone.”
• Mia stared at him. There was something unsettling about his certainty.
• As if he could see every secret she was trying to hide.
• Her mother's face flashed through her mind.
• The hospital room, the medical bills, thirty days.
• She couldn't lose this chance.
• “Fine.”
• Adrian's eyes narrowed.
• “Fine?”
• “I accept.”
• Mrs. Sterling looked genuinely surprised.
• “You haven't heard the rest.”
• “There's more?”
• Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
• “You'll live in the guest quarters.”
• “Fine.”
• “You'll follow Lily's schedule.”
• “Fine.”
• “You'll answer to Mrs. Sterling.”
• “Fine.”
• “You'll have no access to my personal office, financial records, or private affairs.”
• Mia almost laughed.
• “I don't want your financial records.”
• “You wanted one hundred thousand dollars a month.”
• “To save my mother's life.”
• The words escaped before she could stop them.
• Silence. Adrian's gaze changed, but only slightly.
• “Your mother?”
• Mia looked away.
• “I need the money.”
• “How much?”
• “That's personal.”
• His expression hardened.
• “Rule three.”
• Mia swallowed.
• “I told you I need the job.”
• Adrian studied her for a long moment.
• Then he nodded.
• “Seven days.”
• Mia held out her hand.
• “Deal.”
• He looked at her hand before taking it.
• His handshake was brief and firm.
• Then Lily stepped between them.
• She looked up at Mia.
• “Mommy?”
• Mia's heart broke a little, Adrian closed his eyes for half a second, Mrs. Sterling looked away and Mia realized the hardest part of the seven-day trial wasn't going to be Adrian Black.
• It was going to be keeping her promise not to touch his daughter's heart.
• Especially when Lily had already touched hers.