i

bring upon coming here," the secretary said, her vo

g, praying I didn't drop anything on the bus ride over. I f

rutiny I only expected from high-level security pers

license here," she not

dmitted. The confession felt small and patheti

over my transcripts. She looked at me

ked to move the child from one point to another?" she asked, giving me an incre

n-house thing, you know?" I stammered, my fac

hether I was even worth the effort of an introduction or if

low

toward the back of the suite. We stopped in front of a

rely a second later, she slipped back out, ho

e will se

ely, I was greeted by a scent of rich masculine

campus, the one I thought dressed far too seriously for simple school lectures. Up close, the intensity of his pre

lashed across his face but it vanished just as quickly as

ing with everything I had to

he or

g through my documents, his eyes scanning the pages. Every so often, his gaze would flick up

eaned forward, giving me a hard sta

Twenty-three years old. A third-year student in

yes,

u live

uard. I blinked, my mind racing to find

never leaving mine. It felt less like an

" I said

s Throne, have you actually babysat before? I see no for

was the primary caretaker for the younger children in my neighborhood. I spent most of my teenage years looking after toddlers and

spoke again, his voice dropped to a lower tone, "Answer me

you me

arms across his broad chest. The movement made t

er, or distractions, especially during your work hours. I expect you to treat this position f

el free to fire me the moment you see I am n

y mouth to shut up. but I wanted him to know I w

k. The tension in the room shifted, just a fraction. "You resum

up and cheer, but I kept my composure. But as the initial shock wore off, a que

ng, I needed to be s

is question broke

his without sounding greedy, but I had to know. "The advertisement did say the

, his expression unchangin

aid, practically wavin

. You ma

and headed toward the door. But just as my hand r

ore th

back into my throat. He hadn't moved, but h

have a b