I

orway. She was nervous, I could tell by the way she clutched her cheap purse and the

about her ma

ed way of the women I usually encountered. Her beauty was raw, natural. Dark hair th

d, my voice cool and measu

ething flickered across her face, pain, maybe, or recognit

dy despite the nervousness I could see in her posture. "I'm

hat nagging feeling of recognition wouldn't lea

ase,

t break. Everything about her screamed financial hardship, the discount blazer, the worn

perience," I said, lea

d in various customer service positions. I'm organized, detail-oriented, and I learn quickly. I know

ice, desperation masked as de

you over someone wi

mask slipped. "I'll be the first one here in the morning and the last one to leave. I'll anticipate your needs b

world, people usually told me what they thought I want

d complete discretion. My last assistant quit

nsume," she said simply. "

t her, something that pulled at me in a way I couldn't explain. Ag

ned in shock.

current assistant will train you for t

.. Thank you. You

ng the end of the interview. "Ms. Pa

, clutching her p

the hell I'd just done. I'd hired her on impulse, something I never

my needs with an almost uncanny ability. She made my coffee exactly how I liked it without being told,

nal life, never took personal calls, never let her prof

contracts when I heard her on

, but I need this job." Her voice was strained, worried. "

She had

er voice when she'd interviewed suddenly made sense. She was

, Ms. Parker?" I as

e flushing. "Yes, sir. J

need to

y. "I'm fine. Is ther

ing past her desk when I saw it, a photo tucked discreetly beside her comput

ked, nodding tow

ving protectively towar

beau

n, as if hiding it from me. "I'm sorry, I

reaction bothered me. The way she'd hidden th

er voice was ba

d, a memory trying to surface. Two years a

, and immediately regretted i

ives." She straightened her sh

that little boy's photo that nagged at me. The shape of his face, may

as been my head of security for five years, and ther

round check on my assistan

brow. "Ava Parker? A

rything, where she's been, what she's

der it

o my office with a thick file and a

ile on my desk. "You're going

anding. "What

f Ava's son, taken from what looked like a medical record. The child was

. Storm-c

e

id quietly, "tha