I push the door open to find Vic absorbed in his paperwork. I observe him, looking handsomely studious and frighteningly serious. This isn’t the Vic I’ve come to know over the past few days, nor the one I’ve started to care for more deeply than I should.

“Are you going to look up, or am I supposed to talk to the ceiling?” I ask, injecting a light tone to mask my annoyance.

He glances up, his eyes briefly meeting mine before returning to the documents spread before him. “How’d the trial run go? It seems you’ve made quite the impression on my girls.” He comments, maintaining a professional distance that feels forced.

“They’re wonderful children, Mr. Grimes. I truly appreciate the opportunity to teach them today. I know I’m inexperienced in nannying, but I hope you can sense that I take my job very seriously. I’m a fast learner, and I’ll do everything needed to ensure I provide the best care and support for your children.” I respond, stepping closer, driven by a desire to bridge the distance he’s trying to enforce.

“Your ‘job,’ huh? Today was merely a trial, Ms. Kind. Nothing more.” He states flatly, his cold tone a cold splash of reality on the warm connection we’d been nurturing.

Slightly wounded by his demeanor, I press. “What do you mean ‘nothing more’? The girls really took to me, and I took to them. I’d really love to work for you. I apologize for pressuring you to open up. I’d never try to pry into your life, and I hope it doesn’t influence your final decision.”

My palms are clammy, and my heart pounds with hope. There’s a bitter taste of irony in this moment—my fate lies in a man’s hands yet again. But this time, it’s not the cruel indifference of my ex-husband but the unreadable expression of Victor Grimes. I hate that my dream of rebuilding my career depends so heavily on someone else’s decision. But deep down, a flicker of hope persists that Victor, the man who has shown glimpses of kindness throughout our brief encounters, won’t turn out to be heartless.

Nevertheless, he chuckles softly, a sound that once would have warmed me but now only feels hollow. “If circumstances were different, I’d gladly keep you on, Ms. Kind, but that’s impossible.”

“And what exactly are our circumstances? All you have to do is hire me to care for your children. That’s it. That’s all you have to do, and that’s all I want.”

“That’s all you want?” He probes with a hint of something deeper in his voice.

Of course, it’s not. I want to continue what we started the other night, but my desires come secondary to my needs. And I need this job.