Page 291 of Sexting His Assistant

The study door opens a little, and Nina steps in.

Everything in me shifts at once.

She’s wearing a simple pale dress that stops above her knees, soft enough to move when she walks, her hair loose over her shoulders. The bruise near her temple is mostly gone now, but I still see it because I know where to look. I see every mark she has carried because of me. I see the faint shadows that remain under her eyes. I see the way she pauses when she enters the room, checking my mood before she smiles.

That too is my fault.

Then she smiles anyway, and my chest tightens.

“Hi,” Nina says.

My mother looks between us and gives a small, satisfied smirk.

I immediately distrust everyone in the room.

“What is happening?” I ask.

Nina’s smile turns too innocent.

My mother says, “I’m leaving.”

“Yes,” I say slowly. “Apparently with half my men.”

“Not half,” my mother says. “Enough.”

“Enough for what?”

“None of your business.”

Nina bites her lower lip.

I look at her. “You know.”

“I know many things,” Nina says.

“That is an evasive answer.”

“I learned from you.”

My mother looks delighted. “She’s very good.”

“I’m aware,” I say.

My mother walks to Nina and kisses her cheek. “Call me if he becomes impossible.”

Nina says, “So immediately?”

“Probably.”

I look at both of them. “I’m standing right here.”

“Yes,” my mother says. “That is the problem.”

She turns to leave, then pauses at the door. “Also, I gave the household staff the day off.”

I stare at her. Nina looks down.

My mother says, “They work very hard.”