Redeemed by Love

DON'T leave. Milly James stood still, shocked to hear those words spoken in a hoarse voice by a man she had never met in person: her boss. "What?" She turned slowly, blinking in the dimness of the office, whose curtains were drawn to keep out the sunlight shining off the Aegean Sea. It was a beautiful summer day, but in this office it could have been a winter night. The thick stone walls of the villa protected her from the scorching heat of the island. –Don't go. It was, undoubtedly, an order spoken with brusque authority. So she slowly closed the office door. She hadn't even noticed him there when she'd opened it to do her usual cleaning. She'd recoiled at the sight of him sitting in the shadows, barely visible. Alexandro Santos's instructions had been clear: she was not to disturb him. Ever. Now, she had just done it unintentionally, because she had heard the car engine start and thought he had left. She tried to spot him in the darkness. Was he angry? How could she have been so careless? "I'm sorry, Kyrie Santos. I didn't know you were here. Do you need anything?" he asked, his voice as firm as he could. In the nearly six months she'd been employed as a housekeeper, she'd only spoken to Alexandro Santos once, by phone, when he'd offered her the job. It was the first time he'd returned to his luxurious retreat on the Greek island of Naxos since she'd started working there. Milly had been tiptoeing around the village for two days, trying not to cross paths with him, having made it very clear he didn't want to be bothered. And now it seemed he'd put his foot in it. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, hoping he'd say something to break the tense silence. "I won't bother you again." "It doesn't matter," he said, with a gesture that she felt more than saw. "He asked me if I needed anything, Miss James." She wished she could see his face, but the room was very dark and the little light that filtered through the curtains only illuminated the top of her head. She strained her eyes to see better, and he, as if noticing, stood up from the desk and walked over to the window, so his back was to her. The dim light outlined his silhouette: he was tall, strongly built, and broad-shouldered. –Yes, I need something. "What do you want? Do you want food or for me to clean your office?" She trailed off, suddenly feeling that he didn't want any of that. Alexandro Santos didn't answer her. He hadn't moved, and she still couldn't see his face. She knew what he looked like because she'd seen him online when she'd first hired him: black hair, high cheekbones, cool blue eyes, and a powerful body. He was tremendously handsome. She'd felt a chill at the sight. He seemed focused yet distant at the same time, and determination shone in his blue eyes. "How long have you been working for me, Miss James?" he asked. end. –Almost six months. Milly tried not to be nervous. He had no reason to fire her, no cause for complaint. She'd been cleaning the villa, helping in the garden, and paying the household bills for five and a half months. Being a housekeeper for a house that was almost always empty was an easy job, but she loved the villa and the island of Naxos, and she was very happy with the job and the salary. Although some might have thought she was leading a solitary life, she liked it. After many years of living on the fringes of her parents' chaotic social life, going from boarding school to boarding school, with an endless series of dissipated parties in between, she longed for some solitude, as well as the extremely generous salary Alexandro had offered her. He couldn't take it away from her now that he was close to saving enough money to keep Anna happy and safe forever.