"Theodore," Nicholas called from across the living room, "come meet someone."
Logan bit her lip when she caught sight of the man approaching them along with the beautiful woman on his arm.
Nicholas pulled her lip free and offered her a smile. "He's just my brother, love."
"Why are you introducing us?"
"Just smile and say hello," he said just as Theodore stopped in front of him. "Is this Serena?"
The woman smiled and lifted her son to settle on her hip. "That's me. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Likewise," the older brother said. "And this little guy is Ky. He and I are already pretty good buddies."
Logan smiled and jerked forward when she felt Nicholas' hand on the small of her back.
"This is Logan," he said, making small circles in her skin with his thumb. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?"
Theo gave his brother a skeptical look. "Can we talk, Nick?"
Nicholas placed a soft kiss on Logan's forehead before following his brother away from the two women.
"Who is she?" Theo asked, jerking his head toward a dazed Logan.
"Someone I wanted you to meet."
Theo's eyebrows knitted together in doubt. "I haven't heard from you in ten years, but I see you in the tabloids. When have you ever showed a woman off in public?"
"This isn't public," Nicholas said, completely unfazed by his brother's words. "It's a private party."
"The press is still all over the place. You're risking a lot."
"Not very much," Nicholas said before returning to the two women who had started their own conversation. "Come on, love. Let's introduce you to a few people."
Logan opened her mouth to protest, but Nicholas was already pulling her into the sea of guests.
"There's someone I would love for you to meet," he said, tugging her closer to the dining room.
Logan yanked her arm away from his strong grip and quickly turned into an unoccupied hall. She took deep breaths to calm her racing heart and dragged her hands down her face.
"I'm assuming you aren't ready," Nicholas said, sliding down the wall beside her.
"Why am I out here like I'm one of your guests? I'm supposed to be serving them."
Nicholas deeply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It took me awhile, but I know who you are. Genevieve Logan, the heiress of Century Essentials. Your father runs half of New York's electricity."
"That's not me anymore. I'm not my father's prize or a company's heiress," she said, wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I just want to get out of this dress and forget about tonight."
"I thought that if I saw you out there, you'd want to go back to your old life. I have to be honest, Logan, I was afraid of losing you." He kissed her forehead when she opened her mouth to speak and shook his head. "Get out of the dress and go to bed. Forget this happened if you must."
"You're afraid of losing me?" she asked, shocked.
"Yes," he admitted. "You're not too horrible at your job, so I wouldn't want to lose a good employee."
She pressed her lips together and mentally cursed herself. For a moment she felt special to Nicholas, but the feeling was gone just as quickly.
"Don't overthink," he whispered, as if he had peered into her mind to read her thoughts. "Get upstairs and rest. You and I have a long morning ahead of us."
• • • • •
Nicholas was already dressed and full on breakfast by the time Logan made her way downstairs in a casual pair of jeans and a hoodie. He mentally applauded her lack of appearance to shield her from the press but also made a mental note to buy her clothes to show off her curves.
The woman was beautiful, and it was about time she embraced it.
"You're staring," she said, her eyes sweeping over Nicholas.
He, too, was dressed casually in jeans and a v-neck, and his dark brown hair that was usually slicked back to show off his beautiful brown eyes was now swept over his delicate face.
"So are you," he commented. He smirked when she blushed and turned away. "You're thinking something. Go ahead. Say it, love."
"You need a haircut," she said, her voice practically a whisper.
"What else?"
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and nervously bit her lip. "And more shirts like that. I didn't even know you had tattoos."
Nicholas glanced down at his arms and smiled. He had committed all five tattoos on his body to memory. "I'll tell you about them someday."
She nodded, but she didn't expect him to make good on his promise. "Should we head out now?"
"Have you eaten breakfast?"
She shook her head.
"Get some food in you before we leave."
Logan stared blankly at him for a long moment until he jerked his head in the direction of the refrigerator.
"You're good at cooking, right?" he asked, opening the door to present her with his stocked fridge. "I have more than enough for you here."
"Mr. Wilder, I've already agreed to use your money to buy me a new wardrobe," she said, holding her hands up to decline his offer. "I can't eat your food, too."
"You're a live in maid, Logan. You're already doing that."
"I'm really not that hungry," she lied. She blushed when her stomach betrayed her by growling.
Nicholas only grinned at the woman. "Be a good little servant and do as you're told, love."
"Can we just go?" She squeezed her eyes shut when she realized how rude she had just been. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilder. I don't want to take up too much of your time."
"Then I suggest you eat something now or we aren't leaving this place. Come find me when you're finished." And with that, he walked away to his study before shutting himself in.
"I've only ever seen him care for one woman like that," Genie said, stepping into the kitchen. "And it was Camilla, his only sister. He made sure she ate at every meal and kept her safe from everything that seemed like a potential threat."
"Well, I'm not his sister so he doesn't have to take care of me," Logan said more bitterly than she intended to.
Genie started the fire on the stovetop and set a pan down to make a quick breakfast. "He isn't forcing you to eat because of that reason, dear. It's because he cares about your well being."
"He doesn't know me well enough to care."
"But he does," Genie said, grinning. "Nicholas has never let a maid live in his home. I don't even live here."
"Why not?"
"I have my own family to care for," she simply told Logan. "He has no one, so imagine how ecstatic he must be to have another being in his home."
Logan scoffed in disbelief. "He doesn't seem all that happy."
"He just doesn't know how to express himself." Genie scooped the scrambled eggs she made onto a plate and slid it to Logan. "Eat because Nicholas is dying to spend the morning with you, and you wouldn't want to keep an impatient man waiting."
Logan unconsciously pushed her food around in her plate and forced whatever forkful she could feed herself. After spending too much time on her breakfast, she cleaned up and left the kitchen to find Nicholas.
He was on the phone in his opened study when she found him. "I told you, Theo. I'm not going to have this conversation again."
Logan knocked to announce her presence but only received a glare from Nicholas. Taking the hint, she gave him a brief nod then turned to walk away, but his hand shot out to stop her.
"I have to go now," he said to his brother, his gaze softening when he pulled her into his study. "Logan and I are spending the morning together, so meet me for lunch, and we'll continue this."
Logan could final breathe again when he hung up and let her arm go. "I'm sorry for interrupting."
"Let's go," he said, not even bothering to acknowledge her apology. "We have to get you a lot of things before we meet up with my brother."
"We?"
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'm not wasting any more of my time dropping you off here afterward so you might as well join us."
She had to admit she was slightly wounded. Every positive word Genie had said to her were automatically disregarded and thrown out the window.
She followed Nicholas outside where a car and a private driver awaited them. Nicholas got in first then Logan followed. She was met with further disappointment when his silence filled the air.
"Where are we going first?" she asked.
"You'll see," was all he said.
They were on the road for what felt like hours until the car pulled up in the parking lot of an outlet mall. Logan immediately went to open the door, but Nicholas was much quicker and pulled her back.
"Stay close," he said, his breath fanning the tip of her ear. "Don't leave my sight for even a second."
"I'm not a child," she said, rolling her eyes. She realized her mistake too late. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wilder."
He chuckled at the amusing woman then pushed his door opened. "Let's max out my credit card, love."
She knew it was a joke, but she couldn't take it lightly enough. "I won't spend too much. I promise."
"Logan," he said, his eyes sweeping over her delicate features, "let's not make this trip personal now. I'm not doing this for you. It's for me."
"Like I'm a charity case," she muttered.
He pulled her to his side as they stopped in front of the first shop. "I'm doing this because you deserve it, not because of your irrational reasoning."
"You said you weren't doing this for me," she said before storming into the shop.
Nicholas broke out into a grin as he followed her and watched her recklessly rummage through a bin. "Are you aware you're looking in a bin full of panties?"
"No, I couldn't tell," she sarcastically told him, rolling her eyes.
"I'm going to have a look around."
She lifted her gray eyes to meet his and furrowed her brows. "And are you aware you're in a shop for women?"
"I'm looking for you," he clarified. "And don't worry, love. I'll lay off the lingerie."
"Totally inappropriate to say to your employee," she muttered.
Nicholas smirked as he walked away from the woman and pulled his cellphone from his pocket.
"I wasn't expecting a call so soon," Serena said once she picked up the line. "What can I do for you, Nicholas?"
He grinned at the phone. "I need a favor. Where are you?"
"Athena's bakery," she said. "If you're with Logan, I can be wherever you are in ten minutes."
"As much as I'd appreciate that, I just need a little advice." He ran his fingers over the black cocktail dress he stopped in front and glanced back at an occupied Logan. "Should I round up a few stylists for Logan or lay off?"
"Lay the fuck off," she immediately said. "A woman doesn't want a man telling her what to wear and how to look. But if she's just your maid, would it really matter?"
"No, I guess not," he mumbled more to himself than her.
"So what's this really about?"
"I don't know, Serena," he said, shrugging even though she couldn't see him. "You're the first woman I can talk to without fucking first. So tell me what to do about Logan."
"First of all," she started, slightly offended, "don't talk to your sister in law about your sex life. And second, admit to yourself how you really feel about the girl then call me back."
His eyebrow quirked. "She's my employee."
"And I was Theo's best friend's little sister." Serena took a deep breath then hummed, as if she were in a deep thought. "You like her, Nicholas. Admit it."
"I don't know her. If anything, I'd fuck her then fire her."
"That's just cruel."
"Exactly why I won't do that," he said. "Logan's got a good head on her shoulders. I'm not going to be the one to fuck her up."
"Maybe you're good for her. Give yourself a chance to find out."
• • • • •
Chapter 4 and 5 have been set on private due to the mature content.