She must have lots of credentials, Damon thought. He paused and corrected himself – muet have had credentials. His father would not have picked anyone less than Mariam Webster standard to look after Alex.

"Sorry about that," he said, feigning repentance. In reality he was grinning.

"There's nothing joking about the matter, I don't see the reason you are putting that ugly smirk on your face." She spat at him viciously. "I have a reputation and a code of conduct to maintain,"

"You know lately hickeys are the ladylike standards, and I'll be more than happy to give that to you," Damon said cheesingly.

"Oh jeez!! Can you be more gross,"

"Oh yes dear, my utmost pleasure to show you"

"Jokes apart, I keep to my standard. Mr Walter wanted me here by three that's why I came on time. To be strict. Mr Walter says his son needs that."

Did he? Damon didn't know Alexander enough to say if he needed a strict nanny.

"Hm. I'm sure you'll impress him" he said lazily. "What other virtues do you have ?"

"I maintain people's privacy. I don't go about kissing strangers and imprisoning them" She retorted.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜. Damon smirked.

"I'm sure you'll take care of Alexander so he won't be a spoiled brat like his big brother, don't you think ?"

The nanny gave Damon a confused look.

"Big brother, are there two children? Mr Walter did not mention a brother"

"I'm not surprised," Damon answered dryly. He had never been a son to his father.

"But he did make mention of some Damon son giving him some problem,"

"What?!!" Damon yelped.

His yelp caused her to jump in fright and agitation. Instead of answering him she folded her arms and pursed her lips together.

"What did you say?" Damon demanded again.

She shook her head stubbornly.

"I shouldn't have said anything at all. Not about the child or his behavior. I'm being indiscreet, thanks to you,"

Damon wasn't listening to the rubbish she was sputtering.

"The boy," He growled. "What did you call him?"

Lucia blinked and wondered about the sudden change in emotion. He looked like a human wolf ready to transform into a vicious monster.

But she wasn't going to let him intimidate her. She raised her chin and answered him.

"Damon," She repeated boldly.

He couldn't believe this! He gritted his teeth.

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No," he said again. "His name is Alexander,"

"No she replied firmly, "it's not,"

She reached into her bag and pulled out the document she had signed with Mr Walter. She wondered who this stranger was and why he was so concerned about who the son was.

She held it out for him to see.

"See for yourself. It says right there. His name is Damon. I might have gotten to the wrong cottage," She repeated.

His father must have been very angry. It is linked. The way his father stared at him when he had hauled her into his arms and kissed her.

His father had many accusations against him now. His disregard for family issues and properties, kissing a total stranger, his nanny to be more precise.

He couldn't believe it. The old rogue had really hired a nanny to straighten him out!

He was sure his father would be congratulating himself. Damon snapped his teeth that they almost pulled off his mouth gums.

His headache returned with full force now. He drooled his head back and shut hueb heez his mind whirling furiously.

"𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒," His father's voice was haunting him. To kick him, to humiliate him.

It was all his father's doings.

"Mr… I'm…I'm sorry, I don't know your name.." the Nanny's voice broke through his bitter reverie.

"But you really need to let me go, I have to go to the right cottage,"

Damon opened his eyes and glared at her.

She blinked again, but met his glare with a determined look on her face.

Just how determined could she be? He couldn't imagine. He could bet. He could run her off after twelve hours.

He put on his signature smirk. Did his father really think he was going to beg him and give up his rebellious ways and submit to him?

Heck no! He thought wrong. He made the mistake of underestimating his son. Whatever he was paying Lucia Stones, it better be a fortune. She's gonna work for every dime she gets.

"You don't have the wrong cottage," Damon told her.

"But you said…" She looked around, confused. "Where is Damon?"

He smirked. A wicked smirk with a wicked glint in his eyes. There was nothing pleasant about this

"I'm Damon!"

She gaped at him. Her confused face made Damon smirk harder.

"Welcome to your new job Ms. Stone. Obviously my father had hired you to babysit me."

That was it! That was enough evidence that made her believe the man in front of her is a madman.

But he would be the most handsome psycho she had seen. His Hazel eyes and roughed black hair, with a sharp jawline. Not to forget the wicked smirk that is always on his face.

He kissed like ….

Gosh Lucia, get a grip on yourself,she chided herself. But the fact is, she had never been kissed like that before.

She could bet, almost half of the women here in Los Angeles, California, would be fawning over him.

But she couldn't. She was stoic and purposeful. No time for frivolities.

She had a job to do, a reputation to uphold, a role model to the younger generation.

Despite the fact that she was confused, her lips still tingling, she needed to find Mr Walter, and she needed to do that quickly.

But how? When Mr-He-calls-himself-Damon won't let her go. He was sitting next to the door.

"Urhm, Mr …." She paused

"Damon," He said helpfully. He smiled. As usual the smiley smirk. She was sure he wasn't trying to be friendly with her. His dimpled deepened as he smiled.

She wanted to touch him, she wanted to touch his dimples. 𝐺𝑜𝑠ℎ 𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑎, 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑝.

She looked away and summoned up all her stoic and direct attitude, in a sassy voice.

"I don't know why you are doing this, but .."

"I'm not doing anything, you should bother about why my father is doing this,"

"Your father?"

"The well known, Mr C. Walter you know? The older version of me," he told her. " The man who hired you,"

"To take care of a little Damon,"

"To take care of Damon,"he poked his chest "Me"

"This is unbelievable"

"I know right," he muttered. His smile faded and suddenly he rubbed his head fiercely as he felt a sharp pain. "Damn!"

Lucia frowned. She looked at him with concern, maybe he wasn't totally mad at all. He looked like he was having a migraine, maybe a head injury that made him claim he was Damon.

He looked like a war escapee. His left legs were in cast. He held one arm close as if protecting his chest. He also had fresh scars on his forehead. His eyes are a little purplish.

"Are you all right ?" she asked.

"What do you think ?" He said as he lifted his gaze to her.

The bluntness in his tone startled her. It also made her think. She knew he wasn't just talking about physical condition at all. She was suddenly scared. Was he telling the truth?

She swallowed a lump in her throat and pushed the thought away. Chiding herself not to think about that.

Mr C. Walter employed her to be a nanny to his son. His little boy! She knew he had a little boy. She saw his picture in his office the first time she came here.

"Is that Damon? She had asked him.

He smiled proudly. "That's my son."

Damon thought.

But that's when she realized that he didn't really say that's my son Damon.

And the devilish handsome man sitting across from her was…. Oh my God!!! Damon!

"You are Damon?" She asked faintly. "You are not kidding?"

His blue eyes met hers. He shook his head affirmatively. "I'm not kidding."

Outside Lucia could hear the gabble of cheery women.

"But it doesn't make sense. I mean why would he …?" Her voice faltered

"It's his way of making his point clearer to him that I am useless. Wasting my life. He thinks I don't want to be part of the family's inheritance." She noticed his tone became more cold.

She didn't care, because as a nanny she knew that she must not let her guards down. 'Don't let them intimidate you' is her motto.

She wasn't really thinking she was his nanny, was she?

It was a joke. Mr C. Walter would walk in and take her to the baby she would nanny.

She needed this job, her aunt would be out on the street if she did not keep this job. It was sheer luck that Mr C. Walter called her two days ago and employed her.

He had seen her in magazines. He had praised her for her past deeds.

"He must have been joking,"

"No,"

"But …"

"He employed you to change me."

Lucia wanted to deny it. She couldn't. She had an awful feeling that it was true.

"I can't …"

"You know you can't!" He said harshly.

"So get your silly ass up and tell him you can't,"

"What do you mean,"

"Tell him the pay is small, that it's not enough. He can't give you anything above ten thousand dollars,"

She thought about her aunt's at home.

"No." She said, "I can't,"

"Why not?" Damon scowled at her.

"Because I need the job."

"I'll offer you more than what he offered you, just leave."

That …. was tempting. Really tempting. But ,

She shook her head. "I can't,"

He glared at her

"What do you mean you can't ?"

She fisted her fingers. "My reputation is at stake."

"What ?" He thundered at her.

"I have a professional reputation, as I said before," she said clumsily. "You can't understand. Just understand that this job means a lot to me."

His jaw clenched. They stared at each other, hard.

Lucia's heart was beating frantically.

"All you have to do is to be reformed and maybe he'll stop."

"That would be the worst thing that would happen to me, I can't succumb to his threats!"

.

"Yes maybe," she took a careful breath. "Maybe you can,"

He paused. He was tired of arguing and begging her to leave.

"In essence, you are staying, Ms. Lucia ?"

𝑆𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑜, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛??𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡. 𝑇𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 , 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 à𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠! 𝑊𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑖𝑎 ?

She didn't know. She couldn't explain it. She only knew something flipped in her when Damon Walter kissed her. She had never been kissed before. Heaven's, she had never been engaged before. But when Damon Walter kissed her it was thrilling and exciting, but in a few seconds it was all gone.

The taste of him was part of her after the kiss. And somewhere deep inside it was like he had struck a chord in her.

She had never felt such an electric spark before. She suddenly wanted to know more.

Despite her reputation and personality, she agreed to stay.

She took a deep breath, "yes!"