Chapter 6 - A New PositionClara looked up, confusion clouding her hazel eyes. "Mr. Cross, I appreciate everything you did last night. Truly. You saved my dignity. But I am just a maid. If I stay, it looks like... it looks like I was the cause of your breakup. The tabloids will hunt me down. They'll find out where I live, they'll find Nora—"
"Then don't live there anymore," Damian interrupted.
Clara froze. "What?"
"I am restructuring the management of this estate," Damian explained, his voice entirely professional, yet his eyes betrayed a deeper motive. "Dorothy is retiring at the end of the year. She has been asking to move to Florida to be with her grandchildren for two years, but she refused to leave because she didn't trust anyone to manage the house. Last night, she told me she found her replacement."
Clara’s jaw dropped. "Dorothy? No... I can't. I've only been here for two years. I clean floors!"
"You manage the entire third-floor inventory, you speak fluent Spanish which helps with our international culinary staff, and you possess a level of integrity that cannot be bought with all the money in my vaults," Damian said, stepping closer. "The position of Estate Manager comes with a six-figure salary, full medical benefits for you and your sister, and a private cottage on the north side of the property. Nora can attend the Hawthorne Academy. I’ve already spoken to the headmaster. Her tuition is taken care of."
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Clara felt the room spin. It was everything she had ever prayed for, wrapped in a package that seemed too beautiful to be real. "Why are you doing this for me?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Is this charity? Because if it is, I can't take it."
Damian smiled, a genuine, rare smile that transformed his stern face into something breathtakingly handsome. "It's not charity, Clara. It's an investment in the most valuable asset this house has ever had. And selfishly... I want you where I can see you every day, without you having to hide in the shadows."
