Chapter 2 - Breakfast with Adrian Moretti
At seven the next morning, I carried a cup of black coffee into Adrian Moretti’s breakfast room and tried to convince myself I was not nervous.
It was not working.
Adrian sat alone near the windows.
No security officers stood beside him, although I knew they were nearby.
I placed the coffee down.
“Black. Nothing complicated.”
His eyes lifted.
“You remembered.”
“I take coffee seriously.”
“Why?”
“My family owned a bakery.”
“Owned?”
The question was quiet.
I hesitated.
He noticed.
“You don't have to answer.”
That surprised me.
Most wealthy people I had met treated personal questions like purchases. Once they asked, they expected delivery.
Adrian waited.
So I answered.
“Forty-three years. Milwaukee.”
“What happened?”
“Life.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“That is not an answer.”
“It’s the affordable version.”
For a second, I saw the faintest suggestion of yesterday’s smile.
Then he asked, “Your father?”
I looked at him sharply.
“How do you know about him?”
“I know who works in my home.”
Of course he did.
“My father got sick. Medical bills came first. Then rent. Equipment. Loans.”
“You borrowed against the bakery?”
“Yes.”
“And lost it.”
“Yes.”
He did not offer pity.
I appreciated that more than I expected.
Instead, Adrian took a sip of coffee.
“Yesterday you were frightened.”
“Terrified.”
“But you joked.”
“If something scares me, making it ridiculous makes it smaller.”
His eyes stayed on mine.
“Does that work?”
“Not really.”
That almost earned another smile.
Breakfast lasted fourteen minutes.
The next morning, I was assigned again.
Then the morning after that.
Soon it became routine.
Coffee.
Toast.
Sometimes eggs.
Usually silence until Adrian decided to speak.
I learned things about him nobody had warned me about.
He hated elaborate coffee drinks.
He read three newspapers every morning.
He disliked television during meals.
He knew every employee’s salary even if he did not know every employee’s name.
And Winston could turn him into a completely different person.
The terrier discovered breakfast on our fourth morning.
He entered carrying a sock.
Adrian looked down.
“That belongs to Marco.”
Winston wagged his tail.
“How do you know?”
“Because Marco spent twenty minutes looking for it.”
Winston placed the sock at Adrian’s feet.
“Blackmail,” I said.
Adrian looked at me.
“He wants roast beef.”
“You're learning.”
Adrian fed him.
From the doorway, Marco watched his employer reward the theft of his property.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
Within two weeks, something shifted in the mansion.
Adrian started leaving his office door partly open when Winston wandered nearby.
Nobody commented.
Everyone noticed.
Sometimes I passed the doorway and saw Adrian working while Winston slept beneath the desk.
Once Adrian looked up and caught me watching.
“You need something?”
“No.”
“Then why are you standing there?”
“Checking whether your associate has destroyed more evidence.”
His mouth moved slightly.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Go back to work.”
“Yes, Mr. Moretti.”
I walked away smiling.
That afternoon Claire summoned me to the linen room.
She closed the door.
That alone told me the conversation was serious.
“Sit.”
“I’m fine standing.”
“Elena.”
I sat.
Claire remained standing.
“Do you understand what you are doing?”
“Folding towels?”
“I am serious.”
“So am I. My corners have improved dramatically.”
She did not smile.
“Mr. Moretti does not form casual attachments.”
My humor disappeared.
“I’m an employee.”
“That is what worries me.”
“I don't understand.”
Claire studied me.
“I have worked for this family twenty-three years.”
I waited.
“I knew Adrian before he became the man everyone knows now.”
“And?”
“He was different.”
“How?”
“Younger.”
“That happens.”
“Warmer.”
That stopped me.
Claire looked toward the closed door.
“Nine years ago, something happened.”
Rosa had said the same thing.
“What?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Cannot or will not?”
“Both.”
I stood.
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Because I have watched him begin doing things he stopped doing nine years ago.”
“Like laughing?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
Claire continued.
“Lingering over breakfast. Asking questions. Leaving doors open.”
I folded my arms.
“You think that's because of me?”
“I know it is.”
A strange pressure formed in my chest.
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“I hope not.”
Her expression softened.
That somehow frightened me more.
“I’m not worried about you breaking a rule, Elena.”
She paused.
“I’m worried about you becoming important.”
I stared at her.
“Why would that be dangerous?”
Before she could answer, footsteps sounded outside.
Claire immediately opened the door.
Conversation over.
But her warning followed me for the rest of the day.
That evening, I took Winston into the enclosed garden.
Rain had stopped.
Chicago’s skyline shimmered beyond the walls.
Winston chased a ball twice.
On the third throw, he did not move.
His ears lifted.
His body became rigid.
“Winston?”
A growl came from deep in his throat.
He stared toward the terrace.
I followed his gaze.
Nothing.
Then a hand closed gently but firmly around my upper arm.
Adrian.
I had not heard him approach.
He stepped in front of me.
“Inside, Elena.”
“What—”
“Now.”
The warmth I knew from breakfast was gone.
Marco appeared almost instantly.
Two security officers followed.
The garden doors closed behind me.
Locks engaged.
Curtains were drawn.
Ten minutes later, Marco came inside.
“Movement near the outer wall.”
“What kind?”
“Probably an animal.”
I looked at the three armed men.
“That must have been a very dangerous raccoon.”
Marco did not smile.
Adrian entered.
His jaw was tight.
“Marco.”
“I’m handling it.”
Their eyes met.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Then Adrian looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something in his face that frightened me more than anger.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
Claire’s words returned.
I’m worried about you becoming important.
And standing behind those locked doors, I finally understood what she meant.
May you like
The danger was not that Adrian Moretti might hurt me.
The danger was that someone else might realize he cared whether I got hurt.
