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He leaned back in his seat and the expression that passed over his face was one of satisfaction that he didn't see it You don't need to worry about it"

He folded the contract in two and then once again before holding it tightly in his hand Natalie tried to keep her mind on her immediate needs and not on the inexplicable expression on his face and the unrelenting grip he had on the docuned "Do you have access to it?"

His eyes penetrated hers "What do you need?"

"My clothes," she said si"

Teeks later, Natalie had a routine established Her nerves still fluttered whenever Marco was around, but he wasn't around often He rarely ate in, and he caht, and looked at her only briefly with hooded eyes before he locked himself in his study She had only been asked to cook for him twice, and both ti his ly polite to her at all times and she attempted her best to remain the same

The bedrooht became hers She silently wished for the room farthest away from his, but was too afraid to rock the proverbial boat by asking hih to do it without asking Except for its location near hi was extremely comfortable It ca desk, a s area, as well as an en-suite bathroom

The day her clothes had shown up, so had a sleek, thin, state of the art laptop After she'd finished in the kitchen, she found it on her writing desk, out of the box and ready to go She'd had the opportunity to ask hi "I think there's been a mistake There's a laptop in my room"

"Do you have a computer already?" He had to know she didn't

"No"

"Then it's for your use There's wifi in the building"

"Thank you And thank you for the cell phone as well"

He nodded his head once and then looked back to his own coether

And that had been that He hadn't bothered to ask if she had a dedicated phone nue to her contacts infor them of the new number

Natalie had also spoken to her mother and assured her of her welfare She hadn't told her the cootten a temporary job as a cleaner She'd learned from the conversation that her mom still had the live-in boyfriend Someday, she reood Until that day caht that he was very likely only a cheater and a loser; he didn't see user or an abuser of alcohol He'd never shown any violent tendencies Hopefully, her mom would come to her senses and Natalie could move back to the small town she loved and the job she knew she'd be welcomed back to at the title company, where she'd worked for the last four years

As far as work sentences were concerned, so far, hers had been a breeze She aluilty, and it occurred to her with a flare of conscience that crashing into hi she'd ever done She was so used to long work hours, that taking care of his home, so far, had been the easiest job she'd ever had Granted, she wasn't earning any money, and she didn't have a car at her disposal, but after a few easy hours in the htening up, the days were hers

So far, she'd spent the hot baths, and watching scads and scads of cable television--soular basis

Of course, she'd used the co she'd put into the search engine She hadn't found out as much as she'd expected, mostly information about his bank It was a farandfather in the early days after the Second World War Its ho her wonder why he made his home in Houston The major stockholder was Marco, who inherited the randfather had died His own father had been killed, in a plane crash alongside his mother, when Marco was a boy of nine Natalie silently winced for him when she had read that he had been orphaned at such an early age He seeh he had numerous cousins and a few aunts and uncles spread around the world He was thirty-two years old, his middle name was Rafaele, but she couldn't find any inforiven up that endeavor when she'd become frustrated from lack of information and from the sorrow his childhood circuone back to exploring

She'd explored the penthouse from top to bottom, and had found the lovely and very private rooftop balcony The area was designed strategically to block off any high winds, and she'd spent a few pleasant hours here and there working on a suntan she'd never had ti her mo twenty-four-seven? There wasn't possibly that much work available for her to do

All and all, except for being nervous around him, she was content with her teuilt that she shouldn't be having such a restful ti Not bills, not food, not herto sneak into her rooht

Marco had only called her on the cell phone he had given her twice--the two ti her claustrophobic, she slipped the phone into the pocket of her shorts and laced her tennis shoes It had been too long since she'd gotten any real exercise, and surely a building as nice as this one had a gyrabbed the extra key card from the entryway table and took the elevator down In the teeks she'd been living here, except for the rooftop, it was the first ti to see the world again and decided to take a brisk walk instead of looking for the gye as she walked past, and then again at the doorman She had a ten-dollar bill in her pocket, just in case, and she set out walking at a brisk pace It was the noon hour, and the sidewalks of Doere full of business-type people She made a mental note of the corner she started froht and take off froht on to the ebb and flow of traffic; how the lights would change, and the wave of people would cross in front of the stopped cars She walked up and down the streets rapidly for about half an hour before she became out of breath