Chapter 1 - The Woman Who Was Never Applying
Camille Russo thought humiliating the maid would make everyone at the Moretti table laugh.
Instead, it was the moment Luca Moretti stopped looking at Camille and started looking at Emma Carter.
“Do you honestly believe a man like Luca would look twice at a woman like you?”
Emma stopped pouring coffee.
She slowly placed the silver pot on the table.
“The embarrassing part is that you think every woman standing near a man is applying for the position.”
Silence fell beneath the crystal chandelier.
Luca leaned back in his chair, resting his hand against his chin.
Camille stared at him.
“You’re defending the maid?”
Luca's mouth curved slightly.
“Actually, Emma is the reason you’re here.”
Camille's expression changed.
At the doorway, Teresa Moretti folded her arms.
“And yet she speaks to you as if she expects to survive the evening.”
Emma looked at Luca.
“I have excellent job security.”
A tiny smile appeared on his face.
But Emma didn't know that Luca had chosen this particular dinner for one reason.
He was testing Camille.
For three weeks, someone had been attempting to access a private Moretti account containing information about the family's charitable foundation, property holdings, and several protected identities.
Every attempt had come through people Luca trusted.
And Camille had appeared in the middle of it.
She had insisted on being invited to dinner.
She had asked questions about Luca's schedule.
She had tried to enter rooms where she had no business being.
And earlier that afternoon, she had somehow known about a document that only four people should have known existed.
Luca hadn't invited her because he wanted her back.
He had invited her because he wanted to know who had sent her.
Emma, however, knew none of this.
She simply picked up the coffee pot.
“Anyone else?”
Teresa looked at Luca.
May you like
Luca looked at Emma.
And Camille suddenly realized that the woman she had dismissed as invisible might be the only person at the table Luca completely trusted.
