Chapter 1: First Impressions

Ivy POV

“You must be Miss Hart.”

The voice was decidedly feminine, with a hint of sweetness and a tinge of shock.

For a moment I contemplated running back down the driveway and never looking back. If I hadn't been so desperate for this position, I would have, pride be damned. 

Instead, I slowly straightened up and forced a professional smile on my face, trying my utmost to pretend that my clothes and lacy undergarments weren’t strewn everywhere around me.

It was not as easy as it looked. One piece of underwear in particular was hanging from a pot plant right in front of my eyes. 

It was like trying to avoid looking directly at a homing beacon. 

“That’s me. I’m here for the position of live-in nanny,” my voice was remarkably calm for someone whose face was as red as a beetroot.

Perhaps because this wasn't the first time I had humiliated myself and it wouldn't be the last. 

“Yes, we were expecting you,” the housekeeper eyed me with fascination, as though I was some sort of large animal that had escaped from a nearby zoo. “Alpha Maddox is currently awaiting you in the study.”

“Um, if you just give me a minute,” I winced, looking down at a pair of skimpy panties and trying not to whimper, “I’ll get this cleaned up and….”

“Alpha Maddox does not like to be kept waiting,” the housekeeper said firmly and then took pity on me.

“I’ll have your clothes dealt with and put in the entrance hall.”

I could have kissed her. Instead, I nodded and stepped inside, trying not to show my trepidation.

I needed this job. It was my last chance at the temp agency I was employed with. My transgressions since I began had far outweighed the benefits of hiring me. If Mrs Benson hadn’t liked me so much, I would have been fired already. 

I'd heard Alpha Maddox was ruthless, cold, and utterly immune to tears. This meeting was necessary, and I was determined to make a good impression on him. 

“Here,” the housekeeper knocked politely on the study door as I hovered behind her, swallowing nervously. 

I was about to enter the forbidden lair. Was the man behind the door a monster as rumours suggested?

“Enter,” a deep voice answered impatiently.

“Good luck,” the housekeeper whispered and promptly turned on her heel, vanishing before I could beg her to stay.

I was on my own. That knowledge did very little to comfort me.

Alpha Maddox was a formidable man with a penchant for violence if you so much as insulted him. 

Quite frankly, given my history, it would be a miracle if I managed to get through this interview without making some sort of offensive remark.

I was a walking time bomb, liable to explode at any moment. 

I opened the door reluctantly and stepped slowly inside, wondering if today would result in my own funeral.

It was not a good day to die. I hadn't paid my rent yet, and the landlord was sure to be pissed if he didn't receive the money by the end of the week. 

The man seated behind the desk slowly raised his head, and I flinched at the darkness in his eyes and the cold aura surrounding him. He deliberately raked his gaze over me, a look of disgust on his face.

Fuck. So much for good impressions. The man looked on the verge of throwing me out the nearest window. 

He already despised me, and I hadn’t even opened my mouth yet.

It did not help that he looked sexy as sin. Just looking at him was making my knees begin to shake. 

Not good, Ivy. Ogling your future employer is just asking for trouble. A man like that would never look twice at you anyway. 

“Miss Hart,” he motioned for me to sit.

I sat down, or rather fell onto the chair and got another good look at him, this time up close. 

He was handsome, far more superior to male models you saw on the front covers of magazines. His hair was dark brown and mussed in the way I imagined it looked like when he got out of bed. His skin had a warm golden glow, and his eyes were a deep amber. He had broad shoulders, a strong jawline, and looked capable of snapping his enemies in half with his own two hands.

He was a piece of eye candy I would only be too happy to devour. 

I swallowed hard and did my utmost best to maintain a professional demeanor. 

I suspected I was failing miserably. 

No other man had ever had this effect on me before. It was like I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. 

Think of something else, Ivy! Something disgusting. Think about Brussels sprouts covered in mould and a bite taken out of one.

That did the trick. My stomach began to churn. 

“Miss Hart,” Alpha Maddox spoke evenly, his hand resting on a folder, his eyes turning shrewd, “I have in my hand your employment records for the last two years. I must say,” he paused as I tensed, “the information has proven to be quite enlightening. Why would your company send me the likes of you, a woman with the largest number of dismissals I’ve ever seen, to keep an eye on my daughter?”

It was not a compliment. In fact, his voice was quite dark, giving away just how angry he was at the mere notion that I had the nerve to show up and apply for this position.

I gulped, wondering what to say and knowing it would probably make no difference anyway. 

Everything on paper was the cold, hard truth, but it did not speak of my good nature, my willingness to learn, my desire to better myself. It did not state how good I was with children, how loving and kind I could be, or how I regularly gave away money to the homeless and the vulnerable. 

All it did was list my faults and consistent failures. It looked far worse on paper than I could have imagined. 

Why did I think this was going to be easy? Why did I think that this interview was going to go any differently? You are a fool, Ivy Hart. 

Alpha Maddox looked so furiously at me that sweat began to trickle down my back as I fought the urge to get up and back away from him. 

I opened my mouth and said the stupidest thing I could think of. 

"Would you believe me if I told you it's not as bad as it sounds?"