The Employer

Chapter 4

Marc Nassar

"Hey, Kristina, I'm home!" I shout out over the sound of vacuuming before dropping my keys on the foyer table.

Seconds later Kristina comes bounding out of the living room. "Hola, Mr. Nassar!"

The vacuum stops and Leigh, my house cleaner and Kristina's daughter, emerges from the next room waving. "Hi, Mr. Nassar! Welcome home! I won't be too long in this room."

"No worries, Leigh. I'm heading upstairs." She nods in response and retreats back to her duties before I turn back to Kristina. "Are the girls here?" I ask.

"Yes, but it's nap time. Heidi will wake them up in one hour."

"Ahh, so I probably shouldn't wake them up to say hi?"

She shakes her head. "You may do as you wish, Sir, but they just now fell asleep."

"After taking hours to put them to bed?"

"Exactly. Thank you for not waking them," she says before smiling.

I chuckle. "Alright, can you get me when they wake up? I'll be in my office."

I need their hugs and kisses after the busy morning I've had. Today was one of those days where everything just went wrong. A new judge is pressing me for everything under the sun, and the DEA is breathing down my neck about one of my clients. I don't even remember the last time I came home early from work but I figured it'd be more comfortable to finish up at my home office and see the girls even if it's just for a little bit.

Kristina nods. "Of course. I'll be in the dining room interviewing the new cook, but will mention it to Heidi."

"That's right! I forgot that's happening today. What time do they get here?"

"Well, I saw on the monitor she's already here." Kristina glances at her phone. "But she might be having trouble at the gate. She came up to it a couple of minutes ago but hasn't moved. She hasn't even pressed the call box."

"Alright, well, I'll let you go out and handle it. Thanks. Let me know if I'm needed."

"Of course. Thank you."

We part ways. Kristina heads out the door while I head up the carpeted stairs to my office.

I hope whoever this new cook is will mesh well with the rest of the staff and the girls. The last cook quit given how challenging it is to feed my daughters. Nina and Laila went to a birthday party last year and all hell broke loose when they tasted sugar for the first time. Now they are addicted like it's cocaine and they'd rather go on a hunger strike with martyrdom type flags, war paint, and pitchforks, than eat food that doesn't make their teeth hurt.

As I head up the wrap-around stairs, I glance out of the large paned window and catch sight of Kristina walking across the front lawn toward a blue car at the front gate. I freeze.

Where have I seen that car?

The answer hits me like a brick to the stomach.

What the...?

My skin tingles with discomfort as I quickly grab my phone and fumble around to pull up the security feed from the front gate. The video appears and my stomach tightens when I see her again. The beautiful woman who stuck herself to my mind all day yesterday. The camera is angled from the side of the gate, so I have a direct view of her in her car.

Did she follow me here?

I try to take in everything that's happening. Her lips are moving and...is she in pain? She's moving her head from the steering wheel to the headrest with a grimace. My stomach pulses and I briefly glance up, looking through the glass of the window beside me. Kristina is walking through the side door of the gate.