Chapter 5 Oh
The footsteps grew louder.
Tessa’s attention lifted before she could stop it, eyes tracking upward to the curve of the staircase as someone came into view. She told herself it was nothing. Just another adult. Another presence in a house already full of quiet authority.
Then he stepped into the light.
Derek Saunders descended the stairs like he had all the time in the world.
One hand skimmed the banister lazily, fingers trailing along the polished wood. His sleeves were pushed up to his forearms, skin tanned, familiar in a way that made her stomach tighten before her mind could place it. His posture was loose, unbothered. The expression on his face suggested mild distraction, like he had wandered out of a room without expecting anything of consequence to be waiting for him downstairs.
He looked up.
Recognition struck them both at the exact same second.
It hit Tessa like a physical blow.
Her stomach dropped hard, her chest tightening as if the air had been sucked straight out of the room. For a brief, disorienting moment, her brain refused to cooperate with her eyes. The image in front of her did not align with reality. Did not fit. Did not belong here.
No.
No, absolutely not.
Derek froze halfway down the stairs.
It was subtle. If someone had not been watching closely, they might have missed it. His posture did not change much. His grip on the banister stayed light. But something in his face shifted unmistakably.
The casual neutrality vanished.
Surprise flickered there first, quick and unguarded. Then something sharper slid into place, his gaze locking onto hers with sudden focus.
Oh.
Caroline smiled brightly, entirely oblivious to the way the air in the room had gone tight. “Perfect timing,” she said pleasantly. “Come meet Tessa.”
Michael gestured easily between them, as if nothing about this moment was strange. “Tessa, this is Derek.”
The words floated there.
Normal. Polite. Completely wrong.
“Tessa will be helping out with Emma,” Caroline continued smoothly. “She came highly recommended.”
Tessa could not move.
Her body refused to cooperate. Her feet felt anchored to the floor, her hands numb where they rested in her lap. She was distantly aware of Emma’s eyes flicking between her and Derek, curious and sharp, the way children watched when they sensed something adults were pretending was not happening.
Derek took the rest of the stairs slowly.
Each step felt deliberate now.
The easy sprawl of his posture tightened just a fraction, his attention fully on her. He stopped a few feet away, close enough that she could see the faint crease between his brows, the tension around his mouth like he was holding something back.
For a beat, neither of them spoke.
The silence stretched, thin and charged.
Then Derek smiled.
It was not the wide, careless grin from the school hallway. Not the one that had drawn laughter and attention like gravity. This smile was smaller. Controlled. The same energy, sharpened by context.
Same Derek. Different ground.
Something shifted behind his eyes, understanding clicking into place before Tessa’s own thoughts could fully catch up. The realization settled there, unmistakable, and with it came a glint of something that made her pulse spike.
He knew.
Caroline kept talking, blissfully unaware. “Derek will be around in the afternoons,” she said. “But most of Emma’s care will be your responsibility.”
Michael nodded. “We travel often. Derek helps when he can.”
The words landed one by one, heavy and unavoidable.
Travel.
Responsibility.
Helps when he can.
The shape of it formed in Tessa’s mind with sickening clarity.
Her pulse roared in her ears. Heat crept up her neck, the memory of the hallway crashing back into her without warning. Lockers. Whispered laughter. Phones angled just right. The word relax tossed out like a judgment, like she had earned whatever followed.
She had not just applied for a job.
She had walked straight into his house.
Derek’s house.
Her gaze dropped involuntarily, catching on the expensive rug beneath her feet, the clean lines of the furniture, the quiet certainty of everything around her. This place was not neutral. It was his territory, whether he claimed it or not.
She looked back up.
Derek was watching her openly now, no pretense left. His expression held interest, awareness, and something dangerously close to amusement. The power dynamic settled into place without a word being spoken.
She understood, finally.
Who had hired her.
Where she stood.
Who would be watching.
Emma shifted slightly beside Caroline, leaning closer, her small fingers twisting in the fabric of her shirt. She glanced up at Derek, then back at Tessa, sensing the tension even if she could not name it.
Derek tilted his head, studying Tessa like a puzzle he had not expected to find but suddenly enjoyed examining. His gaze was steady, unflinching, daring her to react.
Everything in her wanted to bolt.
To stand. To apologize. To leave before this could get worse.
But her body stayed still.
The moment stretched, sharp and unbearable, until Derek finally spoke.
His voice was flat, incredulous, pitched low enough that only the weight of it carried.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
The words landed like a crack through glass.
And Tessa knew, with absolute certainty, that nothing about this job was going to be simple.
