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“Just seems like a lot of money…”
“So kind of you to be concerned, but wealth management is not one of your duties. Neither is questioning what I eat.”
“Okay, okay. Just…don’t you get sick of takeout?”
He cocked his head; the sneer on his lips was back. “It’s very low on my list of things I’m sick of.”
I sat back. “Oh. Right.”
“You’ll buy all my books. Audiobooks, because I’m not learning fucking Braille no matter what the counselors tell me. I listen to a lot of books, so when I tell you to get something, do it immediately. I don’t want to wait. Ever.”
“Audiobooks? So I’d just download them to your phone or something?”
“Gee, you catch on quick, don’t you?” he asked in a mockingly amused tone. “I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such competence.”
I bit back a sharp retort. His rudeness, I realized, wasn’t directed at me, but at himself. Noah oozed self-loathing like a vapor, and I decided to show him that I could see beyond the cutting remarks and make a connection.
“What kind of books do you like? I ask because I’m a big reader too. Always have been. Since I was a kid, and I…uh… Anyway.”
I fell silent under Noah’s withering stare. He couldn’t meet my eyes, but damn if he wasn’t intimidating anyway.
“I like all kinds of books. May I continue? Or would you like to know my favorite color next?”
So much for making a connection. “Go on,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’ll run all my errands, and that will probably consume the bulk of your time—should I decide you can have the job. It will keep you out all over the city. Are you familiar with New York, or are you some yokel fresh off the bus?”
“I’m familiar,” I said, my voice growing frosty.
“Good.” He leaned over his long legs, his eyes still cast slightly downward. “And lastly—and this is the most important aspect of your job, I can’t stress this enough—you are not, under any circumstances, to talk to me, touch me, or help me unless I specifically ask you to.”
My hands fell into my lap. “Wait, I can’ttalkto you?”
“If it pertains to your duties, then by all means. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise, nothing? Ever?”
“Why would you want to?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Just common courtesy. Hi, how are you…?”
“Let’s get something straight,” Noah said. “You and I are not going to be friends. We are employer and employee, and that’s it. If Lucien has filled your head with notions about drawing me out of my shell or showing me a silver lining, forget it.You do not exist until I require you to.This isn’t going to be like the story where the snotty little girl visits the sick cripple and gets him walking outside again.”
I sat back, sort of shocked.Did he just referenceThe Secret Garden? He wasn’t kidding that he read a lot. It sounded like that’s all he ever did.
“You also might be thinking that so many other people have dealt with their adversity better than I am,” Noah went on, his voice dripping with contempt. “You might want to give me that tired song and dance that blindness, for many, isn’t even a handicap but just ‘a part of who they are’ or some equally nauseating crap. Forget it. I’ve heard it all a thousand times. I’m not heroic or stoic, and I couldn’t give two warm, steaming shits what people think of me. I had a life and it was obliterated and I’m fucking pissed off. But guess what?That’s none of your business.”
I thought of what I’d seen on Google and felt a blush creep up my neck. Lucien had made it my business, and now that felt wrong. I’d bet a million dollars Noah had no idea the graphic hospital photos existed. I put myself in his shoes and felt the vulnerability, the complete lack of control, the loss.
I’d probably be just as angry.
“Still here?”
“Yes,” I said pointedly. “I’m still here.”
The hard edges of his expression softened ever so slightly at the quiet determination in my voice…but only for an instant. Then the wall came down again. “Huh. You must be desperate for the job.”
“That’s none ofyourbusiness,” I said. “But I’m willing to do it and do it well. So what else? I can’t talk to you—no, better than that—Idon’t existuntil you need me to. What else?”
