Goodnight

When Valentina got back, it was to an empty house since Luca wasn't home. Although it was just the absence of one person, the space felt much bigger than before. Feeling a little depressed since her little companion was gone, Valentina played on her phone while waiting for Kaiser to get back. She planned on explaining to him the charges on the card and asking him to give her some time to pay him back.

Time passed slowly and she ended up dozing off on the couch.

"Miss Valentina do you plan on sleeping down here?" a familiar voice woke her up.

"Uhmmm Kaiser, you're back?" Valentina asked sleepily.

"Yes, what are you doing down here at this time? You're usually asleep by now."

Valentina cracked her tired eyes open and stared at the man she hadn't seen since he came to her house.

He was dressed in an all-black suit as usual and maybe it was because it was late, but his tie was loosened, and his usually clean-shaven face had a bit of stubble on it which gave his handsome chiseled face a different vibe.

Yawning, Valentina sat up and stretched while rubbing her eyes "I was waiting for you Mr. Grayson since I had something to tell you. What time is it?"

"It's two in the morning. What did you need?" Kaiser asked while squatting in front of her. Even though he was squatting, he was still taller than her who was sitting on the couch.

Seeing the man looking casual and relaxed, Valentina lost her train of thought for a moment. Kaiser was too handsome. He really needed to be a celebrity instead of a CEO.

"Valentina?" he urged.

"Oh sorry. I bought some things today using your card. If you could send me the bill, I'll pay you back in installments as soon as possible." Valentina replied, a bit embarrassed.

"What happened to you spending all my money? This is not even close to what I give Luca for allowance every week." Kaiser replied. Looking at the girl who seemed embarrassed, he continued, "Use the card for whatever you want. Whether it's to buy clothes or a plane, swipe without thinking about it since it makes no difference to me. Anything you spend will be made in the next minute anyway."

"But-"

"No buts. You've done a great job with Luca, and he's been more emotionally stable and happier. Happy enough that he can go spend time with his grandparents. Don't just spend it on things for Luca." He gave Valentina a pointed look and she realized he knew what she had spent it on today, "Spend it on yourself. You deserve it."

"I can't. You're already paying me and providing my daily necessities. Anything more than that is just being greedy. Plus, I have my own money" Valentina replied. Although she had joked about it previously, she really couldn't spend the money on a man she didn't know.

Kaiser reached out his hand and wanted to pat her head, but he held himself back. He never thought he would be in a situation where he was the one begging a girl to spend his money. But she really deserved it. Luca had seen remarkable progress and had become so much happier with her around.

"Valentina. Spend it on yourself. Because if you don't, I will."

"What does that mean!" Valentina asked cautiously. His expression suddenly turned devious, and she was afraid of what that meant for herself.

"Wait and see." Kaiser chuckled before standing up and holding out his hand, "Shall we go to bed?"

Stunned at seeing the usually stiff face break out in laughter, Valentina froze before tentatively taking it.

His large hands were warm in contrast to her cold ones and completely enveloped hers. He gently pulled her to her feet before leading her to the stairs.

Uncomfortable with the close contact, Valentina awkwardly retracted her hands and followed him up the stairs. They arrived at her room first and Kaiser watched her enter as he leaned against the wall.

She turned to look at him, and as their gazes met, there was an unidentified tension in the air.

"Good night Valentina, sweet dreams." Hearing his dark seductive voice, Valentina couldn't say she wasn't tempted. He was attractive and clearly harbored a slight interest in her. But she wouldn't do anything. He was her employer, and she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her career or plans for the future.

"Good night Mr. Grayson." She immediately tried to distance herself from him.

"Kaiser. The next time you call me Mr. Grayson, I'll give you a present that will thoroughly embarrass you. Look forward to it" Kaiser smirked as he looked at her knowingly.

Rolling her eyes, Valentina responded, "Good night Kaiser. Sweet dreams." She then shut her door and locked it before throwing herself on the bed.

Damn.

*****************

Kaiser watched Valentina awkwardly tell him goodnight before locking her door.

He had to say, every time he saw her, his interest grew. He had seen very little of her for the past two weeks, but he had been getting daily reports from the butler. It seemed that she had wholeheartedly put in effort into spending time with Luca. They spent time together and played together and more often than not, Valentina was asleep on his son's bed hugging him to sleep. His son looked happier, had added weight, and stopped threatening to starve himself all because she was around.

Matteo had reported that she only played with Luca and focused on her work. She had no designs on him, his son, or his wealth. Although her body was sickly, and she often ran out of breath, she seemed to wholeheartedly take care of Luca.

While she was at his house, apart from the daily photos she sent him, there had been no contact between the two of them.

But his interest had grown in the beautiful girl who resided in his house. While at the office today, he had gotten an expense notification. He had added Valentina to his personal credit card and was curious as to what she was spending it on. After all, she had mischievously threatened to spend all his money.

Seeing that it was from a children's clothing store, he knew she had bought things for his son, and was looking forward to the other expenses. But that was it. A miserly ten thousand and she wanted to pay it back.

Seeing her sleepily ask for an installment plan and refuse to spend his money, he plotted how he would spend it on her. She deserved it for the changes she had wrought in Luca. The boy was brighter and happier than he had been in a while.

Watching her repeatedly draw a line between the two of them amused him. He was obviously attracted to her, and he knew she found him attractive as evidenced by her stunned expression when observing him.

When he wished her goodnight, he watched her look him over. Up. Down. Up again. If she had invited him in, he would have entered her room or invited her to his and seen where the night took them.

He couldn't say if this was love or lust, but he liked holding her hand and liked seeing the stunned look on her face. Her various expressions interested him, and she was all too easy to tease.

But he was in no rush. They had three months to get to know each other. He would use the time to get to know her before seizing what he wanted. He had never failed before.