Page 27 of Contracted and Claimed By The Boss

‘It’s complicated, Amanda. I didn’t choose to be famous. That was a decision my parents made for me. When I was old enough to choose, I realised I wanted to just be a normal person, and that meant having a new name and not talking about my old life. I changed my name legally, so it’s not really a lie.’

‘But you came here and you expected us to live with you and open up to you—’

Paige was impressed by the girl’s maturity. ‘You feel betrayed,’ she said gently.

Amanda’s eyes flew to Paige’s. She saw confirmation in their depths.

‘Believe it or not, one of the things I love most about my job is that I get to focus on other people. I’d rather think about you than me.’

‘I’m boring.’

‘Not to me.’

Amanda rolled her eyes. ‘Come on. I Googled you. You were, like, really, really famous.’

‘Yes, I was. And do you know what that meant? I spent most of my life feeling incredibly solitary. I didn’t have any real friends. I wasn’t close to my parents. I was completely alone and miserable. So now, what I care about most is working with kids who maybe need a friend, who might be going through a difficult time a bit like I did.’

‘I’m not famous,’ she said, which wasn’t entirely true. While Max had done a great job of keeping Amanda out of the public eye, the Stone family were tabloid fodder when major life events took place.

‘But you are struggling with your friends, right?’

Amanda’s face became stony, and she looked away. Paige didn’t want to push it.

‘I’m here if you want to talk, any time, Amanda.’

She stood up, moved towards the door. ‘Are you still okay to help me with dinner?’

When she looked over her shoulder, Amanda’s little face had crumpled. ‘Do you actually want me to?’

Paige’s heart felt as if it might break for the poor, vulnerable girl. ‘Yep, for sure.’ She kept her voice light.

Amanda nodded. Then, as Paige slipped from the room, Amanda called out, ‘Paige? I’m sorry for...that. I thought they were laughing at me, because I didn’t know, and they’d all recognised you yesterday. I felt stupid, and I was mad. I should have just asked you.’

Paige hovered in the doorframe. ‘Probably, but you were upset, as you said. Besides, I’m the one who’s sorry. Even though it doesn’t really impact my job, I still should have explained. You were right before: I want you to open up to me. I’d like us to be friends. And that’s a two-way street. So from now on, let’s have a rule: we’ll be honest with each other, and ask each other anything. Okay?’

Amanda’s relief was palpable. So too was Paige’s. ‘I’ll see you downstairs in, say, a half-hour?’

Amanda nodded. ‘Thanks, Paige.’

It was the most normal conversation she’d had with her young charge and Paige couldn’t help grinning as she left the room. It felt as though she’d had a breakthrough with Max, and a breakthrough with Amanda, and her worst fears had happened—they knew the truth of who she was—and the world hadn’t ended.

Paige had lost count of the number of times she’d made this dinner. When she’d first moved to Dubai and been charged with three kids under fourteen, she’d needed to find a way to entertain them that they all enjoyed. Cooking had been it. However, as Paige had had next to no cooking experience, she’d had to rely on a ‘beginner’s cookbook’ she’d bought online. This had been one of the recipes, and a firm favourite for the kids.

It was easy enough.

Marinate the chicken while the rice cooked, then start preparing the vegetables and chicken. The whole dinner took less than thirty minutes to cook.

Usually.

But now, she was distracted.

How could she not be?

Max wasn’t in the room, but that was even worse, because she couldn’t get what they’d done out of her head. He hadn’t been awkward about it—anything but. He’d been kind. Gentle. But he’d left his study almost immediately after they’d finished, saying he needed to check something at the farm, and that had been the end of it. He’d seemed distant. Distracted.

She sighed softly.

Could she blame him?

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