Approximately  ten minutes later, I was sitting in front of a very intimidating man lounging behind a large cherry-wood desk in an equally impressive office.

The house was exquisite, to say the least. A gothic colonial mansion fit to be called a king's castle with their lawns neatly trimmed, a huge mermaid sculpted fountain in the center, a lake house on the other side of the mansion. The house was built during the early eighteenth century, according to the butler that showed me to Mr. Montgomery's office.

As soon as I'd entered those enormous gates, it was already clear to me that these people were wealthy beyond my imagination and working for them would be like a dream come true.

I was good with kids. In fact, I used to babysit some kids from the neighborhood for extra cash and it worked out well, so I had no doubt I could do this, too.

"Millie," Mr. Montgomery addressed me, pulling me out of my thoughts, "Is it okay if I call you Millie?"

"Yes, that's totally fine."

Devin Montgomery could have told me he worked in Hollywood movies and I wouldn't dare disagree. His rumpled hair was the color of a coffee latte, and eyes so green as if he held an entire amazon jungle there. He was tall and wore a casual white shirt that highlighted his toned body. Men like him usually just appeared in my fantasies and never in real life.

"That's good." He flashed me a grin. "I've read through your resume and you mentioned here that you're pretty great at handling kids."

"That's right," I responded. "There were a lot of kids in my neighborhood, so I'm experienced where they are concerned. Kids love me so you wouldn't have to worry about your son or daughter. I'm also good at engaging them in outdoor and indoor games, although we never had too much outdoor space where I lived, so I think that wouldn't be a problem here."

I was rambling! Sometimes my mouth could run miles without my knowledge.

His smile did not falter as he regarded me with a curious look on his face. "Well, that's a relief, but I'd like to clarify; I'm not married and I don't have kids. It's my brother that I need a caretaker for, and he's not exactly what I'd call a kid. He's...." Devin looked away into the distance trying to come up with the right word, "He's difficult and different."

"I see." I might have been a teeny-tiny bit thrilled by the fact that Devin wasn't married.

How bad could this job be? If his brother was a nasty, disobeying teenager, I was quite certain I could teach him to stay in line. I was guilty of pinching rowdy kids when their parents weren't looking, so this rich Montgomery teen better be nice.

"Are you usually great with kids who throw tantrums and refuse to eat?"

I gave him my most confident smile. "Of course. It's difficult in the beginning, but I can assure you that your brother and I will be best friends in no time."

I was trying to sell this too hard, and I was hoping I wasn't sounding too desperate like a saleslady trying hard to sell the expired cosmetics at a cheap price.

By the looks of it, guess Devin was sold because he said, "Millie, you're hired."

Wow! That was easy...

I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. "Awesome! I'd like to meet your brother."

"All in due time," he said, pushing a document towards me, "We have a rule that every person under our employment signs a contract. It states that you'll be keeping this position for at least a year, but before that, you'll be working on a one-month probation period. We'll be monitoring you and we'll have the power to dismiss you when we see fit. It's only because we've had a few caretakers before you who did not treat my brother with the respect he deserves and we were forced to take proper actions. You can go through the entire document, take your time to read it and I'll..."

I choose a pen and signed my name on the document. My desperation had no limits whatsoever. Anything was better than the hellhole that consisted of my uncle and his son. "I want this job, Mr. Montgomery, and I completely understand that you would want to protect your brother from harm. I promise you I won't be that person." While he was talking to me, I scanned a few pages, and it all looked legit. I didn't want to waste more time when he could just decide that I wasn't fit to do this job and hire someone else.

He gave me a pleased smile, his eyes crinkled at the corners, "Call me Devin."

* ~ *

The butler of the house, Mr. Winston, showed me my room, which was on the second story of the mansion. The room seemed comfortable with a double bed, a matching dresser, a wardrobe, and even a flat-screen. A large window overlooked the lake.

It was like looking at a painting and I could certainly get used to this scenery. There wasn't any place I'd rather be.

The walls of the room were covered in baby pink wallpapers with little cherry blossom petals on it, and I was quickly falling in love with this bedroom.

This place was more than what I'd expected and I knew that I'm going to be happy under this employment.

Devin was excessively sweet and his mannerisms screamed 'Gentleman'. He'd mentioned that excluding Castle, (the one they employed me as a nanny for) had two more brothers and a sister, Dayana. I took all the information in as he told me about Theodore, who was seventeen and studying in high school, and then there was the youngest, little Chandler, aged eleven.

Their parents were killed two years ago during a tragic boating accident that took place by the property lake and that had left only their grandfather Hugh Montgomery alive. The man was eighty-five and bound to a wheelchair.

As I listened to Devin reciting the tragic story of his family, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for them.

It was all so depressing and I could feel the sadness creeping into the atmosphere. Devin had to shoulder all the responsibilities of being the only mature man in the family, and my heart went out to him.

The house was easy to get lost in; the passageways were endless and there were so many rooms that I could only cover them all in one week. There was a movie theatre, and a library were my favorite in the house. Devin was quick to tell me I was allowed to use them in my free time.

We stopped in front of a room when he turned to face me, "Millie, just a heads up. About my brother Castle, he may not like you right off the bat and he'll take his time to warm up to you, so I will suggest you learn to be patient with him."

I placed my hand on his. "I will never give you a chance to be disappointed."

He smiled, and then his gaze followed where I touched his hand. I quickly snatched my hand off his shirt sleeve. "I expect you won't." he narrowed his eyes at me, heat radiated from his green eyes. "This is Castle's bedroom. Are you ready to meet him?"

I nodded.

He turned the knob and opened the door. "Castle, look who's here to see you."

The room was empty.

The décor was masculine; the walls painted a deep gray, and the furniture was rich, polished wood, everything in gothic style. It was apparent that they had restored the home in his original unique style from the 1800s.

A toy train moved over the tiny track, puffing out a little smoke, going inside the little tunnel and then zigzagging through mini-mountains and forests.

I stared at the toys, and Devin watched me in amusement. "Castle loves trains. It calms him down to just look at them."

There were other miscellaneous toys sprawled on the floor, along with a drawing book and crayons.

I smiled. "I can't wait to meet him. He sounds lovely."

"He is." Devin agreed proudly.

My eyes then rested over the wooden bedposts by the headboard. There were ropes tied on either side of it. A chill ran down my body, thinking about the reason for the ropes to even be here.

"What are those for?" I inquired, curiously.

Devin followed my gaze, and his smile faltered. "Well, as I mentioned before, Castle can be a little difficult. The ropes are only used for emergency purposes."

Something about his tone told me I wasn't allowed to question him further about the topic.

What exactly were these emergency purposes?

Did his family tie him up? That surely sounded cruel, but I decided not to push it.

He looked at his gold wristwatch. "I'm sure we'll see him downstairs in the dining room, since it's already time to dinner. Join me."

"Thank you," I said.

I couldn't wait to meet Castle.

* * *

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