Austin Silver POV

After Rose got all she needed from the shop, I finally let go of her small hand and told her I'd be right back as we wait in line.

She's been quiet since she told me why we were here and now I feel like a dick, so I'm buying her some shit from the sweet aisle, I have no fucking clue what she likes or doesn't like so I just bought one of each and dropped it into the basket.

I'm hoping this makes her look at me without being embarrassed.

I might have crossed her boundaries more than once today and I don't fucking know why I did hold her hand and keep holding onto it, just felt nice so I didn't let go, she didn't seem to mind that much since she didn't let go either.

Fuck it, I'm interested in her, and no denying or hiding it.

After shoving everything in the basket I head back to Rose who still stands in the line and thankfully we are next to pay. I go to stand beside her and she looks at all the shit in the basket with a slight smile on her face.

As a young boy behind the register begins to scan our stuff I notice a car outside across the parking lot that I had noticed outside the school, I keep my eyes focused on the car as I grab my wallet from my pocket and pay the boy whose eyes haven't left Rose's face.

"Oh I can pay, really it's no problem Austin.." Rose says and I shake it off and scan my card.

I pull my eyes off from the black vehicle and look down at Rose with a smile. "I got it babe." I say with a smirk then lean down to her ear.

"Play along." I whisper.

I pull back and then look at the young boy with a wink as I collect our bags with one hand and hold onto Rose's hand with the other as I walk us outside the entrance of the shop.

"What was that all about?" She asks shyly, her eyes focus on our hands.

My eyes shift from hers to the car, the black car start up and drive off down the street until I can't see it anymore, now I'm for sure whoever it was, was following us since we left the school.

I let go of her hand. "I saw how uneasy the kid was making you so I made him back off."

She nods her head slowly and moves a piece of hair behind her ears. "Thanks.. you didn't have to do that, I honestly didn't notice." She says shyly and I laugh.

Of course, she didn't notice, I sure as fuck did though.

"Let's head back, then we can get to know each other better." I say leading the way back to the estate, she follows next to me.

She's quiet around me and I know why, I'm a big strange dude and her boss, she doesn't know me and I've implanted myself in her life and invaded her personal space more than once, not to mention I probably seem scary to her, despite my good looks I am still a bad person, people can pick up on that shit from the get-go.

We make it back without a single word being spoken to one another but it doesn't bother me much, it's nice considering the women I've been with never shut the fuck up, compared to them this is bliss for me.

While Rose puts all the stuff away I got for her I kick off my shoes and remove my cap as I sit down on the chair outside beside the pool, it's quiet out here, the garden was the main reason I bought this property while I was in prison, something about it just stood out to me so I bought it.

Times like this I used to hate the silence, it always brought back too many shit memories from my childhood and troubled youth, but now it's different, I feel lighter about shit, I can really just sit here and enjoy the moment instead of thinking about everything that stresses me out, like my job description.

I see Rose sit on an opposite chair in front of me and she crosses her legs as she sits, she brought us both a glass of juice and placed it on the table.

I grab the juice and take a sip. "Thanks for the drink." I say before putting it back on the table.

"No problem."

I enjoy the silence for a little bit before I grow tired of it, and curiosity gets the best of me. "Tell me about yourself."

She shifts and her eyes wander as I watch and read her expressions with interest, did that make her uncomfortable? When she doesn't say anything I sigh.

"Let's take turns, ask me anything." I say, leaning on my palm as I watch her visibly relax a little.

She nods her head and holds onto the glass of juice as she looks up at me shyly. "Okay.. um, how old are you?" She asks and I snort.

"I was hoping for something more interesting than that, I'm 36." I say.

"I'm 27.." She says and I nod my head knowingly.

I know everything about her apart from her personal life, which I'm more interested in.

"What is your dream job?" I ask curiously and her eyes light up and a small smile makes it onto her lips as she looks at me.

"Police officer." She says with a cringe as her cheeks grow pink.

Not at all what I was expecting her to say, but could be worse. "Why police?"

"Police stop bad people, because of the Police me and Max are alive today. I've always wanted to help people so I guess I just want to give back.. to make someone else's life better as they did for mine and Max's." She says with a genuine smile and I hum.

I want to laugh but I can't, she's too pure and innocent yet she wishes to cure the world of bad people, it's a noble profession and most of the time they do make a difference.

"What about you, what is your dream job?" She asks me and I grin.

"Mechanic." I say truthfully.

I've never told anyone that before. "My old man had a garage, I would fix anything that came in the shop with him, I never wanted anything else, until he passed, guess I lost interest." I say as I watch her smile turn to a frown.

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss." She says sympathetically and I shake my head.

"It's cool, was a long time ago. So what's stopping you from becoming a policewoman?" I ask as I grab my drink and swallow the rest of it.

She folds her legs up to her chest and hums. "It's complicated... I.. I was homeless a few months ago so money was hard and I hated leaving Max with strangers, so I made a decision to not apply."

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket but I ignore it as I keep my focus on Rose. "What if I told you I could help you, would you still say no?"

She looks at me confused then laughs. "Probably, I don't know, maybe when Max is older and when I have saved a little money I can apply, who knows." She shrugs.

I want to fix all her problems at this moment but I know this shit is too soon for someone like her, who knows nothing of my world, and I can't invite her into my world either without putting her and Max's life in danger.

"Fair enough, ask me another question."

She lowers her feet and sits up straight as she looks at me and my eyes never leave hers. "Okay.. I have been curious about something..."

"Ask away."

She swallows hard looks me dead in the eye. "Who are you exactly? You don't strike me as someone who sits in a suit all day and works behind a desk.." She says seriously.

I look at her amused and chuckle, I lean forward and keep my eyes on her. "You signed all the paperwork, yes?" I say and she nods her head curiously.

I lean back. "I do not work in an office, no. I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me even if I told you." I say with a slight smirk as she frowns at me.

"I'm open-minded, try me." She says with a brave face and I grin.

Alright, then Miss Clark. "I'm the boss of the underworld crime world, I control everything that enters and leaves any country in the world."

She snorts and then laughs at me while I watch her reaction. "And I'm the president of the United states."

I shrug and grab my phone and search my name 'Austin Silver', and thousands upon thousands of articles come up, I see Rose stare at me and I hand her the phone to which she takes with a frown.

I watch as her eyes move wildly at whatever she is reading and my palms are actually sweating as I wait for how she is going to react to the truth about me. It's been a minute and she's still not said a word.

"Silver..?" She mumbles out confused then looks up to me, a look of confusion in her face.

"Believe me now?" I say amused and she blinks and then looks down at the phone then to me again, nodding her head slowly as she places the phone on the table.

"Tell me what you're thinking." I ask as I swallow hard at how little she has said about the matter.

She furrows her brows and stares at me. "I..don't understand.. you.. uh." She takes a deep breath and bites onto her bottom lip.

"Most people run or scream, do you want to?" I ask her, slightly enjoying her reaction as she shakes her head and mutters a 'no'.

"Austin Silver.. I thought.. I thought you were older." She mutters out and I laugh and stand up.

I grin down at her as I take my jacket off from feeling warm from the summer air. "Most people think that, do you have any questions for me?" I ask curiously as I sit back down and wait for her to speak.

She blinks repeatably and frowns. "This is why I had to sign an NDA and all those documents isn't it?" She asks and I nod.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asks with a frown.

"Unless you want me to, no." I say jokingly and she pales slightly.

"I'd never hurt you Rose, I'm not a monster." I say annoyed and she tenses from my annoyance.

"Why?" She asks stiffly and I look at her with a raised brow.

I sigh heavily and run a hand through my hair annoyed. "Let me make this very clear, I would never hurt you or Max, because I like you and I don't like many people in my life, understood?"

She frowns. "You don't even know me, isn't this.. weird?" She says and I look at her bored.

"So let me get to know you, don't run away and stay here with me, I will be transparent with you Rose, I won't hide anything from you." I say staring into her eyes as I lean forward.

When she doesn't say anything but her cheeks blush I sigh. "If you stay we can get to know one another, if you want to leave I won't stop you, so what do you want to do Rose Clark? Are you going to run away or stay."

"Like.. as friends, why? I'm nobody, I'm just someone who cleans your house." She mutters out nervously and I smirk and stand up.

"I can play your friend for now, but I like you, Rose Clark." I said huskily as I stand in front of her and hold my hand out to her.

"Let's start over." I suggest.

She stares at my hand then at me with confusion on her face.

"I'm Austin Silver, nice to meet you." I say confidently, waiting for her to reach out and shake my hand.

She stares at my hand for a long moment before she moves her hand and slowly raises it, when she places her small hand in mine I pull her up from the seat, she looks at me shyly and I grin down at her.

"I'm.. Rose Clark, it's nice to finally meet you Austin." She says shyly as her eyes hold my gaze, she shakes my hand.