Damian Costa trusts cameras, background checks, and the kind of money that makes problems disappear. Then Tessa Miller walks into his mother’s bedroom—and stays when everyone else wants to leave. She’s a maid with worn-out sneakers, crushing debt, and a sharp tongue she usually remembers to control. For nine days, Damian watches her through a security camera, searching for the price behind her kindness. When Tessa discovers what he’s done, he offers to pay every dollar she owes. She tells him no. Now the most feared man in the city wants more than her company. He wants her laughter, her kisses, and a place in the life she guards so fiercely. But the closer he gets, the harder it becomes to resist making decisions for her—and one act of protection could cost him the woman he’s falling for.