Me: Fine, I can adjust the contract. Anything else?
Unknown: No. Everything else is fine. I’ll sign after the change regarding the nights is implemented. When do you want me to start?
Me: Immediately. A new contract will be here in the morning. Please come by at nine a.m. to sign, and you can start tomorrow.
Three dots appear and then disappear as she types. Several minutes pass before a single word pops up on my screen.
Unknown: Okay.
Dropping the phone onto the cushion beside me, I lean my head back. This will not be fucking easy. Having a person constantly in my space, especially a woman who’s colder than the frost covering the ground outside. That’s probably a saving grace. I mayknowpeople, how to read them, how to anticipate their next move, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being around them. There was a reason I leaned hard toward the tech side of the business, and that was because it came with isolation. My brother and my friends never question it when I claim I need quiet to work and disappear, but someone here, every single day, is going to push on that boundary I set up around myself.
Lily’s cries activate the baby monitor on the side table, its small light pulsing rhythmically as her wails increase in intensity. She only went back down for the night thirty minutes ago, and I know she should be good until at least five now, so if Sloane can help me figure this shit out, then it’ll be worth it.
No matter how much I hate the idea.
Chapter Seven
Why the fuck did I pick a pencil skirt and blouse to wear!? I didn’t even wear this shit when I worked in a daycare! And it’s not like I need to impress him; I already have the job.
I tug at the hem of the tight skirt anxiously as I wait for him to answer the door, and when he does, I practically choke on my tongue.
He’s in a pair of red and black pajama pants andonlypajama pants. His carved torso captures and holds my attention. Forget six pack, this man has an eight pack with the carved V at his hips and a trail of dark hair that starts from his belly button and disappears beneath the low band of his pants. A silver bar glints in his left nipple, and a smattering of hair is scattered across his chest.
“Eyes up here,” His raspy voice jolts me, and my eyes snap up to his behind his thick rimmed glasses.
“Have you always worn glasses?” I ask the first thing that pops into my head, trying and failing not to notice how hot he looks all trussed up, as if only just rolling out of bed. I should have known the man can’t look bad, not even when he’s barely awake.
“Sure, because that’s what you noticed,” There’s a teasing edge to his tone, a lightness I hadn’t expected.
“Sorry,” I bite, fighting the urge to flee, “I just didn’t expect to find you half dressed. A little unprofessional, don’t you think?”
One stern brow cocks up, any lightness that was on his face moments ago now fleeting. “My apologies, Miss Reynolds, had a rough night and woke up late. Won’t happen again.”
I flinch at the surname. Despite using my mother’s maiden name for the past several months, it still sounds wrong to be referred to like that, knowing my whole family is a couple hundred miles away with no idea where I am. The person I was before no longer exists.
“Is Lily sick?” I ask, pushing down on the wave.
“Unsettled,” He sighs and steps back, “Come in.”
I follow him into the house, watching the muscles in his back ripple and flex with every single step. He stops in the living room where Lily is in a small baby seat in front of the fire while the TV plays in front of her. She looks happy enough, her big eyes glued to the moving shapes on the TV. I doubt she can see much more than the bright colors, but if she’s happy, she’s happy.
“Give me five,” He says before he pads from the room, leaving me alone with his daughter.
I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised since he hired me to care for her, but I still stand idly by, as if I’ve never been around children and don’t know what to do.
Lily makes a cooing kind of noise from her spot in front of the TV, and I gravitate toward it, the sound alone enough to chase away the remnants of my anxiety. Crouching at her side, I offer her my finger.
“Hi sweet girl,” I greet her, her tiny fist circling the finger and immediately drawing it toward her mouth, “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”
She coos, her big brown eyes wide as she kicks her legs happily.
“Are we gonna be a little team?” I continue talking, letting her get used to my voice. “We’re going to have so much fun together! Your daddy has told me all about you.”
A throat clears at the threshold, and I whip my head up, finding Dean now dressed in an all-black suit, his black shirt unbuttoned at the top. “You can have all the time you want with her as soon as you sign the contract.”
“Will you be going to work today?” I slide my hand from Lily’s surprisingly firm grip.
“Not today,” He shakes his head, “I have some work to do here, but I’ll be home.”
