She decided to write a little backstory for her character. Or, more specifically, she wanted to write a backstory. Make the feeling of being strange and new in Byron’s eyes even more delicious. She set her fingers to the keys.
I moved from Auckland to Perth to study communications at the University of Western Australia. I play tennis and run half-marathons, and I have a boyfriend called…
She deleted the last sentence. Why make things unnecessarily complicated with double cheating?
I’m single because all the guys on my course are immature, and I never meet anyone at bars. I’m too shy to go to bars. I took a few babysitting jobs when I got here and earned a nanny qualification (whatever that is) because the money’s better. A few weeks ago, I started working for the Thomas family and I really like their house and their baby, Simon.
Was it wrong to use her actual child’s name in this scenario? Considering Si probably wanted to grow up with two loving parents who boned each other, it wasn’t totally out of left field… but no, she didn’t want to imagine her precious little man with his brown eyes and strawberry blond hair had come out of Audrey, even for a moment.
I really like their baby, Jessica,she corrected.But her mum is a total hole. She’s an influencer who always walks around in these perfect outfits and treats me like a servant. When she’s not looking, I lick all her spoons.
Beth grinned but deleted that sentence, too. The Bethany Myers she was pretending to be was far too sweet to fuck with Audrey. With the exception of romanticising her ‘husband.’
I usually would have quit, but oh my God, the dad, Byron, is SO hot. I know it’s so wrong for me to have a crush on a father I’m working for, but he’s so tall and good-looking. He works for the football club as a coach, and he hardly says anything to me, but when he does, he’s so friendly. I’ve told all my friends about him, and they looked him up and said he’s the sexiest dad they’ve ever seen. I can’t believe he’s with Mrs Thomas. I’m so jealous I can hardly breathe whenever they’re together. But they’re hardly ever together. He’s always travelling for work,and she’s always out doing Pilates and going to wine bars. I don’t even know if they sleep in the same bed. The spare room is always slept in when I go in there to change the sheets…
“Yeah, fuck you, Vitamin Bitch,” Beth muttered. Slandering Byron’s ex felt almost as good as imagining her husband’s eyes following her whenever she arrived at the house. The little glances that said he was as aware of her presence as she was of his. A feeling of inadequacy swept over Beth, and she decided to use that too.
Sometimes I think he might like me, but that’s ridiculous, right? I’m not as pretty as Audrey. She’s a bitch, but she’s so glamorous... Tonight, she’s out at some mineral water promo thing, and I’ll be home alone with Jessica until Byron gets here. My friends kept texting to say I should make up some reason to have a shower and come out in just a towel, but I could never do tha?—
A scraping noise almost made Beth jump out of her skin. A key was turning in the front door lock. Byron Thomas had arrived home. It took all of her willpower not to leap out of her seat and stand to attention like an actual servant. Instead, Beth scrolled to the top of her document and pretended to read her podcast ideas, her cheeks burning.
“Hi,” Byron called. “It’s just me.”
Just him? Beth was as nervous to see Byron as she’d ever been to see anyone. She heard him dump his leather knapsack beside the door, groaning slightly as he always did when he got home.
“Hi, Mr Thomas,” she said in her sunniest voice. “I put Jessica down not too long ago. She’s sleeping so well.”
“Right.” Byron’s heavy footsteps came up the hall, and when he filled the doorway, Beth held her breath. His white shirt was open at the collar, his navy tie loosened, but the rumpled look only made his angular face more handsome. She suddenly had a lot more empathy for the women who gaped at Byron in the street. He was so gorgeous it was hard to believe he was real.
Thankfully, Byron seemed to be struggling with the same problem. Beth had half-forgotten her makeover but when her husband’s gaze flicked over her, dashed away, only to return, she wished Sal a hundred good hair days.
“How was your flight?” she asked, her voice vibrating slightly with anxiety.
“It was a flight.” Byron swallowed. “I, uh… so Jessica’s asleep?”
“Yes. She’s such a good baby.”
“She is.”
They locked eyes only to glance away again quickly. Even Beth’s bone marrow felt like it was trembling. How were they going to hook up? The tension between them was so strong it felt like it might be hours before they could even sit next to each other… Byron walked toward the cupboards where he kept a few bottles of liquor—mostly gifts from the clubs he’d loved and left.
“Do you mind if I take a minute before I drive you home?” he asked, taking down the Jameson. “I’m wrecked.”
“Um, sure. No problem.”
She pretended to type as he poured himself a large glass of whiskey and took a swallow. Nervousness was coming off him in waves, but that felt right. The handsome father, alone with the young nanny at night…
“That’s better,” he muttered. “Do you, uh, want a drink?”
Beth had planned for that one. When she and Byron had roleplayed similar scenes in the past, they used water in lieu ofvodka. But she didn’t want to risk ruining the illusion with a conversation about fake drinks.
“Audrey, um, Mrs Thomas has mixers in the fridge. Maybe… can I have one of those?”
“Right. I’ll get it.” Byron went to the fridge and pulled out the cranberry mocktail cans Beth preferred. Without asking, he grabbed a tall glass, cracked the can and poured the contents inside before adding ice. She liked that. The way it felt like he was taking special care of her. He brought it to her at the dining table, and when she took the glass, their fingers touched.
Honest-to-God electricity zapped up Beth’s arm. “T-Thank you, Mr Thomas.”
“Byron,” he said, looking at her with his unworldly green eyes. “Mind if I sit?”
