26. Cecelia
This had to be one of the stupidest things I had ever done. I stared at the elevator door as I rode up to Sterling’s penthouse.
“Miss Cecelia,” Wayne said as the elevator doors slid open. “Welcome back. Mr. Sterling and Miss Georgie are in the kitchen. Will you be needing a coffee this morning?”
“No, thank you, and I’m not here.” It felt wrong saying that. I shouldn’t be here. This was a mistake.
“Precisely. Mr. Sterling has filled me in, and discretion is a substantial part of my job,” he said with a curt nod.
Now I was curious. What secrets did Wayne know? Probably every woman Sterling ever slept with—not that I wanted to know or was curious. I just couldn’t think of any other secrets Sterling could possibly have.
I followed Wayne into the kitchen. Sterling sat in front of Georgie’s highchair, spooning oatmeal into her wide-open mouth. She looked like a little bird waiting for mama bird to feed her. He wore a tight gray T-shirt and soft lounge pants. Did he know how sexy that look was? Or how incredibly attractive his being a loving, responsible father to Georgie was?
“I shouldn’t be here,” I blurted out. My gut twisted into knots.
“Stanholt isn’t scheduled to come over, so you wont run into her in the elevator or anything, if that’s your concern,” Sterling said. He gave me a dazzling smile before returning his attention to feeding Georgie. She was noticeably cleaner than the last time I watched him feed her. He didn’t have oatmeal smeared all over himself, either.
“But I do have an appointment, so let”s get started. This isn’t a social call.” I put my work tote bag on the table and pulled out a chair.
“What happened to the bag I gave you?”
“I can’t carry that bag around on my salary. Too many questions. Are you ready to go over your lists? Do you have copies for me?”
“Didn’t you keep copies?” Sterling asked.
“I had to turn everything in. You’re not my client, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten, but you are certainly acting like I am. Bossing me around, telling me what to do,” he said. I thought I heard a chuckle in his voice, but I couldn’t be sure.
I let out a long, weary sigh and slumped into the chair. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m nervous about this whole thing. I shouldn’t have come over before work.”
“I’m glad you did. Happy to see you. But if coming in before your other appointments is going to be too stressful, how about you come back after work? We can have dinner and I can show off my ability to get Georgie and me through a complete day.”
It was nice to see him. And I had missed Georgie, even though it had only been two days since our picnic. “Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight. Do you have your phone with you?”
I shook my head. It was safe and sound and tucked away with the tote bag.
“That doesn’t matter, just come.”
I nodded my head. “Okay. I will. I should get going. I need to pick up some groceries on my way.”
“You do grocery shopping now?” Sterling asked.
“I want to help out. A quick shopping trip is just a drop in the bucket for this family. It”s the least I can do, especially since I’m already late.” I gathered my things and started to head out.
Sterling caught my arm. I twisted to look at him. He tugged, and I leaned over. His lips pressed to mine. “I’ll see you later.”
Starting off the day with a kiss from Sterling had me floating. Everything seemed so much easier. Even Lucille and Hector were having a good day. I wasn’t scheduled to go into the office at all, so as soon as I left their house, I went home to change.
I knew I didn’t have to get dressed up for dinner with Sterling and Georgie. I just didn’t want to be in my work clothes. I put on a cute dress and a pair of sandals and headed back out to his apartment.
I waved at the door man. It was the same one as this morning. “I’m headed up to Sterling Alexander’s,” I said as I continued to the elevator that would take me all the way to the top of the building.
“Just a moment, please,” he said.
I stopped and blinked at him a few times. He knew me. He always just waved me up. Holding up a finger indicating I should wait, he picked up the phone. He nodded a few times before putting the receiver down. “Mr. Alexander has requested you wait in the lobby. He will be right down.”
“Oh, okay.” Sterling never had me wait for him before. What was he up to?
A few minutes later, the elevator doors slid open, and Sterling stepped out. He paused as he looked at me, and then a smile spread across his face. “You look stunning. Come, the car is waiting.”
“But I thought I was having dinner with you and?—”
“You are. The new nanny is upstairs with Georgie, so I’m taking you out.”
“The new nanny? Her background check went through?” I asked.
“She was vetted by the agency I hired her through. They came highly recommended, and they are highly rated. The extra background check is to mollify the agency you work for, not for me.”
I nodded in understanding. “Do I get to meet her?”
Sterling twisted his brow and seemed to think as he led me into the back of his waiting car. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If she doesn’t know who you are, she can’t accidentally tell Peggy Stanholt that you are still seeing us.”
I settled into the back of the car and waited for Sterling to sit next to me. “That makes sense.”
He slid his arm behind my back and tucked me in close to his side. “You were so nervous this morning. I want to see you, Cecelia. I want you with me and Georgie. I don’t want to add to your stress. As long as Georgie is being monitored and this nanny works for me, you won’t meet her.”
“Should I be jealous? Is she pretty?”
He chuckled. “She looks like a grandmother with short, white hair. You have nothing to worry about.”
I leaned against Sterling, and for a moment, I didn’t worry about anything. He was fulfilling his responsibility to the baby, he wanted to see me, and he was figuring it all out so that I didn’t get in trouble. This could work. And when he kissed me, I stopped thinking altogether.
He didn’t stop kissing me until the car stopped and the back door opened.
“We’re here,” he said as he climbed out of the car.
I hesitated. We were safe and alone in the car, but outside, people could see us. What if the wrong people did?
He leaned on the open door and ducked down to look at me. “No one you know is going to see you with me here.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The same reason no one was going to see us at the park the other day. Exclusivity. This isn’t the kind of place that… Well, let’s just say, I doubt any of your coworkers would come here.” He held his hand out to me.
“Promise?” I asked as I took his hand. I stepped out of the car and realized he was right. This was the kind of restaurant that celebrities and the super-rich went to, not social workers.
“I’m glad I changed. Coming here in my work clothes would have been awkward.”
“You looked fine in what you had on earlier. But I’m glad you changed. I like that dress.” Sterling leaned in and whispered, “I can’t wait to see it on the floor.”
A blush assaulted my cheeks. Sterling laughed as I buried my face against his arm.
“You are adorable when you blush,” he said.
“And you’re incorrigible for making me blush.”
“It’s so easy to do,” he crooned.
“Sterling.” I felt my blush burn bright. “I thought we were supposed to go over some of your lists for Georgie.”
“I’m demonstrating my competency,” he said with mock-affront. He even placed his hand on his chest dramatically. “I thought you would be impressed that I managed to get a nanny and arrange for us to go out. We can go over lists another time. Come on, let me show you a good time first,” he said as he led me into the restaurant. “They even serve realistic food portions here.”
“You mean it’s not so fancy they can’t give anything but a taste?”
He shook his head. “Not nearly as fancy as that, but not so casual that you’ll get enough to feed the state of Texas on your plate.”
We had food. I barely remembered any of it. It was good, I think. And there was dessert, but it wasn’t as interesting or captivating as watching Sterling. I spent the entire time staring at his mouth and his fingers. He smiled and laughed. I kept thinking about how he wanted to see my dress on the floor. I did too, right next to his trousers and shoes.