Chapter One #3
“We’re coming to visit this weekend,” she says, reminding me of plans we made.
“Right. Okay. Bye for now.” I disconnect quickly, shaking my head.
God love my mother. She means well, but she likes to meddle in the name of worrying about her children.
But she put the thought of Mia squarely at the forefront of my mind. I definitely lied when I told myself I have no desire for any woman. I have a healthy sex drive, and I’ve already admitted I want Mia. And the more I watch her interact with my child, the more she engages me on many levels.
But I won’t be the guy who screws the nanny.
And being single doesn’t make it all right.
She works for me, so any kind of overture would be considered sexual harassment, and that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
And as I already said, I refuse screw up something that works well for my daughter. As always, she comes first.
Before my dick, that is for certain. Which means I am going to have to put a leash on my wayward thoughts, my probably not-so-subtle glances and desire to kiss her, touch her soft skin, and fuck her notwithstanding.
With great difficulty, I turn my thoughts to work and my upcoming conversation with my boss, prepping myself for the pitch I am about to give.
I walk into the offices of Alpha Security. Everyone is out on assignment, so I head directly up to Dan’s office, bypassing the empty game room Dan built for his employees to relax in during our downtime.
I knock on Dan’s door just as he is putting the phone down. “Come on in,” my boss says, gesturing for me to join him.
“Hey. Thanks for working around me today.”
Dan nods. “Of course. When you asked to meet, it sounded important.” He motions to the chair in front of his desk.
I settle in while Dan leans against the wall close by. “Talk to me, son.” He considers all his employees his kids, even if only one of us is actually his biological child.
I draw a fortifying breath. “I know you’ve been talking about delegating your responsibilities because you want to cut back some. And I don’t want to be out in the line of fire when I have a young child at home, and I’m the only parent she has.”
Dan studies me in silence, nodding as I speak.
I sweat a little, worried my boss will think I am presumptuous. “I was hoping to take over some of your workload…it would take me out of the field, and I could do much of the administrative side from home. I have a high-tech office setup there that would connect to the office.”
“Yes.”
“I’m well-versed in all our clients and how the office runs, and—”
“No need for the hard sell. I said yes,” Dan says with a grin.
“I have two new guys coming on board to replace Ben for short-term work now that he’s off guarding Summer on tour,” he says of the man who’s just re-fallen for a woman who is destined to be a major pop star.
“And Shane really is based out of Texas. He just does freelance here, so it was time. We’ll have coverage for you on a day-to-day basis. ”
I rise from my chair. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re going to help me cut back. It’s me who has to say thank you.” Dan holds out his hand, and I accept it.
“I won’t let you down.”
Dan smiles in that fatherly way he has. “Your daughter comes first, Austin. I, of all people, understand that.” Dan raised his son, Jared, and when Ava Talbott, one of our team, was a teenager and her own mother had issues, he took her in and raised her like his own.
Dan understands the importance of family.
“You and I can start going through how things around here run. We’ll get you spending more time at home as soon as possible.”
It isn’t until the ride home, when I have more time to think, that I realize the one drawback to my brilliant plan.
Time at home with Bailey means time at home with Mia.
Alone time, since my kid is in school full time.
And wouldn’t that wreak havoc on my plan not to think about her sexually or otherwise unless it relates to my daughter.
* * *
Mia
A week after Bailey starts school, ballet classes begin.
I run errands for the better part of the afternoon, doing food shopping and getting Austin’s dry cleaning before picking up Bailey from the small studio.
The little girl looks adorable in her pink leotard, tights, and ballet slippers, her silky hair pulled back into a ponytail.
We drive home, Bailey in a booster in the back seat.
“How was class?” I ask.
“Good! I learned first position.” She kicks the back of the front car seat, trying to get her little feet into the pose.
“You can show me when we get home. I bet your dad will want to see, too.” I glance in the rearview mirror before refocusing on the road.
I pull onto the street and catch sight of a black sedan parked at the end of the road. I saw the car earlier in the week and again this morning and thought it was odd. This street is far off the highway and doesn’t get a lot of stray cars.
“What’s for dinner?” Bailey asks. “’Cause I’m hungry. Can I have a snack when we get home?” She rattles off questions and statements like they are demands.
“What happened to please?” I ask. “You can have a healthy snack before dinner, like baby carrots. And your dad mentioned wanting to bring in pizza, so that’s what we’re having.”
“Can I have hummus with the carrots? Please?”
As I pull into the driveway, I turn to see Bailey with her hands clasped together in supplication. For hummus. “A little bit.”
I unhook the booster seat, and Bailey scrambles out of the car, then I grab some grocery bags for my first trip into the house. No sooner have I entered than I realize the air conditioning seems to have stopped working what must have been hours earlier, because the inside of the house is too hot.
I put the bags on the counter and finish emptying the SUV of groceries before calling Austin on his cell phone. He is on his way home and says he’ll get the repairman on the phone as soon as he hangs up with me.
I glance at Bailey, who is dancing around the kitchen in long sleeves and tights. “Let’s change into cooler clothes, okay?”
“Can I wear my bathing suit?” Bailey asks, her brown eyes sparkling with delight.
I laugh. “Why not? Just don’t expect to go swimming.”
“We can pretend to swim. Can I change my Barbies into bathing suits, too?”
“I don’t know. Do you have homework to do first?” I ask.
Bailey scrunches her nose in reply. “A little.”
“Okay, homework first, then you can play with your dolls.”
“But it’s ho-o-t,” she whines, finally bringing up the obvious as a complaint, probably because I just asked her to do something she doesn’t want to do.
“And you’ll be in your bathing suit so you won’t be as uncomfortable.” I ruffle the top of the child’s head. “Let’s go change.”
“Will you put on a bathing suit, too?” Bailey asks.
“No,” I say. “That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“What’s ’propriate mean?” Bailey asks as we head for the stairs leading to Austin’s and Bailey’s rooms on the second level.
I have a bedroom off the kitchen on the first floor, a relief since I don’t have to worry about running into Austin when I am coming in or out of the bathroom in the upstairs hall after a shower.
I have my own private one right outside my room downstairs.
Being in a room near his would only make the building desire I feel for the man so much worse.
I bite the inside of my cheek to distract myself from my thoughts. “Appropriate means it’s not the right thing to do,” I explain to Bailey.
Not when Austin will be arriving home any minute.
I save my bikinis for my private time. I can’t possibly play dress-up—or dress down as the case might be, with Bailey.
I can’t handle Austin’s eyes on me when I am half dressed.
No doubt my body would betray me and his knowing gaze would zero in on my hard nipples caused by a hot glance.
I pull my hair off the back of my sweaty neck. No matter how uncomfortably hot I am, my thoughts making things worse, I won’t be flaunting my body in front of my sexy boss.