Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Mom!” I say, horrified she even went there. I feel guilty enough for my inappropriate thoughts. Now I have to worry about whether I sent out inadvertent signals about my interest in Mia that my mother picked up on.
“What? I’m just pointing out that you’re a healthy man with… appetites and she’s a sweet, good-looking woman,” my mother says, not backing down.
Jesus. I pull behind a car driving below the speed limit, glance in the mirror, and swerve into the left lane to drive around it.
“She’s my daughter’s nanny,” I remind my mother as well as myself, because I clearly need a good talking to. “And I just said Mia was fantastic. I’m not going to mess up a good situation for Bailey.”
Not to mention, I know better than to get involved with a woman right now. I was screwed by my ex, and I have no desire to deal with the opposite sex on any level but professional.
Liar.
“Shut the fuck up,” I mutter aloud to my inner voice.
“What did you say?” my mother asks. “I couldn’t hear you.”
I shake my head, grateful she missed those words, and swallow hard. “I said this wasn’t a conversation I want to have.”
“I think you protest too much.” My mother clicks her tongue like she did when I was a child. “It’s not healthy to be without companionship. I don’t want to know what you’re doing about your sex life but—”
“Mom!” This time I yell, feeling my face flush and having a hard time keeping an eye on the road. “This conversation is over.” It reminds me of the time she gave me the sex talk while driving on a highway and I couldn’t escape. “I love you, but we’re done. I’ll talk to you later.”
“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.”