Our interview went on and on like this for well over the half hour time slot I’d allotted. When I finally walked Annette out to the front room, I was a little shocked to see there was a woman sitting on the couch braiding Faith’s hair.
“Hello,” I said.
“Sorry, Dad, I let her in. You were busy with your questioning,” Faith said.
“Hi, I’m Summer. We have a mutual friend, Jason Hartley,” she said with a smile. “I’d totally shake your hand, but Faith said her hair was really hot, and I offered to French braid it to get it off of her neck. Give me just a minute.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Summer,” I said as I realized this was the feeling I’d been looking for. “Thank you for coming in, Annette. I’ll let you know.”
I practically rushed Annette out the front door as I sat down in the living room and watched Summer working on Faith’s hair. She expertly twisted the strands of hair together and within minutes had it beautifully braided.
“Um, could you get in my purse and grab a ponytail?” she asked me. “It’s probably in the side pocket.”
“I’m not sure whether it’s legal for a man to go through a purse of this size.” I laughed as I saw her giant duffle bag of a purse next to the couch.
“Don’t worry; I won’t have you arrested for it, at least not this time.” She laughed.
There was no hiding how stunning this girl was. Suddenly, I realized what Jason had been saying when he warned me about her looks. He wasn’t telling me that because she looked strange in some way – he was telling me that because Summer looked like she belonged on the cover of a Vogue magazine and not in my house braiding my daughter’s hair.
I dug into her bag and found a ponytail for Faith’s hair. I didn’t look at anything while my hand was in her bag, but I could have sworn I felt the wrapper of a condom in the side pocket she had guided me to. But hell, a woman like her was probably having a lot of sex, and at least she was safe about it.
“Should we head back to my office for the interview?” I asked.
“It was very nice meeting you, Faith, and you too, Thomas,” Summer said, and both of the kids turned around to talk to her.
“He’s not as mean as people say he is,” Thomas said. “And it was nice meeting you.”
“My dad is like a candy bar with nuts in it. At first, you think it’s disgusting, but after a few bites, he’s not so bad,” Faith said.
“Wow, okay then, we are going to go back and talk for a minute.” I shook my head at my kids and how they had described me. I really wasn’t mean, just firm. And I wasn’t at all sure what Faith meant by the candy bar analogy. “Sorry about that,” I said to Summer as we went into my office.
“About what? Your kids are adorable and so nice. I’m sure they got that from you and their mother. So nothing to apologize for.”
“Thanks, now let’s do this interview. Jason didn’t tell me anything about you, just that you might be a good fit for the job. Could you tell me a little more about you?”
“Let’s see – I like to shop, probably more than any woman should admit to. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, but I really do love kids, and I need a job right now.”
For a moment, I just sat and took in the honesty of her answer. I’d hoped an honest answer would have made me feel much better about this whole process, but I wasn’t sure that it was doing it for me. Although, it was refreshing to get something other than what was on a resume.
“Did you bring a resume?”
“No, I’m sorry; I don’t have one. My last job was in retail, and they don’t need resumes to hire you there. What else would you like to know about me? I’ve had a few retail jobs recently, and I help my family with charity work and things like that. Or at least I used to until my father insisted I find my way in life.”
“What way is that?” I wondered.
“I really have no idea yet. I’m still working on that.”
“What are some of your hobbies?” I ventured into one of the old interview questions I asked everyone I talked to.
“I’m not one to have a lot of free time, but I do enjoy fashion a lot. Not just shopping but actually learning about it and how designs are made. And I like …” she started to say and then stopped herself.
For a moment, I let the room fill with silence while I waited to see what she was going to say. Summer looked like she had something else she was going to tell me, but she just stopped and smiled at me.
“What else?” I urged her.
“It’s silly and has nothing to do with taking care of children. We can go on.”
“It’s okay – what else do you like?” I was genuinely curious.
“Hair and makeup. I’ve had a passion for it, but none of my hobbies are big careers. So I’m still searching for a more grown up thing to do with myself.”
“I don’t know. I think fashion designers and professional makeup artists make pretty decent livings. It sounds like a lot of hard work to me.”
The look of surprise on her face at my comment was undeniable. She smiled so big that I swore she forced me to smile back at her.
“Usually people just tell me it’s silly to think of those things as careers.”
“Hell, I make a living off of having pictures taken and selling a dolled up experience of a company. Basically, I’m just lipstick for hotels.” I laughed.
I hadn’t actually thought about advertising as makeup before. It was pretty much what it was, though. We took a bland company like a hotel chain and jazzed them up with commercials and pictures. It was all about perception.
“I’ve never thought about advertising like that.”
“I’m sorry; I’ve gotten distracted a little from my questions. Let’s move on. How do you manage stress?”
“Ice cream.”
“Me too.” I laughed at her answer.
This was the girl. I was sure of it. Not only had Jason recommended her, but she was down to earth and real. Plus, Faith already adored her and could really use a girly girl around to play dress up and do hair.
“Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?” Summer asked boldly.
“Sure, anything.”
“Jason thought you were going to want me to move in here. Would I have to stay here all the time or would I get time off?”
“Good question. You’d have Sundays off unless I were out of town. I’d coordinate with you ahead of time if I was traveling, and of course, I’d pay you extra when I traveled.”
“Do I work all day every day?”
“Another good question. You know, no one else I interviewed even asked these. I like that you’re thinking ahead like this,” I said to genuinely compliment her. “Usually, I’m home around six, but you might be out with the kids at their activities. If I can make it to the activity, you could get off work right then, or I’ll take over whenever I get home. You should have most evenings free unless things are really crazy. So to be honest, that might mean one or two nights where I’ll need you to make dinner too.”
“I’m a horrible cook.”
“Wow, that was really honest; I’m not the greatest either. Whatever you whip up is just fine, and I’m happy to leave a credit card for you to order dinner in if that is easier.”
“Okay.”
“So could you start on Monday? I think it would be good for us to do a run through of the school drop off together. It’s pretty complex. Probably my least favorite thing to do.”
Summer looked a little nervous at the idea of doing the school pick up. I’d been just as nervous when I had to start doing it, and still today I preferred when I had a nanny to manage the chaos. The school was wildly strict about all their rules, and it was exhausting trying to keep up.
“Um, yeah. I could come over. Like when?”
“Maybe around three. We could drive over for the pickup, and I’ll show you the process. Once you do it a couple of times, you’ll be an expert at it. It’s annoying, but you seem like an intelligent woma
n. I think you’ll get the hang of it rather quickly.
“Thanks,” she said with a demure smile. “Is there anything else I should know?”
I weighed the idea of telling her about the other nannies and some of the issues I’d had with them. But I really couldn’t risk scaring her away, and I was going to work really hard at not acting like an ass when things didn’t go right with the kids.
Over the years, I’d learned that nannies get really upset when I yell, so I obviously wasn’t going to do that anymore. I also wasn’t going to correct them on what they wear, which was something I normally would have done if Summer had worked for me before.
She was a beautiful girl, no doubt about it. At least she had on jeans and not a ridiculous business suit. The four-inch heels she had on though weren’t all that practical for dealing with kids.
“I think we can go through more things this week. I’ll try and keep my schedule as open as possible so we can work through things, and you can learn the ropes. But the kids are pretty good at answering questions when you have them. I have a huge trip in a few weeks, and I’m really excited to get you comfortable enough so you can handle the kids for those two weeks.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay, so come on over Monday afternoon, and we will do a run through. Then on Tuesday, you can move in?” I said, and Summer laughed.
Her laugh did something to me. It electrified me and had my body tingling. Summer seemed like a genuinely nice girl, and I was excited to have her around for the kids, but as my body reacted to her laugh, there was a little sense of doom. It was going to be damn hard to resist a woman like her around my house all the time.
Up until that moment, I hadn’t even considered the old stereotype of the nanny and the dad having a fling. And to be honest, I never met a nanny who made my body tingle with a simple laugh. As much trouble as this whole thing might be, Summer was clearly the best one for the job; at least when it came to connecting with the kids, and that was what I wanted the most. The rest of it all could be taught; I was sure of it.
“Sorry, that’s the first time a guy has asked me to move in with him.” She continued to laugh.
“So it’s a yes? You’ll take the job?” I asked.
“Yep, sounds good to me.”
“Great, welcome aboard,” I stood up and shook her hand as we walked out to the living room.
Chapter 5
Summer
As I walked out of Tyler’s office, all I could think about was how good looking he was. I’d never met a dad that was single and so handsome. It threw me off the entire interview. As I was leaving, I wasn’t sure if I’d even answered his questions correctly, and I certainly didn’t remember anything he had said about the job.
“Do you want my phone number in case you need to reach me?” he asked as we stood behind the couch where his adorable children were watching television.
“Sure, I’ll take your number,” I said with a smile.
This guy was already flirting with me, and it was still just the interview. The energy between the two of us was amazing, and I couldn’t wait to come and work with him. This new job was like a dream. Hanging out with some adorable kids and having a hot boss. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better job.
“Do you want me to put it on your phone?” he asked.
“No, you don’t want to see the filth I have on there,” I said quietly. “How about you just send me a text?”
I just told him my number as he typed it into his phone and sent me a text message right away.
TYLER: Hi
SUMMER: Hi back
I replied to him so I had his number listed as well. He was smiling at me, and his eyes continued to glance at my cleavage. The sexual tension between us was so thick it made me short of breath.
“Okay, I’ll be over on Monday around three o’clock, is that right?”
“Yes, that sounds good. Hey guys, how do you feel about having Summer come and stay with us?” Tyler asked the kids.
“Really?” Faith said as she jumped up and gave me a hug. “Will you do my hair for school on Monday?”
“I won’t be here in the morning on Monday, but I promise once I move in I’ll make sure you have the most beautiful hair in your entire grade.”
“Okay,” Faith said and went back to her show.
It really warmed my heart to see Faith happy to have me there. I loved kids, even if I wasn’t around them too much. All I had was good feelings about working with Tyler and his kids.
“I better get going. It was really nice meeting you all, and I can’t wait to come and stay for awhile.”
“Thanks for coming, Summer; it was nice meeting you too,” Tyler said as he held the front door open. “Please feel free to text me if you have any questions.”
“I will,” I said with a little bit of a smile.
As I walked out to Patrick’s car, I thought about at least a dozen questions that I should have asked him. But I didn’t want to turn around and have to ask him right then and there. Instead, I figured I’d just write down my questions and ask him throughout my first week there.
I felt Tyler’s eyes on my ass while I walked to the car and couldn’t help adding a little extra sway to each side for his enjoyment. This was going to be a fun month. I hurried back to the house to tell Patrick all about this.
Although Patrick was still pretty angry with me, I was going to be able to pay him back in no time, and I hoped he’d be excited about that. It was impossible to make it up the stairs quickly in my heels, so I flipped them off and carried them when I got back to the apartment.
“Patrick, I got the job!” I yelled as I burst through the door.
“What?” he said as he and his boyfriend stopped making out when I walked in the door.
“Sorry guys. I just wanted to say that I got the job. I’ll be able to pay you back for this month’s rent.”
“Actually, since I can’t afford this place anyway, I was thinking of moving in with Mark,” Patrick said as he cuddled with Mark.
This was really bad for me, and I didn’t like it at all. I only had to work a full month to get my father to help me out and then I could afford to pay my half of the rent all the time. Plus, even if I kept the job, I didn’t have to keep living there after a few weeks and would need a place to live.
Panic wasn’t one of my favorite emotions. In fact, it was my least favorite emotion of all. My heart started to race, and I tried to figure out as quickly as possible what I could do to convince Patrick to stay in our apartment.
“Patrick,” I started to say before I felt the emotion building.
“Summer, come on – you’ll be fine. You got the job. You’ll have a place to live where you can stay for as long as you’d like.”
“But … Patrick.”
“I’m just thinking about it right now. Let’s not worry too much. Do you want to watch a movie with us?”
I looked at Patrick and his boyfriend and knew that they didn’t want me on their date night. Although I was really excited about my new job, I felt sick to my stomach and just wanted to go lay down.
“No, it’s okay. I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a little bit of a nap.”
I went to my room, and the panic started to set in. I’d had a great interview, and I really was excited about my new job, but the idea that I’d have to find my own apartment was a lot to take in.
I dialed up Amy and then Rebecca, but neither of them was around. I didn’t really want to bother Anna, but I had to talk to someone. There was just too much going on for me.
“Hello,” Anna said, and I could hear a lot of noise in the background.
“Hey Anny, sorry for bothering you, I was just hoping to find someone to talk to.”
“Sorry, we are at a play gym, and it’s crazy noisy here. Can I call you back? Did you get that job?”
“Yep, I got it, and yes, you can call me back whenever you’d like. Have fun,” I said and then hung up.
Ev
eryone around me had their own lives going on and seemed so happy. How was it possible that I was the only one of my friends who was totally miserable and couldn’t manage to get my life together? It was beyond frustrating for me.
Although school wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, I really wished I could just go back to high school when things were easier. Even having hard classes would be better than trying to navigate life all on my own like I was doing at that moment.
With nothing else to do for the night, I went to sleep early. I couldn’t even stand the idea of sitting and watching shows online. I was physically and mentally exhausted.
By Sunday morning I’d hoped I would be feeling better, but I absolutely was not. I woke up to Patrick gone and the apartment all to myself. With my impending move to Tyler’s house coming up this week, I decided to take some time to clean out my room and pack things up.
It had to be one of the most depressing Sundays of my life. I didn’t go hang out with my friends; I didn’t go shopping, and I stayed in the apartment and went through what remained of my old life.
There were no more fancy handbags, and I was stuck with my one cut bag from the local department store. I did still have my heels, but they looked pitiful lying in a pile in my small bedroom.
When my phone rang, I couldn’t wait to see who it was and answer it. I was desperate for a little break from my depressing Sunday.
“Hey, hey, hey girl, how are you?” Amy asked as she nearly screamed into the phone. “I heard you got a job.”
“Yep, I’m going to be a nanny. Isn’t that exciting?” I said with all the fake excitement I could manage.
“That’s awesome. Hey, Rebecca and I are flying out to Vegas tonight and wanted to know if you’d like to come? Just a quick two days out and back. We have the holiday weekend off.”
“Holiday weekend?”
“Yeah, it’s Labor Day,” Amy said as if I should have known what she was talking about all along.
“I can’t go. I’m supposed to go over to Tyler’s house and do a quick run through of the pickup and drop off process at the kids’ school. But you guys have fun.”
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 5