"This isn't real. This can't be real," I nervously laugh while slowly shaking my head back and forth.
"But it is real," Rylan coolly replies as he places a black pen right onto the table for me. "All you have to do is sign it and it's all yours."
A tense and heavy blanket of silence gradually falls across the room, the deafening noise of nothingness placing an unusual burden of pressure over my chest. I weakly sigh while blankly staring down at the large number printed on the paper. The temptation to just sign the offer grows stronger and stronger with each quiet second that goes by undisturbed. But instead of hastily giving in to my impulses, I boldly lift my eyes to look into the man's clear blue gaze for any sign as to what he may be possibly thinking by choosing me as Teagan's nanny.
However, the only thing that I feel when I meet Rylan's beautiful blue stare is the sensation of my mind going completely blank with awe. There's an earnest and sincere aura glistening from his mellow gaze, a rare expression of solemnity displayed behind his cold eyes. It's the second time that I've seen this stern and serious look on his face, my first time witnessing it back when he stepped in to rescue me from my blind date gone horribly bad. But it seems like no matter how many times I happen to see it in passing, I can't stop my heart from gently swooning at the sight of that refined and distinguished masculine look in his eyes.
Though, I think my heart would be in a lot more trouble if he wasn't such a rude asshole to me.
That snide attitude and foul mouth of his is the only thing stopping him from being quite the catch for any woman.
I clear my throat and fold my arms over my chest. "And what do you get out of this, Mr. Bennett? We both know that you and I don't exactly see eye to eye nor do we love the thought and idea of each other. So what's in it for you if I sign this? Why me when you can obviously pick anyone else in the world with this kind of money that you're offering?" I adamantly ask.
"Well," Rylan begins with a soft exhale. "Aside from the obvious which is the freedom and peace of mind that I get from not having to worry about Teagan all the time because she's clearly very attached to you, let's just say that you would be also doing me a huge favor by showing up to this event that's going on right now as my lover and not as my daughter's nanny."
"Lover?" I scoff and sputter. "Y-you're joking, right?"
"Don't sound so worried about it. It's just a role that you would have to play every once in a while when we're in public. No big deal."
My brow deeply furrows at him in utter confusion of the man's expectations for me as I feel my cheeks flush at the thought of it. Posing as his lover sounds like the perfect opportunity for him to take advantage of me in ways that I can't even begin to imagine. He will always have a convenient excuse to touch me or kiss me whenever he wants under the guise of being my lover, and I will just have to bear everything he does with a smile. Yet as much as I hate the idea of being his personal puppet, the amount of money that he's willing to offer me for the job makes it awfully difficult to say no. I would have a lot less financial stress to worry about at night and that's enough for me to just bite the bullet.
Besides, there's no way he would dare to cross any work boundaries when I'm under contract with him -- right?
"Anyway," Rylan casually continues as if the favor that he needs from me isn't an issue that needs to be seriously considered at all. "Girlfriend. Lover. Whatever you want to call it. All I need is for you to act and pretend like we're a proper couple for the sake of the audience who may be watching us."
"But why-"
"Without asking any more questions," he interjects. A thin smile spreads across his lips as he shoves his hands into his pockets and straightens his back. "So, do we have a deal?"
A slow and defeated breath naturally parts from my throat before I have no choice but to reluctantly agree and say: "Fine." I try to reach over for the pen to sign my name along the dotted lines, but the older man abruptly stops me by setting his hand right on top of mine. The warm presence of his touch sends a hot tingle below my waist which swells and stirs the longer he keeps his hand there.
"Before you actually go ahead and sign the contract, I want to make one more thing extremely clear to you," Rylan sternly states. His icy blue eyes coldly stare at me while he continues to hold my hand down. "I don't want you to get any crazy ideas that our fake relationship might be real or that my actions may actually mean something when they don't. It would be bad if you were to get the wrong idea about the reality of our relationship."
My jaw instantly drops again in disbelief but this time due to the aggravating arrogance that naturally exudes from the man's tone of voice as he speaks. I swiftly snatch my hand back from underneath his grasp while bitterly glowering at him. The unnecessary warning that he makes a point to emphasize with me feels incredibly insulting given the fact that all he really has going for him is his good looks and his wealth. There's absolutely nothing about him which screams husband or father material, and I frankly feel outraged that he thinks of me to be a shallow enough person to ignore his terrible personality and somehow fall in love with him.
"Oh, trust me when I say that you don't ever have to worry about that happening, Mr. Bennett. Because you must be out of your mind if you think I'll ever fall in love with someone like you," I boldly assert with a huge smirk as I grab the pen off the table and begin signing the contract. My blood boils with each signature that I angrily sign off with, my handwriting becoming sloppier from the furious shaking that dwells within my hand.
After I finish writing my name on every single dotted line, I slam the pen back down and shove the contract toward Rylan who doesn't appear to be convinced by my proclamation. All the smug man simply does is curiously smile back at me and say in a low voice: "We'll see about that."
Yes, we will.
Rylan carefully picks up the documents from the table and holds them by his side. "I look forward to seeing how well you can handle Teagan. She may look like a little angel on the surface, but no nanny has really lasted for more than a few weeks with her." He grins at me before adding, "I wonder how long you will last."
"If there's one more thing that I'm definitely confident about in this arrangement aside from how I won't be falling in love with you, it's how well Teagan will be taken care of," I staunchly claim with a defiant huff as I get up from my seat. "Now are we going to just stand around here and talk all day or are we going to head out to this party so I can play pretend with you?"
Even though I know better than to antagonize the man who has just become my boss only a few minutes ago, my blunt approach and question seems to strike a minor chord with him. I can almost hear a slight snort and scoff trailing from his lips as he stares me down with those piercing blue orbs of his. My heart anxiously waits in anticipation for his next snarky retort, but he just walks toward the door instead where he stops and extends his hand out to me.
"Just follow my lead," Rylan says. "Show me how good your acting skills can be."
***
No. Not another one.
I desperately fight the urge to yawn out loud in public for the second time as I close my mouth tightly and let one fly. My eyes water and tear up from the sleepy cry that I manage to stifle, but my exhaustion and low energy levels still remain in spite of the involuntary gesture. The only thing that happens to break me out of my tired lull is the sudden sound of laughter coming from the crowd of people who are standing around me. Hearing their loud giggles and chuckles forces me to try and snap out of my tired lull as I widen my eyes and make another fruitless attempt to listen in on the seemingly alien conversation before me.
"So now we're only able to stay in Europe for three months instead of six like we had originally planned," the tall and slender young woman in the vibrant red gown audibly groans and sighs as she makes a pouty frown toward the much older man standing next to her. She naturally links arms with the gentleman who looks old enough to be her father where she also conveniently manage
s to flash her huge diamond ring toward the small crowd of people listening to her woes -- me unfortunately being one of them.
But after a few long seconds of her pretending to be seriously upset over her slight misfortune, the gaudy woman instantly brightens up and playfully giggles. "I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the sudden change of plans, but I know Tom is going to make it up to me with a little something special. Right, babe?"
"Of course, my dear," the elderly-looking father figure speaks as he places his wrinkly hand snug around her small waist. "You know I would do anything to keep that beautiful smile on your face."
"Oh, Tom."
I furrow my brow at the resounding sound of the awws pouring in from each person heavily involved in the unrelatable discussion. Watching these people talk and act like everything they're chatting about is normal makes me feel as though I've just been transported to a different world. However, it's not only the way in which they casually discuss their lavish and luxurious trips like time and money isn't a problem, but it's also the way they turn a blind eye away from the fact that this showy woman is young enough to be the man's daughter. In fact, she looks like she could be my age while her fiancé looks around the same age as my father -- if not older.
I'm usually not one to judge other people's relationships without knowing the story behind them, but I have a strange feeling that what I'm witnessing between these two supposed lovebirds isn't exactly love.
Though, who am I to criticize the two of them when I'm currently doing the same thing with Rylan myself?
My mood gradually begins to sour from the irony of my realization when someone nudges me right in the side. I jump up with my eyes wide open from the sudden prod, my heart racing from the fright that Rylan happens to give me as he nonchalantly walks up close to my side. But before I can show him my disdain for scaring me, he naturally slips his arm around my waist and pulls me toward him. The warmth of our bodies bump and touch against one another, the faint tingling scent of his cologne and musk entering my nose.
"Take this and drink up." He shoves a glass of wine straight into my hand. "You're up next."
"I'm up? For what-"
Before I can finish my sentence, Rylan nudges me again while he puts on an oddly fake albeit big smile toward something or someone in the distance. He opens his mouth and says in a loud and clear voice: "Grandmother."
Grandmother?
I curiously turn my head over to what he's looking at and see an old woman in a royal blue dress and shawl slowly approaching us. Although she seems rather meek and unassuming in appearance, my heart instinctively trembles at the sight of her for some reason. The slight fear and unease that I feel must be due to the way her heavy footsteps seem to be carried with an enormous weight of grace and dignity, the eyes of everyone around the room silently watching her as she makes her way toward us. I swallow down my shaky nerves and take a deep breath.
Here goes nothing.
"Rylan," the grandmother speaks, her blue eyes sparkling in the same manner as Teagan and Rylan's.
A sheepish chuckle parts from the man's lips as he goes in for a hug. "It's always great to see you, grandma. It's just a shame that I couldn't bring Teagan here to greet you."
"Then you should come out with her and see me more often. You're never too busy to see your own grandmother, are you?" she bluntly states with a blank and unconvinced expression on her face.
"No, you're absolutely right. I'm sorry for not visiting you as much as I should be doing. I promise that I'll be sure to make more of an effort to see you."
"Hm."
Judging from the vacant look in her eyes, the old woman more than likely realizes that whatever is coming out of Rylan's mouth is pure bullshit. I almost want to laugh out loud at how soft-spoken and reserved he seems when it comes to interacting with his grandmother, but I quickly stifle my amusement when her blue gaze shifts over from him to me. Her piercing stare takes me by surprise as I extend my hand toward her and nervously sputter the first word that comes straight to my mind: "Hi."
"Hello." She gently smiles and receives my hand into hers. "You must be the woman that everyone's been talking about lately."
"Apparently," I awkwardly laugh with a shrug. I can feel my cheeks burning up with embarrassment as the intimidating woman continues to stare at me without saying anything. It's only when I feel Rylan nudge me again and whisper something under his breath that I realize what it is that I have forgotten to mention.
"Oh! I'm Audrey, by the way," I add with a stiff smile.
"Audrey," the old woman carefully repeats and nods her head. "What a lovely name."
"Thank you."
A long and tense silence follows after my late introduction is made to the daunting grandmother, the lack of natural conversation making the atmosphere seem heavier than it already is. I want to nudge Rylan for assistance in leading the discussions, but I feel like it would be rude of me to turn away when the woman is still looking at me. The eye contact that she has with me is just too intense to simply break away from, and I would rather not risk offending her since I get the feeling that she isn't someone that I want to be on the bad side of. If Rylan is already tiptoeing around her, I would hate to imagine what would happen if he were acting like his usual self in front of her.
However, the jarring silence becomes even more obvious with the sounds of the crowd growing louder, and it isn't long before somebody makes the first move: "Rylan, why don't you let Audrey and I talk in private for a while?" the old woman suggests. "There are some things I would like to talk to her about."
"I don't think that-"
"How about it, Audrey? Is that fine with you, my dear?" she asks while completely ignoring Rylan's clear objection to her proposal. The icy blue gleam in her stare which patiently waits for me to answer makes it practically impossible to refuse her.
"Y-yeah, it's fine," I nod as I turn to the man who looks absolutely panicked and uncertain at the prospect of me being alone with his grandmother. But even though his hesitant reaction worries me, I put on a strong smile and say, "Don't worry. I'll be okay, Rylan. It's only your grandmother."
"Are you sure?" he asks with a serious stare. "Because I know that I promised you that we would leave early-"
"You worry too much, silly. Go ahead and mingle with the other guests while I keep your grandma company," I interrupt as I reach over to run my fingers across Rylan's cheek. He seems taken aback from my sudden touch, his startled gaze quickly turning into a bitter one when he realizes that I'm teasing him.
Though as much as I think that I have the upper hand in the moment, he grabs my hand and brings it up to his lips for a tender kiss all while maintaining direct eye contact with me. My whole body freezes up from the cheeky kiss, the warm sensation of his lips against my skin filling me with unwanted reminders of the night that he kissed me. I quickly pull my hand away from him while he smirks at me with a proud gleam in his stare.
"All right, then. Make sure to play nice with her, okay, grandma? I'll be back in a bit," Rylan notes as he begins to walk away from us.
I watch the man’s tall silhouette and outline shrink in size with each step that he takes forward until he naturally fades and blends in with the rest of the partygoers. With Rylan officially gone from my side, it’s just her and me standing together with the heavy atmosphere hanging over our heads. I nervously smile at her while mentally prepare myself for the potential questions and conversation topics that she may bring up to me during the one-on-one. It’s all up to me to prove to her that my relationship with Rylan is real, and I can’t afford to make a mistake when my job is pretty much contingent on the success of my fake act and lies.
“Let’s go somewhere quieter, shall we?” the grandmother proposes with a soft beam on her lips.
The old woman starts leading the way by walking ahead, the same poise and graceful aura trailing her footsteps as I clumsily follow her from behind. I slowly walk side by s
ide with her which gives me the opportunity to secretly observe her. Just like Rylan, she has the same cold and stern blue eyes which don't seem to change even when a smile happens to be present. She's nothing like the sweet, little old ladies that I'm used to seeing on a regular basis who always have a gentle expression on their faces as they make small talk to anyone and everyone who will listen to them talk about the 'good old days'.
There's nothing inherently warm or gentle about her.
Nonetheless, the somber mood continues to follow us until we step out of the doors and into a quiet, dainty garden located outside. The ambiance feels incredibly peaceful with the soft lighting underneath the night sky and the crickets chirping through the curtain of silence. I gladly welcome the change of scenery and setting as I take a seat next to the grandmother who has chosen to sit down on one of the empty patio benches. But even when the old woman is seated instead of standing, she still manages to maintain her grand and outstanding presence before me.
Yet a large and heavy sigh suddenly escapes the woman as she shakes her head in disappointment. "Rylan can be a bit of a pain in the side sometimes, can't he? I still find his success hard to believe with how shamelessly immature and arrogant he acts toward people. His reckless behavior is why I always worry about Teagan," she woefully admits.
"Yeah, Rylan can definitely be a huge pain more than I would like to admit it," I agree with light chuckle. "But he does have a really good heart underneath all that pride and arrogance that he totes around. He's actually surprisingly humble about the compassionate things that he does for the sake of others."
My eyes widen in surprise when I catch myself earnestly smiling at the thought of Rylan and his bold endeavor to save me from disaster that one fateful night. Even though I know that I'm supposed to be acting like I'm completely in love with the man, I don't feel like my heart should be pounding with this much joy. After all the questionable things that he did to me like kissing me on a whim and offering me the nanny job with a huge twist to it, I shouldn't think of him in such a fond manner. Yet for some strange reason, my stubborn heart chooses to foolishly ignore all of the red flags in favor of his few good deeds and qualities.
Billionaire Daddy's Contract: A Single Dad and Nanny Romance Page 7