by Nicole Casey
Lowe beamed at the mention of his son’s name and my heart melted. “I can’t wait myself. I’m sure you two will get along great. He’s a wonderful kid.”
“Sounds like it. You know, I actually worked at the lego league when I was in high school. I loved seeing what those kids would come up with,” I said.
Lowe gasped. “Get out! That’s awesome. He just started, but he’s crazy about it. I love that there’s an option for kids like him. When I was in kindergarten, I was just the dork who loved legos.”
I nodded. “Trust me, I get it. I’m excited to see him in action.”
Lowe lifted his head and stuck his chest out. “He’s better than all the other kids. I know I’m biased, but I also think it’s true.”
“I’m certain it is,” I responded.
“If I may, you are quite beautiful,” Lowe said and I could instantly feel my face getting hot. “Between your intelligence and your looks, you must be beating them off.”
It felt bizarre getting such positive attention from one of my new kids’ fathers, but it felt good. I wanted more of having such handsome men compliment me. “Thank you,” I replied. “And, I don’t know, I tend to avoid social situations. I’m more of an academic. Dating always got in the way of my education, so I just didn’t.”
“So you’re single?” Lowe asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m shocked.”
My skin tingled. He was so good-looking and hearing him say positive things about me was exciting. I placed him in the same category with Ethan as good-looking dads I had to stay on high alert while I was around them.
“Anyway,” Lowe continued. “Shall we go meet the others?”
“Yeah,” I said, steeling myself for what awaited me inside.
Lowe held out an arm for me to lead the way, and I started towards Ethan’s beautiful suburban home. When we got to the door, I reached up a hand to knock, but Lowe reached around me and opened the door. I wasn’t certain what was more distracting, the fact that Lowe was just entering someone else’s home, or the way his dusky cologne wafted around me, but I put all of it out of my mind and stepped into the foyer.
“Guys?” Lowe called out.
A litany of foot steps thundered through the home until one tiny person popped around the corner to the left. “Daddy!” It was a little boy with tan skin and black hair pulled back in a short ponytail. He looked just like his father.
“Hey!” Lowe knelt down and held his arms out just in time for Ricky to go barrelling into them. “How’s my little mechanic?” he asked.
Ricky smiled at his father. “I’m good. I built a race car in school today.”
“Did you?” Lowe said. “More race cars than I’ve ever built.” Ricky glowed in the light of his father’s compliment. Lowe stood up, carrying Ricky with him. He turned to face me and pointed. “I want you to meet someone. This is Jordan.”
Now was my moment to shine. If I knew nothing else, I knew how to impress a kid. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a little toy car. It was a green hot rod with red adornments. I handed it over to him and his face lit up.
“Hi, Ricky. I’m Jordan. I’m going to be your new nanny,” I said.
Ricky looked at his car with wide eyes. “Look daddy.”
Lowe nodded. “I know, wasn’t that nice? Can you say hi?”
Ricky looked back up at me. “Hi,” he murmured.
It wasn’t just that I wanted to butter him up with a gift, I was using my psych skills to forge a connection with the kids even before they knew it. Based only on what I had been told about the kids in the letters their parents wrote, I picked out a gift for each kid to let them know that I was interested in the things they were. Ricky was one of the kids that seemed like it was going to be easier to connect with, so his was simple, but a few of the other gifts had deeper meanings.
More people entered the room, and when I turned to face them, it was as if I’d been trampled by a herd of elephants. Gorgeous men and cute children were gathering around me like I had died and gone to heaven.
“Oh, Jordan, you’re here.” Ethan was leading the pack, with a pair of blond-haired boys on either side. He set his two, heavy hands on each of their heads. “These are my boys. Davin,” he tapped the one on the left with a hand, “and David,” he tapped the one on the right. Davin was clinging a little closer to his father, but they were both smiling at me.
A man walked in behind them with darker skin, and short-cut, brown hair. He held out a hand to me. “Hi. I’m Cade.”
I took his hand, just in time for a little girl to come bounding around him. She had cocoa skin and extremely curly brown hair bunched into two pigtails. “Hi! I’m Nova!”
“Hi, Nova!” I greeted. “I’m Jordan.”
Two more men walked in and introduced themselves. Both tall, though one taller than the other. The taller one was Oliver and he looked like an action hero, with short blond hair that was swooped back over his head giving me a perfect view of his bright, blue eyes. He was wearing a t-shirt and had a tribal tattoo sleeve down his entire left arm. He had a quirky smirk on his face, and was holding on tight to his son Ty, who looked like a mini version of him. The other one, Harrison, was dignified and wearing a suit. He had short buzz-cut brown hair and navy blue eyes, with a smile that was more warm. I felt immediately drawn to him and his son Trey. Trey was really tiny, and had auburn hair as opposed to his dad’s dark brown. I wondered if he was a premature baby, but opted not to ask.
The last man who entered the room did so with the hand of a little girl gripped in his hand. He too had blond hair, but it was a darker blond, as opposed to Oliver’s lighter. He was tall as well, with tan skin and a fit form and when he smiled, it felt like the room got brighter. The little girl next to him had just as charming a smile and long, straight blond hair.
“I’m Rogan,” he greeted in a husky, deep voice, “and this is Danielle.”
“I’m Jordan,” I replied. “Hello, Danielle.”
There was one thing all the men had in common; they were drop dead gorgeous.
“Hi,” Danielle greeted sweetly. She didn’t seem as shy as it seemed like from the letter.
Ricky wiggled his way out of his father’s grip and walked up to the other kids. He displayed the car I got him. “I got a car!” he exclaimed amongst the kids’ coos and ahhs.
“I have things for you too,” I said.
I dropped to my knees and the kids gathered around. I pulled out the baseball gloves I’d gotten for Davin and David. They were different colors and had their names on them because I knew how easy it was for twins to feel like they were constantly compared to their sibling and lose uniqueness. I gave Nova a jewelry box with a tiny ballerina inside, and I painted a tiny ‘N’ on the ballerina so that she could relate to it and embrace her beauty. I gave Tyler a pocket rainstick and showed him how to wait until all the beads had settled on one side. It was so if he ever felt overwhelmed he had something at his fingertips to help him relax. I gave one to Oliver as well so that they could feel connected. For Danielle, I gave her an activity book. It had many different kinds of activities in it, and unbeknownst to her, it was meant to tell me what kinds of things she was interested in so I could help her find a place in the world. Lastly, was Trey. I didn’t know much about him apart from the fact that he did martial arts and his dad said he was intelligent. For him, I got a snow globe that I dismantled so I could paint the snowman like a ninja. I was nervous it wouldn’t be good, but his face lit up when I handed it to him. He loved it.
“Is it okay if I help take care of you guys?” I asked.
“Yeah!” the kids resounded.
“Yay!” I cheered, and I opened my arms, and they dog-piled in for a hug.
Once I’d given them their gifts and a little bit of love, they rushed off to enjoy their new gifts, and I stood to face the fathers, which made me much more nervous. They were all so attractive, I didn’t know how to balance it.
“Welcome to the family, Jordan,” Cade said b
efore turning to follow after the kids.
Oliver looked me up and down and it made my body burn, but then he too went after the kids.
Harrison and Lowe each left as well, leaving just Ethan, Rogan, and I behind.
Ethan held out a set of keys to me. “For the Stan Van.” I took them with a chuckle and slipped them into my backpack. He put a hand on Rogan’s shoulder. “Rogan is the one I was telling you about before that would handle benefits if you need them. His firm will also be handling your payments.”
“I’ll be in the office tomorrow taking care of some things while the office is quiet for the weekend, so please take a few minutes to stop by and we’ll get your payments and benefits squared away,” Rogan explained.
I nodded. “Will do.”
“Well, it looks like things are going to go well for us,” Rogan said with a smile.
I looked back and he and Ethan standing in front of me like a pair of Roman emperors. “It certainly does.”
5
Rogan
I was glad that I managed to finagle my way into taking Jordan’s picture with me to work to get her paperwork processed because I needed to spend a good amount of time looking at her picture so that my dick didn’t get hard every time I was around her. Meeting her the day before and introducing her to the kids went really well, but I’d underestimated Ethan’s warnings that she was a stunner. I had to keep my composure around the kids because I wanted to jump her the second I laid eyes on her.
There was a gentle knock on my door, pulling me from my daydream. “Come in.”
The door opened and Jordan walked in. All the thoughts I was just trying my hand at suppressing came flying to the forefront of my mind. She had her hair up in a ponytail, with her bangs hanging in her face, and her eyes shimmering in the sunlight glinting through my office window. She was wearing a pair of very tight-fitting jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt with a swoop neck. I wanted her badly.
“Good morning,” she greeted.
“Good morning,” I replied. “How are you today?”
“I’m wonderful, thank you.” Jordan stayed standing by the door to my office, looking at me as though I was going to eat her.
And I wanted to.
“Well, come on in, take a seat.” I motioned to the chair across from my desk. Jordan walked in and sat down in the arm chair across from me. “Do you have two forms of ID?”
“Yes,” Jordan responded instantly. She reached into her purse and handed out her ID and social security card.
“Thank you.” I took them and began entering them into our system in order to finalize her paperwork.
I was setting her up as an employee of my company. I found a dying baking company, invested in it, and brought it back to life. I’d been investing in companies ever since I understood how money worked, and it’s how I was able to build my fortune to give my daughter a good life. Money has always run in my family, and though I didn’t take up the tradition of bank management like my brother did, we eventually reconvened after college to resuscitate the company I found, now called Paulson and Co., and he manages the company’s banks, while I manage the accounting firm. I didn’t expect Danielle to go into banking if it wasn’t what her heart desired, but my ex tried to force her to follow in our financial footsteps. It was part of the reason we ended up splitting up, and probably why Danille didn’t know what she wanted for the time being.
“Is everything okay?” I shook free of my thoughts, not having realized I got lost in them to begin with. Jordan was watching me with concern on her face.
“Sorry, yes, just a little lost in thought.” I handed her IDs back to her and handed her over a folder of papers. “I’ll explain how everything works.”
Jordan put her IDs away and then turned her attention totally to me. “Okay.” I had to swat away imagining how she might be giving me that attention for other reasons.
“Myself, along with the other dads, each put our $1250 into an escrow account once a month, and then the full $7500 is released to you monthly on a day of your choosing, or we can do bi-monthly, on the 15th and the last day of the month, whether it be the 30th or the 31st. Which would you prefer?” I explained.
“The bi-monthly would be wonderful,” Jordan responded.
“Perfect, and do you have a bank account you would like it deposited into, or would you like paper checks?”
Jordan chuckled. “I actually prefer checks. Does that make me weird? I’m a physical papers kind of girl.”
“Not weird at all. Give me one second while I process that request.” While I was getting Jordan’s payment preferences entered, I could see her gaze wandering around my office. Her picture landed on a couple of my hunting shots; one of me holding a rifle and one of me holding a pair of antlers. “It’s my hobby,” I said.
“I’ve never known anyone who hunts,” Jordan responded. “I’ve always been curious though.” Her eyes fell back on me just as I finished processing her employee setup in the computer. I folded my hands into one another with a small smile. “What do you like about it?”
“My whole life my family has always been paperwork and banking and numbers. When I was in college, my friend took me hunting with him and I fell in love with it immediately. It gets me out of the office and allows me to get in touch with my inner alpha.” I stared into her. “He’s a hunter.”
Jordan’s eyes flared with excitement and her bottom lip pinched under her teeth. It was hypnotic. I would give anything to walk around my desk and kiss her, but I resisted the urge. She wasn’t ready to be brought into the second part of the arrangement just yet. We wanted to give her plenty of time to get into the swing of managing the kids without all of the dads complicating her life with our needs. Once we got involved, it was a whole different ball game.
“Maybe I’ll get a chance to hear more about your hobby sometime,” Jordan quipped, and it almost seemed like she was flirting, but I didn’t let that thought settle in the dust.
“I’ll tell you about it whenever you’d like,” I replied. I couldn’t think of many things I wouldn’t do for her whenever she’d like.
“Good to know,” Jordan responded. “Did you need anything else from me?”
I was enjoying her company so much, I forgot she was there for a specific reason. “Oh, uh, no. I think I got all I needed from you. Benefit information will come in next week and then you can opt in or out. Whatever you decide, any added benefits will be covered by us outside of your monthly salary.”
Jordan nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”
I stood up and walked around my desk and opened the door. Jordan approached me and when she turned to look at me, I dared to reach my hand out. She had a stray hair cutting loose from her ponytail. I slid my hand along her face, snagging the errant strand with a finger and tucked it back behind her ear.
“Have a wonderful rest of your day.”
Jordan’s face was turning red quickly. “Th-thank you. You t-too.”
I smiled at how flustered she was. I wanted to do so much more to her than just flick a piece of her hair, but for both of our sakes, it was good that we had chosen to wait.
After all, she needed to be able to walk to take care of our kids.
6
Cade
A Week and a Half Later
It had been a long time since I was getting home while it was still light outside. The seasons were changing and it was getting darker earlier already, but I traditionally worked until late into the night. The D.A.’s office was calming down and matters weren’t as pressing, so it seemed I was going to have a little more time to spend with Nova and continuing to get to know Jordan. I needed to know how much Nova sang her praises. Move over Santa Claus, move over Tooth Fairy, a nanny was here, and according to my princess, she was the best thing since sliced bread.
I couldn’t deny that Jordan seemed like the complete package. She was good looking, smart, funny, and seemed to care a lot for the kids. She was so attractive that when I took a showe
r, I had to stroke my cock and give myself the release I’d been denied getting from a woman for a few months now. After I was done, I washed my body, put on a pair of my favorite comfortable sweatpants and a tank top and made myself comfortable in the living room. I got the most recent kids movie, made Nova’s favorite spaghetti and was just waiting for Jordan to drop her off. She had ballet that evening as opposed to the weekend because she had a recital coming up.
I was just finishing getting ready when I heard the front door open. Typically, I was just walking in at the same time Nova was getting home, so when Jordan rounded the corner and saw me totally dressed down, her eyes popped out for a moment. It was nice getting that sort of reaction from her.
“Hi,” Jordan greeted.
“Hello,” I replied. I looked down at Nova and laughed. She was standing, but she was barely awake. “Hi, princess.”
She still had her hand gripped tightly around Jordan’s. “Hi daddy,” she murmured. She rubbed her eyes and let out a huge yawn.
I looked up at Jordan. “Someone’s probably not going to make it through the movie and spaghetti I made.”
Jordan giggled. “No, probably not. Recital season is tough, little Nova is learning.” She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope and handed it over to me. “They took pro pictures today, though, and I know I may be slanted in my opinion, but Nova’s are definitely the cutest.”
I took the envelope, loving her adoration for my little girl. “I know that to be true and I haven’t even seen them yet.” I pulled them out and was smacked in the face with how adorable Nova looked standing on a pointed toe in her pink tutu. “Oh my god.”
“I know!” Jordan screeched, and Nova, who had legitimately drifted off standing up, popped awake. Jordan pet her head gently. “Oh, sorry baby.”