5. Dylan

5

DYLAN

J essica looked pale. My initial concern was something happened to Max or my mother, but she assured me everyone was resting. I didn't really think about it when she left.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked as he nodded in the direction of the door.

"Oh, her? That's the nanny."

"Nanny? I was going to congratulate you on your taste in women if that was your girl. Nanny? Is she single?"

Something tightened in my chest. I did not like this guy who was here to talk about a potential business collaboration looking at my nanny that way. Huh, ‘my nanny'. She was Max's nanny. What was I thinking?

"I don't meddle in my employees' personal lives," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but she watches your kid."

"She passed all the necessary background checks, if that's what you're concerned with." I pointed back toward the door. "I'm going to go check just to make sure nothing is wrong, in case she didn't want to speak out of turn with you around. Please, enjoy your beer. There's a deck just out those doors. I'll join you shortly."

Ryan picked up his beer and started to cross toward the French doors that led to the back deck as I turned to go after Jessica. It didn't take long to find her. She hadn't gone far. She stood in the lower hall, fidgeting and wringing her hands together.

"Jessica?"

She jumped with a gasp. "Oh, Mr. Anderson, you scared me."

"You can call me Dylan, you know. Is everything okay? I thought I should check. You look pale. Is Mother alright? Max?" I ran my hand down her arm. A crackle of static electricity had her jumping away.

She let out a nervous giggle before she brushed escaped strands of hair from her face. "Sorry, sorry. Low blood sugar. I went to the kitchen to get a snack, but you and your guest were there and I wasn't expecting that. I have to confess, I got a bit flustered. I hadn't expected anyone to be there. Does that make any sense?"

"Of course, you were expecting one thing and got something else," I clarified.

"Exactly, and I didn't know if you would be okay with me just going through the cupboards looking for a snack, and I guess there are just some circumstances I forgot to get your expectations and rules on. I'm sorry if I upset you or did something I shouldn't have."

I chuckled at her concern. She looked so nervous, and it was a very becoming expression on her face. I hadn't exactly noticed just how cute she was.

"And now you're laughing at me."

"No, I'm not." I continued to chortle. "Okay, maybe I am. But I'm laughing at how absolutely concerned you are, and I don't mind if you are in the kitchen when I am, or when a guest is. You don't need to hide or operate in the shadows."

She let out a long breath. "You'd be surprised at some people's rules for the help."

"Jessica, you're not—" I cut myself off. She absolutely was the help. Why would I say she wasn't? Because she was the nanny? Because I only now realized I enjoyed the times we spent together, as few and far between as they had been? "Jessica, yes, you are the help, but this is also your home for now. As long as you treat this place and my expectations with respect, you are allowed to go into the kitchen and get a snack whenever you need one. This is just like that conversation we had about the staff doing more behind the scenes, isn't it?"

She laughed. A proper laugh and not a nervous giggle. Her smile changed her face in amazing ways. Ryan was right. My nanny was hot. "We're not even in the kitchen anymore. We're gonna be on the back deck for a bit, discussing business."

"I thought that's what you were doing out on the golf course all morning?" she asked.

I shrugged. "For a bit, we were. But sometimes, it's hard to focus on discussing things when you are worried about scratching into a sand pit."

"I wouldn't know. I don't golf," she admitted.

"Oh, no, that's something we should work on. I'll take you and Max out to hit a few balls. If I want him to grow up to be a golf pro, it's time to get him started, anyway."

Jessica's expression turned sour and she crossed her arms.

"What did I say?" I asked.

"It's good to have hopes and dreams for Max, but in the end, it is his life and he's the one who needs to decide whether he wants to be a golf star."

A slow smile spread across my face. I liked her. "I love that about you. The way you advocate for him. He's four, and you are not letting anyone get away with anything, are you?"

"If you only wanted a nanny to feed him and read him stories, you could have hired a babysitter. But you didn't. You got me, and I will protect him, and that includes against family trauma to the best of my ability."

I found myself wanting to touch her despite having been shocked earlier. I reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "Your abilities are appreciated. Come on, get your snack. I need to get back to Ryan before he thinks I've abandoned him."

She hugged herself and rubbed her arms. "You go ahead, I'll grab something in a moment. I think I'll just…" She trailed off as she pointed down the hall toward the bathroom.

"Of course," I said as I strode back toward the kitchen. I pushed through the swinging door and then headed out the French doors.

Ryan stood on the deck near the railing look out. The back of my home was shrouded in cypress trees. The view of the ocean was only visible from the second story.

"Nice place you have here," Ryan said when he heard me step outside. "What ever got you to settle down in Pebble Beach? When I knew you, you were a city boy through and through."

I chuckled. He had a point. Growing up here, everything had felt so old and tired. There was no night life, and the summers were cool because the fog would roll in every evening. I couldn't wait to move out and go to college, and I went as far as I could and still be in the country.

"Yeah, Boston was a lifetime ago," I admitted.

"I thought you were headed to New York after that?" he asked.

"I did. And after a few years in New York, I moved to LA to be closer to Mother. Her health took a hard turn for the worst. Then Dad." I sighed. It had been a hard few years, but they brought me home. "I realized I didn't need to be in any of those locations to do what I do. I opened a small office with the staff I needed locally, and it's barely any different from being in LA."

Ryan laughed. "This is very different from LA."

I shook my head. "Not as far as work and doing what needs to be done. If I need to meet someone in person, I can jump in a plane and get there. Or they come to me. Don't tell me you've been doing business in Monterey all this time, and this is the first time we've connected?"

Ryan shook his head. "You got me. No, I'm headquartered in San Francisco. Like you said, Boston was a lifetime ago. I got to this side of the country after a stint in England. I've been in the Bay Area ever since."

"Well, now that we don't have anything to distract us, tell me this idea again. I have some thoughts brewing, but I also know that sand trap derailed my thought process."

"I would think that a pretty nanny would derail your thought process. I know she certainly would have me thinking anything but property development," he said with a smirk.

That feeling of tightening in my chest was now partnered with some heat behind my eyes. "Let's keep my home employees out of the conversation."

He roared out a harsh laugh. "You gonna report me to HR? Ah… yeah, you're right. Business." He clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

He then proceeded to pitch a very intriguing development concept. His examples were undeniable, and I was sure once I got a chance to review the numbers, they would back up his claims. "I want to partner with someone who can not only help to locate and acquire the right property, but also who would hang around through the development process."

I nodded. This was definitely the type of long-term project my board and I liked to get our fingers into. And here Ryan was, placing this baby in my lap. "I want to see numbers. This could be more than something."

"And I have locations tagged that are showing exceptional growth. Markets that are ripe for this type of development."

"Why aren't you taking it all the way yourself?" I asked.

Ryan smirked. "I'm the ideas guy. I can keep this project on track and see it through to the very end. I have developers I like to work with, but something like this needs a real development partnership."

He had a point there. I nodded. "You want another beer?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Hey, which way is the bathroom?"

I gave him directions as we both stepped back into the kitchen. I put the bottles in the glass recycle bin and pulled two more out of the fridge. I didn't want to keep drinking without backing the alcohol up with some food. I pulled out some chips and found a seven layer dip in the fridge. Perfect.

I was setting up the food with some sliced cheese when I thought I heard a commotion. I paused and listened, but I didn't hear anything else. I carried the food out and returned to the kitchen for the beers. There was another loud noise. I definitely heard something.

I pushed out of the kitchen.

I stopped before either of them saw me. Jessica was picking up a chair and Ryan was reaching out for her. I wanted to barge in and break up whatever it was I thought I was seeing. When she reached out and placed her hand in the middle of his chest, I wanted to roar out some kind of battle cry and charge in. But then she pushed him back. Yeah, good for her.

I stepped back into the kitchen but stayed next to the door, listening for any movement or raised voices. Jessica didn't need my help to put anyone in their place. But in case she did, I was right here. I didn't move until I heard heavy footsteps headed my way.

"Oh, great, I wasn't sure if you had gotten lost. I have chips out on the deck," I said as soon as Ryan reentered the kitchen.