8. Lila

8

LILA

T he first thing I heard when I walked through the doors of Aaron Pierce's multimillion-dollar penthouse on my first day was his cold, booming voice telling me, "You're late."

He wasn't completely wrong. It was about ten minutes after the time we'd agreed upon—a fact of which I'd been painfully aware the whole time I was on the train, biting my nails down to the quick and willing everything to move faster. Being late stressed me out more than I could say, and being late to my first day at a new job was enough to send me into a mini panic spiral. But something about Aaron Pierce's harsh tone stopped my inner worries. It was like some magic override button. His tone was meaner than it needed to be, and that made me a little indignant, instantly on guard as if this was the first sign of another Mr. Mayhew situation. Even if he did look like a hot James Bond type, standing in the entryway of his luxurious penthouse in a dark red suit and black shirt. Again, it was hard to contain the physical reaction my body wanted to have in his presence. I reminded myself internally that I was here for work and that he'd just been kind of mean to me.

"I apologize," I answered him in a clipped tone that gave him no pause. If he could tell I was offended at his brusqueness, he didn't let on, or he didn't care. "I was with Mr. Kramer and Olivia this morning for a little while, and I took the subway here. I guess I'm not used to how long the ride is from their place to yours yet. But I'll know better for next time."

"No, no, there's no need," he decided, waving one of those large, veiny hands. I wanted to panic for a second, worried that maybe this one indiscretion was enough for a man like Aaron Pierce to fire me, but his brain was apparently more solution-oriented than that. "I'll just have a car pick you up from now on. It's no trouble."

This pronouncement was abrupt and simple, like giving out this kind of expensive service to near-strangers was nothing to him. I guessed that was kind of true, considering how wealthy he was. It was hard to get used to associating with all of these billionaires. But something about this decision, his lack of concern for my own preferences, rubbed me the wrong way, too—even if some primal part of me deep down was turned on by his ability to take charge.

"That's very nice of you, but I actually like taking the subway," I told him. Aaron raised a dark eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," I said, suddenly self-conscious. How could his dark eyes just stare into my soul like that? "I mean, I didn't grow up with that kind of luxury, and it's a good opportunity to feel like I'm part of the city, you know? I don't need some fancy car service. And if I take little Jamie out to the park, or a museum, or the toy store, I think it'd be better for his development to experience the subway, too."

He nodded slowly, considering that. I made an effort not to look away from his stern gaze, even as it seemed to burn holes into me. A gentle half-smile played at the edge of his mouth after a long moment, and I wanted to know what he was thinking, but I knew I couldn't ask. He likely wouldn't answer even if I did.

"If you like riding in dirty tin cans underground, that's your choice," he mused. "But that still leaves us with the issue of your tardiness. For now, if you're ever having trouble getting here on time and your precious train won't cut it, you'll call my driver to come get you. Agreed?"

"Yes, sir," I answered and then flushed as red as one of Olivia's radishes at the way his gaze seemed to darken, the way my body seemed to shiver in a combination of fear and anticipation. I watched Mr. Pierce swallow hard, his Adam's apple bobbing under the clean line of his well-maintained beard. Why did that look so… delicious? Tempting and forbidden, just like Eve in the garden.

But it wasn't time for such salacious thoughts, or to parse through what it meant that I was having those thoughts about this powerful older man when I was twenty-two and too innocent for my own good. I'd hardly ever been kissed before. No, it was time for me to meet baby Jamie, so I followed Aaron's firm steps through the neutral-and-chrome neatness of his home, all the way to the spare bedroom that currently belonged to his nephew.

The second I laid eyes on the chubby-cheeked baby, his blonde curls not unlike my own and his cheeks perfectly dimpled, I fell in love. Little Jamie was a doll, sitting up in his playpen with those wide blue eyes, so alert and taking everything in.

"Hi there, Jamie," I said to him in my most excited voice without veering too hard into baby talk—better for his learning to speak if I talked to him like a grown-up. I approached his playpen and grinned. "My name is Lila. You and I are gonna be such good friends, I just know it."

He giggled as I reached into the pen to lift him into my arms, and the sweet perfection of that sound made me want to cry. I loved babies, and just holding his warm, soft little body on my hip made me long for the day when I'd get to have little ones of my own. For now, though, I was content to snuggle this little guy as much as he'd let me.

"You're just too sweet," I cooed as Jamie's small hands found their way into my hair. He didn't pull, just gently grabbed the curls and laughed when he let go, allowing them to spring back into shape. "See, you're so happy and curious, you'll love the subway. Just make sure you don't pull any strangers' hair—they won't like it as much as I do."

"He'd like the comfort of a car, too," Mr. Pierce grumbled. I smiled at him, feeling empowered now that I had the little guy in my arms and his baby-novice uncle was staring at me like I was some kind of wizard.

"I appreciate it, Mr. Pierce. But I also just don't think it's practical. You know how traffic can be in the city, and I'm gonna be going back and forth so often." The more I talked it out, the more an unfortunate reality settled in. "Honestly, as much as I'd love to work for you and Mr. Kramer long term, I may eventually just have to accept the fact that I can't be a full-time nanny for both of you at once. I'll give it a shot, but I might have to choose."

As if he were trying to break my heart, Jamie laid his head on my chest, snuggling into me like we'd known each other forever. He popped his thumb into his mouth, the textbook perfect picture of a cute baby. I snuggled him closer.

"Maybe there's another solution," Mr. Pierce said determinedly. "Clearly, you're good at this—and I'm much too busy with my work to go through trying to hire childcare again. Perhaps, if it's okay with Kramer, you could nanny the two children together? Split your time between my home and his."

Wow. He must have been pretty desperate to keep me, because that kind of sounded like a perfect deal. Not only would I get to keep the pay from both gigs, but I was suddenly sure that both of the kids would benefit from having a friend to play with. Sure, two kids at once was an extra level of difficulty on my workload, but I wanted a few kids of my own one day, and I'd have to learn how to juggle that twenty-four, seven. Better to get a jump on my multitasking super-mom skills now, even though I was sure all of that was years and years away.

"That actually sounds amazing, if everyone's okay with it," I answered him carefully, almost wondering if this was a test. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced this would be wonderful for lonely little Olivia and troubled baby Jamie to have each other. Neither of them had particularly warm and fuzzy guardians in the picture besides me. "I mean, I'm on board for this arrangement, as long as it works for Mr. Kramer."

He seemed to see the anxiety-laced doubt in my expression because he said, "Ah. Yes, Kramer can be a hard one to crack. Maybe his business partner would be a better angle from which to approach this."

"You mean Felipe?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't sound as giddy as I felt. "I can reach out to him, if you'd like. Um, since you have so much on your plate, and I already have his number since he set up our lunch, and… yeah."

Mr. Pierce's dark eyes scrutinized me, probably ascertaining my true motives right away. I wasn't exactly capable of subtlety when someone like Felipe was involved. His charm and warmth, his storybook handsomeness… it was hard to believe I'd ever met someone like him at all, and though I'd never been this shameless about pursuing someone before, I couldn't resist the opportunity to speak to him again when it presented itself. Just the thought of having a reason to talk to him again made me feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

"Very well, Ms. Dawson. I'll leave it up to you to make the arrangements. Now, if you'll excuse me."

With that exciting prospect still hanging in the air in front of me, he turned and left me alone to get acquainted with Jamie. I had no worries about forming a routine with the baby, despite the lack of direction from his uncle. I wasn't even concerned with figuring out the logistics of helping both kids at once. But knowing that I had to figure out the best way to reach out to Felipe Rojas myself… yeah, that was a lot more nerve-racking.