by Lexi Aurora
“I saw the clown,” I told her. It had been bizarre at first to see him there, passing out balloons to kids at the market. Nobody else seemed to think there was anything strange about it. I had thought that Ivy might be scared of him, but she had gone right up to him and given him a hug without a thought. “Is he always there?”
“That’s Mr. Thompson. He’s always there and he’s literally always dressed like a clown. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him outside of his clown costume.”
“That is ridiculously weird,” I said.
“That’s not even the half of it,” she told me with a grin on her face. “You’ll have to get someone to show you around sometime. You might want to see all the weirdest parts of Garner before you decide to stay here.”
“Oh, I’ve already made up my mind about that,” I said. “Which is why I’m looking for a nanny.”
“You said your daughter is six, right?”
“Yes. Do you have experience with children around that age?”
“The last people I nannied for had twin seven-year-olds and a four-year-old,” she said. “I’ve also had experience with older kids.”
“You said you nannied part-time, right? You do know this is a full-time, live-in position?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “That’s what I’m looking for.”
“Why?”
“Um?” she said. “I just—I’m looking for a job and a place to stay. It just makes sense to do both.”
“So this position would be ideal for you,” I said. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Lauren was the right one—the only one—suited for this job.
“Yes,” she said again. “I can cook and clean, too, I—”
I waved my hand at her. “I have a housekeeper. I only need a nanny.”
“Oh,” she said. “Good.”
“What do you like to do in your free time, Lauren?”
“I’m a musician,” she told me. “I play the violin. I like to read. I, um—I mostly stay in. I’m kind of a homebody.”
That was a good sign, too. If I was going to have someone living in my house, I preferred that she not be someone who was too wild or prone to going out at night drinking. That wasn’t the kind of influence I wanted for my daughter.
I ran my hand through my hair, looking at the next name on the list. I tried to think about the woman downstairs but my head was filled with Lauren.
“Why do you think I should give you this job?” I asked her, curious as to what her answer would be for this question over all others.
“Because I’m the best you’re going to get,” she said simply, and I knew that it was true. I smiled at her, unable to help myself, and even though I knew it was a terrible idea, I reached my hand out to shake hers again.
“Congratulations,” I said to her. “When can you move in?”
“Now—” she blurted, then seemed embarrassed by her eagerness. “I mean, whenever you want me to.”
“Tomorrow would be good,” I said to her as she stood up and slipped her hand into mine. I didn’t allow the touch to linger before I pulled it away. If I was going to do this, I would have to stay as far away from the nanny as I possibly could. I couldn’t get involved with her no matter what.
“Okay. I’ll come by in the morning.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Lauren.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stephens,” she said, and met my eye one last time before she left my office.
Chapter 3: Lauren
“L et’s not go to Jimmie’s tonight,” I said to Sam, sitting at the counter of the coffee shop. “I want to celebrate. Let’s go somewhere fancy.”
She laughed. “Somewhere fancy? In Garner? You’re not in New York anymore, babe. We don’t do fancy here.”
“Okay, so we’ll go to Lilac,” I said. She wrinkled up her face and I laughed. Lilac was the other bar in town, more like a club where the younger people went in the evenings when there wasn’t much else to do. It wasn’t my favorite place but I didn’t think I could stomach the smell of Jimmie’s again and I really wanted a drink, especially after my meeting with my hot new boss.
“Fine,” she said. “But only because we’re celebrating. And only because you’re killing me with your secrets.”
I grinned at her. “It’s not really a secret. I’ll just tell you about the interview later.”
“That means there’s something up,” she said. “At least tell me who it was with.”
“Later,” I said. I didn’t even think I could start to relate to Sam about Jack without going into how attractive he was, and I didn’t want to do it at the coffee shop. I stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder as I downed the rest of my coffee.
“I’ll meet you at your place at eight,” I said to her. She nodded and I left the coffee shop, grateful this time that I hadn’t run into Josh. Running into him last time had been more painful than I had imagined it would be when I thought about the possibility of seeing him when I moved back to town.
I got back to my parents’ house, where my bags were packed and waiting by the door. I hadn’t even bothered to unpack and now I was glad—I hadn’t exactly expected to get the job, but now that I had it was time to move out as quickly as I could.
My parents were sitting on the couch when I walked in and both of them turned to look at me.
“We see your bags there, hon,” said my mom. “Are you going back to New York?”
I took a deep breath, twining my fingers together in front of me. “Actually, I got a job here.”
“Here?” asked my father, standing up. “In Garner?”
“Yes,” I told them. “I’m—I’ll be nannying full-time.”
“That’s your big career move?” my father asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I fought to keep myself calm. I wasn’t a little girl anymore and his disappointment didn’t have to faze me if I didn’t let it. “You’re going to be a nanny?”
“For now, Dad,” I said. “It’s just temporary until—”
“Until what? Until you go back to school?”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to be a doctor.”
“You’d rather be a babysitter instead,” he said sarcastically.
“It’s not like that. I’m just working there until I figure some things out,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
“You should be figuring out how to go back to school and get a real job, Lauren,” my father said. I looked at him, then at my mother before I picked up my suitcases, throwing my violin case over my shoulder and walking outside. I didn’t know where I was going to stay the night but I knew that I couldn’t go back to my parents’ house, couldn’t take the looks on their faces for a moment longer. I threw my things in the car and drove to Sam’s house, where I waited until she got off, and met her on her porch.
“Why are you here so early?” she asked.
“I, uh, kind of walked out on my parents,” I said. She laughed.
“Why am I not surprised?”
“My dad’s pissed that I took this nanny job. He thinks I should go back to school.”
“Your dad’s an asshole,” she said as we went inside. “And listen, I’d let you stay here tonight, but you know I can’t. My roommates—”
“I get it,” I said. I had almost forgotten about Sam’s roommates, three men we had known in high school who played in a band with her. It was only a two-bedroom house that was crammed as it was, and there wasn’t even an empty couch for me to stay on.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, though I didn’t know what I would do or where I would sleep. Garner didn’t have a motel and I couldn’t afford to drive twenty miles to stay in one. I supposed I would have to sleep in my car just until morning, and do my best not to look like it by the time I showed up at my new employer’s house.
We went inside and got ready to go to Lilac, dressing up like we used to when we were in high school. By the time we were made up and dressed in a couple of Sam’s most sultry outfits, I was giddy with the fact that I had
left my parents and I was going on a whole new adventure.
“So tell me who this boss is,” she said as we walked toward the club. “I’m dying to know.”
“His name is Jack Stephens,” I said. She stopped me, putting her hand on my arm.
“The Jack Stephens?” she asked. “The billionaire?”
“Billionaire?” I asked. I hadn’t looked up Jack Stephens to see who he was, hadn’t had the time before I’d gone to the coffee shop after the interview.
“Yeah,” she said as we started walking again. “Jack Stephens is like a huge tech guy. Everybody here knows about him.”
“I’ve never heard of him,” I said.
“You weren’t here when he showed up,” she said. “It was a huge thing. He quit his job to come here, now he’s opening up some restaurant downtown.”
“Why did he come here?” I asked her as we showed the bouncer our IDs and went inside the club. It was dark, with colorful lights flashing all over the place, the beams coming from behind the bar. It was smoky, too—Garner had never gotten the memo that it was supposed to have banned smoking inside of buildings almost a decade ago. We went up to the bar and ordered our drinks, then sat at a table that was furthest away from the speakers.
“Nobody knows why he picked Garner, but he had that massive house built up there on the hill. Is that where you interviewed?”
“Yeah,” I said. I had known the house was new but had no idea who owned it.
“What’s he like? Jack?”
“He’s...” I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Apparently, I didn’t need to say anything.
“He’s super hot, right?” she asked, grinning at me. I nodded, my face breaking into a smile.
“He’s really hot. He’s so—god, he’s perfect,” I gushed. I had been wanting to say it aloud since I’d seen him. Jack Stephens was one of the most gorgeous men I had ever met, with jet-black hair and pale hazel eyes that had seemed to be linked to mine. He’d sought out my gaze and held it often, in a way that I knew wasn’t meant to be an invitation. “I need to stay away from him.”
“Girl, why?” Sam asked, picking up her drink and raising an eyebrow at me. “He’s a billionaire. He’s a hot billionaire. You should be all over that.”
“He’s my boss,” I said. “And I really need this job. I need somewhere to stay and it pays really well.”
“You’re such a good girl,” she said, giving a fake sigh. “I would not hesitate to get a ring from him.”
I laughed. “I don’t even know if he’s interested.”
“Did he flirt with you?”
I thought about it. He hadn’t outwardly flirted with me, yet the way he’d looked at me had been undeniably intimate.
“He might be interested,” I admitted.
“Good,” she said. “How old is he, anyway?”
“Older than us,” I said. She pulled out her phone to look it up.
“He’s thirty-three. Ten years older than you. Sexy.”
I shook my head at her. “You’re a bad influence.”
“This alcohol is a bad influence. Let’s get another drink.”
I nodded, watching as she got up to go get us refills. My mind wouldn’t stop wandering to images of Jack, the way he had looked at me, that flame in his eyes when our hands made contact. I bit my lip, forcing the thoughts away. It wouldn’t do to go into this interested in my boss—I really didn’t want things to get as messy and frantic here as they had gotten in New York. I had nowhere else to go if this failed, so I had to make sure that I was on my best behavior with Jack no matter how sexy I thought he was.
“Let’s not talk about Jack,” I said as she put the second drink in front of me. She pouted, but moved on with the conversation, her attention having been caught by a group of women who had just walked in the door. We spent the rest of the night talking and gossiping, and I did my best not to think about Jack or about the fact that I was facing a cold night in the backseat of my car.
By the time the bar closed, I had stopped drinking but Sam was thoroughly wasted. I grabbed her around the waist, helping her walk bare-footed back to her house as she giggled and sang songs at the top of her lungs. I felt light and free, despite the fact that I had nowhere to go. Being around Sam made me feel better than I had in months, ever since my boyfriend dumped me.
I helped Sam up her porch to her front door, got her inside and helped her to bed. After her roommates reassured me that they would take care of her, I went out to my car. I thought about where I could park it to sleep and decided to go to the local park where I knew the lot was hidden from the main road. I started driving, but found myself going in the opposite direction of the park. It wasn’t until I got halfway there that I realized where I was going—to Jack’s. I had no idea what I would say when I got there in the middle of the night, but I was being fueled by the giddiness inside me that had started with the drink and that first conversation about my new boss.
I pulled up to Jack’s house and stopped the car, looking up at the front door with my hands on the steering wheel. I took a deep breath before getting out of the car, going up to the front door and ringing the bell before I had the chance to think and stop myself. After a moment, when nobody answered, I started to go back to the car. I was stopped when I heard the front door open behind me.
“Hello?” came Jack’s voice. I froze in place, mortified, afraid to turn around and face him.
“Lauren?” he asked, and I jumped, realizing how close he was. He was standing right behind me, his hand on my shoulder as I swiveled around to look at him.
“Hi,” I said. He stared at me for a moment, a puzzled look on his face.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “It’s the middle of the night, Lauren.”
“I, um—I was just—” I stammered, having no idea what to say. I noticed then that he was shirtless, his perfect body illuminated in his porchlight. I tried not to stare at him.
“I’m just gonna go,” I said lamely, turning around. Before I could hurry back to my car, he took my wrist gently in his hand and turned me back around.
“I’ll show you your room,” he said, looking into my eyes. He paused for a moment. “Unless you came here to see mine.”
“No,” I said, my throat dry. “I don’t want, I mean, my room. Yes.”
He studied me for a moment, then nodded, gesturing for me to follow him into the house. We went up the grand staircase in the center foyer, going to the left where it curved and up to the second floor. The house was at least four stories tall—massive, the biggest house I had ever seen. I had been floored by it when I’d first come in for my interview and I felt the same way now as we passed through the halls, making our way to the third room on the right. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, pushing it open.
“Here,” he said, standing in the doorway. I moved past him, my arm brushing his chest as he held my eye. I wasn’t looking at the room, but at him. Part of me felt like I might still be tipsy—I didn’t feel drunk, but light and giddy. I knew that embarrassment about the whole thing would surface later, but for now I was caught up in being close to him.
“Is there anything else you need from me?” he asked me. We both stood in the doorway, unable to look away from each other. The look on his face this time was definitely an invitation, one that my body, in the moment, wanted to accept. But I ignored it, fought it down, and stepped away from him to put my things on the floor near the bed.
“Thank you,” I said, not looking at him. I felt his eyes on my face.
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning, Lauren. If you need me, I’m across the hall.”
“Across the hall,” I said, chewing on my lip. “Okay.”
“Goodnight,” he said, and disappeared from the room, shutting the door behind him. I looked at the clock to see that it was three in the morning and it was then that embarrassment set in, the mortification that I had woken the man up in the middle of the night with no explanation. I shook my head, chuckling as
I changed into a nightgown and climbed into bed. It was ridiculous, a terrible way to start off a professional relationship, and I only hoped that in the morning I would be able to salvage the mangled mess I’d already made of my new employment situation.
Chapter 4: Lauren
I woke up in the morning with a headache and grumbled as I rolled out of bed, looking in the mirror to see that I looked like a hot mess left over from the night before. I had makeup smeared around my eyes and my lips looked swollen and pink. I shook my head, looking around the room. There was a door in the corner, and I walked over and opened it to see that it led to a massive, luxurious bathroom. I flipped on the lights and went inside, delighted to feel the floor warming beneath my feet. I turned on the shower to see multiple jets of water shooting out at all angles, and stepped inside to be surrounded by a delightful warmth. I spent what felt like an hour under the hot water, allowing it to dissolve away my headache, and by the time I stepped out of the tub I felt clear-headed and ready for the day.
I got ready, putting on light makeup before I went downstairs. I wanted to look as wholesome as possible for my next meeting with Jack. I knew how I must have looked when I’d arrived in the middle of the night last night—half-drunk and sloppy, not a good influence at all. I didn’t want him to think of me that way, and again I cursed myself for coming here in the first place. It had been a stupid thing to do, something I had regretted the moment he’d closed the door behind him the night before. I’d even had half a mind to knock on his bedroom door to apologize, but I had thought better of it when I remembered what had passed between us when our skin had made contact again. Going to his bedroom would have been a bad idea, and in the morning I was beyond glad that I hadn’t gone through with it.
I went downstairs, following the sounds of voices to the kitchen on the first floor in the east wing of the house. I went inside to see Jack and a little girl talking to an older woman in an apron. The three of them turned to look at me when I walked in, and the little girl moved shyly behind her father’s legs when I looked down at her.
