Scream For me

I glanced at the time. In half an hour, someone had to be at Aaron’s apartment. What would happen if no one arrived? I couldn’t let that happen. If Hannah found out…

On a whim, I grabbed my handbag and headed out the door. I got in my car and navigated my way toward the outskirts of the city.

The apartment building was beautiful. It looked more like houses stacked on top of each other, with large balconies and plants hanging over the edges.

I walked into the lobby and announced myself to the doorman.

“I’m here to see Mr. Steele for an au pair position,” I said.

The doorman nodded and phoned Mr. Steele, and a moment later, he told me to take the elevator to the penthouse.

I pushed the buttons for the top floor of the building. While the elevator rose, my stomach twisted and turned with nerves. This was a big riskI was posing as an au pair, taking a job I wasn’t exactly qualified to do so that I didn’t lose my job. If Hannah found out, I would lose my job, anyway. I just hoped she wouldn’t find out.

When the doors slid open into a private lobby, Aaron Steele leaned against the frame of his front door.

“Mr. Steele,” I breathed and walked toward him with my hand out. “I’mContent bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Jade Weaver. I’m here for an interview as an au pair.” “Call me Aaron,” he said and took my hand.

His hands were large and warm, his fingers wrapping around mine, making me feel small. He wore suit pants and a button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, and he looked casually formal and sexy as hell. I flashed back to the dream I’d had of him, of him pounding his thick cock into me.

Focus, I told myself.

“Come in, please.”

I nodded and walked into the penthouse apartment.

It was beautifully decorated, homey, and not at all like a bachelor pad as I’d expected. Toys were scattered on the living room carpet, and Aaron didn’t apologize for it. I liked thathe didn’t apologize for the life he lived and the child he had.

When Aaron offered me a seat, I perched on the edge of a leather couch with a blanket thrown over it. Aaron sat down in an armchair.

“Tell me about yourself,” he said.

I blinked at him.

“Well, I love kids,” I said and laughed nervously. “Obviously.” I ran my fingers along my hairline, thinking about what to say. “I studied business in college, but it wasn’t for me, so I decided to do something different.” “How long have you been a nanny?” Aaron asked.

“Oh…not very long.” I swallowed hard. “I did other things first. I was… a model.”

Aaron raised his eyebrows. Was he judging me? Was it a bad thing to have been a model before working with kids? I wished I knew what Marlene always asked the au pairs she screened.

“That scene wasn’t for me,” I said quickly. “It’s not the kind of world I want to be involved with.” That part was true. “So, I made a change.”

“Right,” Aaron said, nodding slowly. He rested his elbows on his knees, legs wide, his fingers interlinked in the middle. “Can I see your certifications?”

My stomach dropped. He wanted to see first-aid certificates, diplomas of the courses I’d done, and maybe even references from previous employers.

“I didn’t bring any with me,” I said. Again, it was true.

Aaron frowned. “Where did you think you were coming today?”

“I…was running late, and I didn’t think.”

“I don’t suppose you have any references with you, either?”

I shook my head again, my cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. What was I thinking, coming here and posing as a nanny when I had no experience, nothing to show him, no reason he should hire me at all? The only thing I could hope for was that this would buy me some time to find someone suitable for Aaron instead of losing him as a client altogether. If I could just find someone, Hannah wouldn’t fire me, and the disaster would be over.

“Look, Miss Weaver…I don’t think this is going to work. I need someone a little more put-together. I have to know that my son is in good hands, and it doesn’t fill me with confidence when we start like this.”

I looked down and nodded. “I understand.”

A child ran into the living room, and Aaron automatically opened his arms to him. When the boy stood between Aaron’s legs, he looked at me with big, gray eyes.

“Hey, buddy,” Aaron said. “Everything okay?” “Yeah,” he said.

“I thought I asked you to keep busy while I take care of business for a minute.”

“I just wanted to see who she was,” the boy said.

Aaron nodded. “This is Jade. Jade, this is Ben. We’re almost done here.” Ben studied me with a tilted head.

“Do you like basketball?” he asked me.

“I do,” I confirmed.

“Who’s your favorite team?”

“The Seattle Supersonics, of course,” I said.

Ben’s eyes glittered. “Really? They’re my favorite, too. How come you like them when you’re a girl?”

“Girls can like everything boys can, Ben,” Aaron said. “The same way boys can like anything girls can.” Ben scrunched his nose.

“I used to watch it with my dad when I was little,” I said to Ben. “We would talk about basketball all the time. He used to love the Supersonics, too, and when the games were on, we always cheered as hard as we could, just in case they would end up in the finals like they did a few years ago.”

“That’s so cool,” Ben said and nodded in approval. “Can we watch basketball together sometime when you work here? I’m turning ten soon, and I want to go watch a game for my birthday if we can find one. Dad says it might be hard since it’s off-season, but maybe we can still do a basketball-themed party. Right, dad?”

“Oh…” I glanced at Aaron. “It sounds great, especially your party, but I’m not sure I’ll be working here.”

Ben frowned and looked at Aaron. “Can she work here, Dad? I want to watch basketball with her. None of my friends watch basketball, and Jade is cool.”

“I don’t know. We have to take care of a few things” “Like what?” Ben asked.

Aaron hesitated, glancing at me. How was he going to tell his son that he wasn’t going to hire me because I just didn’t cut it?

“How about you go back to your room, and I’ll talk to Jade, and we’ll see what we can figure out. We just have a few grownup things to discuss, okay?”

“Okay,” Ben said. He offered me a wave before he disappeared into his room.

Aaron looked down, thinking. He nodded as if confirming something to himself.

“Miss Weaver, I can’t tell you I’m impressed by this interview, but I’m going to give you a shot.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“I want to see if this will work. Let’s do a trial period of a month. Usually, probation is three, but I want to be realistic. It’s Ben we’re talking about, and he’s more important to me than anything, so I’m bending the rules.”

There was a lot of that going on today.

“Okay,” I breathed.

“Can you start as early as tomorrow?”

I nodded. I had to be at the office, but I would figure something out to make this work. The last thing I could do was to drop Aaron now that he’d decided I was, for some reason, worth the risk.

“Good. I’ll need you to pick Ben up from school, but I’ll go with you tomorrow to do that, so you see where and what needs to happen. Be here at one tomorrow, and we’ll take it from there.”

I nodded again. “I’ll make it work.”

Aaron raised his eyebrows, and a smile played around his lips. He was so handsome when he smiled. I wanted to see more of it.

“I should hope so,” he said.

I stood, and Aaron gestured for me to walk to the front door. He followed me. At the door, I turned around, and he nearly bumped into mehe’d expected me to keep walking and not stop before we reached the elevator.

It put him right up against me, and my breath caught in my throat. I could smell his cologne and looked up at his tall, muscular height.

He was incredibly attractive, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” I breathed, remembering what I’d wanted to say.

“We’ll see how it goes, Miss Weaver.” “Call me Jade,” I said.

“Jade.” God, my name sounded delicious in his mouth. “See you tomorrow.”

I nodded and turned to talk to the elevator. I had butterflies in my stomach and panic in my chest.

What have I done?