“Oh, right,” I said. My head was finally shifting gears. There was too much on my mind lately. I felt a bit wired. I had not had more than three hours of sleep in the past two weeks. I was working way too hard, staying up too late, and when I did lay down I was not able to calm myself enough to sleep.
The therapist I spoke to after my wife died said I was most likely suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress. It was bullshit. I didn’t believe any of that therapy crap, but I was having so many coping issues afterwards that I took friends advice to talk with someone. It didn’t really help me at all and after one session I was done with it.
But sometimes I did wonder if I was actually doing myself some harm by not getting some help. It came and went, the grief. Sometimes I would be fine for several days or weeks and then it would come back all at once and those horrible feelings would be there.
I was dealing though. There was no time to get hung up with it. I had a business to run and a son to raise. I had to be there for Bobby and I had to be strong. But work was the one thing I was not able to cut back on. I didn’t really need the money anymore, but it was the only thing keeping me from falling to pieces sometimes. It had always been my sanctuary, my way of dealing with my abusive childhood. The scars of the first ten years of my life had remained with me all of my thirty-two years. I doubted it would ever leave me. But at least my father finally did.
I went home and said a quick goodbye to Rosie. Then I had dinner with Bobby. I fixed him some leftover chicken breast and some mashed potatoes. It was one of my favorite meals as well. The kid ate it up and then asked for dessert. I knew he was going through a tough time with Rosie leaving, so I gave in and gave him two small scoops of ice cream which I usually reserved for weekends.
Then I tucked him into bed and I spent the rest of the evening working in my office downstairs. I was doing some market research and trying to decide what I wanted to do with the new shopping center I was acquiring. Some of the stores were performing well, but some were just losers. I wondered if it was just the wrong location for those stores.
It was almost one in the morning by the time I finally headed to bed.
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I wondered what the girl I was meeting tomorrow would be like…
Teri Runyon was beautiful.
There was no other way to put it. She was stunning. The moment I saw her at my door my heart skipped a few beats and my palms began to sweat. I wasn’t usually intimidated by anyone, especially a beautiful woman, but this felt different somehow.
“Teri?” I asked as she held out her hand to me.
“Yes, that’s me,” she replied. “My mother’s cousin Patrice told me five o’clock.”
“Yeah, you are right on time,” I said. “Thanks for being here and for coming on such short notice.”
“No problem,” she said. “I’m really glad that Patrice mentioned me when she heard you needed someone.”
“Yeah, I’m in a bit of a tight spot here,” I said as I led her into the house. “Follow me,” I said.
She did so echoing my footsteps into the living room where I motioned for her to sit down on the couch across from me. This woman was breathtaking. Wow. I could hardly believe my eyes. She was tall, about five feet nine, thin and leggy like a Victoria’s Secret model, but not as underweight. She was curvy and a bit athletic as well. She looked like a beautiful professional volleyball player.
“So, Patrice was telling me that you’ve been a nanny with another family for several years,” I said as I sat down.
“Yeah, I was with the Taylor family for about two years now and before that I was with a family for about nine months.”
“Great,” I said. “I only have one child. Bobby. He is four years old and is your typical, active little boy. He is pretty well-behaved, but if you need to get firm with him then that’s fine. Typically a stern word will correct him back in line. But at first he will test you.”
“Oh, yeah. I expected that,” she said.
I loved the smooth sound of her voice. I could listen to her all day long. And her eyes… wow, those gorgeous blue eyes. I found myself getting totally lost there as I listened to her speak. I tried not to stare, but it was damn difficult.
Was this going to be a problem? I wasn’t sure. I had not expected to be this attracted to the nanny that showed up today. I hadn’t been this attracted to any woman in a long time. It was safe to say the past year and a half I’d been living my life like I was stuck inside of some kind of bubble and I was totally ignoring the world around me.
But I was wide awake now. This beautiful woman was right in front of me and I was trying to listen to what she was saying, but my every thought was filled with total lust. I wanted her so badly. Every part of me wanted to take her and kiss her right then. I felt like my sense of being was consumed by the want for her.
I tried to listen to her while watching her mouth move. “I find that the easiest way is to lay down the boundaries right away and just not deviate from it.”
I nodded. “I agree, absolutely. And I understand you are studying early childhood development? Has that helped you in your duties at all do you think?”
“Oh, I would say so,” she said. “It’s definitely helped me connect with the kiddos better and even some things I can help pass on to the family as well. I’ve had a lot of experience with kids who are going through tough times and the education I’ve received both in the classroom and in world practice as really been invaluable.”
“I see,” I said. “Well, I’m not sure if you know that Bobby lost his mother in an accident a while back. To his credit he is a tough little boy and he has bounced back remarkably, but he has some scars. There is some healing that is still going on there.”
“I see,” she said. “Well, I hope I can be of assistance with that or with anything that he needs.”
“Great,” I said. “I’m so glad that Patrice recommended you. This came at the perfect time.”