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“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.
