Page 1 of Off Limits (Alpha Billionaire)

1

DYLAN

“Mr. Anderson, will you please come do something about your son!” My mother’s personal… oh, I don’t know what she was, sometime companion, sometime nurse, barked at me.

She was always barking unless she was dealing with my mother. Around her, Clara was calm, quiet, and soothing. It’s why Mother liked her and why she was still employed.

I strode toward the sound of her command. I still had my keys in my hands and the leather messenger bag I used for a briefcase slung over my shoulder.

“He really is too much,” she said. She had to know I was following her, even though she stayed several paces ahead of me and was frequently out of my line of vision as she took the most convoluted path to Mother’s rooms.

My son stood in the middle of the room looking lost. Max was sniffing and sucking his lower lip in and out at the frantic pace of his panting breath. He was either just about to cry, or… I got abetter look at the boy. He was sweating and blotchy and his eyes were red. He had been crying, and hard, from the look of it.

“Hard day?” I asked the room before I crossed over to where Mother sat. I gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head before dropping my bag and scooping a distraught Max up.

“I’m afraid we weren’t playing the same games and he had a bit of a meltdown,” Mother said. She sounded tired.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get home sooner. I thought you’d be all right for the afternoon. Did he take a nap?”

“A nap?” Clara snapped. “No one said anything about a nap.”

I let out a long, slow breath and counted to ten as I continued to make shushing, soothing noises to Max. I gently pressed his head down against my shoulder. No nap. That explained a lot. I shouldn’t have had to mention a nap. Max had been with us long enough, and we all knew he needed a nap in the afternoon.

“He was fussy all afternoon. He tried to be a good boy, I could tell, but it was all too much for him,” Mother said in a very apologetic voice.

She wasn’t the one who needed to apologize. She had her limits, and I’m certain Max pushed to the brink of every single one of them. But Clara could have—no, scratch that, it would have been nice if Clara had been willing to step up and help take care of Max during the gaps between nannies. And there were a lot of gaps between nannies. But Clara had as little to do with my boy as she possibly could.

“Mother, he didn’t…?”

She was shaking her head before I could finish. “Max is never trouble. Even when he’s having a hard day or when he’s an angrylittle boy. He’s always so good, so loving. He reminds me of you. You were always such a charming little boy.” She sounded wistful. That meant she was tired, overtired, and that could take a hard toll on her system.

“Thank you for watching him. I have a nanny candidate coming after dinner for an interview.”

“So late?” Mother asked.

“She was a last-minute suggestion from the agency, and I’m so swamped this week, it was the only time we could work out. I’ll see if you’re up for meeting her when she gets here.”

“Mrs. Anderson will not be up for anything this evening,” Clara stepped in.

“Now, Clara,” Mother started.

“Now Clara, nothing. You are exhausted to the point of falling over, and you’re sitting down. I’m going to see that you’re comfortable and then head to the kitchen to see if they can have your dinner early. You will thank me for the rest tomorrow when you feel like getting out of bed. I don’t even know if that’s going to happen.”

“Of course, you’re right, Clara. You do take care of me.”

Sometimes, I couldn’t help but think of Clara as my mother’s bully. But she bossed her around for her own good. It was her job, after all. She was like some old-fashioned lady’s maid.

“Come give Nana a goodnight hug and kiss,” Mother said as she reached her arms up toward Max. She could barely lift him, and she quaked. Clara was right, there was a very good chance Mother would not get out of bed tomorrow.

I leaned down and set Max on her lap. “Max no bed,” he whined.

Mother brushed his fine hair to the side and brushed his cheeks with her fingers. “Not you darling, me. Nana is very tired today. I have to have my supper and go to bed early. You daddy is home. He can play with you and keep up. I’m sorry I can’t. Now hug me.”

Max gave her a mighty squeeze. I saw her wince, but she didn’t say anything or pull back, so I didn’t interfere. When he let go, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. I picked him up and then hauled my bag back over my shoulder.

“Come on, buddy, let’s let Nana rest. Goodnight, Mother.” I leaned over and gave her another kiss before carrying Max out of her sitting room.

Clara followed.

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