Page 3 of Off Limits (Alpha Billionaire)

When the agency agreed to take me on as a nanny, I had gone through all of the hiring process backflips for them—the job confirmations, background check, criminal check, I had to get fingerprinted, tested for a handful of diseases, and had manyinoculations so I didn’t pass anything along. They told me to expect to go through at least the background check when being considered by any family that might shortlist me for hiring. It was all understandable, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less.

So when the insanely good-looking Dylan Anderson directed me to take his sleepy son out of the back of his car and carry the boy inside, I was completely taken aback when he offered me the job as soon as I walked in the door. I still held the half-asleep Max when I accepted the position.

I was relieved. I desperately needed the placement.

“How soon can you start?” Mr. Anderson had asked.

I wanted to blurt out immediately. I was running out of emergency funds and didn’t want to spend all of my money on hotel rooms until I got a new live-in position. Hotels in the area were ridiculously expensive, and the police had been cracking down on people sleeping in their cars. Also, finding a place where it was safe to sleep in my car was getting harder and harder to do.

“How soon are you looking to fill the position?” I tried to sound professional and not desperate.

“Immediately. And Max likes you. What do you say?”

“Yes, but I should probably get the details before we sign any agreements. I mean, I don’t even know what your expectations are, and you are aware the agency sent me with the expectation that this is a live-in situation?”

Max had been in my arms the entire time. When he woke up a bit more and held himself more upright, I more than half expectedhim to squirm to be let down. He didn’t. He didn’t even whine and reach out for his father. He seemed content looking at me and playing with my hair.

“Max had a rough afternoon. He’s typically a bit more independent. Let me know if he gets too heavy,” Dylan said.

I was going to have to remember to call him Mr. Anderson. Dylan was a bit too familiar. Even though I wouldn’t object to calling that man by even more familiar terms.

Max was slight for a four-year-old, at least compared to the ones I had dealt with previously. “No, I can manage. He’s a sweet little boy.”

“He is. He can be shy, but he can also be rambunctious.”

“That can be said for most four-year-olds. He’s four, right? That’s what the agency said.”

“Yes, four. You didn’t tell me how soon you would be able to start,” he reminded me.

“The agency said this was for an immediate vacancy. I guess your last nanny left you rather suddenly?” I asked. I really should know why she up and left before accepting the job, but there was something very comforting about this house and being in this man’s presence. Or maybe it was Max. He seemed like a little boy I could take care of.

“She did. I have my theories, but all she said was that it wasn’t working out for her, and she packed her things,” he explained.

I followed him as he led me through the house. We walked up a set of split level steps until we were on the upper level. I followed him until he opened the door. “This is the nursery.”

It was the size of a very small living room with a large screen TV, scaled down furniture, and it was full of toys.

Mr. Anderson gestured to the side. Several doors were partially open onto dark spaces. Closets, I guessed. The wall of the room sort of zig-zagged, and it looked like it would be an oversized closet with a folding door. I stepped in behind him. It was a comfortably sized bedroom full of baby furniture that had been modified to accommodate the needs of a toddler.

“This is Max’s bedroom. That door leads back out to the hallway.” Mr. Anderson pointed to one door, and then to a door on the opposite wall. “And that will be your room.”

I shifted Max more comfortably on my hip. “Should we look at it?” I asked him.

His eyes were big and round. He nodded.

“Okay, let’s go see my room.” I was going to take the job. I already knew what the pay was, and it didn’t suck. But most importantly, it came with a place to live. I had burned too many bridges and made some poor life choices. I needed a place to keep my things and myself.

I opened the door. It was dark.

“Light should be on the wall just inside the door.”

I felt around in the logical location for the switch. I found it, and the overhead light came on, letting me see my new home. The room was the same size as the baby’s room. A single bed was pushed against one wall, with a small desk against the opposite. I opened the other door in the room expecting it to be a closet, but it opened to the playroom.

“No closet?” I asked as I stepped back into the playroom.

“That’s the door here.” Mr. Anderson brushed past me.

I closed my eyes as the scent of his aftershave wrapped around me.Bad timing, I reminded myself and opened my eyes in time to see him open the next door along the wall. There was a large bathroom with a walk-in closet. The closet was easily as large as the previous bedrooms.

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