Page 39 of Off Limits (Alpha Billionaire)

“Point taken. See you tomorrow,” she said.

I wanted to get home to Jessica, but I also had an errand to take care of on the way home. She needed to know where she stood with me. I needed to remind myself that I'd promised to back her up.

The small jeweler near the country club had exactly what I needed. One gift to convey emotion and expectation, and one to convey a tasteful apology.

The small gold chain bracelet for Sarah was simple and elegant. There was no reading anything more into it than the boss was really sorry. And yes, I was. Sarah had been putting up with a lot from me lately. I should probably also give her a bonus.

The gift for Jessica, earrings, those were more personal. There was something intimate about rubies glinting at a woman’s earlobes. I couldn't wait to see how they looked against her skin, peeking out from her hair.

I stopped to see Mother before heading upstairs to check on Jessica and Max.

“That woman took your son and left!” Clara practically screamed at me the second I walked in the door.

18

JESSICA

Max squealed with delight as he ran from one side of the pool to the other. His little feet slapped against the wet concrete. He didn’t run very fast considering he had an inflatable tube around his middle. He gripped it awkwardly as he also had inflatable water wings around his upper arms.

I fought my way through the water with exaggerated slowness. Our little game was that he had to jump into the pool before I could get to him and catch him. We were having fun.

Leaving the house and driving inland to find a pool was one of my more brilliant ideas. Out from under the fog, the sky was a clear blue and the air was warm. The hotel was one of those glamorous boutique hotels from the past. It had never fallen into disrepair and maintained its level of vintage chic. The pool wasn’t very large, but since we were the only people using it, it was plenty for our needs.

And I didn’t have to deal with Clara or her judgmental attitude. I had a lot of opinions about her, but it wasn’t my place to say anything about her. I was the nanny, and very aware of it.

It didn’t matter what Dylan said. I was still just another member of the staff, and if I complained about Clara, well, that was no different from complaining to my manager about a coworker in a different department. It wasn’t my place, and I didn’t want to lower myself to playing the same games she seemed to be playing.

I had my suspicions that she was the reason so many previous nannies had left the job. At first I thought it was because of Dylan. Working for a handsome, sexy, single man could definitely complicate things. Had already complicated my situation, but I believed him when he said he hadn’t had affairs with the previous nannies. So it only made sense they would have up and left because of Clara. She was the very definition of a hostile work environment.

I know that I certainly felt the urge to ditch and run because of her. But I didn’t because not only did I need this job, but Max needed me, and I was in love with Dylan.

With a loud giggle and a splash, Max landed in the pool. I threw my arms up to protect my face from water, which was a silly reflex considering I was in the water already and completely wet. I got to him and grabbed the inner-tube around his middle and twirled him around in the water, spinning him both around in the floaty and around me. It was a wet ride, and he kicked and giggled the entire time.

The sun in the valley was so much warmer than out on the coast. Why hadn’t Dylan’s family built their mansion out here? I let go of Max, allowing him to swim off. I spread my arms out wide and floated onto my back. This was great.

It was almost too bad there wasn’t a pool at the house. Then again, it would only be warm enough to use a few times a year.If the air got too warm, it turned the ocean into a fog machine. I knew that was one of the bigger selling points for living in this area. It was never too hot. The weather was nicely mild in the middle of the hot part of the summer. But there were times I needed sun on my face.

I stayed in the area because of the job opportunities. I had a greater chance of securing a live-in position here than I had if I had stayed in San Francisco. Plus, I needed to get away. Ryan didn’t live here. This was supposed to be a fresh restart.

Max grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my reflective thoughts. I righted myself as he tried to swim away, giggling the entire time. I could catch up with him easily, but where was the fun in that?

“I’m gonna get you,” I called out after him as I put on a good show of struggling to swim after him.

Maybe the past couple of years had been a struggle, but right here, right now, this felt like it had all been worth it. I loved splashing around in the pool with this kid.

I caught up to him and lifted him out of the pool, setting him back onto the concrete. This time, I followed him out. I sat with my feet still hanging into the water.

“We’re going to need to take a break in a little bit.”

Max started to whine. “I don’t wanna.”

“We can’t eat lunch in the pool,” I said. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll go get lunch, and afterward, we can swim some more.”

To Max’s little ears, I was pretty sure he heard ‘food and then swim.’ Which is what I wanted him to think. My plan was food,drive a bit longer on the way back to the hotel until he fell asleep so he would take a nap, and then more swimming.

I got up and walked over to the lounge chair and table with my towel and phone. As I dried off, I checked my messages. Still nothing from Dylan. He must have been having a busy day at the office.

“Ten more minutes. I’m setting a timer,” I announced.

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