Page 15 of Tempt Me

Chapter 6

Gigislid thebolton thefrontdoor across as soon asshestepped intotheapartment.The smellof grilled cheesehadpermeatedthroughoutthespace,sosheknewJen was already home.

“Yeah, you tell them,Taylor!”Jenyelled.

Gigi smiledin thedirectionof the bathroom. Taylor Swiftwasblaring through thesmall speakers her roommatehadsetup on thesideofthesink. The hairdryer started and poorSwiftywas drownedout. Gigidumpedhermessenger bagon tothekitchen counter and started goingthrough thefridge. Shewasstarving.

Shestuckher headoutwhen sheheardher phonering.Rifling throughherbag, shefound the flashing phoneand lookedatthenumber. Itwasoneshedidn’trecognize. Sliding her thumb across thescreen,sheheld it toher ear.

“Hello?”

“Is thisGigiBorello?”a dark, masculinevoiceasked. Gigididn’tknowwhy,butthesoundof it madeshiverschasealloverher body.

“This isshe,”shereplied,clutching thephonetoher ear. Her immediatethoughtwas,Could this betheAMNH recruitercallingaboutan internship position?Sheimmediatelydismissedit,though, sinceshehadonlyappliedthatdayand applicationswouldn’tclosefor another twoweeks.

“MynameisMaxParker. Your roommate,Jen,gave meyour number.” Gigi turned toglareattheclosed bathroom door.

“Jen,”she hissed.

“Excuseme?”he asked.

“Nothing.”Sheground herteethtogether.

Shecouldn’tbelieveJen would dothistoheragain. She’d given Gigi'snumberouttorandomguysbefore. Shethoughther roommatehadoutgrown thecompulsion.

Obviouslynot.

“As Iwas saying, my nameis MaxParker. I’mJen’s newboss down attheclub.”

Theclub?“Whatcan I dofor youMr.Parker?Areyoulooking for Jen?”

“No,MissBorello. Iwascalling tospeaktoyou. Jen said youwerelooking for work. Is thatstill true?”

“Umm, yeah…I mean,yes,itis.”

“Excellent,”hereplied.“I haveaproposition for you then.”

Shecouldn’thelpbutthinkof Christian Greywhen hesaid thosewords. She hoped bondage wasn’tinvolved.

“Whatkind ofjobarewetalking about?”

“I work nights attheclub,butI also havea seven-month-old daughter athome.My…wifeand I arenolongerliving together,whichmakescaring formy daughter and earning a living incredibly difficult,asyoucan image.”

“Yes,I imaginethatis quitetough.”

“Which iswhereyoucomein.”

“You wantmetobabysit?”sheasked. Theidea was…scary. Sheloved kids,buttheywereonlyan abstractidea toher. Shehad neverhad a lotof contactwithsmallchildren.

“I wantyou tobe her nanny.”

For a fullminute,she couldn’ttalk.“Nanny?”shecroaked.

“Yes.Mymotherwas supposedtocomeand careforher forthenextfewweeksuntil I could find an agencyand hiresomeone,butunfortunatelythere’s been afamilyemergency and mymother can’tmakeit. I’mactuallyin a reallytough spot.”

“Why me?”sheblurtedout. “You don’tevenknowme.”

Therewasaheartbeatof silence.“I knowenough. Your full nameisGianna Borello. I know you’re the onlydaughterofManiand MarieBorello. Iknow you wereborn in upstateNewYork.You have an academicrecordthatreflectsan intelligencethat borderson geniuslevels. You haven’tbeen in troublewith thelaw,and you arein your finalyearofcollege.”

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