Page 19 of Baby Perfection

“I’m not sure how kind I’ve been toward the Ridgeways, but they’re Mikey’s grandparents and Geoff’s parents. They deserve my respect, even if I don’t agree with their parenting style,” Angie stated simply. “Plus, I flat-out adore Mikey.”

Lucius grinned. “Even teething?”

She relaxed enough to return his smile. “Even teething.” She gestured for him to continue. “What’s next?”

“I currently have a housekeeper who takes care of maintaining the house and providing meals. But she’s informed me she plans to retire.”

Angie lifted an eyebrow. “You want me to cook and clean as well as care for Mikey? Seriously?”

He frowned. “I understand you’re a gourmet chef.”

Time for a little honesty. “That’s a gross exaggeration. I putter in the kitchen.” Boiling water. Throwing together a prepackaged salad. Fixing a decent cup of coffee. “But if you’re expecting gourmet meals, you have the wrong woman. You’re a billionaire, Lucius. Is there some reason you can’t hire a housekeeper to handle the general cooking and cleaning?”

“No, no of course not.” She could see him making a swift alteration to his game plan. “What about staging events for entertaining large groups of people?”

She could learn. How different could it be from some of the business events she’d helped plan for Diablo? “Sure.”

He relaxed ever so slightly. “And you can oversee the domestic end of things.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything, yet.”

Lucius inclined his head. “True enough.”

“So far we have the care for Mikey, the organization of the house and entertaining friends, clients and business associates. What else?”

“One final requirement.” He set his drink aside, untouched. “As you’re probably aware, I live in the penthouse apartment of this building. My plan has always been to find a house better suited to entertaining. With Mikey’s advent, I’ve moved those plans forward. I recently purchased a home on Lake Washington, but it needs a facelift. It needs a creative woman with an eye for color and design, who also possesses impeccable taste, to oversee those improvements.”

Uh-oh. Angie could see where this was heading. Straight off a cliff and into a vat of hot water. Scalding hot water. What the hell had Jett been thinking to add that particular talent to her curriculum vitae? And why in the world would Lucius buy into it? Or had it not occurred to him that a woman who dressed like chair upholstery might not have the best eye for design and color, let alone impeccable taste?

“Are you insane, Lucius?” she inquired politely. “I mean, seriously. Your little laundry list of requirements is a lovely dream. The perfect male fantasy, no doubt. But that’s all it’ll ever be. It’s the height of arrogance to expect one woman to do all that, especially a woman with an ounce of brains, common sense or self-respect. There isn’t one item you’ve detailed that isn’t, on its own, a full-time position. Expecting a single person to handle all of them…?” She shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. It’s certainly not going to happen with me.”

He nodded, almost as though he’d anticipated her objection. “Fine. Let’s open negotiations. If we hire a housekeeper tohandle the domestic chores—cooking and cleaning—all you’d need to do is delegate and supervise.”

“That would be a definite improvement. As for Mikey, you still need a part-time nanny to cover for—” She started to say “me” and smoothly changed gears. “To cover for your fiancée/wife when she’s entertaining or meeting with the decorator. Or knowing you, dealing with the slew of additional tasks you’ll undoubtedly dump on her.”

“Keesha is a temporary full-time hire. She made that clear from the beginning. Apparently, she has a mother who isn’t well and needs her assistance. But I’ve already asked if she’d be available for part-time work and she’s agreed. Does that satisfy you?”

Angie inclined her head. Now for the more distasteful part of the arrangement. Though she didn’t want to ask about the financial end of their bargain, if she didn’t address the issue, he’d suspect something was off. “You mentioned payment. Just out of curiosity, how much are we talking?” He named a figure that made her grateful she was sitting. It took her an instant to gather her wits sufficiently to ask, “And if the job doesn’t work out?”

He shrugged. “Then you could return to your position as my PA, with a comfortable bonus for your efforts. No hard feelings on either side.”

She simply looked at him. “You know better than that, Lucius. If our relationship falls apart on the personal side of things it would have a serious effect on any future working relationship. What happens if one or the other of us wants to sever all ties? I’d be giving up a job I love, a career that’s important to me, and for what? To be your domestic goddess?”

He chuckled, the sound sliding through her like a velvet touch. “Is that what I’m hiring? A domestic goddess?”

“Actually, the job title should be domestic slave.” Angie leaned back, relaxing for the first time since the start of their discussion. She took a bracing sip of wine, a cool, refreshing Fumé Blanc. It helped steady her for the next topic of conversation. “There’s one part of this job we haven’t discussed.”

“Which is?”

“Sex.”

“Ah.” An expression came into his eyes, one that had her throat going dry and a hot pool of want forming in her belly. Waves of it lapped outward, roiling and seething in endless demand. “How could I have neglected something so vital?”

“I gather that’s a ‘yes.’”

“No.”

She stiffened, shocked by his answer. Had she miscalculated? Had she read more into the night they’d had dinner with Gabe Moretti? Had he considered their kiss a mild and forgettable flirtation, easily dismissed, while she’d built it up into something far more serious and memorable?

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