Page 6 of My Not So Wicked Boss (My Not So Wicked 3)

“Do you promise?” I was going to make them swear. I was already freaked out enough about the prospect of working for Miles. Miles, who had done his best to convince me. Even offering more money after he found out how little I made at the bank.

They all nodded eagerly.

“Okay,” I swallowed, “today, a man named Miles Wickham—”

“As in Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Wickham?” Emma interrupted.

“Yes.”

Shelby’s beautiful blue eyes began swirling with possibilities. “Is he British?” They all knew I had a thing for the BBC and British men. It was the accent and the way they carried themselves. It was different than American men.

“He is,” I breathed out. “Remember, you promised me no conjecturing.”

They all grinned slyly, telling me they were doing exactly that. I hadn’t even told them the half of it, which gave me no hope for an unbiased opinion now. To their credit, they tried to suppress their smiles.

“Anyway,” I continued, “he came into the bank today to open an account. And he happened to have his adorable three-year-old nephew with him, and the little guy and I hit it off.” I thought back to how sad he was to say goodbye to me. His tears broke my heart and made me want to take the job even more than the money. “So much so,” I paused, “his uncle offered me the position of his nanny.” I left out a lot of details—on purpose.

If I thought my friends looked perplexed before, they were downright puzzled now.

Jenna pursed her lips. “That’s weird.”

“You’re not considering it, are you?” Emma asked.

“Well, kind of. The money is good. Like, really good.”

Shelby pressed her lips together and thoughtfully stared at me as if she knew there was more to the story. It wasn’t surprising, given her wealthy background. “Who is this man?”

That got Emma and Jenna thinking too.

“That’s a good question,” Emma added. “You wouldn’t up and quit the bank for no reason, even though they treat you like crap and we’ve all been telling you forever you deserve better. So why this guy?”

I should have listened to them, but the bank was stable, and they had promised me that promotion. They were obviously liars. I cleared my throat. “It’s not about the man. It’s the opportunity and his nephew Henry is the sweetest thing.” I rubbed the back of my tense neck. “And I would also be Mr. Wickham’s personal assistant, which would look good on a resume.”

“How personal?” Jenna blurted. “Are we talking—”

“No,” I interrupted her dirty mind.

“Wait.” Emma squinted. “Why would it look good on a resume?”

I tucked some of my long, curled hair behind my ear. “Here is the part where you absolutely cannot freak out.”

Their smiles said they were waiting to totally freak out.

I guess there was no hiding it. “Miles Wickham is an author. A famous one, in fact.”

Jenna was already on her phone googling him.

I beat her to the punch. “You might know him better as Taron Taylor.” I braced myself before they all accosted me with hugs.

“Holy crap!” Emma exclaimed.

“Mylanta! I knew in my heart you two were meant to meet.” Shelby gripped me the tightest. She was a hugger.

“Dang it. I got so excited my boobs are leaking.” Jenna pulled away from us and surveyed the damage while reaching in her bag for some tissue. Breast milk spots on her shirt had been her nemesis since her ten-month-old, Elliott, was born. She swore she produced enough to sustain a dozen children.

I untangled myself from them. “You are all liars. You promised me you wouldn’t freak out.”

They laughed at me but were all stunned. Believe me, I was too. It was all I thought about all day. We all sat in silence for a moment while they stared at me with wonder in their eyes.

“So, why is he here with his nephew?” Emma rested against me. Pregnancy was kicking her butt. She’d lost at least ten pounds since she found out at the beginning of last month.

I put my arm around Emma. “It’s awful. His sister and brother-in-law died in a car accident a couple of months ago.”

Gasps and hands over hearts were their responses.

“His poor nephew, Henry, crawled onto my lap and cried himself to sleep over it.” Tears pooled in all our eyes.

“That’s kind of sweet, though,” Jenna commented.

“It really was,” I agreed. “He’s adorable.”

“Like his uncle?” Shelby grinned.

“His uncle seems to think himself adorable.”

“So, you flirted with him.” Jenna wagged her brows.

“I did no such thing,” I defended myself.

They each rolled their eyes.

“Anyway, Mr. Wickham is here because his sister and brother-in-law owned a place in Carrington Cove up in the Bluffs.” It was the swankiest of the swanky in Carrington Cove, which was saying something of the once-upon-a-time small town that had turned into a tourist’s dream and resort town.

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