Page 2 of Beau Pair
“I babysat Gemima until I moved out of Salem Springs. I’ve even gone on vacation with the family so I could look after her,” I say.
“I see.” His eyes are drawn back to the paper.
What is that supposed to mean? I hope he’s not doubting my experience. I’m super qualified for this job, and he’d be a fool if he doesn’t see it. Although, what are the chances I’ll get a job and a room at this fancy, suburban house?
“So what can you tell me about the challenges you experienced looking after a toddler?” he asks.
I smile at him and lean back on the chair.
“Challenges? Not many. Toddlers like to explore the world and test their limits. And ours by extension. As long as you make their environment safe and have some ground rules that no one breaks, neither parent nor caregiver, there shouldn’t be any challenges.”
Which, of course, is far from the truth. Raising a kid is hard, and I’m no fool. I’d seen how Gemima’s parents struggled and reached their peaks. And I knew there were days when it was tantrum-central for no apparent reason.
But am I going to say that to my potential employer? Hell no!
“Talk to me about ground rules. What kind of rules did you set for Gemima?” he asks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
Uh-oh. Is he going on defense mode? Wedo notwant that!
“Well, some were set out by her parents, like her bedtime or bath times, but others were agreed to by both parties. They included things like mealtimes, allowed snacks and treats, grounds for time-outs and such.”
“And was Gemima able to adhere to them?” he asks, his face not betraying any emotion, which is starting to intimidate me if not further arouse me.
“The question is were her parents?” I chuckle. “Definitely not. We all tried our best, but parental guilt is a big thing, so a lot of things were relaxed despite trying to establish a routine.”
Gordon relaxes at my last word and raises an eyebrow.
“I hate that. You try and set a schedule and then someone else comes in and changes it all up,” he says, the first sign of a friendly dad he’s shown since I arrived.
“Is that your experience from your previous au pair?” I ask.
Gordon shakes his head.
“I’ve never had an au pair before. Just babysitters. But work is getting busier, and Elsie’s mom has a crazy schedule, so I thought this would be the best option,” he says.
I look around and nod. “Will Mrs. Davis be joining us?”
Gordon’s laughter booms across the bare walls of his house, and it sends tingles up my spine. I have no idea what I said that was so hilarious, but I could keep on going if only to hear him laugh like that.
“Dolly is definitelynota Mrs. Davis. We’re not married,” he says. I nod in understanding, but Gordon continues. “In fact, our situation is rather… unique, shall I say? Dolly and I had Elsie, but we’re not a couple. We’re both gay and best friends, so we decided to have a child together.”
Oh, yeah! Just what I need. Another excuse to lust over my employer. He’s gay!
“Which brings me to the job requirements. Since our situation is so unique, we, umm, take turns looking after her. Which means you’d have two weeks on and two weeks off. However, the pay is for full time. I understand finding another job with such a unique pattern would be tricky, so I wouldn’t want to be taking advantage of you.”
Oh, but please do!
Stop it, Beau.
If he’s gonna be my boss, I need to behave.
“And one of the reasons of course why I’ve decided to have someone as an au pair rather than a regular babysitter is because I tend to work late sometimes, so I need someone available around the clock. Or short notice, if you may. I don’t expect you to work 24/7, obviously. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“Well, that depends. I’m in college part-time, so would it be a problem if I had classes on some days? I can try and take all my classes on the same day, so it puts less stress on you. And I can pay for the daycare on those days from my salary. I don’t mind—”
Gordon chuckles and shakes his head.
“Don’t be silly. Of course you can have a life. Like I said, it would only be two weeks a month and we can work around each other’s schedules. Are you going to Harlow University? They’ve also got a daycare program, so I’m happy to place Elsie there if we can’t make it work otherwise,” Gordon says.
