A Matter of Honesty (2 page)

on a hiccup. She shook her head and tried again. “I don‘t have anything left.

Everything that I owned was at the motel. I don‘t even have my ID to prove who I

am.”

Steve took Lauryn‘s trembling hand in his. “You said you lost your job?”

She nodded. “Yes, I was laid off about five months ago.”

“So what are you going to do?”

She shrugged. “I don‘t know. I‘m out of options.”

Steve shook his head. He knew the economy was in bad shape. Many

businesses were going under, or having to reduce staff. There just wasn‘t enough

revenue to pay employees and keep the company afloat as well. He and his business

partner Dillon were lucky their business was still up and running. They had

experienced a few hard times right after the downturn in the economy but then again,

so had a lot of people. It took a lot of good planning to keep the company profitable

and in business.

Lauryn released a shuddering breath. “I have to try to find another job so I don‘t

end up on the street.”

Steve frowned at the idea. “How old are you?”

“I just turned twenty-two.”

Steve had to keep his jaw from dropping. He had figured she was young, but he

would never have guessed eight years younger than him. She seemed very mature for a

twenty-two-year old, but he wondered why she was by herself.

“Don‘t you have family you can call?”

Steve wished he hadn‘t mentioned family; she became even more saddened at

the mention of the word.

“No one I can turn to. My mom had me late in life. Her family didn‘t approve of

my father, and he didn‘t get along with his family, so we lived a very secluded life.”

He couldn‘t keep his surprise hidden. “You don‘t have any brothers or sisters?”

She shook her head no. “Like I said, my mom gave birth to me just after she

turned forty. The pregnancy was an accident.”

“Your parents didn‘t want you?”

The smile she gave him was a sad one. “My mother did.”

She was silent several minutes before she spoke again, her voice laced with

pain. “My father was a hard, selfish man. He convinced me not to go to college

because it would be too time-consuming. I wouldn‘t be able to take care of him like he

needed to be provided for.”

Steve clenched his fists as the anger rolled through him. The fact that a parent

could be so cruel to their child ate at his gut. Lauryn was going to struggle if she

didn‘t get any help. Hell, she was already struggling, but she was doing a good job of

holding it together. One thing he was sure of, he would love to help her. Frowning to

himself, he realized there wasn‘t any reason why he couldn‘t. Lord knew he had more

than enough money.

An idea popped into his head, causing the corners of his mouth to curve

upward. When his smile grew into a fully fledged grin, she looked at him as if he had

lost his mind.

“What are you happy about?”

“I have an idea.”

She looked at him, her expression a mixture of anxiety and curiosity. “Which

is?”

“Come work for me.”

Her mouth fell open. “Okay. Now I know you‘ve lost your mind. You don‘t know

me. You don‘t even know what type of worker I am. Besides, what would I do for

you?”

He thought about it for a moment before opening his mouth to answer her, and

she held up her hands. “Wait. You‘re taking too long to answer. I don‘t think I want to

know.”

He chuckled. She had a sense of humor. He liked that. She was also beautiful.

Her dark hair was short, the ends barely reaching the tips of her ears, exposing her

perfect oval-shaped face. Her creamy cocoa brown complexion seemed to be flawless.

She was also tall, legs a mile long. When he‘d had her in his arms earlier, he‘d been

taken aback by how light she was. He wondered if she was eating well. If she wasn‘t,

he would see that all the food she desired was provided for her if she accepted his

offer.

He tried to think of how to answer the question delicately. She was very

skittish and he didn‘t want to do anything to scare her off. He had a feeling she would

work out well.

“Clean my house and babysit for me.”

Lauryn paused before speaking, giving herself time to think. This had to be a

hallucination. She was going to wake up any moment now. Although she didn‘t want

to if it meant Steve was going to disappear. Biting her bottom lip, she was tempted to

reach down to pinch herself. But if she wasn‘t dreaming it was going to hurt, and she

bruised easily. But whether this was a figment of her imagination or not, if there was

one thing she needed right now, it was money.

Wanting to find out more about what he was offering before she agreed to

anything, she spoke hesitantly. “I‘m very good at cleaning and cooking. I did it for my

father for years, but I‘m not good with animals, especially the scaly kind.”

Steve laughed out loud, causing a few people to look at them. She noticed it

was a nice laugh, and she would like to hear it more. Still, she couldn‘t believe she was

entertaining this idea. They were strangers. But she needed a job.

He leaned closer to her. “Well, I promise that cleaning my house will be easy.

I‘m a neat person. I also don‘t have any pets.”

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Well, I think you are a little old to

need a nanny.”

He chuckled. “You‘re right, but my four-year-old daughter isn‘t.”

Lauryn couldn‘t hide her shock. “Daughter?”

He nodded. “Yes, I have a little girl. Her name is Hannah and she is an angel.”

Lauryn remained quiet, not sure what to say. She didn‘t see a wedding band,

and he‘d never mentioned a wife, but that didn‘t mean anything. A lot of men walked

around without wedding rings on. “Your wife won‘t mind?”

He smiled. “I‘m not married. Never have been.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No.”

“What about Hannah‘s mother?”

“She hasn‘t been in the picture for a while.”

Relief flowed through her veins to find Steve wasn‘t involved with another

woman. Even though she might not stand a chance with him, she could see herself

being jealous when it came to Steve. He was a very attractive man. Any woman in her

right mind that was dating him would probably feel the same way.

She released the breath she hadn‘t realized she‘d been holding. But she was

concerned about Hannah‘s mother abandoning her. She knew what it was like to

grow up without a mom. It had been tough.

“Why is Hannah‘s mom not in the picture?”

She watched as Steve stiffened. Hannah’s mother must be a sore subject. Lauren really

didn‘t want to push him to talk about something that obviously bothered him. She

was about to tell him he didn‘t have to talk about it if he didn‘t want to when he

began to speak.

“The main reason is she didn‘t really want a child, but was convinced that if she

had Hannah I would marry her. I proposed to her for Hannah‘s sake, but our

relationship fell apart and Tina left us.”

A chill settled over Lauryn at the thought of a person being so selfish that if

they didn‘t get what they wanted, they would just up and leave. She could never do

that to her child. She had to give her father credit because he had never left her. Yes,

there had been several times in her childhood where the idea wouldn‘t have seemed so

bad. But no matter how bad things got in life, leaving her children would never be an

option.

Her children. Right. She‘d never even had a serious boyfriend. And so far her

sexual experiences weren‘t anything to brag about. Her biological clock was a long

way away from ticking. She startled as Steve spoke, bringing her out of her thoughts.

“So what do you think?”

She looked at him in confusion. “About what?”

He smiled, and time slowed down. “Being my housekeeper and Hannah‘s

babysitter.”

“I don‘t know,” she replied hesitantly.

“My house is a two-story home. I have five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, one

half-bathroom, a living room, dining room, and a playroom for Hannah, which is

where the main destruction of the house occurs.”

Her eyes widened as she remembered the destruction she‘d seen on the way to

the hospital. “Is your home okay?”

“Yes, it is. I talked to Johanna, Dillon‘s wife, after the tornado dissipated. She

said everything was fine.”

“Does Johanna watch Hannah all of the time?”

“No, only when it‘s last minute and I can‘t find anyone else. But Hannah needs

stability. I want to find her a permanent sitter. Also Dillon and Johanna have two

little girls that are five and three. She is also five months‘ pregnant. If I need a last-minute baby sitter she brings the girls over so that Hannah can have someone to play

with, but she already has enough to deal with.”

He paused, picked up the clipboard and handed it to her. “Now, you fill this out

while we finish talking so we can get you examined.”

“But I can‘t pay.”

“You will be able to if you accept my job offer.”

Her eyebrows rose. “How much would you pay me?”

“How much did you make when you were working?”

“Less than I was worth. My annual salary was twenty-eight thousand a year.”

“Okay, well, I‘m offering you thirty-thousand plus a five-thousand bonus for

taking the job at the last minute. That is, if you decide to accept.”

Lauryn‘s mouth dropped open before she could stop it. “What kind of money

do you make that you can afford to pay me that?”

Guilt flashed through his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she thought she

might have imagined it.

“Dillon and I are business partners and we own a sporting goods store here in

town.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lauryn began filling out the medical form. Something in her gut told her this

was an opportunity she couldn‘t pass up, especially with her current financial

situation.

“So I take it you are taking the position?”

She looked up at him. “Yes I am, but I must warn you I don‘t know a lot about

kids.”

Steve chuckled. “That‘s okay. Hannah‘s four going on thirty. I‘m sure she‘s

going to love you.”

Lauryn frowned. “She won‘t be bothered by my ethnicity, will she?”

Steve shook his head. “No. Hannah‘s mom is Cherokee. So is Johanna. I also

have a wide variety of friends. I‘ve raised my daughter to be open minded. Believe me,

your race won‘t bother her any more than it bothers me.”

She nodded. “Good. By the way, I‘m not sure when you‘re going to pay me, but

would it be okay if I used one of your rooms until I can afford to get out on my own?

You can deduct it from my pay.”

“Um…to be truthful, I was hoping you would be a live-in housekeeper and

babysitter, but if you want to get out on your own, I can give you the five-thousand-dollar bonus up front, and pay you weekly after that. Is that okay?”

“What? You‘d let a perfect stranger live in your home? Take care of your

daughter?”

“Of course not. As any employer would do, I‘m going to run a background

check and make sure there aren‘t any skeletons in your closet.”

She laughed. “Believe me you won‘t find anything. Just let me know what

information you need and I will be happy to provide it.”

“Good. Give me your date of birth and social security number. I‘ll have Dillon

run it while we‘re waiting for the doctor.”

She paused trying to take it all in.

“Lauryn?”

She looked up at Steve. This was an opportunity of a lifetime and she couldn‘t

pass it up. Not right now. “Yes, that‘s okay.”

She lowered her head and began to write, but paused.

“Would it be better for you if I were a live-in babysitter?”

He nodded. “It would be, just in case something last-minute comes up. I won‘t

have to feel guilty about waking you up in the middle of the night then making you

drive across town to get her. Of course, there‘ll be days when you won‘t be needed

and you can feel free to have personal time.”

She hesitated, hoping she wasn‘t about to cross a line she shouldn‘t, but she

had to know. “That sounds okay, but don‘t you date?”

He shook his head. “Not at this point in time. If I do bring home a date, I will be

discreet. I would expect you to be as well.”

She laughed. “That wouldn‘t be a problem. I don‘t date either. I need to get

myself together first.”

Lauryn held out her hand and Steve took it. “Mr. Mitchell, it looks like we have

a deal.”

“Good. I‘ll have a contract drawn up and call Dillon to have your background

check started.”

Within half an hour they called Lauryn. After diagnosing her in good condition,

the doctor cleaned her cuts and scrapes before sending her home. Dillon called Steve

with the results from the instant background check while she was being examined.

All negative.

Steve led her to the car, making sure she was seated before going around to the

driver‘s side. The sun was up and Lauryn could see the extent of the damage caused

by the tornado. She turned to look at Steve.

“I wonder what the tornado rating was?”

“I heard it was an F , almost an F , from some of the other people in the ER.”

She shook her head. She was lucky to be alive, not having had proper shelter to