Live In Position

Live
-
In
-
Position

by sadie g
rubor

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Copyright 2014 Sadie Grubor

Cover Art by VST

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any existing means without written permission from the publisher. Contact Author at
[email protected]
.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

blurbag
e
:

Twenty-five year old Sophia Ashwood, part-time nanny, has just graduated college and is ready to write the next best seller; however, she needs a full-time job flexible enough for her to fulfill her dream.

When Sophia steps into the Bishop home to care for emotionally neglected Victoria, she’s positive Dr. Collin Bishop, aka The Anti-Christ, despises her. The intensity of his glare is unset

tling and frustrating.

Sophia’s determined to bide her time, until she can gain publication and freedom from the Bishop’s snobbery. However, the longer she cares for Victoria, the more wrapped up in their drama filled lives she becomes.

Getting close and developing maternal instincts comes with being a nanny. But cussing out the cold, bitter family of the little girl you shouldn't be so attached wasn’t in the job description. Neither was garnering the attention of her father - the Antichrist. Hello, my name is Sophia Ashwood, and I'm about to become a cliché.

Dedicatio
n
:

To my evil side kick and hubby – You are my antichrist and I so LOVE YOU!

To Glenda, my work wife – Without you this story would never have come to life.

To my family – Thank you for always understanding and supporting.

To the readers – loyal and new,

Thank you for always being there, supporting, reviewing, and sticking by me and my work, even when my deadlines and releases get further and further delayed. (I really try not to push them back, I swear!)  Newbies – thanks for taking a chance on me and hopefully sticking around for more.

To 48fourteen – thank you for taking a chance on a new author and bringing this story to life in the beginning.  You have been amazing and supportive. I know we will work together again in the future.

For now, LIP is now under the Sadie Grubor umbrella of work and I'm excited to promote and share this updated book with everyone.
 

Chapter One

My face buried in Map Quest directions, driving from Tacoma to Seattle, First Hill to be exact, my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sophia, are you on your way?" Miranda’s whispered words concerned me.

"I just got off exit 172. I should be there shortly, what's wrong?"

"Everything," she groaned. "He finds something wrong with every single one of them. This is your chance to run while you still can."

I laughed. "Then what, you'll get married
and still live with the Bishops? I don't think Benji will like that too much."

She sighed.

"I'll be there soon." Closing my phone I picked up speed. My Jeep was old, but reliable, though I couldn't push it much more or it would scream ‘uncle’.

When I turned onto
12th Avenue, I took in the perfectly tree lined streets. There were a few visible houses, but I almost missed my destination because of the driveway being hidden.

Pulling to a stop and climbing out of the car, the house seemed to loom over me. It wasn't like the homes I had worked in before, which had felt homey. My nerves began to collect in the pit of my stomach as I approached the front door.

"Rand wasn't lying," My words almost echo around the vast driveway. The house is huge and definitely expensive.

I took one deep breath and headed to the door. Before I could knock Miranda opened the door with a flustered expression. She pulled me in for a quick hug and whispered in my ear.

"Brace yourself."

I squeezed her hand gently and she showed me to a large dining room.

"Miss Ashwood, I presume?"

I nodded slowly, taking in his appearance. He was at least a foot and a half taller than me and the broadness of his shoulders was definitely worth swooning over. I wondered why Miranda hadn't mentioned much about how beautiful he was in past conversations.

"I'm Doctor Bishop." He put his hand out. His long fingers wrapped around my hand and there was a small shock at our touch. The feeling shot from my hand to the pit of my stomach.

"Sorry," I mumbled, pulling my hand away quickly.

"Yes, well, let us get started, shall we? Please take a seat." Dr. Bishop motioned to a chair across from Miranda and him. I sat down and clasped my hands on the table in front of me, still trying to rid myself of the lingering effects of his hand.

"Looking through your resume it seems you have only had one live in arrangement and it was for an infant." He looked up from my information for confirmation and I gave him a nod. "You do realize this is a live in placement with a six year old child?" I nodded again and smiled. "So your other placements have been daily arrangements on intermittent basis?"

"Yes, mostly for mothers who are just returning to work and needed something until their children started school." He looked at me intently.

It was on a brief moment to admire his beauty, but I took it. Obviously, I had seen his pictures in the many magazines he had been featured, but somehow they didn't do his appearance justice. He really was almost perfection. Those printed works did nothing to convey his smooth skin, high cheek bones, strong jaw, and pale red lips that weren't full but they weren't too thin either. Then there was his hair. In photos his brown hair was always tamed, but in person it was an unruly coppery brown color; a complete contrast to his frosty, calm, collected mannerisms I was a witness to today.

"And you prefer that type of arrangement?" He eyed me closely with his bright green eyes.

"Well, I did; however, that was while I finished college. Now that I have –"

"So you plan to do nothing with your college education?" His face shifted into a look of disapproval.

I opened my mouth but closed it because I was to give him a nice dose of 'to hell with you mister'. I had registered with 'Nanny Poppins' three years ago and now that I had finished college with a Degree in Creative Writing I wanted to write the next bestselling novel, but that would take time and I needed a steady income to survive. Only a few months after Miranda
suggested I switch to full time, live-in status, I ended up with this interview. Instead of cursing him out, I collected my thoughts and answered.

"I intend to use my childcare experience and education while I am employed; however, I also have a creative writing degree I will be putting to use as well." He raised a silently questioning brow. "I would like to be a published author and believe I can work on this during my own time."

"So, you have a degree in creative writing and childcare?" Confusion plagued his handsome but stoic face. I fought the laugh threatening to escape my mouth.

"I majored in creative writing, my passion, but as I got more involved with childcare I decided to minor in it." I shrugged. "I also have certifications, in CPR, first aid, and –"

"Daddy?"

I stopped and turned to see a sweet pale skinned girl with curly red hair enter the room. She was a young girl, but she still had the roundness of a baby in her cheeks. Her hair was in large ringlets flowing over her shoulders. With her blue and white striped dress she reminded me of a porcelain doll. A small smile crept over my lips and a warm feeling filled my chest as I took in her appearance.

"Victoria, I'm busy at the moment. I will come see you later." He didn't even bother to look at her while dismissing her.

"I apologize, daddy," she mumbled and her face fell.

My defiant nature kicked into action. I stood and walked over to her.

"Hello." I held out my hand.

She looked around me toward her father. Her stiffened posture relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"Nice to meet you," she responded quickly and gently shook my hand. My knee protested against the floor as I knelt to her level.

"My name is Sophia." I smiled.

"I'm
Victoria." She smiled wide.

"That is a beautiful name. It's nice to meet you, Victoria."

A throat cleared behind me and I made a silly face at Victoria. She giggled.

"If you don't mind, I have a schedule to keep." He snapped from behind me.

Winking at Victoria I straightened back up to a standing position.

"Sorry." I walked back to my seat.

"Well, you've met my daughter."

I nodded. "She's very lovely." Ignoring my compliment of his daughter he continued on.

"This states you are familiar with three languages." His eyebrow rose again, this time it was as if he were challenging my information. I felt a little bit insulted, as if he were calling me a liar. Now, that ticked me off.

"Je me demande comment familier vous sont véritablement?" He sneered as he questioned.

"Connaitre suffisamment d'obtenir grâce a une conversation." I responded with my eyes narrowed at him. "O quizás premiere Español?" I paused. "O italiano? Se la mia italiano e un piccolo rusty?"

I raised my eyebrow back at him mimicking his earlier challenge. He lightly cleared his throat and glared at me. With a quick look at Miranda's face, I could see the defeat. Clearly the interview was over.

"I believe you've already come to your conclusions about me, as well as made your decision, so if you would please excuse me." Standing, I smiled and nodded to Dr. Bishop, giving Miranda an apologetic look. A few feet from my exit out the front door, a voice called out from behind me.

"Are you coming back?" I spun quickly toward Victoria's voice. She stood on the staircase with a look that appeared to be a fine line between panic and excitement.

"Um, I don't know." I smiled and her face fell. "Hey, there are other people to interview, so you have to give them all a fair shot." I took the few steps to reach her. "Okay?" I lightly lifted her chin to look at me while I spoke. My heart broke at her disappointment.