Tempting The Manny (6 page)

Chapter Eight

This had been one of the longest days Olivia had experienced since those sleepless nights after Emily. Getting up for work, showering, and getting out the door on time had been much harder then she anticipated. She had no idea how women did this. Jamie though, he was a champ. He’d arrived early and helped feed the girls. She was disappointed that she didn’t get to meet the new nanny—who was running late. That in itself made her nervous. Was she trading Jamie in for someone who wasn’t going to be reliable?

“
Olivia, I have one more task before you can leave for the day.” The doctor called from the back, forcing her to snap out of daydream-mode.

Pushing away from her desk, Olivia groaned. Her feet hurt. She thought she’d be dealing with more patients at the front desk, checking them in and out. Instead, most of the day had bee
n spent running this chart here or finding things for Dr. Collins.

Olivia entered the
doctor’s office. He was lost in a chart.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

Looking up he said, “Janet didn’t pull out the charts for my first appointments in the morning before leaving. Would you mind gathering those?”

She nodded
and dreaded the walk up the flight of stairs to the file room.

“We ran you ragged today. You
’re ready to get home to your girls aren’t you?” he asked.

Smiling, she said,
“Yes, but I’ll take care of that.”

He set the chart down he’d been studying.
“You know what, don’t worry about it.”

Relief washed over her
, maybe he wasn’t such a slave driver.

“Go home. Maybe come in thirty minutes early tomorrow. Sound good?”

Not at all, but at least it meant she was able to get the hell out of here. “That’s a plan. Thank you, sir.”

“Have a nice evening.” Dr. Collins went back to studying the chart in front of him.

“You too.” Thank God the day was over.

Olivia wasted no time gathering her things. Dr. Collins could change his mind at anytime and she had to make sure she wasn’t around if he did.

Thirty minutes later, she walked through her front door after her short drive home, both girls greeted her. It was so cute seeing Emily crawl down the front hallway babbling. Bending down, she picked her up and then leaned in for a big bear hug from Morgan. In the living room, she saw the woman who would be taking care of the girls after Jamie finished training her.

“Hi,” the woman said, “I’m Nikki. I’m delighted to be here.”

“Nice to meet you too. Hope the girls aren’t too much of a handful.”

“Oh
, they are just wonderful.”

“Good.” Olivia smiled
and wondered where was Jamie? She didn’t see him anywhere.

“Mr. Anderson is in the kitchen finishing dinner,” Nikki said. “Is that something
you’re going to need? The agency didn’t mention that.”

Olivia shook her head. “No, I plan to handle that.”

Nikki nodded then checked her watch. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head out.”

“Oh, I need to be
at work thirty minutes early tomorrow. Will that be a problem?”

“Ooo, it might.”

Great, she was taking on someone who didn’t appear to be flexible like Jamie. No wonder he was so highly recommended. He was perfect.

“Jamie will still be training me tomorrow. Hopefully he will be able to
come in? I’m sorry I’m not able to.” Nikki apologized.

“
It’s fine. Thanks. Have a nice evening.”

The nanny
waved and departed. Olivia wasn’t sure what she thought of this new woman. At the moment she was in a pinch for a sitter, so she supposed it would have to work.

Finally kicking her heels off her aching feet,
she rubbed them with her free hand. Emily busied herself with Olivia’s earrings.

“Al
l right baby, Mommy’s going to get you all set for some yummy dinner.” She placed the baby in the high chair and went to search out the baby food.

As she entered the kitchen, she thought she might faint. Jami
e took her breath away almost every time she saw him. He grinned at her and his dimples lit up his face. She giggled when she saw he was wearing her extremely girly kitchen apron that consisted of a zebra print with pinks ruffles on the outside.
Kiss the Cook
was emblazoned across the front. She’d loved to walk over there and kiss him as the apron said, but Morgan could skip in at anytime.

Opening a can of carrots, she went back to the dining room to feed the baby.
Emily was a good eater and gobbled up the orange mush quickly. Olivia then put a few cheerios on the tray to hopefully tide her over until her bottle before bed.

Jamie peeked out the doorway
. “Dinner is almost done. And, uh, after dinner, if you could spare a few minutes to talk to me, that would be great.”

“Yeah, of course.” Was this going to be good or bad?

Perhaps he just wanted to ravish her before going home for the night. But something about his tone told her differently. Maybe he knew, like she did, that Nikki just wasn’t going to work out.

Dinner was grilled chicken with a vegetable
medley and rice pilaf. This man could cook, and once again she had no idea how he was in his thirties and hadn’t been married even once. He was a catch.

Morgan was half asleep as she ate d
inner. It was a later dinner than usual. This was going to be an adjustment for the girls too. After super, she would get them both to bed and then see why Jamie had to talk. He wasn’t his full self at dinner. Maybe Eric had said something yesterday and he was going to end things completely once he was done training Nikki.

Once both girls were tucked in, Olivia went into her bedroom to change. She was surprised when Jamie followed her in. Maybe he did want to ravish her after all.

“Hi.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted herself to kiss him.

The kiss was light, she attempted to deepen it, but it wasn’t working. She rubbed her hands across his chest then massaged his shoulders. Gazing into his eyes, she ran her
palm along his cheek. Something was off, and panic was setting in. Standing on tip toes again, she tried to kiss him, but he stopped it.

“Wait,” he said. “Sit.”

She took a seat on the bed, staring at him. An uneasy feeling swept through her. This wasn’t going to be good.

“I wanted to talk to you about something. Nikki and I took the girls to the park today.” He began. “Kelly was there with her kids.”

A lump was felt in her throat. Right now she could only wish that Kelly did not say what Olivia feared she might of.

He crossed his arms and asked,
“Why does Kelly think I’m gay?”

Oh God.
She didn’t get her wish. Closing her eyes, she didn’t know what to say. But he deserved an explanation. “I kind of told her you were.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. She came over here with all these questions about Eric and me, she said my house was dirty, and then something about you being a hot guy. And somehow she asked if you were gay and for some reason I agreed.”

“Are you that concern
ed about what these people think?”

“I don’t want to be.”
And she meant it.

His arms
tightened across his chest. He was closed off.

“I’m sorry. I regretted it the moment I said it.”
Tears fought to escape.

“I’m not happy
that you’re too embarrassed of me that you would say I was gay. But you should have told me. Think of how I felt when she starts asking me if many people had issues with me watching their kids since I was gay!”

He was angry and had ever
y right to be. She stood and tried to pull his arms apart. He didn’t budge.

“I’m sorry. How can I make this right?”

“Stop caring so much of what everyone t
hinks. Who cares if they gossip? Eric is a jerk and why should you tell lies as to why he left? Be honest.”

“But then I look like I wasn’t good enough for him.”

“He isn’t good enough for you. When will you see that?” Jamie shook his head.

“You don’t understand. You don’t live here where people probably have binoculars watching all day what
you’re doing just so they can tell everyone.” And Kelly was the leader of the pack. She knew everything about everyone. She’d been caught before sitting in her minivan just watching.

“You
’re right, I don’t.” He sighed. “But I would never live here and be judged. And if I did, I wouldn’t care what they thought.”

She slumped back onto the bed. She didn’t want to argue with him. More than anything, she wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her, telling her it would be okay. But he stood firm, making his point. She’d been wrong to get caught up in a web of lies. She really should have been honest about Eric from the beginning. It was too late now. All she could do was try to make Jamie see she wanted to try and change.

“I heard you needed Nikki here early tomorrow. Since she can’t, I’ll make a point to be.”

“Thanks.”

After what felt like an eternity of silence, he motioned her. “Come here.”

His arms were finally open and he was hugging her. His big arms held her close. She felt safe.
It only lasted a moment though. Once he released her, he lifted her chin and placed a peck on her lips and left.

Most women would have crawled into bed and cried until they were asleep. Olivia however
, saw a glimmer of hope from his kiss. All she had to do was put a plan into motion to show him she could be who he thought she could be.

****

It had been a slow day at the office. Olivia was told this was usual. Mondays and Fridays were the two busiest days. Tuesday and Wednesday were the slowest and Thursday the pace started to pick up. She was left with a lot of time to day dream.

That morning she had gotten up earlier, showered and dressed to impress. Not
for anyone here of course, but for Jamie. She wanted him to notice her all over again. She’d have to tempt him. So, she made a point to wear her tight pencil skirt, with a rose blouse that was unbuttoned rather low. As soon as she left the house, she buttoned up so no one here got a sneak peak. The sexiest black heels she could find, she had on. Her hair was back in a butterfly clip and a few stray pieces outlined her face. Her make-up had been put on a little thicker than usual, but she needed to feel sexy for herself too.

Olivia had been ready to go long before Jamie had
arrived. She knew he would come earlier then discussed. He was too kind a man not to. The only one up when he arrived was Emily, and she was busy in her playpen.

She took every opportunity she had to bend this way and that. There was a slit in the back of the skirt, so if she angled right, he could see right up
. Bending forward, he was sure to see her light blue lace bra. Damn right, she caught him looking several times.

Just thinking about his eyes on her made her panties wet. She needed another taste of him. She craved his hands caressing her most intimate places. He would slide one of his
long thick fingers into her folds, stroking her. He’d flick her clit with his thumb. It wouldn’t take him long either. When he touched her, she lost all recollection and only concentrated on what he made her feel. Even now, imagining it, she was on the brink of an orgasm. Sighing, she tossed her pen down. Today needed to be busier.

****

The agency wouldn’t be happy about it, but Jamie had sent Nikki home before Olivia was due to be there. The last thing he needed was Nikki noticing the instant erection he was going to get when Olivia walked through that door. He’d almost exploded this morning. Her shirt was unbuttoned low enough that it didn’t matter what angle she turned; he could see her round breasts. Her bra was loose and he caught several glimpses of her nipples also. That woman was so hot.

All day he’d been frustrated
thinking about her strutting around the office like that. Every man who saw her was sure to have an instant hard-on. If she made it home unravished then
he
was lucky.

Keeping his distance from her was going to be damn near impossible.

He hadn’t made dinner tonight per her instructions. Today was his last day, but he felt Nikki might need him one more day. He also just didn’t want to leave the girls. The thought of not seeing them every day was breaking his heart. He’d never been so attached to kids as he was these two. It was like they were his own.

The sound of the front door closing echoed.
Morgan screeched and ran for her mother. Little Emily sat in her Bumpo chair and clapped her hands like she knew what was coming. When Olivia walked into the living room, he thought he might have to catch his breath. Her hair was falling in all the right places from the work day. Her blouse was still low and open, letting him see what she had to offer. Her eyes were able to tear a hole in him.