That got my attention. “I’m sorry, what?” I blinked. “Are you kidding me?”
“I know all about what perverts do to their children’s babysitters and that will not happen to my Tiffany, are we clear?”
“I’m just looking for someone to take care of my kids this summer,” I said. “That’s it. And I don’t appreciate you coming in to my home with that demeanor.”
He sat back and continued to glare at me. I tried to engage Tiffany in the interview, but every time I asked a question, her father would answer for her. I cut the interview short and escorted them out. So far I was zero-for-two.
Where the hell did we move? The Twilight Zone?
Shaking my head, I sipped my coffee and waited for the final applicant to arrive. When she finally did, she was over an hour late and looked high. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was a mess.
I promptly told her to get the fuck off my porch and slammed the door before she could respond. I rested my forehead against the door and took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do, though I really didn’t want to. I needed to swallow my pride and get Emily back. She was clearly the best person for the job and my kids absolutely loved her. I would just have to get used to cold showers and nightly jerk-off sessions. With a sigh, I picked up the phone and dialed Emily’s number.
“Hello?” Emily said.
“Emily,” I said. “It’s Sean.”
“Oh. Hi, Sean.”
“Hi.” I cleared my throat. “Listen, it seems there is not one acceptable candidate in this town to watch my kids. If you haven’t found something else, I would like to sit down and talk about the possibility of you coming back and working for us.”
There was silence on the other end, and I knew Emily was thinking about my offer. It was bold of me to call her up just two days after dismissing her, but I didn’t have a choice. This was the only way I could rectify my obvious mistake.
“Fine, but one condition. Emily finally said.
“What is it?”
“You’re paying.”
“Fine. Can you come in an hour?” I asked. “I’ll meet you at the diner in town”
“Okay,” Emily said. “I’ll see you there.”
I hung up the phone and let go of the breath I’d been holding. I still didn’t know if Emily would be interested in taking the job back, but at least she agreed to meet me. I couldn’t help but notice, yet again, how sexy her voice sounded. I shook myself. If this was going to work, I would have to get my lust under control.
I walked over to Mrs. Johnston’s and rang the bell. She answered with a smile, and I knew her anger with me over firing Emily was gone.
“Any luck?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone,” she said.
“Actually,” I said. “I came over to ask if you could watch Tommy and Sarah for a little longer? I’m meeting Emily for coffee. Hopefully we can work something out, and she’ll come back to work for us.”
“Really?’ Mrs. Johnston’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Yeah,” I said. “I might hire her back.”
“You better,” she said sternly. “She’s the best person out there. Your kids have been talking about her all day. They love her.”
“I know they do.” I sighed. “We’ll see what happens.”
“Well go,” she said. “I’ll watch them. You go meet with Emily. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that everything works out.”
“You’re meeting Emily?” Sarah said, suddenly appearing behind Mrs. Johnston.
“You are?” Tommy asked, bounding up beside his sister.
I sighed. “Yes,” I said. “But this doesn’t mean she’s coming back. Don’t get your hopes up until we know for sure.”
“She’s coming back!” Sarah squealed and ran into the kitchen. Tommy followed her with a huge grin on his face.
I shook my head and left, praying Emily wouldn’t be too hard to convince. I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing my kids again.
CHAPTER EIGHT - EMILY
My palms were sweating when I walked into the diner. It was the only one in town, so I knew Sean would be waiting for me there. I glanced around the second I walked through the door, searching for his face. When I found him, he was sitting in the back corner with two coffee mugs on the table in front of him. I swallowed hard and wiped my hands on my jeans before I walked over to join him.
“Hi,” I said, sitting down.
He nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. I couldn’t quite read his face. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” I said with a smile.
“I got you some coffee,” he said, pushing the second mug toward me. “I wasn’t sure how you take it.”
My mind wandered at the possible innuendo of his last sentence and I had to catch myself from going down that rabbit hole.
“Black is perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”
He nodded again, and I took a small sip of the coffee.
My hands were still sweating, and I was worried they would slip off the mug so I quickly set it back down on the table.
We looked at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. It was uncomfortable, but part of me was just glad to be back in Sean’s presence again. His blue eyes were constantly pulling me in, making me lose my train of thought. I opened my mouth five times to speak, but no words ever came out.
“Listen,” Sean finally said after clearing his throat. “My kids are miserable without you and there are no other suitable candidates in town to look after them. I’m offering you your job back.”
I sat back and looked at him, bewilderment all over my face. Not only had he fired me rudely, he was trying to hire me back in the same tone. Who exactly did this guy think he was? My earlier sympathy for the events in his life, slowly faded to anger.
“Are you serious right now? That’s all you have to say?” I asked, somewhat surprised at myself for speaking so boldly. “You fire me without warning or explanation, and now you expect me to take the job back simply because you can’t find anyone else? I’m going to need a little more than that.”
“Like what?” he said, his tone clearly indicating he was not used to having someone stand up to him.
“How about a damn apology to start?” I demanded.
Sean sat back in his seat and studied me for a long moment before saying anything. Despite my best efforts, I still couldn’t get a read on him.
“Listen, I understand,” I said. “You’re under a lot of stress right now, but that does not give you the right to treat me like shit.”
He regarded me coolly for another moment before speaking. “So, if I say I’m sorry, you’ll come back?”
I nearly laughed out loud. “I’ll at least think about it,” I said.
“Fine,” he said begrudgingly. “I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I could see how hard it was for him to say those words. I thought back to what Maggie had said about something bad going down between him and his wife before she died and I softened a bit. Maybe that was why he was so fucked up.
“Fine,” I echoed. “I’ll be back tomorrow at eight.”
He relaxed instantly, sinking back in the chair and slumping his shoulders slightly forward. He took a sip of his coffee, and I followed his lead. We drank our coffee while we discussed the details of my job. We talked about salary and other boring things, but soon, he began to ask for my advice.
“So,” he said. “I’m trying to get Tommy into football, but I think I’m fighting a losing battle. Every time I try to play catch with him, he just mumbles and asks to do something else.”
“It may not be for him.” I shrugged. “Have you tried another sport? Baseball? Or soccer?”
“Ugh, soccer.” Sean rolled his eyes. “I hate soccer.”
“Why?” I laughed.
“It’s just so boring,” he said. “They just run back and forth. Nothing happens.”
“Tommy will probably love soccer, just because you hate it.” I laughed again. “That’s usually how it works.”
“Don’t say that,” Sean groaned.
“You could always try basketball,” I said. “Although, that’s pretty much just running back and forth too.”