Two days later, I was with my brothers at the Maxwell Wineries headquarters in one of the office buildings on LaSalle Street.
My passion for wines began at a young age. We grew up on a vineyard on the west side of the state. It was small, and my dad only produced wine for personal consumption, but I’d had the bug since I was a kid. I always knew I wanted to get into the wine business, even though I grew up on the floors of Maxwell Bookstores, the chain of bookstores my grandparents founded. My grandma, uncle, and parents ran it after Grandpa passed away. Ten years ago, they sold it in one of the highest transactions in that industry. My parents set up trust funds for each of us. I hadn’t touched mine—I put it directly in Paisley’s name.
Maxwell Wineries was taking off. In fact, I moved the company into this building only two years later.
It started when I rented far more space than I needed for my employees, and then gradually, each of my brothers moved their business here. Declan, Travis, and Luke also had their office in the building. Tyler often stopped by, especially during the off-season. Sam joined us whenever he was in the country.
After work, we sometimes went to the top floor where there was a bar with a view of the Chicago skyline. That was currently where we were. It was one of the perks of working in the same building.
‘Man, maybe we should help you pick,” Declan said. They’d asked about my interviews and what I decided. I couldn’t tell them the truth.
I groaned, tipping back a beer. I had interviewed four candidates over the past two days, and so far, I only wanted Lexi Langley. She was the one who bonded with my daughter and who seemed to actually like children. The others had held several different jobs besides childcare. One had been laid off from her computer science research job. The other worked as a bank teller until recently, and the last one was an aspiring fashion designer. But Lexi was different. And I liked her far too much, which was a fucking problem. If she was going to be my daughter’s nanny, as temporary as it was, I couldn’t lust after her.
She was so damn beautiful that remembering her in that yellow dress was driving me crazy. It had looked sexy as fuck on her.
‘Dude, he’s lost in thought,’ Tyler said. ‘That never happens to him. Someone must have revved his engine.”
‘True,’ Luke pitched in with more smartass comments. ‘You have an iron determination and focus, isn’t that what you say is the key to your success? So who is she?’
‘Why are you mobbing the guy? He’s having a hard time picking the next sitter, knowing he’ll probably fire her before the summer ends,’ Travis said.
“Or the month,” Luke added.
Our inability to keep our opinions to ourselves was chronic.
‘I don’t fire people because I’m an asshole. Those I fire do things on the clock they aren’t supposed to. Most leave because they get tired of the job. It’s tough on Paisley because she gets attached, and now the only candidate I like is Lexi, an elementary school teacher who told me upfront that she can only work until the end of the summer.’
‘But she’s your best candidate, right?’ Luke asked. I nodded.
‘Wait a second,’ Travis added. ‘He’s too silent. My money is on the fact that he likes Miss Lexi a little too much. Don’t you?’
Busted.
Tyler burst out laughing. ‘Dude, don’t do that. Don’t go there. Hooking up with your daughter’s nanny is a bad idea.’
‘She’s not my daughter’s nanny yet, and I haven’t hooked up with her,’ I said.
Luke patted my shoulder. ‘Yet, right?’
Declan raised a hand, motioning to the bartender. ‘Give us a round of tequila shots. Beer isn’t going to cut it tonight.’ He looked at me with what I called his lawyer face, and I knew he was going to warn me off. “Tate, don’t go there. The last thing you need is a harassment lawsuit. And—”
‘Declan, save your breath. Give me some credit, will you? I’ve never even looked at one of my daughter’s nannies, and I’m not going to start now.’
That wasn’t exactly true. I’d looked a lot at Lexi, and I’d fantasized a whole lot more.
‘Okay. Why don’t we talk about something else?’ Tyler said. “Anyone spoken to Reese recently?”
Reese was our cousin from Dad’s side. She and her sister, Kimberly, had practically grown up in our home, and we were all very close. Reese was going through a rough time since discovering her scumbag ex-fiancé was cheating on her. To make matters worse, they were going to go into business together.
“I speak to her daily,” Declan said, “but she’s not telling me much. Mostly, she’s worrying about Gran’s building.”
When selling the chain of bookstores, Gran insisted on keeping the building where they’d opened the first one. It was symbolic because it reminded her of Grandpa. It meant a lot to her. Reese and the scumbag were going to turn it into a spa. Now everything was a mess. Declan was helping with the legal ramifications.
I turned to Luke. He was closest to Reese and Kimberly. “She’s coping. But it doesn’t help that the scumbag isn’t making it easy on her. He still wants to open the spa.”
“He’s going to be trouble,” Declan said.
I gritted my teeth. “Then he’s not just an asshole but also an idiot. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with.”
He was going to be very sorry for hurting Reese. I was very protective of her—all my brothers were. Business was business, but family was the most important thing for us. I wouldn’t allow my family to get hurt.
***
I spent time with my brothers until later in the evening. Paisley was at Gran’s house tonight. Once at home, instead of heading upstairs, I went down into my home office.
I could ask my Gran to look after Paisley for a while longer while I told the agency to send me more applicants, but I didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t fair to them. Besides, I’d searched for nannies often enough to know I wouldn’t come across someone like Lexi Langley again too soon. The way she’d instantly bonded with my daughter shifted something inside me, something I didn’t want to analyze. She’d been real; it wasn’t just a job to her. And the way she’d clicked with Paisley proved there was such a thing as chemistry.
Paisley had asked to meet with the other women I was interviewing too, and I gave in. After all, they would be spending time together. It was fair for Paisley to weigh in. As it happened, she liked Lexi best too.
I sat in my leather armchair and picked up the phone. There was no point postponing this. I was going to employ Lexi Langley, and I was going to keep my distance. I wouldn’t ruin this for my daughter.
I dialed her number before I could change my mind yet again.
She answered after a few rings.
‘Hi, it’s Mr. Maxwell, right?’ she asked loudly, but I could still barely hear her over the music in her background.
‘Yes. Is this a good time to talk?’
‘Sure. Let me move a bit farther away from the music.’
‘Where are you?’ I asked.
‘I’m at the lake. There’s music, and I came down to enjoy it.’ A few seconds later, the music was fainter. ‘Okay. I’m listening.’
‘I promised I’d be in touch. I finished the interviews, and I’m happy to say that Paisley and I would like you to start as soon as possible.’
‘Oh, wow. Really? That’s amazing. I thought the time issue was a deal breaker.” Her voice was a bit edgy, making me think she suspected there was another reason. She’d caught me looking at her a couple times. I had to be more careful.
No, damn it, Maxwell. What you have to do is not check her out at all.
‘You’re very qualified, and you and my daughter had chemistry. It’s not ideal that you can’t continue the job after school starts, but we’ll deal with it.”
‘I’ve been thinking about it too,’ she said. ‘You can keep looking, and if you find someone before the summer ends, I’ll look for another job.’
I frowned and almost asked why she needed a summer job at all. She’d briefly let it slip that she needed the extra money, and now I wanted to know why. I’d find an opportunity to ask once she started.
‘I’m going to pause the search for now, and I’ll resume it at the end of summer, so don’t worry about that. Your job is secure. I think we’re going to get along great,’ I told her. ‘I mean, you’re not going to see much of me, of course, but I’m sure you and Paisley will get along well.’
‘Okay, then. I’ll start Monday morning? Still nine o’clock?
‘Yes. Good memory,’ I told her.
‘Great. Did Paisley tell you what she wants to do? I’m not sure what to wear. Maybe I’ll wear jeans and a T-shirt. And I can bring a change of clothes.’ I could tell she was mostly talking to herself now. ‘Something that’s not too revealing.’
‘And why is that?’
‘Oh, shoot. I didn’t mean to say that out loud,’ she blurted, making me laugh.
‘But now you’ve made me curious. Tell me, Ms. Langley.’
She cleared her throat. ‘I meant something professional and not too revealing.’
‘Ms. Langley, your yellow dress wasn’t at all revealing. I imagine you’d look stunning in anything you wore.’
She was the one who burst out laughing that time. Damn, I liked the sound a bit too much.
“I apologize. That was out of line,” I said, determined to keep this professional.
“I didn’t think you noticed my outfit.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say I spent half that interview memorizing every detail of her gorgeous body—but I didn’t.
“And I’m sorry. I was out of line blurting my thoughts,” she whispered. “I’ll… see you on Monday?”
“Yes. Don’t let me keep you from your evening. Have fun, Ms. Langley.”
“You too.”
I leaned back in my seat, shaking my head. I’d told myself I couldn’t even look at her, but now with one phone call I was already imagining what fun we could have together.
This summer was off to a dangerous start.
