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She answered that she was fine with it, as long as I was. I could see that having your child go to daycare might be safer in terms of the number of eyes on your child, but it was easier to have a sitter come to the house. I’d call Lisa in the morning and ask her for a contact. All the nannies in Babylon were Dominican, related to Pam’s assistant, Hocus. Maybe she’d know someone, a cousin or a sister or an aunt.
I had just had a shower, put my pjs on, and made myself a cup of tea to drink in bed when the buzzer sounded. I looked at the app on my phone and saw it was Ryan.
“It’s almost eleven,” I said into the intercom.
“Can I talk to you?”
What good would it do to engage him at all? But if I didn’t talk to him, I’d always wonder why he’d come. I pressed the unlock button and quickly changed back into the clothes I had put on when Eimy came over. Waiting at the door for the elevator to arrive, I wondered what he could want. But when he walked through the doors, my heart sped up enough to know that I was kidding myself about resisting Ryan Maddox’s charms. There was definitely a love-hate thing going on, but I wasn’t going to admit it to him. His ego was already over-the-top.
“This better be good,” I said, standing aside so he could get through the door. He wore a suit, so I figured he hadn’t been home yet.
“I wanted to talk to you about coming with us to Taiwan.”
“Ryan, I just started a new job today! I already delayed it once for Randy, and I’m not going to do it again. I have no desire to go on an Adventure Trek.”
“They are so much fun, I swear to you. Life-changing.”
“No.”
“Why don’t you like me?” he finally asked. I had wondered if he noticed.
“In a nutshell? Sandra Benson.”
“That was consensual, Laura. It was just for fun.”
“Why’d you leave her, then?”
“I thought she was dying, and I didn’t want to go to prison for murder. As it was, she was fine, just a little worse for wear, and as you saw, she is still the meanest bitch in New York.”
“Not to mention Jennifer, Sarah, um, who else am I leaving out? Bedding three women in one office doth a Don Juan make.” Shaking my head in disgust, I turned and walked into the living room with him close behind, making excuses for his behavior.
“Can you offer me a cup of coffee?” He took his overcoat off, threw it on a chair, and loosened his tie.
“If you’re here to try to talk me into going to Taiwan, you can leave.”
“I miss you, Laura. We worked together intimately every day for the last almost six months. You don’t answer my calls or texts, you were rude to me at Pam’s house over the weekend…”
“I was not rude. I was there to rest after an awful day, and you were expecting something from me, just like you are now.”
I glanced out the window, the lights of the city twinkling against the black sky. A handsome guy was in my wonderful apartment in the most exciting city in the world, and here I was, wishing he’d leave so I could finish my tea, alone.
“I swear, I have never had any expectations of you, Laura. I wanted to get to know you because you’re interesting and you’re beautiful.”
“What do you want in your coffee?” I knew the way he liked his coffee but wasn’t admitting to that.
“Black is fine,” he said, stepping into the kitchen.
I could feel him behind me, and I glanced up at the microwave, seeing him looking at my neck in the reflection. In seconds, his warm hands were on my shoulders, and he lowered his head and kissed the back of my neck while I watched in the glass door. He was so sexy, his movements sosensual, I had to close my eyes for a second, taking in a slow, steady breath, and once I wasn’t watching, I felt.
Feeling him was a big mistake. All my resolve to hate him left me. Turning in his arms, I snaked my arms around his shoulders as our lips joined, and there was no turning back.
He lifted my body like I was as light as a feather. “Where’s your bedroom?”
“Down the hall,” I answered, not resisting.
This was going to be a big mistake.
“I’ve got HIV,” he said.
