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“Thank you.”
His fingers are warm as they curve around mine to help me up the remaining steps.
“Lucan Forbes at your service. Miss Madison, I presume?”
“Yes. Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Forbes.”
“I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances. I’ve told my contractor time and time again to fix the treading on that step. And now that I have a potential lawsuit on my hands, I will have them here first thing in the morning.” He drops my hand and opens the front door to the mansion.
“Lawsuit?” I look up at him in surprise. I was right! He has a big grin on his face – a very handsome face, I might add. I shake my head. “You do not have to worry, Mr. Forbes. I’m not looking to make a quick buck in small claims court.”
“Small claims? Do you think that any lawyer would hear my name and look at where you fell and go after a few dollars?” He turns and walks ahead of me as he speaks.
I follow silently, admiring the foyer and hallway. I am rendered a bit speechless at the grandeur of the home.
At first, when I had arrived at the location, I thought for sure that I had the wrong address. But the guard at the gate had assured me I was in the right place. And when I told him my name, he actually had it on his list of expected visitors.
I find myself being ushered into an office.
“Have a seat, Miss Madison.” He pulls out a chair from the massive desk and I sink into it.
“Thank you.”
“Before we begin, are you hurt in any way from the tumble you took? Did you bruise your elbow, knee, twist an ankle, a wrist, anything?” He levels his eyes at me.
Of course I bruised something. My pride!
“Everything’s fine, thank you.” I smile up at him.
“Okay. Great. Shall we get started? Your resumé please.”
I hand him the folder I still have clutched in my hand. I look at him surreptitiously and my breath catches in my throat. He is an absolute hunk of a man! His hair is almost completely silver, which makes a perfect foil for his striking blue eyes. He has a slight tan, which makes me assume he must spend some time outside. He looks like a character from a superhero movie. His chest is broad and branches into his strong arms. I can tell, even with a suit on, that he is built. In my imagination, I can easily change his suit into armor. If his hair was longer and blowing in the breeze and he had a spear, he could have stepped out of a comic book. But as to whether he is the hero or the villain, that is still to be decided.
I clear my throat and look around the office curiously. I come to the realization that this room alone is almost as big as my entire apartment.
The walls are lined with shelves of books which make me rethink my initial assumption that this is his office. It has to be the library.
“So, Miss Madison. Can you tell me how you heard about the position?” he asks without lifting his eyes to me.
“I found it in the want ads. You outlined that you needed a daytime nanny for your six-year-old son and the hours are workable for me right now as I am on a summer break.”
“I see where you have a few years’ experience working with this age group. Have you always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher?” He looks at me then.
My face lights up as he enters familiar territory. “I’ve always wanted to work with children. Even when I was a child. I always knew I wanted to teach.”
“But why kindergarten?” he insists, now appearing more interested, “You could have chosen elementary or middle school. Even high school.”
“I love working with younger children. It brings me joy to see them discover things for the first time and to know that I helped them along that path of discovery.”
“Okay. How long have you been teaching?”
“Four years.”‘It’s on the resumé, isn’t it?’is on the tip of my tongue, but I keep silent and just smile.
He cocks his brow, “So, you went to teach straight out of college? You’ve never had another job?”
I shake my head, “Never. Unless you count working part time at a bookstore and a coffee shop while I was in college.”
“That’s not on your resumé.”
