AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We already knew that,” Daniela said, laughing. “Remember, there’s a Dominican nanny in every household except for Alison’s and the way we get Fredericka to gossip is by threatening her with exposure for past deeds.”
“You guys are terrible. Do you talk about me that way?” Lisa asked.
“No, ma’am. Everyone loves Lisa. And truly, we all loved Ryan as well. Except for Emma. Emma loved Ryan the wrong way when she was nannying for Sandra.”
“Yeah, I heard about that. Boy, he was so upset when the women were talking about it. I wasn’t surprised. He was young and incapable of fidelity. That makes me so sad.”
The door handle jiggled.
“Saved by the bell,” Daniela said.
The kids were home.
***
An hour away, Ryan was going over the footage of the house they were going to follow that season.
“This place is a wreck.”
“It’s one of the original Dutch houses,” Tiffany explained.
She stood alongside Ryan’s chair, watching the video on a computer screen, pointing out areas of interest that the script she’d written would highlight.
“What’s your background?” Ryan asked.
“I have a degree in architecture and design from Cornell. I worked on a couple of horrible reality TV renovation shows, and then I went to PBS, and they led me here toRescuing Old New York. What about you?”
“I was a friend of the family.”
Tiffany laughed. “No, really.”
“Really. My father was Jack Smith, founder and historian of New York architecture extraordinaire.”
“I know all about Jack! He’s famous in the historical restoration community. But you must have some acting training. I saw your videos from the first season. Peter said this whole thing was your idea.”
“I’m just another handsome guy who can ham it up in front of a video camera.”
He leaned back in the chair, finally taking a good look at Tiffany. Tall and leggy, red curls tumbling over her shoulders, she had the face of a ten-year-old girl with a spattering offreckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks that she ineffectively tried to hide with makeup.
“God, you are adorable,” he said.
The flush happened fast, starting over her abundant cleavage, spreading over her shoulders and up her neck, and by the time it got to her face, she was almost purple. Ryan sat up so fast, his chair almost tipped over.
“Jesus Christ! Are you okay?”
“The bane of the redhead,” she said, covering her chest as best she could with two hands.
“I’m sorry if I offended you. I swear, that wasn’t my intention.”
“I know. I look like a kid with big boobs. Heard all the comparisons. You see how I look on film, though, in so much makeup with false eyelashes and heavy eyeshadow. The hair is even toned down. Filters. But they don’t cover up the girls.”
She held her hands at the sides of her breasts, pushing them together, and when she let go, they bounced back. Ryan sputtered and then barked out a laugh.
“You are wild.”
“I don’t take myself seriously, that’s all. I know who I am. I’m smart and accomplished and good at the job. What about you?”
“I’ve been a loser until now. I dropped out of society a couple of years ago, had two babies that I didn’t really want with my former partner, who is perpetually pregnant. She has had kids with three different men. Anyway, I hid out with her because she was a safe place, and finally a few months ago I couldn’t stand it any longer, or rather she couldn’t, and we parted ways. I moved out into an apartment last weekend, and here I am today, back at my old stomping ground.”
