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Even when his hand accidentally brushes against mine.
Self-control is my middle name.
Until I see him swinging around his little girl.
Tending to her every need.
Well, sh$t, stick a fork in my heart ‘cause I’m done.
Keep it together, girl. Your mother needs you.
But wait, his company does medical research?
Chapter 1 - Nanny for the Grumpy CEO
Troy
Pavement,grass,oracobblestoned path of broken hearts, it didn’t matter what the ground beneath my feet was; I conquered the obstacle and made it to the top. The echo of the beat from Imagine Dragons’, “On Top of the World”, kept time against my eardrums through the tiny speakers in my ears. The rhythm was fuel for my fire: I was at the top of my game, and it felt fucking good.
I didn’t need the reminder. I knew who I was. I knew what I was.
But as the wind floated across my skin and my feet moved across the concrete, keeping pace with my steady breaths, I knew I was untouchable. There was no one on my heels, no one who could keep up–I had nothing more to contend with than my shadow and the air I cut through.
Running was my way of escaping from the troubles I couldn’t see and helped bring me back to what was important. Blazing through paths on lonesome hour-long jogs was an escape like no other. I was beyond capture, by anything or anyone.
To blend in, I wore black; black athletic tank, black shorts, black hat–the one concession to my need to stand apart from the crowd was the pair of red running shoes that softly landed on the ground with each stride.
A movement caught my eye just to my left, a hand waving in my direction. I silently cursed, thinking I had been recognized. I knew this hat wasn’t enough to completely shield my face. I saw a couple of young women standing next to a bench, talking animatedly with each other. My face softened, and I chuckled quietly as I took in their excitement. I had half a mind to stop for a moment, the woman on the left with the jet-black hair capturing my attention. The three or so buttons undone on her shirt left little to imagination about her chest despite the red jacket she wore.
I was a beat away from slowing my run when I suddenly crashed into an unknown body. We both went tumbling off the path and onto the grass.
“What the hell?” I snapped, pulling out my earbuds, completely caught off guard by being taken down so easily.
“Hey!” a distinctively feminine voice shouted in my direction. I looked over and large, brown, very unhappy eyes were burning in my direction. She snapped her gaze away as she smoothed her hand over her long, brown ponytail before getting up and starting to walk away.
“What’s wrong with you?” I yelled, standing up and shaking away the stunned feeling. “Couldn’t you watch where you were going?” Anger and upset were clear in my voice and part of me expected her to just keep going and avoid fighting with a stranger in the middle of the park.
But she surprised me–again–and whipped back around, her ponytail catching in the breeze the force of her movement created.
“What’s wrong withme?” she shot back, and I could feel the sparks of anger from her eyes shooting between the small distance between us. “What’s wrong withyou? You ran right into me because you weren't looking. Who runs like that in the middle of a busy park? You’re not the only one here, you know.”
“Are you serious right now?” I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped my lips, and it was clearly the exact wrong thing to do, because her posture hardened and her scowl somehow deepened. Still, I couldn’t ignore how beautiful her face was, even if she was losing her shit. And to be honest, it was a rare occurrence these days for someone to be outwardly angry at me.
“Do I look like I think this is funny? Would I find it funny to be bowled over in the middle of the park by some self-absorbed asshole as I’m just minding my own business?” She looked at her elbow and brushed something away. I tried to do a quick scan to see if she was hurt, but every inch of her visible skin in her shorts and sleeveless top looked perfect. “I could have been hurt.”
“That’s what you wanted though, right? I’m only sorry your plan failed.” I shook my head, realizing that this was what she wanted the whole time.
“Excuse me?” she bit out, her voice full of venom.
“Run into me and make claims, get me on the hook for some silly shit?”
Her face contorted, “What?”
“You heard me? Is this some paparazzi stunt?”
The woman scoffed again, shock in her eyes at the incredulity.
“Unbelievable,” she brushed herself off, pulled herself together and walked past me, almost brushing my shoulder.
