Page 14 of The Keeper

I told her.

Carina crossed her arms again. Her brow furrowed, and the seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness.

If she said no, that was fine. That was good. It’d let me off the hook for not hiring her even if Evie liked her.

So why the fuck was I holding my breath like I was waiting for a damn verdict?

“I’ll say yes on one condition,” she said. “No more caveman behavior. You have to actually communicate. With words. Grunts and scowls can only take you so far.”

I frowned. Carina raised her eyebrows, and I forced my features to relax.

“Fine.” That was definitely a word and not a grunt.

“Great!” She broke out into a wide smile. “In that case, I accept. This is going to be fun.”

I had many words to describe how the next two months would probably unfold.

Fun wasn’t one of them.

CHAPTER 6

CARINA

“You’re early.”

“Don’t sound so surprised.” I handed Noah his coffee. “I even had time to stop for caffeine. I ordered yours black. Just like your heart.”

His scrunched brow told me he did not appreciate my joke. Granted, it wasn’t my best work, but it was eight in the morning. Cut a girl some slack.

“I dropped Evie off at school early so we’ll have time to review the contract,” he said. He didn’t take the coffee. “Come in.”

I followed him into the house, my curiosity overtaking my exasperation at his inability to display basic manners, like accepting a drink his new employee bought him out of the goodness of her heart.

Employee. I was working for Noah Wilson. Or I would be, after I signed the contract.

I couldn’t believe it, and I still hadn’t figured out how I felt about it.

The absurdly high salary would erase months of financial stress by the end of this year’s Premier League season. The downside? I'd have to see Noah almost every day for the next two months and change.

After running into him and Evie yesterday, though, it felt like the universe had handed me a solution on a silver platter. I wasn't about to turn it down.

So here I was, trailing after Noah in his giant house and trying not to notice how good he looked in his Blackcastle sweatshirt and track pants. It should be illegal for a man to have a butt like that, especially when that man had the charm and temperament of a sleep-deprived grizzly bear.

We stopped in the living room. Noah lived in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods, and I’d expected the interior to resemble an Architectural Digest layout. However, it was surprisingly homey.

The furniture looked expensive, but toys and books cluttered every surface. A half-finished Monopoly game occupied the coffee table, and a stack of children’s books teetered in the corner.

I was unexpectedly charmed by the mental image of Noah and Evie playing board games together. He was so relentlessly grumpy that I sometimes forgot he was an actual human and someone’s dad.

“Here’s your employment contract.” Noah plucked a pen and a piece of paper off the side table and handed them to me. “Should be pretty simple, but let me know if you have any questions.”

I set the coffees down so I could take a proper look. NDA. Payment terms. Scheduling. Nothing surprising. Some of the hours overlapped with my job at RAB, but I could work remotely if I needed to.

I was about to sign the contract when the final clause caught my eye. I had to read it twice to make sure I was interpreting it correctly.

“‘The Employee agrees to maintain a strictly professional relationship with the Employer throughout the term of employment. The Employee shall not pursue, encourage, or knowingly participate in any romantic, intimate, or sexual relationship with the Employer while employed under this Agreement, including but not limited to flirting, dating, exchanging romantic communications, or engaging in conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as expressing romantic interest,’” I read aloud. “‘Secret pining, unnecessary compliments, and physical touches are strongly discouraged.’”

I lowered the document and stared at Noah. “Seriously? You put a don’t fall in love with me clause in the contract?”