To love a player, p.9
To Love a Player, page 9
Lacey laughed, nodding as she asked, "Sophie must still be hanging around then?"
I nodded and was soon attacked by a handsome little two year old with sticky hands. I scooped him up, taking him over to the faucet to wash his hands and Lacey apologized, "Sorry, they wanted pancakes for breakfast and Jace used the syrup as finger paint on his tray. I was going to clean him up before you came in."
I smiled over my shoulder at her as I said, "It's okay, I can do it."
Lacey shot me a grateful smile that had me wondering about the other nannies she hired in the past. Were they really that bad? Callen had told me a few horror stories of the ones who watched the girls when they were younger, but I had a hard time imagining some people would be that way. Once Jace was all clean, he reached his arms out for his mom. I smiled at her nuzzling him with her nose against his and felt two tiny arms wrap around my waist as Mara gave me a hug.
"You smell like flowers," she said as I picked her up. I smiled at her and nuzzled my nose against her neck as I said, "And you smell like syrup. Let's go wash you up too, okay?"
She giggled as I ran the washcloth over her skin, gently scrubbing off the sticky syrup spots on her cheeks and neck. I set her down as I cleaned off the table and rinsed off the cloth. I looked around for Elly and heard Lacey say, "Elly spent the night at her friend Bianca's house last night. She will be home around lunch."
"Okay," I said, taking Jace from Lacey. He reached behind me to play with my ponytail. Lacey smiled softly as she caressed the back of his head. Her sky blue eyes were wet when they met mine and she choked out, "I told myself that I wasn't going to cry when I left him all day for the first time, so I better go before I become a complete mess."
I nodded, smiling at her and Jace blew her a kiss. He snuggled in against my neck and she gently squeezed my arm as she said, "I'm going to make this fast. He'll probably go down for a nap soon. I left their schedules and everything that you need to know on the counter over there."
"If you feel like you need to call to talk to them, you can," I said and she shot me a grateful look. She took a deep breath, leaned over and kissed Jace on the cheek. Bending down, she kissed Mara's golden brown hair and said, "I love you, lady bug."
"I love you too, Mommy," Mara smiled lovingly up at her. Lacey gave my arm a gentle squeeze and took another deep breath before she walked out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, after hearing the front door shut, Jace whimpered, "Momma."
I held him closer and soothed him saying, "It's okay, buddy."
Mara's hand went to Jace's back as she repeated, "Yeah, its okay bubby. Momma's going to work and then she'll be home."
Jace pouted out his lower lip, looking at me with sad eyes. I knew that I needed to come up with something quick or he might have a meltdown, so I said, "How about we go watch Mickey?" He nodded slowly and wiped his eyes. Mara took my hand as she led the way to the den and we cuddled up on the couch to watch Mickey Mouse.
After one episode, I looked down to see Jace sound asleep on my chest, so I told Mara that I was taking him to his room to lay him down for a nap. She nodded her head, her eyes not leaving the TV and I slipped out of the room.
Jace stirred slightly when I laid him down in his bed, so I gently rubbed his back for a few minutes while checking out his room. It was simple, yet suitable for a young boy. The walls were painted a pale blue color with chocolate brown pinstripes. There was a dark brown plush recliner in the corner next to an oak bookshelf filled with different sized books. Pictures on the walls were of storybook characters like Jack in the Beanstalk, Little Boy Blue, and Humpty Dumpty, among others. His toy box in the corner looked like it belonged in a pirate movie; it was deep and wide with shiny gold hinges and a faux lock.
When I heard his breathing deepen, I slowly lifted my hand and backed away. I switched on the monitor next to his bed and went back downstairs to the den. I clicked off the TV and Mara frowned at me. I smiled at her as I suggested, "How about we do something else besides watch TV?"
"Dress up?" Mara smiled, her eyebrows raised in a question. I picked up the other monitor and I nodded as I said,” Of course, I love dress up!"
We played for about an hour until Mara was ready for a snack, so we cleaned up the area and as soon as I set out her apple slices with caramel dip, I heard Jace start to cry in his room. I smiled at her as I said, "I’ll be right back, okay?"
She nodded as she dipped an apple and I quickly walked upstairs to Jace's room. His face broke out into a wide grin when he saw me and he held out his arms saying, "Mowwie!"
"Hi Jacers!" I said as I picked him up and asked, "Do you want to try to go potty?"
He nodded and we went into the bathroom. Lacey had told me that they had started potty training him and were successful most of the time. He was wearing the pull-up training underwear during the day and diapers at night. After he went to the bathroom and was in a new pull-up, we went back down to where Mara was still eating. I put him in his chair and handed him some apple slices while I looked over their schedules, seeing that Elly and Mara had a riding lesson this afternoon during the time that Jace was supposed to have a nap. I made a mental note to ask Elly how that was going to work itself out.
We finished snack time and decided to go outside to play on the play set while we waited for Elly to come home.
Callen
I was sitting in what had to be the most boring meeting I had ever been in. My most boring classes in college couldn't compete with this meeting, that's how bad it was. I had long stopped myself from pretending to pay attention and instead was staring out the window, thinking about Mollie. Since she won, I had to cook dinner for her. I loved cooking and I was thinking about my best Italian dish that I could cook when I realized that the meeting had been called to an end and my dad was looking at me with a hard expression on his face.
"Callen, a word please," he said sternly as I stood up to leave. I sighed, knowing that whatever he was going to say wasn't going to be good.
He finished up with his secretary, rattling off assignments for her to complete. She gave me a warm smile as she left and I turned to face my father. His back was to me as he stood looking out the window and asked, "Did you pay attention at all, son?"
I was unsure how to answer, even though I knew that he knew what I was going to say before I opened my mouth. He gave me a frank look and sighed, "You are going to be CEO one day, and don’t you think you should start paying attention to what happens in the meetings?"
"I'm sorry," I stated and he shook his head at my empty words. He sat down at his desk and said, "I don't want your apologies, Callen. I want you to start taking an active interest in what we do here because as soon as you graduate, you are CEO."
I gritted my teeth together, breathing in deeply. I didn't want the job, but I knew that I also didn't have an actual choice in the matter. My grandfather started the company from the ground up, when he retired, my dad took over, so now it was only natural that I take it over from my dad when it's time. I had never been allowed to explore any other option other than business management. I wasn't sure what I would have chosen if I had the opportunity.
"Why don't you give Eli that job? He's way more qualified than I am and you know it," I stated firmly and my dad sighed. I mouthed along with him the words that had been branded in my head as he said, "It's tradition for the son to take over the role."
"Who cares? Dad, this is your life, not mine," I said in an exasperated breath and my father gave me a firm look as he asked, "And just what does your life look like? Do you expect to be a playboy forever?"
"No, of course not, but..." I started to say, but then was interrupted when my father slammed his fist on the table and said, "Enough!"
I sulked as I looked out the window. The tension in the air was so thick that it would take chainsaws to cut it apart. It was times like this where I wondered what would have happened if my dad had two daughters instead of a daughter and a son. I envied Lacey because she got to choose what she wanted to do, whereas my path was chosen for me. What would I choose if I could? My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Oh good," my father said, smiling at Eli as he walked in. "Eli, I want you to run through the Toller acquisition with Callen. He's going to head the project up under your guidance and will be going to New York with you next week to see it through. I want him to be well informed at what it is that we actually do here at Grey Enterprises and see that it isn't all about providing him with this carefree lifestyle he's grown accustomed to."
My eyes widened and I noticed Eli's face drop slightly in disappointment. I stalked out of the room, my body shaking from his words. Eli followed me silently fuming and I knew that he wasn't all too happy about having to let me take the reins of his biggest client. It was either that or he knew that I'd be watching his every move. Instead of being angry about the situation, I was beginning to feel rather smug.
When we stepped into Eli's office, I slapped on my best game face and said, "Let's get down to business, shall we?"
Eli rolled his eyes, sucking in a breath through his clenched teeth. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.
Mollie
I walked into the house, inhaling a mouth-watering smell of garlic, herbs, and pasta. I was only slightly taken aback when I saw Callen busy working in the kitchen; his back was to me as he was chopping away at a head of lettuce, humming a tune that I couldn't recognize. I looked around the kitchen, there was a pot simmering with some kind of sauce, a French loaf sitting on a pan waiting to go in the oven, and I could see another big pot that had steam rising out of it. I wasn't sure of what I was more impressed with, his amazing tenor voice or his cooking skills.
"Need some help?" I asked as I approached him. He gave me an easy grin and shook his head as he rinsed off his hands. He pulled out two wine glasses and filled them with a bottle that I hadn't noticed sitting on the counter.
"You won the race, so you get to sit and watch." Callen winked as he turned to finish cutting up the salad. I walked over next to him and leaned against the counter. He smiled at me as he put the lettuce in a bowl and began grating carrots over it as he asked, "How were the kids today? What did you do?"
"They were good. Jace only had just a small meltdown when Lacey left, but it wasn't as bad as the last time." I stated, taking a sip of the wine. "Mara and I played dress up, pretending that we were princesses going to a ball. When Elly came home, we ate lunch and played outside before going to their riding lesson."
Callen smiled warmly at me and I cocked my head, taking another sip of my wine as I asked, "How was yours?"
I noticed a slight hesitation and his eyes narrowed. He shook his head as he shrugged and replied, "It was fine. I get to go to New York next week for a couple of weeks to head an Acquisition Team."
I gave him a confused look and he laughed, humorlessly, "The family business is buying out companies who are struggling and equipping them with the tools to be successful again all while grandfathering them under Grey Enterprises. Then after about six months on their own, we come back in and fire them only to hire our own people. Only a handful gets to keep their jobs."
"Oh, you don't like that?" I asked, taking another sip. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't all that excited about his job. I never really noticed that before, but then we never talked about anything more than school stuff or his nieces and nephew. I've never really asked him about what his father's business was about.
He let out a long sigh before looking up at me, softly saying, "It's not what I want to do with my life."
His eyes were serious as they studied mine, a huge butterfly fluttered through my body. I reached out my hand, caressing his cheek to comfort him, watching him close his eyes as he leaned his face against my palm. He moved his hand over mine, interlacing our fingers. I smiled softly at our hands before looking back at his eyes, noticing how his normally light blue eyes were now a darker shade as they focused on my lips. His eyes were pleading when they slowly reached back up to mine and I breathed in a slow breath in hopes that my heart would stop racing. I wanted to kiss him so bad and I could tell he felt the same.
As he opened his mouth to say something, my phone rang and I could tell by the ringtone that it was Ben. His eyes were closed as he turned back to the cutting board and I could see him swallow hard. I let out a soft sigh as I answered, "Hello?"
"Hey babe," Ben said on the other end and I could hear muffled sounds in the background. I set down my glass and went to my room, turning to see Callen looking over his shoulder at me. The intense look was still there, but I could see a hint of something else that I couldn't pinpoint.
"Hi Ben," I said quietly back and Ben asked, "Everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah, everything's great." I lied, trying to shake the thickness out of my voice. I shut the door and fell into my bed, letting the softness wrap around me. I closed my eyes as I listened to Ben talk about things in Boston and how excited he was to show me the sights. My mind drifted to Callen and I knew what I had to do. I knew that I couldn't be with Ben and have these feelings for Callen; it wasn't fair to either of them.
However, other than the occasional "moment", I wasn't sure how Callen felt about me. He was also dating Sophie and I didn't want to be something on the side when she wasn't around. It was all or nothing, I didn't deserve to be mixed in with his revolving door of women. Then again, maybe I was imagining our "moments" were more than what they actually were. Kissing him would help clear that up.
I heard Ben say my name and I shook my head of the thoughts. I heard him chuckle on the other end and I asked, "What's so funny?"
"You," he said sweetly and I smiled as I asked, "What do you mean?"
"I've said your name three times," Ben chuckled softly again, "and I got nothing. Are you sure everything is okay?"
I pulled the phone away and let out a sigh. Breaking up with Ben on the phone wasn't going to happen, I needed to do it face to face, plus I wasn't even sure of the thing between Callen and me. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was more than we were both ready for, maybe one kiss won't be enough, maybe it would complicate things...I had too many maybe's and not enough definite.
"I'm sorry, Ben," I said, sighing into the phone and he said, "It's okay, we can talk about which sights to see when you get here Friday night. I can't wait to see you."
"I can't wait to see you either," I said softly and smiled.
Callen
I should have kissed her. I should have just grabbed her and kissed her until we couldn’t stand, then I'd take her to my bed, or hers…no, my bed, because it’s closer…hell, I'd settle for the kitchen floor, just as long as I could continue kissing her. I'd kiss every inch of her, savoring the feel of her soft skin under my lips, and then when I finished, I'd start over again.
After I satisfied that urge, what happens next? Where would we go from there? Was I ready for that next part? I wasn't talking about sex because it didn't matter to me if it happened or not, at least not right away. I'd wait for that as long as she wanted me to, if that's what she wanted. I knew that my problem of kissing her would only make me want to do it again and again. But then what?
Both of us were involved with other people, although I'm sure that I don't want to be with Sophie anymore. There is something about her that's different, almost like she is constantly looking over my shoulder for something better. Sure, she's attentive when it was just her and me, but when we are out with others, she's always scanning the room. She thought that I never noticed, but sometimes it was hard not to. Sometimes I don't know why I went to her house that night—was it because Mollie was going off with Ben?
I heard her bedroom door open, so I let out a long sigh to shake away the moment we had before. I needed things to be light, and far away from that moment before Ben called. I smiled warmly at her over my shoulder, ignoring her questioning eyes. She looked a little surprised and slowly matched my smile.
"Dinner's ready." I said cheerfully.
13
Mollie
"Are you in love my uncle?" Elly asked me, causing me to almost spit out the water that I just drank. I choked it down, coughing before taking another swig. She gave me a knowing smile as she said, "Never mind, I know my answer."
"What do you mean?" I asked, wiping my mouth with a napkin."You just caught me by surprise. Besides, I have a boyfriend named Ben, remember?"
Her blue eyes danced with amusement as she gave a casual shrug. We were enjoying an afternoon by the beautiful lake that Callen brought me to on our first morning run together. Since then, we have used it as our place to be together, like it's our own little world where there's no Ben or no Sophie. We run silently down to the path, and then hold hands while we walk around the lake. Sometimes we talk, other times we are just comfortable in our mutual silence.
"Your Uncle Cal and I are just friends," I said, trying to sound convincing. Sometimes we were more than friends, but yet, there were times when we bordered the line of something beyond that. I wasn't going to tell Elly that though. We hadn't kissed yet, but there have many times where we just stared into each other's eyes while our mouths were inches apart, our breath mingling together. I think that we were just both afraid of what comes next.
