I Hate, I Bake, and I Don’t Date! by Alina Jacobs

9

Tess

“Fired?” I said loudly. “Already?”

I regarded Beck, willing my chest to stop heaving. “You really do shoot your load quickly.”

His brother and COO of Quantum Cyber guffawed beside him.

“Shut up, Walker,” Beck snarled.

“You called your assistant here to babysit your girls?” Walker snickered. “Does Greg know?” Walker looked over to another gray-eyed, blond-haired man who was stalking over to them.

“Guess not!”

His girls?Beck had children—illegitimate ones? I longed to text Maeve and Holly and see what the tea was.

“She’s not my assistant,” Beck said stubbornly. “I fired her.”

“You better unfire her,” Greg said, “because you’re not going to have some random temp girl watch Annie and Enola. Since Tess was your assistant, she’s already completed a thorough background check.”

“I don’t need her; I’m going to hire a nanny,” Beck replied.

“And until you do, you are not leaving the girls with a potential axe murderer,” Greg said. He pointed to the elevators. “Upstairs.”

I followed the brothers, pulling my bag of burger breakfast out of my purse and eating a few fries while the Svensson brothers squabbled in the elevator cab.

I whistled when the elevator let us off on the eighty-third floor.

“This is way nicer than the Quantum Cyber office.”

“Of course it is.” Greg smiled at me.

Beck seemed even more annoyed.

I plopped down on one of the couches in the lobby while the guys went back into the office.

“I’m totally on the clock!” I called. I took a sip of my chocolate shake and unwrapped my burger. I had just taken a bite when several little girls came over to me, crowding around like puppies.

Beck really must have gotten around.

“Are those french fries?” one girl asked excitedly.

I was not a kid person. Kids were sticky and loud and made weird noises. But maybe these were the kids that were part of my job description.

Guess I better channel my inner Ms. Frizzle.

I peered at the girl. She looked exactly like Beck.

“Guess I didn’t know your dad as well as I thought I did,” I told her.

She gave me a confused look.

Kids. Maybe she was hungry. She and her sisters were peering intently at the slightly greasy paper sack.

“I do like a fellow fried food lover,” I said and begrudgingly opened the french fry bag. I shook a few fries into their outstretched hands. To be fair, I couldn’t very well say no and give them some sort of eating disorder. I hated when my stepfather would make snide comments about my food choices.

“That burger sure looks nice, miss,” another blond girl said as I took a bite of my cheeseburger.

“Now we’re really stretching the limit of my generosity.”

Beck came rushing back into the lobby.

“Don’t give them that,” he scolded.

I immediately got riled up.

“They can have a cheeseburger if they want!” I said hotly. I handed the paper-wrapped burger to the girls. “In fact, you can have all of it.”

Beck made a disgusted noise.

“You don’t get to police what they eat,” I admonished, waving a french fry at Beck. Part of it went flying and hit him in the face.

HI jaw tensed.

I could tell he was itching to fire me.

“I don’t care what they eat,” he said, gingerly touching his cheek. “If you all want cheeseburgers, I will order you some,” he told the girls, who were busy scarfing down my breakfast, which I was totally now going to expense to Beck. “However, Tess had that food bouncing around god knows where, and I bet you didn’t wash your hands.” He frowned.

“Germs are good for kids. It builds healthy immune systems,” I said with a grimace.

And this is why I should not be trusted with kids. I definitely should have made them wash their hands.

Beck grabbed my burger from the girls and headed to the trash can.

We all raced after him.

“Stealing food from your own children’s mouths,” I scolded. “Shame on you.”

“These aren’t my children,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’m not that kind of man.”

I used the opportunity to grab the burger from him.

“I guess I misjudged you,” I said.

“You absolutely did. I don’t have illegitimate children.” His face was dark and angry. “These are my little sisters. You need to watch them and hire a nanny. That’s your first task and only task until I fire you. Again.”

I took a bite of the burger then pointed to my chest. “Me? I’m not watching all of them.”

Beck’s sisters had started to fight over the french fry bag.

Several of Beck’s other tall, gray-eyed brothers hurried into the waiting area.

“No fair, you already have a nanny for Annie and Enola?” one of them asked. He turned to me and gave me a brilliant smile, his hair rakishly falling over his forehead. He was the exact opposite of Beck, who might as well have been cosplaying Captain America with the way his hair was shellacked to his head.

“Can you watch my sisters too?” the new Svensson brother practically purred. “I’ll ah…” His eyes flicked down to my mouth then up to meet mine. “Make it worth your while.”

“Go away, Liam. Hire your own nanny,” Beck growled, pushing his brother away from me.

Liam grabbed the burger from me and took a bite. “Tasty.”

“Liam!” Beck put himself between me and his brother. “Get your girls and get away from my assistant.”

I accepted my burger back from Liam. Then he picked up two little girls, each with a fistful of french fries. “Not the hair, not the hair,” Liam begged as they tried to grab at him.

Beck shook his head and pulled out his phone.

“I’m telling Cressida to add you back into the system,” he said, typing. “This is such a disaster.” He sighed. “You can take the girls to, I don’t know, the zoo or something.”

“Excuse me. This,” I told him, motioning to Annie and Enola, “is not in my job description. If you want me to be a babysitter, you better authorize a fifty percent raise in the email you’re sending Cressida.”

Beck snorted. “I’m not giving you a raise. You’re lucky you have a job.”

“Maybe I’ll just quit,” I threatened.

“Go ahead. Make my day.” He held out a hand to the elevator, eyes narrowed, daring me to leave.

You need this job! I reminded myself. Rent is due. Your credit card bill is due. Your multiple credit card bills!

“Fine, I won’t quit, but I want an expense account,” I said stubbornly.

Beck made a disgusted noise and reached into his pants pocket.

Do not stare at his crotch, Tess!

He pulled out his wallet and slapped a heavy black credit card in my hand. “Put any expenses for the girls on that.”

“Do you girls need new shoes?” I asked them. “Maybe a size eight Louboutin pump?”

Annie nodded enthusiastically.

“You need to find a nanny first, not go shopping.”