Nanny and the Beast. Donna Clayton

      As he sat there listening to her revising his guidelines, his attention wavered. This was exactly the type of woman he’d been trying to avoid. She was personable, charming…and manipulative. Not to mention beautiful and sexy. A woman who appealed to a man in every sense of the word.

      Oh, she’d shown up at his door looking much different than she had in her office. Then, her thick chestnut hair had curled softly around her shoulders, and shiny lipstick had made her mouth glisten. She’d tied her hair back and washed her face, but her sparkling blue eyes didn’t need any more highlighting other than the thick, fanning lashes and the dainty dark eyebrows arching above them.

      She was an attractive woman, with or without cosmetics. And she had a body that wouldn’t quit. Her knee-length skirt didn’t hide her shapely calves and petite ankles. And there were plenty of curves beneath that jacket and blouse; a man didn’t have to possess an overabundance of imagination to envision them.

      The realization that he’d become keenly aware of her physical attributes scared the hell out of him. He was a business professional who worked with women every day. He was well-acquainted with proper conduct.

      “I think we should talk about Hailey’s feeding times,” Sophia said easily.

      Her tone plainly conveyed that she felt the schedule was up for discussion, and that irked Michael.

      She lowered the typed pages and rested them on her shapely thighs. “Don’t you think she ought to tell us when she’s hungry, rather then us telling her when she’s going to eat? It’s much healthier for her to eat only when the need arises. Don’t you think?”

      Her tone was amiable and sincere enough, but that final little three-word query had been added on as if it were some sort of conciliation. If there was one thing he hated it was being placated. It smacked of collusion, and he’d been there, done that, and had no intention of repeating the experience, thank you very much.

      She crossed her legs then, and the papers slid from her lap. She caught them along with the fabric of her skirt, and she ended up lifting the hem several inches, revealing cute dimpled knees. She quickly smoothed the fabric back into place. The entire incident was over in a fraction of a second, but Michael’s mouth went dust dry.

      This was the kind of situation that had gotten him into this mess. He’d gotten mixed up with a manipulative woman who used her wiles to get what she wanted. He had to stop this. Now.

      “I can see that this isn’t going to work out.” He shoved himself out of the chair and stalked to the far side of the living room. “What the hell did I say to you this morning that made you think Hailey’s schedule is negotiable? Wait. Don’t bother answering that. I know I’ve been nothing but absolutely clear about what I want and expect from you and your business. I can’t have this.” He raked his fingers through his hair, and in a firmer voice, he said, “I won’t have it. I’m sorry, but I have to terminate our contract. You can go. I’ll make other arrangements for my daughter.”

      Surprise widened her eyes. He hated to admit it, but her alluring gaze stirred a lava-like heat down deep in his belly.

      He didn’t understand it. Normally, he was physically attracted to rawboned blondes. Curvy, dark-haired Sophia was neither. So what was this provocative rousing he was experiencing? Could he be confusing an acute irritation for something else? Something totally inappropriate?

      The thought provoked a silent, unwitting nod.

      Whether it was simple anger he was feeling, or something else, one thing was certain—he had to get rid of Sophia Stanton. And he had to get rid of her now.

      “Hold on a second,” she said. “Would you just lighten up? I didn’t mean to make you angry. I wasn’t negotiating the schedule. I was simply attempting to discuss it. You know, in an exchange of ideas.”

      “Semantics,” he pointed out.

      “It’s all the same thing.”

      “It most certainly is not.”

      But her gaze veered away from him even as she tucked her arms tightly under her breasts. He couldn’t help but notice how the huffy action lifted the ample mounds, accentuated the roundness of them. He swiped his fingers over his jaw as the errant thought that she might be trying to tempt him flitted through his brain.

      He had to stop this kind of thinking. It was unreasonable and bordered on paranoia. Not every woman was as conniving as Ray Anne. Or as rash and immature as Lily. Still, he couldn’t completely shut out his suspicions.

      The ringing phone woke Hailey. He glanced down the hallway toward his daughter’s nursery and then toward the telephone in the kitchen.

      “Go ahead and answer that.” Sophia got up from the couch and dropped the list of rules onto the coffee table. “I’ll go see to the baby.”

      “It’s someone from work. I’m sure of it. I should have been in there already.”

      “It’s okay,” she said. “Take the call.” Then she started down the hallway toward the back of the condo.

      He watched for a second, impressed that even though he’d just canceled his contract with the woman she hadn’t hesitated to offer her help. He was also impressed with the way her bottom swayed when she walked.

      Immediately, he shook the thought from his head and went to answer the phone. Sure enough, his secretary was calling to alert him that a couple of his less experienced employees had questions before they could get started working this morning.

      “I’ve got a problem here, Jen,” he said. “Tell all four of the new hires to go into the simulator and answer the investing questions. Be prepared to hear them grumble because they completed the program once already, but going over the course again will be good practice. No one achieved a perfect score when they tested last week. Tell them that anyone scoring one hundred percent has lunch on me.”

      “You know how competitive they are,” Jen warned. “You’ll be buying four meals. What’s the problem there? Is Hailey ill?”

      “She’s fine. I’ve got nanny problems.”

      “You’ve sure had plenty of those,” his secretary commented.

      “Tell me about it.”

      “The placement service you’re using has a great reputation. Everyone says so. I’m surprised you’re having such trouble.”

      “Frankly, so am I. But things will turn around soon. I’ve broken my relationship with the service and plan to hire my own nanny. Things should look up from here on out.”

      Having actually formulated a plan and spoken the words aloud, Michael felt once again in control of the situation. He liked to be in charge of things, liked to command his own destiny. He promised Jen he’d arrive at the office by noon before hanging up.

      “So I really am fired.”

      He turned at the sound of Sophia’s voice. He hadn’t suspected she’d been in the kitchen doorway eavesdropping on his phone conversation.

      She shot him a sheepish smile. “I patted Hailey’s bottom and she fell right off back to sleep. And her diaper was dry. I checked.” Then she added, “I wasn’t snooping on you. Honest, I wasn’t. I just happened in at the tail end of your call.”

      Sophia took two steps into the kitchen, and he watched her smooth her fingertips over the shiny granite countertop.

      “I do wish you’d reconsider,” she said. “I’ve never been fired before. And I know you won’t believe it, but I’ve never had a single dissatisfied client.”

      “Until now.” He moved to the sink, picked up the coffee cup he’d used earlier this morning and put it into the dishwasher. “I understand your position. But you have to understand mine. I expect certain things from the people I employ. And I wasn’t getting those things from the nannies you sent.”

      He