DUCKS QUACKED OUTSIDE RICHMOND’S BEDROOM window and sailed inside his ears. Lying in bed on his back, his eyes opened to the vaguely lit room. He rolled onto his side and spied the alarm clock. The red number six flashed to seven. An expletive ripped from his mouth. His alarm clock didn’t go off like it was supposed to.
Running late, he flung back the covers and hopped out of bed. As he ran toward the bathroom, the scent of pancakes streamed up his nostrils. Kayla. She’s making breakfast.
He would never forget a single detail of how Kayla had looked so damn desirable in her lavender bathing suit last night. How she’d awakened him and made his sex drive escalate. How her fine behind had caused him to masturbate. Nope. She had to go.
Richmond had no idea how he was going to tell Kayla she was fired. Somehow, some way, he had to find the right words to let her go. After the way she’d caused him to self-pleasure himself last night, he clearly understood she was a threat to his heart. Like a poisonous snake, she could possibly strike him at any time and possibly have him submitting to every waking need. Hell no. There was no way in the world he was going to let that happen. He’d already learned the hard way with Salina. Women couldn’t be trusted.
After he showered, with a long work day at the Equestrian ahead of him, he hurried to his cramped walk-in closet. Searching for something to wear, his eyes roamed over his assortment of shirts on the hangers. Kayla probably thought he was nuts for not sleeping in his master bedroom upstairs. But forget what she thought. Ever since Salina had died in their bedroom, he’d been unable to sleep in there. Truth be told, he could barely stand going in there, period.
Dressed in a pair of tan trousers and white collared shirt, he reentered the bathroom, sprayed cologne on his neck, then pulled open the door of his bedroom. Walking down the narrow hallway, making his way toward the kitchen, scents of sizzling bacon traveled up his nose. Zeke was right, having a fine woman in his house like this was way too much. It’d be damn near impossible for him to keep his hands off Kayla. When his last nanny Sarah had been here, he didn’t have any of these kinds of problems. But then again, Sarah wasn’t a match for Kayla. If anything, it was the other way around.
Coming to the end of the hallway, he rounded the corner into the kitchen. Kayla stood over the stove, flipping bacon with a fork. Swallowing the hard lump in his throat, his eyes clung to her backside. Wearing a pair of grey jeans and a white collared shirt, she looked scrumptious. Tasty enough to lick, eat, kiss, and suck.
Telling Kayla she was fired was going to be difficult, but he had to do it. Richmond cleared his throat. “Good morning.”
Transferring the bacon to the napkin, Kayla looked back over her shoulder at him. Her cute mouth pulled into a carnal smile. His heart twirled like a sunny afternoon inside his chest. Hmmph.
“Good morning. Thanks for letting me get in the Jacuzzi last night. I really enjoyed it.”
I enjoyed seeing you enjoy it, too. That’s why I’ve got to fire you. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Is Isabelle up yet?”
Wiping her hands on the front of her apron, Kayla turned. “Yes. She’s up and already dressed. She and CJ are upstairs watching Sesame Street. I’ll go get them in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Here goes. Jesus Christ, I hate telling her this. “Kayla, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” He sure as hell hated lying to her about why he had to fire her. But then again, it wasn’t like he could say, “You’re too fine and too attractive to work here.” Or how’s this? I have to let you go because you had me playing with my dick last night. Nope. He couldn’t say any of that. He’d just tell her he didn’t like the way she’d interacted with Isabelle thus far. Or maybe he’d tell her he was firing her because she’d fled into Salina’s bedroom, which she knew full well he disapproved of from the get-go.
Kayla walked up to Richmond and tilted her chin upward to glance up at him. Just as he parted his mouth to tell her she was fired, Isabelle and CJ ran into the kitchen, giggling their little hearts out.
Ecstatic, Isabelle ran up to Richmond with all these colorful bows in her hair and a pretty dress on. “Daddy. Daddy. Look what Kayla did to my hair. It’s so pretty.” Smiling, she twirled the end of one of her ponytails with her finger.
“You look so pretty, Isabelle. I love your hair.”
“Me, too, Daddy.”
“I like your dress, too.”
“Thank you, Daddy. Ms. Kayla help me pick it out. You never let me wear dresses. Can Ms. Kayla and CJ stay the night again?”
CJ clapped his hand. “Yes. Again. Again.”
Hell no! “Let Daddy think about the spending the night thing, okay?” Glancing down at his precious Pumpkin with all those ponytails tied with bright, colorful ribbons, Richmond smiled. Isabelle looked so girly with her dress and sparkling shoes on. He had to admit, Kayla had definitely spiced his daughter up. Considering Isabelle would benefit from Kayla’s upbringing, he decided to second think firing her.
Towering over the children, Kayla stated, “Guys, it’s rude for a person to wear out their welcome when someone invites them into their home. CJ and I will be going home tonight. I have a lot of things I need to take care of. Richmond, do you still need to talk with me?”
Linking his gaze with Kayla’s, his heart swelled with a feeling he had thought was long deadened. “I just wanted to tell you thanks for the wonderful job you did yesterday. Isabelle hasn’t smiled or played this hard since before her mother passed.”
Her lips broke into a wide, open smile. “I’m glad I’m able to help.” After the kids took their seats at the table, Kayla walked over to the stove and started fixing their plates. Richmond stared at her backside so hard, he was surprised he didn’t burn a hole in her buttocks.
Buzz. His cell vibrated inside the clip hooked on his belt. Noticing it was Don, he excused himself from the kitchen and went into the den. “Hello?”
“Good morning. You sound like you’re already up.”
“Good morning. I’ve never slept late a day in my life,” he said, pulling the string on the blinds to let the morning sunlight stream inside the room. A bird flapped past the window, then flew towards the marsh.
Don added, “That’s what I thought. Anyhow, I’m calling you this morning because last night I spoke with an insurance agent, and he informed me that two years before Salina’s death, she took out a life insurance policy for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And you’re not going to believe who her beneficiary was.”
Preparing himself for more disappointment regarding Salina, Richmond sealed his eyes tight. “Who was the beneficiary, Don?”
“Jason.”
His eyes shot wide open. “Jason! My employee, Jason Chamberlain?”
“Yes, your employee, Jason Chamberlain,” Don confirmed.
“Well, I’ll be got damned!”