AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Huge. He’s bigger than Zuckerberg and has a bigger net worth than Musk. How haven’t you heard of him?”
I shrugged. I guess I had been too busy working on my life to notice much of anything else.
“He’s been inForbesandTime; he’s always inThe New York Times.” Of course, Katie knew everything about him. She was always trolling for news in the business world. “Plus, he’s like, super-hot.”
I resisted any agreement. But the truth was, I hadn’t been able to get Wesley out of my head all day. The feeling of his arms around me continued to raise goose bumps on my skin, and his masculine scent still tickled my nose.
Mom snatched the phone. “Let me see.”
Katie snickered, looking to Dad who seemed uncomfortable with the idea of his wife thinking any other man was hot.
“Hmm. Yes. He’s certainly handsome. But way too old for Cara.”
I gasped. “I’m not going on adatewith him! It’s a business meeting. Probably something to do with his daughter. He seemed really interested when I said I was a nanny.”
“But you have a job, pumpkin.”
I looked to my dad sheepishly. “Um. Actually, I’m no longer working with the Nolans.”
His eyebrows jumped. “As of when?”
“As of today. The details don’t matter.” I waved that part of the conversation away. I didn’t need my parents prying into my life any more than they already did. They were constantly hovering, asking questions, wondering when I was going to do X, Y, or Z.
Katie giggled. “This is so exciting, Cara. You’re going to be so close to brilliance. I have a ton of questions for him. Can I give you a list and maybe you could —”
“Easy, Katie. I haven’t even decided whether I’m going yet.”
“You have to!”
My parents exchanged a look. Dad took a deep breath. “Pumpkin…”
I knew that tone of voice. The we-know-what’s-best-for-you tone of voice. It had been haunting me for years. For a long time, I had trusted my parents’ opinions on nearly everything, from what career I should pursue to what shampoo I should buy. I was getting sick of it.
“I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
Fine. I’ll humor them. “Why not?”
“People like that…well, they have different morals than people like us. You understand?”
UsSmiths were staunchly middle class. Katie and I grew up in the same house my father grew up in here on Long Island. My mother was a teacher and Dad ran a small landscaping business. They worked hard, but we were also comfortable.
“They do whatever they need to get what they want,” Mom followed up with a look to Dad who nodded in agreement. “We don’t want you getting into a situation you can’t get out of.”
“You’re talking about him like he’s a horror movie villain or something. I’ll befine. Besides, I haven’t even met with him. Who knows what he really wants.”
“Exactly. Who knows? That’s the issue.” Dad took a sip of wine. “We just don’t want anyone taking advantage of you, pumpkin.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
Katie audibly sighed. I hated disappointing her. But I hated disappointing my parents more.
“There’ll be plenty of opportunities with people who aren’t going to use you up. Just you wait. Now —” Mom cleared her throat “— tell me about Danny. How did he look?”
I rolled my eyes. “The same as he always does.”
“Was he wearing those stupid glasses?”
“Katie!”
