Page 21 of The Billionaire's Virgin

Chapter Seven

Reed

I marked the page and put down the manuscript. The story was solid, but the writing was clumsy and confused. I knew that taking a chance on this particular book would involve a lot of work. Editing was always a harder process than people realized.

I knew I was spreading myself thin by insisting on taking home manuscripts every day, but this was how I had built Free Bird Publishing in the first place. I didn’t want to drop the ball now. Usually, I would still be at the office, but Jenna had come down with a fever that morning, and I wanted to be home to put her to bed. She had gone to sleep while Taylor sang comforting songs to her and I had slipped into the living room to continue working.

Three weeks had passed since Taylor had entered our lives and the difference was phenomenal. Jenna loved her to death, and I saw that the female presence really did make a contribution. Apart from that, however, it was a massive help to me. The apartment was always clean, Jenna and I had delicious home cooked meals, and I didn’t find myself worrying about Jenna as often as I used to.

Taylor was loving, kind, and patient with Jenna, but I noticed that she was also a firm disciplinarian. She always made sure that Jenna picked up after herself. She always made sure Jenna’s homework was done before playtime, and she ensured that TV time was limited to one hour a day, and two hours on weekends.

Apart from that, weekends were devoted to new outings. Taylor would organize trips to the park and the local museums, to the zoo and the aquarium. It had fueled Jenna’s interests and made her more curious about a range of different things. After visiting the Manhattan Children’s Museum, Jenna couldn’t stop talking about Japan. She even wanted to try eating sushi. She had also expressed an interest in marine life after we had visited the aquarium last week and she was adamant that she wanted to go again soon.

Sometimes it almost felt like I needed to compete with Taylor. She was so gifted when it came to bonding with Jenna that it made me feel a little inadequate at times. Which is why I had planned an outing on my own for the coming weekend. I had invited Taylor along too, and I had justified the invitation by reasoning that Jenna would have more fun with Taylor there. The truth was a little more complicated, however. I enjoyed having Taylor around. She was light-hearted, warm, and easy to talk to. And there was something heart-warming about watching her interact with Jenna.

And there was that little distracting fact that she was beautiful, and no matter how used to her I got, I couldn’t seem to get used to that. It had started to become a real problem, especially since I’d dreamt about Taylor two days in a row now. The first dream had been relatively innocent, but the second one had been far more explicit, and I had woken up with a raging hard-on.

I was trying to figure out a way to get around this uncomfortable preoccupation when I heard Taylor clear her throat and I turned. She was standing there with a small tray.

“I thought you might need a little snack,” she said. “It’s getting late, and you didn’t have any dinner.”

I realized that I was a little hungry and I nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Taylor.”

“No problem,” she said, setting the tray down in front of me.

There were fruits, nuts, and some crackers with an interesting looking dip to go with it. She also had a strong cup of coffee on the side.

“This looks great,” I said, reaching for a cracker. “I’m sorry that I had to ask you to stay late tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Taylor said. “Jenna was sick… I would have wanted to stay whether you had asked me to or not.”

I smiled. “Why don’t you join me?” I asked before I could stop myself.

I really shouldn’t have gone there, especially with my attraction to her, but it was one of those things that you did even though you knew better.

“Are you sure?” Taylor asked. “I don’t want to distract you.”

I almost smiled at that; little did she know that she was constantly distracting me. Her very presence was a distraction, that and the seductive grey-blue of her eyes.

“You’re not,” I said. “I’m taking a break.”

“Okay,” Taylor said, as she sat down in the chair opposite me. “I just checked on Jenna, by the way. Her temperature has come down.”

“Thank God,” I sighed, in relief. “I was hoping it was just a passing fever.”

“It’s going around apparently. Two of her friends didn’t show up to school yesterday because they were sick.”

“The perils of preschool.”

Taylor smiled. “She should be fine tomorrow. Until then, I’ll watch her carefully.”

I nodded. “You’ve taken really good care of her,” I observed. “I appreciate that.”

“It’s my job,” Taylor said simply. “But quite apart from that, I care about Jenna.”

I smiled, trying not to focus too much on her eyes. They had a habit of drawing you in. I sipped my coffee and took another cracker.

“This dip is great,” I said.