Page 6 of What I Needed

“Umm, River⁠—”

“Take it. There’s a napkin in the middle with my number on it. Please think about it and give me a call either way.”

“When do you need to know by?”

“Tonight, if possible.”

“Erissa! You’re really pushing it tonight! Get to work!” Aaron barked.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was the assistant manager, but only one of our servers showed up today, so I had to pick up the slack.

“I gotta go.”

I busied myself by wiping down tables and setting them up for future customers. Before River left, he got my attention and mouthed, “Call me.” I nodded but wasn’t sure I would.

I knew nothing about being a nanny, and his offer came out of nowhere. I didn’t pay attention to his ring finger, so I had no idea if he was married or not. If he weren’t married, was his child’s mother around? He must not have family around to help him; otherwise, I couldn’t see him asking a stranger to take care of his child.

When I finally got a break, I went to the bathroom and counted the cash he’d given me. It was a thousand dollars, and my mouth was on the floor. Was the money his way of convincing me to take the job?

I finished my workday a few hours later, hopped in my old Camry, and headed home. On the ride, I thought about River’s offer, but was concerned that if I ended up being a horrible nanny, I wouldn’t have a job to go back to. It wasn’t the greatest job, but it was a job.

When I made it home, I showered, dressed in my pajamas, and called my best friend, Shakira. She lived across town with her older brother, and she’d been my one and only friend since high school.

“Hey, sis! How was work?” she answered.

“Hey! Today was interesting, to say the least.”

“Oh shit! What happened?”

“This tall, fine-ass man came in with his infant daughter. She was adorable, but very fussy. He had a hard time getting her to quiet down. I felt bad for him, so I took her, and she stopped crying almost instantly. Next thing I know, this man asked me to be her nanny.”

“Nanny? Are you serious?”

“Yep. Oh, and he left me a thousand-dollar tip.”

“Shut up! Who the hell is this man?”

“I have no idea, but I glanced at his card when he paid, and his name is River Westmore. Oh, and his daughter’s name is Riverlynn. Isn’t that cute?”

“Hold on, sis! Did you say River Westmore?”

“Yeah. He looks familiar, but I’m not sure where I might have seen him.”

“Girl! He plays for the Scorpions!” she exclaimed.

“The who?”

“The Black Elm Scorpions.”

“You know I don’t follow sports. Is that basketball, football, or baseball?”

“Oh my God! It’s basketball. He’s a small forward. Wait until I tell Sammie.”

Sammie was her older brother, and he was a huge basketball fan.

“He looks like a basketball player because his limbs are long as hell.”

She laughed. “I bet his dick is too. You should take the job.”