The Au Pair Affair, page 1
Dedication
To all movie lovers like myself, and a special shout out to my LA daughter who’s making her way in the biz.
Chapter One
“Continuity is very important to us.” Dan Krefman stared at Louis with such an intent look in his dark eyes that Louis found himself automatically nodding along with his words. Continuity. Got it. Yes, sir. Right, sir. He wondered if this guy had ever been in the military. His erect bearing and direct manner suggested he may have been. Or he was just naturally rigid.
“For the children’s sake, we need to know we can count on whoever we hire to be with us for a while,” Dan’s ex-wife chimed in.
Louis recognized her as Crissi Jondalar, star of several blockbuster movies popular during the summers of his high school years. Of course, while his friends had been ogling this golden goddess of the screen, Louis had been fixated on the hard bodies of her leading men. Nearly a decade later, in her thirties, Crissi Jondalar’s beauty was honed to a sharp edge. When she glanced over at her ex-husband, her lips tightened. Louis wondered about the circumstances of the divorce.
Both the distinguished producer and the fading star looked expectantly at Louis.
“Continuity is so important for kids,” he offered to show he was paying attention. “They need to know what to expect in order to feel secure.”
It was true, but he knew kids could also get along fine with a guessing-game sort of life. He was proof of it.
“Trust is key,” Louis added sagely. He was starting to sweat, despite the shade of the umbrella over the patio table and the breeze blowing in from the ocean.
Man, he could get used to a view like this; lush plants surrounding the patio and infinity pool, and the deep blue of the ocean in the distance. Here in the hills, they were above the smog that valley dwellers choked down daily.
Louis turned his attention back to the power couple seated across the table with glasses of iced tea before them. The casual vibe of friends gathering to chat couldn’t conceal that this was an interview and he was on the grill.
“As I told you, Cara and Liam split their time between our two houses. Your presence in their lives will help bridge that gap.”
Dan Krefman’s voice was deep and rich and made the hair on Louis’s neck prickle. Something in the man’s eyes suggested secrets Louis would be happy to slowly uncover. He liked a puzzle. A challenge. But this was no time to let his overactive libido out for a run. A prospective employer was not somebody he should get hard over. This was new-leaf time with a clear separation of his business and sex lives.
“We’ve already had a couple of nannies who didn’t work out,” Crissi put in. “Everyone in this town is an aspiring something or other. Both of our previous girls quit when prospects for their acting careers came along. You don’t have intentions of becoming an actor do you, Louis?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Please, call me Crissi,” she corrected, “or Ms. Jondalar. ‘Ma’am’ sounds so old.”
“Sorry. I’m from Georgia originally. I was raised on ma’am and sir.”
“It’s respectful. I wouldn’t mind if our children picked up some of those Southern manners.” Mr. Krefman—who hadn’t told Louis to call him Dan—continued to study him as if searching for flaws.
Louis didn’t blame him. LA was full of crazies, and a person couldn’t be too careful about who he entrusted his kids to. A man like Dan Krefman would look thoroughly into Louis’s past, and it wouldn’t be hard to find those flaws. It was a wonder the nanny agency hadn’t uncovered them. Probably it would be best if he came clean with the Krefmans up front, but he just couldn’t blurt it out and lose this chance to start over.
“I’m not doing this while I search for something better,” Louis said. “I tried acting and gave it up. It’s not for me. I honestly care about children and helping families with working parents function as smoothly as possible.”
Crissi tapped a manicured finger against her perspiring glass of tea. “Of course, we’ll want to see how you interact with Cara and Liam. We’ll schedule a play date and evaluate how that goes. I understand this would be your first posting. I have to say, I’m a little hesitant to hire someone so inexperienced.”
“I may not have been a nanny before, but I know how to raise kids.” Louis offered the part of his past he felt safe sharing, although even this might be enough to turn off prospective employers. “I lived in a few foster homes growing up and babysat all the time. I know how to distract a toddler having a tantrum or coax an adolescent girl out of the bathroom when she’s traumatized by a zit. I know how to relieve a baby’s colic without taking the kid to the hospital. You can trust me with Cara and Liam.”
Was that a smile on Mr. Krefman’s grim mouth? The man was handsome enough in somber mode, but when his lips curved, it stole Louis’s breath. Krefman’s eyes telegraphed he’d liked Louis’s blunt answer. And, unless Louis’s senses were going haywire, he’d swear those eyes also contained a hint of sexual interest.
Hm. Interesting. Or not! Because he was here for a job interview, nothing more. No crushes or flings with a boss. He was here to turn over a new leaf and get on a different track.
Krefman checked his watch, then rose. “I have a meeting to get to. Crissi will call and arrange your introduction to the kids soon.” He held out his hand.
Louis rose and took it. One hard clasp and a quick shake left his palm tingling. “I’m sure looking forward to meeting them.”
Krefman left, walking swiftly, the line of his suit and the way he moved keeping Louis’s eyes on him until he disappeared into the house. Only then did Louis turn his attention back to Crissi.
She was scanning the skimpy résumé the agency had helped him develop. The furrow between her eyebrows made him nervous. She pushed her chair away from the table and stood.
“We have several more interviews scheduled. You should hear back from me in a few days.”
Louis nodded, sensing her doubts and wondering what he could say to alleviate them and get a chance to at least meet the kids.
Crissi started to lead him toward the driveway but paused at the edge of the patio. “I have to tell you, I’m not sure I’m on board with the idea of a male nanny. It’s probably un-PC to admit, but I feel there’s an element of female nurturing I don’t know if a man can match. And your résumé is…nearly nonexistent. Dan thought we should review a full spectrum of people so we added yours to the mix.”
This was her way of telling him don’t hold your breath for that call. He had maybe seconds to change her mind.
“Thank you for being honest with me. I understand your reservations and sort of expected them. But I’d love to have the chance to at least spend time with your children before you make a final decision. As I said, I’m a kid wrangler from way back. I like them. I get them. And they seem to respond to me.” I’m fucking Mary Poppins. Just hire me, already!
Blue eyes studied him, and then a former-beauty-queen smile lit her face. The fine lines around her eyes and mouth only added character. Apparently she’d shunned Botox and surgery. Crissi was a good actress, from what he’d seen. Better than the material she’d had to work with. Louis decided to play that angle a little.
“By the way, Ms. Jondalar. I wanted to say how much I’ve appreciated your work over the years. Your early adventure movies are fun, but I think you’re just coming into your own dramatically.”
Her smile thinned. “Thank you. Unfortunately, audiences seem to want more of the same from me, and critics…” She waved a hand.
At the risk of sounding like a total brownnoser, Louis added, “I saw Undisciplined and thought your performance was subtle and truthful. I really did.”
“Thank you,” she repeated, but her smile was completely extinguished, and Louis began to wish he hadn’t brought up her recent indie film, which had tanked.
“I’ll call,” Crissi promised again after she’d walked him to his car, but Louis thought if she really wanted to, she’d set up an appointment for him to meet the kids right then.
As he drove his beat-up Taurus back down the hill past beautiful mansions in landscaped splendor, Louis prayed to God, Mary and sweet Baby Jesus that he’d come off well during the interview. He was desperate for a fresh start and an end to his aimless drifting. At age twenty-six, it was time to settle down to something. Raising rich people’s kids sounded like a safe haven to him, a port in a storm where he’d be happy to park himself for a good long time.
“I liked Elianne, the German one. She seemed very sweet. But Louis did have…something, a certain forthrightness I really liked.”
Dan only half listened to Crissi’s waffling. She could dither for hours over a decision. The rest of his attention was on the spreadsheet showing the alarming rising costs on Birthright. The film was only halfway through production but quickly devouring its budget like the undead the movie featured.
“I like the guy too,” Dan said. “Add him to the shortlist. He may not have a degree or anything in the way of credentials, but it sounds like he’s got real life experience.”
“Dealing with crack babies and scarred juveniles.” Crissi’s voice over the phone was distant, distracted. He wondered what was up with her.
“Cara and Liam should be a piece of cake, then. I say we give the guy a break and try him out.”
Dan blinked away the scary numbers, closed his eyes and pictured Louis Guzman instead. Shiny black hair and tan skin, but eyes a pale green at odds with his Latin looks. There’d been a sincerity and down-to-
“This is a person who’s going to spend hours of time alone with our children. How can you be so nonchalant about choosing someone?” Crissi demanded.
“I’m not. All I said was it wouldn’t hurt to give Louis, or any number of the applicants, a try. We shouldn’t be limiting our options before we’ve even seen how these people interact with the kids.” He gritted his teeth. Crissi could be so illogical and frustrating sometimes.
“You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I’m just tired. I want this to be over and to know we’ve made the right choice. I’m so afraid we’ll lose another nanny in a few months like before and have to start the process all over again.”
Dan bit back a retort about “rich people’s problems”. Crissi tended to whine if caviar wasn’t the perfect consistency or wine wasn’t properly chilled, but she was a good person. He’d loved and lived with her for six years, and she was the mother of his two amazing kids. He loved her still—in a nonsexual way.
“Look, you don’t have to handle it alone. We’ll each take a couple of the candidates and set up dates. Two for you, two for me, gives us four possibilities. Cara will let us know who the right person is. She can see through bullshit and recognize a good heart.”
“All right. I’ll take Elianne and Louis. You take Bridget and Serena.”
Disappointment shot through him, and he realized he’d hoped to see Louis again. Not good. He couldn’t deny the surge of attraction he’d felt at his first glimpse of that compact, finely muscled body, the shock of coal black hair and those piercing eyes. Dan had managed to conduct Louis’s interview in a professional manner while fighting the inappropriate heat, but now he had to admit to a hidden ulterior motive for wanting to include Louis in the next round of interviews. He honestly believed the guy would be good with kids, but he also wanted to see him again. So wrong. Probably it was a good thing that Crissi had put him on her list.
“E-mail me a copy of their resumes. I’ll keep in touch with you about the scheduling,” Dan said.
On his computer screen, Cara and Liam were chasing after seagulls at the beach. His heart swelled to bursting at the image of two laughing, curly-headed kids who physically favored Cris more than himself. “Hey, put Cara on, would you?”
“Sure.”
The screensaver changed to a picture of a sunset with the two kids silhouetted against it, then to a photo of them taken at the zoo. It flipped through three more shots before Cara came on the phone.
“I’m watching ponies, Daddy. Whaddya want?”
Dan decided to ignore her typical five-year-old bluntness. “Just saying hi. What you been up to?”
“Watching ponies. Ember and Sparkle are about to cross the Bridge to Nowhere and save the other guys.”
“Sounds cool.” Note to self, get Cara any sort of pony paraphernalia for her sixth birthday.
“Yeah. So I gotta go.” Impatience simmered in her voice.
Maybe it was time for a lesson in manners after all. “Whoa, girl. You have a remote?”
“Yes.”
“You know how to use it? Press Pause and talk to me for a minute.”
A long-suffering sigh came from his little princess, but when she spoke again, she sounded considerably more cheerful. “Know what? Liam peed his pants today like a baby.”
In Dan’s mind, Liam still was a baby. “Well, he’s still learning. Did you know boys usually take longer than girls to potty train?”
“Yeah? That’s ’cause boys are dumb.”
“Not dumb. It’s just the way our bodies work. Be nice to your little brother. It’s up to you to help him grow up, not make fun of him. You didn’t like it when kids at preschool were mean to you, did you?”
“No.”
“So don’t make Liam feel bad or small. Okay?”
“Yeah. Hey, when are we going to your house?”
“Day after tomorrow. That’s two sunrises.”
“I know, Dad. I can count.” Suddenly he could hear what Cara would sound like at sixteen instead of almost six. His instinct was to tell her to be respectful, but he doubted she meant to be rude. He sure as hell didn’t want to be the hardheaded disciplinarian his father had been.
“Love you, Daddy. Miss you this much.” Several loud wet kissing sounds followed, and Dan’s worry evaporated as his heart melted again.
“Love you too, Kermit. See you soon.”
He leaned back in his chair. A photo of their family taken shortly after Liam’s birth popped up on the screen. Dan’s arm was around Crissi, the kids cradled in the middle, sheltered by their love. It looked like a magazine illustration of a family—perfectly happy. But Dan remembered those last couple of years of marriage had been the darkest part of his struggle, those days when he’d finally begun to admit who he was and what he wanted. Emerging from the closet had been a slow, extremely painful process. Hell, he wasn’t finished with the journey yet. He still hadn’t told his parents why he’d divorced Crissi. That was one last hurdle he hadn’t mustered enough courage to face.
Dan thought about Louis Guzman and wondered what his story was. From his demeanor, Louis was pretty obviously gay. Foster homes suggested a tough background. When had Louis admitted to his inclinations? Who had such a boy confided to? Someone must have steered him right, because Louis seemed comfortable and confident in his own skin. He probably had no trouble finding guys to date.
Imagining Louis connecting with other men soon had Dan fantasizing about the hot prospective nanny in wildly inappropriate ways. Jesus. Maybe it was time he hit the club scene and started acting on his new gay life instead of just daydreaming. But the club scene—gay or straight—wasn’t really his thing. He and Crissi’s mutual friend, Mara, had been trying to get Dan to meet her gay cousin practically since Dan and Crissi split up. Maybe it was time to take her up on that offer to arrange a blind date. He’d call her. Sometime.
But right now he had work to do—talk to the director of Birthright and get his spending back in line. Dan picked up the phone.
Chapter Two
“Wanna play Legos?” The blonde, curly-haired girl looked up at Louis with eyes as bright a blue as her mother’s, but something about the set of her jaw and her intent gaze reminded Louis more of her father. He’d met Dan Krefman only briefly, but the guy had left a strong impression. Too strong. Louis had been ridiculously disappointed to discover Dan wouldn’t be on hand for the play date.
“Sure. What do you want to build?” Louis scooped up a handful of smooth building pieces and let them trickle through his fingers. He’d loved Legos as a kid and would’ve given his left nut to have as many as this girl had instead of the sparse collection that could hardly make anything. “A castle? A skyscraper? A rocket ship?”
“Fort. The ponies have to defend themselves from the invazing horde.”
Louis’s eyebrows shot up at the mangled word, and he looked at Crissi, who was observing them at play from a distance. Nothing awkward or uncomfortable about that.
Crissi smiled. “Cara has an extensive vocabulary for a five-year-old.”
“I guess so.” He turned his attention back to the child. “All right, then, Miss Cara, let’s build some protection for these ponies and fortify it.”
He hoped the Krefmans didn’t have an issue about using weapons in fantasy play. In his opinion, fighting bad guys was part of being a kid. It was empowering for little ones, who probably felt pretty helpless most of the time living under adult rule. Keeping evil at bay and protecting worlds they created was a constructive thing, which just happened to sometimes require swords or heavy artillery.
Together Louis and Cara slowly raised the walls of the fort, snapping in piece after piece.
“No windows. The bad guys might get through,” the little girl ordered. “They want to take over the kingdom and kidnap Princess Bright.”
“Why?” Louis asked, curious about what motivation she attributed to the baddies.
“Because they’re bad guys.” She gave him a duh expression and plugged a gap in the wall with a square of yellow.
“Of course, but maybe they have another reason,” Louis suggested.
Cara pursed her lips. “Maybe the head bad guy is in love with Princess Bright. He wants to marry her and carry her off to his kingdom.”
