Mr. Tanner's Babysitter

Chapter Three

                                                                                           Payton 

            "Good morning, Payton. Thank you for making Rob's job easier and being on time."

           My eyes tried to focus on anything other than his perplexing eyes that bore into mine. His place was beautiful but lacked a sense of family to me. I stepped out of the elevator and moved my hair behind my ears. "Good morning to you as well, Mr. Tanner."

           Trent extended his arm for me to adventure further into his home. "Follow me. The boys are excited to meet you."

           My hands were a little sweaty as I was incredibly nervous about meeting his children. If one little thing went wrong here, I was sure to be without a job come tomorrow. I needed to make a great first impression on his boys. I held my breath and followed him to a spacious living room that would exceed anyone's expectations. As I stepped into the room, my eyes fell onto his two boys sitting on the floor with their legs tucked under them.

           "Boys, this is Payton. She is the one that I was telling you about. Come over here and do not be shy. Payton is a nice young lady."

           Who I proceeded to be, Jeremiah stepped forward first. "Hi," is all he said to me.

           I bent down until we were eye level with one another. Most children felt more comfortable meeting you for the first time if you were willing to show them you were equals. "Jeremiah, right? I heard you are the man of the house when your dad is not around."

           Jeremiah's eyes lit up, and I could see he began to let his guard down just a little. "Yes, ma'am. I am the oldest, which makes me the one in charge around here when daddy is not home."

           "Well, between you and me, ma'am makes me kind of feel a little old, so how about you call me Payton instead?"

           He chuckled and shook his head, yes. As he stepped out of the way, a much smaller boy approached me. This child was much different than his older sibling. Isaiah was a shy child. I could tell by the way his shoulders tensed the closer he got to me. He also held on tightly to the stuffed panda bear he was holding in his arms.

           "Ah, would you look at that little fellow? I take it that you would be little Isaiah. Could you maybe introduce me to your friend there? I love panda bears. Maybe we all could be good friends."

           Isaiah smiled widely at me. Then, out of nowhere, he wrapped his little arms around my neck and squeezed. As he pulled away, he pressed the stuffed panda bear close to my chest. "His name is Pandie. Pandie is a little shy too."

           I hugged his stuffed animal before handing him back over to Isaiah. "It is okay to be a little shy, especially when a stranger is around. I will tell you what, though. I guarantee that we are all going to be the best of friends, and I will make sure that Pandie feels very safe with me."

           After spending a few extra minutes watching the boys, Trent pulled me along with him as we walked a few steps into the kitchen. "You handled that very well. I would go so far as to say that I was impressed."

           "I was only honest with them. They both seem like great kids."Trent looked at me differently now than he had when we met only yesterday. The way his eyes locked onto mine made me crumble inside, and my throat went dry.

           He shook his head and snapped out of the state he seemed to be in. "Well, I have to run. I have a meeting with the board this morning about our latest numbers. There are instructions on the fridge about what they can and cannot eat. Make sure to read over it thoroughly, please." Trent walked back into the living room and gave his children hugs before taking off to the elevator and leaving me to get to it.

           "So, what are some of your favorite things to do?"

           Jeremiah took the opportunity to speak first as Isaiah sat there, twirling the fabric of his shorts in his finger. "We have already had breakfast, so maybe we could play a game or something."

           Having these boys like me was super important, so I nodded along with Jeremiah. "Okay, that sounds like fun. I have a great game that we can play to get to know each other a little better. I know I am a stranger to you both, but if we play this game, we will all feel a little more comfortable with each other."

           "What kind of game?" Jeremiah asked.

           "It is called twenty questions. You play by all of us sitting in a circle. When it is your turn, you ask me a question, and I have to be completely honest with you about it."

           "So, who goes first?"

           "You can go first, Jeremiah, since you are the man of the house."

           Hearing me call him the man of the house seemed to make him happy, which was something I duly noted. "What is your favorite color?"

           I placed my finger to my chin as if I was deep in thought. "That is a great first question. I would say that my favorite color is blue, but not just any blue. It would have to be sky blue."

           Isaiah's shyness seemed to disappear as the questions went further along. After an hour of sitting around asking each other questions, I learned a lot more about them. Isaiah loved anything that pertained to Spider-man. He thought he was the best superhero ever to live. Jeremiah's favorite thing was to watch movies. He said that watching movies made him feel more connected to the world since they did not get to leave the penthouse much now since they were out of school for the Summer.

           For the rest of the day, I played so many games that I was honestly worn out. These boys definitely kept me on my toes. We ended the night by playing hide and seek after dinner. Once it was eight, per Trent's request, I tucked them into bed while reading them a bedtime story about knights.

           Once I was alone, I went into my new room to get changed. Rob had brought most of my belongings over this afternoon. My room was gorgeous and big enough to fit two of my apartments inside. After I got changed into some black shorts and my favorite red button pajama top, I snuggled up on the sofa in the living room and turned on some television. I had every intention of writing, but all I wanted to do was prop my feet up and relax. I must have fallen asleep because when my eyes opened, the movie that seemed like I had just started was now rolling the ending credits. I did not realize how tired I truly was. My eyes strained around the darkroom to find a light that I could turn on to help navigate my way back to my room. After bumping into several things, I finally found a lamp to turn on.

           "Payton, you should be sleeping in your room," Trent said from out of nowhere.

           When I turned around, I jumped right into his chest. He was still wearing his business suit, so it must not have been long since he had been home. "I was watching a movie. I must have been more tired than I thought. It will not happen again."

           "That would probably be for the best. You talk in your sleep."

           My eyes looked crazed as I stared into his eyes. "Wh...what did I say exactly?"

           Trent licked his bottom lip as he ran his hand through his hair. "Nothing important." His eyes moved over my entire body that suddenly made me awake and aware. "You should get some sleep. You will be coming with me for a good part of tomorrow."

           "What about the boys?"

           "Their mother's sister is coming to get them for a trip they have been planning all Summer. Since Summer is coming to an end, I suggested that she do it now before they are back in school."

           "Oh," I said.

           "I know that starting you today was a bit unneeded, but I had no one else. Look at it as a three-day vacation before the fun begins because those boys will run you wild if you let them. Besides, I am interested in buying something that I could use your expertise on."

           What could Trent possibly need my expertise on? The only things I was good at was reading and writing, and I am sure that was not what he needed me for. "Yeah? What could that possibly be? You already own Tanner's Publishing. If it doesn't involve reading or writing, I am sure I probably would not be the best person for the job."

           "From what I have read, you are good with numbers. You have a bachelor's degree in financing, and that is the kind of help I need for tomorrow. My financial advisor is out on leave for a short time. There is no one else I would trust to run the figures for me to see if this place would be worth investing in or not. I did some research and spoke to some of your previous professors, who all say that you were their brightest student. That is the kind of person I need for tomorrow."

           I could not tell him no now. Everything I could do to impress him right now would only benefit me when it came to our deal. "Sure. I will see you in the morning. Goodnight, Mr. Tanner."

           As I brushed past him, his hand accidentally glided along my thigh. Even in the faint light, I could see his blush. Trent brushed it off and coughed while undoing his tie. "Goodnight." He then rushed off into the direction of what I would assume to be his room.