Page 25 of Don’t Fall for the Billionaire

Chapter Twenty-Five

Charlotte

I stepped inside the school, said goodbye to Eloise, and went into the office to sign us up for the talent show.

“What are you doing?” Mackenzie, one of the nannies, walked up.

“Signing Eloise and me up for the talent show.”

“You’re doing it with her?” Her eyes widened.

“Yes. We’re going to dance.” My brows furrowed. “Why are you acting so shocked?”

“A few of us are meeting at the coffee shop down the street for coffee. Join us.”

I glanced at my watch. “Sure. I have some time.”

I inhaled the aroma of French roast and cinnamon that filtered through the air when I stepped inside the coffee shop.

I smiled when I saw the other nannies chatting at the table, feeling like this was their own safe corner of the city away from their employers and duties, even if just for a short time.

“Guess what Charlotte was doing when I found her in the office?” Mackenzie told the group.

“What?” Millie asked.

“Signing her and Eloise up for the school’s talent show.”

“You did what?!” Maddie exclaimed, leaning forward, eyes wide.

There was a moment of silence before the table erupted.

“Oh, honey.” Millie shook her head, stirring her coffee with slow, gentle circles. “Kitty Corners is going to eat you alive.”

“Come on.” I laughed. “It’s just a school talent show.”

“Not when that witch is involved,” Marissa said, sipping her coffee. “Her daughter has been practicing some over-the-top piano piece since last year. She even hired an additional piano teacher. That’s two piano teachers who come to the house every single day.”

“Kitty doesn’t see this as a cute night for the kids. She sees it as a blood sport, just like she does with the fall bake off,” Mackenzie said.

“She really has it in for you ever since that day you told her off at the school,” Marissa said. “I overheard her telling Mr. Corners that if Eloise enters the talent show, she’ll only make a fool of herself because she can’t dance, and she can’t wait to see her fail.”

My hands tightened around my mug of coffee. The thought of Kitty saying that about Eloise sent a protective heat throughout my body.

“That’s exactly why I signed us up. Eloise deserves a win, and I’m going to make sure she does.” I smirked.

The nannies exchanged glances.

“Girl,” Millie said, shaking her head. “Either you’re crazy, or you’ve got more guts than all of us combined.”

“Maybe a little of both. But I’ll be damned if I let Kitty Corners teach Eloise she’s anything less than extraordinary.”

They all went quiet for a moment until Maddie held up her coffee cup. “To Charlotte. The woman brave, or crazy enough, to take on Kitty Corners.”

Smiling, I clinked my cup against theirs. Brave or crazy, I wasn’t backing down, and we were going to win.

“Soooo,” Marissa said, leaning forward, staring at me. “What is Mr. Cross like? I mean, the man is sexy as fuck. What is he like as a boss?”

“I honestly don’t know how you can live in the same house with that man,” Maddie said. “I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of him.”

If they only knew.

“He’s fine. Didn’t Maura ever talk about him?”

“Ha.” Millie laughed. “Maura wasn’t part of our group. She was a mean and nasty woman who kept to herself. She was ALL business and wouldn’t give us the time of day.”

“We were happy when we learned she had moved back to England,” Maddie said.

“Okay, ladies. I have to run. I have pies to start baking for Saturday. I’ll see you at pick up later.”

When I arrived back at the townhouse, Sylvia informed me she had to leave for the day because she had just gotten a call that her daughter was in labor.

“Good luck. Make sure to send me a picture after he’s born.” I smiled.

I gathered all the ingredients for the pies. I wanted to get a head start now, and then I’d have Eloise help me bake some more on Friday since there was no school for teachers’ in-service.

Today’s pie lineup was ambitious, but manageable.

An apple crumb, a lattice-topped apple, an apple raisin, an apple cranberry, an apple with a twist, and a salted caramel apple topped the list. Luckily, the hard part was already behind me since I’d prepped the crusts and sliced the apples the other day.

All I had to do was whip up the fillings, pour them into their shells, and slide the pies into the oven where the kitchen would soon smell like heavenly autumn.

I tapped the music button on my phone, and music began blasting through the speakers in the house.

I was in my happy place—baking pies and listening to music.

I needed to think of a good song to use for our talent show dance.

The song “Yeah” by Usher began to play, and my body started moving to the beat, doing hip-hop dancing in the kitchen, when I should have been filling the pies.

Ashton

I’d just left a meeting a couple of blocks from the house when I went to pull out a business card of a colleague and noticed my wallet wasn’t in my pocket.

“Shit. Dominic, I need you to drop me off at home for a minute. I think I left my wallet upstairs on the dresser.”

When I approached the front door, I heard music blaring.

Sighing, I opened the door and stepped inside.

Leaning against the doorway, unnoticed, with my arms crossed, I watched Charlotte dance to the kind of beat I’d tune out, but it had her moving like the kitchen was her stage.

She shouldn’t look that good dancing around in sweatpants or making me forget everything on my schedule, but damn if she didn’t.

I wouldn’t lie and say my cock wasn’t happy, because it was.

There was a rhythm in her I hadn’t expected.

The last time I saw her dance was with Eloise, and it was for fun.

But this—this was different. Her moves were sharp when the music snapped, and soft when it blended into the next beat.

She had no idea what she was doing to me with her flushed cheeks and a smile so wide it felt like it cracked something open inside me.

It was dangerous because it made me want things I’d promised myself I’d never want.

“Oh my God!” Charlotte jumped, placing her hand over her heart. “What the actual fuck, Ashton!” She turned off the music.

“Sorry.” A wide grin crossed my face. “I left my wallet upstairs, and I came to retrieve it.”

“God, you cannot sneak up on people like that. You should have announced you were here!”

“I’m not sure you would have heard me over the obnoxiously loud music. You’re baking?”

“Yes. I need to get a head start.”

“Do you always dance while baking?” I asked with a smirk.

“I’m multi-tasking. Baking pies for the bake off/fundraiser and figuring out music and moves for the talent show.”

I took a few steps toward her and placed my hand on her cheek.

“I had no idea you could dance like that. I think you missed your calling in life.”

“You’ve seen me dance before. Besides, I love dancing for fun, not a career.”

“I know I’ve seen you dance, but not like that. You were in full-on serious mode.”

“Because we have to win. It’s not even an option. I had coffee with the other nannies this morning, and Marissa told me that she overheard Kitty tell her husband that if Eloise enters the talent show, she’ll only make a fool of herself because she can’t dance, and she can’t wait to see her fail.”

“She said that?” My brows furrowed.

“According to Marissa, yes.”

“Then you do whatever you have to. I have to grab my wallet and get back to the office. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the show.” I winked.

As I sat behind my desk, with my chair turned, and the city skyline staring at me, my eyes barely registered the view.

My fingers tapped against the armrest in restlessness, like my body was trying to work out the tension my mind refused to let go of.

She broke my concentration for the day. If I didn’t have so much work to do, I would have stayed home, bent her over the island, and fucked her hard after seeing her dance.

Then I would have taken her to my bed and gone another round.

Piece by piece, she was dismantling me. Every damn day since she moved in, she’d terrifyingly chipped away at my carefully constructed wall.

The same wall that kept me from becoming the man I swore I’d never be: my father.

Clenching my jaw, I turned my chair around and leaned forward on my desk, rubbing the back of my neck.

I couldn’t let myself be pulled into something I knew only ended one way: broken.

Charlotte wasn’t safe, especially for my heart.

And certainly not for my carefully controlled life.

She was pure warmth, chaos, and temptation wrapped in a smile that made me forget all the reasons I had to stay cold.

She was going to completely rewrite me if I weren’t careful.

I wouldn’t let it happen. I swore it. I balled my fists and tapped them on my desk for a part of me knew it was already too late.

“Uh oh,” Charlie said, walking into my office. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Talk to me, Ash.”

“It’s really nothing. Just my mother and Raphael are flying in today and insisted on meeting for dinner.”

“Why is your mother coming to New York?”

“Raphael has some business here, I guess.”

“So both mommy and daddy are present in the big apple. Wow.” He chuckled.

“Don’t remind me. The last thing I need is for them to run into each other. Remember what happened last time?”

“How could I forget?” He laughed. Your father accused her of ruining him. She called him a liar, a cheater, and a coward. He called her pathetic. And then they went for blood, right there in front of us at the table.”

“Exactly. Acting like two strangers who couldn’t remember they’d once promised each other forever.” I shook my head.

“Is Charlotte going?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Why? Why would your nanny join you, Eloise, and your mother and stepfather for dinner?”

“My mother invited her.”

The sound of a buzzer escaped his lips. “Wrong answer.”

“Eloise wants Charlotte there. She’s attached to her.”

“Does she want her there or do you want her there?” His brow arched.

“Eloise wants her there. I don’t really care either way. I have to get to a meeting.” I stood and buttoned my suit coat. “I’ll talk to you later.”