Nanny

31

I high-fived him. He laughed and shook his head while stepping into the elevator.

I liked Adam very much. It felt good to be sharing a woman with him again! It made us feel like brothers.

Kate walked out from the hallway in her workout clothes. She was wearing tight booty shorts that clung to her hips and ass like a second skin. I smiled widely at her and struggled to keep my eyes on her face.

"Look at you! All ready to go!" I said.

"While I was in Norwalk this weekend, I was kind of looking forward to our workout today. Can you believe that?"

"I believe this very much!" I replied. "Monday workouts are the best—starting the week off strong! Is Claudette here?"

The French woman poked her head out of the kitchen. "Where else would I be?"

"Excellent!" I said. "Will you indulge me in a favor?"

"Only if you ask me politely," she replied. "In a beautiful language."

"I will do no such thing."

"Then you will not receive a favor."

I glared at her. "S'il vous plait?" I asked in extremely guttural French.

She smiled sweetly. "Oui."

"Would you keep an ear out for the little ones while they nap?"

"Why?" Kate asked. "We'll be right down the hall in the gym."

"Not today," I replied. "Today we shall venture into the city!"

"Oh. I don't know..."

"I will hear no excuses!" I said. "The sun is shining! The air is fresh! It is a beautiful day! No woman as beautiful as you should remain indoors all day."

"Is that your opinion as a personal trainer?"

"It is my opinion as a human! Come!"

We took the elevator down to the first floor, then walked through the lobby. The doorman held the door and nodded to us as we exited onto the busy New York street.

I pressed a button on my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch. "To Central Park and back should be three miles. Onward!"

I started jogging west on the sidewalk, then turned north onto Sixth Avenue. Kate followed beside me, bouncing along. I had been truthful about the weather: the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous summer day. A cool breeze blew off the water as we ran through Midtown, stirring our hair.

Sunlight reflected off something to my right. I turned to look, catching a glimpse of a photographer, but they were aiming their camera up at the building.

I am paranoid after Leslie, I thought. The paparazzi often took photos of Brax, but never his employees by themselves.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked.

I beamed over at her. "I thought I saw Robert De Niro! I would have asked for an autograph."

She laughed. "I forgot how much harder it is to run outside, compared to a treadmill."

"Which is why you must diversify your exercises!" I said cheerfully. "Like one of Brax's portfolios!"

We were not able to run side-by-side for very long. The pedestrian traffic on Sixth Avenue was thick during lunch, and we had to weave through the crowd single-file. Kate was quiet, but when I looked back at her she seemed to be doing well. Breathing heavily, yes, but she had no trouble keeping up.

We reached Fifty-Ninth Street, which formed the bottom border of Central Park. I turned right, then right again to take Fifth Avenue southward.

Halfway home, Kate suddenly got a burst of speed and ran ahead of me. She gave me a challenging smile over her shoulder.

Now that I was behind her, I could not help but admire her body. I was not a weak man—quite the opposite! Hah!—but when it came to Kate, my willpower was very weak indeed. Her hourglass frame, ponytail swinging back and forth with every step. Her ass was quite shapely in her booty shorts, especially with the long strides she was now making. She glanced back at me once more, flashing a gorgeous smile.

Oh, the things this woman did to my heart!

We stopped at an intersection to wait for traffic. When the pedestrian light changed, I said, "Race you home!" and took off running.

I did not run as hard as I could, of course. I allowed her to take the lead by a single stride. I followed closely behind her, grunting softly to let her know I was there on her heels.

She staggered to a stop in front of the Nash Capital building. Sweat covered her face and she bent over with her hands on her knees.

"You. Let. Me. Win," she panted. "You're. Barely. Sweating!"

I turned off my GPS watch. "My job is not to race you. It is to push you. And push you I did! This was an excellent workout!"

I held out my palm, and after a moment she high-fived it.

We got in the elevator, and before it closed a man ran up and shouted for us to hold it. I blocked the door from closing. The man was Gary, returning from lunch. He had a fast food bag under his arm.

"Is this how you expect to build muscle?" I asked. "With fatty foods? You need protein, Gary! Not cheeseburgers!"

"Look, Mathias, I'm a busy guy," he replied. "I spend all day making deals. I have to grab something fast for lunch. Is this why you cut our workout short? To go running with some chick who's not even part of Nash Capital?"

"Excuse me?" Kate said. "Chick?"

"Oh don't roll your eyes at me," Gary replied. "You don't work here. I can tell. Mathias should be focusing on us. I bet Mr. Nash would be unhappy to hear about this..."

"You're right," Kate said slowly. "I'm sure Mr. Nash would be very unhappy to learn that his nanny was harassed in the elevator by a greasy-haired trader."

"N-Nanny?" Gary stammered. "You're..."

Kate turned to me and frowned. "Should I call Braxton now? Or wait until he gets home to let him know what happened?"

I struggled to hide my smile as I replied, "Oh, I think he should hear about this right away. The longer we wait to tell him, the angrier he'll be."

Kate nodded solemnly. "What did you say your name was?"

All the color had left Gary's face. He was as white as a blanket. "I... I..."

The elevator opened on the tenth floor, and Gary practically sprinted away from us. When the doors closed and the elevator started moving again, both of us started laughing hysterically.

"What a douchebag," Kate said.

"Oh yes. All of the traders are cocky assholes, but Gary is the largest bag of douche."

I grinned down at Kate. She was tilting her head up at me expectantly, with a curious glimmer in her eyes. Even with her sports bra, her cleavage was mesmerizing.

I slowly folded her into my arms and kissed her. Her lips were salty and warm, and she sighed as my hands ran over her sweaty body. I leaned into her, kissing her more deeply, but then she pulled away.

"I'm all sweaty," she said.

"I am also sweaty," I said. "Do you not wish to kiss a sweaty man?"

"No, it's not that," she said with a laugh. "I'm the furthest thing from sexy right now."

"I would emphatically disagree with such a statement," I said as the elevator slowed to a stop at the penthouse.

"I feel gross," she insisted.

"Then we had better take a shower," I replied. "I will join you. To make sure you get properly clean."

She grinned at me. "I thought you'd never ask."

One million points for Mathias!