Bad Seed

Something about him didn’t sit well with me. His eyes raked up and down my body and I tried to ignore him, as the kids clung to my legs.

I could almost feel the nervous tension coursing through their little bodies. Clearly, this man made them uncomfortable.

“And who is this beautiful young woman?” Gianni asked.

“This is a friend of mine. Brooke.”

“How do you do?” I asked.

“Much better now that I’ve had a chance to look upon such beauty,” Gianni said.

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes right in his face. He was laying on thick and I could hardly suppress a laugh. Guys like him never ceased to amaze me. I felt the kids press themselves into me a little more, and I gather

ed them to me.

Their obvious discomfort was starting to translate to me and I wanted nothing more than to get the kids and myself away from this smooth-talking lothario. My protective instincts were kicking into high gear. “Kevin, I was wondering if I could talk with you for a second,” Gianni said. “I’m sure your nanny can watch the kids for a little bit.”

“I’m hardly a nanny,” I said, offended by the thought.

“Girlfriend?” he asked, a spark of interest in his eyes.

“He already had that chance,” I said.

“I told you, she’s a friend,” Kevin said, looking slightly annoyed. “And yes, we can talk. Kids?”

“Yeah?” they both said.

“Why don’t you guys show Morgan and Brooke those flipping tricks you were trying out yesterday?” he asked. “I bet they would love to see them.”

My eyes darted over to Kevin before I turned and walked away with the kids, their feet scurrying to get back to the house.

I took the kids down the waterslide once before Kevin was back in the water with us. Whatever it was, the talk must have been short. I felt awkward all of a sudden, like something more was expected of me, when I was simply trying to enjoy my vacation.

The more I thought about, it the more annoyed I became. “Brooke, could I talk with you for a second?” Kevin asked.

I looked around for Morgan and snickered when I found her chatting up some buff guy over by his hut.

“Sure,” I said. “What’s up?”

“I’ve got a meeting on the books with Gianni for tomorrow.”

“I thought you were on vacation,” I said.

“It’s just a quick meeting. No more than a couple of hours.”

“Business always calls,” I said, not bothering to hide the disdain from my voice.

“Look, it’s not like that. I made a commitment to have this meeting with him. That man runs the largest banking institution in Italy. Scoring him could open up an entirely different sector of my company.”

“And you want me to babysit. On my vacation,” I said.

“It’s just for a couple of hours, and I’ll pay you for your time. It’s just that I didn’t come out here equipped to have my children watched.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be conducting business on your vacation with your children. I’m sure you only get one weekend a month with them, right?” Now I was fishing, trying to determine exactly what his marital situation was.

I watched something flare in his eyes and it caused me to take a step back. He stared at me, saying nothing, until I felt compelled to speak again.

“Two hours?” I asked.