Free Forget Me Not 1: DECEIVED by Liv Bennett

Trish chatting with the girl at reception and both become silent as they notice Kenneth. “Wait here,” Kenneth orders in a soft but commending voice when we arrive at the seating area across from the reception desk.
    Pressing my work contract and my handbag against my chest, I take a seat on the wide couch, my face turned toward Kenneth. I hear him say, “Can you please leave me alone with Alice,” and Trish nods and strolls toward me.
    “So.” Trish glances down at her red-polished nails as she lowers her body against the armrest of the chair next to the couch, not wasting a glance at me while clearly talking to me. “You’re the new nanny?”
    “I am.” Lifting my chin, I let my eyes examine her without caring about formalities and grin knowingly.
    Perhaps sensing my tease, she stops examining her hands and focuses her attention on me. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Loraine changes nannies like underwear. She’s very possessive of Kenneth, as you can imagine.” Her eyes move over from me and find their way to Kenneth, longingly staring at him.
    I chuckle, but don’t respond to her comment verbally. It’s better to let her spill her beans than give her any clue about my thoughts or feelings.
    “I’d be very careful, if I were you. She can put you out the door with the snap of her finger if she suspects you’re interested in Kenneth.” As the words roll off her lips, she faces me, lifting her chin higher to look down on me with a spiteful glare. “She might look warm and friendly at first sight, but she’s a heartless bitch when it comes to protecting what’s hers.”
    “Loraine isn’t a heartless bitch,” I say loudly, because I see Kenneth walking toward us and I want him to witness that his dear little assistant isn’t actually the employee of the year.
    Shooting up to my feet, I make sure my face conveys every little bit of anger I feel when I add, “Both Mr. and Mrs. Carter have been nothing but very kind toward me. I don’t know why you’re speaking so badly of your boss’s wife behind her back.”
    Looking panicked and fearful, Trish stands and abruptly turns her head to her side to check on Kenneth, who’s now standing next to her.
    “What’s going on here?” Kenneth asks with a curious tone in his voice.
    “No…nothing.” Trish shoots me a warning glare. I keep quiet, of course not because her threat actually scares me off, but because Kenneth is neither deaf nor stupid enough to misread my words and must have come to his own conclusion without me having to inflame the situation more.
    Her head bowed, Trish excuses herself and dashes out of the building. I apologize to Kenneth for the loud discussion and, fortunately, he doesn’t insist on an explanation. Quietly, I follow him out to the gated garage and stop as he opens the door of the front passenger seat of his BMW for me.
    I try my best to imitate the way Loraine climbs into a car but can’t keep my knees together as she does and end up having one leg in and the other out while scooting inside the car. My cheeks turn hot again at the sight of the graceless position of my lower body, more so because I hear Kenneth chuckle before he closes the door.
    To my surprise, there’s no private chauffeur driving us. Instead, Kenneth slides behind the wheel and starts the engine. He doesn’t turn on the radio and drives in silence. Rather than getting desensitized to his presence, I become more aware of his every move. Be it a subtle drawing of a breath of air or a loud clearing of his throat, my body responds to his every little gesture. Hormones rush thick in my blood as excitement and desire fill me. The longer I gaze at his thick brown hair, the smooth skin of his face, the rippling contours of his body and the more I inhale his scent, the less control I feel of my growing urges.
    While on the other hand, my curiosity about Loraine’s plan rises to new heights. He clearly loves his wife and is very protective of her and