Interception: (Love for the Game Book 2) Read online

  “You poor thing. I’m Tarryn. Come on in and out of the rain.” She gestured me inside into a small waiting area where four other women -- all considerably older than myself were waiting.

  "You're our last one. If you could just fill out this paperwork and consent form for a background check, we can get started with our interviews. Thank you."

  She disappeared through the curtains that were set up, blocking off the second part of the room.

  I looked down at the paperwork on my lap. There was a non-disclosure agreement, which was solely for the interview process. Was I joining a cult? I then read the name -- Ian Jackson. I knew that name, but it couldn’t be right. Ian Jackson is the quarterback for the Oricon Twisters. Handsome, talented, and the TCA Male Athlete of the Year recipient last year.

  What the hell was someone like me doing here?

  Chapter 3

  Ian

  I rolled my eyes at my sister from across the table that she had set up in the middle of her salon. She was gracious enough to let us use the space since she had no appointments that morning, so I couldn’t complain. Rather, I shouldn’t complain.

  I had agreed with her that things were getting too overwhelming and that a nanny would be the best bet for all of us. And although I knew there were a lot of crazy people out there -- her mode of conduct seemed to put me at ease. She created non-disclosure agreements, performed extensive background checks, and required at least 10 references.

  Even though Tarryn was my little sister -- she looked out for me, even moving here when I joined the team over a decade ago.

  “So, there are 5 women out there interviewing for the job. I want you to keep an open mind about them and ultimately find the two that are the best fit. We have another group coming in tomorrow as well, and then your final choices can meet Lily, and we'll go from there."

  “Very formal of you, Miss Manager." I laughed but quickly stopped when she shot me a look. "I get it, and I really do appreciate all of the help.

  The interviews got underway, with the first three blending right into each other. All of them were retired educators looking for a way to pass the time after realizing how much they missed being away from working and the children. They all wore bright blazers and carried large bags full of educational supplies and toys. I bet if I asked, I would find that they had pockets full of peppermints.

  It wasn’t until the final woman entered that my attention was entirely focused. Her hair which cascaded well past her shoulders seemed a bit unruly as if she had been caught in the rain. Actually correction, she had been caught in the rain. Her white blouse was wet, sticking to her body. Her bra and toned stomach were visible through the thin material, and I had to look away -- suddenly uncomfortable.

  I focused on a dustpan left out in the corner instead. When I looked back up, she had taken the seat in front of us. Her arms were folded across her chest as if she could hear the thoughts that kept sneaking into my head. Wow, she’s a beauty. Her body is amazing.

  “I’m so sorry. I got caught in the rain and didn’t have an umbrella or anything to change into…” She trailed off. She was rambling, nervously. It was then I noticed that the side of her shirt was stained with some sort of paint.

  This rambling girl who had been caught in a mess of a day was actually beautiful.

  “That’s okay.” Tarryn stood up. “Jenna, this is I-”

  "Ian." She leaned towards me, uncrossing her arms, and I was again distracted as she shook my hand. She needed to leave her arms crossed. Her scent, a mixture of mint and coconut, was also intoxicating, filling the room.

  “I’ve heard wonderful things about you. Well, rather seen. You really do great work on the field.” She trailed off again, struggling as if she couldn’t figure out if she wanted to say more or wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

  I knew one thing, however. There was no way I could have this woman in my house with a body like that. It would be just asking for trouble. Plus, Lily deserved a professional and modest nanny. I needed to do what was best for her.

  For the duration of the interview, Tarryn asked all of the questions for me. I let my thoughts wander, although I kept them mainly PG until Tarryn asked her what kind of activities she likes doing with children.

  I then noticed the white poster she had rolled up underneath her arm. I watched as she carefully unrolled it with her dark red nails. It happened in slow motion. A beautiful unicorn, a little smudged from the rain no doubt, manifested before our eyes.

  It was made with watercolors. Jenna was a painter. Just like Hillary had been. It was too much.

  “Well.” Jenna began. “Painting with watercolors is actually a hobby of mine. So if that’s something-”

  "That'll be all." I stood up abruptly, hoping that if I was short with her, she'd roll that damn painting up and get the hell out of here.”

  “Oh.” She said softly, a hint of sadness to her voice as she no doubt was wondering what she did wrong. She folded the unicorn picture in half and crammed it into her bag. "Okay, thank you, everyone."

  “Thank you.” I nodded as I watched her nervously back up and through the curtains. She looked as if she was going to cry the entire time. I knew I was going to get an earful the second the curtains stopped moving.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tarryn hissed. “That was rude.”

  "I was rude? She came in here all disheveled, and she kept rambling. It’s not safe to have someone like that in my home.”

  “Not safe?” Tarryn studied me, her eyes unblinking. “You wanna tell me what that was really about?”

  "Already did," I said firmly. "Bring the first two -- Rosie and Dee I think their names were by to meet Lilly."

  “But-”

  “I’ve gotta go." I stood up. "I have a meeting with Coach." I did, plus I wanted to hit the gym. I had two more days off, and my laundry list of things, football-related and not, were growing.

  When I reached the door, I turned around and looked Tarryn square in the eyes. She raised her eyebrows, and I knew at that moment she was up to something.

  "Please, for once, just listen to me. I know, best." I implored as I let the curtain fall between us. I didn't know best, and we both knew it. I just couldn't have something or someone in my life to overcomplicate it any more than it already was.

  Chapter 4

  Jenna

  “Seriously?” I quickly stuffed my laptop into my bag and raced out of the library that I was doing some job searching at. I had thought that I didn’t hear the woman on the phone properly, although if there’s anywhere to hear someone properly -- it’s in the library.

  “Yes, seriously.” Tarryn’s voice had a slight hint of annoyance, and I knew I needed to stop asking if this was legit.

  “Okay. I will be there tomorrow at 4 p.m.” I scribbled down the address with my lipstick – the only thing I had in my purse to write with. It was a street I had never heard of, and I let my curious thoughts wander as to what Ian and Lily’s house looked like. I had never met anyone even remotely famous before. Well, one time, I met a gentleman at the laundromat who claimed to be actor Benny Bonnets’ cousin, but I’m not quite sure I believed him. He smelled a bit drunk and kept looking through dryers.

  “And, do call when you’re outside, and I will buzz you in,” Tarryn said.

  “Absolutely. Thanks again for the opportunity.” I gave an excited squeak and hung up before I could embarrass myself further with any awkward word vomit.

  A group of smokers gathered near the fountain outside gave me a curious look, but I ignored them. I still had 10 minutes left before I needed to return from my lunch break, but I didn’t want to go back into the library.

  The second I set foot back into the salon to return to work – I realized that I should of for the last 10 minutes I had left.

  “Darling, before you sit down, could you clean out the fridge for us? There's something rancid back there." Mindy, my boss, asked as she leaned over my desk. She was so close to my fa
ce that I could see the tiny places on her face where her caked-on makeup was breaking, and her wrinkles were beginning to pop through.

  I had already sat down, but I couldn’t tell her no. She was already placing gloves and a garbage bag on my desk, so it would be a moot point.

  “Quickly, now. The next appointment is in 10 minutes." I knew this. I had come back 10 minutes early from lunch purposely so I could enjoy that freedom before Greta came in for her wax.

  I took the gloves anyways and headed towards the back to the break room, which was empty at this hour. No doubt, the smell that was seeping through the fridge was the culprit.

  I opened it up and began throwing away neglected Tupperware containers and expired dressings.

  "I don't even know what this is." I opened the lid on something that resembled gray eggs and nearly puked. This wasn't fair. I was a receptionist, but more often than not, I didn't feel like it. I was instructed to clean the bathrooms, the fridges, run miscellaneous errands, and go above and beyond the job description. I needed that nanny job for my own sanity. We hadn’t discussed pay yet, but I had anticipated it would be quite a nice bump up from my basically minimum wage job. Can you imagine the lavish vacations his daughter likely embarked on? Although I had never been close to any celebrity. I knew that they liked to overcompensate for their hectic schedules by showing material love. Perhaps the same would happen to me.

  That wasn’t the main reason I was interested. Ian was handsome, and I genuinely missed having that mother-daughter connection with someone.

  “All done?” Mindy was back.

  My dream of a tropical vacation with Ian’s arms wrapped around me on a beach disappeared quickly. It was replaced by Mindy’s frown as she literally looked down on me.

  “All done.” I tossed the gloves on top of the trash instead of at her like I wanted to do.

  “Can you take the bag out to the dumpsters too, pretty please? Then, wash your hands and return to your desk.”

  I gritted my teeth and did as I was told. But I was pretty much checked out emotionally for the rest of the day. I had promised myself that if this job didn’t work out -- I wouldn’t stay here.

  When all of the staff was booked with various waxing and nail appointments for the rest of the day, I chanced a look at a news website I had kept up. I needed to learn everything about Ian Jackson. He was very private, I had learned. Opting for very few interviews other than the postgame conferences and a few words after a big win. He seemed pretty even-keeled. There were no tabloid scandals, no angry outbursts at losing, nothing that stuck out about him.

  All of the articles not centered around football focused on his late wife, Hillary Jackson. I opened one of the latest ones posted, a vigil held a few years ago at the site where she died.

  Community remembers the late wife of Oricon Twisters quarterback Ian Jackson two years after her death.

  I let my eyes briefly skim the article. Ian's wife was hit by a car while out walking the dog one night. The driver had fled the scene and was never caught, and their dog was never found.

  I quickly closed out, suddenly feeling sick. Who was I fooling? I was by far less qualified than those other women that were in attendance at the open interviews. I had spoken with one woman who had been a teacher for 30 years and another who had been a nanny for at least 10 years with various different prestigious families.

  Did they think that I could possibly be a replacement mother figure? Is that why I made it to a callback? I suddenly wasn't sure if I felt comfortable, but one thing was for sure. That still would be a better option than sticking around here.

  “Oh, Jennaaaa," Mindy called out in a sing-song voice. "Greta had a particularly painful wax today. Can you walk her to her car?”

  Chapter 5

  Ian

  My whole body was sore from this morning's practice, and now, I had to get ready for an entire new ordeal before returning tonight for a second one. The house was busy this morning, but I was feeling accomplished. I thought the hardest part was admitting that I needed help, but it turns out it was actually finding qualified help.

  Tarryn was right -- there were a lot of weirdos out there, but she had taken the liberty of sifting through just about every applicant. I was thankful she was taking into account what I wanted. I wanted someone older, focused on helping Lily with homework, and someone who wouldn’t distract me this season.

  A knock on my door caused my eyelids to flutter open. Tarryn and Lily’s heads poked in.

  “Hi. Don’t kill me.” Tarryn said in a soft voice, the voice she always used when she did something I was absolutely going to hate.

  "Yeah, daddy. Please don't." Lily echoed after she and I noticed she was holding something in her hand.

  “What is that?” I took the drawing from her and unfolded it. “And how long have I been out for?”

  “It’s a rainbow," Lily said excitedly.

  “And not long.” Tarryn finished.

  “Where did this come from?” I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach.

  “There’s someone you need to meet and before you-”

  "No," I said firmly, my voice rising with anger as I realized what was happening. "Absolutely not. Goddamnit, Tarryn.” I cringed when I saw Lily’s wide-eyed expression.

  "Lily, please go play in your toy room. We need to have an adult conversation,” I instructed her.

  “Don’t yell at her, daddy.” Lily scolded me, likely referring to her new potential nanny and not Tarryn. She grabbed the picture back from me and headed out.

  I knew what Tarryn had done. She had hired that young girl who had no business being a nanny for my daughter.

  "Lower, your voice. Jenna's downstairs."

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Tarryn?” I raised my voice. I honestly couldn't believe that this woman standing in front of me was my sister. My sister, who has been there for everything and has always had my back. And now, she did this.

  “Hear me out.” She kept her voice calm, hoping I would follow suit. “She’s a nice girl. She’s been a nanny so don’t come at me like I hired some serial killer. But most importantly, Lily needs someone like her.”

  “Someone like her? You mean a mother replacement?” I couldn’t believe her.

  “Knock it off with this replacement shit for one second, Ian. Absolutely nobody is trying to replace Hillary, but I can’t be here all the time with work. Lily needs a strong female role model, which I felt from Jenna. Not one of those old biddies who will treat her like a young child who needs to be put in her place -- she gets enough of that at the academy.”

  “Fine.” I took several deep breaths. I knew she was somewhat right.

  “You know I’m right. Now, come meet Jenna Burk, and please just give her a chance.”

  I had to remind myself that everything we did was for my little princess, and if this is what made her happy and put her on the best path for the future, it’s what’s needed to be done…even if I hated it.

  Jenna was sitting on a stool when we came downstairs. Her long tanned legs were crossed neatly at the ankles. Her skirt was hiked up a bit shorter than it should have been, but I made it a point to put any and all thoughts about her out of my head.

  “Jenna Burk.” I walked towards her and reached out a hand to take hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on being our, uh Lily’s new nanny.”

  Tarryn made a small noise next to me – no doubt because I had confirmed what she wanted. Jenna was in.

  “Thank you.” Jenna’s tanned cheeks colored slightly under the black wire-framed glasses she was wearing. “Your daughter is a darling, and you have a lovely home, Mr. Jackson."

  “I will leave you three to get acquainted. I’ve got to get back to the shop.” Tarryn turned and left but not before giving both Jenna and Lily a quick hug goodbye.

  "Thank you for everything," Jenna whispered to her, loud enough for me to hear.

  “So…” I trailed off with an awkward laugh. “I’m sorry. I�
��m new to all of this. I’m not exactly sure where to begin.”

  "You can start by giving me a tour if you'd like?" She stood up, smiling at both of us.

  “I can do it!” Lily excitedly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward as I lagged behind, studying her. Her long black hair had been straightened, and she seemed like an entirely different person than the frazzled creature who attended the open interview. She was poised, warm, and I hated to say it, but Lily just seemed to click expertly with her right away.

  By the time we made it to Lily’s art room -- I felt like I was an intruder as I leaned against the door frame and watched them talk.