Page 93 of The Nanny and the Nerd
Penny
“Hi,Penny? Where’s Uncle Row? Did he have to fix your computer again?” Phoebe asked, bounding into the room with enough energy to light up the city for a year.
Penny surveyed the bathroom where Rowen stared at the basin, then proceeded to turn on and off the faucet in rapid succession. Did plumbers actually do that? She honestly didn’t know a thing about plumbing.Focus!She shook her head, getting her bearings. “No, my computer’s fine, sweetie,” she answered, gesturing to the device on the bedside table.
The child twisted her lips into a skeptical smirk before training her gaze on the bookshelf. “Did you need Uncle Row to get another book off a high shelf?”
“Nope, he’s—” she began when Phoebe interrupted.
“It’s Friday! It’s the plumber day,” the child answered as she skipped toward the suite’s adjoining bathroom.
Penny stood there, completely bewildered.
Did they have a sex excuse schedule?
Were they so predictable that a six-year-old figured out their little ploy? Their contingency plan might not be as crafty as they’d thought. But that might not be so terrible. Penny bit back a grin as a calming warmth radiated from her chest. They’d have to say something to Phoebe eventually. Things had gotten serious with Rowen. At least, that was her perception. She and Rowen were…were what? Coworkers? Teammates? They’d never discussed what exactly was going on between them.
The wave of warmth chilled.
What she had with Rowen had to be more than a fling, didn’t it? Or would it end after the sixty-day trial period?
AI-77 released on the sixtieth day—the same day as the Denver Poetry and Short Story Competition. But what happened after that? Would she stay on at Gale Gaming, or was she about to make like Cinderella and have this perfect new normal torn away only to be thrust back to barely scraping by in another dead-end job? And what about her writing and the contest? She hadn’t written a word in the last four weeks that didn’t belong to AI-77. A sickening sensation passed over her. But before her thoughts could spiral out of control, Rowen sauntered out of the bathroom and theatrically dusted off his hands.
“Looks like I fixed that leaky faucet again,” he exclaimed, sticking to the plumber ploy as Phoebe hurried to his side and waved him down. The child vibrated with excitement, hopping around like she’d downed six shots of espresso for breakfast.
Oh, no! Hopefully, she hadn’t done that!
“Uncle Row, today’s the day!” the child relayed in a whisper that could be heard two states over.
Penny narrowed her gaze. She couldn’t worry about what might or might not happen with her and Rowen—not now. No, what she needed to do presently was figure out what was going on between uncle and niece. Rowen may have temporarily scrambled her brain with the blockbuster sex. But now that she didn’t have this man’s cock working her into a heated frenzy, she could think straight. And she was done putting up with the cloak and dagger act.
“Today is the day,” he answered with a coy grin.
Penny threw up her hands. It was time to go total ballistic nanny. “Enough with the whispers, you two! What’s going on?” she demanded, as sternly as she could muster, before Phoebe’s outfit caught her attention. How had she not noticed? The child was dressed like she was expected at a luau, not a first-grade classroom. “Sweetie,” she said, softening her tone. “You can’t wear flip-flops and a straw hat to school. What happened to the outfit we picked out last night?”
“There’s been a change in plans,” Rowen answered, exchanging a knowing glance with his niece.
“What kind of change?” she asked warily. “It’s a PE day at school. Phoebe needs to wear sneakers.”
She froze. OMG! She sounded like her mother! Still, there was nothing worse than having to sit out in gym class because you wore the wrong shoes.
“There’s no physical education today,” Rowen answered robotically.
Had he lost his mind?
“There is. It’s Friday, and on Friday, Phoebe’s class goes to gym. It’s on her schedule. They’re also doing a science experiment, learning about things that sink and float. It was in the class newsletter,” she answered, growing more suspicious by the second.
“There’s been a change in the schedule. I’ve already contacted the school,” he answered.
“You contacted the school?” she shot back.
“You’re not the only one who knows how to use a fancy phone,” he teased. But she wasn’t laughing.
“Rowen, why isn’t Phoebe going to school today?”
“Phoebe might be missing gym, but we’ll be doing our own sink or float experiment soon enough. Show her, Phoebe,” Rowen said as his niece ran out of her room in a flurry of flippity-flops.
Penny crossed her arms. “What are you up to?”
