Page 25 of Stolen Fate

“Well, I am twenty-eight years old. I graduated with a degree in childhood education with honors, I—”

“No. I already know all of that from glancing at your resume.”

“And my background check, no?”

He raised an eyebrow at that, and I looked down. “Sorry. What do you want to know about me?” I asked.

I hadn’t been to many interviews. And I never knew what to say whenever a potential employer asked me to tell them about myself.

“What made you decide to major in childhood education?” Jace asked.

I looked down. “I guess I just like working with children. I always knew I wanted to do something that involved kids when I was younger. Initially, I had majored in psychology, with an emphasis on human development, especially from infancy to adolescence. Then I read a paper by Dr. Elizabeth Agapove. She based a lot of her research on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, in which a child learns how to be an independent learner and master of certain subjects based on the interaction and guidance of a skilled partner. A lot of her research is critiquing the American school system, especially during primary school. I guess after reading that, and reading about her, I wanted to make a difference. So I changed my major to childhood education.”

“And why aren’t you teaching right now? Why this nanny job?” Jace asked. I wasn’t sure what he thought of my explanation on why I changed my major. I wasn’t even sure if I explained myself properly. But I didn’t know how I’d go about explaining to him why I didn’t want to teach. It would be too simple to say I didn’t like it, even if that was the case—I wanted to work with children, but not in that capacity.

“I guess you could say I don’t have the right personality for it. I don’t have what it takes to be a schoolteacher and, in all honesty, I missed having that one-on-one interaction with a child. I went into teaching my first year out of college, but I felt so disconnected from the job that I couldn’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life.”

Jace nodded, and I swore that I saw a hint of a smile on his face. His intense blue eyes took me in, leaving me feeling almost… naked.

Vulnerable.

I hated it.

“What?” I asked, noting the strange expression on his face.

He shook his head, as if shaking away an errant thought. “Nothing. You’re just… not what I expected.”

“You had already formed an opinion on me based on my resume?” I asked, only half joking. I would have assumed he would look at the resume and see nothing more than an applicant, not the person behind it.

If he really saw me as a person, surely he wouldn’t want the woman he spent a night with to care for his kid, right?

“And the background check as well,” he said, with a small twist of his lips becoming an almost-there smile.

“Tell me why you want this job,” he said suddenly.

I didn’t think when I answered him. I didn’t have the mental energy to edit my words; I was just exhausted from these past few years. “I need to start over. Going to a new place, taking on a new job, seemed like the best way to go. Don’t you agree?”

“So you don’t have anyone here holding you back?”

“My family is here, but no, they’re not going to hold me back.”

“What about a boyfriend? Or a husband?” he asked, and I didn’t know what to make of the strange tone in his voice.

I looked him in the eyes and shook my head, my eyes turning hard. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend. Or a husband, Jace. You think I would have gone back to the hotel with you if I did?”

He shrugged, like he didn’t care for my outburst. “It’s hard to know these days.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Are we going to talk about what happened between us?”

“What happened between us?” he asked. I didn’t know if I should be grateful he was willing to put it all behind him or hurt that he could so easily do it, which shouldn’t make sense.

“What happened between us,” he began, “was between two consenting adults. It doesn’t need to affect the job if we don’t let it. As long as you take good care of my son, I don’t see a problem. Of course, you would be on a two-week probationary period, and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with what happened. I just need to make sure you are a good fit for him. Understand?”

I could only nod. He was giving me a lot to think about.

He smiled a little at that, and if I didn’t know better, I would say he seemed almost pleased.

“I would like you to meet my son. If you guys are compatible, then I would love to welcome you to my team. Do you have any questions for me?”

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