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Her mouth opened, and then quickly shut again. Abruptly, she turned forward in the seat and said nothing more.

That was fine by me. BecauseIhad something to say. And whether she wanted to hear it or not, I was going to tell her.

Chapter 11

Cami

Dang it.

I knew exactly what he was getting at. But I still didn't appreciate it.

Last night, I hadn't been his employee. I'd been a girl in my hometown, walking through a parking lot that I'd walked through at least fifty times already.

And yet, I couldn’t disagree with the gist of what he was saying. The truth was, I usually paid more attention to my surroundings, especially when I was on my own.

At night.

In a dimly lit parking lot.

With a stranger following after me.

I bit my lip.I hadn't even seen the guy.

I hadn'theardhim either.

Now, I heard myself say, "The guy was probably just walking to his car."

"Probably," Mason agreed. "But that doesn't change the fact that you didn't notice him." A new edge crept into his voice. "And I'll tell you this.Henoticedyou."

I didn't like the way that sounded. But I refused to give Mason the satisfaction. "So?"

"Listen," he said, "we both know you get it, so don't pretend otherwise."

"I'm not pretending anything," I said. "I just think it's none of your business, that's all."

"So I’m hassling you for no reason."

"Oh, so you admit you're hassling me?"

"Hell yeah, I'm hassling you." His voice hardened. "And when you're with Willow, I'll domorethan hassle you if you're not careful."

Nowthatdid it.

Once again, I whirled in the seat to face him. "Was that a threat?"

"No. It's a promise. You mess up with her safety, and you'll be out faster than the last one."

"The last nanny?" I gave a bark of laughter. "So you'll kick me to the curb at three in the morning, huh?"

His voice was deadly calm as he replied, "If it comes to that."

"Oh, please," I said. "What doyouthink? That I'll be taking a grade-schooler to a nightclub? And then, I'll text up a storm in some dark parking lot while Willow's left to fend for herself? Because if that's what you think, you probably shouldn't have hired me in the first place."

In the driver's seat, Mason looked way too composed in the face of my anger. Without so much as a glance in my direction, he said, "You can get pissed all you want, but here's the deal. Starting today, you're gonna be looking after someone who's important to me, which means you'll need to be more vigilant."

I made a sound of annoyance. "Which Iwillbe when I'm with her."

"That's all I'm asking." He gave a tight shrug. "What you do on your own time is your own business."