Friends with Benefits Read Online Free PDF Page B

just falls into bed.”
    â€œWhat about Anya?” Kiley challenged.
    â€œAnya couldn’t care less about fashion. Only makeup. Isn’t that bizarre? Her clothes are in a whole different room.”
    â€œI just want to point out that you sound really defensive,” Esme said.
    Okay, there was some truth to what her friends were saying, Lydia admitted to herself. But the “borrowing” wasn’t going to last forever. She had big plans to—
    â€œLydia, a mo’?”
    Lydia turned. She recognized the woman standing there, Evelyn Bowers, a publicist who had once tried to steal Lydia away from the moms—what Lydia called her aunt and Anya— with a sweet job offer. Lydia had remained loyal to the moms, realizing that without them, she’d still be eating roast monkey instead of pâté and truffles.
    Not one to miss an opportunity, though, Lydia did dangle the possibility of finding a nanny for Evelyn in exchange for a serious commission. Evelyn had bit, and Lydia had sold Kiley and Esme on the idea of a nanny agency. Kiley volunteered that her best friend, Nina, might be interested. For several days now, Lydia had been trying to reach this Nina in Wisconsin to settle the deal, but the girl hadn’t returned her phone calls.
    From the glare in Evelyn’s eyes, as she stood with her arms crossed in a size nothing white and green leaf-patterned bikini, it was obvious that the publicist was losing patience. Lydia’s response was to smile up at her as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The Amazonia tribesmen made an art form out of it— killing with kindness. The only thing was, often as not, they followed it up with killing for real.
    â€œOh, sure, Evelyn,” Lydia replied easily.
    Evelyn hoisted her Jamin Puech beaded silk bag with metallic leather trim farther up her bony shoulder. Lydia had seen it in a W layout on the most sought-after accessories. “Lydia. I’m not feeling entirely comfortable with our business arrangement.”
    This was not good, yet Lydia’s face still betrayed nothing. “Well, then we need to have a little chat about that.”
    â€œWhat we need is for you to deliver me an excellent nanny as promised.”
    Lydia smiled. “Evelyn, this is your lucky day. After an extensive and exhaustive search, I found her. Her name is Nina Hopson.”
    Evelyn seemed taken aback. “Well, that
is
good news. I figured you’d flaked out on me.”
    â€œNo chance of that, Evelyn,” Lydia assured her.
    â€œWhen do I meet her?”
    â€œWell, there is one little thing. She lives in Wisconsin. You’ll need to buy her plane ticket to Los Angeles.”
    This was true,
if
Nina was taking the job. Lydia had no idea if she was or wasn’t.
    Evelyn scowled. “Are you kidding me?”
    Lydia shrugged. “I’d just hate to see you lose out on an employee of this caliber. But if you want to settle for one of those girls where you need a bank of nanny cams just to make sure they aren’t abusing your children, well . . .”
    Evelyn considered this, tapping one impatient foot against the white concrete of the pool deck. “At the very least I need some references for you before I—”
    â€œHold on a sec, Ev—hate to be rude,” Lydia added, then nodded toward Kiley and Esme. “Evelyn Bowers, meet Kiley McCann and Esme Castaneda. They’re two of my nannies.”
    Evelyn gave them an appraising look. “Are you telling me you placed these girls in their current jobs, Lydia?”
    â€œOf course,” Lydia lied smoothly. She saw Esme and Kiley exchange a glance and hoped for two things. One: that her about-to-be-first-client didn’t notice. Two: that her new best friends were not about to be her new worst enemies.
    Evelyn switched her bag to her other arm and shook her perfectly streaked shoulder-length brown hair off her faux-tanned face. “For whom