An Agency Story: Double Trouble: Agency Stories

By Emme Salt

Ashlyn's nannied for the Stewarts before—she knows precisely what's expected of her, and the sordid pleasures that wait for her every winter break. But this time, someone new is waiting for her at the Stewarts' cabin in Aspen: sweet, innocent Shanna. Will Ashlyn overcome her jealousy as Shanna is initiated into the Stewarts' wicked secret?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emme Salt
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201596156

Book preview

1

The Agency offer was incredibly generous. All expenses paid, and a stipend to cover a semester’s worth of tuition. It was, of course, not the first time that I worked for the Agency—last winter, I spent three weeks with the Stewarts in their Aspen cabin.

It had been rewarding, to say the least.

My résumé said that I had worked as their nanny. And of course I had taken care of the Stewarts’ three children: waking them up, feeding them, keeping the little rugrats out of trouble. But to tell the truth, I spent even more time entertaining their parents. Most nights. The occasional morning. Once in awhile, an afternoon, if the kids were napping.

To me, they were strictly Mr. and Mrs. Stewart—I had been specifically warned by the Agency to keep it professional. I could never refer to them by their first names. They called me Ashlyn, Ash, whatever they wanted. They were my employers, and they deserved my respect—my utmost respect. Obedience, even.

And to be honest, I fell in love with them a little bit when I watched them flirt with each other, crack jokes, argue and make up. Mrs. Stewart was a slim yet deliciously curvy woman with beautiful lips and a warm smile. Mr. Stewart may as well have been a dead ringer for Brad Pitt, as far as I was concerned—he was a tall, athletic man with deep set eyes and broad shoulders.

I got used to their quirks: Mrs. Stewart’s love of oatmeal raisin cookies at breakfast, Mr. Stewart’s habit of winding down with a newspaper at dinnertime. And the way that they looked at each other, as if they’d never fallen out of that crazy first stage of love: well, I felt lucky to be with them, if only for a little while.

In fact, it was a playful snowball fight between them that had started everything. Mr. Stewart had been aiming at his wife but had hit me instead; I fell over onto the soft snow, laughing, as they scrambled to make sure I was okay. Mr. Stewart tripped as he was getting to me, landing next to me in the snow, and he had impulsively kissed me. To my surprise, Mrs. Stewart merely kissed the tiny bruise that was forming on my forehead, and then lowered her lips to kiss me herself.

It was magical. The snow falling down around them, their breath misting in the frosty air: I let myself be kissed, and kissed them both back. They went back to the cabin, and I let Mr. Stewart take off my jacket while Mrs. Stewart undid my belt, and lifted my sweater over my head, and the night got hotter and sweatier than I ever could have imagined for December.

The Agency had been pleased with me, obviously. I received the message two days after I returned home that the Stewarts wanted me back for another vacation. They even let me keep the keys! So here I was, back in their sprawling Aspen cabin, waiting for them, feeling butterflies flutter in my stomach.

It was late, maybe eight o’clock, when the doorbell finally rang.

I had been waiting in the cabin since the afternoon…I’d long since unpacked and made myself comfortable in my old bedroom. Sitting in an overstuffed armchair, I was doing my best to read a book to pass the time, twirling my loose chestnut curls around my finger.

To tell the truth, I had no idea what was happening in that book. I must have read the same page fifty times. Instead, I ended up staring at the peaceful, endless falling of snowflakes outside the window. At the sound of the doorbell, my heart began to hammer in my chest, and I jumped out of the chair and raced down the hallway towards the stairs.

I was halfway down the stairs when I stopped dead in my tracks, my hand frozen on the bannister. Wait. The Stewarts have the keys. Why the hell would they ring the doorbell?

It had to be someone else.

I walked down slowly now, one step at a time. I’m wearing a tank top and pajama shorts, I realized. My hair is a mess. Where are my shoes? It was totally ridiculous to answer the door like this. Too late now.

I looked through the peephole to see only a glimpse of bright blonde hair in a French braid. Who would be here at this hour, besides the Stewarts?

Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the door and opened the door. Snowflakes swirled in through the doorway on the cold wind.

Hello?

A beautiful, petite girl smiled at me, her blue eyes wide and friendly. I could see her warm breath in the frosty air. "Are you Mrs. Stewart? Hi,