Page 4 of Off Limits (Alpha Billionaire)

He walked up to one of two matching dressers and opened the top drawer. “This one has Max’s things, and you will have the other one. You will have to share closet space, I’m afraid.”

I was shaking my head. I was perfectly fine with sharing closet space with a four-year-old. “No, no, this is fine.” The last placement I had been at barely had a closet with a bed in it for me.

“Join us for dinner. We can discuss the specifics,” Mr. Anderson suggested.

I nodded and followed him out of the nursery. He began telling me what rooms were what. We went down a different set of stairs and along another hallway. I was going to need a map to find my way around this place.

“Wait here a moment. I want to see if my mother is up for a quick introduction.”

I nodded. “Do you like your grandmother?” I asked Max.

“She my nana,” he said in a small voice.

“Nana? Okay, I’ll remember that.”

“Jessica, would you…?” Mr. Anderson gestured for me to step inside.

An older woman, not nearly as old as I was expecting from his manners, sat in a recliner, slowly twisting yarn around a crochet hook.

“Mom, this is Jessica Kobble. She’s going to be Max’s nanny.”

“I thought you were interviewing. I guess everything is going well?” Mrs. Anderson asked.

“Just look at Max. He’s taken to her immediately. He won’t let her put him down.”

She smiled up at me and gave me a weak smile. “I do hope you like it here, Jessica. Max is a dear boy.”

There was something about the quality of her voice. She was frail, not that I could tell with her sitting under a lap blanket.

“What are you making? I crochet too,” I said, happy to find something I could chat about that wasn’t the weather. Weather was a boring topic.

“I’m working on an Afghan. I’m afraid it will take me a long time. My hands, you see.” She held out one hand, showing off her swollen knuckles. “But it gives me something to do.”

“You’re using a lovely fiber. I’m sure it will be amazing once it’s finished,” I said. It was lovely fiber, and I wanted to rub it between my fingers to get a feel of it. I was concerned that the hook she was using was a thin aluminum one and not one with an ergonomic or easy hold grip. I could bring that up later. That wasn’t something to mention on a first meeting, or maybe…

“I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but if your hands hurt holding the hook, have you tried one of those fat grip hooks?” I asked.

Mrs. Anderson smiled and gave a slight shake of her head. “I’ve had this hook for years. I couldn’t imagine using anything else.”

Just then, a clamor at the door caught my attention. A middle-aged woman carried in a tray covered in plates. When she lifted her gaze and saw me and Mr. Anderson, her neutral expression changed to a very obvious glare. “I thought I told you your mother needed her rest. What is he doing back here?”

“Mother said she was up to meeting the new nanny. We didn’t simply barge in on her,” Mr. Anderson said.

“Well, you need to leave now,” she ordered us.

“It was lovely to meet you, Mrs. Anderson.”

“I’ll look forward to seeing you again, and chatting about what you like to crochet next time. Come let me give Max another goodnight kiss. I’ll be going to bed after dinner.”

“You want to give your nana a kiss?” I asked the boy. He gave me a wide-eyed nod. I set him on the ground so he could walk over to her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the middle-aged woman snapped at me.

“Clara, it’s fine. She’s just letting Max give me another hug.” Mrs. Anderson bent to the side and gave Max a light hug.

His father scooped him up so his mother could reach the boy better. I felt stupid. No one had bothered to tell me what her limitations were. How was I supposed to know?

“She can’t pick him up. He’s too heavy,” Clara barked at me.

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