Page 21 of The Nanny Next Door

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. I hurried to finish my last coat of mascara before I scrambled to grab it, expecting Felipe to answer me when I said, “Hello?”

“I need you to get back over here.” Aaron Pierce’s sharp voice cut through my lavender lust-haze, screeching the night to a halt.

“Uh, Mr. Pierce?”

“Yes, who else would it be?” he snapped. “You need to get back over here. Now. Jamie woke up screaming, and I can’t fucking think with all of this noise.”

Now that he mentioned it, I could hear a grating, loud sound in the background of the call. I winced, but stood firm.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Pierce, but tonight is my night off,” I told him quietly. Gina and Christine were both staring at me with confused concern, and my heart was starting to race with the stress of this situation.

“I know that, Lila. I’m asking you to come in anyway. What don’t you understand about that?”

His volume had grown ever louder, his tone cold enough to burn, and I winced. Gina mimed punching something, threatening to fight Mr. Pierce for me. Normally, I would have laughed, but I could feel the rising worry spiking into fear.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Pierce. Another night, I–I would probably help you. But tonight I have plans.”

“Fuck,” he swore. “That’s just unacceptable. What fucking plans could be more important than your job?”

I held the phone away from my ear. He was basically yelling, now. Clearly, Aaron Pierce was not the type of man who was often told “no,” and in his desperation, he was taking it out on me. I could feel myself starting to well up with tears, and I didn’t answer his question. It didn’t matter. He had more to say, anyway.

“You know what? Fine. Don’t bother coming in for your next shift, either. I’ll have Holly watch the kid since you’re so goddamn busy.”

Panic struck through me. It came out in my voice, high and shrill when I asked, “Are you—are you firing me?”

“Not yet,” he snapped. And even though that technically meant no, that yet had me instantly bursting into tears. He heard my sniffle, and he said, “Oh, typical. I knew I should have gone with someone more mature.”

That struck a nerve. I Was great at my job, and the fact that I had feelings didn’t negate that at all. Plus, I was a grown adult. I paid my bills and took care of myself, no matter how hard it could be. I’d been underestimated, not taken seriously, by men like Aaron Pierce for my whole life because I was nice and had round cheeks and blonde curls, as if looking innocent meant I was naive and stupid. He was being a total asshole, and when a pause came over the line, filled only with the sounds of my hitched breathing as I cried, it seemed like he was realizing that himself.

“Shit,” he said, his voice having shifted entirely to something quieter and full of regret. In the background, Jamie still wailed the way I wanted to. “Lila, I?—”

“Goodnight, Mr. Pierce,” I managed to say through the choke of tears, and I hung up the call.

“God, fuck that guy,” Gina said while she now helped me fix the tear-streaked makeup I’d already applied. “You said he was a hard ass, but I had no idea he was a monster.”

“Yeah, that was uncalled for. You deserve a night off, and if he fires you for this, I feel like you should sue.”

“We’re here for you,” Gina said.

“We love you,” Christine agreed.

I still felt a little miserable when my phone buzzed again, this time with a text from Felipe.

Felipe: I’m here, gorgeous. Look outside.

When I scrambled to the window, I looked down to the street and saw my knight in shining armor—or rather, Felipe, looking dashing in a suit—standing in front of a shiny stretch limo. His smile was dazzling even from five floors below.

That image, full of hope and promise for the night to come, was just what I needed. Regardless of Aaron Pierce with his bad attitude and his unreasonable demands, I was going to have a good night. With Felipe, there was no doubt in my mind.

14

FELIPE

Even through her lovely smile, the wonder that shone in her brown eyes at the sight of the limo, I could tell something was bothering Lila the second she took her seat beside me. She was missing the sparkle that had drawn me to her from that first meeting on the street. Something had happened, and I needed to know how to fix it. The limo began to roll down the busy streets toward our destination, and I turned to the woman beside me.

“Lila, mi amor, you look stunning,” I told her first, because it was true. The dress she’d chosen hugged her curves deliciously, and though her face was always beautiful, I could tell she’d put extra time into her makeup. The thought that she put in that effort to get pretty for me sent a bolt of warmth through my body. “But there’s something bothering you, no? Did something happen?”

“I’m okay,” she lied pitifully. She tried out a gentle smile. “I just… let’s have a good night, okay?”

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