Page 48 of One Sweet Lie

“Do you think Miss Hawthorne took them out via the freight exit?”

“I don’t see why she would ever do that, sir.”

“To punish me.”

“For what?”

“She hasn’t spoken to me since I sent her to San Francisco to get William’s pacifier.”

“I thought you sent her there to get her out of your sight for a while?”

“I killed two birds with one stone.” My heart was constricting at the mere thought of my children going missing. “The moment we find out where the hell she took them, I swear to God, I will?—”

I stopped talking when I entered my theater room.

They were all here.

Safe and sound.

William and Charlotte lay sleeping on the oversized chaise while Harlow softly snored beside them.

Olivia was curled into a ball in the back row, as if she’d snuck in here after them.

Kissing the twins’ foreheads, I pulled a blanket over Harlow and hit the lights.

NINETEEN

HARLOW

“As you progress through your career as a full-time nanny, you will want to watch out for this.” A woman in a ‘Top 10 Nanny Issues’ wagged her finger onscreen.

I was sprawled on my bedroom floor and watching her on to my laptop, too damn exhausted to take the extra few steps to the bed.

“Instead of laying it out,” she said, “let me ask you, are you suffering from irritability and annoyance with your boss?”

Yes.

“Do you find yourself wanting to throw something at the children?”

Only Olivia.

“What about stress eating and insomnia?”

Check, check.

“Perhaps feeling like the parents don’t appreciate you as a person and all you provide for their children?”

“Oh my god, just tell me how to fix this!” I shook the screen as if that would help her get to the point.

“You, my dear friend, may be suffering from Nanny Burnout.” She clasped her hands. “As uncomfortable as it may be, you need to draft ways to ask your boss for a break.”

I paused the video.

I didn’t want to waste a single second drafting a request; I needed to do whatever it took to get some time off. Now.

I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.

Standing up, I stretched my arms and took a few deep breaths. Then I tiptoed down the hall and up the steps that led to Mr. Dawson’s private office.

---