Page 8 of Bad Nanny

“With your purse puppet?” His eyes fell to my purse, which I still had slung across my body.

“Sometimes.” I reached into my purse and took out the new sock puppet with pink polka dots and bunny ears.

He’d opened a can of worms—or in my case, a purse of puppets—and I slipped the puppet on my hand and used it to talk. “Josie uses a lot of different forms of puppetry. She always has a sock or finger puppet in her purse, but she prefers hand and rod puppets, like the Muppets.”

“Interesting.” The man still didn’t crack a smile or give any indication of amusement. If I had Sarah Swoon with me, she’d ask him if he liked rod puppets, since he seemed to have a stick up his ass.

“Interesting, indeed. She is a very talented puppeteer, and she even makes all of her own puppets. It makes her very hoppy.” I was really nailing this interview.

“Put the puppet away.” His voice carried the kind of authority that commanded boardrooms and probably a lot of women in the bedroom.

Yes, sir.I tucked the bunny back into my bag. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Sometimes I get a little carried away.”

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “A little?” His lips twitched, the first sign that he wasn’t such a stick in the mud.

From what I’d seen so far, he was all about order and routine. I was the complete opposite, which was one of the reasons my dad and I weren’t as thick as thieves. He’d tried putting me in a box, which was great for someone like my sister, but for me, it was stifling.

“Taking care of Delaney isn’t going to be easy. She has been through a lot and doesn’t do well with change. I have a detailed schedule of her days to keep her anxiety low, and in the six months she’s lived with me full time, she’s had fourother nannies.” He spoke as if he were delivering a quarterly profit report to a roomful of investors.

“May I ask what she’s been through and why you’ve struggled with keeping a nanny?” While I wasn’t opposed to dealing with a difficult child, I probably wasn’t the best person for the job.

“Her mom left her at day care and took off. She’s been struggling with separation anxiety. As for the nannies, I have high standards.” He grabbed a binder I hadn’t even noticed on the side table next to him and handed it to me. “Two nannies were fired and two quit.”

“Well, that’s...fun.” I flipped open to the first page. “Laminating the pages is a nice touch.”

As I scanned the table of contents, I wanted to laugh and throw the binder at him. He was certifiable. There were several pages for each day of the week, and when I looked at Monday, Delaney’s day was planned out to the minute.

“The issue has been sticking to what is in the schedule. I also had an issue with one who was always on their phone and had a guest without permission. You’ll want to review the guidelines laid out for living here. There is an attached studio apartment that has a full kitchen and its own entrance.”

I flipped to the tab that detailed the living arrangements. “This looks acceptable. Would I be required to work or stay on the weekends?”

“There will be some weekends when I will need you, but for the most part, your working hours will be Monday at seven until Friday at noon. Most days, I’m home by six and you’ll be free unless I need help. If anything changes, I’ll give you advance notice.”

“Sounds reasonable.” I closed the binder, seeing all I needed to. I’d be able to keep my dad off my back and have some freedom while I figured out my next moves with my budding career. If I didn’t get fired, she’d start school in the fall, anyway. “When do I start?”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I haven’t offered you the job.”

“Mr. Badden.” I folded my hands on the binder in my lap. “You’ve had four nannies. I’m probably not your first choice, and my use of ‘fuckballs’ isn’t your cup of tea, but Delaney responded to me, and while I haven’t been in her exact situation, I lost my mother at a young age too.”

He studied me closely while drinking the rest of the liquid in his glass. “I will need to run a background check and run your fingerprints. I already called your references.”

My glowing recommendations would explain why he even entertained the idea of an interview. “That won’t be an issue.”

He stared at me with an intensity that made me blush. There was something about this man that intrigued me. On the surface, he was calm and collected, but in the coffee shop and for a moment in the conference room, when his daughter had come in, I’d seen vulnerability. I had so many questions, but if he wanted me to know details about Delaney and her mother, he’d tell me.

“If everything checks out on your background and fingerprints, you can move in over the weekend and start on Monday. Would you like to see the studio?” He stood, seemingly done with my interview.

“That’s it? You aren’t going to grill me with hypotheticalquestions?” I placed the binder on the coffee table and grabbed my water, needing something to fiddle with.

“I trust your father’s judgment, and the references I called impressed me with their praise for your hard work and dedication.”

I followed him back to the foyer, where he led me down a hallway, pointing out the garage, the laundry room, and the entrance to the studio. It surprised me when he opened the door, revealing a large room that was beautifully decorated.

There was a queen-size bed, couch, and a small dining table with two chairs. The kitchen was designed the same as the one in the main house, but on a smaller scale. A place this nice would rent for a few thousand a month.

“There’s a walk-in closet as well.” Gabriel pushed open a closet that would be big enough to hide my small production with my puppets. “Utilities, internet, cable, and meals during your working hours are included. Your pay will be two thousand a week, plus I’ll pay your medical insurance premium.”

“That’s very generous.” I was surprised, considering he had such a high turnover rate, but if he was a difficult boss, no amount of money in the world would be worth it.

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