Page 18 of Beneficial Misfortune

“Thank you,” he says, finally dropping my hand, and I take that as my sign to move.

I hear the car door close and feel him walking behind me as I make my way toward the building.

This area is always busy, with people coming and going. Usually, I can slip right through, going mostly unnoticed, but today, it’s as if every person we pass has to stop and stare.

“I think I underestimated how well-known you are,” I say with a nervous chuckle once we enter the building and leave the wandering eyes behind.

He breathes a laugh of his own. “Yes, most people in the city know who I am, but appearance is also a big part of that. Most people know what money looks like.”

I nod because he’s right. I might not know how rich he is or that he ran a whole company when I met him, but his suit alone told me he was upper class—far higher on the totem pole than I am. And if that wasn’t enough, his daughter goes to one of the most prestigious schools, and they have a driver who takes them around in their limo…

Okay, I guess I can see why they were staring.

We make it to the end of the hall, and I wince, remembering one of the many flaws of this place.

“Um, the elevator is out,” I say, hooking my thumb over my shoulder to the door to the stairs. “So I’ll just head up. Thank you for walking me.” My words come out in a bit of a rush as I watch his eyes flick to said elevator and the out-of-order sign that’s been on it since the day I moved in.

I hoped they would fix it after a few weeks, but after six months, I gave up on that idea.

“A few stairs don’t scare me, Kat,” he says, raising a brow at me, and I can’t help but laugh.

“It’s a little more than a few. I’m one floor from the top.”

He shrugs, still seeming unbothered, and I don’t have much more to say. If he wants to climb a million stairs just to turn around and go back down, who am I to stop him?

I live on the fourteenth floor, which sounded great when I got the apartment—you know, back when I thought it had anelevator. But I guess if nothing else, it helps me get some exercise in. The first few weeks, I’d been a panting mess every time I went up, having to take breaks so I didn’t die.

Now I’m able to pretty much get up without issue.

Nathaniel does better than I expected, not only keeping pace but seeming like it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“I’m unsure if you would be interested, but I wanted to make the offer nonetheless,” he says, and I slow my steps, coming to a rest on the landing.

He stops as well, staring down at me, and I want to kick myself for stopping. We're alone in the stairwell, and all my brain can think about are his eyes and the way he smells.

“Seeing how good you are with Addison, I’m now sure that no one else will ever be enough. No nanny I find will be what she needs, but you are.” If I thought his gaze was intense before, his eyes are damn near burning into me now.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, my mind not really able to make sense of what he’s saying.

A smile tugs at the corner of his lips, as if amused by me.

“If you would be interested, I would very much like to hire you as Addison’s nanny.”

His words hang in the air like a fog as my brain tries to sort through them, taking much longer than it should for them to finally sink in.

“What?!” I yell, quickly slapping a hand over my mouth as my voice echoes in the small space.

“Sorry, I’m just not sure why exactly you would want me. I mean, I have a degree in teaching, but that isn’t exactly the same thing, and you hardly know me. I’m sure there are so many people who are way more qualified than I am—”

Nathaniel reaches out, gently pressing a finger to my mouth to quiet my rambling.

“Qualifications only get you so far. It doesn’t matter what they say they have done in the past. You have a connection with Addison that, while I might not understand, I know it isn’t something she will find with just anyone.”

He drops his hand and once again begins up the stairs, leaving me no choice but to follow or be left staring after him like an idiot.

“I built a business worth millions and didn’t finish college. My brother is my partner now, and he never even finished high school. But we worked hard and learned from life. We failed a lot before something took, but it was all a risk we took, and it paid off. Life is really just weighing one risk to the next to see if we can succeed.”

We make it up the next few flights in silence as I think about what he just said. It’s true; taking this job here in New York was a risk for me. One that paid off in a huge way after finding out Carter was cheating on me. If it hadn’t been for me having my job lined up, I might have been stuck with him until I had a way out.

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