Page 1 of The Nanny's Bossy Billionaire

Chapter One

Brooke

I push open theback door of my apartment and step into the small, square kitchen. A shirtless man stands in the middle of the kitchen, wolfing down a sandwich. I’m not even surprised. It’s the kind of thing you get used to walking into, living with my best friend Stella. He looks like all the others, attractive and with an athletic build.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hey,” I return cheerfully, turning in the other direction and going into the hallway leading to my room.

Stella emerges from her room, wearing denim shorts and a white tube top that shows off the butterfly tattoo on her back. Her short platinum-blonde hair is messy, and so is her makeup. She squeals when she sees me. “You’re back!”

“And you were supposed to be working.” I smile, motioning to the man in the kitchen while dragging my small suitcase behind me.

Stella is a stylist and make-up artist. We met in our first year at Brooklyn College and have been inseparable ever since.

“I got off early, and so did Jake. He came over, and one thing led to another…”

“Stop,” I say, putting one hand up. “I don’t need to hear all the details.”

“Come on.” She follows me into my room. “I want to tell you since that’s the closest you’ll get to having a good time in over a year or however long it’s been since you broke up with Phil.”

It has been two years, and he was my first boyfriend, the cheating bastard. I was so devastated that I gave up on dating and men in general, much to Stella’s dismay, and threw myself into work.

There just hasn’t been enough time between teaching and running the school’s art and music club and planning trips for Regal Elementary to fit in another relationship. I’d created the after-school clubs, and while the school board was enthusiastic about having these extracurriculars, they were slow on funding, which meant fewer hands to help with projects and exhibitions.

“I don’t need a man to have a good time,” I say.

“Agreed.” Stella nods. “If only your idea of a good time wasn’t sitting on the couch watchingNew Girlwhile you knit.”

“It’s crocheting, and it helps me relax.”

“Still a grandma activity,” she says.

“Tell your buddy to put some clothes on.” I throw my suitcase on the bed and start to unpack.

“So, how did it go?” She sits on the bed, forgetting about the dude in the kitchen.

I let out a huge sigh. “Let’s just say I’ll be paying them back until I die at this rate.”

I found out just last week that my idiot brother has been taking out loans to fund his gambling addiction. He’s dug himself a hole so deep he’s dragging the entire family into it.

I’d received a phone call from a man called Fulvio, threatening to hurt every member of my family, starting with Grandma, if we didn’t pay him what Steve owed him.What an asshole.

Fulvio had known everyone by name, where they were, and what they did. Still, I refused to believe it wasn’t some kind of joke. I called Steve immediately.

“What the hell, Steve?” I’d yelled when he confirmed it was true.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am, sis…” he began.

“How much do you owe?” I cut short the apology I wasn’t ready to hear or accept.

“I’ve paid back some and I’m working on the rest.”

“Not fast enough, apparently; this Fulvio person threatened to push Nan off the stairs. Did you know that?”

Thankfully neither Mom nor Nan had received any unusual texts. When Steve kept avoiding the question of how much was still outstanding, I knew it was bad. I took the next few days off work to see Mom and Nan in Providence, just to be sure they were fine. Then I went to Boston to get the details out of Steve.

I’d imagined he owed maybe fifty grand at the most. It was worse.

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