Page 16 of The Billionaire & the Nanny: Part 4

Alana

I gethim the damn coffee, note the smartass smirky-smile on his face when I deliver it, then sit in the nursery, hating the fact that I did it.

I’ve never been more humiliated in all my life, and that includes when my parents used to work for the Holland Estate. Who does this guy think he is? I know how people like him are. They just want to put you in your place by acting like they’re better than you. Using his employer position and my obvious need for money to make himself seem bigger. Make me look lower class than him.

This is EXACTLY why I didn’t want to take the nanny job in the first place.

I swore I’d never put myself in a position of servitude ever again. It’s why I went to college, why I studied finance. So I could become a banker, make a shit ton of cash, and never owe anyone anything ever again. Yet here I am again, being told what to do, and I couldn’t possibly be more confused about it.

On one hand, I don’t like taking orders. It’s a personal thing because of my upbringing.

But on the other, I have to admit there was something satisfying about bringing Kase that coffee after he asked for it and seeing the pleased look on his face. The unruly half of Alana Frasier makes me want to see that look more often, though. See the corners of his lips turn up in just the right way. What else could I do to see Mr. Hardwin smile like that again?

The way he looks at me with those dark eyes underneath heavy brows makes my heart kick up speed and my panties get wet. Which I hate. But I don’t have control over my body, so now I have this battle waging inside my head.

I decide I won’t think of Mr. Hardwin anymore, unless I’m talking to him. I spend the rest of the day focusing on baby Liam who sleeps for about an hour then starts crying all over again when he wakes up and sees it’s still me with him.

“Come on, work with me here,” I whisper to the baby so that Kase won’t hear me through the monitor.

Baby Liam manages to calm down, I guess when he sees that his father isn’t coming in anymore to hold him. I place toys in front of him, but the blue-eyed cherub only stares at them, then at me, like wondering if he’s supposed to play with them. He crawls over to my purse in a chair and grabs at it, then begins digging inside it. “No, Liam. That’s not for playing with.”

But Baby Liam believes otherwise. He finds my keys inside my purse and plucks them out, flipping them around in his hands, then pushes them immediately into his mouth. Ew. He looks so happy to be playing with something other than his real toys, and for once, and he’s not crying, so I let him keep the keys.

All day, I watch people walk down the hallways, popping in and out of Kase’s office. It’s clear that everyone admires him, and the women—young, old, hot or not, doesn’t matter—all throw themselves embarrassingly at his feet. I mean, yes, he’s especially good-looking, in charge, and powerful at the office, but do they really like when he talks to them the way he talked to me? And what’s even crazier? When he talks to these office women with their short skirts and flirty tops, I feel my chest contract. I feel my blood boil, as though the man were mine. What is that all about?

Jealousy? Over a man who irritates me?

Maybe I should quit before the day is over. Just quit while I’m ahead, before I get deeper into this Alice-like situation. Before I drink the wrong potion and find myself unhealthily obsessed over my new boss. A man I can’t stand.

This right here is enough to make me want to quit.

But I can’t quit.

If I do, I may as well get a job flipping burgers on the corner, or answering phones for a dental office, because jobs are scarce now and the truth is, I’m lucky. I should be grateful as hell for this nanny job. It pays enough to help me keep my apartment in the city and still have a savings after a few months. So, I have no choice—I have to swallow my pride by moving in with Kase and Baby Liam.

A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And if that means slapping on a happy smile and dealing with someone’s superiority complex for a while—so be it. It’s all a means to an end anyway. So I eat the proverbial cookie, drink the proverbial tea, and fall down the proverbial rabbit hole like Alice after the Mad Hatter.

* * *

When I arriveat Kase’s mansion on the Upper East Side, I don’t know if I’m to feel envious, angry, or in utter awe. A beautiful brownstone with gilded door handles, the place makes me think it belongs to someone else instead of the cold, steely gray man I met at the ad agency yesterday. For some reason, I envisioned Kase living in something ultra-modern, but this place looks more like your typical old money.

Maybe that’s it—maybe this property was handed down to him.

So rather than dealing with a self-made millionaire, I’m dealing with a brat.

The good news is that now I won’t have to face him every morning. I can just report to whichever servant he’s appointed to watch over me, and I won’t have to deal with his condescending bullshit all the time. I may not know much about handling babies, but guess what? I’m a fast learner, and I’ll pick it up in no time without his help, thank you very much.

Ringing the doorbell, I focus on making it a great day and not fucking up. Today will be better than yesterday. At the very least, Baby Liam will get to play at home now and not have to sit at Daddy’s office all day long. Poor kid. The door unlocks, and I put on my fake smile—the one I’m going to use from now on—ready to meet another member of Kase’s staff.

But instead of another servant, who should open the door looking fine as fuck in jeans and a nice buttoned long-sleeved blue shirt? The man himself. My panties practically turn into a soaked sponge, and my stomach churns out butterflies, as he steps aside. “Miss Frasier. What a delightful surprise. I was almost sure the agency would’ve sent me another nanny today after your difficult first day yesterday.”

I step in and note the lush interior, feeling my heartbeat in my throat. I’m doing this again. I’m working for a snobby rich person again. “What do you mean? It was a great first day,” I say, determined not to let him get to me. “I loved meeting Liam and seeing where you work.”

Kase looks at me sideways. “Are you sure you’re the same nanny as yesterday? That one was frustrated as hell with me just for asking her to bring coffee.”

“Maybe it was the tone of voice used.” I smile, taking off my coat and hanging it on the foyer coat rack. “Maybe she just likes being treated with respect.”

Kase closes the door and walks in ahead of me. “I don’t think I asked for anything unreasonable. My secretaries get me coffee all the time and don’t bristle over it.”

---