Page 122 of Only for Me
He groaned then smiled. "Yeah, I did but so did you. When is she coming?"
"Ten minutes."
"Mannn…."
"You said you wanted to meet her."
"Yeah I do." He tightened his arms around me and pushed his face into the curve of my neck once more. He kissed me then tapped my thigh. "Let me hit this bathroom real quick."
I lifted and let him up, and by the time he was back, Janice was at the front door. He let her in and escorted her to the living room. We all got situated and Omiri went in with the questions after we did formal introductions.
Janice seemed sweet just from first glance. She instantly acknowledged Avi the minute she was in the room and my baby came right to her. That was a good start. "She's precious. Has dad's eyes, I see."
"Yeah, she's pretty much all me and Kari hates that shit." He smiled smugly, cutting those mixed orbs my way. "We have all of your information so can you tell me why you think this is a good fit for you."
"I've been doing this for over twenty plus years."
"You're forty-eight, right?"
"Yes, I started with a family right out of college and they paid well enough for me to live a good life. I love kids but enjoy them more from a part-time perspective. I never wanted any of my own. I stayed with the first family for ten years but they moved abroad. I was presented with a very nice offer to go but I decided being in The States was best for me. I've been rotating families over the past ten years, not wanting anything long-term."
"But you do now? My next contract is four years. It's possible I may extend that and we don't want to keep rotating people in and out of Avi's life," Omiri said and she nodded.
"If this is a good fit, I can commit to four years, and if you extend your contract, I'm willing to stay on."
"You're CPR certified, correct?" I asked.
"Yes, all of my certifications are up to date."
"And what about dealing with families like ours? The first priority is having someone with Avi we can trust but also someone who understands discretion."
"I've worked for plenty of families who are public figures. Recently two athletes and one high profile artist. All of which had young children and were concerned about their privacy and safety. There was never an issue. I sent you their references. Please feel free to reach out."
"Thank you." I nodded. "And your stance on discipline?"
"I follow your lead and reinforce your practices. My goal is to work with what's established, and if there needs to be adjustments, I discuss them with you. My job is to support you and the structure you implement."
"And you're willing to travel with Avi and Kari?"
"Yes, my schedule is wide open."
Avi moved across the room and her walker landed against the sofa next to Janice. I watched my baby to see what she would do and she frowned for a minute then smiled big and held her arms up.
"May I?"
"Yes, please." Janice carefully lifted Avi and sat her on her lap.
"Hey, beautiful girl. Your parents are thinking about letting you hang out with me. What do you think?"
Avi smiled and clapped, making me laugh.
"She doesn't deal with people like that. She's cool to be around you but she will usually keep her distance. Looks like this might work," Omiri said, watching Avi smiling and interacting with Janice.
"Look at that beautiful smile. I think you might be trouble, Ms. Avianna. My heart can't take it." Janice spoke sweetly to our baby who ate it up.
"I think that's all for now. We're going to talk this over and give you a call. You're free to start immediately, correct?"
I stood and she did too. Omiri walked over and took Avi from her. She fell right into his arms and dropped her head on his shoulder.
