Page 26 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
“Thea, what would you say to a business deal?”
Her eyebrows shot up, and she glanced nervously at her mother before rediscovering her courage, nodding her head seriously at him. “I would say thank you very much.”
“You haven’t heard what it is yet.”
“Oh. Yeah. What is it?”
“If I agree to get you to a private tutor to teach you more about sums and language and history, will you agree to help me with my pack business contracts?”
Thea chewed her lip, eyes screwing in concentration. “…Business contracts?”
“Yes. Every now and again you’d come with me to pack meetings, and help me choose the best deals. Like whether we should choose red curtains or green for the hotel rooms.”
“Green. Definitely green.”
“And you would have to listen very carefully, make notes, and learn big new words. Now, do you think you can handle that?”
Thea nodded almost violently, eyes already shining with delight at the prospect of what she no doubt considered ultimate power. “Deal! You have a deal!”
“Very well,” Nicolas shook her hand smartly, trying his best to hide his grin, “in that case, I shall find a tutor for you to start next week.”
“Yay!” Thea shouted, scrambling down from her chair. “Mommy, can I go choose some books now? For my new tutor?”
Nicolas was immensely gratified to see Daisy’s jaw nearly on the floor. She blinked a few times before nodding in a daze at her daughter, watching as she skipped off up to her room.
“I don’t think you realize what you’ve just done.”
“Of course I do,” he said, lifting his wine glass to his lips. “I’ve contributed to the education of an exceptionally smart little girl. And I got her to agree to get involved in pack life; who knows how much she might contribute when she’s older.AndI found a loophole to bypass her incredibly stubborn mother.”
Daisy opened and shut her mouth a few times before standing in a slight huff, gathering her plate and Thea’s to take through to the kitchen.
“What you’ve done is sow the seeds to grow a little megalomaniac.”
Nicolas also stood, taking the plates from Daisy’s grasp while ignoring her protest. “I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.”
Daisy’s lips thinned and she picked up their glasses, spinning away from him to walk through into the kitchen.
Truth be told, he was rather pleased with his little idea. Every time they interacted with the pack, Thea had enthusiastically thrown herself right into the thick of things, joining the rambunctious children as they yelled and chased each other around the place as if she had known them her entire life. It would do her good to have more exposure.
And if he was taking advantage of the potential the girl so clearly displayed, well then. That was just mutually beneficial to everyone involved. He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to raise up the next generation of pack leaders. Thea certainly showed a remarkable amount of potential, even in the short amount of time he had known her.
It was odd to think, but in a lot of ways she reminded him of himself as a boy. Precocious and arrogant, for sure, but with the intelligence and wit to back it up. She was almost nothing like Daisy, except for the intelligence, of course. Daisy, who was always determined to be as kind and considerate as possible.
Like right now. Where she was insisting on doing the washing up herself when he not only had a state-of-the-art dishwasher, but enough staff on retainer to clear up after a banquet.
“You know I have chefs on speed dial. And cleaners. And sommeliers,” Nicolas said as he followed her through into the kitchen, the wine spreading through him, relaxing his limbs into a pleasant ease.
“No wonder you’re so spoiled,” Daisy snarked over her shoulder as she filled the sink with hot soapy water, “you don’t even choose your own wine.”
“It’s not that I don’t,” he said, leaning over her to put the plates in the sink, close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest, “it’s that I don’thaveto. And neither do you.”
He meant it, as well. He would give her anything. Her and Thea. Now that they were here, in his house, they were his to care for. To look after. To protect. He realized there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.
She was silent for a while, her hands submerged in the suds, her gaze fixed out the window. He caught her eye in the reflection, still standing behind her.
She sucked in a breath. And then turned around to face him.
He didn’t step back, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him.
