Page 26 of Worst Nanny Ever
“Christ,” I mutter. “Am I wearing a sign asking nannies to hit on me?”
Her hand finds the swell of her hip. “Who else flirted inappropriately, and why are they doing my job for me?”
I didn’t intend to tell her about the Rachel disaster, but the words come flying out. I explain what went down yesterday and then about the cancelled interviews, the nanny boards, and my emergency meeting with Rob.
Within seconds, she’s shaking her head. “Nope. We arenotletting this go.”
“It’s a shared problem now?” I ask, amused.
“Yes. I’m going to take care of this, and then I’m going to do the kindest thing in my life and accept the job no one else wants now that you’ve been blackballed.”
“But if you solve my problem, other people will be willing to take the job,” I point out.
“And you’ll have to tell them you’ve already hired the baddest bitch you know.”
I can’t help but smile as I take in her fierce expression. “You are, you know.”
“Of course I am.” She raises her eyebrows and then lifts the abomination coffee for a sip. “So you don’t need me to babysit today anymore, I guess.”
“Why not?”
She sets the coffee cup down on the counter with enough force for it to splash. “Keep up. The Rachel problem is in the bag. You can’t play any part in fixing it. If you try to respond, it’ll make things a whole lot worse. Same goes for Rob and Bixby, because they’re connected to you, and Sophie, because everyone knows she’s with Rob. But this situationdefinitelyrequires a woman’s touch.”
“Yes, because you handle everything with such delicacy.”
She rolls her eyes. “Who said women are delicate? Honestly, you and your stereotypes, Travis. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
I grin at her, enjoying myself. Not even caring that there’s a growing circle of coffee around the spot on the counter where she sat her cup. “All right. I’ll give you that. I also shouldn’t have lost my temper yesterday, but?—”
“Oh, youdefinitelyshould have lost your temper.” She lifts her mug up and toasts me with it. “But, like I said, the situation is going to be handled.”
Something about the way she says it leaves me with little doubt that she’s going to either miraculously fix this situation or screw it up beyond any shadow of redemption. And here’s the danger of Hannah: I should be worried enough about the second possibility that I’m not willing to hand my problem over. But I want to see what she does. The way her mind works intrigues me.
“I’m a little afraid of you right now,” I tease.
“You should be.”
I pause, weighing what I should say, then figure I might as well go for it. “I think this woman knows who my father is. It’s not a secret, really, but I don’t want everyone around town talking about it. Especially right now. So maybe don’t piss her off too much.”
“Aren’tyoumysterious…”
I drop my gaze, never eager to talk about my past, but I know Hannah’s not going to treat me any differently if she knows. So I admit, “My dad was a famous actor. Back in the day. Like seriously back in the day. By the time I was born, his career was basically over. He did a few made-for-TV movies and some producing but nothing else that hit it big.”
“What was his name?” she asks, her eyes flashing with excitement. “You know I have to know now.”
“I don’t want this getting around, Hannah.”
“Not even to Sophie and Briar?”
I sigh. “I don’t care. Sophie might already know. It’s not really a secret, just not public knowledge.”
“Ooooo-hoo no, she doesn’t. She would definitely have told me something like this. It’s in the girl code.”
A smile ghosts across my face. “My father’s Evan Thomas. You know, from thoseShips Ahoymovies.”
There were six of them, all about a nautical detective. They were insanely popular, and genuinely terrible. I had to watch them almost weekly, because my father was an aging narcissist who thought his children should grow up quoting him.
After the lastShipsmovie came out—the worst reviewed by far—his career took a nosedive and never recovered. He spent the rest of his life dreaming up how he could bring back the success he’d lost.
