Page 6 of The Unexpected Nanny
“When would this start?” she asked.
“ASAP. I’d love it if you could start today. I think that would be the ultimate present for Joy,” I said, and then I saw a twinge of something in her eyes. A little worry maybe.
“A present for her, huh? I don’t know,” she said then popped another nugget into her mouth.
“Don’t think in those terms. I just mean it would be a great thing for her. Starting today would be great too. I could help you move your stuff into our home after you get off work. I know you’ll probably want to give them two weeks’ notice, but I’ll make it worth your while if you quit today. How about a cash sigh-on bonus?” I took a thousand dollars, all in hundreds, out of my wallet and placed them on the table in front of her.
“Damn! Have I killed over or something? Am I actually on the way to the hospital in the back of an ambulance and not sitting at this table where a chunk of money is sitting in front of me?” She shook her head as if she was unable to believe something like this could happen to her.
“It’s real. Take the cash and come be my daughter’s nanny.” I reached over and grasped her hand. “Pleaseee….”
After taking in a deep breath, she looked at me with a smile. “How can I say no to that. I’ll do it! Oh, my God! I’ll do it, Aiden!” Then she made a little scream.
And just like that, I’d hired a nanny for my kid!
Chapter Four
SKYE
Iknew I should’ve told Aiden about my brief stint as a stripper when I was eighteen. But I was afraid he’d look at me as a bad influence on his little girl so I kept that locked away. Only a few people knew about it after all. And I doubted Aiden Cooper ever rubbed elbows with drug dealers and bar bouncers anyway.
So, I ended my career as a customer service rep at the toy store to become a big-time nanny to the ultra-wealthy horror writer’s little princess. And things went well that first week.
We easily settled into a nice routine. His housekeeper made breakfast for us all then she got to work, cleaning the house, Aiden went to his study to write, and I played with Joy. It was easy and fun.
His housekeeper only worked on the weekdays until noon then she went to her home wherever that was. She barely spoke English. That left me to make lunch and Aiden would join Joy and I to eat the meal then he’d go back to writing and I’d take Joy to her bedroom where I read to her until she fell asleep for her two-hour nap. Then I’d take a break and go into my bedroom, taking the baby monitor so I could hear her when she woke up. I’d get in some online school work then make Joy a snack when she was done napping.
Aiden insisted on taking us out for dinner every night. Always someplace nice that Joy and I would get dressed up for. It was a nice way to spend my time. And things were going so well, I had no doubts I’d made the right decision.
The first weekend came and there I was, off. I wasn’t supposed to do a thing for Joy. I was supposed to let Aiden take care of her all by himself. Which he’d always done so it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle it. It was me who was finding it hard to be doing nothing.
I had no idea what to do with myself that first day of freedom. So, I went for the old go to and started doing school work. I was at the end of a section when a knock came to my door. “Skye, can I come in?” It was Aiden.
“Sure,” I said as I sat my laptop on the bed next to me. I had put on shorts and a V-neck T-shirt since I’d be doing a bunch of nothing all day.
“Are you busy?” he asked me as he gestured to my open computer.
“Not anymore. What can I do for you?” I asked him, thinking he might need me to take Joy off his hands for a while.
“We’re going to the beach. I wanted to know if you’d like to come with us?”
“Uh, well, you said you didn’t want to lose what you and Joy had. You told me you wanted to spend time alone with her. Don’t you think it’d be better if I didn’t go?”
He chewed his lower lip as he put his hands in the pockets of his baggy shorts. “Yeah, I know what I said. But here’s the thing. It’s been a week and I’ve yet to come up with an idea for a novel. And since you said you’ve read my work, I thought a nice outing might help me get inspired. And I could bounce ideas off you.”
“Sure!” I said with enthusiasm. “I’d love to help you. Let me put on my bathing suit under these clothes and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Great!” came his happy response. “See you downstairs when you’re ready then.”
I went through the drawer that had my bathing suits in it and found all I had were skimpy bikinis. I didn’t think it would be appropriate to wear any one of them but had no choice. I picked out a black one and put it on then pulled on some black shorts and a spaghetti strap, black shirt over the top. Slipping into my flip flops, I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and headed out for a day of being helpful to a famous author.
As I got to the front door, I found Aiden staring at me. It made me secretly happy to find him looking at me as a woman rather than a nanny. “I’m ready.”
“I can see that. Don’t you have any sunglasses?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
He pulled open a drawer on the Queen Anne desk that sat by the front door. When he pulled out a black box and then took a pair of Ray Bans out, handing them to me, I shook my head again. “Yes, you can have these. I have several pairs. I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
