Nanny

4

Adam

"I don't think it was a waste of time," I said.

We were in the workout room adjacent to Brax's office. Mathias, his trainer, held his ankles while Brax did crunches. Sweat was already soaking through his workout clothes.

"She lied," Brax said simply. "To you, and then to me. She didn't tell the truth until I called her out on it."

"It was a small lie," I said. "It was made on the spot, likely because she was intimidated. By the helicopter ride, by the office, and by you. She didn't lie on the agency profile. She left her nannying history blank."

Brax finished his last crunch and rested back on the rubberized floor. "You think it's a good thing that she lied impulsively, rather than lying with premeditation?"

I had worked for Braxton Nash since I was twenty. Over a decade. I knew everything about him: his quirks, his beliefs, his stubborn streaks. I could tell he was hung up on this one point. He wouldn't let it go.

So I decided to change the subject.

"Was she not perfect?" I asked. "Aside from exaggerating about her work experience."

Brax moved to the bench while Mathias added plates to the barbell. Brax didn't respond to my question, which meant the answer was yes. She was perfect for the job.

"I like this woman!" Mathias announced in his thick German accent. "I like her very much indeed."

"You met her for twenty seconds," Brax pointed out.

"I am an excellent judge of character."

"You only like her because she speaks German," I said with a grin.

Mathias looked confused. "Yes? This is a problem why?"

I chuckled and shook my head.

Brax completed his first set of bench presses, then racked the weight and sat up. "You think she's perfect."

"She is perfect," I said simply. "Her background and resume proves it."

"She speaks German!" Mathias repeated. "She is perfect in every way."

Brax ran a hand through his dark hair, which was slick with sweat. He glanced at me. "I must admit, there was something about her."

"Oh?"

"I can't describe it. Something special. A spark in her eyes."

Mathias clapped him on the back. "You like her!"

"You said this wouldn't turn out like last time," I said.

"I know," Brax replied.

"You insisted this time would be different."

"I did."

"Yet here you are," I said, "talking about this woman being special. Plus I saw the way you looked at her."

"Looked at her when?"

"When she left your office."

Mathias rumbled with laughter. Brax made a dismissive gesture. I couldn't blame him for looking. I had looked at Kate Renfroe the same way while she was in the office. Her tight pencil skirt hugged her curves, and her high heels made everything pop while she walked away. The waterfall of hair running down her back, and the red lips that puckered just right...

"I know what I said," Brax insisted. "This one will be different."

He laid down on the bench and began his next set. Four, five, six reps...

He failed halfway on the seventh rep. His muscular arms trembled, and then he exhaled and began lowering the bar. Mathias leaned over and easily lifted the bar back onto the rack.

I pointed. "Just like that barbell, I want to make sure you don't jump into something you can't handle. It's my job to give you a gut-check on these sorts of things."

"Your opinion has been noted," he said curtly.

"Failure is good!" Mathias boomed. "Failure is when you receive the most gains. Failure is how you know you are alive."

Not Braxton Nash, I thought as I left the workout room. He doesn't know the meaning of failure.