The Kid, the Boss, and the Incorrigible Nanny

Part Four

Kid wiped her hands on her pants and rolled her head from side to side, loosening her neck.

Adrian Lawson was late.

The time on the digital clock read an astonishing 6:45p.m. Aiden was playing with picture books, peering inquisitively at each stilled scene. Kid harrumphed with her breath and mentally ranted at the young father. Honestly, didn't the man care that his son never knew when he was going to finally see his dad again? That sort of thing was traumatic to kids, and it sowed distrust of their parents at a young age. Of course, Aiden didn't seem to terribly bothered by it; he was content to remain just as he was for now. But surely it was only a matter of time before he started realizing his father's absence when everyone else's parents had come and gone, taking their children with them.

"Miss Kid?"

Speaking of the little tyke. "Yes, Aiden?"

He looked up at her, his sweet face framed by his dark curly hair. "You read?" He was holding out a "Winnie the Pooh" book.

Her heart melted. She couldn't help but smile at him. "Yes, buddy. I'll read it to you." He crawled over to her lap and plopped himself down, giving her the book.

...

Adrian climbed into his old red Chevy truck and slammed the door. He put the key in the ignition and turned. He groaned when he saw the time. 6:53. "Oh, for crying out loud."

That woman was surely going to give him grief for this. It was a good thing his father had chosen to invest in the local daycares and schools like he had before he died, because now Adrian had the power to get rid of annoying people like her. Kid Shelley. As he pulled out of the parking lot and made his way down the black-paved road to the daycare, he already had his thoughts organized. He was used to firing people.

When he arrived at the daycare, he climbed out of the truck and slammed the door again. He entered the building and gave a curt "Hello" to the lady behind the desk. Telulah, her name was. She buzzed him in to the rest of the building with a smile. As he rounded the corner to Aiden's classroom, he overheard two voices: one belonging to the young teacher, and the other sounding suspiciously like Aiden. Adrien stopped just outside the door with a frown on his face. Surely Aiden couldn't be the one talking that much.

"Who is this, Aiden?" She had the little one in her lap. Little towers of picture books surrounded them. The one they were looking at just now was "Winnie the Pooh."

Aiden was beaming. Adrian was sure he'd never seen him so happy before. "That Winnie Pooh."

His teacher smiled with joy. "And what color is Winnie?"

"He yellow."

"What color is his shirt?"

"Red."

The woman was getting excited as well. "Do you know Winnie's friends' names?"

Aiden giggled and took the book from her hand and began to point at different animals. "That Tigger. Tigger hops. That Piglet. That Eeyore. That Rabbit. And that Chritopher Robin."

Adrian's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. He'd never heard the kid talk that much in his whole life. Suddenly, the teacher squealed. She grabbed the little one up in her arms and hugged him.

"Good job, Aiden! You are so smart! Just wait until your father sees how much you know! He's going to be so proud of you!" She set the boy down on his feet and mussed his hair. Her blue eyes shined with her excitement. Her smile was wide and genuine. She was just as engrossed in what they were doing as the child was.

Her happiness faded without warning, and she glanced up at a clock on a wall which read 7:02. "Well, if he ever gets here, that is."

He wasn't sure where it came from. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was jealousy that she had gotten Aiden to say more than Adrian had ever accomplished. Whatever the source, anger welled up inside of him in an instant and he felt his face warping into a snarl.

...

"I see that you remain just as disrespectful as ever."

The cool sound of Adrian Lawson's voice froze her.

What had she just done?

She turned to look at him at the same time that Aiden excitedly toddled over to him. Adrian was formidable looking in this moment, that was for sure. His leather jacket-clad arms were crossed over his chest, and his face was contorted into an awful mask.

"Mr. Lawson, I-" She started, attempting to rise to her feet.

"I don't want to hear it. If you think-" he said, his words coming out through gritted teeth, "that I will allow you to continue working here one more day with the mouth that you have, mocking parents behind their backs, disrespecting them in front of their children, then you've got another thing coming for you. I don't want to see you in another one of this daycare's classrooms again; do you understand me?"

Kid's heart was clenched tight in her chest. Her breath was coming shallowly. No. This wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening. Surely this was nothing but a really, really bad nightmare.

"I said, do you understand me?" He glared down at her, making her shudder.

"Perfectly." Her throat was tightening up, and tears were beginning to rise in her eyes.

He turned to go, but twisted back to look at her one last time.

"And by the way, I'm going to make sure you never work in child care in this town again."

---

A/N:

Hello, everyone! That was a pretty intense chapter, huh? Let me know what you think of it! Also, I'm thinking about changing Adrien and Aiden's last name, but I'm not exactly sure what I would change it to. Any suggestions would be well appreciated!

How would you cast the characters thus far? I'm thinking of Emma Roberts for Kid, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

(Favorites: What's your favorite color to a:look at, and b:wear?)

Much love!

-j