[1] The Nanny; prequel to The Wife

Chapter One

Cardi grabbed a cab and headed to the address Big Papa gave her. Cardi paid the taxi driver and got out of the cab. She walked up to the door and took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. She heard footsteps on the other side of the door and it opened revealing a man with an apron on.

"Good, you must be here for the job." He said.

"Yes, I am," Cardi said.

"Follow me." He said.

Cardi entered the house and closed the door then followed the man to the living room.

"Sit here and I'll let you know when to come in." He said, walking away.

Cardi took a seat on the couch pulled out her phone and started taking selfies and replying to messages from her mom, sister, Janay, and Queen.

"Miss, If you're done with whatever you're doing. Please follow me." The man, who Cardi has now figured out is the butler said.

"Okay," Cardi said as she put her phone away and stood up to fix her clothes and hair.

Cardi entered a comfortably sized office. It was filled with thick books on ceiling-high shelves, a leather couch arrangement, and an unlit fireplace in the corner.

A man in his early thirties sat at a large desk close to the window front. There were also two men sitting in front of the desk. They were all looking at her. They had to be the most handsome men she had ever seen. Cardi looked up them up and down then smiled.

"Hey, I'm Cardi." She said, introducing herself.

"Maddox Maxwell. Cardi? What kind of name is that?" The man behind the desk asked.

"It's the kind that my mom chose to name me," Cardi answered.

"Oh, I like her."

"Shut up, Axel."

"Anyway, Cardi do you have your resume with you?" Maddox asked.

"Why would I bring my resume?" Cardi asked.

"For the position of being my children's nanny," Maddox answered.

"Oh shit, I must be in the wrong house," Cardi said.

"I don't understand," Maddox said.

"My boss gave me this address to attend an event but I guess I didn't listen correctly cause I'm not here for a job interview," Cardi said.

"Maddox, you're desperate for a nanny so hear me out. Why don't we give Cardi here a chance at being your nanny." Axel said.

"Axel, are you crazy?" Rocco asked Axel with a shake of his head.

"Shut up, Rocco," Axel said.

"She doesn't have experience with children," Rocco said.

"I used to babysit and tutor children at the library during my college days," Cardi said, smiling.

"See she has experience," Axel said.

"Babysitting and being a nanny are two different things," Maddox said.

"Cardi, are you CPR certified?" Axel asked.

"Yes," Cardi answered.

"Do you speak more than one language?" Axel asked.

"English, Yiddish, and Spanish," Cardi answered.

"Can you cook?" Axel asked.

"Yes." She replied.

"Can you drive?" Axel answered.

"Nope." She answered.

"Oh she was almost perfect but you could just provide transportation," Axel said.

"Maddox, tell me you're not considering hiring her," Rocco said.

Maddox nevertheless kept a straight face and cleared his throat.

"If you take on this position, you'll be a live-in nanny, it means working and living here. You will work 20 hours and have the remainder of the day off. You are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave, provided they do not collide with the family's schedule." Maddox said.

Cardi stared at him like he was crazy. When she did not protest or ask further questions, Maddox continued talking.

"You will get an hourly rate of $25. You are entitled to medical and dental plans as well as vision insurance." Maddox said.

"Whoa, you're desperate, huh?" Cardi asked.

Maddox's lips stretched into a forced smile.

"Do you want the job or not?" Maddox asked.

"Yeah, sure, let's do this. Why not." Cardi answered with a Cheshire cat grin.

————

"Cardi, you're lying," Fran said as she listened to her daughter tell her about her new job.

"And momma I swear I'm not lying this time," Cardi said as she handed her mom the package that Maddox gave her.

"Maddox Maxwell. Oh, God that wealthy single father hired you to be his nanny. This sounds too similar to what happened to me." Fran said.

"But I won't fall in love with my employer," Cardi said.

"Listen to me, Cardi, don't be a fool like me. If you get a chance at love then I want you to take it. Do you understand me?" Fran asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Cardi answered.

"Good, now you can quit that stripping job and finally settle down," Fran said.

"I'll settle down when you call Maxwell and admit you still love him," Cardi said, quickly jumping out of her chair and hiding behind her younger sister who just walked into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Nettie asked.

"Cardi brought up Maxwell Sheffield again," Fran answered.

"Cardi, Do you want momma to kill you? You know he's a soft subject for her." Nettie said.

"Sorry, I just can't believe she's in love with him but wants nothing to do with him. He comes by almost every week just to try and talk to her but she's hiding from him. It just doesn't make any sense to me." Cardi said.

"My life doesn't have to make sense to you. Just respect my decisions, Cardi." Fran said.

"Fine, now let's go pack up my things," Cardi said.