"Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."
-Maya Angelou
My phone rings on the dresser next to me. My face scrunched up as I pick it up. When I see the time on my phone I jump up. I've never slept in this late before. I'm usually up by 9 and it's 12 right now. I've gotten so used to not having to do anything after I graduated. Sitting up in bed I answer the phone for the unknown caller. "Hello?" My voice comes out raspy.
"Ms. Lee I've called you 6 times this morning. I was starting to wonder if I had the wrong number." A familiar voice chuckles through the phone.
"W-who?" I start to ask but am cut off by him.
"You've been hired to work for me. Now I just need you to come to my house and sign the papers." Mr. Nixon says.
The line goes quiet as I blink and try to get ahold of my surroundings. "The papers." My voice is gruff.
"Did you just wake up Ms. Lee?" he asks and I can already hear him smiling through the phone.
"No. I j-just took a nap. I'll be there in an hour Mr. Nixon" Before he can say anything else I hang up the phone and get out of bed. I'll have to start my day a little later now.
Walking to the bathroom I cut on the light. My hair is all over the place. Luckily I took my makeup off before I went to bed. For the past 5 years, exhaustion has taken over me so it became a habit. As I pick up my toothbrush and place toothpaste on it I look at my phone. My friends from Paris have all texted me.
Oly: Hey did you make it back?
Me: Yes I made it.
Candace: Oh that's great.
Gary: where will you live until the daycare is done?
Me: I found a nanny job.
Candace: Oo sounds fun.
Oly: Is the child good?
Me: I only met her briefly. I haven't started my first day yet.
Gary: Ooo okay keep us posted.
My toothbrush goes back and forth in my mouth as I text my friends. Then setting my phone down I focus on getting ready. They weren't too excited about me coming back to NY. I've spent the last 5 years with them and suddenly just left. Candace was my roommate when I lived there; she made Paris fun.
Once I'm done getting dressed I grab my keys and run downstairs. My grandpa is at the kitchen table eating, but I don't have time to say anything to him but good morning. I already overslept now I need to get to Mr. Nixon's house. His nurse stares as I run out of the house and to my car.
Once I'm inside I take a deep breath as I start it up. Then I drive off...
________
Just like yesterday, I knock on Mr. Nixon's door and wait a minute. When the door opens this time however it's not him that's opened it. A man a couple of inches shorter than Mr. Nixon opens the door. He's wearing a dark blue button-up suit. The watch on his wrist tells me that it's just as expensive as it looks. Mr. Nixon might not be the only rich one around here.
"Hello, how may I help you?" He asks as his eyes meet mine. The man is handsome and his voice is scruff. If he were close to my ear I'd probably faint from how sexy it sounds. His hair is blonde and his eyes are blue. He looks nothing like Nixon so maybe they aren't brothers. Then who is this man.
"My names is Joelle. Mr. Nixon told me to come here so I can sign the nanny paperwork." I say pointing to the house in front of my. His eyes roam over me as he inspects me. Does he think I'm lying? His eyes meet mine again and he opens up the door.
"Come in. Mr. Nixon is waiting for you in his office. Follow me and I'll show you where that is." He holds his hand out motioning for me to walk in. As I do my eyes widen at the living room alone. It's like 3 bedrooms put together and called a living room. From the outside it doesn't look that big, but on the inside it's huge. He closes the door behind me before walking through the house.
Pulling myself out of my gaze I turn back towards him and follow him through the house. There's a kitchen right next to the living room. Down the hall is a room, but the door is closed so I can't see what's inside. In the middle of the two is a staircase. The man makes his way up the staircase and I follow behind him. There's pictures of Nixon and his daughter all over the house. There's a big on on the stairway of her on a swing and him pushing her.
I can tell just how much he loves his daughter. It's cute honestly. When we get to the second floor there's more pictures. One of them catches my eyes. There's a picture of a woman holding a baby in her arms. Nixon is holding her from behind and his lips are on her neck. She's smiling lovingly as he has his face buried. I'm going to assume that's the mother.
We pass a couple of doors before we finally reach one. The only open door in the hallway is Nixon's office. He's sitting at his desk with his head leaned against his hand. He's wearing those black shades again too. This time he has on clothes. A suit to be exact. Unlike the man next to me his suit is black. He's tapping on a stack of papers on his desk.
When we walk in the man next to me finally speaks. "Ms. Joelle is here," he says.
Mr. Nixon sits up in his seat and faces straight. His face is a lot more serious then it was when we first met. "Ms. Lee I have the paperwork for you right here to sign, but I want to make sure I got over the basics with you in person." He starts and I nod. "Rule #1 Everything that goes on in this house is to stay in this house. I don't want any other parties to know anything about me or my daughter is that understood." His voice is firm.
"Yes sir." Nodding I watch as he holds out the stack of papers for me. Getting closer to him I grab them and look at the front. All the rules are laid out for me to read.
"Rule #2 You may live here, but I don't want you bringing any men home." He adds and my face heats up. It's not like I was going to be bringing anyone home regardless. I have a business to run. "Rule #3 You need to have my daughter taken care of 24/7 which includes cooking and taking her to school. With my busy schedule, it's hard for me to do both."
My eyes widen as I listen to him talk. When I first met him I hadn't noticed because he was making fun of me, but now I do. It's hard to tell because he stitches up every time it slips out, but Mr. Nixon has an accent. From what I can tell it sounds Italian.
Mr. Nixon puts his hands together and finishes up. "Rule #4 Don't bother me while I'm working. Those are just the basics so if you have any questions about the rest of it please let me know." His rules aren't going to be hard to follow, so I should be fine.
"No, I'll take it home and bring it back the day you want me to start," I add.
"Okay. I'll give you a tour of my home." He stands up out of his seat and the man next to me immediately goes it his side. What is he going to get jumped in his own house? Why is the security following him so closely?
He walks around the desk and makes his way towards the door. As I follow behind him I realize just how tall he is. He really towers over me. He's so huge.
Once he steps out of the office he points to the first door. "This door and the door on the other side of the hallway are bathrooms. The door I'm pointing at is my bathroom and I don't let anyone in this house go in here. You can use any other bathroom but this one. Nodding we continue down the hallway.
"There are 4 bedrooms up here. Two of them are guest bedrooms. The bigger one on the right is mine. The one on the left will be the one you will stay in. Since you will be living here for a year decorate it how you see fit." He continues down the stairs.
"That's my living room and kitchen. If you decide to cook please place everything back in the exact same spot. I like to be able to find everything in its exact place."
He points at the room next to the closed one. This one is open. "That door is my daughter's room. She's at school right now so you won't be seeing her today. The room next to it is off-limits. Don't go in there unless you want to be fired."
That's not suspicious at all. Now I want to know what is in that room even more now than I did before. "That should be everything, Ms. Lee. If you want to go look at your room and plan how you want to decorate you can. Trenton and I will wait for you down here."
"Okay. I'll just take a quick look and then I'll head home to read the contract." Mr.Nixon nods as I make my way back up the stairs. As I turn the corner of the top I head towards the closed door at the end of the hallway.
Opening the door I walk into the room. It's a large white room with a queen-sized bed. There's a drape around the bed with curtains hanging down. A bathroom is right next to the room and it's decorated with marble. This room is just as lovely as the rest of the house. Is he sure he wants me to change things around? I could just leave it as it is.
After taking a long look around I head back downstairs. Mr. Nixon is sitting on his couch now and the man next to him is leaning against the doorway. As I make my way back over to him I smile. "I've looked at the room Mr.Nixon, but I don't know if I want to change it."
He turns his head in my direction. "You can do whatever you want to it. I won't mind Ms. Lee."
"Okay well, I'll make my leave now. Thank you Mr. Nixon for the job." Smiling I turn on my heel as I make my way to the door. As I open it I him say something.
"Make sure you're here earlier. I would like you to take my daughter to school on your first day." His voice fills me from afar.
Nodding I close the front door behind me and make my way to my car.