Chapter Six
Jess
As I walked down the hallway toward the elevator, I took my time looking into all the rooms as I passed. It was easy enough since the walls were made of glass so I could peer into the empty meeting rooms. I smiled to myself. I’d made the right decision by coming in this morning. Even though I made a point to skirt the secretary, who was more concerned with flirting than protecting her boss and his adorable daughter. Though I wasn’t a threat at all. And in the short amount of time I’d spent with Gina, I had developed a want to protect her as well. I recalled having similar feelings when I’d first met Ricky.
I hoped the secretary wouldn’t get in too much trouble since it was only half her fault.
Gina’s face popped into my mind. She was simply adorable, and I hoped that I’d impressed Mr. Stone in the few minutes I’d spent with them. At the very least he could give me a proper interview at another date.
I wouldn’t mind seeing him again soon. He wasn’t anything like the picture I’d had in my head before the interview. He was much younger than I’d thought. Probably thirty-something. He was attractive as hell. His tailored suit didn’t leave much to the imagination. Definitely the athletic type. And I had a thing for five o’clock shadows. I assumed that was more for lack of time than purposeful, but it did the trick. At first, I didn’t notice the resemblance between the two. Gina with her brown hair and brown eyes and him with silky black hair and piercing light green eyes. But the way her mouth moved favored him without a doubt.
I shook off the thoughts. What if he was to become my new boss? In any nanny position, pining after the father was a big no-no.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I pressed the elevator button, and the doors opened straight away. I stepped inside and turned to see a hand pushing against the door.
“Jess,” Mr. Stone said.
I glanced down at my bag. “Did I forget something?” I thought I’d handed him my resume. But maybe I didn’t. I was a little scatter-brained after barging in on him and Gina.
He dug his hands into his pants pockets. “No. I was wondering if you were able to start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I asked. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? My stomach did a flip-flop.
“Yes,” he said, a little out of breath.
Had he run all the way to the elevator to stop me? I couldn’t help the good feeling that stirred inside of me.
“I can start tomorrow,” I said. “I would love to.”
“Great. We can negotiate the logistics tomorrow for your pay and everything else,” he said with a big grin.
I matched it. “That’s fine with me.”
“Me too!” Gina said from behind him. She giggled.
“Thank you, Mr. Stone.”
“Call me Noah.”
“Call me Gina!” Gina said.
Noah and I laughed. “Sure thing.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said, still smiling.
His teeth were brilliantly white, but a few of them were a little crooked. Good. At least he had one flaw.
“I’m excited for tomorrow!” Gina exclaimed and then shot off down the hallway.
“I’m going to go,” he said, removing his hand from the door. “Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. She likes to run.”
“Sure thing,” I said and waved at him.
He smiled, and the doors closed between us, giving me the perfect mental picture to hold onto until I saw him again.
On the way down to the lobby, I did a little happy dance in the elevator. Then I looked up in the corner and saw a camera. My cheeks flushed, and I moved toward the doors. I hoped Noah couldn’t see that! But my embarrassment faded quickly. I couldn’t believe how smoothly that interview went. It was the easiest one I’d ever had. And I hoped that I’d found my new Ricky in Gina. From everything that had happened so far, I had an excellent feeling I had.
After the interview, I stopped by the record store to tell Sierra the good news.
“Oh my gosh! Congratulations!” Sierra said, giving me a hug.
“Thanks so much.”
She leaned against one of the record stands. “Tell me everything.”
I glanced around to see a few people mingling in the store.
She waved them off. “If they need me, they can come get me.”
I grinned. “It was very easy actually. I sneaked by the secretary and walked into the office.”
“Ooh, you bad girl,” Sierra said.
“Well, it was a good thing I did,” I said. And lucky too. If Noah had been a different man, I could have come out of there with an entirely opposite outcome. “His daughter, Gina, was there. She was so adorable, and I can’t wait to get to know her.”
“Yeah, yeah, tell me about him,” Sierra said, lifting her eyebrows.
“What about him?” I asked innocently. I knew where she was going, but I didn’t want to talk about him. My job was to take care of his daughter.
“Is he as good looking as Rachel says he is?” Sierra said. Rachel was the friend who told Sierra about the job. I’d have to send her flowers or chocolates to thank her.
“Sure, he’s good looking. But Gina—”
Sierra pointed her finger at me accusingly. “You’re avoiding the subject!”
“Because it’s not relevant. He’s my boss now.”
“You can be attracted to your boss,” Sierra said.
“Not when I want to keep my job,” I said. “Besides, he’s way out of my league.” And that part was right. I’d had enough of these jobs to know that sometimes the parents treated the nannies like furniture. Something to be overlooked. He was a busy executive; sure, he was kind to me today, but he was motivated to get someone to watch his kid.
“I’m not telling you to marry the guy,” Sierra said, wrinkling her nose. “But you could be his naughty nanny.”
I looked around us, my cheeks flushing. “Sierra!” I hissed.
She giggled and lowered her voice into a husky tone. “Sure, I’ll go get your laundry, Mr. Stone. Do you want it freshly pressed?”
I lightly slapped her arm. “Stop it.”
She laughed uncontrollably, and everyone in the store looked over. If it was possible to be more embarrassed, my entire body lit up in flames.
“Everyone is looking at you,” I said.
“Whatever,” she said. “You’ve always been so easy to embarrass. You probably won’t see anyone in here ever again.”
That didn’t matter. I wasn’t sure how prominent Noah was in this area. What if he knew one of these people? Would they tell him that his new nanny was making fun of him? I knew it was a minuscule chance, but a chance I wasn’t willing to take.
“Do you want to get lunch?” Sierra asked, changing the subject.
“As long as you agree to stop calling me a naughty nanny.”
“I can’t promise that.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. “Come on then,” I said, looping my arm in hers.
“Harold, I’m taking lunch!” Sierra called into the back office.
After lunch, Sierra went back to work, and I went home. I wasn’t sure what my schedule would look like as of yet, though I had an idea Noah that would need me a lot. I didn’t mind working six or seven days a week, but the cleanliness of my apartment would suffer.
So, I rolled my sleeves up and got to work. The mindless motions of cleaning made my mind wander. From the impression that I got from Gina and Noah, I knew I was going to enjoy working for them. Gina had an infectious energy and a silent creativity that I wanted to explore. I made a mental list of places I wanted to go with her.
I briefly wondered about the nature of the former nanny’s termination. From what I saw at the interview, Noah and Gina seemed perfectly fine. The fact that he had a little section for her in his office showed his love for her. Most corporate types who I’d come in contact with never wanted their children at their work, never mind setting up a corner in the office for them.
By the time I’d finished cleaning my apartment, it was past supper time. I made a grilled cheese and watched an episode from my DVR before getting ready for bed.
While brushing my teeth, I couldn’t help a smile from forming my lips. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. I loved my job as a nanny. Taking care of kids was my passion.
Recalling Sierra’s idea of the naughty nanny made me laugh so hard that I spit out a little toothpaste onto the mirror. I scrubbed it off. There was no denying Noah’s attractiveness, but I knew he’d never think of me that way. He was too desperate to keep a nanny to ever screw it up.
But that didn’t deter me from thinking about his gorgeous green eyes as I fell fast asleep.