The helicopter soared over the city, and Anna spent the entire flight with her hands pressed against the window, her eyes on the city below as she tried to take in every detail. The sky above was a cloudless blue, so the conditions were perfect.
But after only a few minutes of flight, the helicopter positioned itself over a building on the Upper East Side and gently landed. The view from the top of this new building was still stunning to Anna, but nothing quite like what she'd just seen. Soon after landing, the blades of the copter came to a stop, and she took off her headphones.
"Like the ride?" asked Jason, opening the door and helping her out.
"That was…amazing," she said. "I've never seen anything like it."
Jason smirked. "I don't take this all the time, but when you need to get somewhere fast, it can't be beat. Maybe I'll take you up again sometime."
"That would be amazing," she said, her heart racing.
"But first thing's first," said Jason, leading her across the helipad and to another elevator. "Let me give you a tour of the place."
Upon reaching the elevator, the doors opened and the two stepped inside. Jason pressed another button, this one labeled "PH," and the elevator descended. But the trip down took no more than a second or two. And when the doors opened, Anna gasped once again.
Jason's home occupied the penthouse suite of the tower where he lived. Anna stepped into the main room of the apartment, which was an expansive, open room with a tiered floor. The ceilings seemed to reach up forever, and the back walls of the apartment were glass, like the office, and looked out onto the city. The apartment was appointed with a well-selected mix of modern and older furniture, a grand fireplace dominating the western wall. The room was bright and cheery with the natural light that poured in. Anna could hardly believe how amazing the place was.
"Welcome," said Jason.
"This is, um, quite a pad," said Anna, stepping into the apartment, which she realized was the largest she'd seen, so far, in New York.
"Thanks," said Jason, the word coming out offhandedly. "Little too much space, maybe, but I'd rather have too much than too little."
Quite a dilemma to have, thought Anna as she walked further into the apartment.
Eventually, she reached the back wall, which led out onto a large balcony and provided a spectacular view of the Upper East Side. They were high enough she could see the green rectangle of Central Park. Her mind reeled as she considered just how much a place like this must've cost.
"Let me show you to your room," said Jason. "The kids and I are on the other side of the apartment, down the other hall, so you'll pretty much have this side to yourself."
My own wing, thought Anna. Incredible.
Jason led her down the hall, passing door after door until they reached the last one on the left. He opened the door to reveal a large, yet cozy bedroom. The windows looked out onto Lower Manhattan, the towers of Midtown dominating the view. Stepping into the bedroom, she realized it was nearly as large as the apartment she shared.
"Like I said, we'll bring your clothes and whatever else over," said Jason, standing near the door. "I can have the movers go over to your place this afternoon, if you'd like."
"That'd, um, be great," said Anna, still coming to terms with her new accommodations. "This is all really nice. Thank you."
"Save your ‘thank yous' until I can see that you're actually worth keeping around," said Jason.
Anna gulped, remembering she was now in the employ of a mercenary- not exactly the sort of guy who likes to screw around.
"I'll do my best," said Anna.
"Do you actually have any experience with children?" asked Jason. "You were chosen as a candidate due to your impressive credentials, but I want to know how much hands-on experience you truly have."
"Um, well, I babysat a lot when I was in high school," said Anna. "And I've got lots of nieces and nephews."
Red formed on Anna's cheeks. She knew that despite what she was telling Jason, which was the truth, she didn't actually feel as though she had a natural knack for kids. She found herself feeling awkward and stiff around them, and at times, she wondered if she was one of those women who just didn't seem to have a maternal instinct.
"The kids can be tough," he said, his gorgeous blue eyes still fixed on her. "Sophia and William have had a hard time adapting to things since their mother passed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Anna asked. "How long has it been?"
Anna felt she might've been prying a bit, but she felt these were details she needed to know. Not to mention the fact that part of her couldn't help but wonder if the death of Jason's wife was in any way related to his career.
"About a year ago," said Jason. "Cancer. All happened over the course of about half a year. But enough about that."
Anna didn't press the point; it was clear this was a subject Jason didn't care to discuss.
"I did babysitters for a while, but the kids had a rough time with it. Just too many mother-figures constantly coming and going. I figured a nanny would be the best bet; you can stay here when I'm gone and give me some peace of mind."
"How often are you gone?" asked Anna.
"Hard to say, exactly," said Jason, thinking the question over. "Long enough that I'm sure I don't qualify for any father of the year awards."
His eyes went back to Anna.
"One more thing," he said. "There's a door down another hallway; it's marked with a silver crest. Under no circumstances are you to go inside it. Understood?"
Anna felt herself stiffen. Jason's tone was as stern as she'd ever heard it.
"Sure," she said. "Don't touch the door with the silver crest."
"Glad we understand each other," he said.
Jason checked his watch.
"Kids won't be back for a little bit. Let me take you out for some lunch, then you can have the afternoon to get used to the place before the kids come back."
"Sounds good," said Anna, secretly feeling more than a little nervous about meeting the kids.
She wondered what they were like, imagining a pair of children with the same striking blue eyes and serious temperament as their father.
"There's a bistro down the block that I like," said Jason. "Come on."
"We going to take the helicopter?" asked Anna, allowing herself a little smile.
Jason's mouth turned up on one side ever so slightly.
"I know the owner; not sure he'd be hot on a rooftop landing."
With that, the two of them headed down to the street and toward the corner. As they walked, Anna couldn't help but watch Jason out of the corner of her eye. Just as before, his walk was more of a stride- intense, and with a bearing that seemed to suggest he was ready for anything that might happen at any moment. It was strange to her; she felt a little off-center by Jason, but at the same time, safe, as though she didn't have anything to worry about when she was with him.
The two of them stepped into the sunny interior of the bistro, the lunch crowd filling the air with the din of a busy restaurant. A balding man in a gray suit approached the pair. He greeted Jason warmly, and Anna got the sense that this was the owner. The man led them to a two-person table near a window that looked out onto the busy avenue next to them. Anna couldn't help but notice that the chair Jason took had its back to the wall; it reminded her of the old mobster movies her dad liked to watch. When the waitress approached, Jason went ahead and ordered for the both of them. The independent woman in Anna bristled at this, but the certainty with which he ordered made her believe he really knew what she would like.
"Been coming here for years," he said, handing the menus to the waitress, who silently departed, "never disappointed by the specials."
"Well, then, I'm looking forward to not being disappointed," said Anna.
Jason allowed himself a small smile, and Anna couldn't help but notice that his blue eyes went from her to the rest of the restaurant, as though he was constantly on watch for anything out of the ordinary.
"Spot any trouble?" she asked, half joking and half serious.
Jason regarded her with a wry expression.
"My line of work, you can't really turn things off," he said, settling into his seat.
"I see," said Anna.
"Now," said Jason. "I know all about your past –at least what I know from your information and the thorough background check we ran on you- but I'd like to know more about you."
Anna's eyes widened at this.
"What do you want to know?" she asked. "I mean, there's really not much to say."
"I doubt that," said Jason. "Everyone's got a story. And most people are eager to tell it, regardless of how shy they might be at first."
Anna thought about the question of who she was. Despite what Jason said, she viewed herself as about as normal and boring as they come.
"Well," she said, "I'm from the Midwest –Kansas City, to be specific- and, um, I went to school, then I moved to New York."
Jason smirked. "I see I'm getting the abridged version."
"Sorry," she said, "I'm not all that exciting."
"Well, you came to New York, didn't you?" he asked. "That, at least, tells me that you didn't think you'd be happy with the quiet Midwestern life."
"I suppose not," said Anna, realizing there was truth to what he's said. "I mean, I love where I grew up, but it was so…"
"Quiet," said Jason, finishing her words.
"Exactly," she said. "I needed…more. And when you're a girl growing up in the suburbs, New York seems like just about the most exciting place in the world. I wanted to be someplace where I'm constantly being stimulated and challenged."
"That's a good trait," said Jason. "Most people want nothing more than what they're familiar with. ‘New and different’ to them just means ‘frightening and weird'."
Anna knew he was dead-on. She knew the Midwest produced friendly people, but also the types who didn't want their lives to be changed in any drastic way. They wanted the same suburban house and two to three kids that their parents had.
"But it's so cliché," said Anna. "New York is the go-to place for anyone looking for excitement. It seemed like half the girls in my office were all small-town girls wanting the same thing I did."
"But you aren't any of those girls," said Jason. "Don't ever fool yourself into thinking you're just one of the crowd; that's the fastest way to make it actually come true."
“And there’s something else, too,” said Anna, speaking the words with hesitation.
“Oh?” asked Jason, clearly intrigued.
“Never mind,” said Anna. “It’s stupid.”
“Well, let me be the judge of that.”
“It’s just, I don’t know, as strange as it seems, I never really fit in with anyone.”
“That’s very common for girls like you,” said Jason. “Alienation from peers.”
“No,” she said. “It’s…more than that. I don’t just mean I didn’t fit in with my friends, I mean I didn’t feel like I fit in with anyone, not even my family. I don’t know how to explain it, but I remember sometimes feeling as though I was, like, an alien from another planet or something. Like I wasn’t actually part of my family.”
“Like you were adopted?” asked Jason.
“Kind of…but deeper than that. As though there was some serious, inborn difference between my family and me. Something deeper than blood.”
Anna looked up and saw that Jason had been taking in every word with rapt attention.
“Sorry, this is so stupid,” Anna said at once, feeling ashamed.
“No,” said Jason, placing his hand on hers. “If you feel something like this, then you owe it to yourself to figure out why. Mistrusting your own intuition is one of the easiest ways to become truly lost.”
Anna considered his words, almost feeling as though he knew something she didn’t. But before she could respond, the waitress brought their meals. On the plate placed in front of her was a delicious-looking sandwich with a small side salad. She lifted it and took a bite, her eyes widening as she realized just how delicious it was. The bread was chewy and toasted perfectly, the ham and cheese were savory and sinful, and there was a wonderful sauce she couldn't quite identify.
"What'd I tell you?" Jason asked, setting down his own sandwich.
"Amazing," said Anna, covering her mouth with her hand when she realized she still had food there.
She swallowed.
"I'll never doubt you again."
Jason flashed her a smile, and Anna's heart skipped a beat. Aside from the fact he was her boss and a very formidable-seeming man, Jason was also extremely attractive to Anna. She'd noticed how handsome he was when they first met, and now, here in the bright restaurant, the light catching his eyes in such a way that brought out the gorgeous, almost inhuman blues, she felt a tingling in her stomach.
"That's the best first step to you and me having a good working relationship," he said with another one of his wry grins.
The two of them finished their lunch and headed back to the apartment.
"Go ahead and get settled," he said. "Make up a list of everything you need from your apartment and I'll have it brought over by the end of the day."
"Sure," said Anna.
And with that, he left down the other hallway.
Anna went into her room and fell onto her bed, thinking about how strange this all was. Over the span of less than twenty-four hours, she'd gone from gainfully-employed young professional to…whatever this was. She lay on the bed for a time, letting the situation wash over her. And to her chagrin, Jason's face continually appeared in her thoughts.
This is going to be even more complicated if you start crushing on your older boss, thought Anna to herself. Stop it!
Looking for some way to block out her intrusive thoughts, she got up and sat at her desk, writing the list of things she wanted to have brought over. She jotted down clothes, then bathroom things, then a few odds and ends here and there like her computer, but other than that, she couldn't really think of anything she needed. One of the reasons she'd chosen the room she did was because it came pre-furnished; she didn't have to worry about making any major purchases. But it was still striking to her that all she had to show for her life was a few boxes worth of cheap clothes from H&M, and a few random things.
Before she could consider the matter for too long, Anna heard the front door open, followed by the pattering of little feet. She felt her blood run cold when she realized that the kids, the children she'd be responsible for, had arrived.
Oh shit, she thought. First impression time.
Part of her wanted to hide out in her room, to pretend she was simply staying at a luxury apartment where she didn't have to worry about a single thing. But she dismissed this as silly, realizing it was better to get the introductions out of the way as soon as possible.
So, taking her list of things and slipping it into her pocket, she opened the door to her bedroom and headed out to meet her charges.