Chapter7
“She’s staying? She’s staying here in the house?” Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was hearing as Brady stood before her in her room and told her.
“She has nowhere else to go. I might despise her, but she is the mother of my daughter, and I can’t let her be out there with no home,” he said quietly, pushing his hands down into his pockets.
“You told me she was dead to you, and now you’re letting her move in here.” Charlotte planted her hands on her hips and glared at Brady.
He shook his head. “It’s only for a trial period, and she’ll be in the guest room at the end of the hall. It’s just until she gets on her feet and gets her own place.”
“Your wife is just going to move in at the end of the hall.” She narrowed her eyes at him as jealousy, confusion, anger, and frustration built up in her.
“She’s my ex-wife. We are divorced.” He replied.
“You’re a billionaire. Buy her a condo or something if you want to help her. She doesn’t have to live here,” Charlotte shot at him, not caring that her voice did not hide her true feelings about the whole situation.
He shook his head and held up his hands. “Now, part of this is that she wants to be around Abbie and build a relationship with her. She wants to be in her daughter’s life. I can’t stop her from that. I’m not sure I trust her yet, and I would rather have her getting to know Abbie around me, so that I can keep an eye on her and make sure that everything she’s doing with her is okay.”
Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him, refusing to say anything else about it.
“Look, I need you to understand, and Abbie and I are both going to need you here to support her. She’s going to have a hard time with this transition, and besides myself and her grandmother, you’re the most stable and constant person in her life. Please… just roll with this. We’ll get through it.” He looked at her seriously and then without anther word, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.
She closed the door behind him and dropped her face into her hands, trying to stifle the angry tears and the scream that was building up inside of her, waiting to be let out, but being held back with everything in her.
Evelyn came up the stairs a short while later and strolled down the hallway like a queen in her own castle. Charlotte heard her and walked out into the hallway. Evelyn let herself into the big guest room at the end of the hall, taking a few steps around the inside of it, and then she walked back toward Charlotte.
When she reached her, she held out her hand briefly. “We haven’t actually been introduced yet. So, you know that I’m Mrs. Douglas. You must be the nanny. Am I right?”
“I am Abbie’s nanny, yes. My name is Charlotte.” She answered coolly. “Didn’t you change your name when you got divorced?” She asked, knowing it was catty of her to bring up, but not caring at all.
Evelyn didn’t even blink. “No, I thought I’d keep it, in case Brady and I ever get married again. It was such a delicious marriage before.” She gave Charlotte a little smile. “I’ll be moving in tomorrow. We’ll have lots of time to get to know each other then.”
She let go of Charlotte’s hand, watching her for a moment longer, before turning her shoulder and heading down the stairs. Charlotte was furious about it, but there was nothing that she could do.
Just then Abbie wandered in from her bedroom, rubbing the sleep from her eyes calling out for Charlotte. “Charlie! Charlie? Where are you?”
“I’m right here, baby.” Charlotte answered, going back into her room and kneeling down before the little girl.
“Can we please go swimming now?” Abbie asked, a smile forming over her face.
“Yes, we can, honey.” Charlotte answered, grateful for the sweet reprieve from the changes that were about to come to the Douglas household.
They spent a little more time in the swimming pool than they normally did, and while they were preparing dinner, it stayed on Charlotte’s mind that it was the last dinner they would have together, just the three of them, until Evelyn moved out. Their happy, normal routine was going to be gone while the woman was there.
Brady took the responsibility of explaining to Abbie that her mother was going to come and live with them at the house. Abbie was confused before Evelyn ever got there.
“But Charlie is my mommy!” Abbie stated, clearly not confused about it, at least in her mind.
Brady sighed and shook his head. “No honey, Charlie is your nanny. She takes care of you. She isn’t your mommy. There’s another lady who is going to come and stay with us for a little while. She is your mother. Her name is Evelyn. She’s coming tomorrow.”
“She’s coming tomorrow?” Abbie repeated, totally confused about the upcoming changes.
“Yes. She’s going to have the bedroom at the end of the hall. The last room. She’ll be there.” Brady explained.
“She’s staying here?” Abbie asked suspiciously.
“Yes. She’s staying here so that she can spend some time with you, because she is your mommy.” He grimaced at the words he spoke, and Charlotte could see that he didn’t like saying them.
“But I want Charlie! Charlie is my mommy!” Abbie demanded impatiently. Brady leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
“Don’t worry honey, Charlie isn’t going anywhere. She’s staying here. We’ll work it out.” He pulled Abbie up on his lap and distracted her with other things, giving her hugs and kisses on her cheek.
Charlotte cleared away the dinner dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher, trying not to grind her teeth in anger the whole time.
Brady let Abbie stay up a little bit longer than usual, and Charlotte wondered if he was drawing out the last few minutes of their time together as a trio, like she wanted to, before they were a foursome.
When Abbie was finally in bed, he walked with Charlotte through her room, taking her by the hand and leading her down the hall to his bedroom. She had wondered if she would be in his bed again that night after the tension they’d blistered through all day, and she was relieved for the normalcy and the intimacy with him.
“Brady, what are we-” she began when he had her at his bedside, but he covered her mouth with his hand.
“Shh… don’t talk. Don’t say anything. Just let me have you.” He kissed her hard and hungrily then, pulling her clothes from her roughly and pushing her back onto his bed. He left her bra and panties on her for a little while, rubbing his hands over them, slowly peeling them off and devouring what was beneath them.
All of Charlotte’s worries melted away at the touch of his tongue against her core, moving over the outside of her, slipping into her and teasing her, manipulating her as she swayed her hips over his mouth, pressing herself against it and crying out softly, cumming hard as his fingers gripped her thighs tightly.
Before she could catch her breath, he was against the outside of her, rubbing his thick, solid erection against the wet folds of her body, biting and sucking at her nipples until she begged him to enter her. Then he did, so slowly, an inch at a time, feeling every part of her around his shaft until he filled her and then began to move in her. Back and forth, slowly filling her over and again, as he kissed her mouth and his hand closed over her breast, kneading and massaging it.
They rocked together a long while, and he rolled over on his back, positioning her over his groin, thrusting himself up into her as he held both of her breasts and brought her down to him, kissing her mouth and then closing his hands tightly over her hips as he helped her move, riding hard over him.
Brady stretched their lovemaking out over two hours until he couldn’t hold himself back any longer, and he finally came, spilling all of his passion inside of her, holding her tight against him. When their bodies separated, he held her face in his hands and kissed her long and slow.
“God I’m going to miss this with you,” he whispered, his tormented eyes searching hers.
She blanched. “Miss it? What… what are you talking about?”
“This… this thing between us, this contract… it’s terminated as of right now.” He said in a low voice.
Her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. “What?”
Brady shook his head and sighed. “We can’t carry on like this with Evelyn in the house. So, while she’s here, there can’t be anything like this between us. This is over. We’re going back to you only caring for Abbie.”
“You… you can’t be serious!” She gaped, shaking her head as they sat naked together on his bed.
He nodded. “I’m sorry to say it, but I am serious.”
She furrowed her brow as anger bubbled up in her again. “You… you didn’t decide this just now! You were planning on telling me this anyway! You were planning on breaking it off before I ever came in here with you tonight, weren’t you!” She accused him in pained tones.
Again, he nodded. “Yes. But…” he reached his hand up to her face, stroking his fingers over her lips and then down to her breast, rubbing them over her nipple there, caressing the soft swell under his hand. “I wanted one last night with you, before she gets here. One more time with you in my bed before we were done.”
She pushed his hand away from her. “Don’t touch me. You used me tonight.” She glared hotly at him.
“I needed you. We’ve been using each other; that was the whole point of the contract! You agreed to it! We get each other and you get the money!” He shook his head, “There was never anything more to it than that! You knew that. It was just business. This last time was just part of that contract!” He grew tense and she felt coldness rise in her heart.
“Well, you just said the contract is done, so I’m out of here.” She pushed herself from his bed, though he reached for her, and without another thought, she rushed down the hall to her room and locked the door behind her, going to her bed and burying herself in the covers. She wept into her pillow all night and finally, somewhere in the wee hours, she fell asleep.
When she woke, she realized that she was nude, and that her clothes were all on the floor beside Brady’s bed. She pulled on her robe and stepped into the hallway. Hearing him down in the kitchen making breakfast, she stole along the length of the hall and went into his bedroom. The sight of his rumpled bed made her heart ache.
They had tousled those sheets together, in heated, passionate lovemaking. She remembered every part of it; his touches, his kisses, the feel of his hands on her body, his tongue on her and inside of her, his erection filling her, and she fell to her knees on the floor, weeping softly into her hands. It was done. It was over, and it would not happen again.
His words echoed throughout her mind. ‘It was just business’. She shook her head and wiped the hot tears from her cheeks. Perhaps for him it was just business, but for her it was passion and more than that, it was love. She could not help it, she loved him far more than she ever meant to, and there was no going back from it.
Gathering herself, she picked up her clothes, strewn over the floor on one side of his bed, and got to her feet again. If they would not be together, then maybe it was time she found someone else, just like Rita kept telling her to do. She leaned over the bed and brushed her open hand over the indentations on the pillow and the bedding where he had slept, and over the rumpled sheets where they had made such incredible love. A quiet sob escaped her, and she swallowed the rest of them back down.
Going to the door, she took a deep breath and turned the knob. It was going to be different, but she was going to make the best of it. She headed down the hall, her eyes so filled with tears that she could barely see anything around her, including the form of a curvy blonde woman who had just reached the top of the stairs. Charlotte opened her door and entered her room, turning again and closing the door behind her.
Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the bra and panties that hung from Charlotte’s hand, seeing them just as the door was closing. She turned and looked down the hall and saw that Brady’s bedroom door was opened slightly, and that Charlotte had just come out of his room.
Charlotte called Elaine. She felt desperate, and she was worried about Abbie. Charlotte had never called Elaine before, and Abbie’s grandmother was surprised though happy to hear from her.
“Well hello, Charlotte. How are you doing?” Elaine asked brightly.
“I’m fine I guess, Elaine. Thank you. I don’t know if you’ve talked with Brady, but there have been some changes around here, and I wondered if I could ask you for some help today.” Charlotte dove right into the situation at hand.
There was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the line. “Changes? I haven’t spoken to my son today. What’s happening?”
Charlotte frowned. “I know I shouldn’t be the one to tell you, but you’re going to find out anyway.”
“Well, what is it?” Elaine pressed.
“Evelyn Douglas showed up here at the house yesterday and she talked Brady into letting her move in.” Charlotte detested saying the words aloud. It felt as if she was giving them more life and more credit by speaking them, and she wanted nothing to do with them.
Elaine gasped in horror. “Oh, my word, you can’t be serious! What on earth is he thinking? She’s a wretched woman! I thought we were done with her! I thought we were never going to have our doorsteps darkened by her again!”
“Well she not only darkened it yesterday, she walked right through it and now she’s moving in.” Charlotte grumbled.
“I just can’t believe it. That’s awful! Well why is he letting her move in? What on earth is she doing there?” Elaine was still reeling from the shock.
“I guess Evelyn told him that she wants to build a relationship with her daughter and she has nowhere else to go. From what I can tell, Brady is taking pity on her and helping her so that she can become a part of Abbie’s life and Abbie can know her mother.” Charlotte kept her voice low.
“Abbie doesn’t need to know her mother, her mother isn’t worth knowing.” Elaine growled deeply. “Well what’s happening now? How can I help you?”
“Evelyn will be moving in today. I think it will be confusing enough to have her living here, without adding a move to the confusion, at least for Abbie. I was hoping you’d be free to take Abbie today. Get her out of the house while this transition takes place and Evelyn moves in. That way there’s a little less chaos for her. Brady tried to explain it to her last night at dinner and Abbie just couldn’t understand it. She seems to think that I’m her mother.” Charlotte said, and the last part of it made her smile just a little.
“She should be so lucky to have someone like you as her mother.” Elaine was angry and it was evident in her voice. “I completely understand why you called. Is Abbie awake yet?”
“No not yet. I just woke up, and my first thought was to call you.”
“Well and it’s a good thing you did. I’ll be right over. Have her ready to go and just tell her that I’m taking her on a special outing today. If my son objects, he can take it up with me. She doesn’t need to be around the house with that woman moving back in.” She heaved a great sigh. “I thought we were well rid of her. I’m absolutely livid that she has returned.
You heed this warning my dear; you watch out for her. That woman is a snake. Anything that she is up to is no good. Now, please get my granddaughter ready, and I’ll be over right away to pick her up.” Elaine said goodbye and ended the call, and Charlotte felt some of the tension in her shoulders fall away. At least Abbie wouldn’t be there while Evelyn moved in.
Twenty minutes later, Elaine was tucking a surprised Abbie into her car, and Charlotte kissed her goodbye and gave Abbie her Lula doll. She waved from the driveway as Elaine pulled away, and sighed with relief.
Barely an hour later, the house was buzzing with activity. Moving men came in and out of the home all morning, bringing in boxes and bags and taking them up to Evelyn’s new room, as well as to other rooms in the house. Charlotte was well and truly sickened by it. She went to the kitchen to make tea and found Brady there.
He looked up at Charlotte and she saw a strange look in his eyes. Something she hadn’t seen there before, something far out of place. He looked away from her. “Where’s Abbie?” He asked in a low tone. “I’ve made breakfast for you both.”
“She’s gone. She just left with your mother. I thought that it would be best if she wasn’t here in the house today while Evelyn moves in. She’s going to have a difficult time as it is with all of these changes, without adding a move in on top of it, with all these strangers going back and forth all over the place.” Charlotte walked to the stove and poured herself a cup of tea from the kettle there.
Brady was quiet a moment. “That was thoughtful of you. How long will she be with my mother?”
“Just overnight. I thought the moving might be done today, and Abbie can get to know Evelyn tomorrow when the dust has settled.” Charlotte kept her back to Brady as she made her tea. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to think about what he had said to her the night before when she had left his room, and how different it already was between the two of them.
“Will you have some of the breakfast I’ve made?” He asked without looking directly at her.
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” She took her tea and walked out, heading up to her room. She didn’t want to see either Brady or Evelyn, and since Abbie was gone, there was no reason for her to need to be around them.
The movers finally stopped coming in, and quiet settled over the house once again. Charlotte stayed in her room, working at her online classes and reading her books. She did her best to keep her mind on anything other than what was happening right outside of her bedroom door.
Knowing that she couldn’t avoid dinner, she went down to the kitchen atsix, and found Brady setting the table for three, and it made her miss Abbie. Evelyn breezed into the kitchen in a form fitting dress and heels, her hair perfectly done, as well as her makeup and nails. She sat down to one side of the head of the table, and Charlotte sat at the other. She detested being across from Evelyn, but there was no getting around it.
“Oh, I’ve missed this so much! You are such a good cook, Brady. I can’t wait to taste it.” She purred, looking over at him, her red lips curving into a wide smile.
Brady didn’t say anything, he only brought the dishes of food over to the table. “You’re welcome to serve yourselves.” He sat with them, and Charlotte turned her focus to the food, wondering if she could work up an appetite. All she felt was nausea at having to sit with both of them.
“It looks delicious, Brady. Thank you.” Evelyn gave him an attentive smile, batting her eyelashes a little. “So, where is Abigail?” She asked, looking around. “Isn’t she coming to dinner with us?”
Brady served himself some food and kept his eyes on it. “She’s not home tonight. She’s with my mother. She’ll be back tomorrow, and she’ll have dinner with us tomorrow night.”
“Oh, lovely. I can’t wait to see her. I’m sure she’s gotten so big.” Evelyn grinned, speaking brightly as if she might be a long-lost aunt who happened through town and was looking forward to seeing her niece.
Charlotte made herself take a few bites, and she kept her eyes on the plate before her.
“So, Charlotte, how long have you been working here?” Evelyn asked, still buoying the strained conversation at the table.
“Since August.” Charlotte answered. It felt like it had been a million years before, as she sat there at that moment. She remembered the interview that she and Brady had had near the school, sitting at a coffee shop, talking about her coming to be Abbie’s nanny.
“Well that’s not long at all.” Evelyn replied, her eyes steady on Charlotte. “Are you only doing nanny work here, or is there anything else…” she glanced over at Brady, “that you do?”
Charlotte made herself swallow another bite. “The only work I do is as Abbie’s nanny.” She replied. She wasn’t lying, she told herself. As of the night before, she had been terminated from her job as Brady’s lover, so what she told Evelyn was in fact the truth. Brady cleared his throat.
Evelyn watched them both like a hawk. “Well, now that I’m here I’ll be taking on some of the mommy duties, so there won’t be quite as much work for you to do.” She said it with a cloying sweetness and an insincere smile.
Charlotte had all that she could stomach at that point. “Please excuse me. Thank you for dinner.” She said, rising from her chair and taking her plate to the sink. She washed it and put it in the dishwasher. Evelyn kept her eyes locked on Charlotte as she left, and Charlotte felt it, every moment of it, until she was out of the room and headed up the stairs.
She barely slept that night; her mind was a tumble of worries and bitterness. Her thoughts volleyed back and forth between Brady and their intimacy and the new lack of it, to Evelyn and her sudden reappearance and her determination to plant herself right back into the middle of the household.
Charlotte tossed and turned, and late into the night she finally fell into a troubled sleep. She woke just before the sun came up, and showered and dressed. After looking in on Abbie’s empty nursery and wistfully hoping that the girl would be alright, she went down to the kitchen and saw that the coffee was made, and for the first time since she had moved in, there was no note from Brady. He left for the city, and left nothing behind. Nothing for her. It was like a silent blow to her heart, and she swallowed back hot tears as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table.
Moments later, Evelyn walked into the kitchen. She was wearing a white satin robe that reached the floor and seemed to hug her curvaceous form. She too helped herself to a cup of coffee and then took a seat at the table beside Charlotte. Charlotte wished that she had taken her coffee back upstairs with her.
Evelyn took a sip of the brew and smiled. “Mmm. This is good. I miss Brady making coffee for me every morning. Delicious, isn’t he?” She looked over at Charlotte pointedly.
Charlotte blinked and looked up at her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Evelyn kept her eyes on Charlotte. “I said he’s delicious, isn’t he?”
Charlotte’s heart began to pound. She could see that Evelyn was up to something, but she had no idea what it was. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
With a sultry Cheshire Cat smile, Evelyn set her mug down and folded her arms on the table before her, leaning forward. “Oh, I think you do. I think you know exactly what I’m talking about. Just you and him here alone… surely things have gone beyond a simple nanny and employer situation.”
Charlotte’s mind reeled. She was fishing for information. For some strange reason, one of the brief items in the sex contract that Brad had her sign flashed through her mind. She had agreed to never tell anyone about their arrangement. Granted, she had broken that promise by telling Rita, but no one else knew, and she wasn’t about to tell Evelyn.
“I am a nanny, and nothing more.” Charlotte told her evenly, wondering what kind of mother Evelyn was going to be to Abbie.
Evelyn chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, come now. This is just between us girls. Your secrets are safe with me.” She leaned forward further and leveled her gaze at Charlotte. “Do you really expect me to believe that nothing at all has ever happened between you and Brady? No stolen kisses? No midnight trysts? He is a beautiful man, isn’t he? All alone here in this big, luxurious home… the wealthy, lonely father all by himself… you haven’t taken good care of him while you’ve been here? Warmed his bed? Seen to satisfying his basic male needs? Certainly, he couldn’t resist such a lovely creature as you, right here in his own home, within his reach, just down the hall.” She stared at Charlotte. “Not even once?” She gave Charlotte a little smile.
“I told you, I am a nanny, and nothing more. I’m afraid you’re looking for something that isn’t there.” Charlotte replied coldly. With that, she stood up, taking her coffee cup with her as she left.
She went to her room, furious that Evelyn was digging around in her private life, trying to snoop out what might have happened before she had arrived. Charlotte wanted to tell her that it was none of her damn business, but she wasn’t sure what was changing around the house and she instinctively knew it would be best if she was careful.
Elaine called Charlotte an hour later, and Charlotte was glad to get the call.
“How are you doing this morning, my dear?” Elaine asked sympathetically.
Charlotte sighed heavily. “I’m okay.”
Elaine’s voice grew soft. “She’s already after you, isn’t she?”
“You could say that.” Charlotte answered glumly.
“Well, just keep your chin up and stay strong. She’s not the lady of the house anymore, and if my son has a brain cell left in his brain, she won’t be, so just stay out of her way and we’ll see what we can do to get her out of there as quickly as possible. I have a half a mind to buy her a condo myself,” Elaine glowered and Charlotte could hear it in her voice through the phone.
“I suggested that to Brady yesterday, but he said he doesn’t trust her. He wants her here at the house so that he and I can monitor her time with Abbie.” Charlotte told her.
“Well that’s the first intelligent thing he’s done since he let her back in. I hope she’s gone as soon as possible. I understand that Brady has a soft spot for his daughter in letting her get to know her mother, but I do not have that same soft spot. I don’t want Abbie to know her. There are better people in this world for her to know and to never be hurt by.”
“I agree completely.” Charlotte answered.
“We can complain about it all day, but it won’t change it. If the dust has settled, I guess I’ll bring Abbie back after her nap. She’s just going down now.” Elaine’s voice grew a little more tender.
“That will be fine. Thank you. I appreciate you stepping in to help on such short notice.” Charlotte breathed, grateful for Elaine.
“Of course. Anything for our baby.” Elaine had a smile in her voice then. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”