Chapter Four
Olivia
It wasn’t easy to follow Mark through the traffic. I really wasn’t used to driving through the city at all, but I felt utterly determined that it wouldn’t be the reason things fell through. I’d been offered this job in a whirlwind of an interview, and much as it wasn’t expected, I didn’t want to let it go now. Sure, I’d expected to head back home tonight, but this was okay. Now that I was in New York, I didn’t want to go anywhere anyway, so this was okay.
“God damn it,” I muttered to myself as I felt a bubble of frustration building in my stomach. “Don’t lose him now.” If this was him going slow, I’d hate to see his normal driving. “Just be cool, it’s going to be fine.”
Finally, after what felt like forever, he pulled up to a stop in a parking lot, then Mark indicated for me to take the space next to him. I breathed a sigh of relief as I could finally stop the driving… until I glanced up at the building that lay ahead of me. I’d seen a fair few tower blocks of apartments during my time in New York, but none of them were like this. This was serious, wealthy-people stuff. Homes that millionaires lived in. I gulped my emotions back as I tried to picture myself in a place like that, but I just couldn’t see it. I was a country bumkin, not the sort of woman who could be in a luxurious, large apartment with a view of Central Park.
“Right, would you like to follow me?” Mark asked, seeming oblivious to how uncomfortable and out of place I felt. My insides cringed with how weird this all was. “I’ll take you up to my place.”
I walked just behind him as we made it into the building. I was very aware that Mark was talking to me, but my ears buzzed painfully with nerves. I could hardly keep myself standing, never mind anything else. That only got worse once we stood inside. This whole building screamed money; it had marble flooring, golden décor, and an actual mini water fountain in the middle of the reception area… just because. It was crazy. I could only assume that the artwork on the walls was real, rather than reprints, considering what the rest of the place was like.
“This is Lincoln,” Mark announced, introducing me to a tall, slim man with friendly looking eyes. “He’s the doorman, and he’s also the go-to person if you have any problems. Where is your stuff?”
“Erm, hi, Lincoln.” I had stars in my eyes. All of this was overwhelming. “My name is Olivia.”
“And your stuff?” Mark prompted me. “Lincoln will go and get it and bring it up for you.”
I could feel a redness tinging my cheeks. I’d brought a lot considering I didn’t think that I would be in New York for too long, but not enough. I would have to go shopping at the very first opportunity.
“I have a few bits in the car,” I told Lincoln while handing him the key. “It isn’t loads though.”
“That is no trouble whatsoever,” Lincoln replied in a very formal voice. “Nice to meet you, Olivia.”
As Lincoln walked outside, Mark guided me towards the elevator. This wasn’t real life; this was like being on the set of a movie. I kept expecting someone to yell ‘cut’ at any minute and for all the scenery to simply fall away, revealing me still back in Virginia daydreaming about what could happen in my future. People didn’t come to New York to have their life magically fall into place. It was supposed to be hard work.
Even the elevator was incredible, lined with a velvety material. As Mark leaned across to press number twenty, which of course was the top floor, it would have to be the penthouse suite, my heart skipped about ten beats. He then typed a few numbers into a separate keypad, but I was far too stunned to ask anything about that. This was Hollywood; this was a fantasy; none of this could be real. I didn’t even mind the awkwardness of the quiet between Mark and me. I was simply lost in how wonderful all of this was. I loved New York City!
Eventually, the elevator dinged and the doors flew open revealing the most incredible place that I’d ever seen in my life. It was one of those incredibly cool, sleek apartments from movies or music videos. The sort of place that any self-respecting woman dreamed of ending up in. It made my entire body pulse with excitement.
I flickered my eyes everywhere, drinking it all in. The large television on the wall—the size of a cinema screen—the pristine couch that looked like you would just sink into, the massive windows that looked out onto my favorite city on earth… it was everything. I wanted to sink to the floor in a moment of sheer awe.
“Olivia?” Mark asked, snapping me from my moment of madness. He reminded me that I was here for a job, not to drool over the view. “Would you like to come out of the elevator so that I can show you around?”
I nodded numbly and stepped inside feeling like I was floating on air. I followed Mark into the kitchen—so well equipped, it even had an electric sushi maker—the bathroom that had a wet room instead of simply a shower, the playroom, the storage space, the library (yep, the apartment was so grand it actually had a library of its own), and then towards the bedrooms. He didn’t show me his own, he just pointed it out the same as he did his home office, but he did show me his daughter’s, whom I now knew was named Justine. My first impression was that she had a lot of stuff… but I suppose that made sense given her father clearly had a whole lot of money. I parted my lips, almost making a comment on it, but luckily, I stopped myself just in time. That wasn’t my place to say… or even think. I had to just nod and admire it as if every child had as many toys as that.
“And this…” Mark swung open another door, “is the spare room. It’s where you’ll sleep.”
Woah… this was the spare room? It was nicer than any master bedroom that I’d ever seen before. No one at home had rooms like this; it was lovely. It had a television of its own, a desk for my laptop, a bookshelf, and a king-size bed that was just begging to be slept in.
“I don’t know how much stuff you have, but there’s a walk-in wardrobe here.”
I didn’t like to comment how my few outfits were going to look in here. Instead, I preferred to imagine it full of all my things. Designer clothes and shoes, even a rack of handbags that were all mine.
“And you have your own bathroom too. The spare room has an en-suite.”
Okay, so there was only a normal shower in my bathroom, but it was one just for me. It was much bigger than the box shower that I had at home anyway, so still it was an improvement. I was blown away.
The only thing that Mark had not yet mentioned was Justine’s mother. I wanted to know, but I really didn’t want to ask. I guess it was just one of those things that I would find out much later on. Maybe she was disinterested in her daughter, maybe she left to live a quieter life on some island somewhere, or maybe she was in jail, or maybe they were divorced and in the middle of a custody battle. Or maybe it was something much worse.
“I want you to have a set of keys as well,” Mark continued. “So you can access the place easily. I know that the elevator opens up right into the apartment, but we keep all the doors locked all the time. Also, I’ll have to write the elevator code down for you, which you cannot share with anyone. I take safety very seriously.”
“Right, sure.” I waited patiently for him to get me a set of keys then to write down what I needed to know. “Thank you. I will treat this all with care, and of course, I won’t tell anyone anything. I don’t know anyone anyway, so it isn’t like I have anyone to tell.” I tried to laugh, but my joke fell completely flat on its ass.
Mark glanced at his watch. “It’s five to three now. Justine is always brought home by the driver at half past three, so you’ll get to know her soon. You don’t need me to supervise, do you?” I shook my head numbly. “Great, because I really do need to get to the office. I have a lot to sort out before I go to Tokyo.”
Tokyo? He was leaving? I wanted to demand an explanation, but something had stolen my voice.
At that moment, the elevator opened, and Mark popped his head out of my room. “Oh, that’s Lincoln. He’s here with your stuff, so I’ll let you get unpacked and sorted while I get to work. I’ll see you later. I’ll bring the work contract later on too so you can sign it and we can make all of this legit. Sound good?”
Without even waiting for me to answer, Mark swept from the apartment, leaving me alone to let some of this settle in. I got my things from Lincoln and took all of about two minutes to unpack it all. At some point, I would have to get all the rest of my things shipped from my home, maybe just before I sold it, so I could feel a bit more at home here. Mark was a fast mover; I got the impression that people didn’t tell him no very often. Working for him was going to be a unique experience. Not like my last job, which I was now going to have to leave in a much more abrupt way than I originally planned. It would have to be a phone call.
Then, once I was done, I waited. Time ticked passed slowly, almost agonizingly so, while I waited for Justine to come home. To be honest, I would have much preferred Mark to be here to make it a little less odd, but I wasn’t really given that option. I didn’t feel like I could ask him to do that since he was so keen to get to work.
He had to be a workaholic. Maybe that was why his wife was no longer around.
I spotted a family photo on the wall, one that had clearly been taken years before. I stepped closer to it, just about to pick it up and have a look at it, but before I could, the elevator doors opened wide and a young girl stepped out. Alone. This got stranger by the moment.
“H… hi, I’m Olivia,” I stammered awkwardly. “But you can call me Liv if you want.” The girl gave me a very cool look. I certainly wasn’t instantly liked! “I’m your new nanny. Erm, would you like a drink or a snack or anything? Can I… help you?”
I didn’t get an answer, Justine simply strode past me as if I didn’t even exist. I squared my shoulders in shock. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I could stay strong if it kept me in New York. Right now, that felt like the most important thing in the world. If I had to put up with a cranky seven-year-old to stay here, then so be it.