by Hope Stone
After a quick glance around the room, I caught sight of her. She was seated by a window. It was exactly where she had been sitting the first time I laid eyes upon her and I felt an unsettling wave of nostalgia wash over me. Walking over to where she was seated, I said, “This is going to be quick, right?”
She clasped her hands together and leaned forward so that her bosom was basically spilling over as I settled into the opposite chair.
“How is Millie?”
“She’s fine,” was my curt response.
“You look good.” Her gaze trailed my face, fell to my torso and then flickered to my lips. She bit her lips softly and then whispered, “I have been thinking of us…and how I messed things up.”
I looked away and beckoned to a waiter. If I was going to endure this opportunistic woman’s wiles for even a few minutes, then I might as well treat myself to some delicacies.
“Ossobuco and risotto milanese please,” I ordered and then turning to her, I asked, “Do you want something?”
“I’ll have what he’s having and get us a bottle of your finest wine,” she said to the waiter and then waved him away.
“So why did you ask to see me?” I queried, trying my best to be civil despite the bile rising in my chest. True, I had experienced a moment of nostalgia when I first arrived at the restaurant but it had dissipated just as immediately as it had occurred. All I could see now was the woman who had abandoned me and our child for a richer man while I was still struggling to get my business up and running.
“I miss Millie…and I know this might seem strange to you, but I miss you too.”
“Does this have anything to do with the fact that your current husband is in a coma? Are you already lonely?”
An exaggerated gasp escaped her lips and she looked around as if to make sure no other person had heard what I said.
“How did you know?”
“I know things…”
A coy smile played on her lips. “You’ve been stalking my life, huh? If I didn’t know better I’d say you still find me interesting.”
I almost spat out water. “Don’t flatter yourself, Nancy. Your husband is a competitor and I try to stay up to speed with my competitors.”
She threw her head back and let out a chuckle. Her eyes glittered with mischief and she shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t believe you.”
When I didn’t reply and started reaching for the bread basket in the center of the table, she reached out and touched my arm. I froze at her touch and waited to feel it. The crashing of blood in my veins and fluttering heartbeat that I used to feel when she touched me in the past. There was nothing.
She mistook the fact that I didn’t pry my hand away for some type of win because her lips curled with a satisfied smug. “I really want to play an active role in Millie’s life since you are…too busy to do so. And, from what I heard, it’s been a while since you had someone professional look after her. Someone maternal…”
I raised an eyebrow and she added, “You’re not the only one keeping tabs on the life of an ex-lover.” She drawled out the last word.
“Millie is being properly cared for,” I replied, finally retracting my hand from her clutches. Everything the woman did was calculated. There was no way she suddenly wanted to play mom except if it benefitted her in some way.
“She’s with your niece. That’s hardly proper…your niece is a baby herself.”
“Carla’s an adult.”
She ran her pointer finger around the rim of her empty wineglass. “I wouldn’t like to get lawyers involved in this…so I’m asking nicely now.”
Abruptly, I stopped eating and stared her down, but she didn’t flinch. “What exactly are you asking? You and I know that you don’t know the first thing about caring for kids. So what do you really want?”
She flicked back her hair and eased into her chair. “I want to be Millie’s mom, that’s all. I also want you but I’m fine if I can’t get you back…Millie’s the most important person to me now.”
“And what brought about this newfound interest in being Millie’s mom?” I lowered my voice as the waiter brought out the bottle of wine. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love Millie to have all the love she can get but I don’t trust you. The last time you actually interacted with her was a year ago…and even that was a disaster.”
She shrugged and ran a finger through her hair. “Because you practically manhandled me.”
My lips fell open. I didn’t know if she was serious in that instant but it was Nancy. She was the queen of exaggeration.
“You almost killed my child…feeding her with that…that godforsaken nut bar.” Even the memory of that day made my blood boil. I knew there was no way that she could have known but still, if she hadn’t walked out on us, she would have.
“How was I supposed to know she was allergic?” She sighed and took a sip of her wine. “I know you must think I’m horrible…yes, I left. I didn’t know the first thing about being a mother.”
I groaned in annoyance. There was no way she thought the pitiful explanation was going to fly with me. “Like a lot of first time mothers but they manage just fine.”
“I left but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about her. I just had a moment of clarity where I was reminded about the good things in life…the things I’ve taken for granted.”
I couldn’t listen anymore. “Fine,” I conceded. “My secretary will send you a list of days when I’m free…and you’ll choose visitation days from that list.”
I rose to my feet and dropped a few hundreds on our table, enough to cover the meal and then some. I glanced at Nancy. “It was nice to catch up but I have to go and be with my daughter.”
“Yeah, send me that list.”
“I will.”
Chapter 4: Dominic
I knew it. That was all I could think of as I stared at the papers in my hand. That morning, while getting coffee at my favorite café, I had been served papers to appear for the custody hearing of my own child. I knew there was no way that Nancy hadn’t set things in motion before asking to see me the other evening.
There was no way that I was going to allow Nancy to have custody of my child. A child she had willfully abandoned when she needed her the most.
Pulling out my phone, I rang up Benjamin Walsh, the family lawyer, and set up an emergency meeting. I ran out of the coffee shop and raced over to Benjamin’s office downtown.
“Would you like to sit down?” Benjamin suggested as I paced his office. I was sick to my stomach with the thought of losing custody of Millie and I was losing my calm.
I stared at him, then at the seat and then shook my head. I knew Nancy more than he did and I knew that she could spin this whole ordeal to paint herself as the victim in the eyes of the judge. She would say I denied her access to our child, she would say I was rarely at home and had left Millie in the care of my workers and niece. Which were all true but still didn’t make her any better of a parent than I was.
“Be honest with me,” I said to him. “Is it possible to win this case?”
He clucked his tongue and then scratched his left ear. “You know that judges tend to favor mothers in these sorts of things and like you’ve said…there were times when she asked to see Millicent and you didn’t allow her to.”
“Because I was out of town.”
“And who was Millie with during that time?”
“My sister.”
“Your sister works long hours…so your niece was her primary caretaker in that time, right?”
Something about his tone rubbed me the wrong way and I rammed my fist into his table. It startled him but I could care less.
“I am a good father to my child…maybe not the best but I do love Millie and I make sure her needs are met.”
“I know, I know…but the questions you’ll be asked by Nancy’s lawyer will be far worse and you need to try to keep your emotions in check. Her lawyer will try to bait you and make you seem like a bad father.” He interlinke
d his fingers and gave me an assessing look. “Have you tried to reach out to her? Nancy…I mean…you know, to try to settle things out of court.”
A wave of exhaustion washed over me and I collapsed into a chair. “Yes, but she’s adamant that my daughter needs feminine influences in her life. We both know that is a lie. I’ve done some digging and I found out that her current husband cut her out of his will after she cheated on him. Could she be trying to use Millie as a cash cow?”
He nodded. “It’s possible. If she gets full custody of Millie, you will be asked to pay child support.”
Frustration bubbled out of with an audible groan. “I can’t let her have Millie. We can’t let her.”
Benjamin nodded. “Which is why you should answer the questions I’ve been trying to ask you as honestly as possible.”
“Fine.”
“In the past month, who has been Millie’s primary caretaker?”
“My sister.”
“Or your niece?”
“Both….”
“But…mostly your niece?”
I nodded and looked away.
“How many times have you tucked her into bed in the last couple of months?”
I shrugged as guilt coursed through me. “Maybe three times. Look, I love my child…”
“Have you attended any school events recently?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“A lot,” he replied as he neatly arranged the stationery on his desk for the umpteenth time. “As much as we will try to prove that Nancy is not a suitable parent for Millie, we have to prove that you are…”
“Okay. Okay…I hear you.”
“Sir, the Saddler brothers are here to see you,” Rita, my secretary said as she peered into my office from the open door.
“Show them to the conference room,” I replied, not glancing up from my computer screen. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Are the others there?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay…thank you, Rita.” I glanced at her and offered an appreciative nod.
She murmured back her reply and turned to leave.
“Rita?”
“Yes?” She turned back to face me.
“I need a nanny,” I blurted. If anyone could help me with this nanny business, it was definitely going to be her. Rita was a slightly pudgy but pleasant faced woman who had worked with me long before my company became a household name. She was approaching her forties and had little to no career ambitions. She was frugal and despite her substantial earnings, she chose to live in a very cheap apartment building so that she could save up for her children’s college tuition. She was perfectly fine being a secretary and took pride in caring for her children. She had told me this herself and it was what had prompted me to hire assistant secretaries for her.
“Can you help me find someone decent? I need someone who will not try to kidnap my child and hold her for ransom or stab me in my sleep.”
Her eyes twinkled with what looked to be a smile. “I can, sir.”
I nodded. “I appreciate that.”
Chapter 5: Amelia
I was seething by the time I got home. The sales personnel for the company had been audited today and the auditor had been particularly nasty to me. There had been a condescending tone in her voice when she’d said I wasn’t meeting my monthly sales target which I knew was a lie. Like the job I did wasn’t good enough or something. It didn’t matter that they set unrealistic monthly goals for the sales representatives. It didn’t matter that I started a YouTube channel to build up authority as an expert in skin care products so I can use that influence to push their products. It didn’t matter that I was the leading sales representative in the company. To her, I was beneath her. It showed in the tone of her v0ice and for a job that didn’t pay that well, I didn’t know how much more of that kind of treatment I could stomach. Sure, I wasn’t doing the most glamorous or important job in the company, but every worker deserved to be treated with a modicum of respect.
“Why the long face, Amelia?” Rita, one of the occupants of my apartment building, called out. She was much more than just a neighbor and the only other person, apart from Rachel, in the building that I knew by name. She lived with her two teenage daughters. I helped her watch them from time to time.
“Just work,” I mumbled as I fumbled to get the key into the keyhole.
She walked down from the stairs leading to her own floor and approached me. With a hand gently laid on my shoulder, she asked, “Do you want to talk about it, dear?”
There was something about Rita. She emanated such kindness and warmth and was my idea of what a mother should be. My own mother was barely present in my life so when I met Rita, it felt like the universe was trying to compensate me for my horrible childhood.
I nodded as I turned the key and pushed open the door. “I hope Nina and Lila are doing well? I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to check up on you all in a while. Work has been hectic. I spend most of my time at the mall, trying to sell products, then there are reports to write and meetings to attend and—”
“Shh,” she cooed, “I know, you don’t have to explain yourself. And, yes, the girls are fine. They are learning to be more reliable and trustworthy.”
Flinging my bag into a nearby cushion, I collapsed to the floor. With eyes facing the ceiling, I allowed my mind to roam. I thought about my dreams and how they seemed to be moving out of reach with each passing day.
“I don’t think I’ll ever do what I want to do, Rita.”
She sighed and settled into a couch. “Acting, huh?”
I nodded. “I’m doing a job that I hate…and it doesn’t even pay well. I barely make rent. And it’s not like I can go back home. There’s nothing there for me…not since my dad passed away.” My voice became choked up with emotion.
A moment of silence passed and then she said, “I can’t help you with the acting career but maybe I can help with the money issue.”
That immediately piqued my interest and I found myself readjusting my position so that I could look at her. “How?”
“Well, my boss,” she started to say and then stopped. She pursed her lips and then blurted, “This job is quite unglamorous, okay?”
I nodded.
“My boss needs a nanny. I don’t know if you know him but he’s the owner and CEO of Dominion Foods?”
My mouth fell open. In all the years that Rita and I had been friends and neighbors, I hadn’t known that she worked for one of the most prolific and successful agro-allied companies.
“So? What’s it going to be? I can get you an interview with him but it’s up to you to convince him to give you the job. I can assure you that you’ll be paid quite well to watch a child who is well mannered.” She paused to gauge my reaction to what she had just said and then continued, “I know being a babysitter is not what you planned for when you left home but it could help with the rent.”
“I’d love an interview,” I finally said. If I was going to be doing a job that wasn’t my dream job, the least it could do was pay me well. And, with the extra free time on my hands, I could manage to try my luck at some auditions.
“Okay, is tomorrow afternoon at three a good time? I know it’s short notice but it’s a really urgent matter for him.”
“I’ll be there, Rita. Thank you so much.”
Chapter 6: Amelia
A tingle ran down my back the moment I laid eyes on Dominic Baldwin. Usually, I was not the type of person that believed in love at first sight, and I didn’t think what I felt at that moment was love. But it was instant attraction. He was the type of man that was described in the romance novellas I used to read. He was tall, muscular and attractive. His slicked-back undercut and full beard made him look like he was fashion-inclined but the plain white T-shirt barely covering his biceps gave him a laid-back look also.
“Good morning, Miss”—he glanced at a paper in front of him—“Amelia Anderson.”
“Good morning, Mr. D
ominic Baldwin,” I returned.
He waved a hand. “Please call me Dominic. What experiences do you have with babysitting?”
I swallowed, trying to decide whether to inflate my experiences or go with the truth.
“I have some experience,” I said, deciding to go with the truth. “Not a lot, but I know how to keep children entertained. When I first moved here…to Los Angeles, I used to babysit for couples in my apartment building.”
He merely stared at me and didn’t say anything and I was forced to continue. “Children, like adults, want variety in their lives and want to be entertained. I am a very versatile person and know how to engage children at their level.”
I was mentally kicking myself for what I considered to be a lackluster answer when he said, “Rita thinks very highly of you…and I think very highly of Rita.”
I felt my heart soar at his statement.
He carelessly threaded a hand through his hair. “I will have to run some background checks on you. So you should hear back from us in a couple of days.”
“Oh, thank you,” I uttered, feeling highly motivated. Background checks could only mean that I was being considered for the job.
“That will be all,” he remarked, glancing at his wristwatch.
I nodded, even though his eyes were no longer on me, and then let myself out.
Exactly a week after my interview with Dominic Baldwin, I got an email telling me that I had gotten the job. Attached to the emails was some necessary paperwork and then the salary.
My eyes widened in amazement as I stared at the monthly salary I’d be receiving for babysitting. I couldn’t believe it. I pulled out my phone and quickly went to the calculator. When I calculated what I’d make in a year, my jaw dropped even lower. This was a lot of money. If I worked as the nanny only for a year, I could afford to live a little luxuriously without even bothering about a job for a few months.
