by Irene Bolton
While I was reading, Stan looked at me silently, as if trying to find out my thoughts. He was drumming on the table with a pencil. His fingers were very delicate and slim. Well, if he wants to know my opinion, I can express it. I put the folder on the table and looked at him.
"Are you sure that all of this is necessary for a six-year-old child?" The pencil, which he held in his hand, flew to the edge of the table.
"This is what her mother needs."
Chapter 4
Stan and I went together to meet Karina at the airport. Alone. Well, not unless you count the driver. In fact the timid, gray-haired, middle-aged man was sitting so silently, his moves so balanced that he almost could have been a spare part of a car rather than a living person. He had a tremendous ability to merge with his environment. Stan, as soon as he sat down and fastened his seatbelt, grabbed his tablet and fell out of reality, completely immersed in contemplation of whatever he was seeing on the screen. I thought he was probably checking work emails or solving worldwide business issues. Or chatting with his aristocratic ‘darling’ girlfriend.
This chatting was, apparently, so fascinating that he continued to stare at the screen all the way to the airport. Only when Karina’s flight was announced and the first passengers entered the arrivals hall did he finally lift his gaze and put away the tablet.
After a while, his cold face faltered, and a faint smile slid across his lips. I could not believe my eyes. Wow, this stone facade knew how to smile?! I followed his gaze and saw that an amusing couple had appeared in the arrivals hall: a strong man with a huge suitcase and a pretty girl in jeans and a kitten-emblazoned T-shirt. There was no doubt she was his daughter – her black eyes shone brightly, exactly mirroring my boss’s at that moment. She had two thick, black braids that swayed with her every step, one slightly higher than the other. Yes, she was still a kid. She looked so pretty. Just like a little angel.
“Dad!” She cried and jumped joyfully, while trying to remove her tiny palm from the big hand of the accompanying man, who looked like a nice two-winged wardrobe.
"Who is that with her?" - I asked, watching them as the approached.
"A bodyguard," Stan answered reluctantly.
Meanwhile, the girl was saying something angrily to the bodyguard, even stamping her feet. He did not even flinch and continued walking steadily towards us. Then she slipped her free hand into her pocket and took out an object that looked like a tiny control panel. I saw clearly as she pressed a button with her little finger and at the same moment, the suitcase literally roared. Its walls were shaking; it vibrated, jumped and clicked, as if someone, big and strong, had just woken inside.
The people around them froze, looking around in bewilderment, and tried to get away from the suspicious suitcase, the strange man and the little girl who looked so cute and innocent.
I noticed the way the bodyguard frowned and reproachfully looked at the girl, then glanced at the boss. The latter gave a little nod. What the ... What's going on here?
Someone shouted hoarsely, “Terrorists!” and everybody panicked.
“Police! Police!” Another one squealed.
People in uniform were already running towards the man, chewing something on the run and taking out their guns.
“Stay calm!” The voice of the bodyguard was thick and strong as I’d anticipated. I think Barry White himself would love to have such a voice.
One thing was clear – it is impossible to calm down a crowd with such a voice. It is possible though, to inspire even more fear. People formed an empty space around the bodyguard and the suitcase as they dispersed in all directions. The people still disembarking the airplane created a real traffic jam in the arrivals hall. Men in the front backed away in terror while people in the back pressed forward, not understanding what was happening and why they could not pass.
The girl, meanwhile, was no longer by the guard. Where was she? What if she was in danger? I looked at Stan and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor in surprise. He was completely calm. No, not calm, he was clearly enjoying the play. And although he tried to maintain an impenetrable look, the corners of his lips treacherously curled up, ever so slightly, but enough to understand that everything that was happening gave him pleasure. His eyes shone with something like... pride? Pride?! What a nightmare... Not only was he a bore and dictator, but he was also crazy.
"Where is your daughter?" I asked, trying to shout over the screaming crowd. Stan did not react. Well, yes, people like him do not talk to stupid nannies.
The situation with the kicking and snarling suitcase was escalating rapidly. Realizing that the only way to placate the crowd was to demonstrate its contents, the bodyguard, not at all worried by the fact that the girl had run away, lowered the suitcase on the floor and began to open it. Somebody shouted hysterically.
Ignoring the exclamations, the man opened the suitcase and at the same time it exploded. A brilliantly colored fountain flew from it: girl’s dresses, shorts, T-shirts and other pretty clothes. A light-blue T-shirt landed directly on the head of the bodyguard, which made him look remarkably stupid.
He looked up and stared at the policemen who had arrived. One of them removed a bright red dress with white polka-dots from his shoulder, the second took off a child's sock with pompons. They both warily glanced in the direction of the source of panic.
At the bottom of the empty suitcase a toy excavator was working. Imitating the sounds of the real mechanics, it raised and lowered its bucket.
I was utterly speechless.
“Daddy!” A happy voice right next to me rang out, and I turned around.
Karina wrapped her arms around Stan's legs and, throwing back her pretty face, gazed adoringly at her father. He picked up the girl and hugged her awkwardly, stroking her back with his huge palm and strong fingers. She hugged him tightly around the neck and, burying her nose in the nook between neck and shoulder, exhaled, “I was so sad without you. I really, really missed you!”
"Me too," my boss murmured softly, and I froze, stunned by the amount of tenderness in his voice. So, it meant he did not always speak with a voice so cold, full of, ice and metal. Here it was, his tone was gentle, warm and velvet. And he did not look like stone anymore. His cold facade had all but disappeared, and what I saw took my breath away. The boss smiled and it softened him, strangely making him look younger, and it struck me as possible that he was barely thirty. Before then, he had seemed older to me because of his stone-cold expression and because of the reinforced self-confidence that gave him such significance. Now, when he did not need to look presentable, it turned out that he was very handsome. Damn it, he was so beautiful that I just wanted to stare at him! Those dark cheekbones, the chin with a cleft in the center, and the strong neck that appeared to bulge under the constraint of a firmly buttoned shirt collar. It was so tight that I wanted to reach out and open a few upper buttons and touch his smooth skin. And then to rise on tiptoes and touch his lips, which looked so soft… so...
I lifted my head and met an understanding pair of black eyes...
I felt as if I’d been drenched with icy water... My God! What was I thinking?! This extraordinary incident with the suitcase had deprived me of a properly functioning mind! That button on the console that had switched on the stupid excavator, had apparently also switched off my brain!
I turned around in confusion, cursing under my breath. I was the nanny. He was the employer, an icy stone wall that could eat a nanny for breakfast. And that was all! And for anything else he had noble ‘darling’ with her diamonds and straight face.
I was just a bit stressed.
"Wow, you are much heavier now," the boss's warm voice rumbled. "You are almost grown up."
Karina was babbling in response, and while they were busy with each other, I managed to cool down enough to turn to them again.
The father and daughter did not take their eyes off one other, and so I was reduced to simple bystander. I had the opportunity therefore, to look at them as mu
ch as I wanted. They were extremely alike. It was not only their eyes that were the same. The girl had inherited a high forehead from her father, an even, straight nose and a stubborn chin. Even a person without extensive knowledge of physiognomy would have concluded that nobody close to this pair would ever feel at peace. This was the first time it occurred to me that perhaps the high salary I was to receive was not so great after all.
Chapter 5
Meanwhile, someone had managed to gather the children’s clothes that had been scattered all around. The poor bodyguard was taken for inspection; people went on with their own business. It was peaceful once again. The only reminder of what had just happened was a lonely child’s sock.
Stan finally put Karina on the floor, and pointed at me, “Meet Alexandra, your nanny. She will be with you while you live with me.”
Karina turned her pretty head with the pretty braids towards me, smiled as an angel, and said in her child’s voice, “Hello, Alexandra…”
There was something horribly familiar in those words and that tone, and in the eyes… those big, black eyes. Here they were – the two of them. Mr. Big Pain in the Neck and Miss Small Pain in the Neck. And for some reason I could bet that there would be far more problems from the small one. If I hadn’t just seen this angel creating a scene in the airport a few seconds ago, I might have mistaken myself for being lucky, because this girl was a charming child. But I had seen it, and therefore I understood perfectly well that this was a small devil with an angel face. And considering that her loving daddy hadn’t said a word about this latest trick that had paralyzed the entire terminal, then such behavior was presumably common.
All those thoughts flashed through my mind in the space of a second, before Karina turned back to her father.
“Daddy, you said I'm big.”
“Indeed...”
“Daddy, are you big?”
“Indeed,” he answered, sounding intrigued.
“Do you have a nanny?” asked the angel indulgently.
The boss coughed, obviously trying to hide a laugh.
“No...” he admitted honestly. Well, almost honestly. Apparently Daddy had decided to keep quiet about ‘darling’.
“Then why do I need her?” Karina nodded in my direction.
This child could put two and two together. My future as a babysitter in this family seemed less and less attractive with every second. Meanwhile Karina nudged the boss’s leg, “Won’t you play with me?”
“Of course I will,” the boss said a little too quickly. “I have a lot of plans. As soon as I finish working, I'll come to you right away. But while I'm at work…”
“A-ah... Work…” Karina sighed in disappointment. Her lower lip jutted forward and her eyes filled with tears. But she didn’t cry. Instead, she shook her head and blinked.
“Darling, I’ll only be working a little bit,” the boss said with a measure of guilt discernable in his voice. “You won’t even notice …”
“Do you swear?” asked Karina, backing her father into a corner.
“I do. I swear”
"Okay, work then," Karina said resolutely. "We'll have fun with Alexandra.”
I felt ill at how that sounded. Something made me believe it would not be fun, at least not for all of us. And yet I crouched in front of the child and, trying to smile as friendly as possible, said, “Hello, Karina, I'm very glad to meet you. I promise, we won’t get bored.”
“I never do anyway,” the girl smiled back at me.
I felt shivers race up and down my spine. Perhaps it was time to get insurance. For accidents. All types of accidents. Although, I wasn’t entirely convinced this little devil was beyond inventing something new; something not yet on the insurance claims lists.
When we returned to the car, and Karina climbed into her child’s chair, I quietly asked the boss, “What about the bodyguard? Won’t we wait for him?”
“He's fired,” exclaimed the boss in a cold but quiet tone, so that his daughter would not hear.
“Why?” I whispered. “He acted like a professional in that situation!”
“A professional would not have allowed ‘that situation’!” snapped the boss. Wonderful. His daughter arranged devil-knows-what and got away with it, while the innocent employee was fired. It seemed I wouldn’t last long. God knows how unprofessional he would find my actions. I'd be thrown out of the door without explanation. It would be a favor if he didn’t take my salary as a fine. The rich have their quirks!
We drove home, Stan manning the car himself. I did not dare ask where the driver had gone. My new boss had taught me not to ask unnecessary questions. Karina was bouncing in her seat, reliving over and over the moments of her triumphant airport stunt.
“Did you see how the suitcase jerked? And everybody was like – ahh! And ran! It was so great! I can’t wait to tell John, he’ll burst with envy!”
She was very pleased with herself. And, it seemed, the boss was quite happy too. He suddenly had the appearance of one of those idiot parents who closed their eyes to their offspring’s ‘tricks’ or, worse, apparently felt proud of them.
“Karina, why did you do this?” asked her father, not taking his eyes off the road.
Well, that was unexpected. I’d already started to believe he was hopeless.
“Me? I didn’t do anything! It just turned on...” protested the girl before quickly switching to another topic. “Isn’t my excavator great? It’s a present from Mommy! Well, not a present. I’d been asking for it for a long time. But now I can build a sandcastle in the yard. Or we can build it together, can’t we, daddy?
"We'll build it,” Daddy nodded. “But the excavator cannot just turn itself on. And you know this very well.”
“Well,” Karina pouted. “Maybe it's just broken, so it turned on! That could happen, couldn’t it?”
“It could...” the boss agreed. “Then, no sandcastles for us. We must throw away the broken excavator as fast as possible so that it doesn’t cause problems.”
Karina shifted uneasily in her seat and sighed remorsefully, "Ok, I turned it on... I'm sorry, Daddy...” Then she thought for a second and added guiltily, “I will apologize to Uncle George too, honestly.”
“I’m sure you will,” Daddy answered calmly. “Though, Uncle George does not work for us anymore. I fired him.”
Karina burst into tears. They ran down her pretty cheeks and dripped from her chin.
What was he doing?! This was way too much! Did this daddy accidentally forget how old his child was?!
“But he wasn’t to blame…” the girl whispered. “It's all my fault…”
The car jerked and pulled up at the curb. The boss turned to his daughter and said,
“Yes, you came up with this. And as a result, someone else suffered. Therefore, you must always think before you do something.”
I wanted to kill him. And I’d thought he was a loving father?!
“I will, I will! I'll think, Daddy, please, let Uncle George work for us again.”
I hugged Karina with both hands, staring furiously at Stan. It wasn’t exactly bravery, but I was ready to strangle this cold, heartless man with my bare hands. And if I could have burned things with my gaze, then my boss would have already been reduced to ashes. He raised his eyebrow and then...
And then he smiled. At me. That same warm and soft smile...
“Of course, honey.” He stroked his daughter’s head awkwardly. “I'll arrange everything.”
I sighed with relief and, letting Karina go, stared out the window, leaving father and daughter the opportunity to hug without prying eyes.
“You have to behave yourself.”
“Of course, Daddy,” his daughter said too quickly.
I guess I was doomed. This pair would drive me crazy before the first week of the three-month period was out.
“Did you have time to eat on the plane?” the boss asked his little girl, veering back onto the road.
“Yes, Daddy. But I did not eat the fish
. Rather, I wrapped it in a napkin to give to the poor homeless kittens,” Karina boasted, placing her hand on the little pink handbag she had over her shoulder "They like fish, don’t they, Daddy?"
“Probably,” answered Stan, his concentration now on changing traffic lanes. It seemed his thoughts were already far away.
We reached the mansion quickly enough and, to my great relief, without any adventures. Karina was apparently tired after the journey and, after she had calmed down, had dozed off.
“Well, here we are,” Stan announced, parking the car near the porch.
“Hooray!” cried the girl, waking up. “Now I will show you my main treasure.” Her voice was quiet, as if she were ready to entrust him with some important secret.
“I'll definitely look at it in the evening,” her father promised. “In the meantime, you can show your treasure to Alexandra.”
“Sure, Karina, I'm very interested,” I said. Karina did not even look at me. She ran to the house, clutching her small pink handbag, in which something very dear to her was stored. Besides the fish for the kittens, of course.
“I hope you’ll get along,” the boss grinned, settling back into the car.
“Certainly,” I assured him, greatly doubting my own words. “You do not have to worry.”
I had to worry now. At that moment I understood this very clearly.
Chapter 6
If at the end of my first working day I’d been asked to rank the most dangerous professions in the world, I would have put the nanny's work in first place without hesitation. Before meeting Karina, I thought that an ideal teacher should be like Mary Poppins, but now I realized that Lady Perfection would have run into a crushing fiasco had she found herself in my place. To keep track of this little devil, you had at least have a couple of superpowers: X-ray vision, teleportation and the ability to do twenty things at once.
