Park Avenue Player

by Ward, Penelope

  She untangled the tubing attached to the oxygen machine she spent her days tethered to and walked over to the couch to pass me a wine glass. “Champagne flutes are for amateurs. Wine glasses hold more.” She clinked her glass to mine, and we both drank.

  “So…tell me…about the job?”

  “Oh my goodness…well, where do I start? I’ll be taking care of an eleven-year-old girl, who I happened to meet accidentally when I was leaving his office that first day. She reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid. I really think I have a lot of insight to offer her.”

  “That’s great. I’m excited it worked out.”

  I gulped some more champagne and pointed to her. “I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t read that classified ad, I’d be getting mauled by Mrs. Brady’s husband tomorrow.”

  “Who?”

  “One of Soren’s clients.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m thrilled you’ll be working in the field you went to school for. But I’m even more thrilled you won’t be working that crazy job anymore.”

  I sighed. “You know, I feel like everything works out for a reason. That job might not have been ideal, but it paid well and gave me a place to blow off the steam I needed to after everything happened with Tobias. Although it was also a constant reminder of all the reasons there are to hate men, and it probably wouldn’t be a healthy profession to stay in if I’m ever going to move on.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Bree smiled. “I’ve been telling you to quit that job for a year.”

  “Yeah. I guess I just needed some time.”

  I drank more champagne and decided to be honest with my friend about another thing that might have caused my sudden change of heart. I felt a little sheepish mentioning a man to Bree. I knew it was silly. She’d never given me reason to feel that way. Just the opposite, in fact. Bree had encouraged me to get back into the dating world, almost before the ink was dry on the divorce papers from her stepbrother.

  I took a deep breath and pushed off the weird feeling I had. “So, also, the guy I’ll be working for is kind of gorgeous.”

  Bree had been mid-sip and started to cough. Lately, she spent half the day coughing because of the progression of her disease. But this time, my admission had caught her off guard.

  “Shit.” I grabbed the wine glass from her and patted her back as her face reddened. “Are you okay?”

  She held her hand to her chest and tried to take a few deep breaths. “I’m fine,” she said, straining to get out the words.

  After a few minutes of residual coughs and sputtering, the color in her face started to return to normal.

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you’re not his biggest fan, but Tobias is your brother. I’m an ass.”

  “First of all, stepbrother. And second of all, don’t be crazy. I’m…happy to hear you met someone. I just didn’t expect you to say that.”

  “Are you sure? I understand if it might be weird for you.”

  She nodded. “I’m positive.”

  “Okay. Well, it’s not like he’s interested, anyway. I didn’t exactly make a good first impression. And I’m not ready to start dating again either. But it felt good to feel a little spark from my blackened heart. Like maybe it isn’t dead after all.”

  Bree got up to grab the champagne in the kitchen. Her steps were slow, but I knew she didn’t like me jumping in and taking care of things for her. I stayed seated, even though it wasn’t easy to watch her struggle. She walked back to the living room, winded.

  Refilling my glass she said, “It takes a while after we get hurt to feel ready. And trust me, you’re not a proper judge of the first impression you make on men. I’m sure his impression was today must be my lucky day.”

  “You know what’s funny? I think one of the reasons I found myself attracted to him was because he didn’t seem bowled over by my looks.”

  Bree smiled. “You like a challenge.”

  I sipped. “I like honesty. And beauty is the biggest lie of them all. People look at you, see the outside, and assume the inside is a match. But a mirror doesn’t show who you are.”

  Bree sighed. “God. My asshole-very-handsome stepbrother really burned you badly.”

  ***

  “My uncle thinks you’re hot.”

  I stopped mid-braid, with a handful of Hailey’s hair in each hand. “He told you that?”

  She shook her head. “I overheard him on the computer.”

  “What do you mean you overheard him on the computer?”

  “He installed this program on my cell phone so he can listen to my phone calls. He thinks I don’t know. But I do. So one night I swiped his phone and installed the same thing on his. When I’m bored, I listen to his calls.”

  I had soooo many questions. Why would you do that? Why didn’t you just speak to him? Do you know that two wrongs don’t make a right? But yet, I led with…

  “Who was he talking to when he said I was hot?”

  “His friend Lucas. He’s like…seven feet tall. He has to duck going through doorways.”

  Let’s not get off track here. “What else did he say about me?”

  “He said you were a…brasif.” She shrugged. “Whatever that is.”

  “Abrasive?”

  “Oh, maybe that’s what he said. What does abrasive mean?”

  “It’s sort of someone who gets on your nerves.”

  She smiled. “Uncle Hollis is abrasive for me then.”

  I chuckled. Yeah, he’s abrasive to me, too.

  But I had to back up. Returning to braiding, I tried to set the right example. “You know, Hailey, when you found out your uncle had put something on your phone to monitor your calls, you should have sat him down and spoken to him about it.”

  “Sat Hollis down? You have met him, right?”

  I guessed she had a point. “You know, your uncle comes off as sort of…difficult…at times. But he can be reasonable, too. Look at him and me—we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances, and I never thought he’d give me a shot after that. Yet here I am. I came back to talk to him, and then he thought about it and changed his mind about hiring me.”

  I tied a rubber band around the bottom of the second French braid I’d made in Hailey’s hair, and she turned to face me.

  “Uncle Hollis hired you because of tampons.”

  “Ummm…come again?”

  “After we met in the cafeteria, I asked Uncle Hollis if you were one of the people interviewing for the nanny job. He said yes, but that you weren’t qualified. The next day, he had some man come to the house from a nanny agency—a guy nanny. I heard Uncle Hollis saying how much great experience he had, and it sounded like he was going to hire him. So he called me out from my room to meet the dweeb and asked if I had any questions for him. I asked if he could show me how to put a tampon in.”

  My hand flew to my mouth to cover my smile. “What did the guy from the agency say?”

  “He said he would find some appropriate YouTube instructional videos that I could watch. I looked at Uncle Hollis and said, ‘Elodie has an actual vagina’.”

  Oh my God. This girl was like looking in the mirror fifteen years ago. “What happened after that?”

  She shrugged. “The guy left five minutes later, and my uncle sucked back that golden stuff he usually drinks from a fancy glass after a long day.”

  I bet he did.

  “Anyway,” Hailey continued, “you were hired because of tampons, not because Uncle Hollis is reasonable.”

  It dawned on me that she’d mentioned maxi pads the other day and now wielded a tampon like a weapon against her uncle, which meant she might actually have some feminine-product questions that were the source of her anger.

  “Does your uncle buy your supplies for you when you get your period?”

  She made a face and nodded.

  “You’re not…using tampons, are you?” She wasn’t old enough for that.

  “No, but can I use them? The other stuff is
like wearing a diaper.”

  “Can you show me what he buys you?”

  Hailey led me into the bathroom attached to her room and opened the cabinet beneath the sink. She pulled out a package of something more appropriate for someone who was incontinent, rather than having her period.

  “You’re too young for tampons. But I think we can do a lot better than these things. They must be uncomfortable. And you need wings. I’ll tell you what. After school today, we’ll take a trip to CVS and do a little shopping.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why don’t you go get dressed so you’re not late for school?”

  “I don’t mind being late.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure you don’t. But your uncle doesn’t like lateness, and it’s your last week of school before summer break, so I think we can hack making it on time for five more days.”

  “Fine.” She didn’t sound happy, but went to get dressed, nonetheless. At her bedroom door, she turned back. “Elodie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m glad he hired you.”

  Warmth spread through my chest. “Me, too, Hailey. Me, too.”

  Chapter 8

  * * *

  Hollis

  “Anna’s home!” Squawk! “Anna’s home!” Squawk! “Anna’s home!”

  Just once, I wanted to come home to a different fucking greeting.

  I tossed my suit jacket on the round table near the front door and walked into the kitchen. The apartment smelled damn good. “Where did you order from?”

  “Hello, Hollis.” Elodie flashed me an obviously fake smile. “Did anyone ever tell you it’s customary to greet someone before you start barking at them?”

  “Did anyone ever tell you you’re a pain in the ass?”

  “They have, actually.”

  I waited for her to answer my question about ordering in, but of course, she didn’t. Because she’s a pain in my ass. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest and perked one brow.

  I sighed. “Hello, Elodie. Where did you order food from?”

  “I didn’t. I cooked.”

  Well, that was a surprise. “You can cook?”

  “We all can cook. But I happen to be good at it. It’s one of my many hidden talents.” She winked before turning around, grabbing a potholder, and opening the oven door.

  The smell of something spicy wafted through the air, and she gave me a nice view of her ass as she bent to take out whatever smelled good. I started to salivate, and I wasn’t sure whether it was the aroma or the view.

  My eyes were still glued to her rear end when she set the casserole dish on top of the stove, and I almost got caught when she turned back around.

  Fuck. I definitely need to get laid.

  I cleared my throat. “What is that?”

  “Cajun shrimp and quinoa casserole. The shrimp was on sale, and Hailey said it was one of her favorites.”

  “I didn’t even realize she ate shrimp.”

  She tilted her head. “Did you ask her what she liked to eat?”

  I must’ve. Hadn’t I? Fuck if I knew.

  I cleared my throat. “You don’t have to cook. I left you a credit card to order in.”

  “I know. I used it for the groceries. And also at the drug store. Hailey needed some feminine products. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, of course not. Thank you for doing that.”

  “Hailey likes cooking. I don’t have too many great memories of my parents, but the afternoons when my mom and I cooked together were some of my favorite days.”

  I wanted to be a dick to this woman, but she made it hard to be when she showed a vulnerable side. I nodded. “Where’s Hailey?”

  “In her room finishing up her math homework.”

  “Impressive. She usually does that at nine o’clock at night in front of the living room television.”

  “That’s because you let her do that.”

  I loosened my tie. “I pick and choose my battles.”

  Elodie pointed to the casserole dish. “That needs to cool for ten minutes before you serve it. I’m just going to go say goodbye to Hailey.”

  She disappeared and came out with my niece a few minutes later. Hailey had her wild hair pulled back in two pretty braids. It made her look younger and tamed.

  “Hello, Hailey. How was your day?”

  My eyes darted to Elodie and back, and she smiled as I did what she’d asked—greet Hailey.

  I guessed maybe it really wasn’t something I normally did, because my niece’s face wrinkled up in confusion. “Hi, Uncle Hollsy.”

  “How was your day today?”

  “Uhhh…fine?”

  “It wasn’t a trick question.”

  “Then why are you acting so weird?”

  Elodie chuckled. “Hailey, honey, why don’t you go wash up? Your uncle is going to walk me out, and then you guys can have your dinner. The dish is really hot, so wait for him. Don’t try to serve yourself.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

  Hailey sounded nervous that Elodie might not come back.

  “Of course. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Elodie waited until Hailey went into the bathroom and then nodded her head toward the front door. “Would you mind walking me out?”

  “Sure.”

  In the hallway, she pushed the elevator button before turning to me. “If Hailey and I are going to connect, I can’t reveal the things she tells me. Unless, of course, it’s something dangerous.”

  “Okay…”

  “But maybe…sometimes I can direct you to discover things on your own.”

  “What is this about?”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. “Borrow her laptop. Tell her yours is having an issue or something.”

  “Okay, but what for? What am I looking for?”

  She stepped into the elevator and reached over to push a button on the panel. “By the way, I’m not always abrasive. Just when I encounter rude people.” The doors started to slide closed, and Elodie flashed a last-minute playful smile. “But I am always hot.”

  What the fuck?

  ***

  I ate half the damn casserole.

  And the dinner conversation wasn’t too bad either. While normally Hailey complained about everything and everyone she’d encountered during the day, tonight she couldn’t stop talking about the new sitter.

  “Did you know Elodie likes to paint?”

  “No, I didn’t. But that’s great. You two have a lot in common then.”

  “She was married, you know.”

  “Yes, I did know that.”

  “Her husband was an art professor. They went to Paris on their honeymoon, and she went to the Louvre.”

  “An art professor, huh?” Now that I didn’t know, and definitely not what I would have expected.

  “She’s going to take me to MOMA during summer break.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  The twenty-minute conversation we had over dinner might have been the best twenty minutes I’d spent with her since she showed up on my doorstep two months ago. Hailey even helped clean up and load the dishwasher, and after, we watched a little TV together.

  By nine thirty, she was starting to fall asleep on the couch.

  “Hey, kiddo. Why don’t you go get ready for bed?”

  She yawned. “Okay.”

  I gave her a little time to use the bathroom, and then knocked before opening her door. She was already in bed, but the light was still on.

  “You want the light off?”

  “Yeah.”

  I went to hit the light switch, and my eyes landed on the dresser along the same wall. The laptop I’d given Hailey was sitting on top, and I remembered what Elodie had said.

  “Ummm… Do you mind if I borrow your laptop? I forgot mine at the office and need to write a few emails.”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” I took it and felt a miniscule amount of guilt for lying when she�
��d been so nice all night. “Goodnight, Hailey.”

  “Goodnight, Uncle Hollis.”

  I went into my home office and poured two fingers of scotch. Settling into my chair, I opened the laptop and started to poke around. Nothing looked unusual. Then again, I had no idea what the hell I was looking for. Elodie hadn’t given me any direction. I opened Word and checked what documents had been recently used, and then checked the Internet search history. Nothing odd. I was just about to give up when I decided to go into the applications folder and see if anything new had been installed.

  Bingo.

  What the hell?

  The call-monitoring software I’d installed on her cell and my laptop was also on her computer, and I sure as shit hadn’t put it there. I clicked and noted the time of the latest sign in—last night at nine thirty.

  Fuck me.

  I shut my eyes and shook my head. I’d been on the phone with Lucas, a buddy of mine. The last thing Elodie had said before the elevator doors closed—about her being abrasive and hot—made sense now. Because that’s exactly what I’d told Lucas about the new damn nanny.

  ***

  Damn. I took a deep whiff. I was going to need to add some cardio to my exercise routine if this cooking shit kept up. I walked into the dining room and found Elodie and Hailey playing Scrabble.

  “What did you make tonight?”

  Elodie looked at me and waited.

  What was her problem?

  Oh. Shit. Fine.

  I nodded. “Hello, Elodie. What did you cook for dinner tonight? It smells good in here.”

  She smiled. “Hello, Hollis. Thank you. We made sauce, with meatballs and sausage.”

  “You keep this up, and I’m going to have to spend an extra hour at the gym.”

  Elodie’s eyes did a quick sweep down my body, but she didn’t comment. Instead her eyes returned to Hailey. “Why don’t you slide the game down the table, and we’ll finish it up another day?”

  The Scrabble board was half full, and I read one of the words spelled out with the tiles.