The Nanny

by Vera Roberts

  “I would love to go,” Kieran smiled, “when is it?”

  “It’s on Saturday,” Tiana added, “we’ll have a car pick us up and then we’ll be on our way.”

  “I look forward to it,” Kieran smiled. It wasn’t a date but it was the next best thing.

  ****

  She wasn’t planning on spending her Saturday afternoon like this.

  Tiana stood in front of the dressing room mirror in her walk-in closet and stared at herself. Her arms were flabby and reminded her of chicken wings. Her thighs looked like hammocks. Her stomach wasn’t as toned as it used to be. There were still leftover stretch marks from her pregnancy.

  She examined her face. She hated her acne scars and probably should invest in a dermatologist.

  Her nose was a bit wide. Okay, she should invest in a plastic surgeon as well. Her lips, oh God, her lips were so full and plump. They reminded her of when she was younger and how the boys would tease her because of her full lips. Little did she realize as she grew older, men would salute them.

  Tiana was a nervous wreck. She’d asked Kieran out not thinking he would actually accept. To her shock, he did and he was looking forward to it. Why in the hell did he have to accept? Did he not realize the tizzy he put her in? What if he expects her to put out? What if he’s bored? What if he quits the next day?

  Tiana put aside her racing mind. She finally decided on a tight red dress. It gave her the appearance of being skinny and would take the attention off her flaws. She put her hair up in a French roll and did her makeup. She splashed three sprays of perfume and headed out the bathroom.

  Oh, her foolish heart.

  She was putting on the finishing touches when she heard her front door open. “Tiana? I’m here,”

  Kieran called out.

  “I’m almost ready,” Tiana yelled back, “I’ll be down in about five minutes.”

  Kieran’s lips curved into a smile. Tiana might have said five minutes but he knew how women operated. Five minutes to them was the equivalent of an hour. He might as well get comfortable.

  He walked over to the kitchen and looked for vases. He managed to find a couple of them underneath the sink. He rinsed off one vase and placed the roses inside. He arranged the flowers the way his mother and his brother, Joey, taught him. “In case that child care thing doesn’t work out,” Joey once told his older brother, “you can always come back and help us out at the floral shop.”

  Kieran had just finished arranging the roses when Tiana appeared in his sight. “Well, hello there…” she smiled.

  Kieran looked over at Tiana and felt air escape his lips. She was absolutely stunning. Her makeup was impeccable and the dress tightly hugged her body. She was lightly fragranced with notes of floral, patchouli, and vanilla.

  Kieran grabbed a single rose from the vase and handed it to her. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”

  Tiana sniffed the pink rose and smiled. She’d truly forgotten how nice it was to receive flowers.

  Christopher barely gave her any. Hell the fool barely remembered her birthday, despite it being in the same week as his. For a brief moment, Tiana was annoyed. How could she have stayed with him for so long?

  Her thoughts finally turned to something pleasant—her date for the evening. Kieran didn’t opt for a tuxedo and instead wore a business suit with an open collar. The outfit was simple but his body was tailor-made for it. His cologne was a combination of earth, wood, and musk.

  Tiana felt her heart beat…pound, really. She swallowed again and her tongue darted out to quickly wet her lips. Tiana blinked twice and let out a small breath. The heat pooling between her thighs spread throughout her body. She always found Kieran attractive but it was at that moment she realized she was attracted to him. She may not have been in love with Kieran—not yet—but she was definitely in lust with him.

  That was a new feeling for her. She didn’t want to just see him naked. She wanted his body to hover over her, sliding his cock in and out as she opened wider to accommodate him and…

  “Tiana? Is everything okay?” Kieran asked.

  Tiana jumped back to the present. “Yes,” she smiled. “I was lost in a train of thought.”

  “Want to share?” He offered.

  Just as Tiana was contemplating what plausible lie she could think of, the doorbell rang. The chauffeur had arrived. “Time to go.”

  It was going to be a long night.

  SEVEN

  “Tiana!” Her colleague, Benjamin Li, greeted her with a polite hug. “I’m glad to see you here!”

  “Nice to see you, Ben. Where’s Virginia?” Tiana inquired about his wife.

  “Fixing her dress for the umpteenth time,” Ben rolled his eyes. “I told her to not wear something so damn tight, but what do I know? I’m just a husband and she’s just a wife spending my money.”

  Ben was an older Asian gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a thin build. He was usually stoic and his employees thought his lips were permanently sealed. To see him smile was rare and to hear a laugh was quite impossible. Ben did laugh and smile, however, when he was liquored up. Then he became delightful.

  “You’re a very patient man, Ben,” Tiana smiled.

  “It’s because of this,” Ben waved his glass full of bourbon.

  “Happiness in a glass,” Kieran commented.

  “You’re goddamn right,” Ben raised his glass.

  “I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Tiana shook her head. “Ben, this is my date, Kieran.”

  “Nice to meet you, Kieran,” Ben shook his hand. “So what do you do?”

  “I’m in early education services,” Kieran gave the standard, canned response he always gave when someone inquired about what he did for a living. It was better than explaining why a grown man was a nanny.

  “Early education services?” Ben nodded approvingly. “What’s that?”

  “I own and operate a child care business.”

  “That must be lovely,” Ben took another sip, “being around a bunch of screaming little maggots all day.”

  “Well, it’s not that bad…”

  “And I bet their parents are a piece of work! They’re probably just as bad as those screaming maggots they’re dropping off. Absentee father who’s fucking every stupid and impressionable eighteen-year-old he would get a stiffy for. And the mother whose face is so pulled back, it actually takes away from the obvious distraction of the giant stick up her ass.” Ben took another sip, finishing his drink. “Excuse me, I need a refill. Open bar tonight, brah. Go getcha one.”

  “Will do,” Kieran smiled before Ben left. “He was entertaining.”

  “It’s because he’s drunk,” Tiana led Kieran to another bar, “He’s normally not like that.”

  “There’s nothing wrong letting loose every once in a while. Letting your inhibitions free.”

  Tiana thought about the other night when she propositioned Kieran. She was still embarrassed by what happened. He saw her naked but didn’t comment one way or another about it. That bothered Tiana more than she would’ve liked. “For some people,” she added.

  Kieran held Tiana’s waist and leaned in to her. “For everyone,” he whispered.

  There went that flushed feeling again. Tiana was convinced she was getting hot flashes.

  ****

  “And next on the auction block is a pair of Lakers tickets, floor row for three games this season.

  That is any game you want to go to, including playoff games,” The auctioneer announced, “we’ll start the bidding at ten thousand dollars.”

  “Are you interested?” Tiana asked Kieran. “Football’s more my thing. I’m waiting for the forty-niner tickets to go up.”

  Kieran glanced at Tiana. Was she a woman after his heart? “Are you serious?”

  “I love football! I like basketball too, but football is more my thing.” Tiana commented.

  “Let’s wait for the football tickets,” Kieran put an arm around Tiana and she leaned into him. “I won
’t mind.”

  “Going once? Going twice? Sold to the man in the back! Please see the cashier for the arrangements, sir.” The auctioneer announced.

  Tiana turned around to see who won and was pleasantly surprised to see one of her clients and longtime friends. “Excuse me, Kieran. I need to say hello real quick.” She left for the cashier’s table.

  Tiana stood at a respectable distance until the business transaction was completed and then approached her good friend. He was impeccably dressed in a business suit and open collar. He looked every bit of the multimillionaire he was. “I wondered if I’d see you here tonight.”

  Scott Reed turned around and gave Tiana a big hug. “Tiana, great to see you!” He kissed her cheek. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been well, how have you been?”

  “Oh, I’ve been doing fine. Things are finally stabilizing so no complaints here,” he smiled.

  Tiana motioned towards the auction room where Scott’s date was sitting. She was a Black female with long, straight hair and wearing a body-hugging black gown. “I bet,” she grinned, “fling or girlfriend?”

  “Girlfriend. Her name is Mari.” Scott replied to Tiana’s surprise, “I know, huh?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with monogamy,” Tiana kidded.

  “Everyone keeps telling me that,” Scott shrugged, “I don’t know why.”

  “Maybe it’s because deep down you’re the monogamous type?”

  “Maybe,” Scott smiled, “but I see you didn’t come alone yourself.”

  “Oh, Kieran?” Tiana turned back to him and a smile formed on her face. Even from a distance, she missed his company. “He’s a great guy.”

  “He better be,” Scott politely warned.

  “I know you’re not trying to be Mr. Protective over me?” Tiana folded her arms.

  “I’m protective of all of my female friends,” Scott added, “even those that reject me.”

  “I didn’t reject you,” Tiana scoffed, “it just wasn’t the right time for us.” It was a time when Scott just ended a disastrous relationship and Tiana was working double to get her investment firm off the ground. She often wondered what would’ve happened if they both simply waited just a few more months… Right love, wrong time.

  “Coulda, woulda, shoulda,” Scott shrugged as he grabbed his tickets, “at least we have MBA memories.”

  While they both were studying for their Master’s degrees at USC, they often took sex breaks with each other that would last for hours. Even when she was with Christopher, she would fantasize it was Scott on top of her, commanding her body in various positions. Even momentarily, she thought about how big and thick he was and how he somehow managed to fit into her tight heat over and over again.

  He was some dick she would never forget. “The MBA program was awesome,” Tiana smiled and gave her friend a hug and a kiss, “I’ll see you later, Scott. We need to talk soon about your latest acquisition of the nightclub.”

  “Sure thing, Tiana. See you later,” he replied.

  After the charity auction, Tiana walked outside to the balcony of the Ritz-Carlton. She inhaled a sharp breath and admired the city lights. She had come a long way from being a bright-eyed, big-idea girl from the suburbs to living in a mansion in Pacific Palisades. Her family appeared to be the modern-day Huxtables. Her father, Henry, was a respected oncologist. Her mother, Barbara, was a hairstylist. Tiana was an only child.

  They were strict parents, encouraging Tiana to follow her dreams and not get caught up in the streets like some of their peers. Tiana could remember how much she hated living with her parents. They never let her do anything without Tiana giving them a list of who was going to be with her, where they were going, and what was going to take place. Nowadays, she could appreciate why they acted the way they did.

  But with everything good, there was some bad. Barbara was determined to not have her daughter be a ‘fat one’ and put Tiana on a strict diet when she was an adolescent, eating nothing but carrots and celery sticks to drop her cherub cheeks. Henry encouraged Tiana to go into occupations that would make her the most money, regardless if she had a passion for it. When Tiana expressed an interest in becoming a doula, her parents scoffed at her decision, encouraging her to become a doctor instead. Luckily for Tiana, she also had a strong interest in financial affairs and became an accountant, much to the satisfaction to her parents.

  Stuck. That’s the word she was looking for. She felt stuck in her life. She was always supposed to do something right. There was always an insanely high level of expectation on her. She was always supposed to do the right thing with the right guy with the right life. Tiana finally conceded her life was just as bland as her diet. The only thing that jolted her every now and then was the acrimonious divorce from Christopher. His last demand was laughable at best—give him twenty-five million and he’ll go away forever. He never once mentioned seeing Tyson.

  “I was looking for you,” Kieran approached her from behind.

  Tiana slightly turned to him and gave a half-grin. “Hey,” she rubbed her shoulders in the cool October breeze.

  “Oh, come on,” Kieran placed his drink on the balcony and took off his blazer. He covered Tiana’s bare shoulders with it. “I can’t be that bad of a date, am I?”

  Tiana bundled herself up a little more with the blazer. “Just curious,” she turned to him, “I don’t have a giant stick up my ass, do I?”

  “What?” Kieran smiled.

  “I thought about what Ben said earlier, about the child care parents. I mean, what he said about my ex was true but I’m wondering if he grouped me in there,” she frowned.

  “You honestly believe that?”

  “I admit I can be a bit stuffy. I’m paid to be,” Tiana shrugged. “If I was who I truly am, I wouldn’t get any clients. I definitely wouldn’t have any respect.”

  “So who is the real Tiana?”

  “Will the real Tiana Morris please stand up?” She chuckled. “She’s fun and free-spirited. She’s organizational to a fault but not stuffy. She loves going to the opera, just as much as she loves watching Football Sunday, just as much as she loves seeing the latest chick flick. If she could, she would wear her natural, kinky and curly hair all the time and do away with those flat irons and god-forsaken relaxers. She would love to expand her family, having lots of babies to fill up that big-ass house she bought.”

  Kieran admired Tiana’s honesty. For the first time, the real came through. There was no alcohol, no contriteness, no keeping up with appearances. The real Tiana was with him. It was refreshing and wonderful. “So why does that Tiana stay hidden?”

  “Because that Tiana won’t get any respect. That Tiana will lose millions in potential investments from clients all over. That Tiana…” she paused and bit her lip.

  “You were saying?” He encouraged.

  Tiana cleared her throat and exhaled a deep breath. “That Tiana is afraid of what her family would think. And she has to keep prim and proper. So that Tiana stays hidden.”

  Kieran moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. His embrace was warm and

  comforting. “I would like to see that Tiana if she wants to come out to play sometime.”

  Tiana humored him. “You wouldn’t like her.”

  “How would you know that?”

  “Because I do,” she replied, curtly. “That Tiana comes with a whole lot of baggage. I’m not talking a few suitcases. I’m talking a 747.”

  “We all have baggage, Tiana,” he offered.

  “Easy for you to say,” she scoffed.

  “Oh?” Kieran accepted her challenge. “I hardly saw my mother while growing up. She always worked two or three jobs. I was the mother and the father to my brothers. When I got home from school, I had to make sure the house was clean, dinner was ready, and feed and bathe my younger brothers before I could even think about starting my homework and sometimes I didn’t start my homework until it was damn near my bedtime.

  “I joined
the Army, fought a war on grounds I’m still not entirely clear about, and came home to find my high school sweetheart had cleaned me out and had taken everything but my clothing and shoes. We had a joint account of over ten grand; and there was about thirty cents left in there when I returned. It was two years before I got back on my feet and got my degree. So please, don’t talk to me about baggage.” Kieran clarified.

  Tiana looked up at him with watery eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t understand me!” She hurried to another corner.

  Kieran quickly followed her. “I didn’t say that to make you upset, Tiana, and I’m sorry. I said that to prove a point that yes, you may have baggage but so do I,” he lifted her chin to his gaze and thumbed away her falling tears. “And I’m willing to go the distance with you if you let me.”

  “You’re my nanny, Kieran,” Tiana sniffled, “I’m not supposed to date the help.”

  “Would it make a difference if I was some random guy down the street? Some dude you met in a club?”

  “Actually, yes,” Tiana nodded and Kieran rolled his eyes. “I have a child, Kieran. I have a ready-made family. Not a lot of guys want to date a single mother. I’m a chance no one wants to take, no matter how much money I have.”

  “You’re right, a lot of guys don’t want to date a single mother,” he captured her lips with his.

  She tasted sweetly of cinnamon and champagne. “But this guy wants his chance.”

  Kieran’s lips were full and experienced and his mouth was so welcoming. Kieran slid his tongue inside Tiana’s mouth and she met him halfway. It was rough, smooth, and inviting. “My life is going to be cute school plays, soccer games, orange slices, and PTA meetings in the future,” she breathed. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and her breath was jagged. “Evenings like this would be rare.”

  “I like my quiet Saturday nights,” he smiled.

  “There will be times when I’ll travel for weeks and won’t be able to see you or Tyson.” Kieran’s lips trailed from her mouth and down her neck. Kieran made her feel like a woman again. A natural, warm-blooded, hot-bodied female with a healthy appetite for sex and a lot of it. She felt the forgotten moisture forming between her legs, her nipples sprang to attention, and the heat rose from her belly. It had been so long since she had been aroused; she’d almost forgotten what it felt like.