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She squared her shoulders. “About one-hundred.”
He chuckled. “Get serious. You want me to spend thousands of dollars in re-arranging the design for a place that’s opening in less than two months to bring me an audience of one hundred?”
She tilted her head, staring at him square in the eye and unfazed by his shade. “We can help each other. I’ll be working to grow this audience, and to keep people coming back.”
“We don’t need you,” he said, then before he could think twice, he added, “but I might.”
She worried her lip. “What do you mean?”
The unlikely proposal unfurled in his brain. The woman across from him wanted a chance and had been resourceful about it. She’d shown confidence and determination. His kids hadn’t canceled her on the brief amount of time they spent together. Shit, they even seemed… somewhat content with her presence. “Do you smoke?”
“No.”
“If I do a background check on you, will I have any unpleasant surprises?” he asked, then made himself a mental note to get his HR person to do it for him, just out of caution. “Anything you want to tell me about now?”
“What? No.”
“Do you have a day job or are you a full time, hmm, podcaster?”
“I’ve been waitressing and doing odd things here and there, but my dream would be to have my podcaster career really take off.”
Was she recklessly positive, or did she believe that much in herself? Wanting to go full-time on podcasting in a place like NYC wasn’t easy, especially with only one-hundred subscribers. He bet they were free too. She didn’t have enough of a platform to charge her listeners. A blend of pity and admiration came down on him. “I forgot to thank you for stepping in and spending time with my kids.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, probably wondering where he was going with this. “It was my pleasure. I helped raise my twin brothers, and don’t have any nieces and nephews yet. So I miss being around children,” she said, her voice honest.
Well, problem solved.Relief poured over him. As the idea took shape, any lingering doubts dissipated faster than dust in the summer air. “I have a proposition for you.”
“I’m all ears.”
“The entertainment complex will open in two months. I have a packed schedule, and the last nanny bailed on us. My housekeeper has helped me, but she’s getting older, and she now has her grandkids to look after. So the more time I spend taking care of them, the less I can fulfill my demands leading up to the opening,” he said, looking at her with interest.
“I can imagine,” she said casually, her facial expression neutral.
“If you commit to watching my kids for the next couple of months, I’ll give your idea a try. I can’t promise for how long, as it depends on feedback, but on opening night you’ll have a booth, and after you won’t need to be my nanny anymore and can focus on podcasting,” he said. Most likely, he wouldn’t need a full-time nanny anymore in two months.
She whistled, drumming her fingers on the smooth surface of the table. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”
“This would be a great opportunity for you. Of course you’ll be generously paid as a nanny, so you can’t waitress anymore. But it’s just two months for me to finish this assignment and get my life back on track,” he said, and laughed at himself inwardly. When had been the last time his life had been on track? Before I met Darcy, he answered, bitterness lingering in his palate.
“And can I have it in writing that you’ll give my idea a chance?”
Smart move. His kids also would have an intelligent nanny on the top of being resourceful and charismatic. “Of course. I need to protect my kids, you need to protect your career.”
“Okay. Count me in. I’m your new nanny.”
“You said what?” Billie asked, tossing her wavy, reddish-brown hair to the side. “You’re going to move to this stranger’s house for two months? We gotta tell Kira!”
“Leave her out of this, Kira has enough on her plate right now.” Poppy glanced at her cousin and roommate. Their other cousin, Kira, no longer shared the small apartment with them. She’d married a hot French man—the reason why, to help Poppy from a previous pickle: to pay the loan shark she’d borrowed money from after a bad car accident made her need treatment. Thank goodness, at least now she was healthy, and healthy enough to work and make her own money. Maybe one day she’d be able to pay Kira back, too. “I’ll be a full time nanny, so I have to stay there, yes. Plus traffic sucks, I can’t make it there on time every day to take the kids to school, etc.”
Billie sat on the bed, one of the two full size beds in the diminutive room. “Wow. I don’t know if I should legit be worried about you sleeping over at a complete stranger’s house, or this man trusting you with his kids.”
Poppy opened the top drawer of her wooden dresser, picked a few items and stuffed them in the suitcase laid in the middle of the room. “Hey! I helped raise Chance and Chase,” she said, a pang of pride in her voice. Both her brothers were now successful and independent, and she loved them even if they drove her crazy. But she’d done it—kept them safe and happy during their childhood.
“Yes, but this guy barely knows you. What does that say about him?”
“Well, he’s desperate. And so am I. So we have something in common.” Probably, the only thing. She doubted she and stuffy Mr. Ethan Sterling would be exchanging friendship bracelets, or… body fluids. The idea came out of nowhere, and she shook her head, willing it far, far away from her mind. Sure, he was hot if one was into bossy family men. The last thing she needed was an instant family, after trying so hard to escape her own.
“I guess. I mean, are you sure you can handle these kids? They aren’t your brothers. They’re spoiled little privileged kids who will…”
