Being His Nanny (A New Adult Romance): Part 1 (6 page)

              “Did your mother remarry?” he asked.

              “No…”

              “She just focused all of her attention on you – too much – so it was overbearing.”

              “Yes.”
Wow, he really got it.
I thought about what I wanted to say. I was a bit shy and my southern accent embarrassed me, especially when it was always followed by his snappy polished British accent. “Um, she didn’t want me datin’ guys. I guess my dad cheated on her so she believes every man is evil.”

              “Every man
is
evil,” Jackson cut me off. “But…they can choose whether to practice that side or not.”

              “Yeah.”

              “Was your dad good to you?” he asked.

              “I don’t know, I guess.” I felt passive all of the sudden. I sipped my wine. This was becoming a buzz kill. I wanted to think about my new summer and exciting ventures. Or perhaps him? I wanted to feel those goose bumps again. I wanted to feel that electricity. I was feeling a little better after I took a couple more sips. I think Jackson was about to speak when he looked up and saw Penelope standing in the doorway.

              “Well hi there.” Jackson managed to soften his voice to the kindest of tones around her. It made me want to listen to his every word. Especially with that accent! It also made me want to curl up closer to him. He leaned over with ease and placed his drink down before walking over to Penelope and picking her up. She sleepily placed her head on Jackson’s sturdy shoulder. He sat back down with Penelope on his knee. Her big brown eyes looked at me, really looked at me, with a type of lazy curiosity. Her mother must have had brown eyes, I suddenly thought. And long dirty-blonde hair too. Penelope was beautiful; she looked like a living doll, especially painted with the make up.

“Daddy is she my new nanny?” she asked, her voice muffled because her mouth was against Jackson’s shirt.

              “No,” he said, rather disappointingly.

              “Why not!” Penelope pouted.

              “Because she has a very important job already…” He hooked his blue eyes on me. “At a coffee shop.”

              I couldn’t help but to laugh.

              “I want to go to the park, I’m bored,” Penelope said.

              “Have Louise take you there.”

              “No!”

              “Penelope, do not shout. I’m busy.”

              “You are SO not.”

              “Yes I am, deary. I’m chatting to Miss Chelsea here, trying to convince her to be your nanny. And wouldn’t you like that very much?” Her eyes went really wide as she smiled an endearingly angelic smile. It was so hard not to say yes to that face!

              “Go play with Theo.” He placed her down on her feet.

“Okaaaaay…but only if Miss Chelsea promises to be my nanny.”

She looked at me with her doe-like eyes and I took another sip of wine before resorting to, “Ummmmmm…see, I just moved here and I have a job. I have to talk to my boss,” I explained slowly and sounded like a kindergarten teacher.

“Well just tell him you’ve got a new job,” she whined.

“Theo!” Jackson called out.

Theo walked back in. “Come on deary, let’s catch a few fire flies before dinner, shall we?”

She stood with her arms crossed, with tears about to well up in her big eyes. “But I want to stay with you, Miss Chelsea.”

“She’ll be right here for dinner. Won’t you Miss, Chelsea?”

“Well…well yes. I will.” I was hungry after all. Might as well stay. It was getting hard to say no to these people. Especially Jackson. Especially when those eyes were on me and I was potential moments away from being touched again.
Butterflies.

My cheeks flushed pink. I was blushing again.

“Ohhhh…okay…” she pouted as she walked heavily out of the room with Theo, her footsteps louder than normal. I couldn’t help but to laugh. “She’s the cutest thing ever!”

“I know. Isn’t she? That’s why you should be her nanny. I will pay you more, substantially more you know. Plus…you will have down time to study your lines and rehearse and what better place to do so than here? In beauty? You’re surrounded by it.”

I opened my mouth to say something. I wanted to call him beautiful. He was! But he continued speaking.

“You will save money on taxi fair, in addition to keeping your beauty rest. A young beautiful woman like you should not waste her youth. You need your rest. Especially if you are to be a big star one day.” He winked at me. I wasn’t sure if he was winking out of politeness, mocking, or just him being him. No, no. He wasn’t mocking. He was probably just used to dealing with Penelope.

“My personal limo can pick you up at your extensive from which you will then proceed to pick up my daughter at her school at 2:30. From then, you will be taken back here. By the time you arrive back at the estate it’s 3:30. Penelope has a snack and then likes to play. You needn’t worry about making dinner because well, our chef does so. After playtime, dinner is at 6:30. Then it’s her bath time. Story time. Two books. Then her prayers. Then bedtime. Lights out by 7:30.”

“Seven thirty pm?”

“Beauty rest. Children need their sleep. She awakes at six AM.”

My eyes were wide. I wasn’t used to dealing with children and didn’t realize they slept so long! She was so cute, like a little doll. I mean…how hard would all of that really be? I was really starting to entertain the thought, especially in my tipsy like state. The beauty. The limo, the beautiful estate.
Him.

“I will pay you a thousand euros a week… I mean, dollars if you prefer.”

My hands went up. “A … thousands dollars a week for…” I counted the hours on my fingers. “For five hours a day watching her? That’s only twenty hours a week. That’s…”

“She is my daughter. She’s worth it. Do you not think you’re worth it?”

I took another sip of wine. I was about to say I was, but he continued on his soliloquy.

“And I would require that you stay here until I come home each night. Which can be quite late at times. Might as well get used to being a night nanny, which she always sleeps through the night. Which, about that…well,” He raked his fingers through his hair and leaned back in the couch, sipping his wine. “There may be a night or so a week I’m held over for business and in that case, I’d need you to stay over. Well, uh, I’d need to up your pay to two thousand a week in that case. For your valuable time that is. I could be potentially keeping you from being out dating handsome lads so I must compensate, indeed.”

“Ho…how late? And I’m sorry, what? Two thousand dollars?”

“It varies.”

“And the other nannies had this schedule, too?”

“Indeed.”

“So, I would be like a house sitter.”

“A nanny.”

“But she’s asleep though at 7:30. It appears…sorry. Don’t mind me … but it appears that you have an entire staff at your disposal should anything…if anything would ever happen.”

“If Penelope ever wakes and I’m not here, I want her to feel comforted that you are here. Since losing her mother…” His eyes lowered, and he cleared his throat as if he was trying to keep his composure at bay. “If, let’s say…I did come home in the wee hours of the morning, you’d be perfectly welcome to stay over here and start your morning here. The driver would take you to your extensive, not to mention a fantastic breakfast you’d always have. You would be free to use the gardens as you wish since you would not be working for me in the morning. My home would be your home.”

I couldn’t help it anymore. I spewed out in laughter. “But you barely know me. How…how do you know you could trust me?”

“Oh, I can trust you. I am a good judge of character, trust me. Besides, my daughter is ravenously happy with you. I can promise you, you will have a lot of fun, too.”

He cocked his chin, raising it a bit before eyeing me closely. “And I always get what I want. Always have. Always will. Theo!”

Immediately Theo walked into the room, polished as diamond, waiting for his every beck and call. “Tell chef Montley that I’ve decided on dinner. Filet Mignon, petite potatoes, my favorite salad, baked bread…” He played with his lower lip with his fingers as if he were studying me. As if I were to be for dinner.

“And what is it that you fancy, Chelsea? Surely you fancy something.” His eyes brightened at something. I was so thankful for a moment to breathe and get my breathing back to normal.

Inhale Chelsea. Speak.

“Um…I’m fine really.”

“We will have crème brulee for desert. Or would you prefer a chocolate mouse?”

“Choc…chocolate mousse,” I confessed. I was a sucker for chocolate.

“We will have choc chocolate mousse for desert.” He winked at me, and Theo kept a straight face as he poured me more wine. He handed it to me and nodded a small bow of “it is done” or “so be it” and walked briskly out.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I was feeling slightly tipsy.

“I’m trying to get you to be my damn nanny. Tell me, what is so fucking interesting about that café, anyway?”

“I like to people watch. It will give me interesting ideas for character development in my method acting.”

“I can give you plenty of interesting things to study, if you wish. If you so desire. Show you a whole new world, I can.”

I believed him.

“What…what type of new world?”

He ran his fingers beneath his chin, speculating, pondering. “I guess you will just have to stick around and see, now, huh? Look, my daughter took such a liking to you. She never does that. Her happiness is important to me. The choice is yours.”

Chapter Seven

I roamed the curious walls of the palace-like estate. Well, it wasn’t like a palace. It
was
a palace! I know I shouldn’t roam freely, but I couldn’t help it. Besides, it’s not like I was going to steal anything. And if anything, if I were caught, I could always confess that I
thought
I heard something.
Yes, Jackson, I heard something coming from
…well, I didn’t even know where I was so that would prove to be a situation.
Yes, Jackson…I heard something from down the hall that way.

Dinner was five star, no scratch that, ten star exquisite. I couldn’t believe real people like him existed and ate dinners like that every night. It was the best meal I had ever tasted in my life.

After more wine, I practically needed to walk to keep myself from falling asleep since I was oh so close to falling asleep in the couch. Jackson had led me through everything, her bath time, her reading time, her prayers, and then bed time. She went to sleep with the most adorable smile on her face! It melted my heart. It made me feel like this wouldn’t be a bad job after all!
After all
, I was in a freaking castle!

He then informed he had a late night meeting and asked if I could start tonight as my first night.

So, there I was.

My first nannying job.

It was ludicrous. But maybe I was finally finding a bit of random luck in my life. Maybe I could finally go shopping like Sky for once and buy whatever I wanted. The make up, hair products. The expensive work out places. After all, acting was very much an image related industry. And oh! I’d finally have time to workout! My mind was racing with excited thoughts about my future here in this castle and this new venture.

I turned around to look behind me. It was a long wide hallway with dark wooden floor and a luxurious-like red embroidered rug with rich gold thread designs that greeted me.

I turned a left past the giant staircase that separated into two separate staircases.
Hmmmm….left…or right? I thought. And would I even remember how to get back?

Left
.

I walked slowly down the mysterious new hallway, with the wonder of one when visiting an art museum. So much to see! I approached a small semi circle with iron railing overlooking a cute little sitting room below.

It was a sitting room next to shelves of books.
Hmmmm…how do you get down there?
This place was so vast and interesting! I looked around but only saw more hallways. That’s when I was brave enough to walk to the side of the terrace to the closed door.

Maybe it was this door that led to a secret staircase.

I opened the door slowly. The door was barely open inches when I squealed in delight.
Man, I should be a psychic or something!
There below me was a dwindling spiral staircase, faintly lit from light outside hallway. I looked around for a light fixture and finally found one.

A beautiful gas lantern illuminated the stairs. I took one plunging step down the staircase before I stopped. It was all so very quiet. Quiet as a church mouse. I could barely even hear the grandfather clock hallways away. In fact, I couldn’t even hear it. I reached for my phone and grasped it for some reason. For comfort? For moral support? I wasn’t sure.

“What am I doing?”
I let out a small whisper.

“Just do it! Just go down the staircase!”
I whispered again.

I inhaled another breath and slowly descended the stairs. Step, step, step…another circling flight lit by another gas lantern. I admired the brick walls as I continued to climb further down. It was different architecture than the entire hallway. In fact, the only all brick wall I had seen in the French country mansion.

I thought to myself as I continued to follow the stairs down….down…down.
Surely I would have been to that lounge sitting area by now.
Yes, I must be there by now.
I had to be below the first level by now.
I began to panic a bit not knowing at all where I was. But finally, I could breathe a bit easier as I came to a plush lounge chair handsomely perched in front of some angelic 17
th
century art.
Or was it 16
th
century?
I couldn’t tell. It was gorgeously framed in baroque gold. All that lay down in the little round room area was the chase chair, the picture and another door. It was not the sitting room I had just seen earlier.

But a different room.

And another door.

Another door.

Dare I open it?

Come on, Chelsea. Do it. You’ve already come this far.

My hand was a little clammy along the golden door nob. A little slit in the nob resembled a special spot for a skeleton key that probably would unlock the door.
It was probably locked anyway,
I reasoned.

I slowly turned the nob and it continued turning. It opened. The squeak on the door indicated that I was soon about to discover what really was down there in the ultra secret place—but apparently not so secret since it wasn’t locked!

As soon as the door opened, an automatic light above turned on lighting the way down. Only a few steps until the bottom of the floor.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.

And there at the bottom of the stairs was a sight I had not even prepared my eyes for. I didn’t even know such a place existed!

It was one large octagon shaped room with no windows, only fancy lights and lanterns. I didn’t even know what to look at first. I truly had stepped into an entirely different world. Adrenaline surged through my veins as everything screamed for my attention. On one large wall was a film screen and a video camera. On other walls, there appeared to be sex toys and sex swings, and displays housing intimate items like an ultra elite fancy sex store….leather straps, costumes, outfits, masks, feathers, a table with restraints, a vast array of dildos, nipple clamps hanging from hooks with special lighting from above, lighting the toys as if they were freaking Oscars! A table that looked like a gyno table with leg restraints. Everything was displayed in beautiful velvet, incased with the upmost care as if housing jewels. I didn’t even understand everything in the room. My heart rate escalated to full-sprint-in-the-middle-of-the-summer-heat-pulse as I felt the heat rising on my skin.
What the hell? What the hell?
I nearly fell over some bench with restraints when I scurried out of the room like a lobster freeing itself from a cage.

I shouldn’t be in this room.
This is his private room. Jackson’s room? I never thought he’d be into this sort of stuff!
I nearly fell over the stairs, busting my lip, as I ran out of the room. Once out of the other spiraling staircase, my hands shook and I felt small sweat beads around my brow. I shouldn’t have seen that. No I shouldn’t! Once I was upstairs, I quietly shut the door and proceeded to run quickly but not too quickly; I didn’t need stomping sounds alerting any of the staff or waking up Penelope. I quietly sped walked down the hall way and back to the hallway near the stairs. Thank you memory! Memorizing scripts sure did come in handy in times like this. Finally, I found my way back to the leather couch in the living room and caught my breath. But no matter how much I could calm my breath, I couldn’t calm my nerves.

What the hell!
I looked down at my phone.
I should have at least taken photos so I could show Sky!
She would know what everything was. I’m sure of it.

“Well hello there! You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

I screamed out.

“Well, then you must have seen a ghost.”

I calmed my breathing down. I could smell his rich cologne he was now steps away dressed to the nines topped with a charming smile.

“I…”

“Don’t worry. Any ghosts around here we are sure to catch on our cameras.”

“Cameras?”

“Of course dear. All throughout the estate.”

              Something flickered in his eyes.

              “There isn’t one single place any can hide. Not to worry.” He smiled demurely.

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