Hip Check (New York Blades) (6 page)

“He wouldn’t,” Michelle snapped. Now she was getting pissed. “I’ve never had that problem before, and I’m sure I won’t have it now. I’m sure if I was working for one of the Islanders you’d think it was the greatest thing on earth.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Jamie admitted.

Michelle looked at her father.

“Takin’ the Fifth on that one, honey.”

“You’re both such losers.”

“Takes one to know one,” her brother retorted, the same call and response they’d had since they were little kids.

“What’s the kid’s story?” her father asked.

Michelle explained Nell’s situation. She could see the connection he was making between her and Nell in his eyes. “Sounds like you’re the perfect nanny for her,” he said quietly.

Michelle squeezed her dad’s shoulder. “I agree.”

“Once you get to know her, bring her ’round here some time,” her father continued. “Let her get a taste of what a real family’s like.”

“We’ll see. That’s putting the cart way before the horse.”

The idea appealed to her, though. Nell had never had a father or a sibling; she might enjoy seeing what that was like. And God knew her dad’s house was a far cry from Esa Saari’s oversized Fortress of Solitude. She’d keep it in mind.

7

“Wow.”

Michelle agreed with her brother’s assessment of her new digs as they unloaded the final boxes of books in her new room. Esa had said she’d have her own TV. He hadn’t mentioned it would be a wall mounted, picture window sized marvel of technology. Her brother had to close his mouth to keep from drooling. A little overboard, was Michelle’s thought. But she wasn’t going to complain.

The room was immense, with high ceilings, pale yellow walls and a gleaming wooden floor that looked like it had never been walked on. Maybe it never had. She had her own desk, two tall dressers, and a double bed topped with an amazingly fluffy comforter. She sat on the edge, bouncing a few times, testing it. Hard as a rock, just the way she liked it. She nuzzled her face in the supersized, goose down pillows. Wonderful. She knew she’d sleep well tonight.

“Will this do?” Esa had asked when he first showed her the room. He seemed uncertain, which Michelle had found momentarily charming. Momentarily.

“It’s great,” she’d replied. What she really had wanted to do was exclaim, “Holy shit!” The room she’d had at the Karles was nothing compared to this. In fact, she often wondered if they’d taken one of their old walk-in closets and turned it into her room. But she’d never minded. It had been cozy.

The contrast between the two living spaces was further accentuated by her having her own walk-in closet here. Esa caught her smiling to herself, and he looked at her perplexedly.

“There’s no way I could ever fill this closet,” she explained. “I don’t own enough stuff.”

“Maybe that will change over time. Who knows?”

Michelle thought he might be alluding to the salary he’d agreed to pay her, but she gave a little laugh anyway. “Believe me: it’s not going to happen.”

The final space Esa showed her was the bathroom. Again, it was huge, dominated by a deep, white, claw-foot tub. Maybe it was pathetic, but Michelle had always dreamed of soaking in a tub like that. Everyone seemed to have one on TV or in the movies, whether it fit their decor or not. Now she understood why: a sexy bubble bath in a fiberglass tub just didn’t cut it. Esa pointed to the two large shell-shaped sinks that were side by side. “You’ll share this bathroom with Nell,” he explained, pointing to the door opposite hers. “It links your two rooms.” He paused. “Is that okay?”

“As long as my privacy is respected when my doors are locked, I don’t think it will be a problem,” Michelle answered smoothly. “I can’t imagine it being one, not with Nell.”

For a moment she let her mind wander back into a vision of herself relaxing in the bath, her head leaning back against the lip of the tub. Then she snapped back to reality.

“Where is Nell?”

Esa grimaced. “In her room. I don’t think she likes all this moving . . . too painful, maybe?”

Michelle nodded.
Poor kid. She’s been pushed from pillar to post. Well, not anymore.
She steered the conversation toward something more positive. “What did you two end up doing yesterday?”

“Yesterday . . . mmm . . .” Esa rubbed his forehead. “You have to excuse me. All the days feel like they’re running together for me.”

Michelle smiled kindly. “It’s easy to understand how you’d be overwhelmed.”

“Such a mild way of putting it!” Esa replied with a good-natured laugh. The sound of it echoing off the tiles seemed to momentarily embarrass him. “Ah, yesterday. We didn’t go to the beach. As you pointed out: no bathing suit. We actually spent the afternoon at the planetarium.”

“That must have been fun.”

“Truthfully? It was boring.”

Moron
.

“And what did you two do last night?”

“I got a pizza—she loves American pizza, that’s one thing I’m learning fast—and we watched
Rio
—you know, the movie with the angry birds?”

“Oh yeah, I know it. The last kids I looked after knew all the lines and songs by heart. It started to drive me a little crazy after a while.”

“I think she liked it. I don’t know. I had some e-mail I had to deal with, so I worked on my laptop while we sat together on the couch.”

Michelle didn’t say anything, even though she wanted to point out to Esa that right now, Nell needed his full attention when they did something together, not some half-assed gesture that said, “Here’s a pizza and a movie, kid, enjoy yourself.” She’d already scolded him about his babysitting faux pas yesterday; she hoped she didn’t have to do it again. And again. And again.

After showing her around her new living quarters, Esa introduced himself to Jamie, who suddenly turned from Mr. Trash Talk into Mr. Overwhelmed when confronted with Esa in the flesh. Then Esa disappeared, leaving Jamie looking mildly stunned in his wake.

“You going to be okay here?” he asked, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“What do you think?”

“I think you hit the jackpot.”

Michelle made a face. “I
am
going to be working.”

“Yeah, looks like a real backbreaking job,” her brother teased. He hugged Michelle. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t. Especially since Dad’s about to keel over from malaria.”

Jamie’s smile disappeared. “Seriously, Michelle.”

“Jesus, Jamie, I won’t. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”

“I’m pullin’ doubles all week. Hopefully it’ll be busy.” He peered out into the hallway. “Guess I’m not gonna meet the kid, huh?”

“Not today,” Michelle said, picturing Nell reading in her room. “But soon. I promise.”

“Okay, then.” Her brother tousled her hair. “I’m off. Talk to you in a few. And keep an eye on Saari. You can’t trust those Finns.”

“Right. I’ll try to remember that.”

* * *

After Jamie left,
and she’d put away all her things, Michelle went to talk to Nell. She knocked on the bedroom door. There was zero hesitation in Nell calling out, “Come in!”

She was sitting at her desk in front of her laptop.

“What are you up to?” Michelle asked.

“Working on our list.”

“Really? Can I see?”

Michelle came over to the computer, and began reading aloud. “‘Favorite foods: McVitie’s biscuits, pizza, crisps, chicken, McDonald’s, chocolate chip cookies, brownies.’”

“Wow,” said Michelle. Nell was going to be pretty disappointed when she found out she wouldn’t be eating junk twenty-four seven.

“‘Things I like to do,’” Michelle continued. “‘Play tennis, go to the cinema, read, write, science, playtime, go to the library.’”

“I can think of loads more, if you like!”

It was weird, hearing such a posh British accent come out of a little girl’s mouth. Hermione’s voice in
Harry Potter
was different; she was a bit of a snoot. But Nell was shy; it didn’t fit together somehow.

Michelle smiled at her. “No, this is great! I like all that stuff, too. And watching TV sometimes.”

“Me, too.”

“Looks like we’re a good match, then.”

“Yes.” Nell seemed to turn a bit shy as she hit the screen saver on the computer.

“Are you all moved in?” she asked Michelle, not quite looking at her.

“Yup.”

She looked a little anxious. “For good?”

“Yes, honey, for good,” Michelle promised her. The question killed her. She wanted to scoop Nell up into her arms right now and promise her anything, everything. That she’d be loved, and she finally had an adult in her life she could count on. That even though things seemed to suck right now, they would get better. But that would come.

Michelle perched on the edge of the bed. “I’m surprised you didn’t come in to help me move.”

“I didn’t want to get in the way.”

“You wouldn’t have. Would you like to see my room now that it has all my stuff in it?”

“Yes!”

“C’mon, then.” Michelle started through the door in Nell’s room that led into their joined bathroom.

“As you know, this is
our
bathroom,” Michelle said, making it sound extremely exclusive. “If anyone else uses it, they’ll have to answer to us.”

Nell’s mouth curled into a small, pleased smile.

Michelle led her past the sinks and claw-foot tub into her own bedroom. “Here it is.”

Nell stood transfixed in the doorway, her eyes slowly taking it all in. Eventually, they hit on Michelle’s bookcase. She looked at Michelle hopefully. “Can I—?”

“Of course.”

Nell practically skipped across the room, her fingers carefully brushing the books’ spines as she read the titles to herself. Her hair was a tangled mess. Michelle wondered if she’d even tried to comb it out after she showered. Naturally, her uncle hadn’t noticed. Nell could probably chop her hair off and Esa wouldn’t see it.

Nell looked up at Michelle with disappointment. “A lot of these are boring old textbooks.”

“I used to be a teacher.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

Nell considered this a moment, then returned to scouring Michelle’s books. “You do have a few good ones in here.”

Michelle tried not to laugh. “Like what?”

“
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
 . . . and
Marley & Me
.”

Michelle decided to stick a toe in the water. “I liked
Marley
, but it was so sad when the dog died in the end,” she murmured. “I couldn’t stop crying.”

Nell swallowed and looked down at the carpet. Her body was as still as a beautiful figurine alone on a shelf. Michelle crouched down beside her.

“Nell,” she started gently, “I know about your mom.”

“Mum!” Nell cried. “It’s
mum
, not MOM!”

“Mum,” Michelle corrected. “And I know a little bit about how you’re feeling: my mom died when I was a little girl, too. So I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

Nell was stone-faced as she rose. “You have a very nice room.”

“Thank you. So do you.” She tugged on a lock of Nell’s hair. “You still want to do our fingernails tonight, right?”

Nell’s face lit up.

“Thought so. How about we see what kind of stuff we have for dinner later—what time do you and your uncle eat dinner?”

Nell shrugged. “Whenever.”

Michelle took a deep breath. “Let’s go in the kitchen and try to figure out a regular dinnertime for you and me and some other stuff we need to get settled, okay? And then we’ll do our nails.”

“And toenails! Don’t forget!”

“That goes without saying.”

A lot of things seemed to go without saying. But not for long.

8

“Esa Saari? Lord-a-me,
girl, you are one lucky bee-yotch.”

Michelle rolled her eyes at her friend, Marcus. The two of them, along with their friend, Hannah, were sitting on “their” bench in Central Park. Marcus worked at a dog walking/training/boarding business called “The Bed and Biscuit” for a woman named Delilah Gould, who was married to another one of the Blades, Jason Mitchell. Hannah was a personal chef working for an outrageously rich couple, the Reynauds, who lived in the San Remo, one of the most expensive and exclusive buildings in New York. Michelle, Marcus, and Hannah had become friends a few years back when they found themselves sharing the same days off.

Michelle took a sip of iced tea. “He’s totally clueless.”

“And totally smokin’,” Marcus added, carefully running a hand over his bald, black pate as if he still had an untamed mane of luxurious hair.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Michelle replied. “Not only has he been letting Nell live on junk food, but he’s been letting her stay up as late as she wants,
and
he hadn’t enrolled her in school yet. I had to do it. Can you imagine?”

“Kinda,” Hannah put in. “I mean, he’s a pro athlete and a bachelor, and all of a sudden he’s got to take care of his little niece? He must be freaking out.”

“Well, I wish he’d freak out more eloquently,” Michelle grumbled. “Talking to him is like talking to a wall. He just doesn’t want to deal. I could say, ‘Esa, I’d like to buy Nell a tiger,’ and he’d say ‘Fine, do it.’ He’s clueless about setting up boundaries.”

Marcus playfully bumped her shoulder. “Screw boundaries, woman! Tell us about his apartment!”

Michelle related the details to her friends with relish. By the time she got around to describing the kitchen, Hannah was groaning with envy.

“Does he even use it?” she asked.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“I hate that,” Hannah said gloomily.

“Is the kid cute?” Marcus wanted to know.

“Very. Blond hair, biiigggg blue eyes.”

“I think it’s written in the orphan handbook that you have to be cute,” Marcus declared. “Seriously: have you ever heard of an ugly orphan?”

“What about all those kids in
Oliver Twist
?” Michelle countered.

“They weren’t
ugly
. They were
ragamuffins
. There’s a difference.”

Michelle ignored him. “She’s got this adorable British accent. And she’s so polite. Smart, too. I really lucked out.”

Marcus stared at her long and hard. “Uh-oh. Someone’s in love.”

Michelle felt self-conscious. “So far it’s a great fit, that’s all.” She broke off a piece of a chocolate chip cookie (which she was now rationing with Nell) and popped it in her mouth. “I told her about my mom.”

Marcus perked up. “Did she freak?”

“No, Marcus, she didn’t ‘freak.’” Sometimes Marcus’s penchant for drama got to Michelle. “She didn’t really react. But I have a feeling the more she trusts me, the sooner she’ll open up.”

“Is Saari spending
any
time with her?” Marcus asked.

Michelle hesitated. “A bit. Like I said, he just doesn’t know how to deal. But it bugs me; Nell’s been through enough. I worry about her feeling abandoned by him, too.”

Hannah slurped her mochachino loudly. “Have you mentioned this to him?”

“I’m trying to keep it low-key for now. I’ve only been there a week and a half. I don’t want to get in his face too much.”

“I’d want to,” Marcus sighed longingly. “I’d want to get in his face all day, every day.”

Michelle ignored him.

“Where’s Nell now?” Hannah asked. “With Esa?”

Michelle shrugged. “I’m not sure. She mentioned something about going with Esa to see his friends Rory and Erin.” She took another sip of tea. “She wasn’t very happy about not being with me today. I had to explain to her about days off.”

“I wouldn’t want any time off if Esa Saari was my boss,” Marcus purred. “You have to admit: the guy is stunningly gorgeous.”

Michelle smirked. “Oh, now he’s ‘stunningly gorgeous’? ‘Hot’ no longer covers it?”

“Well, he is,” Marcus insisted. “Don’t pretend you didn’t notice.”

“Of course I noticed he was
good-looking
, but I didn’t sit there mesmerized, thinking, ‘Oooh, look at Esa Saari, he’s gorgeous.’” Actually, the thought had crossed her mind, but so what? Noticing attractive members of the opposite sex was simply human nature.

Hannah leaned across Marcus to better address Michelle. “Is he involved with anyone?”

“I think he’s involved with a lot of people,” Michelle said dryly. “Nell thought I was one of her uncle’s ‘girlfriends.’”

Marcus looked at Hannah and snorted. “Why, you want her to set you up with him? Dream on, girlfriend. Unless you suddenly sprout titties, long legs, and cascading blond hair, ain’t no way that man would even look your way.”

“Why do you always have to be such a bitch?” Hannah snapped. She looked at Michelle apologetically. “I was just curious. I wasn’t getting at anything.”

“I know.”

Marcus’s bitchiness was over the top, as usual. Hannah was a good-looking woman: chestnut haired, willowy, nice hazel eyes. Guys were always trying to pick her up. But if Marcus’s tabloid expertise was correct, the Finn really wouldn’t give Hannah the time of day, since she didn’t look like a Barbie doll. Michelle found this pretty pathetic, though somehow not surprising.

Marcus eyed Michelle and Hannah. “Is it me, or are we all boring as sin today?”

“I’m not!” Michelle protested. “I told you all about my new job.”

Marcus plucked at his lower lip. “True. A job we better
keep
hearing about.”

“As if work isn’t already seventy-five percent of what we talk about,” replied Michelle.

“Get this,” said Hannah. “The douche bags called me at three o’clock in the morning because they wanted me to come over and make them buckwheat pancakes.”

Marcus looked horrified. “And you
did
it?”

“I had no choice! I’m their personal chef!”

“Yeah, but that’s a shitty thing to do to someone,” Michelle said indignantly. “What, they couldn’t figure out for themselves how to make pancakes?”

“I would never put up with that shit in a million years,” Marcus declared.
“Never.”

Hannah smiled mischievously. “Don’t worry: I’m going to write a roman à clef one day and they’re going to be so, so sorry.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “Rich people are so selfish!”

Michelle laughed loudly. “I’m not sure that’s politically correct, Han.”

“I don’t care. It’s true. They seem to forget that the people who work for them have lives of their own.”

Michelle was forced to concede. “I know.” She couldn’t count the number of times the Karles had screwed her over, saying they’d be home by a certain time then turning up hours later. Hell, Esa himself knew her less than an hour before asking her to babysit Nell. Michelle feared that might be a harbinger of behavior to come, and committed to always standing up for herself. She’d laid it all out in the contract. But that didn’t mean he’d looked at it.

Marcus nudged both Michelle and Hannah in the ribs gently. “Ladies, looks like our boredom is about to end! Remember I told you about my new friend? Well, he’s coming our way.”

Michelle followed Marcus’s gaze to a brown-haired man with chiseled features who was coming toward them pushing a baby stroller. The baby was a little girl, about five months old, all decked out in pink, from her sun bonnet down to her sandals. The man was smiling, returning Marcus’s wave.

“A manny?” Michelle asked.

“Can’t you tell? Look at how that poor child is dressed. She looks like a blob of cotton candy with eyes. If he were the dad, his wife would have laid out clothes for the baby. Clearly David is the one who picked out her clothes. Which is a little worrisome, considering.”

“Hey.”

David stopped at the bench, extending his hand to both Hannah and Michelle to shake. “I’m David.”

“I was just telling Michelle and Hannah all about you,” Marcus said, flashing a charming smile.

“Good things, I hope.”

“Only good things.” Marcus regarded Hannah and Michelle. “Hannah is a personal chef for a nightmare couple, and Michelle is the nanny for a little orphaned girl who’s being neglected by her rich uncle.”

“Marcus!” Michelle said sharply. She shook her head at David as if to say,
That Marcus—you know what he’s like.
“Her uncle is a professional athlete who knows nothing about kids in general, never mind an eight-year-old girl.”

“You live in?” David asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“With a baby? Yeah.” He looked down at the “blob of cotton candy” in the stroller fondly. “This is Abby.”

“She’s a cutie,” said Hannah.

“She is, but she’s starting to teethe, so I’m bracing myself for some tears.”

“Sounds like you’ve done this before,” Michelle noted.

“I have.”

“How’d you get into it?”

“HEL-LO, other people here,” Marcus huffed, waving a hand in front of Michelle’s face. “Other people who already know this information.”

David appeared not to hear him. “Lost my job in construction. My brother and sister-in-law needed someone to watch their baby, and I volunteered to do it. I wound up really loving it. So here I am.”

“Yes, here you are,” Marcus said sweetly before turning to Michelle with a glare. Michelle glared back. Geez! She was just being friendly with the guy.

“There’s a group of nannies and their toddlers who meet Thursday mornings at the playground at Eighty-third and Riverside,” Michelle continued. “You should check it out. Best gossip in town.”

David laughed. “I will. Thanks.” He crouched down to check out Abby. She was drooling. He pulled a cloth out of a baby bag, and gently wiped her mouth. “Yup. Teething definitely on the way.”

There was something sweet about a man tending so carefully to a baby, whether it was his job or not. Michelle was seeing more and more mannies these days. She wondered how he was with older kids.

“Well, it was nice meeting you,” David said. “I really need to get home and put her down for her morning nap.”

“I hate that expression, ‘put her down,’” Marcus murmured to Michelle with a shudder. “It sounds like you’re putting a dog to sleep.” He turned on a bright smile for David. “It was lovely seeing you again. Hopefully I—we’ll run into you again soon.”

David smiled. “That’d be great.” He waved good-bye and strolled away with Abby.

“Isn’t he a doll?” Marcus sighed.

“He does seem sweet,” Hannah concurred. “Are you going to ask him out?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll just have to see how it goes.”