The Nanny (A Billionaire Romance) Read online

  "Yes, what do you want?"

  Swallowing hard against the lump in my throat, I straightened my spine and spoke with as much confidence and bravado as I could muster. "I'm calling about the nanny position you advertised. I have a degree in early child development and can provide references from families whose children I have cared for."

  "Are you attached to anyone?" he asked.

  The question threw me. I didn't think a potential employer could ask a thing a like that, but I was desperate for the job. "No. I'm single and not dating anyone right now."

  He chuckled lightly into the phone. "No, I mean are you employed as a nanny by another family right now?"

  "No. I'm completely available," I said, feeling embarrassed by my error.

  "Good. I'd like to interview you as soon as possible. Can you come in today?" His voice was sexy, like a deep purr.

  "Sure. What time should I be there?" My heart was pounding with excitement.

  "As fast as you can get here." He gave me the address, and I promised to be there on the next subway.

  "Forget the subway; it takes too long," he said, and I felt my heart drop thinking I had lost the job, but then he continued, "I'll send my car and driver."

  I gave him my address, and he told me to be outside my building in fifteen minutes. It barely gave me enough time to get ready. I put on my best outfit, a little black dress with a modest hemline that came just above my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline that made me feel pretty and feminine without being too daring, perfect for working with children. I paired it with a simple pair of black heels and some gold bangle bracelets. I left my blonde hair loose to my shoulders, pulled back by a black headband. A pair of small gold hoop earrings completed the look of simple elegance, with some light pink lip-gloss and a quick swipe of the mascara wand.

  I had barely made it down the flights of stairs to the lobby of my building when I saw the black limousine pull up front. The driver introduced himself as Scott Roberts. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, with dark brown hair and eyes, a clean-shaven face, and a strong build.

  I climbed into the backseat of the car when he opened the door for me. It was my first time riding in a limo, so I luxuriated in the comfortable leather seats and plush interior. There was even a bar filled with every kind of liquor imaginable, but since I was on my way to a job interview, I abstained.

  Scott drove me through the city to Beverly Hills, where I gaped like an idiot at the sprawling mansions with their lush green lawns and topiary gardens. It was a whole different world than the slums where my crappy apartment lay, and I felt completely out of place as I stared out the window at all the extravagant beauty before me.

  The lone mansion sitting atop a sloping hill that we pulled up to was the most beautiful house of them all, with tall columns and stained-glass windows set inside brick walls. The place had an old-fashioned air, like an enchanted castle of from a fairytale, and I imagined the family that lived within must feel like royalty.

  A maid led me through the lavish rooms decorated with fine furnishings and antique art and knocked on a heavy wood door.

  "Come in," the deep male voice I recognized from the phone called out.

  The maid opened the door and said, "Miss Clare, to see you, Sir."

  I entered the room and was faced with the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. Tate Holland was at least six feet with a thick head of wavy dark-brown hair and dazzling hazel eyes that were a blend of green and gold. His face was carved with the handsome features of his Greek ancestors, and it was clear from the fit of his tailored suit that his body was well toned. I speculated that he was in his late twenties or early thirties, not realizing he was actually thirty-six.

  He crossed the room to greet me with a handshake, allowing me to breathe in the intoxicating scent of his expensive French cologne. I handed him my résumé, and he read it silently to himself as he sat at his desk and I awkwardly took one of the softly padded chairs across from it. I couldn't figure out what to do with my limbs, which suddenly took on a life of their own. My hands fidgeted as I crossed and uncrossed my legs, anxiously waiting for him to say something.

  When he was done reading my résumé, he set the paper down on his desk and stared at me, looking me up and down appraisingly with those hazel eyes. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle under his intense gaze, and I found myself desperately hoping for his approval.

  I'd never been in the presence of a man who had such raw charisma before. It was effortless in the way he carried himself with such power and confidence. He was a man who was used to getting his way, and I was a woman who always seemed to get the short end of the deal.

  All I could do was hope he would hire me, and my luck would finally turn around. The waiting was excruciating as he just sat there, staring.

  "You have a lot of experience for someone so young," he stated at last.

  "I'm twenty-four," I replied, and he arched his left brow as if to indicate that proved his point. Blushing, I continued, "I've been caring for children since I was fourteen years old. My mother started getting sick, and I got a job babysitting after school and on weekends to help out."

  "It says here that you were top of your class." He sounded impressed, and I felt myself flush with pride. I wasn't very good at showing off my own accomplishments, but this was no time to be humble. I needed to force myself to tell him why I was the best person for the job if I expected to get it.

  "Yes. I was able to take advanced classes for college credit when I was still in high school." I flushed. "When I got to college, I already had a lot of the credits I needed to get a degree in child development."

  "It says here you got a teaching degree." His voice was gentle, encouraging me to keep talking about myself.

  "I always wanted to teach kids and help them reach their full potential." I beamed.

  "So, you don't want to be a nanny?" His expressional suddenly darkened, and I felt my pulse speed up rapidly, terrified I'd just lost the job. I needed to explain things fast, in order to save myself.

  "My passion is for childcare. I started out babysitting, taking care of just one or two children at a time. Then I got my degree in child development and earned my teaching degree." My voice was deceptively calm, and I sat up straight, conveying a confidence I didn't feel.

  "I taught thirty-two children every day as a kindergarten teacher. It was great, but it lacked the intimacy I was able to develop working with just one child at a time.

  “Back then, I was able to really focus all my attention on a particular child's needs and watch them develop as a direct result of my individualized instruction. It was incredible, and we really bonded. It was so fulfilling. I want that again. That's why I want to become a nanny."

  I could tell from the light in Tate's eyes that my answer had pleased him, and my heart rate began to calm.

  Suddenly, the office door opened and a little girl walked in. She was utterly adorable, and it was immediately clear that she was his daughter. She had his same dark hair, only on her the waves had curled into ringlets that bounced as she walked. She wore a pink satin dress with ornate white lace trim and black Mary-Jane shoes, with a perfect pink satin bow in her hair. She looked like a tiny princess – and in a way, she was.

  Tate's face lit up as he welcomed her into the room with open arms and pulled her up onto his lap. She had thoughtful brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and his exact smile. They looked like two peas in a pod, as the saying went, and I couldn't help but smile at the perfect picture they made together.

  "Halle, sweetheart, what are you doing in my office?" he asked her in a gentle voice that was filled with love.

  "I'm hungry, Daddy," she said clearly. Halle was incredibly articulate for a child of only three, and I was impressed.

  "I want you meet Miss Clare," he said to her, and she stared at me with wide eyes.

  "Please, call me Rachelle." I smiled, trying to ease the child's fears.

  "Hi, Rachelle," she said, before
burying her face behind a soft pink blanket. I felt my heart melt instantly.

  Gently, I lowered the blanket from her face and said quietly, "That's a nice blanket. It looks soft. Can I feel it?"

  I made a show of stroking the fabric with my fingers when she held it out to me. Then I brightened my expression and said, "Wow. It is soft. That is a nice blanket. And it's pink, too. Pink is my favorite color."

  "Me, too." Halle smiled, and her expression lit up the whole room.

  "Do you think you would like Rachelle to be your new nanny?" Tate asked the child, and she nodded her head enthusiastically, making her curls bob all around her once more.

  "Good. Now, go down to the kitchen and Stuart will make you some lunch, while I see what I can do to get Rachelle to stay."

  "Okay, Daddy." The little girl waved as she left, but she paused at the doorway to say to me, "Please stay, Rachelle. I like you." With that, I knew I wanted to be Halle's nanny now more than ever.

  "It looks like you have the only approval that counts." Tate grinned, and it was easy to see that he adored his daughter. Then he turned serious and said, "When can you move in?"

  "Move in?" I was taken aback.

  "Yes. The position is for a live-in nanny. Wasn't that clear in the ad?"

  "I guess I skipped over that part." I flushed. No wonder the pay was so good. He needed twenty-four-hour care, not just full-time.

  "I'd like you to start right away. I can have my driver take you home to pick up your things and bring you back just as soon as you sign the contract."

  He reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out several papers stapled together. He set them in front of me and handed me a gold pen.

  "What's this?" I couldn't hide my surprise, although I tried not to look naive as I picked up the papers.

  "It's your employment contract," Tate said matter-of-factly. "You can't move in until you've signed it."

  "This isn't really necessary." I slid the contract across the desk, back to him. "I'll just live at home. I can get up very early, so I'm certain to be there when Halle wakes up in the morning. I'll stay all day and won't leave until after I'm certain she's fallen asleep. We can negotiate the pay according to how many hours I work per day."

  "I'm afraid it is necessary." His dazzling hazel eyes had suddenly turned hard and his expression unforgiving. He shoved the contract back to me with a sharp thrust. "The position of nanny requires that you live here. The requirements and duties of the position are outlined in the contract. If you want the job, you must sign it."

  The man who had seemed so charming just moments before was now fearsome. This wasn't what I had in mind when I came for the interview, but I was desperate for the money.

  He was willing to pay me enough to be able to hire Mama a full-time nurse. Where else was I going to get a job that paid that well? Besides, the little girl Halle was wonderfully sweet. If being forced to live in a lavish mansion was the worst of my problems, then what was my hesitation?

  Drawing a quick breath, I picked up the contract and flipped through the pages, skimming the information without really reading it. Job duties, dress code, etc. I knew what it meant to be a nanny and how to care for a child. I didn't need to read it. When I came to the last page, I put the gold pen to the paper and scrawled my signature in flowing black ink, right above his own.

  Tate smiled with satisfaction as he put the signed contract in a lock-drawer and turned the key. He placed in the key in his suit pocket. Then he reached into his desk and pulled out a check. He filled it out quickly and handed it to me.

  "As per our contract, your first payment," Tate replied in response to my puzzled expression. "You can expect to receive that same amount every month."

  I looked down at the check in my hands and gasped as my eyes focused on the amount. I'd never held so much money before, and my hands were trembling as I folded it and put it into my purse.

  "Thank you," I said gratefully.

  "No, thank you for taking the position." He smiled warmly. His eyes looked me up and down appreciatively as his voice became thicker. "I think we're going to work well together, and I really look forward to it."

  "Me, too." I was grinning brightly and practically skipped out the door as Scott led me to the car. Tate had instructed him to take me anywhere I needed to go so I could get my affairs in order before starting work. As Scott drove me around, he was respectful, but not very talkative. I got the feeling he was more of a security guard than a chauffeur.

  I had him take me to the bank first and then the medical staffing agency.

  "I need a nurse to provide twenty-four-hour care for my mother. She has cancer, and the treatments make her too weak to care for herself," I said to the woman at the front desk. Her red hair was practically orange in color, with gray roots clearly visible. She had a pinched face, and a plastic nametag that said Gloria.

  At first, she seemed happy to help me, but when she found out we didn't have proper health insurance, her attitude changed immediately.

  "Twenty-four-hour care can be quite expensive. Perhaps your mother would do better in a state-run facility," Gloria said dismissively.

  "No. I know what those places can be like and my mother deserves far better. I have the cash to pay for a private nurse, and I want the best one you've got."

  I set down a stack of cash on her desk to show that I was serious, and suddenly, Gloria was much friendlier. She picked up the money and fanned through the bills. "I don't usually go to clients’ houses, but sometimes when we're short staffed, I have to. Perhaps, since you are so desperate to hire a nurse, I will do you a favor and care for your mother myself."

  Just then a Hispanic woman with wide hips and a warm smile came into the room. Her black hair hung in a long braid down the center of her back, and her chocolate eyes were warm and bright. She wore a clean nurse’s uniform, with fuzzy ducklings patterned on it, and I liked her at once.

  "Is everything alright in here?" she asked, and her face was filled with concern.

  "Everything is fine, Julie. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Mr. Hillside's house?" Gloria snapped as she hid the cash under her desk with a subtle gesture.

  "Paul Hillside passed away," Julie said as emotion filled her eyes. "He was a good man, and his daughter was so sweet. I told her I would help make the funeral arrangements."

  "You're supposed to keep a professional distance." Gloria glared at the tearful nurse.

  "I know, but she was so grief-stricken, and Paul and I talked a lot these past few weeks. I know just what he wanted for his service. It won't take much time for me to set things up. I'll even do it on my own time."

  "Damn straight, you will," Gloria barked. "You can't use company time for crap like that."

  My heart went out to the nurse, and I had to ask her, "How long did you work for him?"

  "Oh, just a few months. I know I'm supposed to keep a professional distance, but I can't help but think of my patients as family."

  "If your patient just passed away, does that mean you're free to take on a new client?" I asked her, and Gloria instantly cut me off.

  "No!" she shouted. "I'll take care of your mother."

  I ignored Gloria and kept looking at Julie. Flushing, the nurse said, "Yes, I suppose I am."

  "Good." I beamed. "How would you like to come to my home and provide care for my mother?"

  I told her all about my mother's condition and her needs, and Julie told me about her work experience and qualifications. Gloria grudgingly gave back the stack of cash she had hidden under her desk (after I gestured towards Scott and suggested that maybe the muscular bodyguard should come in to resolve the matter), and she handed the money to Julie for her first week's pay.

  "There will be more where that came from," I promised her. "I've just taken on a very lucrative job as a nanny, and I plan to use almost every penny I earn making my mother well."

  I signed some papers, finalizing my arrangements with Julie, and then headed back out
.

  "All finished?" Scott asked. He'd been standing guard by the car the entire time and opened the door with a smile for me as I came out.

  I wondered what would have happened if I had called him in to take of Gloria, and the thought made me giggle. I knew he was a kind man, but he did have a rather stern look to him that could be quite intimidating. It was fun to imagine him putting Gloria in her place, although I had managed to do a pretty fine job of that myself.

  "Yes," I said in response to Scott, forcing myself to be serious again. "Please take me to the nearest flower shop and then back home."

  When we pulled up to my battered apartment building, it already looked so much worse after my short time at the mansion. But I was now entering it with money in the bank and a way to improve Mama's situation, so it didn't seem nearly as grim.

  "Mama, I'm home!" I called out happily as I walked through the door with a huge bouquet of daisies in my arms. They were her favorite flower, and I knew they would make her happy.

  Although I was taking the job so I could provide a better life for my mother, I couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt that it would mean leaving her in the care of a stranger. We'd never been apart more than a few days, and the thought of being without her was the one big drawback to the job. Still, the benefits far outweighed the one disadvantage, and so it was worth the sacrifice.

  "There you are." Mama smiled from her sickbed as I walked into her room. She took the flowers into her arms and breathed in their scent deeply. I took them from her and put them a vase by her bed while she talked. She said to me, "I woke up from my nap and you were gone. I thought maybe you'd gone to the store."

  "No, Mama. I went to an interview, and guess what? I got the job!"

  I sat at Mama's bedside and told her all about the incredible position I'd just landed working as a nanny for one of the city's richest residents.

  "Who is it?" she wanted to know. She was beaming with pride.

  "The Holland family," I stated simply, but all the color had suddenly drained from her careworn cheeks.

  "You don't mean Tate Holland, do you?" she gasped.