Page 65 of Eleanor & Grey

I felt like she was trying to give me a calmness before the storm.

Allison was everything every woman dreamed of being—at least she was what I dreamed of becoming. She was beautiful in an effortless way and looked like a CEO as opposed to an assistant to a CEO. It was almost as if she’d been born to lead. She walked into all spaces as if she owned them and never had her chin down, moving as if she wore an invisible crown.

Her confidence was beyond impressive. Plus, on top of all that, she was nice.

I wouldn’t have blamed her if she wasn’t nice—she had everything else going for her. She reminded me of Shay in a lot of ways: strong.

“So, you’ll have your own set of keys to come and go throughout the house. In the foyer, you’ll see the keys to the car needed to help get the kids to school. Thank you for getting me all the paperwork I asked you for. We’re in the process of adding you to the insurance plan,” Allison told me as we walked into the house. “Lorelai is allergic to shellfish, and Karla wouldn’t touch a vegetable even if her life depended on it. Mondays are always spaghetti for dinner, no matter what. That’s an important one. No penne, not lasagna, just spaghetti. Trust me, it matters. Otherwise, you can get as creative as you’d like for meal plans.

“There’s a no-sugar policy that is in place for weekdays, but when they go to their grandparents’ on the weekend, it’s a free-for-all. Come Monday morning when it’s time to wake the girls, you can blame Claire if the kids are in a sugar coma. Over here is Lorelai’s room, and across the way is Karla’s. Down the hall to the left is the spare bedroom where you’ll stay if Greyson is working late or out of town. And over here…” She clicked and clacked in her heels as she powerwalked through the home, and I tried my best to keep up with her. She showed me the kitchen, the second bathroom, the dining room, the family room, the living room—not to be confused with the family room—and a million other places while tossing other details my way.

The more she spoke, the more overwhelmed I became. Shuffling through my purse, I quickly pulled out my cell phone, opened my notes app, and started typing frantically, trying to absorb all of the information being thrown at me. Allison glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

“I’m guessing I should’ve told you I have a binder with all of this information included. Don’t worry, I’m just going over the basics. This is the kind of job where things kind of fall into place the more you do it.”

“For sure. It’s just a lot, that’s all.”

“The Easts are a lot, especially lately. I want you to know that this is a big job. Nannying alone is hard, but nannying for this family is even tougher. It comes with its own challenges. I want to make sure you’re up for the long days and sometimes longer nights.”

I wasn’t certain I was up for it, to be honest. It all seemed a bit much for me. “I have to admit, I was a bit surprised that I was offered the position.”

“I have no doubt you’ll be great. I’ve been with Mr. East for a very long time, and I have to believe he knew what he was doing when he hired you. Then again, you’re the seventh person I’ve given this talk to in the past ten months, so I could be wrong again.”

She continued showing me through the house, and then we stopped in front of a door. She gestured toward it, lowering her voice. “That’s Mr. East’s office. He’s probably in there now. Most of the time while he’s home, he’ll be inside those four walls, working. If the door is closed, you are forbidden to enter.”

“And if it’s open?” I asked.

She gave me a baffled look. “Oh, no—it’s never open.” She continued the tour of the house and once we covered everything, she took me to the kitchen, and handed me a large three-ring binder filled with paperwork. “This should help you a bit. I put together a complete guide on how to conquer the Easts’ home.”

I flipped through it, impressed by the attention to detail. “Wow, this is amazing. I’m surprised you don’t have this position.”

“Trust me”—she smirked—“Mr. East couldn’t afford me if he wanted me to nanny for his children.”

She made it sound like $65,000 was chump change.

Funny given I felt as if I’d won the lottery with that level of income while she talked as if it was a piece of gum on the bottom of her shoe.

Perspective, I guess.

“Before I go, I wanted to touch base with you on a sensitive subject,” Allison commented. “It’s about the girls, mainly Karla.”

“Oh?”

“When the car accident happened a few months ago, the whole family was in the vehicle. They all suffered injuries, but Karla was tossed from the backseat through the window because she didn’t have her seat belt on.”

I gasped, covering my mouth. “Oh, my gosh.”

“She, um, struggles with walking sometimes. Due to the way she landed, she had to have surgery on her left hip, and there’s a bit of a difference in the length of her legs. So, she limps. It’s pretty noticeable, but we try our best to not call attention to it. Karla will, though. She’ll try her hardest to make you uncomfortable. There are also the scars.”

“The scars?”

She nodded. “Her face was cut up pretty badly. When she went flying from the car, she slammed face first against a tree before hitting the ground. There’s no way to get around it. You’ll notice the markings, but please try your best to not have an outward reaction. Karla feeds on that. It will make things much harder for you.”

“I won’t.”

She smiled. “If it makes you less worried, Lorelai is an utter delight.”

“Such a big part of me is hoping she was named after Gilmore Girls,” I joked.

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