Page 6 of Balance

He’s stunning though. Short brown hair with green-hazel eyes. He has a nice tan to his skin, as if he’s outside a lot.

He’s tall and muscular. So much taller than me. He mentioned practice so he probably plays a sport. I tilt my head and glance around when he doesn’t say anything, expecting me to go first. Well, that’s not going to happen.

There are professional photos all over the walls, hockey sticks and jerseys. A ton of photos of three gorgeous little girls.

No ring on his finger though, so single dad? That’s a surprise.

He clears his throat and I snap my gaze back to him. “I’ll get right to it. I think you’re too young and probably not anywhere near as qualified as I made astoundingly, repeatedly clear to your employer. I have three girls from ages two to ten. The middle one just turned four. They are loud, unruly, and are confused. It’s been a hard time for us these past few months. I’m a professional hockey player and demand discretion at all times. No phone calls, social media, no telling your friends or parents jack shit… Apparently you’re the last one they fucking have so I have no choice.”

I gape at him and chew on my lip. “Well… I’ve been a teacher for four years, I have been certified in everything under the sun. I have two degrees. One in child development, the other in child psychology. I also minored in nutrition because I had nothing better to do while in college… I know and have done CPR and first aid. I cook, clean, and actually love kids. I may be young, but this is what I’ve always wanted to do. Not nannying per se, butit’s difficult finding a teaching job around here. I’m also almost 28 so I’m not an infant or anything, sir”

He nods and blinks at me. He asks me questions about where I taught prior, why I don’t work there anymore, why I moved to Minnesota with no friends or family around.

“And for the last one… I couldn’t really tell you, to be honest, since I have no idea. I packed up my belongings from my ex’s house and just… drove. I stopped in South Dakota to get some gas and looked up decent areas around there that had good school districts. There was an ad to come to St. Paul for some food festival and I just… came here. Got an apartment, started applying for jobs. I don’t have any family that I still speak to… so, here I am.”

He leans back in his chair and rubs his lips with his fingers. They look so plump and soft. And damn those fingers are long. Thick and strong. “And no boyfriend, partner, significant other, or marriage any time soon? I would prefer to be committed to my girls since this is a live-in position.”

I shake my head and he sighs.

“I travel about six months out of the year, but you and the girls can attend the home gamesifthey want to. You will drive my SUV when they need to go to school or need to shop for anything they need. You’re allowed to do anything within this community but anything outside of it – food places, jump parks, ice skating, and shopping, will need to be approved by me. If you accept, you’ll be getting a weekly deposit into your preferred bank account, nights and days off when I am home and don’t have practice or any games, and you will be traveling when my away games and Avery’s school breaks align.”

He slides a thick contract towards me and tosses over a pen from the desk drawer.

“Read through that, sign and date it and I’ll have my lawyers file it away. The amount you’ll be paid, health insurance, liabilityinsurance, and I’m going to call your employer and buy out your contract so that you will only be working for me. Did you know they wanted twenty-five percent of your wages, plus another ten percent of some bullshit ‘finder’s fee’ from me?” He scoffs and shakes his head.

I feel like I’m getting whiplash… First he wanted to call security on me, then he thought I was too young and notqualified…and now I’m hired?

“Ah… okay. And I didn’t know that. The fees were never brought up when I had my interviews with them.”

He winks at me and pulls out another file from his desk and tosses it on my contract. “It was in the fine print in the terms and conditions. No wonder the owner of that business owns a house a few streets away.” He stands up and nods to the door. “You’ll be starting today. Give me your address and key and I’ll have movers bring everything here. I’ll pay to break your lease, along with any other fees. Have that contract signed and back to me by tonight. Leave it in the kitchen and I’ll deal with it tomorrow. I’m not sure what time I’ll be home,” he glances down at his watch and walks faster towards the screaming girls.

Wait, what’s going on? I haven’t even read through any of this yet.

“I’ll give you a tour after you meet them. The oldest one is Avery. She starts school next week. Nessa is the four year old, wearing a bathing suit. She’s in daycare but they keep sending her home, maybe you can work with her and get her more prepared for a real preschool program? The youngest is Tilly. She’s not talking much and refuses to potty train, so hopefully that can be added to your list.”

He strides out of the room and I scramble after him after I grab the pen and the papers. What the hell? What is wrong with this guy?

I slowly nod and glance around once we make it to the playroom. Christ. This playroom is the size of my entire house that I grew up in. There are jungle gyms that go up to the ceiling, arts and crafts areas, even tables and chairs, tea sets, and doll houses. Bins upon and bins… and more bins filled with blocks, dolls, babies, and toys galore.

“Girls! This is your new nanny…” He side-eyes me and I chuckle. I kneel down and wave them over.

“Hi… I’m Lillian, but you can call me Lily.”

Avery tilts her head at me, her brown hair falling over her shoulder. Her eyes, wow, she looks so much like her father. “You’re not our new mother are you?”

I smile and shake my head, wanting to laugh out loud. Fuck no. “Absolutely not. I’m here to play with you, cook for you, and spend time with you while your dad is at work and practice. You three will have to teach me everything you know about hockey, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a game.”

Nessa, with her long, curly blonde hair and hazel eyes smiles at me and gives me a hug. She’s the one in the bathing suit. “Perfect. You can get us a puppy. Daddy kept saying to wait until he found a nanny, and now you’re here. So let’s go! Have you ever had a puppy before?” She spins around and pulls out a pair of massive red sunglasses out of a cubby and slides them up her nose and places her hand on her hip.

I blink at her and glance up to their father and he rubs his hand down his face. “I said we would talk about itafter we hired a nanny.Give us a few weeks to make sure everything irons out.” He places a hand down by my head, obviously wanting me to get up and get a move on. I shake my head and stand, glancing around the room and winking at the girls.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun. Do you girls know how to cook?”

Avery shakes her head and looks down at the ground. “No. We were never allowed in the kitchen, we ate out a lot.”

I hum and nod. “Well, we have to be very careful in there. There’s at least fifty ways for someone, especially children, to get hurt in there. I’ll make you girls a deal... Your dad needs to get going, so we need to talk really quick. If you girls clean up in here for me and play nicely, we’ll bake some cookies after lunch. Any cookie you want if you have the ingredients.”

Avery smiles softly at me and pulls her sisters towards the arts and crafts area, while the two of us adults step out into the hall.

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