Page 17 of The Billionaire's One-Night Stand Nanny
CHAPTER11
Ryan
“The gang’s all here,”Charlie said as I settled into the deep leather armchair beside him. I nodded at James and Barrett.
The Bankworth Club–and my friends’ “Friday night Bankworth thing,” in Flora’s words–was an institution. Technically, the name wasBancroft, not Bankworth, but Bankworth was more accurate: it was the kind of place where old money came to relax while in the city: bankers and brokers, politicians, intellectuals. It was nearly impossible to get a membership–I’d inherited mine from my father, as had James and his brother Charlie–and that meant that if you were among the privileged few who had one, it was the best place in the city to dine on Friday evening.No reservation required.We’d been meeting here for years, eating steak on heavy white porcelain plates and drinking liquor mixed expertly by a decrepit old bartender, an institution in his own right. Sometimes, we’d shoot pool or play poker on the green baize tables, and sometimes, like tonight, we would just stay in the comfortable leather seats until the room tipped dangerously when we finally stood at the end of the night, staggering down to our drivers at street level.
The waiter came by to take our order: scotch for James, an old fashioned for Charlie, gin martini for Barrett.
“Will you be having your usual pilsner, Mr. Walker?” he queried, looking down at me. “Or we have a brown ale in, new tonight. A local brewery.”
“I’ll feeling like bourbon, actually,” I said. “Neat. I’m not picky on what bottle it comes from,” I added with an apologetic smile. Despite his polite smile, I couldfeelthat the waiter was annoyed by my lack of taste.
“Very well,” he said, turning on his heel and making his way through the dining room.
“Bourbon, huh?” Charlie asked. “No Maddie tonight?” I chuckled: Charlie knew me better than anyone. Usually on nights I had Maddie waiting for me at home–so, most Fridays–I stuck to beer. I couldn’t be out drinking late and then up at eight a.m. with an excitable ten-year-old, not at my age.
I shook my head. “She’s at Tally’s.”
“Oh, right,” Charlie said. “Your nanny quit again, didn’t she? Was Maddie there all week?” The waiter returned with our drinks, and Charlie paused to accept his, taking a deep swallow. I did the same–the sweet liquor burned over my tongue and down my throat, warming me from my belly out. Before I could correct him, he continued. “You know if you didn’t work for such an old fossil, you’d be able to work from home. Then your whole life wouldn’t have to be put on hold whenever a nanny quit on you. And Tally’s too. I know she can’t appreciate rearranging her whole schedule just because yours is so inflexible.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for looking out for my ex-wife, Charlie, that’s really considerate of you.”
“Hey, I’m just saying–” he said, grinning.
“I’m not coming to work for you. I’ve told you that a dozen times. The whole… start-up thing isn’t for me. More importantly, it isn’t for Maddie. She needs stability, and–”
“Work from home,” Charlie enunciated. “What’s more stable than that?”
“No, Charlie,” I said again. “And stop asking, if you know what’s good for you.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll kick you in the nuts again. I can still picture the look on your face,” I said, taking a delicate sip of my bourbon, “and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.” I had long forgotten the reasonwhyI’d so brutalized my oldest friend, but I hadn’t yet grown out of teasing him about it. “And the way youcried…”
“I wastwelve!” Charlie protested. “Of course I cried!”
I laughed. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Maddie was with me this week, not at Tally’s after all. I found a new nanny.” My bourbon was suddenly quite interesting: I swirled the dark liquid, staring into it.
“Oh?” asked James. “What poor soul did you sucker into the job this time?”
“Your wife’s best friend,” I said, glancing up at James.
His brows pulled together. “Flora?” he asked, then seemed to consider. “Actually, that makes sense. She’s a teacher. She’s probably great with kids.”
“Nice, man,” Charlie agreed. “Hopefully she’ll stick around. Maddie’s a good kid once you get to know her.”
“Or ply her with expensive gifts,” James said, narrowing his eyes at his brother, and his primary rival for Maddie’s affection.
“Only the best for Maddie,” Charlie grinned.
The conversation moved on, but my thoughts didn’t.
Flora’s first week nannying had been… surprisingly fine.
It helped that I was trying my damnedest to avoid the woman.
And I’d been doing a good job of it, too: leaving just after she arrived in the mornings, giving her and Maddie space. She left without lingering when I got home from work. We barely spent more than ten minutes in each other’s presence, and always with the distraction of Maddie there between us.
