Page 123 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“Yes, Penny, what’s going on? I’m here! I’m here!” came Charlotte’s frantic voice as she barreled toward them. Red-cheeked, she slid into the empty chair, then released a bark of a shriek. “I’m sorry I’m late. I work for the biggest asshat on the planet who decided to throw a hissy fit just as my shift was ending!”
“Marshall, the manager?” Penny asked. That man was no picnic, but he’d never gotten Char this riled up.
“Oh no! Marshall is long gone—the lucky duck! I’m talking about the hothead chef. You know, the culinary mega diva who ascends from hell every day to torment his waitstaff,” Char ranted.
“Mitch Elliott?” Penny asked, recalling the guy was part of Rowen’s guys’ group.
“The one and only!” Char huffed, the angry blush in her cheeks deepening.
Harper cocked her head to the side as she observed the fuming redhead. “Char, you’ve got a little something in your hair, honey. I think it’s a slice of avocado!”
Charlotte brushed her auburn waves over her shoulder. “Yeah, that would make sense.”
“Why would it make sense?” Libby asked, sharing a perplexed look with the rest of them.
“Because I threw a tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad at Mitch. I must have gotten some food in my hair in the process.”
“Yep, you’ve got a little tomato chunk in there, too,” H commented, studying Charlotte’s head as one would take in abstract art.
“Would you like to tell us why you threw a salad at your boss?” Libby asked.
“No, not particularly,” Charlotte replied, shrugging it off like tossing a salad at another human being was part of her average Wednesday.
“Lobbing salads at people isn’t like you, Char. I mean, if I breezed in here with food in my hair and told you that I chucked a salad at somebody, you wouldn’t be surprised. But there’s an order to us. Penny’s the dreamer, Libby’s the Zen master, I’m the raging bitch, and you’re the nice one,” Harper finished.
Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t know what I am!”
“Do you still have a job?” Penny asked cautiously.
“Who knows!” Charlotte answered with another shrug as Libby untangled the bits of avocado and tomato from the girl’s hair.
Penny met her friend’s eye. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it, Char?”
“No, not at all, Penn! I want to put Mitch Elliott out of my mind. I’m here for you,” she answered. “What did I miss? Recap A-sap,por favor, ladies.”
Penny looked from Libby to Harper.
Harper raised her hand. “I’ve got this. Here’s the rundown. Penny’s hot nerd boss is a,” H tapped her foot twice. “Our Penn Fenn has given back the ritzy tech. Penny 2.0 has reverted back to Miss Flip Phone USA,” her friend continued, then dropped the sassy front, her gaze growing misty. “But she loves the guy, and she loves his niece. And that’s what makes this so hard. Is that about it?” H asked softly as Penny’s throat grew thick with emotion.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” she whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“It’ll be okay,” Libby chimed. “You never know when the universe is doing you a favor. It might seem like the worst thing ever is happening. But it will unravel as it should. Do you want to meditate? We could start a chant?” Libby offered, pressing her palms together.
“No!” Harper and Charlotte cried in unison, knocking Libby out of namaste land.
“Libs, we love you,” H continued. “But there’s a time and a place for honoring your inner journey bullshit. Now is not that time. Now is the time to kick some rich nerd ass. Who’s with me?” her friend called, raising her hand as Libby and Charlotte joined in. The women waved their hands in the air as if they were back in kindergarten.
Another tear trailed down Penny’s cheek. “I love you guys.”
Charlotte took her hand. “What will you do now, Penny?” she asked, the anger she charged in with forgotten as concern shined in her eyes. “And what does the nanny match lady have to say? Have you spoken with her? Madelyn Malone, right?”
Penny nodded, then released a slow breath. “I haven’t said anything to her yet. I’m honestly not sure what to say. I haven’t spoken with Rowen. I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t believe that it’s over, not after…” She paused as sorrow washed over her. She couldn’t go on. It hurt too much to imagine a life without Rowen and Phoebe. But what came next? She had no idea how to move forward—or if there was even a path forward, as far as Rowen Gale was concerned.
“You can’t go on this way, Penn. How much longer do you have?” Char asked.
Not much.
“I’ve committed to a sixty-day trial period, which ends in a week,” she began. “Either party can terminate the contract after that—no questions asked. But it’s not that simple. I love Phoebe. I can’t imagine not being with her every day,” she continued, her voice shaking. But she needed to get it out. “Phoebe keeps asking why it’s not the three of us anymore. I tell her it’s because her uncle is so busy. But I’m sure she can sense that it’s more than that. I can’t leave her. She’s lost her parents. She can’t live with her grandmother anymore. The kid’s been through so much. I don’t want to add any more pain to her life. I don’t want to be another person who leaves her.”
