Page 144 of The Nanny and the Nerd
What the hell was going on?
“Yes, that’s right, and these are my friends, Libby Lamb, Harper Presley, and Charlotte—”
“Ames,” Madelyn supplied with that mysterious smirk of a smile. “I remember you from the Crystal Cricket,” Madelyn said smoothly, addressing Char.
“It’s nice to see you again,” Charlotte answered politely, shifting from foot to foot.
Penny couldn’t blame her friend for her apprehensive response. Madelyn was quite an imposing figure. But she couldn’t concentrate on Char’s unease. She had bigger questions. “How did you hear about the contest, Madelyn?”
“I was invited,” the woman purred—like freaking everyone else in her orbit!
What was up with these invitations? Had she gone delirious at some point in her writing and emailed her family and Ms. Malone?
“Was that invitation sent by me?” Penny asked. Yes, it was an insane question! A person should know if they’d sent an invitation. She was trying to put the pieces together and failing.
“No,” Madelyn answered, then pulled her phone from her bag and read the screen. “The final round is about to begin, correct? And you’re one of the finalists?”
“Yes,” she answered as Madelyn nodded and tapped out a message.
“So, there’s not much time?” the woman asked, eyeing her closely.
“It should start any minute,” she replied as a chime rang out over the intercom, followed by instructions to return to the auditorium for the final phase of the competition.
“Not much time at all,” Madelyn murmured to herself as she continued texting.
What was going on with this woman? And who the heck was she texting?
“Your father would be proud of you, honey. Good luck!” her mother said, giving her hand a squeeze.
In a daze, Penny blinked. “Thanks, Mom, really, that means everything to me.”
“And for the record,” her mother added with a glint in her eyes. “Thomas Edison would be proud of you, too.”
Penny touched her head, feeling for lumps. Perhaps she was the one who’d experienced head trauma!
“Okay, nice sentiment, Mom, but the guy’s dead,” she answered, glancing around to see if she’d fallen through a tear in the space-time continuum and entered an inverse reality. Still, interacting with this version of her mother was a hell of a lot better than dwelling in the land of motivational mumbo jumbo and lectures on business school admissions.
“All right! I want a seat up front! Let’s go, girls,” her mother chimed to the twins as the women joined the mass of people migrating toward the auditorium.
“Good luck, Penny,” Madelyn said, still watching her closely. “I do want to remind you that today is the last day of your nanny trial period.”
Penny released a slow breath. “Yes, I know.”
The woman studied her as if she could read her mind. “Do you see the situation continuing?”
It was like the nanny match maven had lie detector superpowers.
“I’m not sure,” she answered, her heart still unable to let go.
“I have a hunch that you’ll have clarity on the topic very soon,” she replied, then adjusted her trademark red scarf before floating through the crowd toward the auditorium.
Penny turned to her friends.
“That was bonkers!” Harper exclaimed as Libby and Charlotte stood there, stupefied.
Penny shook her head, trying to clear the crazy when Libby took her hand.
“We have to get in there. It’s time for the top three to be announced.”
