Page 10 of The Billionaire and the Nanny

“Give me your phone,” I ordered.

“Why?”

“Just do it,” I snapped, not wanting to speak to her any more than I needed to.

Tia unlocked her phone and slapped it onto my palm.

I turned off location services, disabled the Find My Phone app, and switched the phone off. Then I slid down my window and threw the phone into a dumpster we were driving past.

She turned to stare outside the window. Thankfully, the car had tinted windows, and while we could see out, no one could see in.

The car pulled up outside the massive gates to our mansion in Lenox Hill and I held my breath, wondering if any paps were lurking outside the gate. But it was all clear, and we drove up the driveway. I blew out a relieved breath as the gates slid shut behind us. The Donovan Estate was impenetrable. It was a fortress. My fortress. Neither Tia’s brother nor Jeff Sabri’s army of thugs could so much as set a toe on the property.

Aunt Fee was still up when we walked into the house. She was having the butler move some paintings around in the hallway. Her eyes widened when she saw Tia standing behind me, and she dismissed the butler with a quick little wave.

“Leo, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect you home so early. Where are the boys?” she asked, while her sharp eyes checked Tia out from head to toe.

“They are on their way home, Aunt Fee. I’d like you to meet Tia Monani. Tia, this is Fiona Donovan, my aunt.”

Aunt Fee went pale at the mention of Tia’s last name.

“Is she…Monani? Isn’t that the man who…” her voice tapered off as she stared up at me doubtfully.

Tia nodded and put out a hand.

“Yes, Miss Donovan, I am Arjun Monani’s sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said politely, not making any apologies for being who she was. Nor did she show any sign of fear.

If I didn’t hate her so much, I’d have been proud of her.

Aunt Fee recovered and took her hand with a smile.

“Welcome to our home, Tia. May I call you that? Please call me Fee. Miss Donovan makes me sound like a strict school teacher.”

“Thank you, Fee,” replied Tia.

“And to what do we owe this pleasure?”

The question was clearly aimed at me, and I didn’t blame my aunt one bit. You can’t bring your enemy’s sister into your home at ten pm, and not expect questions.

“Tia’s staying with us for a few days,” I said smoothly.

Aunt Fee raised a questioning eyebrow but didn’t argue the point.

“How lovely,” she murmured, looking from Tia to me speculatively.

“She will be staying in the guest wing. She’s our guest,” I said hastily before she got any ideas.

“The guest wing is being renovated,” Aunt Fee reminded me. “The only spare room is the one next to yours. I’ll have Tia’s bags sent up there.”

There was an awkward pause as Tia cleared her throat. Dammit! She was about to inform my aunt that I had just kidnapped her, and that would be the end of my plan. This was why I didn’t want to bring her home.

But she didn’t blow the whole enterprise.

“I… um… I don’t have any bags, Fee. I had to leave the fundraiser in a bit of a rush. This is all I have,” she explained, indicating her dress. “But I will order some clothes tomorrow.”

Aunt Fee was the first amongst us to recover.

“That’s alright. I’ll have some pajamas sent up. They might be a little loose, but they will have to do for tonight. We can go shopping tomorrow,” she said brightly.

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