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I frowned. “Is everything okay?” She wasn’t usually this closed off. “Did something happen to one of the nannies?”
“You could say that,” Marlene said. “Have you spoken to Hannah?”
“Not since last week when I sent her an email with updates…what’s going on?”
“Maybe you should talk to her,” Marlene said tightly.
My stomach twisted into a knot of nerves. Something was going on. Marlene was acting strangely.
I stood from my desk where I’d just sat down and walked to Hannah’s office. She sat behind her laptop, typing away furiously.
She glanced up when I appeared at her door.
“Jade,” she said. She didn’t smile at me the way she usually did. Her eyes were serious and her lips pursed into a thin line. “Close the door.”
I swallowed hard. Hannah never asked me to close the door. I did as she asked and sat down opposite her.
“How was your week?” she asked.
Why did everyone keep asking me that, like I had something important to say about it?
“I think it was a productive week. You got everything I sent you, right?”
Hannah nodded. “Yeah, I did. It was a good week for you––you managed more than you did in a long time. I was actually really impressed with how you pulled up your socks and really committed yourself to the grind.”
I smiled, pleased that Hannah was happy. Her words suggested she was happy, but she didn’t look happy.
“Do you want to tell me what you were doing posing as a nanny?” Hannah asked.
My stomach dropped. “What?” I felt sick.
“You’ve been working as a nanny these past couple of weeks, haven’t you?”
“I…” How could she know that? “I’ve been working, doing all your admin, making sure everything is up to date. I haven’t made a mistake since you talked to me about it last. I’ve given everything I have.” The more I talked, the squeakier my voice became. I tried to stay calm, but I felt lightheaded and sick. Would Hannah be more forgiving if I threw up on her desk? Would she cut me some slack?
I doubted it. Hannah looked murderous now.
“I got a call from Dominique over the weekend. She was confused about an email fromPlacementputting her on the payroll for a position here in Seattle when she’s in Switzerland, looking after a family there. You can imagine how confused I was.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d never emailed Dominique back after I’d decided to fill the role myself and be Aaron’s nanny. I’d never thought to tie up loose ends. I’d panicked, gone to the interview myself, and since then, it had slipped my mind completely.
God, why was I always so scattered!? This was my own fault. If only I’d cleaned up and erased my so-called footsteps in the snow…
“I’ve been working really hard,” I said again in a small voice. Surely, that counted for something? I’d really tried to be the best employee to Hannah I could be. Minus the lying and deceit, of course.
“You’ve been doing what I asked of you, yeah. But you’re hardly ever in the office anymore, and I’m starting to see why. How long did you think you would hide this from me?”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I made a mistake, and I panicked. I couldn’t afford you to kick me out, so I went to fix it, and it’s been working. I mean, Aaron is really happy, and Ben is taken care of, and––”
“And you aren’t qualified to be a nanny at all. You have no certifications. You haven’t gone on any of my workshops…if you were interested in that, I could have sent you to all those things.”
“It wasn’t planned,” I argued. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. But everyone is happy. Isn’t that what we should focus on?”
Hannah shook her head and glanced toward the window, thinking.
“What if something went wrong? What if the child got hurt, and you have no idea what you’re doing? You can’t even do basic CPR.”
“There are hospitals for that,” I pointed out.
