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The kids then went silent, actually investing their attention into what they were doing.
“First one done gets to pick the game,” I said, trying to show them that I could have fun too. Katie was the only one who seemed even a little interested in this.
“Can it beChutes and Ladders?” she asked in a sweet, engaging voice.
“Sure,” I said, looking at the paper where she was practicing her letters. “Hope you other two want to playChutes and Ladderscause Katie is definitely gonna win.”
The other two significantly picked up their pace at that.
By the time it was all said and done, Katie did indeed win, so I sat on the floor with the kids, playingChutes and Laddersand trying my darndest not to crush them.
“Did you go to college?” Leann asked.
“Yeah, I did,” I replied. “Why?
“Did you get one of those stupid liberal arts degrees?” she asked.
I nearly choked on the diet soda I was sipping on. “Where in the world did you hear that phrase?” I asked.
Leann shrugged, and that was the moment I decided Leann was a puzzle I wanted to figure out.
“If you have a degree, why are you a nanny?” she asked.
“That’s a long story,” I said, chuckling. “Do you know what skiing is?”
“We live in a ski lodge. Duh,” Ben said.
The attitude was killing me. I could tell even now that these were good kids, no matter how hard they might be trying to convince me otherwise.
“Well, I am a professional skier, or sort of. I have been skiing my whole life, and I do competitions.”
“Are you good?” Leann asked a little petulantly.
“I am,” I said. “But my last competition, when I was trying to get into the Olympics–” Having to explain all this in kid-friendly terms was harder than I’d thought it would be. “Well, during thatcompetition a big bunch of snow slid down the mountain to the bottom where I was, and it broke my leg.”
I found myself being theatrical for the children’s benefit and to my surprise, they seemed really engaged.
“So, they had to get helicopters, and people came to rescue me. My best friend dug me out of the snow, but my leg was snapped.”
At this, the girls screamed, and Ben got a huge grin on his face, saying, “Gross.”
“It was so gross,” I said, leaning in for effect. “So now I'm a nanny to pay my doctor bills while I get better.”
“That makes sense,” Leann said, nodding.
After I got the kids fed and to bed, I went to the room that I had understood was going to be mine. It was absolutely huge, with an adjoining bathroom totally decked out in marble fixtures.
“Jesus…” I gasped aloud. It was beautiful. It made the apartment I had shared with Anna look like a dump. In the center of the enormous room was a clawfoot tub like you see in movies about New York City. James be damned. I’d put up with any bad attitude to enjoy this kind of lifestyle.
Besides, the kids weren’t all that bad. Leann was shockingly smart, and Ben had such a personality.
Now, all it would take was for me to get through to my new boss.
Chapter Six
James
“Thanks, Kendra,” I said to my front desk clerk as she finished helping me with the paperwork needed after the incident earlier. “I appreciate you staying late to help me take care of this.”
