AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m not even sure I’ve seen six grand every six months let alone a month, especially for a live-in position. This is the break I’ve waiting for. I can feel the stress begin to melt away as I consider my future.
A few hours later the email comes. I pour a small glass of red wine and go over the details, excitement coursing through my veins. I will be working for a single dad and taking care of his six-year-old daughter. It says here I’m to be at the residence by eight a.m. sharp on Monday.
This sounds so perfect.
I spend the weekend tidying up and I pack the few things I came here with, aside from what I’ll need through Monday. The apartment is fine for the short amount of time I need it, but I will not miss the beige everything tone. I didn’t expect a job to come up so soon, but I had a feeling New York would be in need of nannies. Happiness had me dancing around my apartment, hugging my shirts to me like they were dancing partners. I can not wait to start this new job. Things are looking up and I am full of confidence. I believe in myself and my abilities so I have faith that this job is going to be the perfect fit and just the thing to turn my life around.
***
Monday morning dawns bright and very early. I rush around the small apartment making sure I have all of my belongings before turning to shut and lock the door and head to my new life.
I grab a cab and give the driver the address. I sit back to enjoy the ride to the wealthier side of the city.
The ride was anything but enjoyable. I had a white knuckle grip on the door handle the entire ride through the city. At one point I tried to get a peek of Central Park and instead saw my life flash before my eyes as the driver sideswiped a parked car and kept going. I have never experienced such a death-defying trip in my entire life. By the time we arrived at the upscale New York Penthouse address, my knees were weak and I was breathless. I paid the driver and got out of the car as quickly as possible.
I stood there on the sidewalk mouth open in awe. My legs and hands are shaking. I get myself together before I go through the double doors and checked in at the front desk.
“Hello, I’m Camdyn Schriefer, the new nanny for the Madison household,” I said with authority to the tall tan woman at the desk.
She looked up at me with narrowed eyes.
“One moment, Miss.” The security guard picked up the phone and pressed a button. “Yes, a Miss Shriefer is here.” A slight pause. “ Alright, I’ll send her up.” She hung up the phone and gave me a warm smile. A very different look from the one she had just given me.
“You will be heading to the Penthouse. The elevators are just down the hall on your right, Miss Shriefer. Good luck.”
I gave her a wide smile and a quizzical look and walked down to the elevator.
I pressed the up arrow and looked around the posh lobby. Marble accents and plush area rugs in hues of gray. Hints of gold and dark gray leather chairs centered around the fireplace. I tried to keep my nerves under control. I have never been in such a fancy place before and I was beginning to feel out of my element.
Staring around the elevator was a symbol of wealth. As we go up each floor, my stomach gets tighter and tighter.
The elevator arrives with a ding and a quiet sigh when the doors open. I step inside and press the PH button. It feels like an extraordinarily long ride up as it stops several times to let people on and off.
When it arrives onto the Penthouse floor I step into an outer foyer. This was very different than what I saw on the other floors and I panicked a bit about what to do. Thankfully, a door right in front of me opened to a portly woman with an apron over her uniform.
She was shorter than me and had a happy smile on her pink lips. Her blonde hair was in an updo and she had on a white headband.
“Good morning Miss Schriefer, we have been expecting you.” She held the door wide open for me to enter.
As I stepped over the threshold it felt like stepping into another world. High ceilings and natural light greeted me. The muted decor matched the lobby, but I could see pops of color here and there.
The front door closed softly behind me. I looked to see the housekeeper studying me intently. I wonder if she thinks I might not be up to the task. Between the housekeeper staring and the security guard wishing me luck, I could be in over my head.
I held her gaze a few moments longer and then she spoke. “I’m Ms. Baily, the housekeeper. Mr. Madison has asked that I get you settled in right away. May I show you to your room?”
“Oh, that would be great, thank you,” I say with a warm smile.
We walked down a long hallway that was on the right. The floors were a medium gray stone and the housekeeper’s shoes barely made a sound, unlike my own kitten heels that click clacked behind her.
She turned to her left and opened the French-style doors into a spacious room. I had a king-size bed, a sitting area with a television, a good-sized desk, and a bathroom the size of my apartment, with a soaking jacuzzi tub and sauna. This is like a dream come true. Not that I wouldn’t work for someone less affluent, but I hit the jackpot with this one. I will make more here than I ever dreamed of making in Piedmont.
The housekeeper interrupted my thoughts.
“I’ll introduce you to Maisey. She is just down the hall.” Miss Bailey led me several feet down the hall and opened a door on the right. I walked into a bright and cheery room of light yellow with beige accents. Stuffed animals lined the entire wall, eachhaving their own place on the shelf. The room was neat and tidy and it had a desk in one corner.
Miss Bailey spoke. “You will be in charge of homeschooling Maisey, who is currently in the first grade. I hope that won’t be a problem?” She asks a strange note in her voice.
“No, of course not. Where is Maisey by the way?”
