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“I know she wouldn’t,” I say quickly.
“You know, if you’re still looking for a nanny, she’s great with kids.”
I huff a laugh as I stand and offer him my hand to shake.
“You’re not shoving your granny off on me. My boys would run circles around her.”
His smile is wide as he shakes my hand and stands.
“Let me know if you decide to enforce that NDA,” he says knowingly.
I wave at him over my shoulder before leaving his office. Mrs. Hyde is not at her desk when I exit the office, and I’ll probably hear about it from my dad for not finding her to say goodbye.
I’ve made the executive decision that I could easily be like Barrett Hyde, avoiding all women at all costs. I don’t need people coming into my life and disappointing my boys. If I have an itch, I’ll scratch it at the hotel on nights that Dad has the boys. No strings. No expectations. No disappointment.
It still doesn’t fix the lack of a nanny situation, but I think Barrett had the right idea. I need an older woman, someone who’s not the least bit tempting to me.
I had never considered having a live-in person help with the boys until Madison suggested it, but knowing that’s a possibility now, I’m no longer relegated to only using someone nearby.
My search area just opened up, and life doesn’t seem as completely hopeless as it did when I rolled out of bed this morning.
Chapter 36
Madison
“I didn’t realize I missed that step,” I tell the woman on the phone. “I’ve just submitted a copy of my driver’s license. I was so excited to get to work. I hope it doesn’t delay my application.”
“It doesn’t,” she says, and I can hear her fingers working over the keyboard of her computer. “There are actually several families looking for help. Give me a second to add your license into the system. I’m going to place you on a brief hold.”
Elevator music fills my ear before I can speak.
Why does everyone seem to be in a rush?
Do they never slow down?
I sigh when I realize that people in the city are always in a hurry. They drive fast and speak faster. They move from one event to the next, all in the same day.
In Lindell, no one is in a hurry, and when I first moved back, it was my chief complaint. It’s already bad enough that there are no drive-thrus in town. It’s like everyone got together and decided convenience was ungodly and wasn’t something anyone wanted to participate in. There’s no quick-grab anything here because you have to get out of your car just like everyone else, and you have to speak to everyone you see. It took me half an hour to get a gallon of milk Mom needed the other day because of how many people I ran into going into the tiny supermarket.
“Ms. Kelly?”
“Yes, I’m still here.”
“I think I have the perfect job for you. It seems someone local in your town needs a live-in nanny.”
My heart races before she can even give me the details. As much as I told myself I wanted out of this town, hope sparks in my chest.
“Now he’s looking for someone older, but I think we might be able to convince him otherwise. Twin boys, age four. They have—”
“No,”I snap, although it breaks my heart. “I can’t do that.”
“Your resume says you’ve worked with twins before. I think—”
“I need someone in the city,” I tell her. “My goal is to get out of Lindell.”
“Ah, okay. Let me look.”
Going back to work for Chase would never happen. It feels like a setup, like my mother told him that I completed the application with this company and he’s somehow trying to get back at me by using them to find another nanny. He had to have known they’d offer me the job, despite the claim that he wants someone older.
