“Uh…okay.”
“So…you know my uncle? Do you work here?”
“No. I mean… No, I don’t work here. But I do know him.”
“Sorry to hear that,” she joked. “Just kidding.”
“I hadn’t put two and two together. I knew he had a niece, and I knew your name was Hailey. Just didn’t connect the dots until now.”
“So, if you don’t work here, how do you know my uncle Hollis?”
I wasn’t sure whether to admit I’d interviewed to be her nanny. I didn’t want to badmouth Hollis in front of her. And there was really no good way to tell that story without it reflecting negatively on him.
“Your uncle and I... We got into a little fender-bender earlier. I was here handling some business.”
“You messed up his precious car?”
I cringed. “I did.”
“You might be in more trouble than me. Did he yell at you?”
“Not really.” Well, that certainly isn’t the truth.
She took another bite of her bar. “I know how to get him off your case.”
“How?”
“Ask him to buy you maxi pads. Shuts him right up.”
I chuckled. “Okay, probably won’t be doing that, but thanks for the tip.” I took her in and pondered what she’d just said. “Wow...aren’t you…a little young to have your...”
“I’m eleven. And I have it...so no, I’m not.”
Jesus. It hit me just how much of a handful Hollis had inherited. I could only imagine how overwhelming it must have been for him to have to suddenly take on this responsibility. From what Addison told me, he was doing the best he could for his niece, but he’d had to figure things out as he went along. It had understandably been a struggle, thus the need for a nanny.
“You sure you don’t want my second Twix?” she asked. “They give you two bars so you can share one.”
Just as I was about to open my mouth, a deep voice from behind me answered, “If they were Junior Mints, she’d gobble them up like a Hoover.”
I jumped and flipped around, my heart pounding. Hollis had entered the cafeteria. It felt like a teacher walking in on two kids gossiping, for some reason. His gorgeous eyes were piercing.
“How long were you standing there listening?” I asked.
“Since Keto crotch.”
Great. Just great. “I was just getting water. I didn’t know she was your—”
He cut me off, turning to Hailey. “You want to tell me why you skipped the after-school program and robbed a makeup counter today?”
“The principal called you?”
“Yes.”
“Okay…I know it doesn’t make sense. But I think Elodie helped me figure out why I did it.”
He looked over at me and raised his brow. “Oh, she did, did she?”
“Yes. And I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I’m not like my dad. If I say something, I mean it.”
The look on Hollis’s face transformed from anger to something else. Sadness? Understanding, maybe? As much as I was curious to stay and observe their dynamic, it wasn’t my place.
“I’ll let you two talk.” I turned to her. “Hailey, it was really nice meeting you.”
“You too, KC.” She winked.
It took me a moment to realize it was an acronym. Keto Crotch.
“Uncle Hollsy, don’t be mad at Elodie for denting your car. She didn’t mean it.”
“Wise girl. You should listen to her, Hollsy.” I winked before sauntering out of there.Chapter 5* * *ElodieSoren was screwing the new secretary. He sat in his high-back leather executive chair, hands clasped behind his head with his feet propped up on his massive dark wood desk. And Bambi (yes, she claimed that was the name given to her at birth) was straddling him and giggling.
They hadn’t heard me come in, too busy feeling each other up.
I plopped my butt down on the visitor chair. “Classy. Can I watch?”
Soren chuckled at the way Bambi jumped out of his lap. She apologized as she scurried back to her desk.
I dug a file from my oversized purse and attempted to save a nail that had chipped on the drive over to the office. “You know, that could have been a client instead of me.”
“It’s not like we run a tea shop. Women are coming in here because their husbands are fucking around. Bet some of them would like to watch me stick it to Bambi.”
“You’re a pig. I have no idea why I even work for you.”
“Because I overpay you.” He took his boots off the desk, and they clanked meeting the floor. “And I put up with you being a bitch. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure how I work with you.”
I smiled. “You’re going to miss me when I’m gone, aren’t you?”
“You got the job? The one watching the kid for the big shot?”
I sighed. “No.”
“Why not?”
“There was a small incident.”
Soren lifted his coffee mug to his mouth. “What’d you do? Spill something on him or tell him off?”