“See ya, Sam.”
Just as I was heading out of my office to go check on a job, my father stopped me.
“Stefan, come in my office.”
“Dad, I have to go check on a job and get back before my two o’clock meeting.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
I followed him into his office and shut the door.
“Celeste and I were talking last night, and we have the name of a good child therapist for Lily.”
“Thanks, Dad, but that won’t be necessary.”
“So, you found someone then?” His brow arched.
“Um, not exactly. I hired a new nanny.”
“And how is this one going to be any different from the last one that only lasted a few days?”
“She’s different, and Lily really seems to like her.”
“What agency is she from?”
“She’s not from an agency.”
“Where did you find her?”
Shit. I really didn’t want to explain to him how I met Alex.
“Does it matter, Dad?”
“Of course, it matters. I want to know who is taking care of my granddaughter while you’re at work. Now tell me how you met her and what her qualifications are.”
“Her name is Alex, and we were involved in a minor car accident the other night. She met some guy online and was driving to go see him and I accidentally hit the backend of her car when she slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting a raccoon.”
“Wait a minute.” He put his hand up. “Let me see if I can get this straight. You have some woman who was on her way to meet a guy she met online and whose car you hit looking after your daughter?”
“Yes. She’s very nice and like I said, Lily likes her. Dad, Lily is smiling again and that’s all that matters.”
“I’m confused. So, you asked this woman—”
“Her name is Alex, Dad.”
“To look after my granddaughter and she just accepted? When did Lily even meet her? You said you hit her the other night.”
“Fine. You want the entire story?” I looked at my watch.
“Yes. So, get talking and no bullshit, son.”
“She didn’t have anywhere to go. The guy she met online gave her a phony address. She’s been staying with us.”
“My god. This just keeps getting worse.”
“Dad, stop! Simon ran a background check, and she came up clean. She’s originally from Ohio and left home when she was eighteen. She’s been on her own ever since.”
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that part.
“So, she’s trash?” His voice was stern.
“Don’t you dare.” I pointed my finger at him. “You don’t know shit about her. Her mother died when she was seven and her father is an alcoholic. She did herself a favor by leaving.”
“What skills does she have for taking care of a child?”
“You act like Lily is a baby. She’s nine years old! She likes Alex and that’s all that matters. I have to go. I’m not talking about this anymore. She’s my daughter and I’ll hire whoever the hell I want to take care of her.” I turned and walked out of his office.
“Damn it.”
Chapter 13
Alex
After I opened a new bank account and bought a new purse, I headed back home. Walking into the kitchen, I started cleaning up from breakfast. As I was loading the dishwasher, Simon walked in.
“Hi, Alex.” He smiled.
“Hey, Simon. What are you doing here?”
“I ran the number for that Ryan guy.”
“And?” I placed my hands firmly on the counter.
“Did he tell you his last name?”
“Yeah. He said it was Scotsman.”
“Another lie,” Simon spoke.
“Can I make you a cup of coffee?” I asked.
“Sure. Thank you.”
I popped a k-cup into the Keurig while he went into the refrigerator and took out the creamer.
“His name is Ryan Dolce, he’s thirty-five, and he lives in Los Angeles with his wife.”
“Thirty-five? He doesn’t look thirty-five.” I turned to the Keurig, took his cup and handed it to him.
“Thanks. Well, he is. Did he tell you what he does for work?”
“He said he worked the day shift at LabCorp as a microbiologist. That’s why we could never video chat until nighttime.”
He stood there and shook his head.
“He’s a car salesman at his father’s dealership, not a microbiologist. His wife works the afternoon shift at a hospital. That’s why you could video chat with him at night.”
“That son of a bitch. I am so stupid.” I gripped the edge of the counter.
“No, Alex. You’re not stupid. Unfortunately, these guys do shit like this all the time. You talked to him via video chat, phone conversations and text messages. You had no reason to believe he was lying to you.”
“I should have demanded to see his driver’s license or something.”
“There are so many con-artists out there. You never transferred him any money or anything, did you?”
“No.”
“Good. You just need to put all that behind you and forget about it. He’s a scumbag and not worth it. I’m sorry he did that to you.”
“Me too.” I looked up at the ceiling as tears formed in my eyes.
“Hey.” Simon reached over and placed his hand on mine. “Don’t let it upset you. You have to look at the brighter side of all this.”
“Which is?”
“You wouldn’t be here with us and taking care of my niece.” His lips formed a soft smile.
“Thanks, Simon.”
“You’re welcome. I have to get back to the station. I thought you deserved to know who he really was so you can forget about him and move on.”
He turned and headed for the door.
“Simon?”
“Yeah?” he looked at me.
“Did you run a background check on me?”
“I did.”
“Good. I have nothing to hide.”
“I know you don’t. You’re a good person Alessandra Clark, and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.” He gave me a wink and walked out the door.
After I cleaned up the kitchen, living room and two bathrooms, I decided to leave a little early to pick Lily up from school to beat the madness of the traffic. After punching the address into the GPS in the rental car, I arrived a half hour early and pulled into a parking space. I waited until ten minutes before the bell rang, climbed out of the car and walked up to where I saw a group of moms standing. I could feel the stares and hear the whispers as they looked me up and down.
“Is there something you’d all like to ask me?” I arched my brow at them.
One mother stepped forward in her designer short outfit and designer heels. Who wears heels to pick their kid up from school?
“We heard you’re Lily Kind’s new nanny.”
“I am.”
“It’s so sad about Nanny Kate. We also heard you’re living in the home with Lily and her father.”
“I am.”