by Jenna Brandt
Nanny for the Billionaire
Billionaire of Manhattan Series
Jenna Brandt
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Locale and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, or actual locations is purely coincidental. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email [email protected].
Text copyright © Jenna Brandt 2019.
Cover design by Josephine Blake
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
A Note from the Author
Also by Jenna Brandt
Join My Mailing List and Reader’s Group
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise for Jenna Brandt
I am always excited when I see a new book by Jenna Brandt.
Lori Dykes, Amazon Customer
Jenna Brandt is, in my estimation, the most gifted author of Christian fiction in this generation!
Paula Rose Michelson, Fellow Author
Ms. Brandt writes from the heart and you can feel it in every page turned.
Sandra Sewell White, Longtime Reader
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To all those who love modern day fairytales.
Let’s dream together.
Prologue
The sound of loud contemporary music coming out of the large metal building in the heart of SoHo took Roger Boswell by surprise.
When his best friend, Bryce Montgomery, invited him to come to Journey Church a couple months back, Roger had thought the idea sounded appealing. Bryce, however had become exceptionally busy due to his move to LA to be near his fiancée, Lana Collins. Subsequently, Roger hadn’t seen much of his best friend lately. Granted, they kept in touch via texts and emails, but there was nothing like spending time with Bryce in person.
After jeopardizing his friendship by secretly working with Bryce’s ex-girlfriend to get Bryce to take her back, Roger made it his mission to prove he had learned his lesson and was trying to change. When Roger saw the look of betrayal on Bryce’s face, he wanted to kick his own rear for being so selfish and giving in to Gabrielle’s blackmail.
For years, Roger had lived under the fear that someone would find out about his secret child with an escort, so when Gabrielle threatened to tell the tabloids about it, Roger freaked out. He clamored to do whatever she asked to keep her from following through. He was grateful every day that Bryce decided to forgive the idiotic decisions Roger made a few months back.
“You ready to go inside?” Bryce probed, glancing skeptically at Roger. “I think you’ll feel right at home here. It’s very modern; you’ll almost feel like you’re at a night club.”
Roger doubted that. His only experience with church was being forced by his parents to be an altar boy because it looked good. As soon as he was an adult, he got out as quickly as he could and never looked back. Still, with how much Bryce had changed for the better since going back to church, Roger wanted to believe he had the wrong idea about the whole God-thing.
“For you, I’ll keep an open mind,” Roger promised, pulling down on the edge of his navy-blue Versace suit jacket and adjusting the collar of his white shirt. He might be going into an unfamiliar place, but that didn’t mean he had to look awful doing it.
As the best friends entered the building, Roger realized Bryce hadn’t been exaggerating. The massive room had exposed metal beams and industrial décor, along with an electronically lit stage with movie screens on either side. It could hold its own with any posh nightclub in Manhattan.
People greeted them as they made their way through the foyer, several of them stating how great it was to see Bryce and also asking how Lana was doing.
They approached the doors leading into the next room. An older woman with graying brown hair and a friendly smile stopped them. She handed each of them a folded piece of paper with the church’s name on it. Like the rest, she asked after Lana.
“She’s doing great, Diane. She loves working on her new television show.”
“I can’t believe how our own Lana has made such a big name for herself in such a short time,” Diane stated with a smile.
“We both feel blessed that her show is an international hit,” Bryce said. “Lana deserves all the wonderful praise and accolades she’s been receiving.”
“I can’t agree more,” the woman stated, then glancing over at Roger, she changed the subject by asking, “And who have you brought with you today, Bryce?”
Roger was grateful the woman was older and had a ring on her finger. She looked curious rather than predatory. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a flock of women bothering him because they recognized him due to his social status.
“This is Roger Boswell. He’s one of my oldest friends,” Bryce introduced him. “This is his first time coming to church.”
“Well, any friend of yours is sure to fit in here,” the woman said, “and I’m sure you’ll enjoy Pastor Greg’s message today,” she added, turning her attention to Roger. “He doesn’t get caught up in all the social media nonsense like the rest of us. We have our fair share of well-known people around here, but I try to tell my granddaughter all the time, people aren’t always what they seem on the internet or in the magazines.”
So much for staying under the radar because she obviously recognized him. Roger forced himself to suppress the sigh threatening to release from under his breath. He liked attention, but he didn’t really want to deal with it today. He was hoping not to have to get into defending himself considering most of the posts about his life were filled with drinking, carousing, and outlandish-spending. He doubted anyone around this place would approve.
“As a matter-of-fact, you should meet her, Mr. Boswell. She’s close to your age and I think the two of you might hit it off,” the older woman continued. “I think she’s around here somewhere,” the woman stated, her eyes darting around the room.
“We need to be getting inside, Diane, before the service starts,” Bryce interrupted, cutting the woman off before she forced Roger to make it clear Roger wasn’t there to meet women.
He wasn’t sure why he was there, but it wasn’t to date. He wasn’t stupid enough to do that. There was no way he wanted to deal with all the pitfalls and rules he was certain would come along with getting mixed up with a religious girl. He liked to keep dating casual with women who felt the same. Emotionally investing in someone wasn’t his style.
The older woman nodded as she tried to mask the disappointment on her face. Roger avoided making eye contact as they slipped past her and through the double doors.
<
br /> “Sorry about all of that, Diane means well. She tends to get involved in everyone’s lives more than she probably should.”
“I appreciate the save,” Roger said, running his fingers through his blond hair. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of that. I had flashes of a shotgun wedding coming my way.”
Bryce let out a chuckle as he shook his head. “It doesn’t really work that way around here, and besides, I don’t think Diane’s granddaughter would let it get that far. She’s a good girl.”
Exactly, Roger thought to himself. That’s all there is around here, and it’s exactly what I don’t want.
It didn’t matter anyway; Roger was here for a whole other reason. He wanted to figure out why coming here changed Bryce, and once he did, if there was any merit to it.
Just as Roger and Bryce took seats towards the back of the room, several people made their way onto the large black stage at the front. As they took positions behind keyboards, drums, and guitars, Roger realized they must be musicians. He wasn’t used to that from the Catholic churches he had attended. He tilted his head to the side as he waited to see what they did. What type of music was it going to be; all rigid and monotone? From the attire, he guessed it would be contemporary since they were all dressed in trendy styles.
The music came pumping through the speakers, and Roger quickly realized that the band could perform as well as any current rock band he had heard on the radio. The modern music continued to play as the people gathered in the room sang along. Though Roger didn’t feel comfortable enough to sing, he noted if he had wanted to, there were words appearing on the screens next to the stage that would have made it possible.
Once the music ended, a video played telling about future events and meet-ups happening at the church. Next, a man wearing a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt came to stand behind a glass podium in the center of the stage. He placed a book and notepad down as he looked up and grinned.
“Good morning, Journey Church, it’s good to see all of your smiling faces today. Can you believe summer is over and we’re approaching fall again? A whole year has gone by and the busy season of the holidays will be here soon. Before that happens, we get to enjoy my favorite time of the year. I love when the leaves change color, the crisp autumn air falls all over the city, and we get to watch the kids—and even a few adults—prance around in costumes. Are you ready for it, Journey Church?”
The pastor spent the rest of the time talking about change and how anyone can become a better person if they just give their lives to God.
By the end of the service, Roger wondered if the problem hadn’t been going to church as much as attending the wrong one. He wasn’t sure if he could explain why, but when Bryce asked him if he wanted to come back the next week, he automatically said yes without hesitation. He had a feeling the more he went to Journey Church, the closer he would get to finding what he was missing—the same thing that changed his best friend’s life just a few months back.
Celeste Allen pressed her lips together as she held back the scolding she wanted to unleash. The throbbing in her left foot was a harsh reminder that her new roommate, Megan West, was getting on her last nerve. If she was going to make her living arrangement work; however, she was going to have to find a way to get along with the other actress. That was easier said than done though, particularly when Megan constantly left her gym bag, dirty dishes, and shoes all over the common space of their SoHo apartment.
Gingerly, Celeste lifted her leg and rubbed her stubbed toe as she sent up a silent prayer to find the right words to address the latest problem. As kindly as she could manage, Celeste asked, “Hey, Megan, do you mind putting your gym bag in your room? This is the second time this week I’ve tripped over it coming into the apartment.”
Megan glanced over from the couch where she was watching television. “It’s not in the way.”
“My big toe would beg to differ,” Celeste countered, narrowing her green eyes in irritation.
“Well, I leave it by the coat rack so it’s easy to get to when I’m heading out,” Megan stated dismissively, before turning her attention back to the TV.
Celeste was already tired from a long night at work and didn’t want to get into a fight with Megan. If she pushed the other girl, that’s exactly what was going to happen. Celeste shook her head and marched towards her bedroom on the other side of the small apartment, shutting the door firmly behind her. She threw herself on her bed, causing her blonde curls to spray out around her as she let out a heavy sigh.
Though Celeste wouldn’t necessarily call herself a neat-freak, she definitely liked to keep everything in its place. It was what made living with Lana Collins, her best friend and previous roommate, so great. They both liked to keep a clutter-free home.
Megan was exactly the opposite. She didn’t seem to understand that being messy bothered Celeste. She was always too busy running around late for an acting class, an audition, or a temporary job as an assistant, to help keep the place up.
If Celeste could afford the place on her own, she wouldn’t have gotten another roommate. When Lana got a job across the country, Celeste was left to scramble to find somebody. Her first roommate, Tracy, was great, but she moved back home after breaking her leg doing a stunt in a movie—a hazard of being a stunt woman, she supposed—so Celeste was left alone again. When she started asking around again at acting class, Megan said she needed a new place. It seemed like a good idea since they got along fine in class, but once Megan moved in, Celeste quickly realized that not all friends make good roommates.
Lana offered to help Celeste out with rent if she needed to ask Megan to move out, but Celeste didn’t do handouts. She’d been on her own since she was eighteen when her mother kicked her out. She had fought tooth-and-nail to survive on her own and didn’t take anything from anyone back then; she wasn’t going to start all these years later. She would just have to make it work with Megan.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, prompting Celeste to pull it out and look at the screen. Excitement filled her heart as she answered the call.
“Lana, I’m so glad it’s you,” Celeste squealed into the phone. “You have no idea how good your timing is.”
“What’s going on?” her friend asked from the other end of the call. “Is it the audition you went on earlier this week?”
“Well, now that you brought up the audition, I have something else to bum me out, but no that’s not it.”
“So, it’s got to be Megan then,” Lana stated with certainty.
“Yep, you guessed it.”
“What did she do this time?”
While twirling one of her curls on her finger, Celeste explained what happened.
“You know, the offer still stands for you to come out here. I can get you a role on my show. Between your looks and acting skills, it would be an easy sell to the producers.”
Her friend was good at flattering her, but Celeste knew it took more than unique looks and years of acting classes to make it in the industry. Even with Celeste’s unusual combination of sun-kissed skin and petite curvy frame from her mother’s Cuban heritage to her blonde curls and green eyes from her father’s Swedish side, it hadn’t been enough to get her a dream role.
“Thanks for the offer, Lana, but I’m not ready to give up on Broadway yet. If I did, I know I would always regret it.”
“Well, the offer doesn’t have a timeclock. You can change your mind any time.”
Celeste didn’t want to get into the other reason she wouldn’t accept Lana’s offer. Beyond Broadway, Celeste wanted to make it on her own. Taking a job she didn’t earn just because her best friend could pull some strings was something Celeste just couldn’t accept. She had too much pride for that.
“How are things going with Bryce?” Celeste inquired, opting to change the subject rather than focus on her epic failure of a life for one more minute.
“Great, plans for the wedding are going good. Did you get my latest email with the flower op
tions?”
“I did, and I think you did a great job. Of course, I should have known you would go with peonies.”
“Well, it was the flower he gave me that turned my opinion of Bryce,” Lana agreed. “We couldn’t have any other. Did you get your dress fitted?”
“I’ll get into the shop this week to get it done. It’s just been crazy between my auditions, acting classes, and work at the catering company and The Spot. Rick’s been on the war path and complains all the time that no server is as good as Lana Collins.”
“You have to be joking,” Lana said with a laugh, “I almost lost my job before moving to LA. There’s no way Rick misses me.”
“Hey, that wasn’t your fault, and Rick now knows it was Bryce’s crazy ex-girlfriend that caused all those problems.”
“True. She was a real piece of work, but it kind of wasn’t her fault considering her diagnosis. I’m just glad she’s getting the help she needs at the mental health hospital up north.”
“Agreed. Nobody goes around attacking people the way she did if they were in a healthy state of mind.”
“Well, I have to go,” Lana said with audible disappointment. “I have an early call-time tomorrow.”
“Yep, and you need your beauty rest and all. You don’t want any bags showing up under the lights.”
“Nothing my makeup artist can’t handle, but it’s not worth taking the chance. I’ll check back in with you later this week. Hang in there, Celeste. Oh, and I have an idea about the whole Megan situation. What if you invited her to go to church with you tomorrow? Bryce will be there since he’s in town, so you’ll have support.”