by Wood, Lauren
Betty was the type of girl that was very underwhelming. She wasn't very strong in presence, almost like she wasn't even there at all. It was hard to do with a woman that looked like Betty. And everything about her was understated and it was easy for thoughts of her to sneak in without even really being conscious of them. I wasn't drooling over her, but she had left a seed in my mind that was growing into something more.
When I got home that evening, I found the two of them doing each other’s hair. My daughter had done a number on Betty and her understated ways were no more. She now had dark eye makeup on and her hair was curled. It was certainly a different way to see her and I knew that it was just going to make it easier for my mind to go in that direction. It really wasn't hard at all.
“What do you think?”
“It looks good Ophelia. You are really getting good at that.”
I also mentioned that her make-up looked good as well. I didn't like that she was wearing any at all, but it was downplayed much like Betty was. For some reason, that wasn't so bad in my eyes.
Betty got up and told Ophelia that she had to go.
Ophelia turned to her, and she asked her to stay several times.
I finally had to step in and remind her that that she would be back the next day.
“Nannies never stay. I want to spend time with her before she goes.”
“I'm going to be your nanny for a while Ophelia, but soon you won't need one at all. I will be here tomorrow. You will see.”
I was thankful for the help. Sometimes it was hard to explain to Ophelia something. She didn't want to listen to me, but for one reason or another, she was listening to Betty. It really made things a lot easier.
Betty left and me and my daughter went out to see a movie. The house was quiet and I always liked it better when we went out and got some dinner and for once, we made it all the way to dessert. I don't know if it was something that Betty was doing or if it was something about me telling her that was why she didn't get dessert before. Either way, I was happy for the small win and I was going to take it. Nowadays a small win with Ophelia, was better than any business deal.
We got home, and it wasn't long before it was time to go to bed. It was getting late and I should have been going to bed myself. I had several meetings in the morning, more than usual because I had to make up the ones that I had pushed to the side before. I was still in catch-up mode.
Going downstairs to lock the front door and get my phone, I was startled with the doorbell going off. I didn't know who it was and how they got up here this late in evening. I don't know why my front gate man would let them through.
I was rather shocked to open it and find Betty there in front of me. She wasn’t all dressed up like she had been when she was working with Ronald or earlier in the day when she was here. Betty had her hair down, much the same way that it was when she left out of here but there was something a little sexier about it. The red dress she was wearing hugged her curves. It was certainly a completely different vibe. Betty had transformed right in front of me and it took a few mild promptings to get my mind to work again.
“Sorry Betty, what did you say?”
“I left my phone here earlier and I was supposed to meet somebody. I really need to get my phone, so I can get the address or at least the number so I can call him.”
She mentioned something about being lost without her phone and I moved about a foot to the left to let her in. I should have moved more, but I couldn't seem to get my bearings. My brain was sending out the signals, but there was nothing there to receive it. Who the hell was this woman?
Betty
There was definitely something different in my new employer's eyes. I had fought with the idea of coming here at all, but I really did need my phone. And I didn't have the time to change again when I left. I was already late. I was supposed to meet a person that my friend was setting me up with, but it didn't seem so important at the moment. Not when Alex was looking at me with those eyes.
He was still standing by the door when I got back, and I thanked him again, apologizing for wasting his time.
“I will see you tomorrow, okay?”
He nodded his head and was still standing there when I walked out. It wasn't just desire that was high, but a hunger in his eyes that I couldn't even fathom feeling. I don't think I'd ever seen an expression like that in my life. Having it pointed towards me was a lot to take on.
I got in my car and got out of there before I did something stupid. Every time I was around Alex, I felt like I did something that was so out of character for me. I was used to getting men's attention because of what I did for a living, but this was different. It was so different because I wanted to go along with it. It went against everything that I believed in, but at the moment, I just didn’t care.
Bobby was eager to get my call. I felt bad that I was already late for our date, but he seemed to be gracious enough about it. It reminded me of how pissed off I got when people were late, and I was thankful that he wasn't like me. He sounded nice on the phone. Maybe too nice.
When I got to the restaurant, I was surprised. It was not at all what I expected from Bobby Martin, one of the biggest real estate giants in the city, to take me to. The restaurant was some little hole in the wall type of place and the floors were concrete. The walls are unfinished, and it wasn't like it was new but like it had just been through the ringer. Why would he take me to a place like this?
Getting to the table, I saw the dark-haired tall man stand up and shake my hand. He said something about me being as beautiful as Desiree had described and all I could do was smile. He may be full of shit, but at least he was good at it.
“Thank you. I have heard nothing but good things from her about you as well. I think if Desiree wasn't be married, she’d have married you for herself.”
“We tried, once, but it didn’t work out. Desiree wasn’t really my type in some ways.”
I was not happy to hear that. I certainly didn’t want to be with someone that had been with my best friend. Why had Desiree kept that from me? And why would she set me up with this guy? He seemed nice in the beginning and maybe still was, but I certainly wasn’t going to be able to think of him in a romantic way. The information of him being with Desiree, kind of killed it for me.
The rest of the evening was forced, and I bowed out after dessert. It was one of the longest dates of my life, even though it hadn’t been bad. It had just been a waste of time. I even insisted on catching a cab home, just so I wouldn’t have to talk to him anymore. Desiree was certainly going to hear about it in the morning. Running around after a kid was exhausting and I was ready for a new day. I was over this one.
“So how was your hot date?”
“Excuse me?”
His words caught me off guard and I looked over to where Ophelia had been. I was thankful that she had left the room.
“You know your hot date. The one that you were going on last night.”
“I didn't tell you that I was going on a date.”
“I didn't say a date Betty. I said a hot date. You were dressed to kill, so where else would you be going?”
I knew that it was because of the dress. It was just sort of dress that a woman wore to attract a man's attention and it was certainly the reason that I had put it on. If I would have known that it was all going to be a waste of time, I wouldn't have made the effort. Though I could see that I at least got the attention of one man.
I didn't think that getting my boss intrigued, was the way to go about things. I didn't want to complicate things further and he was already hard to work around. I didn't see him that much as it was and every time I did, I would shake a little bit inside, drop things and not be able to speak.
“Well it was just a date. It didn’t turn into anything hot though. Not by a long shot.”
“What was wrong with him?”
“Besides the fact that he had already had sex with my best friend?”
Alex made a face and then smile
d. “So, you don't like to share?”
“No, I guess I don't.”
I knew that rich guys like Alex would not understand why that was. They never did seem too, and they all seemed to cheat. I know that it was more than just a stereotype because I had work with so many of them before. It was a stereotype for a reason.
“I can't say that I like to either.”
“I didn't think that a guy like you would ever have to be in a situation like that.”
“Money doesn't buy loyalty.”
It was one of the truest things that I had ever heard said. I’d certainly felt that way before and since I had no loyalty to anybody that I worked with, I could very well see the validity of situation
“No, I guess that it doesn't. Not that way anyways.”
“So, what was so bad about the date besides that? I can’t see him, not going along with everything, the way you were dressed. He should have been eating out of the palm of your hand.”
“Not really much of anything was wrong with it. The guy was nice enough. Maybe a little too nice.”
Alex shook his head like he didn't understood, and I waited for him to elaborate. I thought what I had said was pretty straightforward. There's just some people that were too nice. It was hard to be around them for some reason because most likely the self-reflection was never as positive.
“Why do women say things like that? They say they want a nice guy but then they say that a guy is too nice. What does that even mean?”
“It's not that complicated. We like a guy that isn't a jerk to everyone and us, but at the same time, we don’t want a pushover. We can’t feel safe if the guy is a coward. Or worse he just lets other people walk all over him. There is no safety in that scenario, and marriage is supposed to be about security and safety.”
“What about love?”
“Not many of those marriages exist for very long. Safety and security is far easier to find them love.”
“Skeptic much?”
“At times yes.”
I wanted to say something about the fact that his wife wasn't here now, and he was a single dad, so obviously it hadn’t worked for him. But I would never say that out loud. I knew better. It didn't matter who he was to me, that was not something that I should ever say.
“Well I think I'm going to go. I will see you in the morning. I forgot to ask you if you were going to work Saturday?”
“Are you available?”
“I have a few things planned that I would rather not break.”
“Then don’t. I won't work Betty. I have gotten more done the last couple of days because I haven't had to stress about anything. That will be just fine, and I will see you Monday.”
I smiled at him, but I didn't linger any longer. There was something about him that bothered me anyways and I wanted to put a little distance between us.
Alex
There was a lot of things going on right now but none of it was as confusing as what was going on with my nanny. She was a woman that I didn't understand at all and I was not used to being in this sort of situation. I was used to having whatever the hell I wanted and she had become one of the many things on that list. The only problem was that she was one of the only things on that list that I couldn't get right away.
Even worse, I might not be able to get her at all. For the first time in a long time, I was far more worried about long term consequences then the moment. I was a man that liked to live in the moment and it was part of the reason that I liked business so much. In business, I got a rush from all the deals and all the money moving around.
But this chick she was something else altogether. She was getting to me and every night when she left, I still thought about her long after she was gone. I was still thinking about her when her perfume had left the house. It was maddening, especially when I knew that staying away from those complications was the best for everyone, I didn’t like putting boundaries on myself.
I was Alex Smith and I didn’t have boundaries.
“Alex, you have a call on line three.”
“I’m kind of busy Angela, who is it?”
“It’s the nanny, Betty.”
I stared at the blinking light, more afraid then I had been in a very long time. I didn’t want the call to be the one that had gotten so many times before. The two were getting along at the moment, but that didn’t mean that things wouldn’t change.
The truth was that I didn't want to answer because I was afraid of what she was going to say. Had my daughter finally lost her marbles in front of Betty as well? Had she decided that she didn't want a nanny anymore? Why was she calling? Why can I make billions of dollars, but I couldn't control an eleven-year-old girl?
“Hello?”
“Hey Alex. This is Betty. I just wanted to get ahold of you really quick and see what time you're going to be back from work.”
“Did you have to leave early?”
“No, nothing like that. But they just set up a new ice-skating rink on the other side of town and I was thinking about taking Ophelia. She really wants to go, and some of her friends are going to be there. It might run until about eight or nine o'clock. Are you cool with that?”
I was to having a coronary here, so of course I was okay with that. I had been so afraid that she was calling to quit for one reason or another, that all I could do was shake my head. It took me a minute to realize that she couldn't see me, so I finally found my voice and told her that it was fine.
“Are you alright? You don't sound very good.”
“No, I'm fine. I will let you get to it. I know that she is in good hands, so you guys take as long as you want.”
I hung up and felt the weight of the world coming off of my shoulders. I was so primed for something bad to happen, that it was so hard for me to say something good. I really had to get my mind off of Betty in that sense. I never did well with relationships, as proof of the fact that my wife was now my ex and had left the country. The last thing I needed to do was muck this up with romance. As long as I didn't see her anywhere in that damn red dress again, I think I was going to be fine.
I got home around eight thirty and the house was empty. It was strange because I hadn't seen an empty house in so long. It didn't feel right, and I ended up waiting up for my daughter and the nanny to get home. It was a little after nine, but it felt like I've been waiting for hours.
“I was wondering if you were going to be here. Glad we didn't wake you up. I'm going to take off Alex. I will see you on Monday.”
I agreed, and she was gone before I had another thought about her. Ophelia was looking up at me and smiling. I know that she was only eleven but I could swear sometimes, she could read my mind.
“Up to bed young lady. It's getting late.”
“Do you want to invite Betty to stay for a little while?”
I looked at her a little strangely and told her that Betty had just left.
“But I think that you two should spend some time together.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I'm getting at the fact that mom is not coming back. And I like Betty.”
Once again, she knew more than she was supposed to know. She also said it so matter-of-factly like because she liked Betty, we were now going to be together. It was all so simple to her, not knowing that it was not so easy. Did I wish that it was?
“I don't think that's a good idea.”
“I do dad.”
She had this mischievous look at her face and I knew that it wasn't going to end well. I was doing a good enough job messing up my own romantic life. The last thing I needed was my eleven-year-old daughter, trying to do the same.
Although, I had to admit that there wasn't that much of a chance that she would do any worse. I'd done a pretty good job of messing it up all by myself.
Betty
Desiree was having a party at her house and I felt like it was a perfect time to talk to her about the date she had sent me on with Bobby. The guy was nice and all, but the fact
that she had been with him was something that I thought needed to be brought out. In general, I just wanted her to stop trying to hook me up with anybody. She needed to understand that I was happy being alone. The last relationship I was in went south, and I didn’t want to get wrapped up in something as complicated as Alex. I liked the single life because it was a simple life.
I dressed up because it was nice to have a chance to. Before, when I worked with businessmen, I was used to getting dressed up or at least more so than I was now. Now I worked as a nanny and I have to say, that my wardrobe was definitely suffering greatly from it. It was hard to get dressed up to go teach math and make finger sandwiches.
There was also the fact that my boss was hard to be around, especially when I was dressed up. The way he looked at me in that red dress was something that I wasn't going to be able to forget for a while. Instead of promoting that, I had been dressing down a little bit to combat that. It was just easier that way and there was less energy running between us.
But now, as I was talking to a couple of guys and a party later that evening, I realized that I should have stuck with that. I didn’t want these guys’ attention because I really wasn’t interested.
Maybe it wasn't the quality of men that was coming into my life, that made me pause now. It was becoming clear to me that I had someone in particular on my mind and I was measuring every other guy up against him. Considering that he was a handsome, articulate, charismatic, billionaire, I thought that it was a lot to ask of normal folk.
“Thanks for telling me about that Mario. I will think about it and get back to you. I see my friend over there and I must say hi.”