by Alexa Davis
“I’m going to New York,” I whispered to myself. “I’m actually going to New York; this is amazing.”
***
Oh, my goodness, this is everything, I thought to myself like an excitable child as I sat in the back of one of those wonderful yellow cabs, driving me through New York. This is just like I thought it would be.
It wasn’t anything like home with the towering buildings, the glittering skyline, the excitement. New York had with it an atmosphere that I couldn’t quite put words to, but it felt amazing. I always worried that the city might not live up to what I hoped that it would be, but now that I was here, it felt like something more. It felt like I was in a movie or a book; I was a heroine in a wonderful story that was only just beginning. For someone who’s life felt like it had been at an end for far too long, this was absolutely perfect.
“So, the nearest motel?” the cab driver asked me gruffly. “That’s where you want?”
With the minimal amount of dollars sitting in my pocket I didn’t have much choice. I couldn’t afford to stay anywhere fancy, which was a shame. I would have loved to sit on one of the balconies from one of the posh hotels staring over New York, but it was fine. If I made a success of this, it would be my home; I would live here. I would get to do all the things that I wanted to do then.
“Yes, please,” I replied with an excitable puppy dog nod. “That sounds perfect.”
As we pulled up outside the motel, I felt like I had some real freedom. I paid the cab driver and ordered myself a room. It wasn’t lovely, the bed didn’t look comfortable, and there was certainly no glamour about it, but none of that mattered. I was here, in my dream city. I was living a little bit of my dream.
Unfortunately, a wave of exhaustion hit me as I finally got into the room, one so powerful I knew that mean I couldn’t explore the city tonight. It was starting to get late anyway; I could easily sleep now and enjoy myself tomorrow. I had my interview in the afternoon, which left me all morning to enjoy myself.
I fell onto the bed in a heap, smiling to myself as I tried to work out just what I would do with the free time that I had. There were so many things that I wanted to see. I couldn’t do it all, but at least I could do some. I just needed to decide what my priority was to see what I wanted to do first of all.
God, I want this man to hire me, I thought desperately. Now that I’m here, I want it even more. I have to do whatever it takes to get it.
Chapter Three
Mark
Tuesday
What am I still doing here? I tapped my foot angrily beneath the coffee table as I waited very impatiently for the girl to turn up. I am giving her ten more minutes, and that is it. After that, she can suck it.
The only reason I hadn’t bolted already was because I needed someone to start looking after Justine right away, and I felt like this girl… Olivia, I thought her name might be, gave the most honest answers. I didn’t trust anyone who bragged about themselves as if they were the best thing in the world. I’d fallen for that before when it came to company employees, and they always turned out to be a nightmare. All bark and no bite. Not what I needed in the person looking after my child. I needed someone who was true to themselves.
But if someone didn’t come soon, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Tokyo was waiting; I still had some stuff that I needed to get done at the office before I went. This was all starting to become a nightmare…
Just as I swigged back the last dregs of my coffee and I was about to shove my chair backward, the door to the café flew open and a woman with wind-swept ashy blonde hair flew inside.
“Oh, my goodness.” Her sparkly blue eyes fell on me right away as I sat at the exact table I said I would be at. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be late, only this is my first time in New York, and I didn’t know where I was going. I got a bit sidetracked, thinking that I had more time, then I ended up lost…” All of a sudden, she started to realize that she was rambling, which wasn’t the best start to a job interview, if I did say so myself. “Anyway, I’m here now. Thank you so much for waiting for me. I know how unprofessional it is to be late.”
She plonked down in the chair in front of me very ungracefully. I ran my eyes up and down her, examining her critically. She looked younger than me, I would say that I had at least a decade on her, and she had a very disorganized look about her, which was only highlighted by the fact that she was late. I didn’t like that one bit. I couldn’t stand tardiness in any of my employees; it made for sloppy work. In my mind, I had already turned her down, but I needed to go through the formalities anyway. It was the right thing to do.
“Olivia Menton, is it?” She nodded. “I’m Mark Rylance. It’s good to meet you.” I held out a hand to her, and she shook it anxiously. I stared down at her pale, almost translucent skin as I did. She had an interesting look about her, one that screamed more ‘small-town girl’ than ‘big-city New Yorker.’ “Do you have a resume?”
She reached into her bag and pulled out one very pristine piece of paper that didn’t have much on it. “Here. Sorry, it’s a bit… thin.” That was an understatement. “But like I said in my application, family commitments have always been a bit of an issue for me, so I haven’t been able to push myself further.”
I never liked to delve into the personal issues of other people, whether they were working for me or not, but this time I had to. I needed to know if these problems were going to be an ongoing thing. I didn’t really want to have to continue down a cycle of hiring a selection of nannies now that my mom was gone. I wanted just one.
“Do you mind if I ask you more about that? Only, I think it’s better to start off as honestly as possible.”
“No, it’s fine.” She sucked in a deep breath of air before continuing. “Once I finished my childcare qualifications, I wanted to go into teaching. I was actually offered a job back in Virginia, but I was debating whether or not to take it because I wanted to move away from home; you know how it is.” I gave her a blank look. I didn’t know how it was. I hadn’t ever wanted to leave New York. “But just before I could do anything, my father… he collapsed.” She glanced her eyes downwards, unable to look at me. “He ended up getting very sick and he needed constant care. I took that on to help my mother and instead took a part-time job at the local pre-school.” I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel about this. “Then, eighteen months ago, he passed away and my mom… well, she just gave up. She couldn’t function, she didn’t seem to know how to do anything anymore, so I had to look after her too. At least, I did until five months ago…”
I didn’t need to ask what had happened five months ago as it was written all over her face, and while I didn’t have the same closeness with my own parents, I felt like we could understand one another, just a little bit. We had both suffered devastating losses that would change us as people forever. Her more than me, I was sure of it, but still. I couldn’t pretend that all these deaths hadn’t affected me at all. If I was a better person, maybe I would’ve said something comforting in that moment, something to let her know that she wasn’t alone in her pain, but unfortunately, that wasn’t me. I wouldn’t ever be the one to leave myself raw and exposed like that.
“I see, well that is… terrible,” I replied stiffly instead. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
Olivia gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay. I’m learning to get by every day. But that’s why I want to come to New York to finally start my career. I have the education, and although it might not seem like it compared to other candidates you’ve had, I do have the experience as well. I know what I’m doing. I can work with anyone, even tough kids…” Her face flamed as she realized what she’d said. “Not that I’m suggesting your child is…”
I smirked to myself. There was something endearing about this woman, and I didn’t mind that. I didn’t think that someone with robotic emotions would serve Justine well. I was already like that, and she was becoming that way herself. I needed someone who could be a little more vulnerabl
e with herself. It seemed that Olivia could do that just fine. She didn’t seem to mind how she came across at all. It was endearing to say the least.
“Right, I see.” I nodded gravely. “So, you have the education and a little bit of experience…”
“But good experience.” She was determined, I had to give her that. “Useful experience.”
“I see, and you have nothing holding you back at the moment?” She hesitated for just a moment and bit down on her bottom lip. But then she shook her head no. I didn’t bother to ask her what the pause was for; I didn’t need to know. “Well, that’s good news. I think that you should start today, don’t you?”
I could tell that it took a couple of moments for this to sink in. Olivia’s face remained blank, then it fell, then it rose into a soaring, excitable expression. “Today? Start?” she gasped in shock. “You want to hire me?”
Sure, I hadn’t bothered to see anyone else, but I didn’t feel like I needed to. I had good instincts. I knew what I wanted and when I found something I liked, I went for it. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something in my gut told me that she would be good for Justine. I wanted to at least give her a try.
“Yes. Why? Do you need to go back to Virginia? Is there anything so important that you can’t start right now?”
“No, I… I’m just stunned, that’s all. I thought that it would be a long-winded process.”
I smirked at her, almost winking as I did. “You’ll soon learn with me that nothing is long-winded. I want to show you my home so you can get used to it; I want to let you know the schedule that she’s been working to at the moment; and I also want to hear if you have any ideas of how to do it better. Of course, I’ll also want to show you your room since this is a live-in position. I did say that on the ad, didn’t I? Yes, I’m sure I did.” I was usually meticulous when it came to details, but this ad had been put up in a hurry. “So, I am certain that you’ll want to get to know your new home a little better. Why not start now?”
I could see her gulp as she digested this. “That’s… sure, yes. I can come with you now.”
“Okay, great, do you need a ride there?” I pulled out my SUV keys and waved them at her.
“Oh, no, actually I hired a car. I thought it might make things easier, but of course, it just made me late.”
She’d hired a car; that was smart even if it hadn’t worked out. It meant she had some common sense, which would also work in her favor. I could cover the cost of the hire car or maybe even get her something to drive around for when she was looking after my daughter. Either way, that was something I could worry about later.
“Okay, so you’ll have to follow me,” I smirked playfully. “I’ll drive slow since you obviously aren’t used to the New York roads yet. But don’t worry too much about that; it’ll come once you get used to it. The more time you spend on the road with the traffic and the road rage, the easier it becomes.”
She had a starry-eyed look about her, one that intrigued me. She was quite cute, really. She had a sweet face and a bit of innocence to her. I found myself wanting to peel back the layers to know more about her… but in an employee way, not in a weird way. That was a mistake that I never made. Dipping the pen in company ink. I’d seen people do it, I’d witnessed the mess that it could make, and that would never be me.
“Right, yes, of course.” She looked a little bewildered again. I hoped that wouldn’t last too long. Much as it was sweet, I wanted the switched-on fiery version of her that caught my attention in the first place. That spark that made her special. “That’ll be fine; I’m sure I won’t have any trouble whatsoever with following you.”
As we left the café, I found myself glad that I’d stayed. It had led to what would hopefully be a really good thing. I tried to imagine Olivia and Justine connecting, but the image was hazy. I guessed that was just one of those things that I would get used to as time went on. It was weird, extending childcare to outside of the family; this would be the first time that had ever happened, and I really needed it to go well.
I didn’t want to be the guy who was angry at everyone for dying on him and leaving me with all the responsibilities, but a part of me was. That was why I needed someone to take off some of the load. I just didn’t have any choice; I couldn’t do this alone. I didn’t know how to parent Justine. I only knew how to make her money for her future. This was the only way.
Chapter Four
Olivia
It wasn’t easy to follow Mark through the traffic. I really wasn’t used to driving through the city at all, but I felt utterly determined that it wouldn’t be the reason things fell through. I’d been offered this job in a whirlwind of an interview, and much as it wasn’t expected, I didn’t want to let it go now. Sure, I’d expected to head back home tonight, but this was okay. Now that I was in New York, I didn’t want to go anywhere anyway, so this was okay.
“God damn it,” I muttered to myself as I felt a bubble of frustration building in my stomach. “Don’t lose him now.” If this was him going slow, I’d hate to see his normal driving. “Just be cool, it’s going to be fine.”
Finally, after what felt like forever, he pulled up to a stop in a parking lot, then Mark indicated for me to take the space next to him. I breathed a sigh of relief as I could finally stop the driving… until I glanced up at the building that lay ahead of me. I’d seen a fair few tower blocks of apartments during my time in New York, but none of them were like this. This was serious, wealthy-people stuff. Homes that millionaires lived in. I gulped my emotions back as I tried to picture myself in a place like that, but I just couldn’t see it. I was a country bumkin, not the sort of woman who could be in a luxurious, large apartment with a view of Central Park.
“Right, would you like to follow me?” Mark asked, seeming oblivious to how uncomfortable and out of place I felt. My insides cringed with how weird this all was. “I’ll take you up to my place.”
I walked just behind him as we made it into the building. I was very aware that Mark was talking to me, but my ears buzzed painfully with nerves. I could hardly keep myself standing, never mind anything else. That only got worse once we stood inside. This whole building screamed money; it had marble flooring, golden décor, and an actual mini water fountain in the middle of the reception area… just because. It was crazy. I could only assume that the artwork on the walls was real, rather than reprints, considering what the rest of the place was like.
“This is Lincoln,” Mark announced, introducing me to a tall, slim man with friendly looking eyes. “He’s the doorman, and he’s also the go-to person if you have any problems. Where is your stuff?”
“Erm, hi, Lincoln.” I had stars in my eyes. All of this was overwhelming. “My name is Olivia.”
“And your stuff?” Mark prompted me. “Lincoln will go and get it and bring it up for you.”
I could feel a redness tinging my cheeks. I’d brought a lot considering I didn’t think that I would be in New York for too long, but not enough. I would have to go shopping at the very first opportunity.
“I have a few bits in the car,” I told Lincoln while handing him the key. “It isn’t loads though.”
“That is no trouble whatsoever,” Lincoln replied in a very formal voice. “Nice to meet you, Olivia.”
As Lincoln walked outside, Mark guided me towards the elevator. This wasn’t real life; this was like being on the set of a movie. I kept expecting someone to yell ‘cut’ at any minute and for all the scenery to simply fall away, revealing me still back in Virginia daydreaming about what could happen in my future. People didn’t come to New York to have their life magically fall into place. It was supposed to be hard work.
Even the elevator was incredible, lined with a velvety material. As Mark leaned across to press number twenty, which of course was the top floor, it would have to be the penthouse suite, my heart skipped about ten beats. He then typed a few numbers into a separate keypad, but I was far too stunned to ask anything about that. This was Holly
wood; this was a fantasy; none of this could be real. I didn’t even mind the awkwardness of the quiet between Mark and me. I was simply lost in how wonderful all of this was. I loved New York City!
Eventually, the elevator dinged and the doors flew open revealing the most incredible place that I’d ever seen in my life. It was one of those incredibly cool, sleek apartments from movies or music videos. The sort of place that any self-respecting woman dreamed of ending up in. It made my entire body pulse with excitement.
I flickered my eyes everywhere, drinking it all in. The large television on the wall—the size of a cinema screen—the pristine couch that looked like you would just sink into, the massive windows that looked out onto my favorite city on earth… it was everything. I wanted to sink to the floor in a moment of sheer awe.
“Olivia?” Mark asked, snapping me from my moment of madness. He reminded me that I was here for a job, not to drool over the view. “Would you like to come out of the elevator so that I can show you around?”
I nodded numbly and stepped inside feeling like I was floating on air. I followed Mark into the kitchen—so well equipped, it even had an electric sushi maker—the bathroom that had a wet room instead of simply a shower, the playroom, the storage space, the library (yep, the apartment was so grand it actually had a library of its own), and then towards the bedrooms. He didn’t show me his own, he just pointed it out the same as he did his home office, but he did show me his daughter’s, whom I now knew was named Justine. My first impression was that she had a lot of stuff… but I suppose that made sense given her father clearly had a whole lot of money. I parted my lips, almost making a comment on it, but luckily, I stopped myself just in time. That wasn’t my place to say… or even think. I had to just nod and admire it as if every child had as many toys as that.