Hired by the Unexpected Billionaire

by Susan Meier

  The apartment might be taken by the time she had the necessary cash, but the landlord had said he had another one opening up first of the year. Renter was a deadbeat. Couldn’t pay the monthly allotment.

  She stopped the rush of sympathy for the girl. Marnie was poor too. And she got weekends off. She needed a place—away from her mother. Though, truth be told, now that she had Charlie, Judy Olsen was a lot less negative. She actually went out. Had friends—

  “I see you’re back.”

  Damn it! Her father.

  He hadn’t been here any of the other times she’d brought the twins to the park. Why now?

  He snorted. “Twins this time? You switch jobs like I switch underwear.”

  She gaped at the stupid old coot. “Then you must not change your underwear very often.”

  He laughed, plopped down on the bench and opened his newspaper.

  Of all the unfair things that had happened to her in her life, having him for a father was the one thing she didn’t have to let hover over her head. It was what it was and he shouldn’t be allowed to spook her.

  “You know what, old man?” She called across the space that separated them, causing both of the twins to look up at her. “You shouldn’t laugh at me so much. You’re partially responsible for who I am.”

  He lowered the paper. Scowled at her. “How do you figure that?”

  She bounced off the bench. “Because you’re my dad. You left me when you left my mother. You refused to see me when I came to try to make a connection. You had a maid tell me to leave. And this is who I became. So, get off your high horse. You’re partially responsible for me.”

  He stared at her. “Marnie?”

  She stood tall, defiant. “Yes.”

  He set the paper on the bench and rose as if bemused. “Oh my God.”

  She grabbed the stroller handles. “Yeah, amazing, right? I knew you probably lived around here somewhere. I just never realized we’d run into each other so damned often.”

  “Only a few times.” He studied her. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I wouldn’t have told you who I was if you hadn’t annoyed me so much. I don’t want you in my life. Don’t want anything from you. Except a peaceful visit to the park.”

  She set the stroller in the direction of the Sponskys’ condo. “So, if you see me here, don’t come in. And if I see you got here first, I won’t come in.”

  She left him standing openmouthed in front of his bench.

  But as she strolled her babies back to their home, she couldn’t help remembering the shocked expression on his face. He’d been numb.

  A chuckle rose.

  It didn’t just feel good to stand up to him. It felt good to tell him who she was—

  His daughter.

  The enormity of admitting that almost paralyzed her, and she stopped pushing the stroller. She was a child who’d been abandoned by a wealthy man, who’d gotten confused in her teen years, looked for love all the wrong ways—

  And had been victimized.

  She’d been victimized.

  She wasn’t the criminal here. She wasn’t the one who should be hiding—

  Her breath stuttered.

  Danny was right.

  He was always right.

  Her eyes filled with tears, but she laughed through them. It had taken her weeks to realize he’d had the plan—she had to come clean. But that could only happen after she’d faced her first demon. Her dad.

  Now that that was done, she wanted it all to be over.

  All.

  Of.

  It.

  She wanted her life back.

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket. Hit a speed dial number.

  “This is Marnie Gouse Olsen. I’d like to speak with Jace, please.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MARNIE WALKED THROUGH the lobby of the Trusik Building, home of Lancaster Media, her head high, adrenaline pumping through her. Jace followed her. Not discreetly as he normally did, but beside her like a friend, not a bodyguard.

  They took an elevator to the appropriate floor, spoke to a receptionist and were guided to a small space that looked like someone’s living room. A young, hip producer attached a mic to her collar, then walked away.

  Two minutes later, Angelica Cabala ambled over. Tall and slender, with long red hair, she read some note cards.

  When she reached Marnie, she extended her hand to shake Marnie’s. “Ready?”

  “Actually, the sooner we start the better.”

  “Great.” Angelica nodded once. She straightened in her chair, then faced a camera. “And we’re back,” she said, as if they were just returning from a commercial break, when they were actually taping this segment to air the next morning.

  “Today, we have a special guest. This is the woman who used to be the nanny for Danny Manelli’s son, Rex. As anybody who’s turned on the news lately or read a newspaper knows, Danny is missing Hinton heir number three.”

  “Welcome, Marnie.”

  The camera panned to Marnie. Her chest froze. Her stomach fell. But she thought about Danny. How much he’d been through for her and how she’d run—even though she’d promised herself she’d never run again.

  She sucked in a breath. “Thank you.”

  Angelica opened her delicate hands with fingernails adorned with green nail polish that matched her dress. “Let’s get right to it. You called me and told me that you and Danny had a more personal relationship than employer and employee and that you had a story to tell.”

  Jace had told her that admitting the personal relationship was the quickest, best way to get a reporter to sit up and beg for her story. And he’d been right. Angelica had invited her to come to the studio immediately.

  “So, I’ll ask the question that’s on everyone’s lips... Seriously? A nanny falling for her boss? Isn’t that a bit of a cliché?”

  Danny had told her that. It was his first defense against their attraction. The memory of the day in the park lifted her lips into a goofy smile. Everything she felt for him when they were together tumbled through her.

  “Actually, we both acknowledged that right off the bat. We did not want to be a cliché.”

  “Yet, here you are.”

  “We may be a cliché to you, but we aren’t to each other. You know Danny’s world had been turned upside down. The lives of all three of Mark’s kids were upended.”

  Angelica’s perfect eyebrows rose. “You call realizing you’re filthy rich upended?”

  “Leni, Danny and Charlotte all had life plans. Leni had parents she loved. Danny didn’t even know he’d been adopted.”

  That reminder sent sadness rippling through her. He’d been going through so much and she’d hurt him. She hadn’t said goodbye. Too afraid he’d talk her into something that she wasn’t ready for.

  She raised her head, straightened her spine. “It’s like winning the lottery. Everybody thinks it’s wonderful. Everybody sees the good side. But there’s another side.”

  “So poor little rich kid?”

  Anger sputtered through Marnie. “No. And you know that.” She glanced around. “You didn’t just one day get dropped into this studio.”

  Looking affronted, Angelica said, “I worked my way up.”

  “And had years to adjust.”

  “Well, yes.”

  “The Hinton heirs didn’t. From day one of their discovery, they’ve been followed. They’ve been in the news. If they didn’t have such good protection, I’m sure people would have gone through their garbage.”

  Folding her hands on her lap, Angelica leaned forward. “And what about you?”

  “I was the nanny mostly for young, upwardly mobile executives. I’d never worked for someone so wealthy.” She looked into the camera. “And I ma
de mistakes.”

  Angelica’s smile grew predatory. “Mistakes?”

  “You said yourself a nanny and an employer getting involved is a cliché.”

  Angelica said nothing.

  Marnie swallowed. It was now or never. Do or die. She couldn’t handle that she’d hurt Danny. Couldn’t handle another day of being afraid.

  “I changed my name, ran from my past. Because of a predator.”

  Angelica’s eyebrows rose to her hairline. But again, she said nothing, giving Marnie the chance to say something explosive.

  Marnie took a breath. “Someone took pictures of me in a compromising position.” She shook her head. “No. He took nude photos. When my mom called the authorities, I was the one villainized, harassed, bullied. I wasn’t running from the person who took the pictures. He was told to delete them, and I believe he did. In ten years, there’s been no evidence that he didn’t. What I ran from was bullying.”

  Angelica blinked. Looking speechless. She didn’t know what Angelica had been expecting, but clearly this wasn’t it.

  “I won’t run anymore. And I won’t hide. If the pictures show up because I’m involved with one of the richest men in the world...so be it. That’s life.” She glanced at Jace. “A good friend told me that I’m undoubtedly not the only person this has happened to and maybe I needed to set an example for how to handle it.”

  Angelica’s face scrunched. “So, you’re facing it head-on?”

  Marnie nodded. “Yes. All of it. The fear. The running. The secrets.”

  “That’s admirable.” She set her now-useless note cards on the table. “That’s powerful.”

  “Not powerful. It’s real.”

  “Yes. It is. And you’re right. It’s probably a story shared by hundreds, if not thousands of other women. Do you see yourself as a crusader, a leader who will help other women?”

  She shrugged. “Everybody has to handle this in their own way. I simply got tired of hiding, of being afraid. Maybe I’ll inspire someone else to come forward, but really most women don’t have to. They just have to give themselves permission to stop being afraid.”

  “Again. Powerful words.” Angelica leaned forward, squeezed Marnie’s hand. “Marnie, thank you for being here.”

  “Thank you for letting me tell my story.”

  “We’re out of time, but I’d love to have you back to hear about your life with Danny Manelli. Hear about the world of the Hintons.”

  Marnie laughed. Her secret wasn’t a secret anymore. The weight that had been lifted was incomprehensible. The most delicious thought trickled through her. She was free.

  “Thank you, but no.” She wasn’t really in the Hinton world anymore. She’d hurt Danny. Exposed the Hinton family to public humiliation and embarrassment...and more press. As if the media needed a reason to hound them.

  Angelica waited another few seconds, maybe hoping Marnie would say more. But she didn’t. This time, though, she wasn’t keeping a secret. She was being discreet. The difference between the two was sanity.

  When the director said, “Cut,” Marnie reached for her mic. Angelica breached the distance between them. “I mean it. Anytime you want to talk, I’m here.”

  Marnie said, “I’ll think about it.” Then she walked up to Jace, who accompanied her out of the studio, then out of the building.

  Even before Jace’s limo dropped her off at her mom’s apartment, Shirley called. She’d been fired by the Sponskys. No one wanted a celebrity as a nanny. Shirley knew this notoriety would fade away in a week or two, but the Sponskys didn’t.

  She’d lost yet another thing—a good job.

  And lots of parents might not want to hire her.

  The step that was supposed to fix her life had actually broken it even more. The relief of not having a secret ebbed into reality. Everybody knew her. She was a broke, famous nobody.

  Two weeks later, with no jobs coming her way, she got the news from Shirley that there was a long list of employers who didn’t want her.

  She nodded, though tears filled her eyes. She crawled into bed that night with her mother tucking her in.

  “I’m telling you. This too shall pass.”

  “Another saying from your therapist?”

  “Nope. That one’s in the good book.”

  Marnie shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “Sure. Sure. We’re always fine.”

  “You know that money I’ve been saving to get my own apartment?”

  Her mother’s eyebrow rose. “Not really, but go on...”

  “I think I might have to move to another city.” She’d thought of that the night she’d officially become Rex’s nanny. It had made sense then. It made more sense now.

  Her mom pressed her lips together, then whispered, “Yeah. You might.” She rose from the bed. “Good night, Marnie.”

  She could hear in Judy’s voce that she regretted the way things had turned out. She caught her mother’s hand. “It’s not your fault.”

  “Thanks, but some of it is.”

  “How about if we just say it is what it is and go forward from here?”

  Judy smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “Me too.” She’d lost her dad, lost her job, lost Danny and Rex. She didn’t want to lose her mom too. Now, that they were both aware of the mistakes, they could heal together.

  After a restless night, Marnie woke the next morning to pounding on the front door. She waited a few seconds for her mother to get it. When she didn’t, Marnie called, “Ma! Get the door.”

  The pounding increased, and no sound came from the main room of the apartment. With a groan, she threw off the covers, slid her shabby robe over her pajamas and marched to the door.

  Stupid salesmen!

  She yanked open the door and there stood Danny Manelli.

  “Hey.”

  She gaped at him. Her heart sped up to a million beats a second causing her pulse to race and her thoughts to scramble. “Hey.”

  “Can I come in?”

  She looked back at the poverty she called home, remembering that she’d made a firm choice not to run, not to hide from who she was. She and her mom barely had enough money to pay the rent. But that was her life. Her truth. She wasn’t running anymore.

  “Sure.” She motioned for him to enter. “Come in.”

  He looked fabulous in his camel-colored overcoat. His hair dotted with snow. His black leather gloves in his hands instead of on them. “Rex misses you.”

  She smiled as she thought of the toddler who’d loved her. The little boy who was so easy to love in return. Blinking tears from her eyes, she said, “I miss him too.” She walked to the coffeemaker. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No. What I have to say will only take a minute.”

  So, he was here to say his piece. Maybe yell at her for leaving so abruptly. An arrow plunged into her heart. Now that she was down, it seemed everyone wanted to kick her. She was surprised her father hadn’t called. He knew who she was. It would be a simple thing for him to track her down. After all, he had resources.

  “I saw the interview.”

  “I thought you were in Florida.” And wouldn’t see.

  “I was. But my sisters saw it, and I called the station and they sent me a video.”

  She winced. “I should have thought that through. Jace had said that dropping hints about our relationship would get me the interview. The chance to come clean publicly, so I wouldn’t have a secret anymore. It was a bad time for me.” She combed her fingers through her hair. “A mess. I didn’t think it through. I’m sorry.”

  “You sort of hinted that your feelings for me weren’t gone.”

  “Hinted?”

  “You don’t have a poker face, Marnie.” He laughed. “Your expression said a lot more than your words. But you started the intervie
w talking about us.”

  Her gaze jumped to his. No more lying. No more hiding. “Yeah.”

  “So, telling me you love me in Paris... That was true?”

  “Yes.”

  “And leaving without a word, not answering my calls that night... What was that?”

  “I thought I was protecting you. From me. My past. My mess.”

  “It’s what Jace thinks.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “You talked to Jace?”

  “Yes. He’s squarely on your side in this.”

  She laughed sadly. “He’s a good guy. I’d have never gotten through this without him.”

  “And Charlotte would have shaken him silly if you hadn’t gotten through it.”

  Charlotte. She pictured her round and pregnant. Leni cheerful. Mark and Penny newlyweds. She missed them all.

  “I guess you’re going back to Florida?”

  He looked at her. “It’s no fun without you.”

  Her heart stumbled. Her lips trembled as a million wishes pounded in her brain. But she wasn’t the kind of woman who got wishes. Wasn’t the kind who put herself out on a limb.

  “I also don’t think I can ever go back to Scotland again. I’d see you everywhere. That wouldn’t be any fun either.”

  She pressed her lips together, blinked to stop the tears from spilling from her eyes.

  “Unless you went with me.”

  She laughed. “Might as well. Nobody else wants to hire me.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to hire you either.”

  Her head snapped up. “You don’t?”

  “It’s what got us into trouble the first time.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’d really like to marry you.”

  This time, when her heart stumbled it was with hope. The words tried to sink in and almost couldn’t. She’d hurt him, hurt herself. She was a mess.