Hip Check

by Deirdre Martin

  “Have you met the little girl?” Michelle asked.

  “No. Her name is Nell, by the way. Like I said, her mom died in a plane crash last year.”

  “Last year? Who’s been taking care of her up until now?”

  “Her mom’s best friend. But the woman just got a job that requires a lot of travel, and since Esa is her legal guardian . . .”

  A lump formed in Michelle’s throat. “So, not only did her mother die, but the person she’s been living with for a year is now passing her on to someone else?”

  Theresa nodded sadly.

  “That poor little thing,” said Michelle, feeling like her heart might crack into pieces just thinking about it. There was nothing worse than a child in pain. Nothing.

  “Are you interested?”

  Michelle didn’t hesitate. “Of course I’m interested.”

  Theresa looked profoundly relieved. “I’ll tell Esa and have him call you ASAP. Maybe you two could set something up for tomorrow.”

  “That works for me.”

  Theresa inhaled, blowing out a deep breath. “Michelle, you’re a lifesaver.”

  “And he’s going to pay me like one, believe me.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Theresa assured her, adding in a stage whisper, “Don’t let him push you around about your salary.”

  “Trust me, there’s no chance of that happening.” Michelle stood. “I’m so glad you thought of me,” she told Theresa, surprising herself. “My initial intention was to take a short break, but this sounds perfect.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” Theresa rose. “I’ll have Terrence give you Esa’s number as well. That way if the Karles wave millions in your face and you do decide to move to L.A. with them, you can tell him the interview is off.”

  Michelle shook her head. “Not going to happen. I could never move that far away from my family. I don’t think I’d like it. God knows they wouldn’t.”

  “Oh, I hear you on that one, believe me,” Theresa answered dryly. “My mother’s still upset Michael and I didn’t buy a house on her block.”

  Michelle laughed.

  “Let me know how it all turns out, okay?”

  “Definitely. Thanks again, Theresa.”

  “Thank you for not going to L.A. We’ll talk soon.”

  Michelle nodded, heading out of the office. An eight-year-old girl whose mom had died? It was a no brainer.

  4

  At Lou’s suggestion, Esa asked Nell if she wanted to go to the zoo. Her momentary hesitation told him she didn’t, but she agreed anyway, probably because she wanted to please him. Esa was at a loss. Should they go anyway? Should he offer another option? That might make sense . . . if he had another option. He hoped that once they got there, she’d have a good time.

  So off to the zoo they went. Nell loved it; he hated it. It was ninety-eight degrees, humid, and packed with noisy families. The hordes of screaming and misbehaving children, accompanied by yelling parents who seemed unable to control them, made him glad he didn’t have kids. Then he realized: he did have one.

  Nell had been drawn to the polar bears in the Polar Zone. She stood there for ages, watching their every move intently. Esa wondered what she was thinking, so after a while, he asked her, even though the question felt awkward to him. “You seem to like them a lot. Is it because they’re so big?”

  “No,” Nell said thoughtfully. “It’s because they look like giant teddy bears. They look like they’d be fun to play with.”

  “You can’t play with them, Nell. They’ll attack you and eat you.”

  Nell looked at him like the inept moron he was. “I know that.”

  Esa quit while he was ahead.

  Despite the heat and the crowds, he was glad they’d made the trip, since it took up the better part of the morning and early afternoon. He had an appointment with his agent around five, but the evening with her stretched out in front of him, endless as decades. Clearly, he was going to have to cancel his date with the TV announcer Kendra Meadows tonight, which sucked. He really needed to go out and have a good time—and he wanted to get laid.

  Esa was thrilled when he and Nell left the zoo, and she told him she was tired and just wanted to go home and read. But when they got back, Nell headed directly to her room and closed the door. Esa wasn’t sure what to make of it. Is this something she did when Danika was still alive, go off into her own private world, not to be disturbed? Or was she sending him a specific message: “Go away. Leave me alone. I hate it here.” Esa felt terrible. Terrible, incompetent, and inadequate. A small wave of resentment toward his sister rolled through him, and again, much to his shame, he found himself asking: why me?

  He knocked on her bedroom door. “Nell?”

  “What?”

  “Uh . . . I have to go meet my agent. So—”

  “I don’t want to go. I want to stay here.”

  Esa hesitated. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” In truth, he thought it was a great idea, but knew he wasn’t supposed to.

  “I’m not a baby.”

  “Yeah, I know, but—”

  “Please?”

  Esa leaned his forehead against the door, unsure of what to do. “Okay,” he finally capitulated, “if you don’t leave the apartment.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I won’t be long, I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  He waited to see if she’d say something more, but she didn’t. His gut told him it wasn’t the right thing to do; pain in the ass though it might be, he should drag her with him to his agent’s office. But his head said: Yeah! Perfect! She’s right: she’s not a baby. She’s got food, a TV, nothing could possibly happen.

  Before he left, though, he was going to call Michelle Beck. That was the name of Nell’s nanny—or rather, the woman Esa intended to hire as Nell’s nanny. That she’d been vetted by his coach’s wife was good enough for him. He’d set up an interview for tomorrow morning. She wouldn’t know it, but he was just interviewing her as a formality. At least he’d be doing one smart thing today. Or maybe two, depending on his conversation with his agent.

  * * *

  “Have a seat, Esa.”

  Esa sank back in one of the plush leather chairs in the office of his agent, Russell Hedges. Hedges was with Winston, Lyon, and Schell, a multi-sports agency that represented some of the biggest names in sports. Hedges concentrated specifically on hockey, which was why, the minute gossip starting going around the NHL that the Blades wanted Saari, Russell had reached out to him in Finland. His European agent had done his best for him, but both he and Esa knew that when Esa was being scouted by the NHL, there would be an inevitable parting of the ways. Esa needed to be represented by someone who knew the NHL. Russell Hedges had set his sights on Esa, and Esa was glad that he did. Eventually, Hedges got Esa a three-year contract from the Blades for a total of $9.6 million. But it ran out at the end of this season.

  “What can I do for you?” Russell asked after they’d made small talk for a few minutes. Esa always had a hard time believing Russell hadn’t once been a jock himself: the guy was stone solid, with biceps that bulged beneath his custom-made shirts. He carried himself like an athlete, too, with a confident swagger.

  “Help me not to lose my mind,” Esa replied grimly.

  “Talk to me.”

  “I had a little chat with Michael Dante today after practice. He told me I really have to kick it up a notch this season. I got the sense he was hinting that management don’t feel they’re getting what they paid for.”

  Russell nodded. “And your contract runs out at the end of the season, and they’ve made no effort yet to re-sign you.”

  “That’s the problem, in a nutshell.”

  Russell offered Esa a glass of water, which he turned down. “You know how this goes, Esa,” he said, pouring a glass for himself. “Sometimes teams want to make players sweat. They think the pressure of playing for a contract could, consciously or subconsciously, lead to better
performance. And God knows they don’t like to open their coffers before they absolutely have to.”

  “I don’t have time to sweat,” Esa lobbed back. “I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now, and the less stress I have in my life, the better.”

  Russell peered at him worriedly. “What kind of stuff?”

  “Personal stuff. Remember I told you my sister died last year?” Russell nodded. “Well, my eight-year-old niece just came to live with me. For good. Don’t even ask who’s been taking care of her the past year. It’s too complicated.”

  Russell took a sip of water. “How about this: I reach out to Blades management and try to nudge them on the contract issue. I’ll make it clear that we’d like this done sooner rather than later so it’s not hanging over your head all season.”

  “That’s exactly what I want. Tell them the better I’m able to concentrate, the greater the return on their ‘investment.’”

  “I’ll contact them first thing Monday. Doesn’t mean they’ll get back to me right away.”

  Esa eyed him warily. “Yeah, I know the game.”

  “How’s it going otherwise?”

  It took Esa a split second to realize he meant Nell. “Okay. As well as can be expected, I guess.”

  “Have you got a nanny?”

  “Starts Monday.” She doesn’t know it yet, though.

  “That’s got to be a relief.”

  “It is.”

  “I guess this means a big lifestyle change for you in a lot of ways,” Russell continued casually.

  “Let me guess: I’ll turn into more of a homebody, which will be a big boon PR wise.”

  Russell shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. You know Kidco likes to portray itself as a family-friendly business. They might love the image of the party boy turning into a dedicated uncle.”

  “Amazing,” Esa marveled. “You guys are all alike. I got the same thing from Capesi.” He really didn’t want to go down this road, so he headed toward the door. “I should run.”

  “Anything else you want to talk about before you go?”

  “Nope. Thanks, Russ. Keep me posted.”

  “That goes without saying. Enjoy your evening, Esa.”

  “You, too, Russ.”

  Esa checked his watch. He’d been gone less than an hour. He had no doubt he’d get home and Nell would still be in her room, or maybe watching TV. He had no idea what to do with her tonight. Or what to do about dinner. Pizza, maybe.

  There, that was one thing settled. Next he had to call Kendra Meadows and cancel their date for tonight. He’d shift it to tomorrow. By then, everything would be in place with Michelle Beck. He’d make sure of that.

  5

  The next morning Esa struggled with impatience, trying to keep busy until ten a.m. rolled around. He made oatmeal for Nell and himself, which she seemed to like. He showed her an article about the Blades in that morning’s Sentinel that said he was one of the key players if the team was to have any chance of winning the Cup. Nell nodded politely, but as soon as she finished her breakfast, she asked to be excused. Esa had no problem with her parking her butt on the couch and channel surfing. But she didn’t. She took a shower, and went back to her room to read. Was that weird? He had a vague memory of Danika reading a lot when they were young, teasing him about being a tyhmä urheilija, a dumb jock. Maybe Nell had inherited his sister’s bookworm gene. Or maybe she was scared of him. Or didn’t like him. Or thought he was a tyhmä urheilija, even if she didn’t know Finnish. The idea of any of them hurt.

  Esa checked his watch for the hundredth time that morning. Michelle Beck was due in five minutes. He tidied up his apartment a bit; he didn’t want her to think he was taking care of a little girl in some kind of pigsty. He’d have to remember to tell her that he had a housekeeping service already. At precisely ten, the doorbell rang and he buzzed the nanny up to his apartment.

  He opened the door to a petite woman with short black hair and green eyes with lashes that were, in his opinion, a little too mascara heavy. Not his type. He liked leggy blondes.

  She extended a small hand to shake his. “Hi, I’m Michelle.”

  “Esa. Let me take your coat.”

  Michelle shucked her faded denim jacket and handed it to him. Her eyes were sweeping his apartment, making him feel a little self-conscious. “Wow. Nice place.”

  “Thank you.” Esa agreed: he did have a lovely home, but it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Danika, who’d told him that just because he was a cool NYC bachelor, it didn’t mean he had to inhabit a “soulless lair of steel and glass.” A whiz with catalogs and the net, she’d ordered him what looked like furnishings for a real home, with Oriental carpets and potted plants and comfy furniture. The only incongruity in the room was his massive sixty-five-inch wide-screen TV. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but he didn’t care. When all was said and done, this was still his lair.

  Michelle smiled politely. “Where’s Nell?”

  The question surprised Esa. “In her room reading.”

  “Oh.” Michelle seemed disappointed. “I was hoping I’d get to spend some time with her today, if you decide to hire me.”

  You are hired, Esa thought. He smiled graciously. “Yes, of course. I just thought you and I might talk a little first. Coffee?”

  “That would be nice.”

  The small woman followed him into the kitchen. He’d let Danika take care of that, too. English something style. Or maybe it was French. Whatever it was called, it had a wide-planked wooden floor, and in addition to the usual kitchen stuff, there was a wooden island in the middle of the room with a big rack of pots hanging above it. He always laughed at that touch since he never cooked anything that couldn’t be made in a bowl in a microwave. White-windowed cabinets lined the walls. He’d been told he had an amazing amount of counter space. Maybe so. He’d never noticed.

  “This is amazing,” Michelle marveled.

  Esa flushed with pride. “Thanks.”

  She gestured at the hanging pots. “You like to cook?”

  “Sometimes,” he lied. He went to the fridge, pulling out a half-empty bag of coffee. He also had two bottles of Finlandia chilling, and the virgin bottle of champagne he’d hoped to pop last night. He had milk there, too, for Nell to drink and to put on her cereal. He’d done pretty well in the food department for Nell, he thought, getting a bunch of things he was sure kids liked to eat: macaroni and cheese, brownies, hot dogs, soda, cold cereal, chocolate chip cookies, and some breaded chicken bits. He should probably take her to McDonald’s.

  Coffee brewed, he and Michelle sat down at the kitchen table. Michelle pulled a neatly typed sheet of paper out of her big leather shoulder bag and pushed it across the table to him. It was a list of references.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get this to you sooner, but Theresa said you were crunched for time, and I didn’t get your e-mail address.”

  “No worries.” He cursorily skimmed the paper and handed it back to her. “Very impressive.”

  “That’s it?” Michelle looked slightly taken aback. “You’re done?”

  “You come highly recommended from Theresa Dante. That’s enough for me. I need you to start tomorrow afternoon. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

  Michelle leaned forward as if she hadn’t heard him correctly. “What?”

  “I said I’ll pay you whatever you want. To take care of Nell. You’ll have your own room and bathroom. Locks on the door.”

  “Whoa, whoa, slow down a minute.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve got to discuss terms first. It’s very important that we’re both clear on a number of things. And we need to see if Nell and I are a good fit.”

  Esa looked at her over the brim of his coffee cup as he took a sip. “Whatever terms you want. Also, I’m sure you and Nell will be a good fit. She’s a very nice little girl.”

  Michelle looked concerned. “We’re not talking about a puppy here. We’re talking about the care and welfare of a child.�
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  Esa felt ashamed. “Yes, of course.” He drank down more coffee, hoping to wash away some of his impatience. “What is it you need to know?”

  “You’re supposed to be interviewing me, not the other way around.”

  “Right. Of course.” Well, as you can see, you’ll be working for an idiot. Esa aimed for a serious look. “I guess I’m wondering: why are you a nanny?”

  Michelle’s face lit up. “I love kids. Always have. I taught first grade for a while, but it didn’t give me the kind of one-on-one connections I wanted. Being a nanny lets me do that. It also pays better than teaching.”

  “Ah.” As surreptitiously as he could, Esa checked his watch. He thought this “interview” would take all of ten minutes. Obviously it was going to run longer.

  Michelle studied him. “You really have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

  Esa hesitated. “Uh . . . no,” he confessed. “Here’s my problem: exhibition games begin in three weeks, and we’re already hard at practice. Yesterday I had to bring Nell with me. I need someone in place now. I just . . .” He felt bad. “. . . I just don’t have the time to spend with her.”

  Esa wondered what Michelle was thinking right now. Probably that he was a selfish, inept prick. Which happened to be the ugly truth.

  Michelle took a deep breath. “Here’s the deal,” she began, tenting her fingers on the table, which made her look very professional. “I get two days and nights off a week. My only job is taking care of Nell. That means I don’t clean or do your laundry. I will cook for Nell but not for you.”

  Esa raised an eyebrow.

  “You look surprised.”

  “I am.”

  “Why?” Michelle’s voice was polite, but firm. “You’re paying me to take care of your niece, not be your chef.”

  Esa felt a flick of irritation. Bossy little woman. She was going to be in his employ, not the other way around.

  “What—exactly—will your responsibilities be as Nell’s nanny?” Esa enquired.

  “Like I said, I’ll make her meals. I’ll get her ready for school in the morning, I’ll take her to school if that’s necessary, and I’ll pick her up after school. I’ll help her with her homework. I’ll pick up after her, though that’s something I hope she’s already doing on her own. I’ll take her to any extracurricular activities or playdates she might have. I’ll arrange for her to have playdates here. I’ll discipline her as I see fit. I’ll put her to bed at night. Basically, my promise to you is to keep her healthy and safe so that she can thrive.”