by Sam Crescent
The image of the Thompsons had to be flawless.
A size eighteen nanny didn’t fit with the image the great Catherine wanted to showcase to the world.
The kids hadn’t called her fat, nor had they treated her like dirt.
She’d been with the kids several months before Catherine finally arrived on the scene, but it looked like she was gone again.
Not that she blamed Robert or the family. Nannies were always replaceable. If she didn’t love kids so much, she’d have gotten a different job years ago.
Children were something she loved, though. She didn’t need a home of her own, or time to herself. When the kids were asleep she read, waiting for them to need her again. This had been her life now since she was eighteen years old and she was asked to babysit.
Getting to her feet, Temperance didn’t give Robert another look. If she was honest with herself, she was pissed that she had once again allowed herself to feel for a bunch of kids that were not her own.
Within the hour she’d packed her few belongings and headed toward the kitchen.
“I’m so sorry it had to be this way,” Catherine said, leaning against the doorframe. “Kids these days. They only need two parents.”
Robert stood a little behind her.
Temperance saw the gloating look on Catherine’s face. The other woman truly believed she’d won a contest or something. Whatever.
Temperance walked toward the kitchen, removed four lists from the refrigerator, along with two files of her own.
Placing them onto the counter, she looked at both parents.
“What’s this?” Robert asked.
“This is the current schedule for each of your four children. It’s tight, but providing you know where to be and when, you can get each of them to their play date, event, or hobby. This is the folder that has marked out all of their doctor, dentist, student, and teenager-slash-child obligations.” She placed them all down on the counter. There were over a hundred pages.
Robert looked at Catherine. “You are aware of this.”
“I’m sure it’ll be easy to take over.”
“Good. You can handle it.” He pushed all of the paperwork toward his wife. “After all, this was your decision.”
Temperance didn’t stick around. She always made files, notes, and prepared everything to organize for the following year. Working with kids, she made sure organization was key to every single job, no matter how long she’d be employed.
Climbing into her car, she headed toward the apartment she shared in the city. She rarely ever went home, but she’d learned long ago to always be prepared for moments like these.
If Robert and Catherine thought they could do a better job than she did, they could have at it.
“Stupid fucking rich people. They think they can do everything. Ha!” She burst out laughing recalling the horror on Catherine’s face and what the selfish bitch had to do.
Children were not like people that would amuse themselves.
She hoped the kids were okay, but she secretly hoped they gave Catherine hell.
So many people thought being a nanny was easy. She had a newsflash for a lot of them … it wasn’t. Being a nanny was hard fucking work. They were long days spent getting to know different children. Their ages ranged from two to eighteen. Then of course you had the nice kids, the spoiled brats, or the bastards that hated you for being a glorified babysitter.
The hours were long. The moment one child decided that four in the morning was a good day, you were pretty much up, and that was the start of your day.
She didn’t hate kids, though.
She loved the early mornings.
There were difficult children who hated her, but by the time she finished they adored her.
All Temperance wanted to do was be the adult. The voice of reason.
Pulling up in the parking lot of the apartment building she lived in, she grabbed her suitcase and headed upstairs.
Her roommate Lilah was an up-and-coming actress. They’d met in a bar and become friends years ago. By day Lilah worked hard as a waitress, going to auditions, screwing directors in an attempt to get parts, and partying at night, at least sometimes.
So when Temperance walked into their shared apartment and saw two men fucking her friend, she immediately closed the door.
Lilah had seen her and waved at her before she had, though. Sitting at the top of the stairs, Temperance pulled out her cell phone and began to scroll through the job sections. The agency she worked for would get in touch with a list of potential work, but she didn’t know if she wanted to do that anymore.
An hour passed, and finally the door to their apartment opened up. Two large guys left, and as she entered she saw Lilah, now wrapped in a robe, waiting for her.
“I had no idea you were coming today.”
“Clearly.” She hugged her friend and they headed toward the kitchen. “Were they friends?”
“Yep. They’re friends, coworkers if you’d like.”
“Did you land an acting job?” Temperance asked.
“Kind of. Let’s not talk about me. How about you? Why aren’t you babysitting some snots?”
“First, I’m a nanny, and second, I got fired. The angry new wife wanted to be a mommy.”
“Oh, no,” Lilah said. “What are you going to do?”
Temperance waved her phone in the air. “Look for new work. My room is still my own, right?”
“Yeah, of course. You’ve been paying rent since we got this place. I didn’t change anything. I went in there to clean it from time to time. I didn’t want cobwebs to grow.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” Temperance took the coffee that her friend slid across the counter. She took a sip and sighed. Lilah always did know how to make a good coffee. “So, two men? Why do I feel I’m not going to like this new job?”
She wasn’t a fool. A “kind of” acting job, the way Lilah bit her lip, and something in her gut told her she wasn’t going to like it.
“I was strapped for cash. I wouldn’t fuck the owner of the restaurant I was working at. I needed to make money quick, and a guy flashed me his card. I’m an adult star right now.”
Temperance stared at her friend. “Porn?”
“It pays the bills, and I’m loving it. Don’t judge, okay? It has been a rough couple of months.”
“Why didn’t you call me? You know I’d have helped you out.” The couples she’d worked for had always paid her well, and she had a small fortune tucked away in the bank.
“You were already paying for half of this place, and you weren’t here, Tempe. I don’t … I didn’t want any charity. I got into this mess on my own, and I’ll get myself out of it. In the meantime, I’m having some fun and earning some money.”
“That career is dangerous.”
“I get tested regularly. Please don’t judge.”
Temperance held her hands up. “I’m not judging. I’m just … worried.”
“Don’t be. Welcome home, and try to relax before you head off again, and you know, start working again. I feel at times that’s all you do.”
It was all she did do.
End of sample chapter.
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