"Oh, you really love to twist things in your favor, don't you-"
Audrey looks like she's ready to throw a few more heated words at me when a young child's voice suddenly interrupts us by bursting right through the closed doors: “Daddy!” she joyfully exclaims.
The little girl sprints over to me from the opened doorway with absolutely no regard for the heavy atmosphere lingering in the room, her small body promptly launching and latching onto my leg with one of her warm and tight hugs. She proudly grins and giggles at me with a mischievous look in her blue eyes as soon as she realizes that she has my attention. I softly sigh at the sight of her -- Teagan. Her heartwarming gesture and innocent stare of adoration fills me with both feelings of joy and displeasure as I gently ruffle her long hair. Even though I enjoy her affectionate displays toward me which always remind me of how much she loves me, now clearly isn't the right time or moment for it.
“Teagan, you shouldn't be here right now. Daddy is working-“
“Hello!” Teagan simply interrupts me to turn her head around and wave at the dark-haired woman who is seated across from us. Her gentle blue eyes almost look like they light up with sheer delight upon greeting the woman which is a strange reaction considering the usual caution that she puts toward meeting strangers for the first time.
“Hi, sweetheart. Wh-what are you doing here?” Audrey responds in a casual albeit hesitant tone.
“I live here,” the little girl replies in a matter-of-fact voice.
The brunette's face quickly turns pale-white with dread as soon as she hears Teagan's concise answer. Her stunned gaze dwells on the young child for a long time before finally shifting over to me. The natural eye contact that we make with one another is welcomed and greeted by pure silence and disbelief on her end, the fiery spirit that she once had in her eyes gone like a flame that's been instantly put out.
“You live here,” Audrey slowly repeats with a weak laugh while keeping her unsettled stare on me.
"Yup! So what are you doing here?" Teagan curiously asks when a sudden gleam flashes across her eyes. She lets go of the grip around my leg and swiftly rushes over to the young woman's side before I can even stop her. "Did you come here to play with me, then?" she says with a hopeful smile.
What the hell is even happening right now?
A strong feeling of discomfort and unease builds within my chest in spite of Teagan's utter glee and excitement toward the current circumstances. After seeing the carefree manner and way in which she can approach the unfamiliar woman with no hesitations or reservations at all, I can tell with a certainty that there's some kind of relationship between them that I haven't been updated on. Because not only is Teagan the type of kid to steer herself away from outsiders who are specifically adults, but Audrey has also been acting unlike her tough and stubborn self which I find rather unusual given her character. The brunette is just visibly distraught by Teagan's appearance -- and I'm going to find out just why.
“Teagan, come back over here to me,” I sternly command as I get up from my seat and motion my hand toward her. The little girl puts on a tiny pout before she walks back over to me. I immediately grab her hand and turn to the butler who has been quietly observing the situation from the very beginning with a stifled smirk on his face.
He obviously knows something.
“Crane, you better tell me what the hell is going on here,” I angrily demand in a low voice so that neither Audrey nor Teagan can hear me.
“My apologies, sir. It seems that I forgot to mention in the provided documents that Miss Scott is also the same woman who happened to help the young miss when she got lost and into some trouble the day the previous nanny lost track and sight of her,” Crane calmly answers.
“Explain. What do you mean she helped her? How much trouble did Teagan actually cause?” I ask with a deeply furrowed brow and puzzled tone. After all, I can't imagine for the life of me how much damage and trouble one little girl could actually cause while being missing for less than half an hour.
“Well, Miss Scott was the one who went ahead to take full responsibility as the missing guardian for Miss Teagan after the young miss managed to break a huge display of alcohol within the store. She took the blame for what happened and apologized to the management while also paying for the damages.”
I pause on the butler with my jaw slightly slack and open. The story is almost too absurd to believe yet I know that it must be true because Teagan has her head lowered toward the ground. She refuses to look me in the eye when I stare down at her, her nervous habit of biting her fingernails seen as she intentionally averts her gaze from me. There's no doubt in my mind that Teagan has done that she knows is wrong -- I just had no idea what the extent of her wrongdoing was or who was involved in assisting her in resolving the matter.
“So, hold on. Wait a minute," Audrey says with a wry laugh as she rudely points her finger at me. "Don’t tell me that you’re this little girl's father.”
“I’m sorry to break it to you, but yes. She is my daughter.” I instinctively pull Teagan closer to me while keeping my cold gaze dead set on the brunette who looks horrified and unsettled by the revelation. “And the nanny position that you’re applying for right now happens to be for my kid,” I add with a smirk.
The loss for words and look of defeat on Audrey’s face feels extremely satisfying to witness. She appears both frazzled and uncertain at the same time, a rare meekness displayed in her overall appearance. I can’t help but smile at how quickly the tables have turned, and it’s all thanks to Teagan’s timely interruption. The little troublemaker has made it that much easier for me to gracefully exit this unfortunate conversation and interview that doesn’t need to continue any longer. And in spite of my natural inclination to want to bully and torment the fierce and obstinate young woman for a little while longer during her moment of weakness, I decide to spare her the grief instead.
“Anyway, I think I’ve seen enough here to make a decision. Thank you for your time, Miss Scott.”
Audrey glowers at me from across the room with a bitter scowl on her lips. She looks like she wants to say something to me, but she bites her tongue instead of opening her mouth. And after a few seconds of glaring at me in silence, she reluctantly nods her head toward me and swallows her pride as she takes her leave through the doorway. But as soon as the brunette steps out of the room, I can feel Teagan wriggle and slip her wrist out of my grasp to chase out after Audrey which she successfully succeeds in doing without much of a struggle.
“Hey, wait!” the little girl shouts while bolting out of the room in a hurry.
Teagan’s swift departure leaves me speechless and dumbfounded for a moment. Never have I seen her so drawn and attached to someone to the point where she would follow that person out of her own willingness to do so. It’s incredibly unusual to see her acting like this toward a stranger, but I can’t allow my initial shock to pull me out of the reality of the situation.
“Teagan, what do you think you’re doing? Come back here right now!” I shout as I hastily follow her from behind. When I finally manage to catch up to her, I see the girl pulling onto the hem of Audrey’s shirt with her blue gaze lifted up to her.
"Are you leaving now?" Teagan hesitantly asks in a low voice.
Audrey bends down next to her with a warm smile on her face. "Yeah, I have to go. There’s just something else that I need to do, so I can’t stay.”
A big disappointed pout forms across the young girl’s lips upon hearing the woman’s response. She maintains her sulky and doe-eyed expression for a bit until she finally says in a soft voice: “Thank you for helping me when I was in trouble.”
A gasping breath parts from my lips as my eyes widen in surprise. Did my ears hear what she had said correctly? Thank you? And if so, is this really the same girl who is also my daughter? The daughter who selfishly does what she wants with no regard for anyone else? The one who ends up saying sorry more than she says thank y
ou because of how much trouble she gets into?
I just can’t believe it.
While I am still trying to figure out what happened to my daughter for this abrupt change of heart to occur, Audrey tenderly pats her on the head and says, “You’re very welcome, Teagan. Just don’t get into any more trouble like that by yourself, okay? It’s dangerous, and you’ll make your family worry about you."
“I know,” the girl glumly responds with a weak nod of her head.
“Good girl.”
The brunette gives Teagan one last tousle and ruffle of her hair before she finally turns back around and resumes her walk down the long and empty hallway. I can see the young child silently stare at the woman’s back as her silhouette and figure grows smaller with each large step that she takes forward and toward the exit. However, my captured gaze is less interested in Audrey's slow exit out the door and more concerned with how Teagan is currently feeling. There’s a somber expression in the little girl's innocent blue eyes which I have never seen before, a look of pure sadness and longing showing from within them. The lively spirit and energy that she once had in her tiny body is gone, and all that is left behind with her is a hopeful flicker and spark that simply lingers within her blank stare.
She’s waiting for the woman to turn back around and face her again.
She’s hoping that Audrey doesn’t actually have to go ahead and leave her behind.
"Come on, Teagan," I call her from a distance. "Let's go back into the room for now. We have some things we still need to talk about."
Even though the little girl can clearly hear me calling her, she continues to peer off into the distance. Her unyielding stare remains fixated on the young woman's small outline until the silhouette eventually disappears out of sight. A few long seconds of silence pass without any motion or movement from Teagan before she finally decides to listen and walk back over to me. Yet her slow and quiet footsteps move toward me with an aura of disappointment, her feet basically dragging across the floor as she loosely grabs onto my hand.
I glance down at the gloomy and detached child who doesn’t bother to even look at me while we walk alongside each other. She bites her lip and chooses to put on a strong front to hide her emotions, but I can still see through the clear disappointment in her blue eyes. I take a deep breath as I gently squeeze her small hand. Despite my initial plan to punish and lecture her for giving the people who are responsible for taking care of her such a hard time with her unruly behavior, I decide to ease up on scolding her.
Now doesn’t seem like the right time to talk to Teagan about her mistakes because I get the sense that she already has a good idea about what she’s done wrong. And I may not always be there as a good father to her, but I can at least tell that what she needs right now isn’t punishment or discipline. All she needs is for me to silently comfort her and keep her company while she tries to sort out her own feelings and emotions. After all, kids are a lot more resilient than they look and seem, and I have no doubt that Teagan will figure it out sooner or later.
She’s a bright and smart girl, but that is also something that is simply to be expected as a daughter of the Bennett household. Some may call it tough love for not coddling her during her dark times of need, yet I see those struggling moments each as a learning experience. Pain is an excellent teacher, and a little bit of it never hurt anyone. So even though she may be sad and hurting in the present, I know that she’ll be fine.
A Bennett can’t be shaken up or fazed so easily by such unimportant matters.
They have to be much stronger than that.
***
Gentle tunes float in the air from the live band playing on the small stage while I reach over the table to pick up my glass of wine for a drink. The smooth and sweet liquor rushes down my throat where it quickly settles into my full and satiated stomach. A small exhale of relief escapes me as I set the empty glass back down and lean back into my seat to enjoy the sights around me. The dimly lit and seemingly romantic ambiance within the fancy restaurant slowly pulls me into the natural mood and setting that is brought upon by the night. But in spite of the elegant and charming scenery which surrounds me from every angle, I can only focus on and see the beauty that is currently seated in front of me.
My eyes stay heavily concentrated on the gorgeous blonde sitting across from me who giggles loudly as she leans in closer to me. She casually touches and caresses my arm, her fingertips gradually tiptoeing up the length of it. The distinct sensation of her fingers against my flesh fills me up with tingles. Not only has she been teasing me all night with those striking green eyes of hers, but the physical contact and blatant signals that I’ve been receiving from her since we were first introduced to each other couldn’t make her intentions any more obvious.
“You know, I never realized my brothers knew such a charmer,” the attractive blonde states with a flirty smile. She bites her lip while gently stroking my arm, her eyes intently peering into mine with that passionate and eager gleam in them.
“Well, I never knew your brothers were related to someone as beautiful as you,” I answer back with an equally flirty smirk to match her provocative expression.
The woman giggles and bites her lip again while the smile on her face starts to fade. A serious glint replaces the playful expression within her green eyes. “You’re an incredibly dangerous one to be around, Mr. Bennett. I can see why my brothers didn’t introduce you to me sooner.”
“I could honestly say the same for you, Mrs. Avery. You’re a pretty dangerous woman yourself.”
“It’s Miss Walter,” the blonde swiftly corrects me as she carefully grabs the glass of wine from the table and brings it up to her red lips. "I'm newly divorced."
"I'm…sorry to hear that," I say.
She stares at me with a curious look before she finally opens her mouth to ask me: "Are you, though?"
My brow quickly rises from the sound of her bold question, but the truth is that I really don't quite give a damn about whether or not she's married or who her husband even is. The only thing I care about is how long she's going to keep playing games with me until she decides to finally make the first move on me. But judging from the way her eyes are constantly ogling at me with that lusty aura, I get the strong sense that she shares the same eager and impatient sentiment with me. I can see her full red lips beginning to move as if she were ready to suggest something when the sudden sound of a loud vibration interrupts the tense and gripping moment.
Both of us immediately glance down at the cell phone ringing on the dinner table, the one that appears to have ruined the intimate mood between us belonging to me. I stiffly chuckle and hang up the call that seems to be coming in from Crane, but as soon as I reject him, another phone call from the butler quickly begins to ring in again. And even when I reject his call for a second and third time in hopes that he will get the message that I’m too preoccupied to answer him, the man simply makes another phone call to me instead of leaving a voicemail. I can’t help but stare at the vibrating cellular device with a dumbfounded expression.
However, the blonde weakly sighs from across the table while a slightly bitter and disinterested look forms across her face. “You should probably answer that. It could be important,” she states in an aloof manner.
Great. Now she’s annoyed with me.
And the night was going so well, too.
“Please, excuse me for a moment then.” I force out a smile as I hurriedly grab the cell phone and step outside onto the restaurant’s private balcony to answer the phone call. “You better have a pretty damn, good reason for calling me this many times, Crane. I thought we agreed that if it wasn’t important, you would leave a message-”
“We may have a bit of a problem, sir,” the man interrupts in a calm albeit wary sounding voice.
“And this problem couldn’t wait until later for some reason?” I irritably ask.
“No, sir. I’m sorry, but it couldn’t wait,” Crane
replies with a long and heavy sigh. “Mrs. Bennett has been adamantly demanding to speak to you.”
My eyes naturally widen in surprise of the mention and name of my grandmother. The last time that I met up and spoke with her was during Teagan’s birthday party in which she spoiled the girl with a bunch of lavish and excessive gifts that still remain unused and unopened to this day in one of our many storage rooms. But what I recall the most about my unpleasant encounter with the elderly woman is how much she would constantly bring up the issue of marriage to me and how much happier Teagan would be with an actual mother figure in her life. The old woman’s nagging remarks would then be followed up with the casual mention of some of the names of single women who she strongly believes would make a great addition to the family.
So I can only imagine and wonder what she urgently wants from me right now.
“Is everything all right with her?” I slowly question with a furrowed brow.
“Yes, Mrs. Bennett is absolutely fine-“
“Is that Rylan on the phone with you right now?” a loud and commanding female voice in the background of the phone call speaks as she interrupts the butler in the middle of his sentence.
“Y-yes, madam. It is,” Crane hesitantly confirms.
“May I take your phone and speak to him?” the imposing voice inquires.
A tense silence lingers over the phone call as I patiently wait to hear the sound of her familiar voice drift right into my ear: “Rylan.”
“Grandma,” I say in an unsurprised voice. “To what do I owe this special phone call and greeting from you? What was so important that you couldn’t wait to ask me until tomorrow morning?”
“When were you going to tell me?” she bluntly asks.
“Tell you what?”
“That you’ve been seeing someone.”
“I…am?” I loosely laugh.
The humorous and absurd assertion that the old woman abruptly accuses of me puts an amused smirk on my face. Everybody who knows me should know for a fact that I haven't been in a serious relationship with anyone since Teagan's mother passed away, so I find it unusual that she's even bringing something like this up to me in the first place. In fact, I haven't even involved myself with any women in public settings for her to warrant such an odd and unexpected statement at all. However, I must admit that the overwhelming certainty that she carries in her tone of voice is a bit worrying considering that she's not the type of woman to make bold claims without having any evidence to back them up.
Billionaire Daddy's Contract: A Single Dad and Nanny Romance Page 5