Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“If you need to sue her, just let me know. I can get most if not all of your money back.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but that’s not why I’m here. I need to see how legally binding a verbal agreement is.” I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. “I told Madison Kelly that she could decorate the Graves Estate while she was working as a nanny for the boys. She billed me for it.”
He slow blinks at me. “She did the work and then billed you? It sounds like you owe her money.”
I clench my jaw. This is not the news I wanted to hear.
“We didn’t have anything in writing,” I argue.
“Are you willing to go before a judge and lie, saying that you didn’t agree to it?”
I curl my lip in irritation. “Of course not.”
“I’m an asshole, Chase, but if you owe her money, then you should pay it. Did she neglect her nanny duties to do this? We could argue that she did this job while on the clock for the other job and could consider some of it paid already.”
I shake my head. “She always did the house stuff on her own time.”
“Sounds like she did everything right.”
I know for a damn fact that isn’t the case.
“Now, I’m not one to read much into gossip, but I did see the article written where she ran her mouth about the time you two spent together. You didn’t happen to have an NDA, did you?”
I don’t know why I clamp my mouth shut instead of telling him that I did have her sign one. I know I have legal standing to go after her. I could sue her for so much that her grandchildren would still be paying me.
I’m more annoyed at her audacity than actually wanting to ruin her. My dad would probably disown me. Hell, he’s more likely to put up a custody fight for the kids than Emily was.
“No NDA,” I lie.
“That’s a shame,” he says. “I was gonna say that we could go after her for defamation of character.”
“Everything she said was complimentary.”
“But was it true?”
I huff a laugh. “I’m not going into detail about my sex life with you.”
“It’s all protected under attorney-client privilege.”
“Until Grams reads it.”
“She’d never discuss cases in public,” he says, the uptick in his tone betraying his defensiveness.
“I know she wouldn’t,” I say quickly.
“You know, if you’re still looking for a nanny, she’s great with kids.”
I huff a laugh as I stand and offer him my hand to shake.
“You’re not shoving your granny off on me. My boys would run circles around her.”
His smile is wide as he shakes my hand and stands.
“Let me know if you decide to enforce that NDA,” he says knowingly.
I wave at him over my shoulder before leaving his office. Mrs. Hyde is not at her desk when I exit the office, and I’ll probably hear about it from my dad for not finding her to say goodbye.
I’ve made the executive decision that I could easily be like Barrett Hyde, avoiding all women at all costs. I don’t need people coming into my life and disappointing my boys. If I have an itch, I’ll scratch it at the hotel on nights that Dad has the boys. No strings. No expectations. No disappointment.
It still doesn’t fix the lack of a nanny situation, but I think Barrett had the right idea. I need an older woman, someone who’s not the least bit tempting to me.
I had never considered having a live-in person help with the boys until Madison suggested it, but knowing that’s a possibility now, I’m no longer relegated to only using someone nearby.
My search area just opened up, and life doesn’t seem as completely hopeless as it did when I rolled out of bed this morning.
Chapter 36
Madison
“I didn’t realize I missed that step,” I tell the woman on the phone. “I’ve just submitted a copy of my driver’s license. I was so excited to get to work. I hope it doesn’t delay my application.”
“It doesn’t,” she says, and I can hear her fingers working over the keyboard of her computer. “There are actually several families looking for help. Give me a second to add your license into the system. I’m going to place you on a brief hold.”
Elevator music fills my ear before I can speak.
Why does everyone seem to be in a rush?
Do they never slow down?
I sigh when I realize that people in the city are always in a hurry. They drive fast and speak faster. They move from one event to the next, all in the same day.
In Lindell, no one is in a hurry, and when I first moved back, it was my chief complaint. It’s already bad enough that there are no drive-thrus in town. It’s like everyone got together and decided convenience was ungodly and wasn’t something anyone wanted to participate in. There’s no quick-grab anything here because you have to get out of your car just like everyone else, and you have to speak to everyone you see. It took me half an hour to get a gallon of milk Mom needed the other day because of how many people I ran into going into the tiny supermarket.