Chapter 6
“So he just left?”
“He stayed at a hotel last night. Or maybe in his office. I don’t know.” Erik shrugged tiredly. “It’s my apartment so we have the place to ourselves now.”
“That might make it easier to find a live in nanny,” Anna Marie said with a warm smile. She placed a comforting hand on Erik’s shoulder for a moment before standing from her seat on the couch to get started on her work.
Erik had taken an unprecedented day off to get his affairs in order. He knew it wouldn’t look good for his commitment to the company but it would certainly look worse if he kept bringing an infant to work with him.
Though Anya had hit it off with Mr. Black, going so far as to let him hold her when he came to Erik’s office to discuss his progress on the Chippenham Account. The old man had even gotten a smile out of her.
He was clearly some kind of wizard.
“What a sweet girl. What did I tell you, Lehnsherr? Be open to all life has to offer.” He’d clapped him on the shoulder and gone on his way. Erik felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He could do this.
~~
Angel had rearranged his schedule and called each of his prospective nannies to meet him at his apartment instead of at the office.
He checked the time; his first interview should be arriving soon. Anna Marie was cleaning the main bedroom and packing the rest of Sebastian’s things. She’d offered to watch Anya for him while he was busy with interviews and answering emails, but he wanted to see them interact with Anya so he could judge their character.
He’d been shocked when Anna-Marie had simply walked in and plucked Anya off the floor to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Anya allowed it.
She’d been staring at Anna-Marie ever since. It was nice to have a break from her attention but at the same time, he didn’t know why she hadn’t flipped out when the older omega held her.
He glanced at Anya only to find her gone.
His heart stopped.
Then he heard a baby laugh echo down the hall. He rushed to the bedroom to find Anya sitting on the bed draped in one of his thickest scarves like a toga. She flailed about happily, eyes sparkling.
He was stunned. It must have shown on his face because Anna-Marie laughed and said, “You’ll get the hang of it. It helps that I have two of my own.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to be a nanny?” he asked hopefully.
She chuckled again, “Not with your hours. I do this so I can be free when my kids are out of school. It’s hard to find a job with these hours. I don’t
know when you sleep, darlin’ but I’m not waiting up for you to get home.”
He knew she was right. A few days ago he would have tried to tempt her with an exorbitant sum of money but he was beginning to realize that nothing really made up for the time he’d missed with Lorna. He didn’t want to make the same mistake with Anya.
That’s why he intended to find the best nanny in New York to care for her when he had to be away.
His cell rang and he sprang to answer it. It was the front desk informing him that he had a visitor. Miss Jubilation Lee. He frowned at the name, but it matched the Miss Lee Angel had emailed him about so he told them to send her up.
He scooped Anya off the bed and let her keep the scarf; she snuggled against his chest babbling softly, “Let’s not judge her based on her parent’s decisions, alright? She didn’t pick her name; we won’t hold it against her.”
~~
Erik was holding several things against ‘Jubilee’
“How old are you?” he demanded as soon as he answered the door.
The twelve year old standing in the hall looked taken aback, “Ah. I’m 22.”
He didn’t believe her but her ID passed muster so he let her in. It wasn’t the most auspicious start to an interview, but that didn’t seem to occur to
the young woman in front of him.
She hadn’t stopped smiling since she stepped inside. “Oh no one calls me Jubilation, please call me Jublilee.”
If you had asked Erik a few moments before if there was a worse name in existence than Jubilation he would have said no.
“Well, Miss Lee. Tell me about yourself and your experience nannying.”
She very enthusiastically chattered on about her upbringing in what sounded like an off the grid cult. Why else did all the families have 10+ children? And really, she’d been babysitting since she was how old?!
And her big move to the city where she signed on with an agency and took emergency preparedness classes and how he was her first interview since he’d needed someone long term on such short notice and all the others at the agency were already booked.
He wondered how she had talked for so long without stopping for breath, “And you’re available long term?” he asked dourly.
“Yep!” She gave him another bright grin. At least she was chipper.
“Are you available to live in?” he asked, not returning her smile.
She nodded eagerly, pony tail bouncing.
He sighed. That was a requirement Angel had informed him was hard to meet on such short notice from a reputable agency. She’d warned him that his candidate pool was very small, but hadn’t been prepared for this.
“Walk me through a day with Anya,” he asked grimly. The little girl glanced up from her blocks at the mention of her name and proceeded to stare at him as ‘Jubilee’ began another monologue.
She was supremely uninterested in the young woman which he couldn’t see as a good sign. But she wasn’t looking at her warily the way she had Sebastian and Angel so he’d take what he could get.
He turned back into her dialogue about playgrounds and nap time and snacks, trying not to treat her as a hostile witness. Angel had informed him that her interview with him had been the most harrowing she’d ever experienced. She told him to be nice to the omega’s she sent over.
He was trying.
It was hard.
Jubliee wasn’t helping the cause.
He sighed and reached down to pull Anya into his lap so she could chew his fingers and tug at his clothes. It’s all for her. He reminded himself. It’s all for Lorna.
~~
By the time afternoon rolled around he was exasperated and more than a little irritated. How hard could it be to find someone in this city with good sense and the ability to keep a baby alive while he was at work?
First ‘Jubliee’ then a very quiet young man named Janos Quested who was competent with Anya but didn’t seem to have any particular interest in babies or small children.
He was supercilious and dismissive and Erik dreaded the thought of sharing his home and his child with him. But he was 25 and far more mature than the other option so he wasn’t an immediate dismissal.
The next man was best left unmentioned. Erik wouldn’t leave a dog with him, much less his only child. He sent Angel a text that only read ~???!!!~
Then came his final appointment of the day, Ms. Sarah Rushman. She was an unmarried, childless, older omega a few years younger than his parents.
She had over 30 years of experience in childcare and-drum roll please- she spoke German.
She was German. Not anti Semitic. Her sister and her family still lived in Frankfurt. She also spoke French and Danish. She was stern but not cruel.
Anya cried when she held her but didn’t scream and soon settled. Erik would have expected to have better rapport with her considering their similar backgrounds but that would come with time.
“You’re hired,” he gave her a toothy smile and extended his hand. They shook on it.
“Good, I’m available to start immediately,” she said in a guttural, modulated voice.
“Fantastic, you can bring your belongings tomorrow morning and take over from there,” he smiled down at Anya who was once again cradled in his arms blinking up at him with a serious look.
“I’ll see you then,” she gave him a thin smile and made her way out.
“She’s your new nanny,” he cooed to Anya. “She’s going to take good care of you while I’m at work. Yes, now let’s see what Anna-Marie left us for a snack.”
A few minutes later found her sucking on orange slices while Erik took photo after photo. He wanted to keep adding to the hard drive of images Lorna’s husband had kept up to date.
He thought back to his meeting with Mr. Black. He would make it a point not to miss time with her. He didn’t want to have the same regrets he had with Lorna and now with Sebastian. Life was too short and unpredictable to take for granted.
He sent Angel a text to schedule him a weekend off to take Lorna up to see his parents. It was past time for him to visit. He felt a twinge of self consciousness as he realized he was becoming one of those family men who was concerned with work/life balance.
He shook the feeling off; his career would still come first. It was more important now than ever considering he was supporting Anya on his own and refused to touch a cent of the inheritance left to her by her parents.
He made good money, but without Sebastian covering half the expenses the rent and salaries for a housekeeper/chef and a nanny would soon wear a hole in his savings. That promotion was looking more necessary as time went on.
He sighed, wishing he could take another day with Anya, just the two of them this time. He was going to be run ragged for weeks. He’d make it work. Other omegas did it every day, he assured himself, "we're gonna be just fine."